[arnie]

I haven't seen anyone else comment on the weak bindings some chapel carving books have. It seems if I use them to actually help me carve a piece,as opposed to just looking at them, the pages start falling out. At first I thought I had been too rough with the book holding the thing open to the correct pages as I carved but no matter how I handle the book most of the time it falls apart. A very frustrating occurrence and makes them useless to pass-on to friends. Just my observation I'm not seeking renumeration or replacements. Arnie

[Coffeeman]

Arnie,

Wow, sorry to hear about your problem.

I've not had any such problems and like you, really use my book to do carvings, enjoy the step by step features every month. Sorry I'm not any help for you. Bill

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I had the problem too, or should say a neighbor did, I loaned him my bark carving book and he pressed it down flat on the work bench so he could see the examples and the glue came loose! Now I have about 4 pages loose...not sure that is binding problem, or the neighbors for pressing it flat?

[Just Carving]

It'll happen with soft covered books--carving or otherwise--especially if you lay them flat. That'll usually break the binding. There isn't enough gluing surface and/or glue I guess. I either leave them be, or glue them back in with a little white glue. You could take the book apart, punch holes--or maybe use plastic page holders if the pages will fit--and put in a 3 ring binder. Another option is to take the book to a place where they'll trim off the binding, punch holes, and bind with a spiral binding. Then you can lay the book flat and not need to worry about losing the pages.

[arnie]

hey woodcarver,good idea. got any sugestions on who would do spiral binding. some of the books are keepers even after completing the project.arnie

[BobT]

Kinkos does it. They seem to be everywhere. They at least do the binding. Three of them near me refused to cut the spine off of the books. I trimmed it off with a band saw then trimmed the edges with a paper trimmer. Worked out great. Then I went and bought a binder punch at work.
I can't get overwhelmed with the things but if you have a couple that really need to be done I would only expect you to pay the postage. I can get them done pretty quick for you.

Bob

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Yeh....most print shops do spiral binding...at least the ones I worked at did. Good idea, had forgotten.....

[arnie]

Thanks for the offer bob. I have more than several,and I should say it's not only chapel books I have the same problem with books from other publishers. I have been on-line and found some manual spiral ring punches and the rings. The sets run around 70$ and as I'm a carving book junkie I am going to invest in one. Thanks for the help,there is always an answer here if you ask. I might not wait for the book to separate if I'm going to carve the project as the pages will lay flat after being punched. Arnie

[Just Carving]

Any print shop should be able to trim off the binding with a paper cutter that they use for trimming their work. It's not a paper trimmer but a press like machine that cuts a thick stack of paper. I think it should handle the small books less than a 1/2" thick. I'm surprised Kinko's wouldn't trim the books, but maybe they don't have the type of paper cutter I'm talking about.

[mikeg]

Yes, it is tougher to figure which book is which on the shelf when they have spiral bindings but they are so much sturdier when you want to lay them flat. Actually, now that I think about it, some have special covers so that you get the best of both worlds. I wish more books would come out with spiral bindings.

mikeg