I've experimented with trying to get a book glued up enough to turn, but have failed six or seven times. I will cut a book or two, stack it up to proper size, then try to get the pages bound up with resin or wood glue generally. I've tried stabilizing resin, penetrating epoxy, and CA to bind the pages up. However, paper doesn't seem to like these types of glues and it just splits too easily. Wood glue has been my latest experiment but the pages swell up so fast that it fails to stay flat and becomes a big mess. It seems like I saw pictures of a turned book a few years ago, but I can't locate them anymore or know who to ask. Any ideas? Thanks
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Anyone use a book as a blank for turning?
- Thread starter David Heinlen
- Start date
I suggest you check out Kailee Bosch. She has accomplished what I believe you are wanting to do.
Also a search of the AAW archives should result in some hits. I recall at least twice seeing examples in the Journal over the years - would have been after about 2003.
Vacuum chamber with the book sandwiched between two (or more) twin screw clamps?
2-1 titebond to distilled mix to get the glue where it needs to be?
2-1 titebond to distilled mix to get the glue where it needs to be?
Dave Landers
Beta Tester
I believe Kailee said in one of our club demos that she used epoxy resin (not totally sure about that) and painted each page individually, then cured it in a press. Had to do in sections (chapters? 
) so it wouldn't cure before she was done. Sounds horribly tedious, but her results are great. https://kaileebosch.com/woodturning-process/
) so it wouldn't cure before she was done. Sounds horribly tedious, but her results are great. https://kaileebosch.com/woodturning-process/
I’ve produced knife handle blanks using cloth and thin laminating Epoxy. I’m pretty sure this would also work with paper provided it’s not glossy. I would have thought laminating something like a novel would work?
I can't even guess how long it would take for all that water to evaporate before the paper was dry.
Neither can I, but resin work is slow going generally, so I don't think I would plan on turning anything for a week regardless.
I have no experience with turning books or any resin stuff, but I'm wondering if Cactus Juice might be the ticket.
Not quite what you’re asking about, but in the same realm. Andy Chen made a stretchy hollowform from paper:
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nERL2qV3bjw
Cactus Juice is a heat setting resin that displaces air at the cellular level. It's not an adhesive.
What a fascinating problem - here are some thoughts:
- First, remove the front, back and spline cover - they are the last step
- Make a mold with maybe a 1/4" slop
- Wax the mold like crazy - it is the "mold release"
- Aero Marines 300 epoxy is viscosity 600 which is thin - it is also long working time at 70-degrees
- get a cheap Home Depot spray gun
- lay a page - spray - lay a page - spray and so on
- When the epoxy thickens, lay a 3/4" baltic birch (well waxed) and clamp
- After two or three days, remove the 3/4" baltic birch, and do the same thing to build thickness
- when thickness achieved, same routine on the covers
You're signing up for failure and expense - innovation has a price (ask Elon). But after screwing-up a few up you'll become the world authority. And I'll be one of the guys telling everyone "I told you how to do it"
- First, remove the front, back and spline cover - they are the last step
- Make a mold with maybe a 1/4" slop
- Wax the mold like crazy - it is the "mold release"
- Aero Marines 300 epoxy is viscosity 600 which is thin - it is also long working time at 70-degrees
- get a cheap Home Depot spray gun
- lay a page - spray - lay a page - spray and so on
- When the epoxy thickens, lay a 3/4" baltic birch (well waxed) and clamp
- After two or three days, remove the 3/4" baltic birch, and do the same thing to build thickness
- when thickness achieved, same routine on the covers
You're signing up for failure and expense - innovation has a price (ask Elon). But after screwing-up a few up you'll become the world authority. And I'll be one of the guys telling everyone "I told you how to do it"
Dave Landers
Beta Tester
I also recall that Peter Brown did a YouTube where he made a hammer from Adam Savage's book.
This should help:
https://www.robertflyon.com/ewExternalFiles/RobertLyon.pdf
https://www.robertflyon.com/ewExternalFiles/RobertLyon.pdf
This why several of my first blanks have failed. I'm using pen sized blanks for now, but they have just come apart either while drilling down the center or while turning. The first batch was stabilized with Cactus Juice after discovering ultra-thin CA didn't penetrate even a pen blank far enough. These very first attempts were using a bound pile of pages (rubber band or stretchy tape) and trying to force these liquids into the blank as is. Big failure. Everything going forward now requires "painting" each page quickly to get proper coverage through the whole blank, just like Kailee Bosch does with her turnings using epoxy. CA would never work this way of course.
My first use of Titebond was a bit of a mess but there's one from that experiment that looks promising. There's a double problem of the glue acting like grease and the pages expanding fast. You have to confine the mess into a built trough to prevent the pages from sliding around, and to provide a way to clamp it quickly into a usable size. However, it looks like it will take months to dry on its own. It needs to remain clamped or the paper will keep trying expand, but clamping also creates a seal and keeps it from drying through two of the sides. I deconstructed my trough to open up the sides for drying. I will also try a "heat mat" and set it at 100 degrees for a week or more to see if it will force the water to escape the blank. Heat mats are used for nursery plant seedlings and some small reptiles in captivity.
I've been using both magazine paper and standard book paper. I tried to insert colorful magazine paper as layers into a section of book paper. Total Boat penetrating epoxy didn't like the magazine paper and it separated. Penetrating epoxy seems to be just over-diluted regular epoxy and may have a place, but not here or for any wood laminations I believe. Titebond seemed to like everything but it didn't penetrate far into the page, just like what you want it to do when using paper between a blank and a piece of mounted wood. It may work but require very careful turning with very sharp tools of course. Encouraging except for the drying problem for now.
I think the answer is with laminating epoxy, even though it may not like the magazine paper, and the covers on paperback books. I may have to skip using any shiny paper for now. Currently, I'm waiting for a shipment of laminating epoxy from Entropy Resins. Recommended by a tech-support guy at West Marine, you can also choose the hardener depending on how fast you want to set. Kailee Bosch uses a different brand of laminating epoxy but they were out of stock when I tried to get some. However, you have to watch out for epoxies in general if you're just using the white pages of a traditional book because of the yellowing they tend to do. I don't know yet if that's too big of a deal since I'm still in the battle to get a reliable and turnable pile of pages so far. Color will have to wait for now. Perhaps I can report back in a couple weeks as I get to the next step.