I’m definitely a beginner too, especially with using actual cloth - I think I just got lucky with which fabric I happened to have on hand.

This simple beginning definitely got us thinking about more elaborate stuff to try in the future. Part of why I did a basic cloth hardcover was that the author never made any cover art for it, and partly that I just thought it would be a good fit for the feel of the story. But for some of our own I think we can do some really cool versions of their cover art in this format. Part of that would be inverting the colors and dialing in the contrast for clarity.

I’ve seen some really cool looking illustrations etched on online demonstrating the potential:

That’s right! I’d seen images like these online:

So I knew it could be done and that for some reason the fabric turned lighter where it was zapped, but I didn’t know why, or if that would happen when I tried it. I thought it might darken like paper and wood do when etched, or that it might burn all the way through, or just not look very good. My backup plan was to use the etching as a guide and to paint the letters on with gold paint (I’ve got a pretty steady hand with a paintbrush from painting warhammer in my youth so it felt like okay odds of success) but it turned out much like the other images I saw!

I’m attaching a close up photo to hopefully give you a better idea of how it looks:

I think you can see that the cloth is a little diminished, and the etched section is maybe a thousandth of an inch (or two) lower (though I don’t think the white color is coming from the glue on the back or anything because it’s so consistent). I’m not sure why it reacted like this.

Looking at this test I don’t think I can feel a difference in depth with fingertips until I get to 30%.

To be honest, until reading this comment I didn’t even know that was a thing! This is very cool and something I’m going to have to experiment with in the future!

Every time before this book I used a heavy duty canvas suitable for printing on with a plotter printer. It was very sturdy and seemed pretty impermeable, so it was very easy and low-risk to glue to the bookboard. Dust didn’t really seem to stick to it either.

With this one, I just just glued the fabric to the bookboard with acid-free PVA but I was much more careful with the amount of glue I used for fear it’d soak through. I think I went a little light on my first copy, but I’m working on another and took a few more risks and they worked out - it seems to be better bonded without marring the outside. I have noticed that dust really sticks to it, I don’t know how well this one would hold up to thumping around in a backpack for a few weeks or anything like that. So there’s definitely room to improve on the materials.

Thanks! That reminds me: one thing I did on the second and third book blocks was clamp them further in, so they were more or less flush with the boards. (I think the bookbinding book said to let it stick out a bit). That let me compress the spine an extra millimeter or two, so it wasn’t as flaired as on the first one. I think it’s always going to be a little thicker on the spine side because of all the folds and thread, but I think this looks better.

I’m just getting into bookbinding. It requires surprisingly few tools and not a ton of space (though like all hobbies it can always grow to consume whatever space is available). Its a good option if you have access to a printer with free or cheap prints.

Balcony gardening can be satisfying but might not be what you’re looking for.

If you already have a project (or lots of them) in mind, a 3d printer can be great to have around. Depending on your fillaments of choice (determined by what you want the print to be able to do) you might need good ventilation or an enclosure. If you have a spare bedroom that’s a good start.

Sorry I’m seeing this so late, if you’re still looking for suggestions, I might be able to help. I’m not a professional carpenter but I used to help relatives who were on small job sites and I build stuff for myself fairly often. If the walls they built are just partitions, not load bearing, then changing the frames should be doable, how easily depends a bit on how the walls are made.

Usually we’d build a frame out of 2"x4"s, rough in the doorways, then clad the walls with sheetrock or shiplap or something, then box in the correct final dimensions of the door frame with 1"x4" boards or trim.

Changing the doorway to make it standard might mean disassembling the doorframe and some of the surrounding wall to get at the framing underneath. If it’s wood panels or similar that can be pried up and put back, that might be a quick job. If it’s sheetrock, fixing it might be more work.

Cutting the doors will be easier, but sort of locks you in on the nonstandard door sizes. If you’re anticipating changing them again that might not be worth it, otherwise I’d probably just cut the doors.

My SO remembered what the cable I used for hanging the frame came from. It was attached to an HDMI adapter I pulled from ewaste - that’s how her company secures adapters to the conference tables so people won’t take them. When they upgraded they just clipped them off the tables.

Good to know, broken how?

Very cool!!

Hi, it’s been awhile since you asked, but if you’re still interested, I set up that blog on the instance’s movim platform where I’m posting all my IRL projects, making stuff, fixing stuff, cooking, etc. Thanks for getting me thinking about this, it’s really nice to have one place where all my projects are organized together, and where the posts are backed up off corporate internet. Plus movim is quite nice (everyone using lemmy from slrpnk.net has one) and add free.

https://movim.slrpnk.net/blog/jacobcoffinwrites%40slrpnk.net

Right now it’s got all my old projects (I updated a few posts as I went) but I’m working on write ups for a few new ones. Thanks!

Thank you!

Thanks! It was a fun one - there’s something very satisfying about sanding crud off a nice flat surface. and I’m glad it’s getting good use

In the summer we give some to our tomatoes, and sometimes we’ll cook with it

They can and did. But it was more than a week’s worth of milk at their usual consumption and the clients couldn’t drink it all in the few days available. I was trying to explain how they ended up with so much expired milk all at once.

Sorry if the wording was ambiguous, I’d meant they couldn’t serve or donate it on the expiration date but it arrived too close to that to serve it all.

Happy to! It’s a useful one

Thanks! My SO’s company lets me dig through their ewaste bin, I’m friends with a guy who works at the recycling center, and my friends and relatives and neighbors know I do this, so they direct old computers my way. I’d also recommend Everything is Free and Buy Nothing groups, which are usually (unfortunately) on facebook, and are a wonderful resource for keeping stuff out of the trash, helping your neighbors, and honestly kind of building community. I’ve met so many cool people through giving and getting stuff on there (I also do something similar with furniture I find on trash day, refinish, and give away, so I’ve been getting to know people through that too.)

I’m gonna see about moving swap to the built in storage at least, hopefully that’ll buy the microSD some time

Thanks! and that’s good to know - I was worried it might do something like that but hadn’t looked into it.

Good to know! Mate is my preferred version but when I installed it I think it took like 12 or 14 gigs, enough that when I ran updates, the download got nail-bitingly close to filling the disk and failing - I’ll go back and look at the options I selected

Hey wow, thank you! Kind of but it’s mostly just for my art projects and writing updates, I keep meaning to set up something more general on this instance’s movim system but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.