Sunday bookbinding

My friend Elizabeth is super-awesome nice.

She came over this past Sunday and offered to share some of her North Bennet Street School (NBSS) awesomeness.

I told her that I wanted instruction in case binding. Everything I know, which isn’t much, has been self-taught through book instruction. I haven’t felt confident in my abilities in this area and I usually learn things better when taught by a person.

Since Elizabeth is a person, I figured that it would work.

As you can see at right, I got to use a lying press for the first time. Now I want one. Specifically, I want this one, made by Keith B. Uram. Coincidentally, he also graduated from NBSS. Clearly, I’m meant to have the press.

Right?

[Just nod your head yes]

Not only did I get to use the lying press, but I also got to play with some of Elizabeth’s other tools – a Starrett Pin Vise and an OLFA Silver knife:

Pointy. Shiny. Want.

She explained that everyone in her class at NBSS has the same tools. I guess they’re like the bookbinding program’s mascots?

I learned how to make headbands, which wasn’t on the agenda. This made my day. Even though I have two books on the topic, I’ve never given them a try. Luckily, I had some silk thread that I bought from Colophon Book Arts at a conference (I’m a stash girl).

I learned a really great tip – glue the tail end of your thread to the main thread so you don’t have to knot it. Brilliant! Why didn’t I ever think of that one myself?

I think that it will take me a while to get the hang of the sewing technique, especially where to put my fingers – hold this down, pull taut, wind this around here – they just didn’t want to listen to me.

Sadly, we ran out of time and couldn’t get to the actual casing in part of the process. I was told that everything we had done that day was called “forwarding”.

I’m looking forward to finishing the book!

 

Yes, I have a Dremel…what else can I work on?

As mentioned in my last Dremel post, this post focuses on tips for using a Dremel with specific materials. When I attended The Amazing Dremel with Jill Timm last year, I documented what I learned in my post So now I have a Dremel…what can I work on?

This time I took 4 ½ pages of notes during the workshop. Most of my notes duplicated what I learned last year, but some of the tips were new to me. In addition, I worked on two new materials – bookboard and brass – those notes are new.

New materials:

Bookboard:

• It’s easy to drill holes in bookboard. For better control, use a workstation to stabilize your Dremel.
• Use carving bits to do deep work.
• Bookboard tends to “barf” when you work on it, meaning that material comes off in fluffy chunks. In addition, you’ll be left with fluffy, chunky burrs on the board.
• To get more control when carving out areas, cut out borders with an X-Acto knife, then work within those lines. You’ll get a cleaner edge.
• Aluminum oxide grinding stones (brown, orange, pink, or grey bit) can be used to clean up burrs and soften edges.
• Bookboard will erode grinding stones, so move the Dremel while working to even out the wear.
• You can get a smoother finish on the surfaces of worked areas by burnishing down with a bonefolder.

Brass:

• Because brass is softer metal, it’s easy to create depth with layers of work.
• Diamond bits can be harder to control.
• Pay attention to the direction of your work and stay consistent – it shows!
• For polishing, use felt pads with polishing compound.
• For polishing, use emery-impregnated bits without polishing compound.
• Polish brass before doing other work (such as engraving) or you’ll risk getting polishing compound into groves/texture and you’ll have to work hard to get it out.

Previously-covered materials:

Some general tips:

• When putting a sanding band on the drum mandrel, tighten the screw on top of the mandrel to snug up the drum.
• If your bit turns red, it’s overheating. Once it burns, it will turn black and you won’t be able to use it again.
• A Dremel has two motor brushes, one on each side of the motor.
• Motor brushes will wear down and get shorter over time.
• Always replace both motor brushes at the same time.

Glass/Mirror:

• Use light pressure – you don’t need to go deep.
• Put a drop of oil on glass prior to drilling to both increase speed and keep the bit from overheating.
• Be careful when drilling too close to the edge of glass because it can shatter apart.
• For safety, tape glass edges before drilling.

Linoleum:

• Start at medium speed.
• This is a soft material and won’t allow fine lines or detail like harder materials.

Plexiglass:

• If your bits get gummed up, put them in the freezer for easy removal of the offending material.
• You can also squeeze gummed up bits with pliers and the material will pop off.

Steel:

• Sanding bits can be used to create a satin texture and remove rust.
• It is easier to work in one direction.
• Use titanium bits to drill holes – these are gold in color.

Wood:

• Take short passes because wood can scorch.
• Use sanding bits to remove burrs from the surface of wood.
• An aluminum oxide grinding stone acts as really fine sandpaper.

In my next post, I’ll share the Dremel sample books that were created in class. Jill came up with a great solution for housing our material samples – stay tuned!

The Amazing Dremel – new (to me) accessories

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently assisted Jill Timm with her Amazing Dremel workshop for the Book Arts Guild of Vermont. In this post, I’ll talk about some of the new bits I used.

Before I start, I’d like to make it clear that in no way am I paid for endorsing Dremel products – I am merely talking about the products I used in the workshop. I’m sure that there are alternatives to the items listed below. Of course, being the tool junkie that I am, I sooo want one of everything!

In reviewing my What do those Dremel bits do? Well I’ll tell ya! post from last year, I discovered that I left out some information about another option for cleaning & polishing (I blame information overload) – emery impregnated bits.

These bits look like grinding bits, but they’re much softer. Unlike the felt polishing bits, you don’t use these bits with polishing compound. These bits are good for use on rougher surfaces, including scratches and burrs. If scratches still remain after using these bits, you would move to the felt polishing bits for finer work.

The polishing point is good for detail work, as you can get better control with the tip.

The emery impregnated disc is better for general use and for work on larger areas. As is the case with cutting wheels, you have to attach the disc to a mandrel. You can see how to attach the disc to a mandrel in this post (scroll down to the cutting section).

In addition to using the polishing bits on metal, they’re also great for use on mirror. If you use one of these bits on the backside of a mirror, it will remove the paint and silver without affecting the glass – you’ll get a clear glass effect, not frosted (the diamond bit creates the frosted effect).

Something else I did at this workshop that I didn’t get to do last time was drill glass. To help with stability, I put my Dremel into a workstation, which essentially turns your Dremel into a drill press.

I so have to get one of these. It makes drilling sooo much easier. I can totally see using it in my studio for drilling sewing holes.

I started with making a small hole with a diamond bit. Once I got through to the other side of the glass, it climbed up my bit and started spinning. The tip of the bit glowed a really scary red before I was able to turn off the Dremel.

While I was successful at achieving a hole, the edges of the hole were chipped. I would need to sand down those edges to get a neat hole.

Next, I used what I’m pretty sure was a tungsten carbide cylinder cutter. The bit is hollow in the middle and allows you to drill larger holes.

I didn’t make it all the way through the glass before it shattered. Luckily, the bit didn’t burn out. Oh, and no one was hurt by the flying glass shards.

Here’s what I learned about drilling glass:

• Make short passes with the Dremel – let the bit cool off.
• Put a drop of oil on the glass prior to drilling to both increase speed and keep the bit from overheating.
• If your bit turns red, it’s overheating. Once it burns, it will turn black and you won’t be able to use it again.
• Be careful when drilling too close to the edge of the glass because it can shatter apart.
• For safety, tape the edges of glass before drilling.

Jill told me that the bits we were using to drill glass weren’t really recommended for that use. She added that as of now, there are no “official” Dremel bits intended for drilling glass.

There is hope – in October 2010, Dremel will release two new glass drill bits.

From the Dremel website:

This diamond-impregnated core-style bit features superior long life and is ideal for drilling in both flat and contoured surfaces. Diamond grit a full 360-degrees around the circumference of the bit allows it to be used in a rasping action to enlarge a hole if needed. Holes on the side of the bit allow the removal of glass dust from inside the bit. Each bit is packaged with Dremel cutting oil to increase the speed of cut and prevent damage to the bit from overheating.

For use on glass, ceramic wall tile, glass block, glass bottles, jewelry.

The new drill bits come in two sizes – 1/8″ and 1/4″. These seem like good sizes for use in bookbinding and I look forward to trying them out.

As promised, my next post will focus on new tips for using a Dremel on specific materials, both new and old (includes materials covered last year).

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* Many thanks to Dremel for allowing me to use product photos from their website.

The Amazing Dremel with Jill Timm – The Sequel

Two weeks ago, the Book Arts Guild of Vermont hosted Jill Timm‘s fabulous workshop, The Amazing Dremel. I was fortunate enough to work as Jill’s assistant during those two days and I picked up lots of tips that I didn’t catch when I took the class last year.

If you’re new to my blog and haven’t read my Dremel posts from last year, this should get you up to speed (or multi-speed, depending on your Dremel):

• The Amazing Dremel with Jill Timm – Day 1
• The Amazing Dremel with Jill Timm – Day 2
• What do those Dremel bits do? Well I’ll tell ya!
• So now I have a Dremel…what can I work on?
• Dremel resources for artists
• One more Dremel post…

And if you’re scratching your head, thinking “What the hell is a Dremel?” – you have lots more reading to do: Dremel website

The class worked on two materials that I didn’t get to play with last year – brass and bookboard. I continued work on my “E Series” that I started last year:

I really enjoyed working with the brass. It’s a softer metal than steel and it’s easy to get layers of depth. It’s hard to see in the image, but you can get a really nice shine by using a polishing bit – I’ll talk about more that in my next post.

I was eager to work on the bookboard, because it’s what I’d use most frequently. Unfortunately, it was not a compliant material.

In general, using the Dremel caused something I call “board barf” – board material came off chunkily and fluffily. I know those aren’t words, but that’s what happened. After removing material, I’d have to burnish the surface down to bring it back into submission. I was much happier with the bookboard once I glued paper over it – the results were much smoother than I had anticipated. Gotta love Lokta.

This is just the first in a series of blog posts where I’ll be focusing on the new things I learned. Here’s the rundown of what I plan to cover:

• New Dremel bits and what they do
• Dremel tips for specific materials – new and old (last year’s materials)
• Dremel class sample books
• A printable guide for everything learned in both classes (this will take some time)
• Jill Timm’s discussion of her work in artist books

Stay tuned!

…and my other new baby – a book press

Not only did I get a library card catalog from Maureen Cummins, I also got a new book press. Well, it’s not really new, but it’s new to me. It’s the same size as the one I already have.

I have decided to name it Pressley. My other press is named Preston. They’re married (it was arranged).

I have to get it sandblasted and repainted, just like my other one. I wish I could be brave and super-cool and paint them fun colors, but I’m not sure I can go through with it. A voice in my head keeps saying, “Book presses are black, you silly girl. Blah blah blah.”

In an attempt to inspire bravery, I did a search on Flickr for colorful book presses. I created an image gallery of my findings – This ain’t your plain black book press.

I’m leaning towards orange and/or lime green. We’ll see where that goes.

My new press has a lovely swirl detail on the side. That’s how I decided it was a girl.

I’m just now realizing that my book press has curly hair, just like me. Definitely my baby.

Trip to Taurus Bookbindery

The Guild of Bookworkers is presenting their annual event, The Seminar on Standards of Excellence in Hand Bookbinding, in San Francisco starting today. As my trip to Taurus Bookbindery was one of the stops on my bookbinding spree in San Francisco this summer, I felt it necessary to finally write about my visit.

Taurus Bookbindery is owned and operated by Tim James, the mastermind behind the American Bookbinding Museum. Tim has been in business for over 30 years and specializes in binding editions of 100 and smaller.

When I arrived at the bindery’s address, I incorrectly assumed that this was a small operation. I warn you, the exterior of this building is very deceiving. There is a lot of super goodness in there.

As I mentioned in this post, I lost my notes from my trip to San Francisco (grrr…) so I can’t identify all of the machinery. I may not remember what it all was, but I do know that I want one of each for myself.

What follows is a photo tour of my trip.

Trip to the American Bookbinding Museum

So I finally sit down to write about my trip to the American Bookbinding Museum in San Francisco back in June – and I can’t find my notes.

I can’t even express how so very irritated I am. I know I didn’t throw them out and I’ve gone through every inch of my studio. Even though I’m super-bummed, I’ve decided to go ahead with this post.

For the past 20 years, Tim James of Taurus Bookbindery has been the mastermind behind the collection at the American Bookbinding Museum. Tim graciously gave us a tour of the Museum, which surprisingly had no admission fee.

The Museum not only has an impressive array of bookbinding equipment from the 19th century, but also a large library of bookbinding-related ephemera and documentation – binder’s tickets, bindery business records, equipment manuals – just to name a few.

During my visit, I learned that unions played in important role in 19th century binderies. There were unions not only for men, but also for women bookbinders – for example, The Bindery Women’s Union Local 125 was organized in 1902. Pins represented the different unions – I was surprised by how many there were.

In the United States in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s, women played an increasingly important role in the binderies. By 1900, there were more women working in binderies than men (51.6%). You can read more about women bookbinders in the book, Women in the Bookbinding Trade by Mary Van Kleeck (it’s available as a free download).

I loved the Museum and I would say that it was one of my favorite stops during my vacation to California. My pictures don’t do the Museum justice – you just have to go there yourself. You’ll thank me later.

Tim is always looking for new additions to the collection – keep your eyes open at antique shops. If you’re feeling generous and would like to make a donation, you can do so on the ABM website.

One more Dremel post…

I was so happy when I finished my last Dremel post. I thought that I could finally write about some new things. But after reading everyone’s responses to my posts, I realized that a lot of you have older Dremels without owner’s manuals – definitely a barrier to using one.

I did a quick search and found Dremel’s Manuals & Literature page. Manuals are available for download in pdf format. You also download Dremel’s accessory catalog – all the stuff you know you want but feel guilty about buying because you really want to buy paper too, oh and some of that pretty bookcloth and probably some more linen thread.

Wait…where was I?

If you don’t want to bother with a download, then you can request a printed document using Dremel’s online literature request form. So now there’s no excuse for not taking your Dremel to anything in your path.

The world must be Dremeled!

Dremel resources for artists

If you haven’t already guessed it, I love my Dremel. It’s my baby.

If I ever find that my hubby has used it to clean grout in the bathroom, I will have to kill him.

That said, welcome to the last post in my series of posts related to the use of a Dremel in the book arts. While the first two posts were based on information collected from Jill Timm’s class, The Amazing Dremel at the 2009 Focus on Book Arts conference, this post focuses on resources I discovered while going down the rabbit hole of insane and obsessive Googling.

Long story short, lots of sleep lost and not enough to show for it. Let’s move on.

Here’s a rundown of all of my Dremel-related posts to date:

• The Amazing Dremel with Jill Timm – Day 1
• The Amazing Dremel with Jill Timm – Day 2
• What do those Dremel bits do? Well I’ll tell ya!
• So now I have a Dremel…what can I work on?

And speaking of the woman who started it all, Jill Timm, here’s her wonderful book Winter White, which was created using a Dremel on the covers.

Super Coolness from the Dremel Company:

• Bookbinder Sylvia Alotta talks about why she loves her Dremel
• Dremel Accessories Guide Poster – Jill gave each of us a copy of this at her workshop
• Dremel attachments
• Dremel Gallery (I think we need some handmade books on there)
• Dremel message board
• Dremel YouTube Channel
• Order a free Dremel DVD

Books that reference using a Dremel in bookbinding:

• Bookbinding 2000 Proceedings
• The Craft of Bookbinding by Manly Miles Banister
• Mixed-Media Nature Journals by Lori Kay Ludwig

Material-specific resources:

• Basic tips on using a Dremel on polymer clay, via Polymerclayweb
• Tips for drilling glass by Christine Cox of Volcano Arts
• Tips for using the Dremel with polymer clay (scroll down to the Dremels + Drills section), via Glass Attic

Resources that are cool, but I can’t come up with an interesting category name:

• Be a fan of Dremel on Facebook
• Follow Dremel on Twitter – they have giveaways!
• Use your Dremel to polish your awls: Make Your Awl the Charles Atlas of Awls by Leslie Herger of Comfortable Shoes Studio
• Wanna look at Dremel-related pictures? Go for it
• What does Wikipedia say about Dremel? Here’s the answer
• Yahoo! Group – Dremel for Artists

If you find other nifty resources out there, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.

So now I have a Dremel…what can I work on?

Welcome to part two of my series of blog posts based on information collected from Jill Timm‘s class, The Amazing Dremel at the 2009 Focus on Book Arts conference.

As mentioned in my last Dremel post, this post focuses on tips for using a Dremel with specific materials. I took six pages of notes during the workshop. As I reviewed them, I realized just how much I’d forgotten since I took the workshop. I’m glad I’m such a prolific (a.k.a. anal) note taker.

Once again, I’d like to mention that this post is in no way meant to replace the total awesomeness of taking Jill Timm’s class. I benefited so much from hearing Jill’s experiences and seeing her work in person. If I had bought a Dremel and experimented with it on my own, most likely I would have never tried it on the range of materials that we did in class.

Jill recently announced that she’s taking her Dremel class on the road and would love to be scheduled by your group. I highly recommend the class if you have a chance to attend.

And away we go! Please note that this post only focuses on materials I used in the workshop.

Some general tips:

• Always always always wear eye protection and a dust mask. Things fly in the air. Really. It happened to me.
• The Dremel should make a purring noise when you turn it on.
• If the Dremel makes a grinding noise, check your motor brushes. Note: You should check motor brushes after every 50-60 hours of use.
• Don’t force it – let the bits do the work for you.
• You can get different results from different bits when you move your Dremel in either direction.
• When holding a Dremel, be sure to not put your hands over the air vents.
• If the Dremel gets hot, turn it off and let it cool.
• Did I mention that you should always wear eye protection and a dust mask?

Wood:

• Grain affects working with wood. Work with the grain when possible or the tip of your Dremel will skip.
• The harder the wood, the more detail you can get.
• Use wide strokes to get an even, smooth finish.
• Use a saw attachment for any substantial removal of material.
• With high speed cutters, use bits with smaller heads for thinner lines and/or smaller spaces.
• Using the Dremel at higher speeds will cut more smoothly.
• You will get more drawing control if you work at a shallow depth.
• Use a ball tip to carve out a space for inserting beads.
• The edge of sandpaper bands can be used to carve out fine lines.

Glass:

• Smooth out the edges of your glass first to remove sharp edges.
• Work on glass on a dark surface so you can see your work better.
• Use a low speed with diamond bits or your glass will chip.
• Move the Dremel in the direction of the rotation to reduce chipping.
• To see exactly what your image will look like through the glass, you need to get on top of it and look down. Looking at glass from an angle will cause distortion in viewing the image.
• Keep the Dremel moving on the glass and don’t keep the tip in one spot or that spot will overheat – give it time to cool off.
• You can work on both sides of glass to create dimension.
• The thicker the piece of glass, the greater the depth achieved.
• Images on the back of glass need to be done in reverse.
• If the tip of your bit is skipping on the glass, then your speed is too slow.

Mirror:

• All tips for glass can be applied for use with mirror.
• The rubber grey disk (looks like stone) takes away the paint and silver from mirror but doesn’t grind the glass

Linoleum:

• You can cut levels into linoleum because it’s the same material all the way through.
• Don’t stay in one spot for too long – linoleum will melt and clog up your bits – work for short periods of time.
• You can cut all the way through linoleum with a Dremel.
• You can use the Dremel to carve linoleum for printmaking.

Plexiglass:

• You can use brushes to create a soft frosted finish.
• Use the bits lightly – only use the tips. Don’t push down.
• Plexiglass has a low melting point, so work on an area for a short period of time and then let it cool.
• Pieces of plexiglass that fly off while you’re working can burn your skin – wear protective clothing.
• You can work through plexiglass if it’s thin enough.
• You can work on both sides of plexiglass for depth.
• Be careful while working, the surface of plexiglass can scratch easily.
• Use low speeds when working with sanders.

Ceramic Tile:

• Ceramic tile is composed of a glass surface on a clay base. You can take off the glassy surface or work through to the ceramic base, which is softer.
• Tiles that are made for floors have been fired at a higher temperature and are harder to work with.
• Tiles made for walls and countertops are softer and easier to work with.
• Seal any exposed ceramic areas or it could stain.

Aluminum:

• Because aluminum is a soft metal, you can cut all the way through it.
• You can work the surface to create reflective values.
• Metal brushes can be used to clean up burrs.
• Use a metal circular saw bit for cutting out slots.
• Alcohol inks can be used on the surface of aluminum.
• Sand down sharp edges.
• Before polishing, make sure all burrs have been removed.
• Polish aluminum by moving in one direction.
• If you want to keep the surface shiny, you’ll have to seal it or it will oxidize over time.
• Be aware that aluminum will heat up the longer you work with it.

Polymer Clay:

• Don’t stay in one spot for too long – polymer clay will melt and clog up your bits. Work for short periods of time.
• Don’t use diamond bits.
• You can polish polymer clay to a small degree.
• You can cut recessed areas in polymer clay, then fill the recesses with a new color of clay and re-bake it to create inlays.
• Carving polymer clay is messy! Keep this in mind when choosing your workspace.

Steel:

• Grind down the edges and corners first – it’s sharp!
• If you apply a layer of rust to the steel (either naturally or by using product), you can carve away the rusted layer to reveal the shiny layer underneath.
• Steel will spark when you work on it.
• Use high speeds.