Pendulum Board

Here is another one of those items that I thought I had posted about, but that I can't find on the blog. I made this pendulum board a few years ago.

It is made from a piece of 1/4" hardboard, about 12" square. It has several coats of black paint on it, to give it an old lacquered look. Then I used sand paper to weather the corners a bit.

The design was made on my computer, partly from elements lifted from the Rider Wait tarot deck, and arranged in a significant pattern for use in reading the perturbations of a hanging pendulum. It is a form of divination.

The design was printed out and then photocopied onto 11"x17" paper. I hand tore the edges around the design to make it fit onto the board and so it would have a deckle edge that would blend seamlessly with the wood.

I coated the board with gloss polyurethane wood finish, which served as finish for the board and also as an adhesive for the paper. Then more polyurethane on top of the paper. The paper was thoroughly soaked with polyurethane, which is what made it turn an aged yellow color, and also how it is decoupaged to the board.

Once dry, I drilled small holes near the four corners and inserted upholstery tacks into the holes, using CA glue and friction to hold them in place. Lastly, I added some thin cork pads to the back side.

I made about a dozen of these in my initial batch, and I sold about ten of them in my shop. I have a second batch in production.

The Usual Suspects

In preparation for the Friday Night Speak Easy at Con on the Cob (2015), I wanted to make some 1920's themed decorations. The thought occurred to me that cardboard silhouettes of gangsters and flappers, staggered around the room, would serve nicely. Now, one would not expect a simple cardboard cutout to be very difficult or time consuming. I honestly thought that I would be able to knock these all out in a day. Boy was I wrong!

First order of business was to collect some cardboard boxes. The boxes I could get at the time were fair sized but in order to get a piece three feet wide by six feet tall, I had to cut the box to lay flat, and then, just barely. I needed to tape some gaps and there would be many fold seams that would make it floppy. It would need to be reinforced. I would need one of these for each standee, and I planned to make about eight or nine of them. Then I taped the sheet of cardboard to a wall and used an LED projector to project some gangster silhouettes that I pulled off the internet onto the cardboard.

Some friends and I took turns tracing the images onto the cardboard. It was pretty clear after a few that not everyone has the rudimentary tracing skills needed to pull this off. My friend Byron traced one that ended up with such poorly defined features, we nicknamed the character "Jimmy the Thumb", because that's what his head looked like. Needless to say, I cleaned up the lines before we continued and Byron was given other jobs to work on. After having to pull images off the internet, drag out and set up the projector (which was not cooperative), finding a place to hang the cardboard, tweak the sizing and trace all the images, that took the better part of a day. Several hours, anyway.

We traced about ten or twelve images, not all would end up being used. Each was unique, about half male gangster types, and half female flapper types. Once traced, each was carefully and painstakingly cut out with a razor knife. I took extra care in cutting them out. Any detail I could preserve in this process would improve the effect in the final product.

The single layer of pre-folded cardboard would certainly not stand up under its own weight. I knew it would need reinforced. I intended to do this with some bracing attached to the back side, but upon seeing the pieces cut out, I decided that would not be enough. So I glued a second layer of cardboard onto the back of each one. This layer was patch worked but I made sure to glue the seams well and to make sure that the corrugations ran perpendicular to the corrugations in the first layer, adding considerable strength to the piece. I had to add the second layer in sections, so that I could let the glue dry under weight to ensure good adhesion and prevent warping. This step alone probably added three days to the process!

Once the second layer was glued and dried the outline had to be cut out a second time with a razor knife. I wanted to maintain the level of detail I worked so hard to preserve in the original cutting out of the silhouette, so instead of trying to match the outline perfectly a second time, I angled the blade of the razor knife to undercut the first layer. That means the second (back side) layer would be cut much rougher and slightly SMALLER than the original first (front side) layer. The edges where the detail resides would only really be one layer thick (the front layer), but the edges didn't need extra strength, the main body is what needed the strength, so that it would stand and not flop over. This made cutting out the second layer much easier and faster. Though it still added another day or two to the project.

With the second layer added and cut out, each silhouette had to be painted flat black. I started doing this with tempura paint, but it added too much moisture and warping became a problem. So, I ended up buying a bunch of flat black spray paint. It took two to three coats to get good coverage. I also had to make sure I got the edges good and even painted around the edges on the back side in case anyone caught a glimpse behind one. I didn't want a flash of raw cardboard brown to ruin the effect. It probably took at least two cans of spray paint for each standee. Good thing I used the cheap ($1 each) kind! Including drying time, paint added about a day to the project.

After paint, I had to start reinforcing the small thin bits, like extended arms, gun barrels and cigarette holders, that would very easily be damaged. I achieved this by gluing on a variety of reinforcing materials to the back side. In some instances I used strips of wood, like paint stirrers, and quite often I used fiberglass rods that were meant to be driveway markers. They are very light and strong, and I got them cheap.

In addition to reinforcing the small extraneous bits, I also needed to add a central reinforcement to the body (in most cases) and a way to attach the silhouette to its base, so it could stand on its own and not lean against a wall.  I achieved both of these goals together, by using the central body reinforcement as a mounting post, extending down about an inch and a half below the foot. This post would then fit into a hole drilled in a block of wood that would serve as the standee's base. Each silhouette was different, so each had to have its own custom base and central post configuration. On some I used more of the fiberglass driveway markers. On others, I used EMT electrical conduit. Sometimes, I had to custom bend the EMT to fit the contours of the silhouette. The central posts were not glued on, but were attached with generous amounts of black duck tape. Creating the central posts probably added another day to the project.

After the posts were attached, a block of wood was selected for the base, and the holes were drilled to fit the location and size of the posts. Then the wooden bases were painted a medium grey. I didn't want to paint them black because I didn't want their shape to blend in with the feet of the silhouette, but I wanted them to be bland and non-distinct so that they would blend in with the carpet and walls. I also had to label each base with a letter that corresponded to a letter painted on the back side of its corresponding silhouette, because each one was a custom fit.

Making the standees was not enough. Once made, they had to be transported to the convention in an overloaded van without being damaged. For that they would need a custom box. Creating the box was nearly as daunting a task as creating the standees. Fortunately I did come across some larger pieces of cardboard for this task. The local Walmart had just started putting bicycles together for the christmass season, and they let me take as many bicycle boxes as I wanted (would have been nice to have these a week or two ago!). Though these boxes were big, they were not nearly big enough to hold the silhouettes. I had to frankenstein together four bicycle boxes to make one giant box (about 4ft x 7ft x 9in) that would hold all the standees. The custom box has a top and bottom, like a giant shirt box. I used some butcher paper to help pad the box and keep the silhouettes from shifting around inside the box during transport. The top and bottom of the box were taped shut with masking tape once the standees were safely inside. I kept the bases out of the box so that they didn't shift around and destroy anything. The custom box is so large and unwieldy that it takes two people to carry, and is heavier that you would think. Creating the box for the standees added another two to three days to the project (including glue drying time)!

I think in all we made four males and four females. They were scattered around the perimeter of the room to add atmosphere and the illusion of more guests at the party (though that was hardly necessary!). We taped some glow sticks to the back sides of the standees in the hopes that their outline would glow against the wall behind them, but the effect was less than stunning. Maybe with a little more tweaking that could have worked better. All in all, the standees were a big success. They made a great decoration and were well worth the trouble to make. Though transporting and storing them is a problem. What I thought would be knocked out in a day or two at the most, took probably three weeks. But they do look good! And they are well enough made that they will last for several years if treated gently. In hind sight, I may have been better off to just suck up the expense of making them out of 3/8in  plywood from the beginning. Cutting them out would have been much harder, but they would have required much less reinforcement and they would have been very durable.

Howard's Place

My photoshop-ing skills are meager at best. But I thought this picture of Howard Phillips Lovecraft tending bar turned out reasonably well, especially given how little time was put into it.

This image was hastily 'shopped together to use as a web advertisement for the Rogue Cthulhu - Friday Night Speak Easy; an alcohol, dance and gaming party held at Con on The Cob, 2015. I liked it so much that I did a little additional touch up to it and had it blown up into two 36"x 48" panels, which were then printed out at OfficeMax on their engineering (blueprint) copier and then glued together with spray adhesive to make one 6ft.x4ft. poster. We hung that poster on the wall next to the actual bar set-up for the Speak Easy party. Total cost: $12 and change.

This second image was also put together as an advertisement for the same event. It didn't turn out nearly as well. The lighting and shadows are all wrong, but it served its purpose.

If I'd had known how little it would cost, I would have blown up more pictures of 1920's bar and party scenes and wallpapered the room with them, instead of spending more than a week making carboard cut-outs of gangsters and flappers.
...But that's another post ;)

Book Binding with Double End Papers

It's been a long time since I posted anything about bookbinding. Quite some time ago, I made a post where I described a double end paper technique that I designed to combat the problem of wrinkled end papers when gluing down the mull. I didn't have any pictures of that technique at the time, and several commenters said they would like to see/hear more about that technique. Well, you are in luck! I've been cleaning out my camera folders and I came across some pics of the process, so I decided to do an updated tutorial on building a hard case for a paperback book. I'll skip the creation of the hard cover and adding the covering material, as that technique has not changed from my earlier posts. I'll jump straight to the double end papers and attaching the mull and the case to the text block.

Assume you have your hard case finished and the soft cover has been removed from your paperback book. Now you are ready to case in. Start by selecting two pieces of paper that, when folded, will be slightly larger than you text bock (or at least as large). One should be white (assuming your text block uses white paper) and the other should be whatever you want to use as your end paper. I'm using black for this example. Fold each in half, width-wise.

Now take your black paper (or whatever color you are using for your end paper), keeping it folded, and apply a narrow strip of glue along one side of the folded edge. I used to use a dry roll-on adhesive for this step, as it did not require any drying time. But I no longer advocate its use, as I have discovered that it has poor archival qualities. Over time the adhesive can break down. Now I recommend using a very thin coat of pva (white glue). Just take a piece of scrap paper to use as a glue shield and line it up along the folded edge, about a quarter inch from the fold. Use a brush to apply a light even coat of glue along the edge of the end paper. This is one of those instances where a very light coat of glue is best. As tempting as it is, don't use your finger to apply the glue. you will almost certainly apply too much. Take the time to use a brush or a foam roller (which you'll be using more of later).

Place your folded end paper into the crease of the white paper, like you were making a two page signature. Fold over the white paper to envelope the end paper and smooth down along the fold with a bone folder to ensure good contact with the glue.

When you are done, you should have a two page signature glued together at the fold with your end paper being on the inside and the white paper on the outside.

 Next, you are going to apply glue to the folded edge of the white paper in just the same way as you did to the end paper. You'll get a nicer finish if you apply your glue along the same side as where the two pages are glued together.

 Now you are ready to apply your end paper signature to your prepared text block. Line up the folded edge of the signature with the spine edge of the text block. You can let the open edges of the signature overhang the text block if your paper is larger than your text block (which I recommend). It will be trimmed later.

Again, use a bone folder to press down on the folded edge to ensure good adhesion. Using your fingers for this can cause smudge marks and wrinkling. I always thought using a bone folder seemed unnecessary whenever I read tutorials that called for it, but I have to say that whenever I use it, I get a nicer finish. 

 You're going to have to make a second end paper signature, just like the first, by repeating the above steps. The second one should be adhered to the back side of the text block in the same way. Then, when both front and back have their signatures glued in place, you should put it under weight to dry. You can even add a page of blotter paper to soak up any excess moisture from the glue (in case you put it on too heavy) to ensure you don't get any wrinkling along the spine edge. I use encyclopedias, or other large books, as weights.

Once it is dry, you will need to trim off that overhang. I use a snap-off razor knife for this. I extend the blade out all the way and use the side of the blade to help keep my cut straight. Let the side of the blade ride along the edge of the text block. The edge of the text block will serve as a guide to ensure that you cut straight and as close to the text block as possible. Lift up the top signature (which is also overhanging) to get it out of your way, and keep the pages of the text block as straight as possible.

 Do this on all the overhanging sides. I get much better results when I make the end signatures overhang and then trim them to match the text block, than I do if I try to cut them to size first and then glue them on.

 Now we are ready to work on the new mull for your paperback book. This step hasn't changed much either since my earlier tutorials, but I have pics, to lets roll with it. I like to use stacked books set on either side of the text block to hold it with the spine facing up. Make sure your spine is clean and as smooth as it can be.

Next, prepare your mull. I'm using brown kraft paper (from recycled paper bags) and cheese cloth (the kind that looks like gauze). The pic below is from an experiment I did that works, but that I don't prefer. I had made some large sheets of prepped mull by gluing a sheet of cheese cloth to a large sheet of kraft paper, and then I would just cut it to size later as I needed it and then glue it on. It is very convenient, but I don't think it makes for as good a quality mull, as the pva used to glue down the cheese cloth does not completely soften up when the fresh glue is applied. Now I just make it as I need it. But I do like to starch my cheese cloth before hand so it is stiffer and easier to work with.

 Apply a good quality pva to one side of your kraft paper and lay a piece of cheese cloth over it. I use a foam roller to apply the glue, as it gives me a nice thin and very even coat and it applies much faster and easier than with a brush. Roll some more pva on top of the cheese cloth. Put a medium coat of glue on it. Then trim your paper/cheesecloth so that it is just slightly shorter than the height of the text block and is wide enough to span the spine and come down at least an inch, maybe two, over the end paper. I also like to cut the corners on a taper. You'll see why in a moment.

 Center your mull over the spine and use your finger and your bone folder to rub the spine, through the kraft paper, to ensure good contact. Wipe up any excess glue that may seep out. Then use your (clean) hands or bone folder to smooth down the side flaps onto the end papers, adhering it to the white paper of the end paper signatures on both front and back.

 Next, take the text block out of the upright holder and insert blotter pages between the white paper and the end paper of your end paper signatures, front and back. For this, I like to use news print as blotter paper, as it absorbs better than regular copy paper. I also like to use some waxed paper as a moisture barrier. Put your blotter paper near the side with the glue, and your waxed paper behind the blotter to keep any moisture from passing through the blotter on to the end paper.

 My favorite kind of waxed paper for this purpose is to recycle the backing paper that adhesive labels come on. It has a plastic coating that makes a very good moisture barrier and they are reusable.

 Insert your blotters front and back and then put the text block under weight to dry. I sometimes use a second page of blotter on top of the glued mull, between it and the weight, to help soak up moisture. The most important part of this process is that you remove as much of the moisture from the drying glue before it can warp your end papers or text block. So use a good blotter next to the glue to absorb moisture, and dry under weight to prevent warping.

When dry, your text block should look something like this.

 Now we are ready to add the finished hard cover.

 Tear off the edges of your white paper about an inch or so from the edge. By making the white paper smaller than the back paper, you ensure that you will not be able to see any white peaking around the edge of the black end paper when it is pasted down. By tearing it rather than cutting it, you deckle the edge, making for a much smoother transition that will not be seen from under the end paper. This is where cutting those corners of the mull on a taper comes in handy. It allows you to get closer to the corner when you tear the white paper.

 Put a few sheets of scrap paper under the white paper to protect the end paper from getting glue on it, just yet. Use a piece of scrap paper on top as a glue shield with at least one sheet of blotter under it, and the waxed paper under that. Line up your text block on the cover boards for the proper fit. Ensure that your square is even all the way around. Use the foam roller to apply pva glue to the white paper and attached mull. Use a medium coating on the mull and a lighter coating on the white paper. Do not apply glue to the spine, just the side.

 Carefully slide the top sheet of scrap paper out from under the glued white paper. This will leave your blotter as the next sheet, and your waxed paper underneath it. Double check your positioning, then close the case over the text block and press down on it to ensure good adhesion to the glued white paper underneath. Do not try to lift the white paper to smooth it onto the case. Close the case onto the text block.

Press down for a few seconds, then lift the cover carefully. Don't open it all the way. Just open it about half way (pointing straight up), enough that you can use your clean hand to smooth out the white paper against the cover, working from spine to edge. If you didn't over load the white paper, there shouldn't be any excess glue. But if there is, clean it off before closing the cover again. Keep that side of the cover closed. Flip the book over, careful not to move the text block around, and repeat the process on the back cover. Then let dry under weight. Once it is dry, you can remove the blotter and waxed pages and it should look like the picture below.

 Now comes the final step. Pasting down the end paper. Again, make your stack of scrap paper, blotter and then waxed paper, and place it under the end paper. Apply a very thin and even coat of pva glue, to the end paper, with a foam roller. You can use a brush, but I like the roller. Slide the scrap paper off the top of the stack, leaving the blotter and waxed paper. Again, gently close the cover over the text block; Do not lift the end paper up to the cover. Press down to get good adhesion.

 Then, just like before, lift the cover half way and smooth the end paper down with your hand, ensuring good adhesion to the cover. Re-close the cover, flip the book over and repeat on the other side. Allow to dry under weight. If you are using a thin coat of glue your drying times should not be more than an hour or so.

In previous posts I advocated using a spray on adhesive to paste down the end papers, as it was instantly dry (contact cement) and added little moisture. However, I have found that it too has poor archival qualities and can break down. Now I use a roller to apply a thin even coat of pva to past down my end papers.

 Once it is dry, you are finished. You should have a nice smooth and wrinkle free end paper and one extra white leaf added to the front (and back) of the text block.

 So there it is, my double end paper technique to avoid wrinkles. I hope you liked it. If you are using this technique and are still having trouble with wrinkling, try using two sheets of news print as blotter and try putting your glue on thinner (or switching to a glue with less water in it). Now go make some books!