Studio Brief 01 - Making the wooden sleeve

Forming the wooden sleeve proved to be a tedious and time consuming process that inevitably came together in the end. The most difficult aspect in the production process was getting the measurements of the individual pieces correct in order for them fit together. This process resulted in many redo's and readjustments of the dimensions to ensure that they fit and take into account the thickness of the plywood. 

A test gluing was done on one of the discarded dimensions to see how strong simply using wooden pva glue is. Despite the thinness of the plywood, it did not produce a flimsy hold, the wooden pva glue provides a strong enough hold that will support and encase the 5 booklets well. After drying, the white glue turns transparent and can be sanded down to produce an overall smooth finish.

The cases were constructed in two sizes due to how the booklets sit. On one hand the thicker case will accommodate the booklets size when at resting, whilst on the other, the thinner case will create a tighter fit which slightly squeezes the booklet to a point where it still allows for the reader to pull them out individually with ease. However the case's final dimension will be determined once the glue has fully dried.

After letting the glue dry and ensuring the strength of the hold, the case was then sanded down to remove much of the glueing marks. This process also removed the burn marks made from the laser cutter and roughness of the plywood. The sleeve now delivers a 'high quality' feel through its smoother and cleaner surface. Details of the engraving also became clearer. Having the exposed joints in the sleeve's look is appropriate to the handmade motif throughout the publication and eliminates the need to apply varnish as originally planned.