Before I switched to Lemmy, I noticed a lot of questions on r/bookbinding about repairing books. So; I thought I’d create a list of repair guides that, to my knowledge, follow best practices.
Please note, if a book is particularly valuable or has historical significance, you should take it to a professional. Also, if your library book is damaged, you can return it as-is and the library will handle the repair. In either case, wet books should be frozen.
That said, here’s how to repair:
Loose hinges:
Cracked hinge:
Detatched hinge:
Detatched text block (recase):
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6eH8eb6daw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm4Zt9Yh5xA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z4sIj6go5U
Warped hard cover:
Spine replacement:
Torn paper:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBwT97IztS8
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0d-VvDcg_M
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWBwOYRCHdE
Torn out piece of a page:
Loose page:
Harcover corner repair:
Wet book:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9_fwmdCyzo
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA2CAC9141448B159
Mold:
Warped paperback spine:
Detatched paperback case:
More damage than that? Here’s some more extensive repairs:
Rebind:
Paperback rebind:
Paperback to hardcover recase:
These look great, thanks for sharing :)
Thank you! I do want to fix at least 1 book and this might get me started.
Oh I will look into all of these! just last week I “fixed” a pocket book my boss lent me and that unfortunately looked a little rugged after coming on vacation with me. Painted over all the little cracks in the cover and it actually looked quite decent again afterwards. It did have a Little water damage though that I didn’t know what to do about. It was a cheap book and not even a good one so I kind of hoped he’d forget about it but nope lol. So far have not received a comment on the books state so I think I did an ok enough Job. Paperback to hardcover also seems interesting, so you can design a custom cover for your favorite book. Or as a gift? So many possibilities!
