Reusing A Book Cover

There are lots of videos and instructions on the internet telling you how to gut a book (remove the text block) and reuse the cover.
The gutting is actually pretty easy especially if the text block was sewn.

Replacing the text block with your own pages is another matter. Most books are made up of signatures (groups of folded paper that have been sewn together down the fold). Then the signatures are sewn together to make a whole book. I preferred avoiding sewing signatures if possible.

The little 8 x 8 book I purchased in Saugatuck is an odd size to find paper for.

I considered lots of possibilities. Using sketching paper from a large pad, over-sized copy paper, ordering custom paper. All either too expensive or not really available in the size I needed even to cut down or to shape. I wanted lined paper if possible also.

A few nights ago I was using my composition book where I keep notes from books about writing and write my own exercises. I noticed that the lined paper is really long sheets (about 14 inches across) sewn down the middle by machine onto the cardboard covers. Staples had such a book on sale for 50 cents. So I decided to use one to fill my soon-to-be empty cover. My new book would be for journaling or as a blessings/happiness listing; nobody but me would be looking at it. 

I cut the stitching along the cover to remove the pages as a unit.

Voila! I had a block of paper to use in my new book. I had to trim the top edges off to fit the 8-inch cover. The width would be about an inch short of filling the cover, but I hadn't found anything else close to meeting my need. Even over-sized copy paper when folded would still only be about 7 inches.

If I had chosen to sew down the middle of the pages, the holes were there evenly spaced to use. Instead I tried stapling them.

I have a saddle stapler (booklet stapler) I bought 9 years ago when I was creating the yearbooks for the Winona Literary Club. I was concerned the staples would not go all the way through the fold (50 sheets of paper). They did not. I could remove the inside middle 3 or 4 pages and probably the thickness would not be a problem. Instead I  put some staples thru the fold on the inside rather than only relying on the ones on the outside fold. They are holding together, but there is a chance the middle pages will come loose during usage. But this is recycling on the cheap. It will do. The advantage to sewing is that a book will lie flatter. I will not have that feature. Too much work for the type of book I would be using.

I am pretty familiar with the anatomy of a bound book. At UCLA's library school, the physical making of a book is covered in the curriculum. As a working librarian, I came across books with broken "hinges" along the spine often enough. I was going to cut through the free (unglued) end paper along the spine of my newly obtained book to create a "broken" book with the text block coming away from the cover. You have to be careful not to cut too deep and damage the spine, but most X-acto knife blades aren't very long. The risk is minimal.

The book lying open with the end papers showing

I would be cutting along the space where the knife is pointing

The front has been cut and the text block exposed. I would need to repeat along the back end paper

The finished result is an empty book cover available to reuse and a block of printed material to throw away (or recycle).
Many books have a sort of mesh lining the gutter of the spine. I used some gauze from my first-aid stock, but all I had was squares, not a roll. I cut it into multiple pieces.

The idea is that the mesh makes lots of pockets for the glue to sit in. I used an Elmer's glue stick. Then I applied glue to the folded edges of my stapled block of paper. 

I borrowed some of my husband's woodworking clamps. The cardboard is to keep the clamps from making dents in the book cover. You could use heavy weights or books of some type. I let the clamped book sit overnight.

I had marginal success. The pages aren't falling out, but the bottom inch or two are not firmly attached. The mesh didn't help as far as I can tell. It just makes it look ugly. Part of the problem is that with a group of signatures, the back edge is flat; here the back edge that fits into the spine is rounded. 

I will probably use some strips of paper from my scrapbooking supplies to glue over the attached end paper onto the gap. That won't keep the book together, but it might look better.

No great loss of cash; a learning experience so not a complete waste of time either. I will still use it for a blessing list book I think. But my current book has enough empty space for another 2-3 years. If your book has more standard-sized pages, it would probably be best to sew signatures. Instructions abound on the internet.