I had to choose between a goat leather reback or a full cowhide recase on a 1904 encyclopedia volume last spring, and I went with the cowhide because it was stiffer and matched the original boards better. It worked fine and the customer liked it, but now the spine is cracking a little more than I expected. Has anyone else had cowhide act stiff like that on older books?
I just watched a guy at a guild meetup tape a broken leather spine with that clear book tape, and the whole room went silent. That stuff yellows in like 2 years and leaves a sticky mess that ruins the leather. Anyone else had to fix a botched repair job like that?
I was digging into a restoration guide from the 1920s last night and realized modern bookcloth has basically nothing in common with historical materials. Anyone else feel a little duped after learning that?
I was using stacks of random heavy stuff for months and my spines always looked awful. Finally got a proper press from Talas and my corners actually line up now. Anyone else waste way too long before buying the right tool?
I was binding a batch of A6 notebooks for a craft fair and realized the grain was running the wrong way on the covers... After fighting with warping for three afternoons I finally had to cut new boards and start over. Has anyone else spent way too long fixing a simple grain mistake?
I've been bookbinding for about 3 years now and always hated when my thread comes off the spool in a knotty mess. Last week I watched a video from a bindery in Portland where the guy just runs the thread through a folded piece of beeswax twice before cutting it. I tried it on my current project and it actually flattened the twist. No more stopping every 10 minutes to untangle. Has anyone else tried waxing their thread differently and seen a big change?
Broke two needles last week using $18 per spool linen thread from a popular supplier. Switched back to my $4 cotton thread from a local shop in Portland. Holds just as tight. Anyone else find cheap thread works better for tight spines?
I met a guy at a book fair in Austin last spring who swore Titebond would hold leather hinges on a folio just fine. I tried it on a commission for a $400 poetry book I was restoring. Three months later the leather peeled clean off and the text block almost fell out. The customer was not happy and I had to redo the whole thing for free. Now I only use PVA for paper on paper joints and stick to EVA for leather. Has anyone else had a cheap glue recommendation blow up on them?
I was fighting with endpaper creases for months on my projects in Philly. They always looked sloppy or had these tiny ripples near the hinge. Then a guy at the local guild meetup told me to wet the bone folder slightly before burnishing. I tried it on my last rebind of a 1940s mystery novel and the creases came out flat and sharp with zero tears. Has anyone else tried this trick or do you have a better method for stubborn endpapers?
Bought a big bottle of pH-neutral PVA from a niche binder supply store and it dried way too fast for my spine linings, ended up with wrinkly trash. Anyone else had better luck with just standard Lineco or something else?
Last month I was trimming a text block and noticed tiny cracks along the hinge of a book I finished in 2016. I always thought I was using enough glue, but the issue was my spine lining material was too thin. A fellow binder at a workshop in Portland pointed out I needed a heavier weight mull, around 10 ounces, and proper rounding before backing. After testing her advice on three practice books, the difference was night and day. Has anyone else dealt with spine cracks and found a specific brand or weight of lining they trust?
I stopped by Lone Pine Bindery last weekend after a buddy kept bugging me to check it out. Saw them using a standing press with a 12 inch bed and realized how much time I waste fighting with my little tabletop press. The owner showed me how they do spine rounding with a hammer and it looked way smoother than my janky method. Has anyone else switched from a small press to a floor model and noticed a big difference in their workflow?
I finally saved up $200 to get some real gear for my bookbinding hobby. I was stuck between a good sewing frame from Hollanders and a decent book press from a guy on Etsy. I went with the sewing frame since I was tired of trying to sew signatures on a stack of scrap paper. It arrived last Tuesday and it's totally changed how steady my stitching is. But now I'm pressing books under a stack of textbooks lol. Anyone else have to choose between two essential tools? What did you pick?
I went to the open house at Greenleaf Bindery last Saturday and everyone was raving about their fine binding work. But I stood there watching one of their senior guys shape a spine and I gotta say, it looked rushed to me. He was using this heavy brass hammer and just pounding away without any real feel for the paper stack. Idk, maybe it's just me being picky, but I learned from an old German binder who insisted on using a bone folder and gentle hand pressure for rounding. The result on the Greenleaf book was this sharp, almost unnatural curve instead of that soft gradual shoulder I like. Has anyone else seen modern shops ditch the hand tools for heavy hammers and notice a difference in the final spine shape?
Had a chat with a guy at the bindery supply store in Omaha who said he sees people using the wrong PVA for leather all the time. He looked at my current bottle and told me it had too much plasticizer for what I'm doing, now I'm wondering how many of my past projects are gonna fall apart in 5 years. Any of you ever switched glues and noticed a big difference?
So I had this old 1920s poetry book that was falling apart. Thought I'd save some money and fix it myself with a hot glue gun. Big nope. The glue seeped through every page crack and now the book won't open flat. Took it to a shop downtown and the guy just shook his head. Anyone else ever ruin something good by getting too cheap with supplies?
I was flattening a batch of signatures for a 200-page novel and got distracted by a call from my sister. Next thing I know, I'm pressing her leftover pancakes between the boards because I grabbed the wrong stack from the kitchen. Had to peel sticky paper off every sheet and redo the whole batch from scratch. Has anyone else had a near-disaster with random kitchen items sneaking into your workspace?
The tip got stuck in a thick section of the textblock and when I tried to wiggle it out the whole handle just separated from the shaft, has anyone else had a tool fail mid-project like that and what did you use as a backup?
My old bookbinder buddy told me last month that you should never use the metal edge of a ruler to crease your paper. He said it crushes the fibers wrong and will make your text block look sloppy after a few years. I tried it his way with a proper bone folder on my last project, an 1880s novel I was rebinding. Honestly, the folds feel way cleaner and the paper didn't crack at all. Has anyone else noticed a real difference after waiting a while, or is this just one of those old timer things?
I drove 2 hours to check out that famous place on Belmont last weekend. Everyone raves about their tools and leather selection. Honestly, I was let down. They wanted $60 for a basic bone folder that I can get online for $22. The guy working there was nice but not super helpful when I asked about thread thickness for a project. I get that it's a local shop and all, but charging triple just because you're the only game in town feels off. Has anyone else found better deals at smaller shops or online instead?
I was regluing a spine last Thursday and smelled something off, then realized my glue pot had been way too hot the whole time because I never used a thermometer. Turns out overheating the PVA makes it brittle and my books were falling apart faster than they should. Has anyone else accidentally ruined their glue by ignoring the temperature settings?
I was rebinding a 1980s paperback last weekend and figured PVA would hold up better long term, but the paper started buckling within 10 minutes and the spine looked like a wrinkled potato. Wheat paste gave me way more working time to adjust everything, and it dried flat without any drama. Do you guys ever experiment with different adhesives on older paperbacks, or is that a disaster waiting to happen?
I was working on a journal for a friend last weekend and thought I could get away with just gluing the leather straight onto the boards without sanding the spine edge first. Big mistake lol. The whole thing peeled back at the hinge after I left it in the press overnight. I had to take it apart and start over, which cost me like 3 hours and some extra glue. Has anyone else learned a similar lesson by cutting corners on the prep work?
I stopped by a workshop in Portland last month where a guy was using PVA on a leather spine and it just felt wrong to me. Paste gives you way more working time and it doesn't fight you when you need to reposition a corner. Anyone else find paste underrated for fine binding work?
I had this antique restoration where the headband was completely shredded and I kept messing up the thread tension. After 3 failed attempts with a needle that was too thick, I switched to a #12 needle and used a finer silk thread. Took me about 2 hours on the 4th try but the end result actually matched the original pattern. Has anyone else had trouble with thread gauge on older books?