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Bookbinding and Repair

Introducing our improved Volcano Arts Folder!
Won't glaze paper. Comfortable to use. Glue won't stick to it. Made of state-of-the-art Teflon. Fold an entire signature at once (really!). Fold the heaviest or the most delicate papers. Every angle engineered for bookbinding and box making. Available exclusively from Volcano Arts.

Precision measurements without measuring!

Set of 5 / $25.00

Precision cut 12" measuring rules come in a set of 5 widths: 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and 1"

Bookbinders love these for measuring turn-ins, and card and scrapbook makers love them for drawing or cutting borders. Glass artists put cork on the back to keep them from sliding. They're great for making metal mesh frames and so many other great projects.

 Beginning

Bookbinder's Toolkit
Now you or a friend can get into the art and craft of bookbinding by buying the Beginner's Toolkit. It comes with the basic tools you'll need to complete our book kits or to make books from 'scratch.' When you buy the kit you'll get 10% off the individual item price (limited time only).

Bookbinder's Toolkit Level 1
$28.45 Take 10% off
$26.00

Assembly Upgrade for Hole Punching Cradle
(shipped flat)
$7.00

* The cradle is not generally difficult to assemble, however you will need to cut 2 slits in dense book board. People who have difficulty with this task should consider the assembly upgrade and we'll take care of everything for you.

A note from Christine Cox:
I have completely redesigned the Volcano Arts Folder. It has angles engineered for getting into corners and small areas and now it's even more comfortable to hold. It's perfect for bookbinding and also for box making, origami, pergamano and pottery (in fact, it was inspired by a potter's rib)!

Recommended by Bookbinding Instructor (and wonderful artist), Michael Jacobs!
"It's a wonderful tool. I use it exclusively for creasing and burnishing."

Every angle of this tool was designed by book artist Christine Cox. This is the BEST tool for folding heavier papers and cardstock. Now you can easily fold several sheets of text weight paper at once!

Click the image above to see a drawing showing how the tool is held

* Teflon^® has the lowest coefficient of friction (.21) of any material on Earth. That means that there is as little abrasion on the paper as is physically possible.

Don't abuse your new tool:
This is a finely hand-crafted tool meant for bookbinding and other non-destructive processes only. Do not use it with copper mesh or other hard or sharp materials. As with any handmade tool, please allow for small differences. This product is warranted for manufacturing defects but not for damage caused by misuse. Used correctly, this may be the last folder you ever have to buy.

Classic Bone Folder
$7.50

While my Volcano Arts Folder is my absolute favorite tool for folding signatures and for box making, I couldn't make a leather book without also using my Classic Bone Folder. I'm a firm believer that there isn't just one tool for all the different folding and burnishing tasks done while making a book.  -- Christine Cox

Wooden Folding Rib (4 1/4" long)
This frugal artist's wooden folding tool is a great shape for smoothing paper and cloth when making boxes and books. Lots of different surfaces make any job possible; beveled edge, pointed tip, rounded butt, long edge, short edge. It even has a hole in it for comfortable handling and for hanging when not in use. What more can you ask from one tool?

$6.00

Learn how to 'tune up' your wooden Folding Rib in our Idea Center.

Japanese Book Cloth 1

• All of our high quality book cloth is made in Japan

• Colors may appear differently on your monitor. Please allow for variations.

• Size is 20" X 36"

$7.00 / yard

• All of our high quality book cloth is made in Japan

• Colors may appear differently on your monitor. Please allow for variations.

• Size is 20" X 36"

$13.00 / yard

• All of our high quality book cloth is made in Japan

• Colors may appear differently on your monitor. Please allow for variations.

• Size is 20" X 36"

$15.00 / yard

Acanthus

Moiré Book Cloth
This gorgeous moiré fabric has a sprayed moisture barrier on the back and is perfect for covering your most elegant books and boxes. The colors are rich and vibrant.
~24" X 37" (including selvedge)
Colors may appear different on your monitor. May we suggest that you buy our Book Cloth Swatch Sheet?

$20.00/yard

Wedgwood

Book Cloth Swatch Sheet
Care to see all the colors of our book cloth? We'll send you a swatch sheet with every color in stock on it. Free domestic shipping. International orders will be charged $2.00 shipping.

Book Cloth Swatch Sheet
$1.50

International customers, we will contact you by email before shipping your order for payment of the shipping amount on this item.

Check out the tips and information about Book Cloth in our Idea Center

Related Link:

• Full Spools of 4-Ply Waxed Binder's Thread

12-Ply Waxed Binder's Thread
For use as raised supports in sewing books or for basket weaving, this 12-ply thread is very thick. It is waxed Irish linen thread and coordinates with the corresponding colors of 4-Ply Thread that we carry.
10 yards

$6.00

Here I've used our 2-ply Waxed Linen Thread to sew over double 12-Ply Linen Thread supports.

There's a photo of another beautiful book with raised bands on the spine

Black

Butterscotch

Christine Cox 8/07
This full goat leather book was sewn over our 12-Ply Waxed Linen Thread. The inlay on the front is sterling silver and enamel.
In the collection of Francesca Fuller

4-Ply Waxed Thread Color Samplers

Our linen samplers are made of 2 yards each of 4-ply waxed Irish linen thread in the 3 colors noted. They are color coordinated so that you can use them in separate books or in the same book.

Depending on the size and stitch of your book, each sampler has enough thread to make as many as 3 books (or more if you are making miniatures).

You'll find full spools of thread here

$5.00

Elegance: Elegance is all about style; black, charcoal gray and slate gray

Stars and Stripes: Yep, it's patriotic red, white and blue!

Wine Country: The colors of the wine country; burgundy, leaf green and plum

In Your Words
I can't believe what a great website...I am very anxious to try my hand at bookbinding and I am extremely impressed with your supply of tools. VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!!
-- V. (by email)

Jewel: Dark, rich jewel-tone colors; blue, forest green and dark rust

Tropicana: You can just feel those island breezes; teal, salmon and sunshine

Idaho: The colors of Idaho; sky blue, sand and sage brush

Fall Leaves: Wonderful earth tones; rust, butterscotch and dark brown

Southwest: Warm colors of the desert; rose, turquoise and lavender

The Blues: A range of blues from light to dark

Light, un-waxed Linen Thread
Acid Free, unbleached and uncolored - perfect for case-bound and other covered spine books.
Approximately 50 yards, 3-ply

25 grams / $10.00

Christine Cox 8/07
I wanted this miniature book sewn with proportionately light thread so I used our 3-ply Unwaxed Thread and waxed it with Beeswax. The book is The Language of Selected Flowers and Plants. The covers are enameled copper and the spine is goat skin.
(1-13/16" H X 2" W)

50 grams / $14.50

3/4" Bone Clasps
The perfect touch for a closure on a delicate box or book. Our high quality clasps are handmade of bone and have a very finished look to them. Japan

2 / $4.00

1-1/4" Black Buffalo Bone Clasps
These beautiful black bone clasps are such a complement to the richer colors you use when making boxes and books. Use them as lid pins on boxes or as closures on books.

2 / $8.00

$5.50 / 4

I LOVE looking at all the ideas on your site and recommended it to my fellow students in my "Book Arts" class. -- Judy S.

Binding Needles
Ideal for bookbinding, these needles are super strong and have extra large eyes so that they won't strip the wax off your thread. They are slightly blunted at the tip so that you won't pierce your paper. We've had reports that in classrooms full of bent needles, ours held up.
2 1/8" Long

6 / $6.00

2 / $3.50

$2.00/ft.

$1.30 / Approx. 12" X 14"

$4.25
20 yd. Bobbin

We now carry a 5mm tip for our Japanese Screw Punch. It's just the right size for screw posts!

• 1/2"

• 3/4"

• 1"

10 / $4.00

Screw Post Extensions (1/2" aluminum)
Has your photo collection outstripped the length of the screw posts in your album? We now carry 1/2" Screw Post Extensions to make your albums 1/2" thicker. Can be used with our Floral Screw Posts as well as with our Aluminum Screw Posts.

Extensions
$4.00 / 10

We have recipes and tips for using our methylcel

Methylcel
1/4 lb. / $6.50

We have recipes and tips for using our wheat starch paste

Wheat starch paste
$3.50 / 1/4 lb.

5 oz. / $6.50

8 oz. / $8.50

32 oz. Refill
$16.00

Our 5 oz. and 8 oz. come in squeeze bottles with easy-pour tops. Our 32 oz. refill size comes with a plain screw top.

• No Solvents

• pH neutral

• We have tips and Technical information for our PVA and methylcel
  

Note: PVA will last much longer if you keep the cap on (even the little red cap on the smaller bottles) and keep your brush out.

$7.50 / 1/4 lb.

Cheap Glue Brush
These are 1" brushes with wooden handles. They are great for casual bookbinding and cheap enough to consider disposable.

90˘

Sally Monahan has a great tip for us: Buy 2 brushes and cut the bristles on one down to about 1" long. Now you have a short, stiff brush for pounding glue between signatures as well as your longer-bristled, general purpose glue brush.

Linen Binding Tape
3/8" wide - Unbleached and un-sized for hinging, sewing and tying. Perfect for case bound books.

70% linen, 30% Cotton

1 Foot / $1.40

5 Foot / $6.50

Beeswax
1 oz. of nature's finest. Use beeswax to keep your thread from fraying and tangling while you sew. It's also great for smoothing the edges of leather book covers for a finished look and feel. It's organic, naturally!

1 oz. / $3.50

.

• Water coloring wet into wet
• "Painting" with chalk
• Wetting leather to trim out turn-ins when binding a book

 $6.50 / set of 3

Cutting

Caution: these knives are sharp, sharp, sharp and do not come with a case (although it would be fun to make one from polymer clay). Please handle with great care. We recommend storing the blades in our Plastic Tubes.

Replacement Scalpel Blades
Our #24 and #25 blades fit both of our scalpel handles.

Directions for changing scalpel blades
are in the Idea Center

#4 Scalpel Handle w/5 Blades
$9.00

#6 Scalpel Handle w/5 Blades
$20.00

Punching

Genuine Japanese Screw Punch and 9 tips. This is a great punch and it's the real Japanese model; Christine's favorite. It works with a screw action so it punches round holes through leather and stacks of paper easily and comfortably! In testing it punched a clean hole in 20 sheets of 20 # paper.  It comes with NINE genuine Japanese tips (see sizes below) so this is a great value!

Genuine Japanese Screw Punch
and 9 Tips
$82.00 / set

Sizes:

• 1mm (book sewing needle size)
• 1.5mm (1/16" eyelet size)
• 2mm
• 2.5mm
• 3mm (standard 1/8" eyelet size)
• 3.5mm
• 4mm
• 4.5mm (3/16" eyelet size)
• 5mm (screw post size)

Set of 9 / $48

Our Plastic Tubes are great for storing your extra tips. You can cut them to size with regular scissors.

Individual Replacement Tips for Japanese Screw Punch
Do you use one tip more than others? Dulling your tips by punching metal mesh? Here's your chance to replace single tips! These are high quality Japanese tips.

Hole Punching Cradle Kit
Perfectly aligned holes are the reward for using this inexpensive, easy-to-use and essential cradle. Made of genuine acid-free, 100% recycled Davey brand book board. The cradle measures 15" end-to-end and will accommodate signatures up to 11-1/2" long.

Note: If you can't or don't want to cut 2 narrow slits in book board, I recommend that you buy the assembled Hole Punching Cradle.
 

Kit
$16.00

Assembled
(shipped flat)
$23.00

Click image for larger view

$4.00

1 / $6.00

New lower price!

6" Plastic Tubes (2)
These 6" long X 1/2" plastic tubes are just the ticket for storing so many things. You can cut them down with regular scissors and customize them for everything from needles to an awl. Corral your eyelets and shepherd your beads. Buy several, once you get started, you'll find a million uses for them! They come with a very secure cap so you don't need to worry about losing your stuff.

Scalpel blades, tips for Japanese Screw Punch, drill bits, saw blades, awls; you'll find a million uses for these tubes! Easily cut them to size with scissors. They are essential for traveling with your art supplies.