Does this count as the first step? Its the first thing I've actually done...
So the binding will take a bit longer than I initially exacted, probably some 10 hours of work, which means I'll probably end up spending about the same amount of money binding it this way than I would have if I just bought the thing. Oh well, part of the fun.
I took my 1st/1st TDTCB to the bindery, cut off the cover, removed end pages, made and lined new boards, removed all the old (and surprise surprise, sub-par quality) adhesive, re-glued the spine using much higher quality PVA (poly-vinyl acetate), and added some black and white headbands to the spine (the bit of cloth usually at the top and bottom of most hardcover books).
This work took about 3.5 hours, and basically required a knife and some 2 different types of glue. The boards and spine were left to dry over night.
Next time I'll be meeting with a fellow refereed to only as "Tex" (he's from Texas...), who is apparently some kind of embossing/foil-stamping wizard, who will help guide down the correct path to take for making the foil dies for the front and back cover.