Fixing up Rogue Trader

 

The project: Fix Rogue Trader

For this blog entry I wanted to share my amateurish steps into book repair. 

For this project my goal isn't a museum quality restoration, but simply to make the book functional, the damage less readily apparent, and to proof it against some future abuse.

The Damage

So, let's start by taking stock of the damage.

First, the most glaring issue is the spine. You can see the inside is effectively split in two.

There are also some pages that are loose.

Next, on the outside the corners are a big rough.

Supplies

Before we get into what I did to the old book, I'd like to share my supplies.

Cheap metal book corner protectors

plastic comic book protectors - but ziploc bags would work too.

brush

Basic elmers glue

sharpies.

Now to the work. 

Worn Corners

Let's handle those worn out corners first. I colored over the worn and exposed paper with suitably similar colors. 

Is it perfect? Nope. But does the white jump out anymore? Nope. Mission accomplished. My final step for these corners was to brush a little bit of glue over the worn out areas to harden them a bit and make them slightly more resistant to future wear.

The Loose Pages

For this step I simply spread glue right along the inside edge of each page. 

As I did each page I would a layer of plastic in. The glue can't stick to the plastic so it prevents excess pages or area getting stuck together even if the glue spreads.

The Spine

For the spine I started by brushing glue into the space between the two halves of the book. Making sure I covered it quite liberally as the pages soaked up the glue. I placed a plastic sheet between the center pages so that the glue wouldn't stick the pages together if it spread.

With the glue applied, I closed the book and placed a weight on top. 

Here you can see the layers better. A towel to prevent the book getting scuffed from the table. The plastic sheets in the book to stop the pages getting glued together. A smooth (unglueable) board. And then a weight on top.

I left it this way for about 18 hours. 

Reinforcing the corners

First, I put tissue paper over my pliers so that the teeth grooves wouldn't translate into my metal corner protectors or damage the cover. 

I then crimped the corner protectors on.

Done.

Finished Product

It's not perfect, but I know it'll last me a while longer and the wear is less visible. Good as now? Absolutely not. Good enough? I think so.