Hardcover books are more complex in their construction than most paperback books so the repairs can sometimes be more involved. I have listed here the techniques that are covered on this site and I do encourage you to seek the assistance of bookbinders if you are unsure of whether to repair your book or not.
There are many basic repair techniques listed in the Book Repair Basics section – if you can’t find what you need here, it may be listed there.
Modified Four Flap Wrapper
A modified four-flap wrapper can be constructed and glued into a binder to protect thin items or loose pages. This ...
Paper Tears, Cuts and Losses
Over the next few posts I will cover the methods you can use to repair paper tears, cuts in paper ...
Photocopying Endpapers for Repair
Damaged endpapers can be photocopied and sewn to the text block. The endpapers can be copied as an entire page (pastedown ...
Planning Your Repairs
Just like any activity you don't do often, book repairs should be planned and your work area prepared before you ...
Plastic Book Jackets
Replacing damaged or soiled plastic book jacket covers is a fast way to make books look new and inviting. The best kind ...
Preparing Thread for Book Repairs
WAXING LINEN THREAD Like all thread, linen thread has a tendency to tangle. Waxing sewing thread with beeswax keeps the ...
Punching Cradle Instructions
Signature Punching Cradle A signature punching cradle helps control placement of the sewing stations and can be constructed out of ...
Re-attaching Detached Signatures – Method 1
REATTACHING PARTIALLY OR FULLY DETACHED SIGNATURES Method 1: Find the center of the signature and cut the sewing threads to release the ...
Re-Attaching Detached Signatures – Method 2
Repairing Fully or Partially Detached Signatures Method 2: If the spine of the text block is accessible, such as when ...
Re-attaching Illustrations and Plates
Plates are illustrations that are printed separately from the text of a book. Many plates are smaller than the text ...
Re-attaching Pages
Tipping-in is one way to reattach a detached page or plate, errata sheet or replacement page. Tipping-in is not used to ...
Re-attaching Single Leaves
Detached single leaves can be reattached to the text block by hinging or tipping depending on the structure of the text ...
Hardcover Book Repair Techniques
Tightening and Repairing Loose Book Hinges
