ESV

DIY: Blank Bible (part 2) Cut, Rip, Clamp, Saw

Tony Reinke Blank Bible, ESV, Jonathan Edwards

DIY: Blank Bible (part 2) Cut, Rip, Clamp, Saw

[Read part one first]

“Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.” (Acts 18:24)

So you are standing there, your arms criss-crossed over your precious bible pressed against your bosom looking at the cold table saw as if it were a monster about to eat your child. I’ve been there.

Deciding to take apart a precious bible (or a new one you spend good money on) is a difficult decision. But if you are faithful to go through these eight simple steps, you will produce a very useful tool in your pursuit of being “competent in the Scriptures.”

Let’s get it started…

1. Cutting

Like I said, for our purposes we are using the ESV English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament. Since it’s a hardcover we will need to cut the cover off first. Using the utility knife, find where the boards are connected to the book pages, usually in the crease of the front and back cover. With the knife, simply cut down the crease. The boards (hard covers) should come off after this cut.

2. Ripping

Once the cover is off, you will be holding a brick of paper, still bound together on the spine. Put the cover aside or throw it away (it will not be needed from here out).

I have noticed (especially with Crossway bibles) there is a layer of glue on the spine you can rip off by hand. This will make the cut much easier and you will have less glue stuck to your table saw blade.

Here is what it looks like once you have the cover cut off and some of the binding ripped off …

Options

Here is where you can take two different options. The most daring (but the most fun) is to get the table saw ready. The second option is to take this brick of paper to the local office supply store to have the binding cut off. (I first recommended people not do this because I once had an NAS-NIV interlinear mangled by one of the Kinko’s cutters. Because the binding holds it’s not like cutting a ream of paper, but can actually bind and stair-step cut the book.)

Since the first series of posts on the “Jonathan Edwards Blank Bible” I have been assured by those in the field that if the book is clamped tight enough you can cut the binding off very cleanly with a paper cutter knife. So that is one option I give to you.

But for the rest of you, put on the safety glasses and head out to the garage.

3. Clamping

Critical in cutting the binding off is clamping the bible tightly. I use two boards (one on top and one on the bottom) screwed together to sandwich the bible. I use plywood that is cut a little larger than the bible itself. The boards and the loose side of the pages should all be lined up flush against the guide on the table saw. I used one screw to hold the leading edge of the pywood and bible together while holding the back end down as I sawed.

[Note: on paperback books, as I will show you in the future, you leave the binding on and just use a board on the bottom side of the book you are cutting.]

This clamping ensures the bible is tight. If the bible is not firmly fastened, the blade can really mangle the biding edge. And secondly, having the bible clamped is useful when you are transitioning from a one-piece bible to 600 individual sheets of paper.

4. Sawing

Now we are ready to cut (insert Tim “The Toolman” Taylor grunting here).

Make sure you have a new blade because the sharper the better.

Line the guide on the saw to remove roughly 1/8” – 1/4” of the binding edge. I set the blade high enough to cut through both the top and bottom boards. Slowly, run the clamped bible through the saw until all the way through.

Don’t take the clamp off yet. First, check to make certain you have all your fingers and then look at the binding.

Look at this picture (to the left) of one of the bibles I cut. Something is wrong.

Can you see where part of the binding edge of the bible is white and part is yellow? The white part is where the binding glue has been removed but the yellow is existing glue. Trust me, you want to get rid of the glue now, otherwise you will be pulling each page apart in the future (and this is no fun). Simply set the saw guide to take off another 1/8” and check again.

When the binding is white, the pages will be loose.

There may be some slight roughness to the cut binding but that’s okay. All that will be inside the binding coil.

Take the clamp off the bible (making sure you don’t drop the loose pages) and you are ready for steps 5 and 6…

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Coming up next … DIY: Blank Bible (part 3) Slicing and stuffing

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DIY: Blank Bible (part 1)

Tony Reinke Blank Bible, BR > Crossway, ESV, Greek interlinear, Jonathan Edwards

DIY: Blank Bible (part 1)

Intro

In August we ran a short series on how to make a Jonathan Edwards blank bible – how to cut and rebind a bible with blank pages interwoven for note taking (see part 1, 2 and 3). I was hoping at least 10 of my friends would find it useful. At least a few readers would be entertained at some hombre loco who took a table saw to new bibles.

The actual response was overwhelming.

Over 4,000 hits in three-day period overshadowed all expectations. Jonathan Edwards fans from around the Web stopped by to have a look. Edwards scholars stopped to explain what the original Jonathan Edwards bible looks like and to give insight how his bible was made. Dozens of blogs linked to the series, pastors and Christians from around the world poured encouraging emails into my inbox as they took up the project themselves.

But that original series had its deficiencies.

Judging from the amount of questions that we raised at the end of the series, I had not explained certain steps well enough. There was a lack of photographs. We needed better explanations on how to clamp the bible before cutting and more info on the paper we used. After the first series was done, binding experts sent their insights into alternate options for those who cannot (for example) use a saw to cut the original binding off.

It was obvious I needed a do-over. So this series is my attempt to go back and recreate that original series, to highlight all the steps involved and give better directions.

Overview

I am firmly committed to keeping my notes on Scripture as close to Scripture as possible. Ideally I have always wanted a bible that will provide me enough room to keep a lot of notes bound with the text in which they originate (this is the genius of the Jonathan Edwards blank bible). I have looked at some journaling bibles, but I needed more space. I have looked at bibles in three-ring binders but they are very bulky and awkward and need my entire desk cleared out to open it up (and those three rings are always in the way).

But there was a bigger hurdle in my search for the perfect blank bible.

Those in the bible publishing industry tell me the cost of bible paper continues to increase. And because a blank bible doubles the amount of paper, it is unlikely that a blank bible will be published due to affordability. In other words, if you want one, you need to be willing to make it yourself.

So that’s what I did.

It wasn’t hard, just a simple process of taking my ESV bible through eight steps: cut, rip, clamp, saw, slice, stuff, punch and bind [insert grimacing sound from Justin Taylor here].

This time I hope to explain (more fully and clearly) each step as we progress.

[BTW: This exact process is also useful to make ‘blank books’ (like the Valley of Vision) or, minus blank pages, to spiral bind a book fitted for a cardio machine at the gym.]

The bible

In our first blank bible series used the English Standard Version, classic reference edition. We ended up with three volumes. If I were to do it again I would use the same bible. The paper is very easy to work with in the binding process (and the center-column references are excellent, too). I continue to use that first blank bible (although it’s funny that nobody asked me if my wife ever got her ‘Karalee’s blank bible’).

Last time we heard from a number of readers who wanted to create a blank bible with interlinear bibles of the Old and New Testament. And so with the recent release of the long-awaited ESV English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament, we believe it will best suit our needs (though just the New Testament, it will be larger than the previous bible project).

Because this interlinear will provide more space in the New Testament than the previous blank bible project, it will be most useful for taking sermon notes where much space is needed. The blank bible, having less space is most useful for personal study reflections where I have more time to think and express my thoughts concisely.

Overview

The series will be broken into three sections

1. Cutting, ripping, clamping, sawing
2. Slicing and stuffing
3. Punching and binding

Provided these turn out, we will conclude the series with a little contest.

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Next time … DIY: Blank Bible (part 2) Cut, Rip, Clamp, Saw

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Special thanks… This project is possible by the graciousness of Justin, Stephen and Kay (go Huskers!) of Good News and Crossway publisher. Not only is Crossway committed to publish books that are doctrinally accurate but they are also very generous with their materials. They reflect in character what they communicate in print. Thank you.

New evangelism tools

Tony Reinke ESV, Evangelism

How do we communicate the message of the Cross to those who do not know? While there are no substitutes for personal conversations, there are a number of excellent (and very affordable) resources you can incorporate into your evangelism. Here are just two…

For Your JOY, by John Piper ($0.25 – $1.00 each)

This little 40-page book can be kept in your pocket. It begins with C.S. Lewis’ famous question: Is Christ a liar, lunatic or Lord? It gives the typical elements of the gospel – providing an understanding of God’s holiness, the nature of sin, that God judges sinners, and the precious death of Christ as the sinner’s substitute. Also included is a clear call for the reader to consider and act upon these things personally.

Then, in typical John Piper style, he expands the scope of the gospel to show the reader that their eternal happiness is also at stake. “The gospel of Christ is the good news that at the cost of his Son’s life, God has done everything necessary to enthrall us with what will make us eternally and ever-increasingly happy, namely, himself” (p. 29).

The entire book can be read in about 30-45 minutes. An excellent overview of the gospel!

ESV Outreach New Testament ($0.50 each)

As a college ministry leader in Omaha, I tried to get an ESV into the hands of each student that did not own a bible. First, the ESV is both a literal translation of the bible and is literally superb. And second, it looks like a book you would sit down and read. For some reason, outreach bibles are typically the least creatively formatted, lacking all the imagination and readability of a typical book you would find at a bookstore. The ESV has always printed bibles that use various fonts, paragraph breaks, clear section markers and book introductions. This new outreach edition of the ESV New Testament is no different.

It’s 222 pages of fairly small and tightly formatted text. But it is also a book that someone can sit down and comfortably read through (provided they have fairly good eyesight. This version is promoted for “Nursing Home Residents.” I would find another edition for that use.)

The extra features of this small and inexpensive bible are impressive. How should I read my New Testament? is a short article helping readers trust in the illumination of the Spirit and encourages the reader to find a good local church. Then there is a topical guide to the bible for passages concerning sadness, anger, temptation, the nature of joy, pride, forgiveness, etc. A 30-day reading plan to read through some of the most important sections of the NT follows. Then a short introduction to the New Testament explains how the NT is comprised (gospels, letters, prophecy). Each book of the NT has a very brief (but very helpful) introduction.

The outreach edition closes with a gospel presentation that wonderfully points the reader back into the text of the NT. And finally a second reading plan lays out a schedule to read through the entire NT in six months.

Both the booklet by Piper and the New Testament by the ESV are wonderful helps for our evangelism efforts. They are both clear, concise, concrete and affordable.

0977328600, 9781581348354, 1581348355