Tag Archives: tux box

Enclosures and the Kyle Insert

The Kyle Insert, version 2

Last month, I showed you how to make a corrugated clamshell. At that time, I mentioned some alternative strategies for special situations, such as considerations of working space, collection size, etc. Pre-made boxes may be the way to go here. They’re generally non-adhesive, and excellent if you have a large collection that needs help, but can’t be worked on right away, for pieces going to off-site storage, or if you’re in a situation where box building space is at a premium, such as many of our work from home setups (I’m currently working at my kitchen table, which is definitely a squeeze sometimes!) 

There are multiple ways to obtain pre-made enclosures: 

  • Many commercial binderies offer custom economy boxing. Our Lab uses HF Group (http://www.hfgroup.com/) when needed. Their work is excellent, and their enclosures can be created from sent measurements. This is wonderful for housing items in our collection that require storage, but we feel are too fragile to be shipped.  
  • Most major conservation suppliers, such as Talas (https://www.talasonline.com/) and Gaylord (https://www.gaylord.com/c/Conservation-Supplies) offer archival boxes in common sizes.  

A pre-made enclosure can also be a great option for very small items, to keep them from becoming lost on the shelf.  

Under normal circumstances, a box created in the Lab for a small piece would be lined with foam to keep it from moving around in the larger cavity, but when the pandemic hit, we thought it might be a good idea to find ways to do this that didn’t require foam, which might be expensive or difficult to source or store.  

Enter the Kyle Insert. Developed by Kyle Olmon, it is an answer to the ongoing question of new ways to store smaller items that will keep them safe and prevent them from getting lost. It works well for things like artist books, which are often incredibly small. It’s also a time saver in lieu of foams. I don’t know about you, but cutting foam is not my favorite thing. An alternative is always welcome when it is appropriate, and we (and the books!) can always benefit from having multiple ways to solve problems. 

Written instructions from Kyle Olmon are available on-line at https://kyleolmon.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/kyle_insert_v2_instructions.pdf . I found that the insert made more sense to me when I had a visual representation. It’s a surprisingly simple structure but may not seem that way on paper.  In light of that, I did something a little different and put together a video of my assembly efforts, interspersed with instructions and diagrams from Kyle Olmon throughout. Hopefully the video combined with Mr. Olmon’s excellent instructions will help you get started with this form! 

An enclosure with the Kyle Insert. The insert is a sling like structure that secures a small tux box. The image is clickable leading to a video documenting the creation of the insert.
CLICK on the image above to open the video, and push play. The video will open in a new tab and may take a minute to load. Link – https://mailuc-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/prochah_ucmail_uc_edu/Ec3zHrG3NClHlvMsKDruYyMBTzj-3YmnJeex1-elL98XVw?e=hM1ozt

Hyacinth Tucker (UCL) — Bindery and Conservation Technician

Enclosures and the tux box

When in the course of an item’s history it becomes clear that the book or artifact could use extra attention, or just another element of design to aid in its care and preservation, we create enclosures. 

Enclosures create a microclimate that provides a darker more consistent environment for works to be stored in. There are many types of enclosures used for many different reasons, ranging from an impermanent simple paper wrap to more long-term solutions such as cloth covered clamshells.   

We use enclosures to provide a range of protection for their contents.

  • A microclimate providing enhanced consistency concerning heat and humidity fluctuations.
  • A barrier against damaging UV rays.
  • Dust and pest control.
  • A strong support for contents.

Because there is so much documentation done on customized high-end enclosures that require greater skill and experience, such as cloth covered clamshells, I will discuss easy to make, low cost enclosures. To be honest, saving time and money is at the forefront of any business.  Enter the elegant tux box.

Stack of completed tux boxes.
Image from https://parkslibrarypreservation.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/tux

A tux box serves admirably the need for a cheap, easy first line of defense. We usually create tux boxes using 20-point Bristol board with measurements custom to the book. The tux box provides an adequate barrier against dust and light.  Another virtue of the tux box is that old books that have suffered degradation and have become brittle are provided a more stable structure for storage and handling. It should be mentioned though that because of the nature of the design, temperature, humidity and some dust and light may enter inside the tux box through the exposed corners, possibly allowing these damaging elements inside.

So, let’s make one.  

First make 3 jigs. The jigs will provide a guide to add extra board thicknesses to our book box dimensions to account for overlapping our boards during folding. We use 20-point Bristol board. Our jigs are three thicknesses – 1 thickness, 2 thicknesses and 3 thicknesses. We’ll label them 1,2 and 3. 

Bristol board jigs, three thicknesses

Let’s also make a handy-dandy information guide that will record all our objects measurements and identifying info on a scrap of bristol board. Record the books thickness (TH), width (W), height (H), call number and title of our book. Use tic marks to record measurements as seen below. This will be useful for quick reference as we create our tux box. 

A paper guide for measuring a tux box, includes height, thickness and width. Plus name of book and call#

There is a grain direction in Bristol board, (the grain direction is which way the fibers are aligned) for this purpose we will cut 1 length of the Bristol board with the grain running the (H) of our book and 1 length the (W) of our book plus 1 board thickness (W+1BT). 

Use our information guide and jigs to measure, score and fold the horizontal or inner height-based board as follows: (W-1BT), (TH), (W), (TH) then (W-1BT). 

The vertical board, with measurements.

For the outer vertical width-based board we also score and fold starting with an x lightly placed in the corner to identify the outermost flap. With our information guide and jigs and starting from the side with our x we measure, (H), (TH+3BT), (H+1BT), (TH+2BT), (H).  

The horizontal board, with measurements.

Wrap the horizontal piece around the book and then fit it into the vertical part. You can either use double sided tape or PVA to adhere these two together. 

Tux box open position to see where two boards attached.
Here is the tux box in its open position. Note where the two boards are joined – only the panel where the back cover will sit.

Next, the tricky part. Creating the flap to secure its closed position. Measure, mark and cut the tongue on the outermost flap, let’s use a visual for this part.  

Diagram of how to make the tongue that nestles in a slot to keep the box in the closed position.

Lastly, cut a slot for the tongue to fit into which secures the tux box closed. Close the tux box as if it is finished with tongue out. With a pencil draw a light “v” in the corner where the tab lays closed. Open the tab and place 2 small holes with a Japanese hole punch or an awl. Cut 2 lines connecting the holes forming a slot. Fit tab into the slot to close. Feel free to round the corners of the tab and all flaps using a corner rounder. 

  • Tux box in the open position.
  • Tux box in the closed position.

You can also customize tux boxes to accommodate a varity of book sizes. No one wants to add an enclosure to their collection that is the size of a miniature book, it would be so tiny it would get lost. We can adapt the enclosure by adding spacers to bring the overall size of the tux box to at least 5”x7”. 

Here is a link to an adaptation made to a clam shell that could also be used in a tux box as well. 

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/about-us/publications/electronic-books/Pages/visual-glossary-cased-object-housing.aspx?wbdisable=true

So, the tux box is an easy-peasy solution for an extra layer of strength and protection for its contents. Unlike the Hostess Twinkie, the tux box is not expected to endure the apocalypse. I feel given the cost of materials and time spent to make one, it’s a fine, adaptable addition our enclosure family. 

Chris Voynovich (CHPL) — Senior Conservation Technician