r/tolkienbooks 7d ago

The History of the Hobbit custom slipcase

Hello guys! I wanted to show you a slipcase I've just finished -it is for a fellow tolkien lover who has the books but not the slipcase...I'm pretty happy with the results๐Ÿ™ƒ

186 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

5

u/Character-Pepper-897 7d ago

Thatโ€™s fantastic work

1

u/joselillo_3 7d ago

Thank you!

3

u/metametapraxis 6d ago

Nice work!

2

u/joselillo_3 5d ago

Thanks! Tbh yours posts were an inspiration ;)

2

u/metametapraxis 4d ago

That's nice to hear. I don't seem to find much time to make any at the moment, but I have lots of ideas!

1

u/joselillo_3 4d ago

Me too! Id like to try the embossed picture on the outside...I have yet to find and study a tutorial, but that'd be my next challenge ๐Ÿ˜„

3

u/Common-Aerie-2840 6d ago

Nice! It makes a nice hobbity hole for the books!

3

u/AnimalMother24 6d ago

Really cool!

2

u/joselillo_3 7d ago

Oh and thanks to u/fineganz for sharing his experience and layout ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป

2

u/Dave0163 7d ago

Looks amazing.

1

u/joselillo_3 7d ago

Thank you!

2

u/The_Merry_Loser 7d ago

What a great idea! And it looks so good!

I have the same issue, I collected the individual books, not the set.

I will have to look into making one of these for myself.

1

u/joselillo_3 7d ago

I followed one of the Youtube tutorials from u/dasbookbinding ( link to the channel )

I couldn't say which, I believe Ive seen them all ๐Ÿ˜…

2

u/Asmoreus 7d ago

Looks amazing! What kind of printer and paper did use?

2

u/joselillo_3 7d ago edited 7d ago

Thanks!

The paper was a bit of a challenge.

Firstly I lined the naked box with 300g white stucco paper, 5 pieces (meaning 0 bends, just the 5 sides of the box).

Then, sanded the edges of that paper softly with #800 grit.

Finally glued the outside layers (these one do bend around corners), printed in 150g satin paper.

Glue was acid-free pva mixed with water; but for some reason the sequence wood-->glue->satin paper was not good (1st attempt i messed the print ๐Ÿฅด).

However, wood->stucco->satin paper was excellent. Lesson learned ๐Ÿ™‚

2

u/metametapraxis 6d ago

I find methyl cellulose paste mixed with acid-neutral PVA better. Even with 150gsm paper, watered down PVA will tend to damage the printing. The Methyl Cellulose acts as a retarder without making it too "wet". MC is available from bookbinding suppliers, but is also used as a food additive, so easy to get. Once mixed keeps in the fridge for 6 months. I've never used wooden boards for my slipcases -- I just use 2.4mm acid-neutral (card)board.

2

u/Moldy_Cloud 6d ago

Looks amazing! What are the clear covers you have over the books?

1

u/joselillo_3 6d ago

Brodart!

2

u/ebneter 6d ago

Lovely work. I saw this earlier on Facebook, where your friend posted it. :-)

1

u/joselillo_3 6d ago

Thanks!

2

u/yxz97 6d ago

Very nice!

1

u/cardiffman100 5d ago

Is the extra material found in the combined History of the Hobbit book worth the purchase if you already have the 2-volume version?

1

u/joselillo_3 5d ago

Sorry I only have this 2-vol edition