The instructions call for cardboard for covers and brown Kraft card stock for pages. They are supposed to be cut slightly larger than the completed covers and glued in before trimming to the cover edge.
While this may look ok for a book on a close fit bookshelf, it did not satisfy my urge for detail, so off to the local convenience store for page material. I walked up to the counter and asked if she had any cigarette rolling papers. She apologized for only having one brand and I asked for 2 packs. She grinned and said, "It's legal here now", referring to marijuana legalization in WA State and under the assumption that this bearded hippy at the counter was gonna partake of some of it. I replied, "It has always been legal here, I am making books.". "Sure you are!" she said with a grin. I left it at that and headed home with some future lessons in hand.
Paperback books have covers trimmed to the edges, but not so with hardbound volumes where the pages are inset from the cover's edges. This is the look I wanted to emulate.
A member of the local Miniature Guild had given me a tool to hold pages for trimming which I improved on with a piece to be shown and described further on in this.
The kit sheet and cover sheet of the instructions are shown here.
Gathering the assorted glue sticks, scissors and so on turned the dining table into this.
The wooden device with the wing nuts is the trimming press and guide I had been given. I found that when trimming the pages, a bit of wood would also get shaved off the wooden bar. I also found that all those cigarette paper trim "whiskers" would move suddenly and widely if the fan moved air this direction... lesson learned but not heeded.
I made a new bar of aluminum channel with a bocote or rosewood insert. This gives a dead straight edge to run the #11 blade against while trimming a stack of pages which are measured to be slightly smaller than the cover. I also learned it is a good idea to glue the spine of the pages with white glue while still in the press and after trimming. This gives a good edge to butt up against a side to trim the next edge and so on.
It also serves as a press when gluing the covers to the pages, and the pages to themselves if they are to appear flat closed.
The first results were promising so I carried on for some more.
This is the Mission Style den I was doing for a roombox, but ran out of time to get it done for this year's State Fair, so it will have to wait, which gives even more time for little detailed touches to best the room box entries next year!
Many more to make, but the result is worth the doing, and even if you can't see the page edge indent
I know it is there, as are many details in my minis you can't see. It makes me happy.
More as it happens.
gg
