Book Re-casing

Full Book Re-casing

Procedures for the text block

1. Remove old fly leaves.

2. Remove paper and crash from the spine if loose.

3. Tip-in any loose pages and perform any other needed repairs to the text block.

4. Apply new endpapers.

5. Apply cambric to the spine about a half-inch short of the head and tail, gluing the smooth side to the spine.

6. Take a spine measurement.

Procedures for the boards

1. Cut the boards away from the fabric covering the spine.

2. Remove the old pastedowns from the boards and sand the boards until smooth.

3. Remove the barcode from the front board and stick it to a card along with the call number sticker.

4. Apply buckram corners or full borders to the boards if necessary. Weigh overnight.

5. Measure and cut the buckram for the spine, making the height equal to the height of the boards plus 1 inch each at the head and tail. For the width of the buckram, use the spine measurement for the width of the spine inlay, twice the thickness of the boards plus 2 mm for the width of each of the creases, and allow at least 1 inch of fabric on each side to cover the boards.

6. Glue the boards to the buckram and glue the spine inlay in place. Weigh overnight.

7. Glue reinforcement fabric in place at the head and tail and fold over and glue the buckram at the head and tail.

8. Stick a security strip over the spine inlay.

Procedures for both the text block and boards

1. Glue the loose cambric on the text block spine onto the fly leaves.

2. Glue the pastedowns to the boards.

3. Press a Teflon bone folder into the creases.

4. Apply a thin line of glue to the fly leaves near the hinges to stick them to the first and last pages of the text block.

5. Place sheets of wax paper between the front and back boards and the fly leaves.

6. Place the book on a small piece of plywood, slide appropriately-sized clean knitting needles into the creases, and place weights on top of the spine. Let the glue dry overnight.

7. Trim and glue any spine fabric bearing title information to the spine of the book.

Partial Book Re-casing

Procedures for the text block

1. Remove old fly leaves.

2. Remove paper and crash from the spine if loose.

3. Tip-in any loose pages and perform any other needed repairs to the text block.

4. Apply new endpapers.

5. Apply cambric to the spine about a half-inch short of the head and tail, gluing the smooth side to the spine.

Procedures for the boards

1. Remove the old pastedowns from the boards and sand the boards until smooth.

2. Remove the barcode from the front board and stick it to a card if necessary.

3. Apply buckram corners and strips of fabric to the head and tail of the boards if necessary.

4. Stick a security strip over the spine inlay.

Procedures for both the text block and boards

1. Glue the loose cambric on the text block spine onto the fly leaves.

2. Glue the pastedowns to the boards.

3. Press a Teflon bone folder into the creases.

4. Apply a thin line of glue to the fly leaves near the hinges to stick them to the first and last page of the text block.

5. Place sheets of wax paper between the front and back boards and the fly leaves.

6. Place the book on a small piece of plywood, slide appropriately-sized clean knitting needles into the creases, and place weights on top of the spine. Let the glue dry overnight.

Book Re-casing Using Replacement Boards

Procedures for the text block

1. Remove old fly leaves.

2. Remove paper and crash from the spine if loose.

3. Tip-in any loose pages and perform any other needed repairs to the text block.

4. Apply new endpapers.

5. Apply cambric to the spine about a half-inch short of the head and tail, gluing the smooth side to the spine.

6. Take a spine measurement.

Procedures for the boards

1. Choose new boards similar in color to the old boards.

2. Remove the old pastedowns from the new boards and sand the boards until smooth.

3. Use the old boards to draw measuring lines onto the new boards.

4. Cut the new boards to match the width of the old boards.

5. Fold back the fabric on the tails of the new boards and cut them to match the height of the old boards.

6. Glue the fabric back down onto the fronts of the new boards.

7. Trim the fabric on the tails of the new boards to about 1 inch.

8. Fold the fabric back over the tails of the new boards and glue into place. Weigh down overnight.

9. Remove the barcode from the front of the old board and stick it to a card along with the call number sticker.

10. Measure and cut the buckram for the spine, making the height equal to the height of the boards plus 1 inch each at the head and tail. For the width of the buckram, use the spine measurement for the width of the spine inlay, twice the thickness of the boards plus 2 mm for the width of each of the creases, and allow at least 1 inch of fabric on each side to cover the boards.

11. Glue the boards to the buckram and glue the spine inlay in place. Weigh overnight.

12. Glue reinforcement fabric in place at the head and tail and fold over and glue the buckram at the head and tail.

13. Stick a security strip over the spine inlay.

Procedures for both the text block and boards

1. Glue the loose cambric on the text block spine onto the fly leaves.

2. Glue the pastedowns to the boards.

3. Press a Teflon bone folder into the creases.

4. Apply a thin line of glue to the fly leaves near the hinges to stick them to the first and last pages of the text block.

5. Place sheets of wax paper between the front and back boards and the fly leaves.

6. Place the book on a small piece of plywood, slide appropriately-sized clean knitting needles into the creases, and place weights on top of the spine. Let the glue dry overnight.

7. Trim and glue any spine fabric bearing title information to the spine of the book.