Book Joinery

In between routing attempts I experimented with other ways of joining books. The pictures and sketches below detail my attempt at a mortise and tenon joint.

I cut the tenon using a band saw, resulting in a clean cut.

Publish Post

The mortise hole was done with an Olfa blade and was somewhat messier.

The pieces fit together reasonably well.

And make a T

Take Cover

The latest (coverless) iterations of book routing / joining have presented me with another design problem: what to do with the the leftover covers. I wanted to leverage the rigidity of the 8.5 x 11" front and back covers as well as the flexibility of the 2.5" binding. The first prototype looks something like this:

A spinal configuration with transverse covers bridging single row longitudinal covers. Laid out on the ground, it's strong enough to support at least 200 lbs (me), making it a potential base for a low-lying table. The flexible binding allows it to hinge around the center and stand on end, transforming it into a shelf.

Book Routing Vol II

Back to routing. And now, two weeks after the first try, a little success.

Adjustments since my last attempt:

1 The book routed today was dunked in a thin wash of water and elmer's glue, clamped between two pieces of scrap wood and left to dry for two days. While the perimeter of the book was dry when I unclamped it, the interior was evidently still wet and the book buckled (slightly). Regardless, the pages largely adhered and the resultant object was less flimsy than in previous efforts.

2 I took the cover off

3 I rotated the angle of the cut-direction 90 degrees so the end-mill would drag in the positive X-direction, one-way (not zig-zag), with the spine of the book aligned on the Y-axis

4 I routed to the end of the book in X direction but not the Y direction so that the area being cut would stay more or less level in the Z-plane (to clarify, the 8.5 inch sides remained intact and were trimmed with the band-saw)

The result: A pretty clean route (rough parallel). There's a visible grain that might become more pronounced with a smooth finish. The book less furry and more dense toward the margins of the page (where there's no text), suggesting that the ink may be impacting the final texture of the book.

Sketch ideas on how several books could be routed and joined to create a wavy form, even a chair or chaise. I'm also interested the possibility of shaping books before adhering them and creating joints between pre-curved pieces: