stevecook-uk
Member
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2025
- Messages
- 7
Hi folks. I've been book binding about a year now. Due to the (for me) prohibitive expense of the tools required to bind books with signatures, rounded spines with shoulders etc, I settled for lumbeck binding. Which served me well enough.
But, the main issue with lumbeck binding is a practical upper limit on page count due to the inherent instability this puts on the spine. I got round this to some extent with sawn in cords. But there is still a limit around the 400 page (200 sheet) mark.
However, I wish to have the capacity to have strong durable books with no upper page limit.
All of the above led me to experimenting. The only other method of single page binding that could accommodate a high page count is Japanese stab. However, in practice, Japanese stab bound books get a little, shall we say, flexible the thicker they get.
My solution has been a combination of lumbeck and stab. The lumbecking gives a solid spine with no flexing of it. The stab provides the stability such that there is never any stress put on the spine when opening the book.
As mentioned, it allows me to bind single sheets even with a relatively high page count (520 in this case).
This modified bookbinding method is very strong. Which is what I wanted. It's not very pretty. But, that's okay. I'm not looking for pretty.
Anyway, my first one using this method is now finished and ready to put on my bookshelves
But, the main issue with lumbeck binding is a practical upper limit on page count due to the inherent instability this puts on the spine. I got round this to some extent with sawn in cords. But there is still a limit around the 400 page (200 sheet) mark.
However, I wish to have the capacity to have strong durable books with no upper page limit.
All of the above led me to experimenting. The only other method of single page binding that could accommodate a high page count is Japanese stab. However, in practice, Japanese stab bound books get a little, shall we say, flexible the thicker they get.
My solution has been a combination of lumbeck and stab. The lumbecking gives a solid spine with no flexing of it. The stab provides the stability such that there is never any stress put on the spine when opening the book.
As mentioned, it allows me to bind single sheets even with a relatively high page count (520 in this case).
This modified bookbinding method is very strong. Which is what I wanted. It's not very pretty. But, that's okay. I'm not looking for pretty.
Anyway, my first one using this method is now finished and ready to put on my bookshelves
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