Diy: Ocm Cotton Notebook Fast

[Blankly]

Hey folks, I am a long time lurker but new member. For my first post I thought I would share how I make FPF notebooks for school. I personally prefer the A5 size so that's what I make but you could make an 8.5 x 11 just the same.

 

This is what goes into one journal.

• OCM Cotton A5 Pad x 1
• 46pt A5 Chipboard x 2
• Twin Loop Wire 1/2" x 1

I carefully remove the pages from the pad and print my lines. I created a word document using justified rows of underscores with 1.5 spaced lines. The margins for the front are T: 0.5", B: 0.17"", L: 0.5", R: 0.17" Gutter: Left. The back side just switches the left and right margins. These are just general guidelines for curious DIY'ers. I use the "cinch" twin loop binding machine because it's cheap and it works. lol My last batch of journals only cost around $7 per unit and they are reasonably durable.

 

[Alexandra]

Looks nice! OCM is some of the fines paper out there.

[Plume145]

That looks gorgeous! Home binding machines FTW I do love the round holes the cinch makes! Most binding machines make square holes, including the Bind-it-all (that's what I have), so I think round ones really class up the look. Plus, you can then use eyelets on the holes, which is handy if you want your covers to be reuseable (eg because they're decorated).

 

One question: how does the cinch do with closing the wires? I was having a lot of trouble figuring out how to work my Bind it all so I looked at a few reviews for the CInch, thinking I might sell the BIA and get a Cinch instead since it looked simpler, but a number of reviews mentioned it was a little crummy at closing the wires - they'd get a little bent and it wouldn't be a perfect circle. These ones look perfect, but have you experienced that at all?

 

Anyway, you get big props from me for not only using the cinch but also mentioning that you did! There is just SO much potential in tools and materials marketed to paper crafters for FP people, but you almost never see any mentions - the craft world and the FP world are these totally separate pools. I find that odd because for me they've always been closely linked, extensions of each other. For example most scrapbook paper I've tried is VERY fountain pen friendly, and there are things like corner rounder punches sold for crafts that have twice the punching power and accuracy of office supply versions at a fraction of the price of the larger print shop versions (which aren't really an option when you're shopping just for personal use). So it's great that you mentioned it

[Blankly]

That looks gorgeous! Home binding machines FTW I do love the round holes the cinch makes! Most binding machines make square holes, including the Bind-it-all (that's what I have), so I think round ones really class up the look. Plus, you can then use eyelets on the holes, which is handy if you want your covers to be reuseable (eg because they're decorated).

 

One question: how does the cinch do with closing the wires? I was having a lot of trouble figuring out how to work my Bind it all so I looked at a few reviews for the CInch, thinking I might sell the BIA and get a Cinch instead since it looked simpler, but a number of reviews mentioned it was a little crummy at closing the wires - they'd get a little bent and it wouldn't be a perfect circle. These ones look perfect, but have you experienced that at all?

 

Anyway, you get big props from me for not only using the cinch but also mentioning that you did! There is just SO much potential in tools and materials marketed to paper crafters for FP people, but you almost never see any mentions - the craft world and the FP world are these totally separate pools. I find that odd because for me they've always been closely linked, extensions of each other. For example most scrapbook paper I've tried is VERY fountain pen friendly, and there are things like corner rounder punches sold for crafts that have twice the punching power and accuracy of office supply versions at a fraction of the price of the larger print shop versions (which aren't really an option when you're shopping just for personal use). So it's great that you mentioned it

 

Thanks! I agree that paper crafting should bleed into this hobby and have a hard time understanding why so many people are willing to spend ungodly amounts of money on things they can make for themselves.

 

On to the Cinch... unfortunately the closing of the wire is probably the same as the BIA. It's a PITA. I've learned to use it but it's not my favorite part of the process. In my experience though what does make for a better close is to not skimp on the wire. Get either off of ebay or a binding supply shop online a box of the nicer "premium" (thicker) wire. I've made that mistake with a box XD. If you do get the Cinch, what I've found works best is to set it about two "clicks" lower than the supplied indication of where it should be for a particular diameter. Also, since the length of a project for journaling purposes is often longer than the little press it requires practice and patience as you sometimes have to do it in several segments and or passes. It's critically important to position the wire flush against the back of the machine to have the second half of the wire close the same as the first. My wires aren't perfectly cylindrical (there's a weird flat spot along the spine due to cheap wire prior to bending) but they are all uniformly closed so it doesn't cause problems. The pages all turn fine and I haven't had a problem as long as I was careful bending the cheaper wire. Any wire does tend to squash though if you rush the process. My guess is people that give the machine bad reviews are giving reviews of their ability to use the machine.

[Plume145]

I know! It's so weird because there IS already an element of craftiness with DIY pen repairs and ink color mixing. And then there's the people who restore pen display cabinets, desks, writing slopes, and whatnot, but these are a whole other level of investment in time, materials, and skills to acquire if you don't already have them. Some papercrafts projects do require more specialized skills but there's plenty you can do with nothing more than general manual dexterity and a few cross-disciplinary or school-leaver skills.

 

Sometimes I wish there was more room for tutorials and how-tos around the pen community. Same way you can post reviews, just for tutorials - general tutorials, too, not just about ink mixing or pen repairs. But there's only the general pen forums, where things can sink into second page oblivion so quick it seems a waste of effort to create them, and the rest of the community is only blogs. I get ideas I'd like to share with others every so often but I can't seem to find a good place to post them :-/

 

Thanks about the info on the Cinch! It sounds like the Cinch and the BIA are a case of six of one, half a dozen of the other when it comes to performance and use. I liked the part about how people are really leaving a bad review of their own skill rather than the machine! that made me laugh because I've seen that happen a few times with tools or supplies. It can be useful too, because sometimes it can suggest the instructions are not good enough or the tool needlessly complicated to use.