Our first Maker Press book: DIY Bookbinding

Our first Maker Press book: DIY Bookbinding

O’Reilly Senior Editor Brian Sawyer is the first author (of soon to be many) in our new series, Maker Press. His book, DIY Bookbinding, is now available in the Maker Shed. Based on an article that Brian wrote for MAKE Vol. 05, this ebook teaches you how to bind a book by first having you print it out, then showing you all the steps to bind it into a book:

Bookbinding may well be a dying art in this digital age, but you can still learn how to do it yourself with this easy-to-follow ebook. In fact, you can reverse the course of evolution and convert this particular digital specimen into a durable, hand-stitched book that will last for generations. When you’re finished, this ebook will truly be “hands-on.”

O’Reilly Senior Editor Brian Sawyer takes you through the process with step-by-step instructions and scores of instructive photographs. All you need to bring to the table are a few simple materials—including magazines you’d like to preserve. Discover how simple, unmessy, fun, and satisfying binding books by hand can be.

We’d love to hear from you if you give this a try. And we’ll give away a Maker’s Notebook to the first person to bind this and post a link to the images in the comments below.

14 thoughts on “Our first Maker Press book: DIY Bookbinding

  1. Anonymous says:

    I have done this a few times over the years, for far larger books. I have a nicely bound manual for renegade BBS printed 4 pages per page on an HP laserjet 3. I cut then drilled to sew it and made wooden covers for it.

    1. Anonymous says:

      Sweet !! I used to run Mustang software Wildcat BBS. It came with a manual. I still have it and the software. I’d like to see pics of your manual. 

  2. mark cornelius says:

     “In fact, you can reverse the course of evolution and convert this
    particular digital specimen into a durable, hand-stitched book that
    will last for generations.”

    Yeah, that sort of thing disturbs me a little bit somehow. Maybe I’ll copy it by hand and *then* bind it. But thanks for giving us the oppurtunity to pursue this technique in however way we are comfortable ;)

  3. mark cornelius says:

     “In fact, you can reverse the course of evolution and convert this
    particular digital specimen into a durable, hand-stitched book that
    will last for generations.”

    Yeah, that sort of thing disturbs me a little bit somehow. Maybe I’ll copy it by hand and *then* bind it. But thanks for giving us the oppurtunity to pursue this technique in however way we are comfortable ;)

  4. Eli Beeker says:

    I bought this immediately. Bookbinding is one of my favorite hobbies that I love to learn about.

  5. t l says:

    Is it ironic that there is an e-book on book binding?

  6. Jeff Kroll says:

    I’ve been binding my own engineering notebooks for a few years now, and actually have a group of other engineers here at work who rely on me for custom pocket-size notebooks. My current favorite is 10sq/in graph paper with FR4 for the boards, black 300 denier ballistic nylon for the outer cover plus the obligatory elastic closure and ribbon bookmark. Very stiff and durable.

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

I'm a tinkerer and finally reached the point where I fix more things than I break. When I'm not tinkering, I'm probably editing a book for Maker Media.

View more articles by Brian Jepson

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK