After seeing our recovered Bibles, one of my nieces wanted to make a hardcover book that she would be able to write and draw in. The process was basically the same but it was actually a little quicker to do.
Next time I would make two changes:
1. Use a very thick and stiff utility knife to trim textblock or not trim those pages at all.
2. Woven the reinforcing ribbon into the thread that stitched the loose pages into signatures for an even stronger connection between the pages and the ribbon.
Here is an annotated slideshow of the steps:
Acid-Free Paper from Sketchbook
Cut Pages Out of Sketchbook
Print Lines on one Side of Pages
Fold Small Groups of Pages Together
Stitch Pages Together into Signatures
Inside of Signature
Back of Signature
Stacked Signatures
Clamp Stack of Signatures Together Very Tightly to Prevent Glue Leakage
Apply a Couple of Layers of PVA Bookbinding Glue and Embed Reinforcing Ribbon in Glue – Should Have Slipped Under Signature Thread
Unclamped Text Block
Trimming Textblock – I wish I hadn’t – Should have used a Very Stiff Utility Knife
Top View of Trimmed Pages
Uh Oh! Blade Flexed Creating Wavey Edge of Textblock
Cut Backerboards out of Chip Board
Cut Spine Board out of Chip Board – Width Equals Textblock + Thickness of Front and Back Cover
Place Backerboards about two Thicknesses from Spine Board on Cover Material and Trim with 1″ Extra Around Outside
Glue Backboard to Cover Material – Fold and Glue Corners
Fold and Glue Top and Bottom Edges
Fold and Glue Sides
Place Heavy Objects on Cover and Let Glue Dry
Glue ONLY Ribbons to Backer Board (Don’t Glue Spine to Spine Board) – Glue in End Papers (Not Pictured)
Place Heavy Objects on End Papers and Let Glue Dry
If you had access to one that was still really sharp and the arm wasn’t loose it might be worth a try. I’ve never had good luck with them but thanks for the suggestion. The pages can look nice if care is taken when you fold them together and they really probably don’t need to be trimmed. I’m pretty familiar with an Exacto knife so if it was critical to me I’d try a standard utility knife with a brand new blade first.
Hi, i’ve had to do some page trimming before….it can get messy. but it can be done if you use a sharp blade ( keep snapping off the old blade as soon as it dulls) and keep the ruler firmly in place. i’m not sure how much strength you were applying when trimming but i also find the trick is to do a light downward sweep, rather than use brute strength, going through only a few pages at a time and flicking the loose ends to the side, so you start with a clean edge each time. or else it can get very messy. and if the book is thick, you will need to move the ruler down to a lower page at some point, which can be tricky to align.
What a great idea Pearly! I did everything you mentioned except moving the ruler down as I continued to cut. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. What a great solution! Thanks for taking the time to share it.
Jason Patz 
Perhaps one of those nifty guillotine paper cutters instead?
If you had access to one that was still really sharp and the arm wasn’t loose it might be worth a try. I’ve never had good luck with them but thanks for the suggestion. The pages can look nice if care is taken when you fold them together and they really probably don’t need to be trimmed. I’m pretty familiar with an Exacto knife so if it was critical to me I’d try a standard utility knife with a brand new blade first.
Hi, i’ve had to do some page trimming before….it can get messy. but it can be done if you use a sharp blade ( keep snapping off the old blade as soon as it dulls) and keep the ruler firmly in place. i’m not sure how much strength you were applying when trimming but i also find the trick is to do a light downward sweep, rather than use brute strength, going through only a few pages at a time and flicking the loose ends to the side, so you start with a clean edge each time. or else it can get very messy. and if the book is thick, you will need to move the ruler down to a lower page at some point, which can be tricky to align.
What a great idea Pearly! I did everything you mentioned except moving the ruler down as I continued to cut. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. What a great solution! Thanks for taking the time to share it.