Making A Medieval Book By Hand - Part 3 - Wooden Boards, Carving & Mortising, Attaching the Covers

Hello everyone, and welcome to my bindery! This is Part 3 of my in-depth video series on making a medieval-style book - for more information see Part 1 here: This series has no speaking and a minimal amount of music for those who want to enjoy the peaceful simplicity of quiet hand-work. For those seeking insights into my materials and techniques, you can turn on subtitles to read my full commentary on the process as you watch! As it turns out, this is almost entirely a woodworking episode, which is not surprising considering that this is a wooden book! However, if you’d rather skip all the woodwork and go right to the assembly of the book you can just jump ahead to 20:41. One of the key hallmarks of a medieval gothic binding is the material used to make the cover boards: wood. I have chosen red oak for my boards, which is native to my area and, being a very hard, dense wood, it is a close analog to the woods available in medieval Europe. I have selected a piece that has been quarter-sawn, meaning that the grain runs very straight and perpendicular to the thickness, which should make for very stable covers. I had anticipated that this would be a labour-intensive part of the project, but it exceeded even my expectations, hence this video is dedicated solely to making the covers. I have cut out A LOT of the process, but I hope I’ve left enough in for those interested to follow along. I begin in the workshop by cutting the initial piece of oak into two boards, which I then plane smooth and trim to final width and length. Then it’s back to the bindery where I round and bevel the boards, leaving space for the final hardware. I mark the attachment points, then mortise the holes and recesses for the thongs and endbands. I cut wedges to hold the thongs in place and use them to attach the boards with glue. Finally I trim the wedges inside and out, and the covers are securely attached. In the next video I will cut, pare, and apply the leather covering. If you enjoyed the film do consider subscribing so you won’t miss future installments. Thanks for watching! List of Materials Used in This Episode Boards: Quarter-sawn Red Oak Wedges: Red Oak Glue: Acid-Free PVA List of Tools Pencil Carpenter’s Square Marking Gauge Bench Vises (front and tail) Carpenter’s Rip Saw Jack Plane Measuring Tape Stainless Steel rulers, various sizes Marking Knife Backsaw Shooting Plane & Shooting Board Block Plane Chisels (1/8“, 1/4“, 1/2“, 1 1/4“) Small Carving Gouge Stanley Knife Brass Mallet Hand Drill Paring Knife Scissors Small Saw Bone Folder (handmade in-house) Two Bricks Selected list of Suppliers (Not affiliated) Woodworking Tools: Lee Valley Tools - Bookbinding Tools & Materials: George Hill & Co. - Writing Materials: Wonder Pens - ________ You can now buy me a coffee here: Or you can drop a tip in my PayPal account: Four Keys Book Arts marbled papers and handmade books are available for sale in my Etsy shop, with worldwide shipping available: Follow me on social media: Instagram Facebook All original works of art in this video are copyrighted exclusively by Four Keys Book Arts. Music Credits: ’Yonder Hill And Dale’ by Aaron Kenny - ’A Song Without A Name’ by Poor Inked Endings - Listen to and support Poor Inked Endings here: Image Source Bibliography: ’Fig. 21: Mediæval Book-Binding’, from ’Gately’s World’s Progress’, Edited by C. E. Beale. Édition de luxe, Boston : Gately & Co, 1886, p. 283. ’Fig. 8: ’Travail de la Reliure’, from ’Procédés de la gravure (Nouv. éd)’, Lostalot, Alfred de, A Quantin, Paris, 1882. p. 26 #bookbinding #fourkeysbookarts #handmadebooks #medievalbook