I've been messing with bookbinding for about two years now, mostly cloth covers, but leather always scared me off. Last Wednesday I spent 8 hours in my shop and actually got a clean paring on the spine piece with no tears or weird lumps. Has anyone else hit a milestone that took way longer than you expected?
I used to think grain direction didn't matter much for pressing boards, but after watching a restoration at the Denver Public Library last month I changed my mind. The conservator showed me how a board cut with the grain warped after a week in the press while the cross-grain one stayed flat. Anybody else seen this happen?
I was struggling with endpapers bubbling up on me during casing in. This older fella at a local print shop said I should try misting them with water before pressing, let them sit under weight for 10 minutes. He said the paper fibers relax and settle different when they get a little damp. Has anyone else tried wetting their endpapers before gluing? I want to know if it messes with the grain direction.
I kept messing up the alignment when gluing book cloth to boards, leaving gaps or having it shift. Then an old binder at my local shop showed me to tack the cloth down with a dab of paste in the center first. Cut my waste from about one ruined cover per batch to zero so far, and it takes 30 seconds extra.
I'm starting a rebind of a 400-page fantasy novel and I've always sewn individual sheets, but my buddy swears by folding into signatures for better spine flexibility. I tried a 8-page signature test run last night and the alignment was off by about 2mm on the third signature. Anyone else switch methods mid-project and regret it or love it?
I was in my basement shop last February working on a leather-bound journal cover. I glued up a stack of 1/8 inch birch ply without letting the glue dry evenly on both sides. Three days later the whole thing bowed like a banana and I had to scrap $40 worth of material. Instead of starting over right away, I clamped it between two flat iron bars for a week and it flattened out about 80 percent. I ended up finishing the journal with a thicker spine piece to hide the slight curve. Has anyone else saved a warped board after a bad glue job?
I went to a workshop in Portland last spring and this old bookbinder named Frank watched me work for a minute. He said 'you're skipping the bone folder on the final fold of every signature, aren't you?' Man, I had been doing that for like 8 years, thinking it was fine. Now I run the bone folder down every single fold and the spines come out way cleaner with no gapping. Has anyone else had a master craftsman call them out on something obvious like that?
Was at a workshop in Portland last month fixing up a 1800s hymnal and this guy in his 70s walks up, watches me reach for my PVA, and says "put that down, you're gonna ruin that book." He showed me how to cook up some wheat paste right there on the spot - said the PVA creates a stiff spine that cracks over decades while wheat paste lets the paper breathe. I always thought modern glue was better but he pointed out how the original binding was still holding together after 150 years with just flour and water. Anyone else run into those old timers who make you question everything you learned?
I was always team buffered tissue for endpapers and repairs. Just figured it was the safe standard. Then a conservator friend of mine at the local library showed me how she uses kozo for hinge repairs on old textbooks. It's way stronger than I thought and the way it takes paste is totally different. I did a test run on a beat up 1920s novel last weekend and the flex is just better. No crinkling. Has anyone else made the switch and had it mess up their usual glue mix?
I went to this old shop called Bindery X in Portland last month for a two day workshop. The instructor showed us how to pare leather down to 0.5 millimeters for tight joints on a fine binding. I had been struggling with thick, bulky edges for years and never understood why my covers looked so sloppy. After practicing on about 10 scraps, my corners finally laid flat and clean. It took me about 3 tries to get the knife angle right, but now I feel like I actually know what I'm doing. Has anyone else had a moment where one class just fixed a whole mess of problems?
Turned down a management role 6 months ago and I'm still second-guessing it
Was working on a rebind of an old poetry collection yesterday and kept fighting with the paper edge fraying. My shop assistant mentioned her grandma used to rub beeswax along the edge before sanding to keep fibers from catching. Figured it was an old wives tale but tried it on a scrap piece and the difference was night and day... smooth as glass after one pass. Anyone here ever use beeswax for edge finishing or have other weird old tricks?
I was visiting family over the weekend and stopped by the Boston Public Library to check out their exhibit on book arts. They had this huge bindery room with old equipment and even a leather paring machine from like the 1800s that's still in use. The guide said they do about 200 repairs a year for rare books in their collection. I got to watch one of their staff repairing a damaged spine using linen thread and wheat paste, looked like something out of a history video. Has anyone else toured a library bindery and seen techniques that surprised you?
I was binding a 1920s novel that had the spine completely detached, and I had to decide between regluing the old spine or sewing a new one with thread. I went with thread because the paper was so brittle that glue would have cracked in five years. Spent about 4 hours doing a Japanese stab binding on it, and it actually turned out okay. But now the book won't lay flat on a table, which drives me nuts. Anyone else run into this where you fix one problem and create another one?
I had this 1920s edition of Treasure Island with some gnarly bent corners that wouldn't lay flat no matter what I pressed them under, so I tried lightly dampening a paper towel and running it over the crease before clamping it between two boards for 48 hours. It actually flattened out almost perfectly, has anyone else messed around with moisture to fix bent pages or is this a bad habit for old books?
Guy named Hank in Seattle swore his books from the 70s are still holding up with PVA because he mixed in a little methyl cellulose. Has anyone else tried that trick or am I stuck using wheat paste forever?
Was at the Atlanta book arts fair last month and an old timer showed me this trick with washers on the bottom plate. Been chasing that wobble for 3 years, now my spines are actually coming out even. Anyone else dealt with crooked press screws forever?
I compared PVA and wheat paste on 3 identical bindings last month and the wheat paste ones started peeling after 2 weeks while the PVA ones are still holding strong. Has anyone else had better luck with one over the other for this specific step?
I was making a rebinding for an old 1920s novel last week and my paste was running everywhere. My mentor who's been binding for 40 years watched me for like 2 minutes and said 'your paste is too thin, it's gonna bubble under the cloth.' I brushed it off but sure enough the next morning the cover had these nasty air pockets. Now I gotta redo the whole thing. Has anyone else had a simple paste ratio mess up their whole timeline?
Took me three whole weekends of staring at my workbench before I caught the problem. Turns out I was using a bone folder that had a tiny chip in it from years ago. That little nick was catching the leather just enough to cause a weak spot every single time I rounded the spine. I replaced it with a cheap plastic folder from the craft store and my last two bindings came out clean. Has anyone else had a tool go bad on them and not notice for way too long?
I was working on a commission for a local history book here in Portland last month. Got to the backing step and as I was shaping the spine, it just snapped clean in two. The leather was too dry and I didn't condition it first. Threw out $40 worth of material and had to restart from scratch. What do you do when a leather hide feels dry to the touch - oil it up days ahead or just before you start?
Printed it onto a thin strip of calfskin and the foil just flaked right off the second time I opened that hardcover. Anyone else had better luck with a different material or adhesive for stamping?
When I started binding, I always trimmed my cloth right to the board edge, but after a pro at a workshop in Portland showed me his books had a 1/16 inch overhang that curled tightly around the corners, I realized my edges were always fraying. Which way do you all go for cleaner corners and longer lasting covers?
I was binding a batch of 8 journals for a local shop and glued up the covers before checking the grain direction on the book cloth. Turned out the cloth grain was running the wrong way, so the covers curled like potato chips after drying. I had to tear all 8 apart, cut new boards, and start over. That whole evening went down the drain because I skipped a 10 second check. Anyone else ever ruin a whole run because of grain direction?