Upcycling An Old Book: Reclaiming Materials - Making A Piercing Cradle - Making a Pocket Notebook
Not every book is destined to be read, cherished, and preserved for posterity. The sad reality is that huge numbers of books are shredded, recycled, or sent to the landfill every day worldwide. Yet therein lies an opportunity for the recycling-conscious or frugal bookbinder. If you have (or can get your hands on) some inexpensive or unwanted books, it’s possible to reclaim some perfectly usable, and often beautiful, materials to use in your own projects.
In this video I will show you how to break down an old book, how to strip the covering materials to yield plain greyboard, how to build a handy piercing cradle from a book cover, how to upcycle a page from your old book to make a handsome cover for a pocket notebook, and finally how to sew a simple pamphlet binding for the cover we just made.
A word of caution though, before you start tearing into an old copy of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ or your kid’s university textbooks: always be certain the book you’re thinking of recycling isn’t rare or valuable. Search for your book online, or check with a local independent used bookseller or librarian. Once you are certain of your book's lack of value, come on back to this video and follow along!
Video Chapters:
Breaking Down a Book: 2:36
Removing Covering Material: 5:17
Making a Piercing Cradle: 11:04
Making a Pocket Notebook: 19:30
I have often (especially when I got started bookbinding) upcycled old, outdated textbooks. Textbooks are initially very expensive, but changes in curricula or advances in knowledge frequently render many of them obsolete. These types of books are a great source of sturdy greyboard, as textbooks are meant to stand up to heavy use. The downside of textbooks for the crafty recycler is that they are usually pretty boring on the inside (as many students can attest) and so the decorative paper possibilities are limited. The glossy pages do make excellent waste paper however, and will not usually bleed ink when used as guard paper during gluing.
Large-format 'coffee-table' books and atlases, on the other hand, usually have a wealth of colorful pages that can be incorporated into your own bookbinding projects. The quality of paper in these types of books can also be of good quality.
Potential materials to reclaim from an old book:
- Greyboard/book board (almost always two matching pieces)
- Endpapers/flyleaves (also, almost always a matched pair)
- Endbands (not always present or reusable, but most of the time)
- Decorative papers - full-page color photos, maps, illustrations, etc (depends on the book)
- Plain paper (sometimes there will be several blank pages at the end of the book)
- Useable printed paper (if the printed pages are on good quality paper they can be reused in projects where they will be hidden)
- Waste paper for glue guards, etc. (usually lots of this)
I hope you found this video to be useful and inspiring, and if you have other ideas on how to upcycle old books, please let me know in the comments!
Thanks for watching!
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I'm a beginner and have just discovered your channel and I'm so glad I did. This was a great tutorial and I know I'll be watching more and learning plenty from you. Thanks so much.
Thanks, I'm glad to share.
So that's where my overdue book on Mesopotamia went! Found an old book from 1865 where the cover came off. Inside the spine when the book was printed, they reused paper from Atlantic monthly. Even in the 1860's they were reusing old paper! Made lots of postcards from old books.
Bookbinders have been recycling books for as long as there have been books.
There's a used book store near me that puts out bins of books that they can't sell. Usually, these are old text books, or out-of-date dictionaries, or whatever, and many are hard back in decent to good condition. I've brought some of them to make secret compartment books: they're a fun gift for those hard-to buy-for teenagers.
That's a very neat and efficient design for a cradle.
Thank you! Cheers!
I sew new textblocks into old covers, making notebooks. I usually try to keep the covers attached to the spine and then sew the signatures directly to the spine, so the sewing is exposed. Makes some cool notebooks, that look like ordinary books :) I'd also like to say that your videos are wonderful and I'll definetely make myself a piercing cradle now! Thanks you!
That's a marvelous way to re-use old books! I may have to try that myself sometime if I find some particularly interesting covers. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this tutorial. I had explored places to purchase cradles and I never found exactly what I was looking for. The best feature, besides reusing materials, is that it comes apart and stores very easily. Always a challenge in a small space.
Glad it was helpful!
There used to be somebody/ies here in San Francisco that made these lovely notebooks out of all sorts of old books. They would often include some pages from the text sprinkled in with the new signatures of upcycled paper. Very cool. My favorites were usually old children's books, 9colorful household tips type books from the 50s and 60s, and engineering/math reference books from the days before computers.
Wonderful! Books are precious. You have managed to make the deconstruction of a book look like art. You have somehow preserved the dignity of the books involved. I can watch this and NOT feel sick to my stomach! Also, you don't waste our time by making us look at you, and hear about your dog, your drive to the grocery store, or your opinion on whatever--you just stay on point and EDUCATE. The quality of your videos would fit a class setting. Today's teachers could learn a lot from you. Hell, I could put this on and fall asleep because your voice is easy to listen to. So THANK YOU. Thank you for taking the time to share your gift with the world. Thank you for producing excellent, easily digestible content. Your love of your craft is apparent, and contagious!
One of the best channels on book binding I’ve seen. Thanks.
Well….. so I started to make this project this morning… it is now 10:00 pm and we finally finished it…. Would have been done earlier but I spent 3 hrs in the ER and 4 stitches later from the exacto knife 😅… fun project and I’m excited to make more🤔 only without the trip to the ER😅 😏 thanks for showing us how to do it. My daughter is an artist and has been begging for sketch books… she is so excited to make her own.
Im a beginner in book binding, its a fascinating craft and an enjoyable process that you can use the finished product that youve made from scratch. I came across your channel and this caught my interest. thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this video and sharing your ideas. As a junk journal maker I must say you have the ultimate corner rounder. Thank you so much for sharing.
You are so welcome! And you're the second person to comment on the corner rounder - it's a great tool.
The cradle is fantastic, simple and efficient! Congrats!! 👏👏👏👏👏
This is brilliant! Thank you. I make 'junk' journals from the old covers and pages from books I rescue and also copy paper I dye in various ways. I also make my own writing journals from the covers. I am working this year on making text blocks and binding them as you would a new book, but using an old cover. I have one in the process now for a friend using a cover from a diary from last year that was too beautiful to trash being a velvet cover. All I did was replace the leather clasp cover with new leather and the magnet still catches - and now to sew the text block. I have been wanting to make a cradle for ages and this is so simple. Thank you. I think I may have the perfect candidate for this here, if not I am on the hunt once again through the thrift shops for 'the book' 😂
My pleasure, thank you for watching. I once saw some new journals in old book covers in a shop and thought it was oh so clever! So many old books just get trashed (ask anyone who works in a library) so it's good to know other people are rescuing what they can. And I hope the cradle works well for you! :)
@@FourKeysBookArts it is heartbreaking to see so many books go to waste, kind of like all the material that gets dumped from the fashion houses, all of that can be recycled in book making.
I have been making books and repurposing old books for quite awhile but have recently started making vintage style junk journals. That corner rounder of yours is now on my wish list. Thanks for this video.
It is indeed a handy tool. You'll wonder what you ever did without one!
Just finished mine! Thanks for the tutorial!
I love books and I collect discarded books… you gave me brilliant ideas to breathe life back into forgotten books. 🙌
Thank you so much for the clear instructions. I love making little books and can’t wait to make a piercing cradle.
Super cool! The notebook was very simple but also ended up looking really nice and polished.
Love the idea....so many old books go in the trash...great way of using some of these book parts!!
Just what i was looking for. Ive just started my bookbinding journey. Thank you.
just found your channel ~ appreciate the understanding of how a book is put together, it totally helps when creating junk & bullet journals not to mention the resource of supplies you don't need to buy saves $$$$ Thank you 📚
Thank you thank you! I've needed a piercing cradle but have been intimidated at the prospect of making one. Your instructions are so perfect!
Brilliant, and superb camera work and editing. Thanks! Cheers Will
Great tutorial, thanks for the ideas, I'll certainly be repurposing some of my books 😊
Love your videos. Learning a lot. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
You're very welcome!
Thank you so much for a great video, this has given me so many ideas, thank you
I have to make a piercing cradle. Right. Now! Love it. 🎉
Awesome instructional, thank you!
Very clear tutorial, thank you! I really appreciate your sharing your knowledge. Your books and the paper marbling is really beautiful too ❤️
Thank you so much!
This is an awesome video!! Thank you. I have always used an old telephone book, but they are no longer available! 😊
I am grateful in depth.
Thank you for your verbal guidance through this process - you have a wonderfully clear and calm way of expressing yourself that made this tutorial not just informative, but a true pleasure to listen to. I'm a new subscriber and hope you will do more of this style of video. Thanks again! :-)
Thank you so much!
Wonderful and insightful from beginning to end. There have been umpteen times when I wanted to reuse the pasted paper on the the front and back covers. Now I know how. Thank you so kindly
Glad it was helpful!
Brilliant!
That was great, thank you!
Hi, I recently discovered your channel and got hooked. I appreciate the details and the intricate work you put in making a book or a notebook. I up-cycle books as well but not in your neat way. It is actually the opposite, have you ever heard of Junk Journaling? it is basically recycling everything and anything comes your way in paper products starting disassembling an old book to recreate a journal with so many fun journaling spots. This new craft/art allows you to recycle junk mail as well to be used in junk journals, vintage music and book pages, old fabric, crocheted doilies, buttons, leather, lace. Anything you can think can be transformed into journal embellishments as well. I incorporate beautiful card stocks, coffee die papers, distress everything to look vintage or antique inspired. It is a very fun craft. I take a lot of tips from you though, binding is big. If you have different types of binding, I would love to watch more. I am also interested in the paper you make and the wax you use to shine it. Can you tell us what type of wax and the materials used to make the paper? I saw the video but didn't mention the liquid or the paint you were using in the bath. Sorry for the long comment! Thank you!
My pleasure, I'm glad you're so excited about bookbinding! I know of junk journals and though I've never explored that side of bookbinding it is, as you say, a big craft with lots of different styles and techniques for each person to make their own. It will take me a lifetime to learn even a slice of what there is out there, which is fine by me, I like experimenting and learning new things. To answer some of your questions - I use natural beeswax for burnishing my marbled papers. The marbled paper is made by floating prepared acrylic paints on a bath of carrageenan fluid - I'd like to make more marbling videos but frankly my marbling studio (aka my basement) is terrible for filming. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@FourKeysBookArts Thank you so much for your reply and for answering my questions. The information you gave me is very helpful. Yes I'll keep on watching you and would love to watch other paper making or marbling techniques.Your basement in the video looked fine, no worry! Very interesting to watch your process and I am very intrigued by it. Looking forward to watching your next video!
Excellent video. Thank you.
I continue to be mesmerized by your creativity with materials most likely that we all have in our "discarded " book inventory. I've occasionally used pages, dust jackets and hard casing for repairs, however not combined them into a great project like this. Glad I subscribed, you have definitely added to the fun of working with books. Now if I was just better in math.
I can do many many things, but higher math is not one of them! Thanks for watching.
That was cool, thx for the tips on making the punch jig
My pleasure!
Binge watching your videos while waiting while my car is in for a service. Loved this one. As an occasional book binder/repairer it's sometime a problem buying small amounts of the right materials of decent quality unless you're prepared to compromise. I think the piercing cradle, which I've seen you use in other videos, is a much better solution to the various methods I've tried before. See you on the next video. Oh, Canadian I take it? Greetings from the UK.
Thanks for showing how to make a piercing cradle! I reckon I can do that without cutting any fingers off 👍
Amazing! Packet with information!
Glad it was helpful!
Very interesting video, thank you
Love this. I actually gasped out loud when you rounded the corner - such a nice touch! How much is one of those cutters?
i love your videos. i shared this one in a junk journal group with 35k members, i hope some of them will subscribe to your channel, you really deserve it! ;)
So kind of you to say so! Thanks for sharing!!
Wow what a fabulous tutorial! I’m going to start looking for books to recycle ♻️ With money right at the moment it’s a great way to keep up my hobby of bookbinding. And a great way to use materials cheaply, before taking the plunge and buying new book board. Thank you!
Very informative video, thank you. I've only recently discovered your channel and it has ignited a desire to begin bookbinding myself as a hobby. I wonder if you have any tips for a complete beginner with no experience whatsoever on where to begin, and what tools would be essential?
Thanks. I know someone who used a bunch of old, cool looking books to completely fill the space between the fireplace and the walls of an old log cabin in order to insulate the north facing wall.
I find that certain pages of the book make interesting bases for painting, ink drawing and collage, especially lists like indices, glossaries, bibliographies, etc. or just bits of text as components of a collage. Sometimes old books contain lovely printer's flourishes that make fine decorations for art/writing journals. Love your videos!
I enjoy every video of yours. This one contains the best explanation about to make a piercing craddle. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills.
Great recycle ideas! Thanks. In converting hardbound notebooks to leather soft covered journals I've had some success spritzing the inside paper with water and waiting a minute. This seems to loosen the glue before I remove from the book board. Often I can reuse the entire case (end sheets, head bands, etc.) on the leather cover.
I will definitely try that! Thanks for the tip!
Hi and thanks for the great videos. Please may I ask what kind of glue you are using? I heard you mention PVA which is a wood glue I use in carpentry. So is PVA good for book binding too? Is this the only type of glue you’re using, or is there other glue for other parts of the process? Thanks, Simon
Jadore apprendre ce meter.
This was very inspiring, thank you! Anyone recommend a site where I can check the value of a book?
Thank you for your video I am just starting out book making and have learned a lot from watching.
I’d love to see you take an airport paperback novel and turn it into a traditional book- leather bound with all the brass fixings and embossing. Like a PD James or a Kathy Reichs or a Dan Brown paperback….that would be hilarious! Ohh or like a Michael Crichton! 😂
I laughed maybe a bit too much about the cutting board joke 😂
I'm glad someone did!
I have several old hardbacks that have lost their spine. The original cover art work is in tact and I'd like to save it by adding it to a new cover. Would you have any short video of how to incorporate original covers into a new cover replacement?
could i request a video about how to get the smell of damp out of books please.
I would LOVE to have a repurposed and bound version of all of Tolkien’s works….I’ve always wanted to have a library in my house….I’ve saved every paperback, book and text book I’ve ever bought….several of the paperbacks need some TLC Also have a copy of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader that needs a new spin
Do you have to reinforce the bottom of the hole punch jig? You indicated that you poke through, I am wondering if there will be tear out if I use it frequently. Thanks for the information!
I suppose that after long use the area might wear out, but I think it would take a very long time. And even so, it would be easy to fix with another layer of material. Thanks for the question!
I have several artist boards that have been covered with a linen fabric and coated with a paint ,can any of these be used as book boards ,if so how should the paint be removed?
How did I only find this video? I've been intentionally filling up an old 2004 planner that's falling apart with the exact purpose that when it's full, I will separate and reuse its seemingly intact bookcloth and endband. I've already separated the case from the text block.
I have car door liners that look like that stuff.
a good way to soften glue ... a hairdryer on high ... warm it up ... the glue softens and you can peel it MUCH easier ....
Great information. To bad you cut up that particular book though. I would have bought it from you. I probably wouldn't have been interested in it 2 years ago though.
Can you show me how to cover my textbooks (I’m a professor), so they look antique or professional?
I see the advantage of not using a cutting mat. Is the wood of your work surface Pine or some other softwood? And is it finished with a stain and an oil finish so that the damage it sustains can be disguised with another swipe of stain and oil? Thank you for your videos.
The bench is maple and I think came from a machine shop where it had seen some pretty heavy abuse. When I found it (yes, found), it was covered in oil, grease, paint, and burns. I cleaned it up, sanded it down, and finished the top with shellac and wax. Whatever marks my modest cutting makes in the top are nothing compared to what it endured in the past, and I can easily refinish if I ever feel the need.
IN upcycling and old book...making a cradle... can you show us what you do when the paste down and the cover DON'T come away so nicely? do you sand the roughness away or maybe use a thin paper followed by a thick paper for the new paste-down to hide the uneven-ness?
Not sure whether it is possible with glossy pages, but have you considered recycling the pages to make your own paper?
Mesopotamia, a book with wonderful pictures. Dismembering a book if not to restore it is akin to desecration for me. I am unable to destroy a book, there is always something to learn in it or by it. My wife wants me to give or bin my old books to make more free space in the house, and anyway no one want books anymore she adds. I find her truth very sad but I think that we should preserve old books and new ones for a more enlightened future.
It broke my heart watching you destroy the Mesopotamia book! I would have loved having that one, but I get it. It's all just ephemera anyway, isn't it?. 😪
Until now I imagined this guy was British
Is there an issue with the mixing of the audio?
Oh probably - this was one of my early videos and I didn't get it quite right. Apologies!
See my comment above - try viewing on a different machine, I was astounded by the difference.
The sound is very low.
"no real value" Take that Biology 12!
Do you sell your pocket notebooks?
This series of cultural atlases is one of my favorites. Sad to see it vandalized this way 😐
It is not being “vandalised”. It’s not a rare book, nor is the information in it current with contemporary knowledge. “Vandalism” infers destruction for destructions sake which honestly is SO far from what’s happening here I have to wonder if you actually viewed the video at all. This is repurposing, not destroying. The book is going from being a fairlyuseless item that no longer serves its purpose, to being remade into a useful item, giving it new purpose.
@@paulinemegson8519 do you have this book on your shelf? I do. So my conclusion is based on facts. The book is still valid as a source, nothing's really changed in ancient Egypt studies since 1990s. It's well illustrated, written and bound. The guy on this video takes a paper knife and just turns a beautiful book into rubbish. I have no idea why should anyone advocate it.
Please increase the audio on your video editor before you upload them.I can barely hear you on either my phone or tablet.
Your audio is too low.... otherwise, good info
Thanks for saying so, I had my suspicions. I'm working on improving my recording setup for future videos, and honest feedback helps!
@@FourKeysBookArts yeah, it wouldn't be a problem except when the ad at "normal" volume comes 😓
Yes, I noticed that too. I like your videos. They're very well made.
I thought that at first then switched to watching this on my Android tablet (typing this on a Dell laptop) the difference is simple amazing both with sound and image.
@@FourKeysBookArts it’s really not a problem, plus any user can set the playing speed in “settings”☺️
Keep your old encyclopedias. At the rate they "update" Wikipedia to maintain the narrative, paper encyclopedias will be worth their weight in gold.
I’ve got a good idea what you can do with perfectly viable old books - give them to someone to read instead of pointlessly vandalising and desecrating them for a silly art project of zero value. Barbarian is right.
It looked very interesting but I'm afraid I can barely hear you.
It pains me to watch the book on Mesopotamia die. The idea may be good. The manual skills too. If you had picked a different book, I would have had a lot of fun watching it.
What was wrong with the Mesopotamia book???
A couple days ago, I'd spent nearly three and a half hours, watching your 5 part mini-series on 'Making A Medieval Book'. Amazing end product. However. During the entire 3 1/2 hrs.; not one word was spoken. We could see what you were doing, and to some degree, how; but without clear narration, we had no clue as to why it was done in this manner. I thought that, maybe you were from an Eastern European country, and didn't speak English. For this reason, I was willing to overlook the inconsideration. Now, however, in watching this video, I hear you speaking, clearly as an American, (with a full grasp of the English language - yet, even here, the volume is too low), and can't help but wonder, why you could not have at least narrated some of the previous video.,
Thanks for spending the time on the channel! The medieval book series actually has a full caption commentary, which I now know I should have had an on-screen note for (lesson learned). And as for recording narration, I'm still working out how to get good audio levels, so your patience is appreciated. Still figuring out what works best!
Soy de Latinoamérica y comprendi perfectamente los videos y los veo por primera vez ! Que comentario tan desconsiderado el suyo 👎
The volume is terrible and I wish I could have talked you out of that book LOL before you cut it up :-)
I can't watch. Ugh I love history books like that... It should have went on a shelf... Someone's shelf.
I disagree with a thought "you can't destroy books". I still have the whole bookshelf with old soviet\communist propaganda books (including non-fiction stuff like "brave kgb fighting western spies plots"). I'd gladly get rid of them, but burning would be bad for the environment.
Eek! This is a blasphemy destroying books! Books of any type! You know how much efforts did they take to shape. 😭
Utterly cringeworthy!
Yes, you are.