This is a useful structure when you want to create double sided pages using single sided artwork – so for printmakers who are only printing on one side of their paper for example. Also the pages are glued together not sewn so there are no sewing stitches in the centre folds of the pages to interfere with the artwork.
It can be tricky to make this one neatly so go carefully with the construction process. It works best when the paper you are using is a decent weight, say upwards of 150 gsm. The grain direction of all the pages should run head to tail or parallel to the spine fold.
The drumleaf is made from single sided artwork, folded in half with the artwork on the inside of the fold. All the pages should be cut to the same size. It is better to cut them to size after they have been folded.
The first thing to glue is the spine, as if you were making a perfect binding. Knock the pages up into perfect alignment and clamp between two boards with a weight on top. The video will show you the knocking up/down technique.
The next video will show you the technique for glueing the fore edges of the book - the drumming of the pages which gives the structure its name. This process will make each page double thickness and you will no longer be able to see the blank sides. We only glue a narrow strip at the edge of the page. If we glued the whole page, the paper would become stiff and might cockle and warp as it dries. Even so, a lot can go wrong here! You should keep checking the shape of the spine as you work through the pages - making sure that it stays square/upright. Also be careful that the pages stick together smoothly. They will crease if you don't join them in the right place. (Try to develop a "rolling down" technique here, as if you were laying a sheet of paper on a flat surface from one end of the sheet to the other.) Smaller books are easier to make than larger ones so maybe practice this structure on a small book first. On a larger page size, you may be able to weight the spine so that it doesn't move out of shape whilst you glue. I like to start glueing from the back of the book and work forwards. If you find this step difficult, try it with your own PVA/paste mix as this will slow the drying process down giving the pages time to settle into the right position.
Repeat this demo on all blank pairs of pages.
I have added endpapers to my book. These are made from two sheets of paper the same size as a double page spread, but start with a slightly larger sheet if you can. Fold this in half, press the fold, then cut to the size of your pages. The end papers could just be tipped in to the spine or they can be tipped in at the spine and the fore edge – see below.
Strengthen the spine
It is a good idea to stick something over the spine for additional strength. This could be thin fabric or strong thin paper. I am using envelope paper. check the grain direction first then cut to size – about 2mm shorter than the height of the pages and about 2cm wider than the spine.
Cut two boards and a spine piece
The hard cover is similar to a normal hard back cover but with the drumleaf, you need a wider gap at the back to allow for movement as the book opens.
Measure and cut your boards in 2mm thick grey board as follows: front cover = (width of pages minus 2 mm) x (height of pages + 6 mm) back cover = (width of pages minus 7 mm) x (height of pages + 6 mm) spine piece = (thickness of book + 4 mm) x (height of pages + 6 mm)
So last thing to do is to stick the cover to the pages. We just glue the endpapers not the spine. See video below for this process.
