Last Wednesday I was pressing a freshly glued text block and stepped away for 30 seconds to grab more paste. My cat Jasper decided that was the perfect moment to launch himself from the bookshelf onto the press lid. The whole thing tipped sideways and my nice 16th century manuscript replica ended up with a crooked spine and cat hair pressed into the endpaper. Has anyone else had pets destroy a project mid bind?
I was sorting through my supplies last week and pulled out a roll of book cloth I bought in 2008. The cloth from back then had a woven texture that felt solid and took glue without puckering. Compare that to the stuff I got from a craft store in 2023, which is basically paper backed with a thin layer of fabric. I think the change happened around 2015 when more companies started cutting costs to compete with online suppliers. Has anyone else had trouble finding good quality book cloth locally?
I was talking to this guy named Gene at the Powell's book fair a few weeks ago. He said something like 'we overthink spine rounding now, just let the paper tell you where it wants to go.' It hit different because he had 40 years of experience and my modern tools don't make up for that feel. Anyone else had an old school binder drop a line that stuck with you?
Last weekend I tried wetting the concave side of a warped book board and setting a brick on it for 24 hours, and it actually flattened out perfectly. Has anyone else used this method for stubborn warps or do you have a better way?
The cloth hinge had completely detached from the text block and I ended up using a wheat paste/PVA mix that held way better than straight PVA. Anybody got a go-to method for brittle cloth hinges on older books?
I noticed my last few batches of bookcloth came out with white spots after sitting for a week. Switched from Lineco to a generic archival PVA from a local art store in Portland and still getting the same cloudy residue on the spines. Turns out it was the humidity in my basement workshop - above 60% makes the glue cure weird and turn milky. Got a dehumidifier last Tuesday and the new batch looks perfect now. Anyone else deal with this or am I the only one storing glue in a damp room?
Did a small repair on a 1920s novel I found at a thrift store in Portland and the wheat paste held way better than I expected, no warping at all on the thin paper. Has anyone else switched glues based on the book's age and gotten weirdly good results?
I spent 3 hours last night sewing a coptic stitch journal with some nice Canson paper I got on sale at Hobby Lobby. Turned out gorgeous but when I opened it this morning the whole spine just let go on me. Turns out I used waxed thread that was way too smooth and the knots kept slipping - has anyone else had this happen with certain thread brands?
Last month I picked up a beat-up 1920s chemistry textbook at a thrift store and thought I could save the spine with some wood glue I had laying around. The glue seeped through the fabric and now the cover feels like a hard plastic shell, it's totally ruined. Has anyone here found a good method for reattaching old cloth covers without ruining the look?
Some guy at a craft fair last Saturday said my books looked nice but the spines were gonna fall apart in a year lol. I was kinda offended at first but when I got home I tested my hinges and he was totally right. I was gluing them too tight and not letting the spine flex naturally. Switched to a looser rounded spine method and now the books open way better. Anybody else get salty feedback that actually helped in the end?
I replaced my needle for the first time in 5 years after finishing binding 100 books and it cut my stitching time by almost 20 percent, has anyone else noticed how much a dull needle slows them down?
I was in my basement workshop last night trying to finish a book for a client's birthday and grabbed the wrong PVA. The spine split clean open when I tested it this morning, so now I'm picking glue out of the hinges at my kitchen table. Anybody else ever mix up their glues in a hurry?
Wasted about $40 on pre-cut sheets from a craft store before figuring out I could just buy a full sheet of binders board and cut it myself. Anyone else get nickled and dimed by pre-cut supplies?
I started bookbinding as a hobby about 8 months ago and just hit 50 case bindings yesterday (a little travel journal for a friend). It surprised me because for the first 30 or so I struggled with getting the spine square and was ready to give up, but now the steps feel automatic. Has anyone else hit a random milestone that made the craft suddenly feel less like fighting and more like flow?
I was skeptical that a bone folder and some patience could replace a backing press, but I spent last Saturday working on a leather bound journal and it came out cleaner than any jig setup I've tried. What trick took you longer to nail than you expected?
Last month I was trying to glue up a textbook rebind in my unheated garage in Cleveland and the PVA skinned over before I even got the spine cloth on, has anyone else had to switch to something slower drying when the temps drop?
He said machine stitching is for efficiency, not strength. Said his 40-year-old notebooks still lay flat. Has anyone here switched to hand-sewing and actually stuck with it?
I picked up a beautiful 1884 edition of Ivanhoe from an estate sale for $40. Thought I'd do a quick reback at home with some standard PVA I had lying around from a craft project. Three days later the spine was already cracking and the leather was pulling away from the boards. Took it to a proper conservator in Portland who told me I used the wrong pH glue completely. Repaired it right with a reversible starch paste that cost me $12 total and now I'm paranoid about every adhesive I buy. Has anyone else messed up a vintage book using the wrong glue?
I've been binding as a side gig for about 2 years now. Mostly rebinding old paperbacks for friends and some small commissions. But I started keeping a tally of how many books I finished without ANY flaws on the spine - no ripples, no glue showing, no cracks. 100 just felt like a real milestone, you know? My first 20 were a total mess. Tons of waste. Now I can actually trust my process. Has anyone else tracked something weird like this just to see if you're actually improving?
I have bound maybe 80 books over the last 3 years and only had one endpaper buckle, and that was because I used too much glue. Does the paper grain really make that big a difference for most projects or is it just something we tell ourselves to feel professional?
Honestly, I kept getting these weird bubbles under my book cloth on the spine area. Tried everything, more glue, less glue, different brushes. Finally realized after trying 7 different PVA brands that my glue was drying too fast because my workshop in Minneapolis is super dry in winter. Adding 10% water to the mix fixed it completely in like 2 minutes. Has anyone else dealt with glue tack time issues based on your climate?
I just spent 40 minutes peeling off a warped cover from a project I started at my shop in Portland because I forgot to check the grain first and now the whole thing is trash.
I've been using PVA glue for years on every binding, but my teacher told me wheat paste gives a more flexible spine on rounded backs. After 8 books with the wheat paste mix, I noticed the covers open way flatter without cracking. Anyone else stick with one glue type or do you switch based on the project?
I had this issue where the spines on my hardcovers kept coming out rounded instead of flat, no matter how tight I cranked my press. After like 15 tries with different pressures, I just started using a stack of heavy dictionaries on top of the book overnight. That extra weight sitting there for 8 hours actually got the spine to lay flat. Has anyone else tried something dumb like that instead of buying a real finishing press?