Today, we're going to be repairing a

@thehuntington

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SoundTikTok sound · original sound - thehuntington

Promoted product

Leafcaster

Why it worked

The video demonstrates a niche and visually interesting conservation technique, providing educational value and satisfying curiosity about book repair. The clear, step-by-step process and the 'before and after' implication of repairing damaged pages likely resonated with viewers interested in preservation and craftsmanship.

Summary

The video demonstrates the process of leafcasting, a papermaking technique used to repair damaged old books. It shows how to prepare pulp, fill the leafcaster tank, and then transfer the newly formed paper sheets to a suction table for drying.

Structure

1Introduction to leafcasting for book repair
2Explanation of the technique and causes of damage
3Preparation of pulp and filling the leafcaster
4Draining the tank and pulp settling
5

Original caption

When a book has dozens of damaged pages, repairing each one by hand isn't always practical. 📖🍃 Our conservator Austin shares how we use leafcasting to stabilize multiple damaged pages at once.

More from @thehuntington

Product placement

Leafcaster: This is a machine used for repairing damaged old paper by creating new paper pulp to fill in losses. It acts as a tool in the conservation process. Its interface is operated, it generates a result (repaired paper), and its function is explained. Removing it would change what happens in the video. The Huntington: This is the name of the institution where the video is filmed and the conservator works. It appears as a watermark/attribution in the video, but its presence does not change what happens in the video.

On-screen text

Today, we're going to be repairing a damaged book using our leafcaster. Leafcasting is a papermaking technique and it's designed, not for making new paper, but for repairing damaged old paper. This could be caused by mold or it could be caused by insects. And we want to repair those losses with new paper. We lay out leaves of a book. We'll fill this up with water. And then we've calculated the amount of pulp that we need to fill these losses. So to make a new sheet of paper that's the same thickness, the same color as the original sheet of paper. So the way we do this: fill the tank up with water, take this pre-measured amount of pulp, pour it in here, mix it up so it's evenly dispersed, turn the pump on, open the valve. And this tank drains all of the water. Moves from this tank to the holding tank and all of the pulp settles on the surface. So at that point, we pick up the wet, newly formed sheet. We bring it over to our suction table. Do a lot of drying initially and then set it between felts for drying overnight. Finally, we'll move it to our blotter stack, where we have the rest of the leaves that we've cast earlier.

Transcript

Today, we're going to be repairing a damaged book using our leafcaster. Leafcasting is a papermaking technique and it's designed, not for making new paper, but for repairing damaged old paper. This could be caused by mold or it could be caused by insects. And we want to repair those losses with new paper. We lay out leaves of a book. We'll fill this up with water. And then we've calculated the amount of pulp that we need to fill these losses. So to make a new sheet of paper that's the same thickness, the same color as the original sheet of paper. So the way we do this: fill the tank up with water, take this pre-measured amount of pulp, pour it in here, mix it up so it's evenly dispersed, turn the pump on, open the valve. And this tank drains all of the water. Moves from this tank to the holding tank and all of the pulp settles on the surface. So at that point, we pick up the wet, newly formed sheet. We bring it over to our suction table. Do a lot of drying initially and then set it between felts for drying overnight. Finally, we'll move it to our blotter stack, where we have the rest of the leaves that we've cast earlier.