I'm fascinated by both the Bradel binding and the IceCube story! A number of years ago when I was still a student I worked for the summer in Tenerife on an astronomy research internship, and several colleagues in my hallway worked on IceCube. They gave a talk on it in journal club one week and although I wasn't interested in pursuing neutrino research, I learned a lot during that talk. I still have the notes I took! I'm just starting Bradel binding and this video, like all your videos, is just what I need. I really appreciate that you are way more academic in your tutorials, citing references, giving details based on the literature research and providing alternative methods based on historical study. I don't have professional bookbinding education and experience like you clearly do, but after taking up bookbinding as a hobby during lockdown I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to know more about it. Your videos over the years have helped me do that, since I'm in academia by profession and I learn efficiently by academic means (reading the literature, writing papers, research, etc). I hope some day soon to open my own small humble bookbinding business. Thank-you so much for putting your professional content for us, and I hope you can do so for many years to come!
@@DASBookbinding Oooh no I'm afraid not, but who knows since when I was there in 2011 I didn't meet nearly every staff member. I've just taken a look at his publications, he's an expert so it would've been awesome to meet him!
Great video and instruction. My wife overheard the Antarctic story so you have made a new friend, and now allow me to revisit so many of your videos without being told to stop peering at that iPad😂. Henry Bristol uk
I loved your Antarctica story. It has relevance to me, though I’m Swedish and not Scottish, both for its group dynamics aspect and the neutrino research aspect. 😊
Did you know Prof. Hulth? He was a close friend. We had some great sailing adventures together, including a wonderful day in the Archipelago. I worked with many of the neutrino people at Stockholm and Uppsala for a long time. I sometimes miss those days:)
@@DASBookbinding I studied Physics (BS) at LSU in the 1990s, right before LIGO was built in Livingston. 😊 I gather you also enjoyed the Uppsala university library, with the Codex Argenteus and such rarities? 😁👍🏻
Excellent video & fascinating back story - thanks. Looking forward to the conclusion. BTW a steel-toothed nit or head lice comb makes splaying out the Pleister tapes a lot easier!
Thanks John, great tip! I've also seen a think steel plate with a V shaped groove leading into a hole which is used for fraying out tapes and cords. Seems to be a northern European thing. I've been meaning to try it out. Might combine it with the comb idea. All the best, Darryn
You seem to have lead a very interesting and storied life, Darryn! I hear you on the kettle stitch tension. I still have problems with the very end of my textblock beyond the kettle stitch being squished and narrow. It makes stuck on endbands hard to do neatly.
Hi Ed. Everyone has an interesting life but for some reason stories involving Antarctica are less boring. Who knows. Yes, the unsupported ends of the book with no thread in the sections to fill out the swell. It makes you move the kettle stitches closer and closer to head and tail. Then you realise there is no thread inside at the supports so you starting using narrower supports. And before you know it you wonder if you know anything about bookbinding at all and starting thinking about buying a printing press.... All the best, Darryn
i've seen a bookbinder use medical gauze instead of washi on the spine, in your opinion, would that work as a substitution? on the same subject, i'd love to see you bind a book with the absolute minimum of tools and specialized materials. like, in my country i can't FOR THE LIFE OF ME find chipboard/grey board (so i used 2 glued cardboard pieces once, and im thinking of butchering my sketchbooks for their back board haha). im wondering if elastic bands/cut cloth can sub for cotton tape, and if there's a way to strengthen decorative/printed cardstock for the cover instead of using bookcloth (because even if i bought bookcloth, i don't have foiling equipment so idk how to do the title.... stencils and paint???) obviously using the best tools for the job gives the best result, but i'd love to see the best shot you can give it with the most accessible tools! especially because your research is so brilliant
The transitions between bookbinding explanation and storytelling were abrupt at times, but I found myself quickly invested in the story as well. (and honestly, the abrupt transitions fit with telling a story while also teaching someone how to do a thing. It's in bits between the instructions, while you're working on the thing and don't need to talk about it.)
@@DASBookbinding Thanks! In all honesty, that's probably something I couldn't physically (bad tendonitis) or professionally (my skill sets are ''warehouse management' and 'bad sci-fi author') do, but it's a really cool project and being winter-over staff sounds like it was quite the Tolkienesque adventure. :)
Great video, as ever. I am just doing my first rounded spine Bradel binding, usually I have made flat spines. And this will also be the first rounded spine book where I have trimmed the foredge. Glenn Malkin's video on edge trimming with a paring knife recommends trimming the foredge before making the spine, but here you glue it up and then trim the foredge, and then round the spine. You must have to work pretty quick to do that? I am hoping I will be able to knock the foredge flat again before starting the rounding process. Or maybe I should use just starch paste, with its longer drying time and hope the ploughing goes quick. Any thoughts? Phillip
Hi Phillip, Glenn says to trim the fore-edge before rounding, but the spine has been glued up. If the spine is not glued the sections will go out of alignment after trimming the fore-edge. If you have a look at my latest video I talk about rounding and backing in a bit more detail. You want the glue dry enough that it is holding everything in place, but not set so hard that it won't allow rounding. You don't have to be super quick as you're not trying to round with wet glue. I wouldn't use paste on a spine. Conservators will sometimes put a thin layer of paste on as a "conservation barrier", but it's not really the best adhesive for spines. Hope that makes sense. Darryn
I have the impression that the procedure of measuring/marking the cut lines for the three edges must be done in a VERY precise way to avoid problems later. I usually spend a long time checking these measures. I find it difficult using the square rule on the spine since the bumpiness due to tapes can sometimes alter the right angles in tail and head cut lines (specially if the tapes contains a couple of weaver knots). The case is made in an independent process on which it is easier to get nice right angles. And at the time I put all together is when I usually notice that the text block is very slightliy "trapezoidal" by comparison with the case. I wonder if there is a method to improve the precision on this step P.S.: I'm using a traditional plough like yours to cut edges.
Yes, you're right it is very important to have a book that has square corners. Maybe I don't show the step I use to check the marking, but I measure the diagonals after marking. If they aren't equal the book isn't square and I fix the problem before moving on. I try and put knots on the edge of the tape so they don't add a bump. I don't always manage this. The square I use is fairly large and it goes over most of the tapes which means it is usually parallel with the spine. Good luck! Darryn
When you're using printed off text blocks, are you concerning with the grain direction. I'm having a difficult time finding short grain paper to print my own text blocks on. How important is it in hobbyist bookbinding?
I don't want anything to stop you binding, but it is a rule I almost never break. The only time I've bound against the grain is when I've been brought a text already printed, and there is no option. If you are in the US, Hollanders have short grain Mohawk Superfine US letter size. If you are in Australia I can sell you a high grade copier paper for $25 for A4 SG 500 page ream or Mohawk for $95 for 250 sheet A4 SG ream. If you are in the UK, let me know and I'll find you a supplier there. Yours, Darryn
@@DASBookbinding Thus far I have always bound with the correct grain orientation. Locally I find A4/8.5x11 and half it twice to end up with an A6 finished product. Would be nice to locate good paper stock where i could produce an A5 finished product (I'm guessing that would be the result of short-grain A4?) I am in the US. I will surely check hollanders, though it would be nice if it wasn't so rare to locate.
@@crono782 Or you can buy sheets in A0/A1/A2 and cut them as you need, is what I do, more time consuming, but is worth it for me, and they are cheaper for square meter, I ussually use a very simple Excel spreadsheet I made years ago to calculate the price/square meter and I found, sometimes, depends on the deal, is a huge saving. Cheers !
@@crono782 In the US, I'll sometimes use The Paper Mill Store to get the grain direction/size I want, if the bookbinding suppliers don't carry it. (But as Darryn has said, I also try to spend my money with the bookbinding suppliers whenever possible.)
Another great video! Thank you for sharing your knowledge From a traditional point of view what should the relationship among the colors of covers, headbands and endpapers be? Does exist something like a rule of color matching for those three elements or is it bookbinders ad-libitum choice? Cheers
Regards colour, it's not something anyone has given me any rules for. Just that one should use "appropriate" or "matching" colours. It's the sort of thing I would expect Alex Vaughn to address, but I just had a look in his book and there isn't anything. So bookbinder's choice I guess. All the best, Darryn
I love the two parallel stories, Hehehe ! A question : I see, while you are cutting the edges of the book, those big jaws move to the side, Why you don't put a stop ? It's that some sort of "moving with the system of reference" thing, same as with flimsy CNC machines ? Thanks for sharing !
I guess this is more obvious when sped up. I hardly notice it at the time. A quick release clamp used as a stop would work. But does it save me time, more than getting a clamp and putting it on and off? Probably not. DAS
I use an old Barnsley No2 cobblers hammer, which is not made any more. Hewit's sell a hammer that looks similar. Or the Barnsley's come up on eBay fairly regularly. Usually need a good clean and sand of the face. Ciao, DAS
See my recent video on swell and how to manage it. For this rounded and backed book I needed about 30% swell and with the weight of paper, and thread thickness, 3 sheets per section gave me that. More or less would have changed the swell away from where I wanted it. I give guidance in the video on combinations that work for me, but beyond that it comes from experience. DAS
*Ahhh, the ol' cliffhanger tactic! Don't worry, I'll be back for the rest of the Antarctic story.*
Yes a cheap trick I know:) And it gets worse as I use it to launch my Patreon account which will go live this coming week. All the best, DAS
And I was so used to watching old videos on RUclips that I thought I could just load it up right away! AAAaaa!!!! lol
Come to see Bradel stucture, but got hooked up by Antarctic story aha. Great video sir. Looking forward to next week!
I'm fascinated by both the Bradel binding and the IceCube story! A number of years ago when I was still a student I worked for the summer in Tenerife on an astronomy research internship, and several colleagues in my hallway worked on IceCube. They gave a talk on it in journal club one week and although I wasn't interested in pursuing neutrino research, I learned a lot during that talk. I still have the notes I took!
I'm just starting Bradel binding and this video, like all your videos, is just what I need. I really appreciate that you are way more academic in your tutorials, citing references, giving details based on the literature research and providing alternative methods based on historical study. I don't have professional bookbinding education and experience like you clearly do, but after taking up bookbinding as a hobby during lockdown I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to know more about it. Your videos over the years have helped me do that, since I'm in academia by profession and I learn efficiently by academic means (reading the literature, writing papers, research, etc). I hope some day soon to open my own small humble bookbinding business. Thank-you so much for putting your professional content for us, and I hope you can do so for many years to come!
Great! Did you meet my friend Albrecht Karle at Tenerife? He was probably full time IceCube when you were there and maybe didn't overlap with you.
@@DASBookbinding Oooh no I'm afraid not, but who knows since when I was there in 2011 I didn't meet nearly every staff member. I've just taken a look at his publications, he's an expert so it would've been awesome to meet him!
Great video and instruction. My wife overheard the Antarctic story so you have made a new friend, and now allow me to revisit so many of your videos without being told to stop peering at that iPad😂. Henry Bristol uk
Great video and story ... will tune in for the final chapter 😱👍
oh shit you worked on IceCube! Damn! You've got a really cool carreer. And this is a really cool book!
I loved your Antarctica story. It has relevance to me, though I’m Swedish and not Scottish, both for its group dynamics aspect and the neutrino research aspect. 😊
Did you know Prof. Hulth? He was a close friend. We had some great sailing adventures together, including a wonderful day in the Archipelago. I worked with many of the neutrino people at Stockholm and Uppsala for a long time. I sometimes miss those days:)
@@DASBookbinding I studied Physics (BS) at LSU in the 1990s, right before LIGO was built in Livingston. 😊 I gather you also enjoyed the Uppsala university library, with the Codex Argenteus and such rarities? 😁👍🏻
Just downloaded a copy of this manual. Can't wait to print it and bind it 📔
This is one of the coolest, most unique books I've seen! Nice work 👍🏼
Excellent video & fascinating back story - thanks. Looking forward to the conclusion.
BTW a steel-toothed nit or head lice comb makes splaying out the Pleister tapes a lot easier!
Thanks John, great tip! I've also seen a think steel plate with a V shaped groove leading into a hole which is used for fraying out tapes and cords. Seems to be a northern European thing. I've been meaning to try it out. Might combine it with the comb idea. All the best, Darryn
Yes, and, after "opening the threads", you can go thinner using a sandpaper over them. Cheers !
Superb video! Thanks for sharing.
Great video and stories! Thank you!
Fantastic
You seem to have lead a very interesting and storied life, Darryn! I hear you on the kettle stitch tension. I still have problems with the very end of my textblock beyond the kettle stitch being squished and narrow. It makes stuck on endbands hard to do neatly.
Hi Ed. Everyone has an interesting life but for some reason stories involving Antarctica are less boring. Who knows. Yes, the unsupported ends of the book with no thread in the sections to fill out the swell. It makes you move the kettle stitches closer and closer to head and tail. Then you realise there is no thread inside at the supports so you starting using narrower supports. And before you know it you wonder if you know anything about bookbinding at all and starting thinking about buying a printing press.... All the best, Darryn
i've seen a bookbinder use medical gauze instead of washi on the spine, in your opinion, would that work as a substitution?
on the same subject, i'd love to see you bind a book with the absolute minimum of tools and specialized materials. like, in my country i can't FOR THE LIFE OF ME find chipboard/grey board (so i used 2 glued cardboard pieces once, and im thinking of butchering my sketchbooks for their back board haha). im wondering if elastic bands/cut cloth can sub for cotton tape, and if there's a way to strengthen decorative/printed cardstock for the cover instead of using bookcloth (because even if i bought bookcloth, i don't have foiling equipment so idk how to do the title.... stencils and paint???)
obviously using the best tools for the job gives the best result, but i'd love to see the best shot you can give it with the most accessible tools! especially because your research is so brilliant
The transitions between bookbinding explanation and storytelling were abrupt at times, but I found myself quickly invested in the story as well. (and honestly, the abrupt transitions fit with telling a story while also teaching someone how to do a thing. It's in bits between the instructions, while you're working on the thing and don't need to talk about it.)
Oh, what I wouldn't give to be involved with a project like IceCube!
I think they are hiring winter-over staff now. DAS
@@DASBookbinding Thanks!
In all honesty, that's probably something I couldn't physically (bad tendonitis) or professionally (my skill sets are ''warehouse management' and 'bad sci-fi author') do, but it's a really cool project and being winter-over staff sounds like it was quite the Tolkienesque adventure. :)
Great video, as ever.
I am just doing my first rounded spine Bradel binding, usually I have made flat spines. And this will also be the first rounded spine book where I have trimmed the foredge. Glenn Malkin's video on edge trimming with a paring knife recommends trimming the foredge before making the spine, but here you glue it up and then trim the foredge, and then round the spine. You must have to work pretty quick to do that? I am hoping I will be able to knock the foredge flat again before starting the rounding process. Or maybe I should use just starch paste, with its longer drying time and hope the ploughing goes quick.
Any thoughts?
Phillip
Hi Phillip, Glenn says to trim the fore-edge before rounding, but the spine has been glued up. If the spine is not glued the sections will go out of alignment after trimming the fore-edge. If you have a look at my latest video I talk about rounding and backing in a bit more detail. You want the glue dry enough that it is holding everything in place, but not set so hard that it won't allow rounding. You don't have to be super quick as you're not trying to round with wet glue. I wouldn't use paste on a spine. Conservators will sometimes put a thin layer of paste on as a "conservation barrier", but it's not really the best adhesive for spines. Hope that makes sense. Darryn
I have the impression that the procedure of measuring/marking the cut lines for the three edges must be done in a VERY precise way to avoid problems later. I usually spend a long time checking these measures. I find it difficult using the square rule on the spine since the bumpiness due to tapes can sometimes alter the right angles in tail and head cut lines (specially if the tapes contains a couple of weaver knots).
The case is made in an independent process on which it is easier to get nice right angles. And at the time I put all together is when I usually notice that the text block is very slightliy "trapezoidal" by comparison with the case.
I wonder if there is a method to improve the precision on this step
P.S.: I'm using a traditional plough like yours to cut edges.
Yes, you're right it is very important to have a book that has square corners. Maybe I don't show the step I use to check the marking, but I measure the diagonals after marking. If they aren't equal the book isn't square and I fix the problem before moving on. I try and put knots on the edge of the tape so they don't add a bump. I don't always manage this. The square I use is fairly large and it goes over most of the tapes which means it is usually parallel with the spine. Good luck! Darryn
@@DASBookbinding That makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
Hi, How many pages do you use per signature? Thx
I seem to remember this is the heavier 118gsm paper and I used 3 sheets per section/signature. DAS
When you're using printed off text blocks, are you concerning with the grain direction. I'm having a difficult time finding short grain paper to print my own text blocks on. How important is it in hobbyist bookbinding?
I don't want anything to stop you binding, but it is a rule I almost never break. The only time I've bound against the grain is when I've been brought a text already printed, and there is no option. If you are in the US, Hollanders have short grain Mohawk Superfine US letter size. If you are in Australia I can sell you a high grade copier paper for $25 for A4 SG 500 page ream or Mohawk for $95 for 250 sheet A4 SG ream. If you are in the UK, let me know and I'll find you a supplier there. Yours, Darryn
@@DASBookbinding Thus far I have always bound with the correct grain orientation. Locally I find A4/8.5x11 and half it twice to end up with an A6 finished product. Would be nice to locate good paper stock where i could produce an A5 finished product (I'm guessing that would be the result of short-grain A4?) I am in the US. I will surely check hollanders, though it would be nice if it wasn't so rare to locate.
@@crono782 Or you can buy sheets in A0/A1/A2 and cut them as you need, is what I do, more time consuming, but is worth it for me, and they are cheaper for square meter, I ussually use a very simple Excel spreadsheet I made years ago to calculate the price/square meter and I found, sometimes, depends on the deal, is a huge saving. Cheers !
@@crono782 In the US, I'll sometimes use The Paper Mill Store to get the grain direction/size I want, if the bookbinding suppliers don't carry it. (But as Darryn has said, I also try to spend my money with the bookbinding suppliers whenever possible.)
Hello ! Happy New Year ! I want to know the type of washi japansese paper and gsm ? Thank you
I can't find the name of it. I wrote a reference number on it, which only makes sense for Ozu Washi. It's 45gsm. All the best, DAS
Another great video! Thank you for sharing your knowledge
From a traditional point of view what should the relationship among the colors of covers, headbands and endpapers be?
Does exist something like a rule of color matching for those three elements or is it bookbinders ad-libitum choice?
Cheers
Regards colour, it's not something anyone has given me any rules for. Just that one should use "appropriate" or "matching" colours. It's the sort of thing I would expect Alex Vaughn to address, but I just had a look in his book and there isn't anything. So bookbinder's choice I guess. All the best, Darryn
@@DASBookbinding Thank you!
I love the two parallel stories, Hehehe ! A question : I see, while you are cutting the edges of the book, those big jaws move to the side, Why you don't put a stop ? It's that some sort of "moving with the system of reference" thing, same as with flimsy CNC machines ? Thanks for sharing !
I guess this is more obvious when sped up. I hardly notice it at the time. A quick release clamp used as a stop would work. But does it save me time, more than getting a clamp and putting it on and off? Probably not. DAS
What glue brushes do you use? Mine perpetually fall apart, leaving little bristles behind in the glue :(
In the most recent videos I've been using a very nice brush called a conservation paste brush from Talas in NY. DAS
Great videos! What type of hammer do you use and where did you get it from?
I use an old Barnsley No2 cobblers hammer, which is not made any more. Hewit's sell a hammer that looks similar. Or the Barnsley's come up on eBay fairly regularly. Usually need a good clean and sand of the face. Ciao,
DAS
Why 3 pages per section instead of 4 or 2 (unless proceeding to 3)?
See my recent video on swell and how to manage it. For this rounded and backed book I needed about 30% swell and with the weight of paper, and thread thickness, 3 sheets per section gave me that. More or less would have changed the swell away from where I wanted it. I give guidance in the video on combinations that work for me, but beyond that it comes from experience. DAS
The one who set the dislike-will burn in hell ;)))