Bookbinding With Glue Only

When I was doing a cleanout of my boxes I found this stack of a printout I had made years ago. The pages were still in good condition so I decided to try turning them into a book.

Step 1:

However, after a quick test of glueing a few blank sheets together, I quickly realized all THAT did was make a huge mess of the pages. So I came up with this method:

First, I made a box out of foamboard, one that fit the pages exactly. This was to make sure the pages stayed aligned during the process. I then measured out 1/2 inch wide lines on two sheets of paper(in this case I used cardstock to make it easier for this instructable) and coated both sides of each, one at a time, with ordinary white glue and set them aside to dry completely.

Step 2:

I then cut the pre-glued strips apart. After I had them all cut it was time for the next step.

I stacked the pages in the proper order and set them next to the foamboard box I had made earlier.

Step 3:

Working from the last page forwards, I set the page into the box, then applied white glue with a disposable paintbrush to the strip and glued it to the page. I then applied glue to the top of the strip and set the next page on top. I used the paintbrush to avoid putting too much glue onto the pages: The moisture in the glue makes them warp too much to fix. And I did this for each page... Page, glue strip, place glue strip down, apply more glue, next page... over and over again. Tedious yes but it came out well.

Step 4:

Finally, all the pages were glued together. I then set it aside to dry.

When it was dry I pulled it out of the box. The back edge was thicker than the front but none of the pages could ever fall out. The next step was to make two hinges for the back and front. These hinges were also made from thin cardstock and were 1 and 1/2 inches wide. The half inch part was glued to the body of the pages while the 1 inch part is for the cover.

Step 5:

Here you can see the hinges. The cardboard for the covers was cut from a postal delivery box. I had saved the box from a ups package I had received. The paper is 8.5 by 11 inches so I added 1/2 inch to three of the sides(excluding the spine of the book) and cut them 9 by 12 inches. I then glued the 1 inch side of the hinge to the cover cardboards.

Step 6:

This is the book ready for doing the covers. After the glue dried I glued a blank sheet of paper to the exposed strip on the body of the book to hide the obvious strip on the front page. The final pic shows the book opened: There is no indication of the glued strips holding it together. And once it is fully bound there will be no trace of the strips visible.

Step 7: