I haven’t been here in a very long time. But here’s a project I completed yesterday. Lots of machines involved here. X-carve cut out the front and back covers with the holes for the binding, my low-powered laser did the engraving, and then my wire binding machine buttoned it all up.
Comments welcome.
Very nice project! Please tell me more about your wire binding machine.
Dang it, a couple days late for me. I made a guest sign in book this weekend for my mom’s wedding and was looking for ideas. This would have been perfect. I like it. Can you explain more about the project? Thickness of the wood, finish, binding, etc.
Seems like there could be a market for this type of thing. Very well done
Here’s a picture of the twin loop wire binding machine. It’s an Akiles Wiremac 21, which means 2 holes per inch for the wire coil things. It also comes with a 3 holes per inch version (called the 31), but that size is only binds up to 9/16" thickness, and with two eighth inch wooden covers, that’s not thick enough, so I went with the 21 which goes up to an inch and a quarter I believe. This notebook has 60 sheets in it, and is bound with 5/8" wire.
I bought it from mybinding.com. They had a great 15% off coupon at the time. This is the very first project I’ve made with it, so it’s still exciting and fresh. Let me know if you have any other questions.
You can see about the binding in my other post here. This is 1/8" bird’s eye maple that I actually got from Inventables like a year ago and it has been just waiting for the right project. I did the CAD part in Vcarve desktop, but it could easily be done in Easel as well. I just used the specs from the binding machine website for hole size and spacing.
After the x-carve, I sanded, then lasered on the Eleksmaker A3 diode laser machine that I got from China, then a few coats of satin spray lacquer, and that’s about it.
I really like how that turned out. Might need to look into something like that for myself. Unless I can find one laying around at the office haha
Do a search for “craft wire binding machines” and you will find a lot of inexpensive units to play with until you want to spend more. My wife has one and is easy for her to use. This is one she has. You can find it for around $50.00
Good call out, thanks. I looked at a few of those and decided to just go with a full semi-professional level machine, because I knew I’d be happier with the performance, but those smaller crafting machines certainly can bind a book very well at a fraction of the price.
