PSA: That $85 book press off Etsy bent on my third book and I almost lost a full text block
Ngl I cheaped out and got one of those little wooden screw presses from a seller in Ohio for $85 instead of saving up for a real standing press. Third book in, I cranked it down on a glued text block and heard the wood crack, and the whole thing twisted sideways while the block was still wet. Spent two hours trying to flatten the spine back and the endpapers were pretty much toast, so that rebind got redone from scratch. If you are pressing anything over half an inch thick, just wait and buy the heavy one. Has anyone here found a decent used press in the Midwest for under $300, or am I stuck watching Facebook groups for another year?