Home Binding

bean6344

I have a local binder but they wanted $50.00 a book to bind, so I bit the bullet and tried my hand at home binding. Here are my results so far.


The Micronauts 1-12 and annuals 1 &2





and The Bill Sienkiewicz run from New Mutants. Issues 18 to 31.







After the initial investment of about $20.00 (not including the comics), i have about $3.00 per bind (and my time) invested in these.

I am going to focus on runs that are not likely to be collected due to licensing issue or lack of popularity. Next up is the Kirby 2001 book and the Kirby/Ditko machine Man book split into volumes with a slip cover.

Bean

random73

you did...how...hommina...tell me more.

bean6344

Thanks @random73. There are a lot of resources online for binding but none that I could find that were comic book specific. I want to get a couple more under my belt and then I think I am going to start up a tutorial blog.

John_Steed

bean6344 said:

I want to get a couple more under my belt and then I think I am going to start up a tutorial blog.

Get to it - I want to learn the trade :D

bean6344

It was a long day of binding. The books were no problem (I did both simultaneously). I may have been reaching too far with the slipcase, but it seemed so cool. I had to give it a shot.

Here are the photos.

Corwin

Now those look lovely! Nice work! Are you able to trim the edges?

Chuck_Melville

Agreed! Those are good looking binding jobs. I look forward to you doing the tutorial.

bean6344

They are more rustic than professional binds, but I can do 2 to 4 a weekend and the
investment is about 10% of a professional binder. I also do not to have to wait weeks to get my book back. Upon close inspection, they are certainly home spun, but I don't care. They are on a book shelf, ready to be read instead of being stuck in a long box.....
I am going to start putting together the tutorial tomorrow with this weekends binds.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Bean

Chuck_Melville

I wouldn't want to bind my collection, per se -- but I'd love to put together a few runs specifically for binding. I'm going to have to look into this.

bean6344

Lot's of lessons learned today. Finished up the Scout ind and stitched up Rom vol 1 and 2 (issues 1 to 25). The tutorial is still in the works, but I still have a it to learn. Here are today's pics.













Not perfect, but I can lie with it.

Bean

Dave2099

Sir, I am in AWE. I beg of you, on behalf of all us broke binding enthusiasts, please, teach us!

Dave2099

This looks pretty thorough: http://www.jamiebutler.com/tutorials/bookbinding1.php

Any differences in your technique?

bean6344

@Dave2099, I use a much simpler stitching known as Japanese Side Stitch

en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Bookbinding/Japanese_side_stitch

Other than that, a lot of the techniques are similar.

Bean

bean6344

Here are the 1st two volumes of the Rom bind.
I went with a silver metallic cover and started to incorporate a skeleton stamp on the bottom of the spine that will appear on all of my binds.















Thanks for all the positive feedback. Everything I am doing is self taught, so I am learning as I go along.

Bean

random73

That Skeleton stamp is outstanding! looks great!

FoneBone

That's neat. Are you looking into A-Z stamps to do titles on the spine? I suppose you would need something that held them all in a straight line. Or maybe cutting stencils.

bean6344

I have added stamped title to the process. While some may not like this. I love the "folk art" look. I switched over to a glue sick vs Elmer's Glue All for a lot of this. With out a doubt, this is my most successful bind.

John Byrne's Alpha Flight.












Next up is Byrne's run on FF!

Bean

John_Steed

Awesome. It looks handmade - and I mean that in a positive way. I so wish I could grab your books to get the feel of it. And how does it smell? :D

bean6344

Here is Byrne's complete FF.




My biggest complete bind in 5 volumes. I'm liking the homespun feel of the stamped spines. it makes them feel like a unique collection.

I am about 1/2 way through the complete Kamandi vol I and II. At 20 issues each, they are my largest overall binds.

Keep the feedback coming. I love your input

Bean

bean6344

One whole shelf done! Those Kamandi volumes are beasts. Lots to come. I am still planning on working up a tutorial. Work has finally slowed down a bit, so it will happen sooner than later.

Bean

MikeGallagher

bean6344 said:

One whole shelf done! Those Kamandi volumes are beasts. Lots to come. I am still planning on working up a tutorial. Work has finally slowed down a bit, so it will happen sooner than later.

Bean

I am completely in love with you!
Not only are you doing a spectacular job of binding but it looks like your taste in comics is exactly mine!
Wow!
Seriously, these are tremendous!!!!

bean6344

Thanks Mike. Up next is Starslayer Vol I and II of III and the complete Bizarre Adventures (my first magazine size bind) and more Micronauts and Rom.

Bean

FoneBone

There are some comic book rubber stamps. I have a really nice set for Hellboy that has a BPRD logo that would fit perfect on a spine. I bet there are other iconic logos on rubber stamps. I wonder if there is a place to custom make them.

bean6344

More 80s goodness bound.

The Shadow Vol I of II









This includes the Chaykin Mini and the first 1/3 of the Hefler/Sienkiewicz/Baker run. I still need to refind Annual 2 to complete the bind.


And Starslayer Vol I and II of III

Grell, Truman and Barta greatness from Pacific/First Comics!






Next up.... The complete Brent Anderson Ka-Zar!

Bean

MikeGallagher

It's like your binding my collection!

KyleMoyer

This is really awesome.

bean6344

My latest batch.

Gotham Central Vol I and II of IV

Somehow I lost issue 26. I need to get that one to complete the set.

This is my newest published product bind.








I will put the finishing touches on the Brent Anderson Ka-Zar binds this weekend.

Bean

FoneBone

Have you come up with a system for getting a uniform spine height so they line up on the shelf?

bean6344

I have a template I use made from a backer board. You can see that most line up above, but there is always going to be some deviation due to the hand made system. In real life you don't notice the difference as much as one does in the photo. Thanks for the feedback!
Bean

Dave2099

Thought this was pretty cool & simple: youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nTeg8MH0PtI

bean6344

Thanks Dave, I may upgrade to this version this weekend. That was a great video.