How to Repair Worn Out LBBs?

[waysoftheearth]

The spine of my "reader" copy of M&M has recently split from the bottom right up to the lower staple. And I can see that the remainder of the "spine" isn't going to hold out much longer. Given it's age and near-constant use over the last few years, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. And my digest-sized copy of Chainmail is heading in the same direction...

So I've been giving some thought to how should it best be "repaired" or--at the very least--how should further damage be prevented or slowed?

I realise could just "tape it over" but this seems a rather crude approach; surely there is a better way?

Has anyone here had any success repairing LBBs?

[Red Baron]

My condolences for your loss

[geoffrey]

Mar 22, 2014 21:24:16 GMT -6 waysoftheearth said:

[H]ow should further damage be prevented or slowed?

I'm afraid that this is the only part of your post that I have some insight on. I printed-out my own LBBs from pdfs, then took them to Office Max to staple and trim. Each book cost me a mere $2. It's liberating using them. I toss them in my bag without a care in the world. I toss them in the back seat of my car. (I never go anywhere without something to read--you never know.) I throw them across the room to a player when he needs to reference something. I mark in them. I fold them back. I pencil my own notes in them. Etc.

I never had this much freedom or this much fun when I was using old LBBs that were printed by TSR back in the 70s. I was always afraid they'd get damaged. I was always treating them gingerly. I sold both of my sets (one with balrogs, ents, and hobbits, one without) and have never regretted it. Let the collectors have the old copies. My newly-printed copies have the exact same content (both words and illustrations), and they can be replaced indefinitely for $2 each if need be.

Short answer: Put your originals away or sell them. Make your own copies instead for personal use.

[krusader74]

Twice I've bound books (but not D&D books) using a Japanese side stitch. The basic idea is to punch a series of small holes down the inner margin of the book using a hammer and awl. Then use a needle and heavy thread to stitch the book through the holes. Of course you want to use a ruler and pencil first to mark precisely where you want the holes. The difficult part was the stitching--I don't sew or knit or know much about tying knots.

The thought of punching holes in a valuable book was hard to stomach. But I think its a better option than simply taping it back together--tape deteriorates over time, and I think it would make things worse in the long run. Of course, you can and should use cloth tape as a last step to cover over the thread, down the outside spine and inner margins.

[Finarvyn]

First, I should note that I'm not as worried about "collectable" and am more interested in "repaired."

I went the "tape" route for my reader copies of the LBB, but not regular tape. I found some of the clear packing tape which is a couple of inches wide. That stuff sticks better than scotch tape and is less likely to yellow. I had a copy of Greyhawk that had a huge rip in the cover and a bent corner. I put most of the tape on the inner side instead of the cover. Then I taped over the spine to stop it from splitting.

I also had a copy of 1E Metamorphosis Alpha where the middle pages were falling out, so I restapled those. (I have an extra-long stapler.) Looking back, I probably should have done that with my Greyhawk book -- remove the staples, repair the inner side of the cover, insert new staples.

I'm jealous of Geoffrey's home-made copies. Every time I try to do something like this I'm not happy with the final result. I'd love to make a copy of Chainmail and some table copies of M&M.

[mgtremaine]

You could also glue a strip of cardstock to the inside of the cover to reinforce the cover. This is tricky and you need the right tools to make it work. You need bookbinding glue, a bone folding tool and cardstock with the right color to not standout. Use the folding tool to score the crease and work it so it opens easy. Once that is done cut to the size you need, take the staples out of the book and take the cover off. Glue the piece in place let it dry, then poke holes for the staples. Reattach the cover.... I did this to an Arduin Grimoire which had also started to split.around the staples...

[waysoftheearth]

Thanks for the suggestions all.

geoffrey I can see the logic in sealing up precious originals never to be used or touched, and using cheap reproductions "for personal use" as stand ins. On the other hand, selling your originals off and then continuing to create reproductions for yourself, and also for distribution to other players at your table... I don't think I'll go there.

In any case, that's not an issue for me since I don't consider my originals too precious to touch. I have a woodgrain set that I keep in a plastic bag ("just in case"), but I still get it out to check up details now and then. My "reader" is a beat up 6th print that I refer to most days for something, and is full of my own pencil notes. For me I think part of the joy of owning it is in "using it", not just in "having it".

Thanks for the suggestion krusader74, but I think one of the great things about the 3LBBs is the "saddle stapled" format. It means they can be opened flat, and will lay flat on the table, so although side stitching would work, it would undo this nice feature.

kent, your suggestion--effectively replacing the cover with a new one--would certainly work. Being in a country with A paper sizes, I might have to work a bit harder to get exactly the right sized cover, although I don't think the 3LBBs are exactly half US-letter sized in any case (I know different prints were different sizes). "Substituting new" is a bit different to "repairing" and I hadn't given it much thought until now. I'll have to think a bit more about it, but right off the bat I'm inclined to try to preserve what's there. Perhaps I'm overly nostalgic after all. Or just lazy?

mgtremaine, I've been contemplating something similar: to remove the cover, reinforce the whole inside of it with a new sheet of (color-matched, pre-center-folded, same-sized) stock, then re-staple the pages.

I will have more of a think about it, and see what I can realistically do, given my limited "skills".

When I eventually get around to doing something about this, I'll endeavour to provide photos of the process so that others might see how it goes.

[kent]

Mar 23, 2014 20:41:17 GMT -6 waysoftheearth said:

kent, your suggestion--effectively replacing the cover with a new one--would certainly work. Being in a country with A paper sizes, I might have to work a bit harder to get exactly the right sized cover, although I don't think the 3LBBs are exactly half US-letter sized in any case (I know different prints were different sizes). "Substituting new" is a bit different to "repairing" and I hadn't given it much thought until now. I'll have to think a bit more about it, but right off the bat I'm inclined to try to preserve what's there. Perhaps I'm overly nostalgic after all. Or just lazy?

I buy nice editions of books second hand but don't hesitate to apply makeup, for example painting a faded spine, touching up gilt lettering with a silver or gold paint pen or for example recently cropping a few mms from the top of the pages of an 1890 book which was filthy on top but is now pristine. I never resell books so this is for my own satisfaction.

My attitude is to eliminate annoying features if they are distracting. My OD&D covers are in good nick but if there was a large stain or a rip I would investigate replacing it with a high quality card using the best scan I could make of the original touched up in Gimp/Photoshop. It should look identical except for the card colour. With regard to sizes, Im in Ireland so yeah A-sizes, so this would require printing the 100% scan on an A3 card (€1) and cropping with metal ruler and craft knife. The fact that your interior is fine should preserve that original feel.

Of course every other option can be tried before cover replacement.

[maldoor]

A lot of good ideas in this thread. I have some limited experience in conservation of paper materials, and from that perspective offer a couple observations.

The first step is protection: one cheap way to help preserve your copy is an enclosure of some kind. This prevents further wear and tear to the spine while transporting it.

Make a slip cover or phase box (instructions for a phase box here surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=sul .

An easy way to do this is to get a manila folder, cut it about an inch around larger than your M&M, and staple the top and bottom sides together. The M&M can then slide in and out easily and will be protected when not in use. This is not as elegant as a made-to-size slip cover, but costs almost nothing (you surely have an old manila folder someplace) and takes all of a minute to do.

I recommend you not use sticky tape to repair any paper product you want to preserve. It hastens the decay of the paper, the sticky bleeds into the paper and causes discoloration, and it is difficult or impossible to reverse later.

What Fin and mgtremaine suggest above seems most sensible. Carefully remove the staples, reinforce the fraying cover – I would use a piece of of japanese tissue (kozo) about an inch wide to reinforce the seam. Use starch or wheat paste to make the repair (since it is reversible) or a pH neutral glue (look for PVA in the states or EVA in the UK, often found in hobby or art supply stores or on Amazon). Another good option is methyl cellulose, which you can find in art supply stores. Carefully cut the strip of reinforcement, glue it on, sandwich it in-between two flat hard things like pieces of MDF and place a weight on top so it will dry overnight unwrinkled. You may want to place pieces of wax paper above and below so any excess paste does not stick to the MDF.

Replace the same staples if you care about that, or replace them with stainless steel ones that will not rust.

I would enjoy seeing a picture of your repair on these boards if you are so minded. No matter what you decide to do, good luck!

[thorswulf]

Talk to a librarian for advice. They may have ideas for products to usse. I know that the tape that libraries use is different than run of the mill tape. Most of the other ideas will work as mentioned.

[maldoor]

Thorswulf has excellent advice! As it turns out, I am a librarian (got my Master's degree in 1997).

There are a variety of specialized tapes for use in repair. In this case you would likely want something as in this link:
apps.webcreate.com/ecom/catalog/product_specific.cfm?ClientID=15&ProductID=21126

It is certainly easier to use for a library book, but few would use tape on anything they want to preserve for a long time. Like everything else this is up for debate: see this recent discussion among conservationists for further views - this discussion comes up somewhat frequently, most recently about repair of some old blueprints.
listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind1404&L=BOOK_ARTS-L&F=&S=&P=22116

waysoftheearth, your local public library may well have someone experienced in book repair (and if you are lucky they may let you have a piece of mending tape if you want to go that way!).

[waysoftheearth]

Thanks guys, some great advice. I may have some time to look into it more carefully this weekend; we'll see.