I was at the Philly Bookbinders Guild meetup last April, showing off my new leather spine cover, and this 70 year old dude named Frank just pointed and said 'that's gonna fall apart in 6 months because you skipped the lining step.' He was right, I'd been skipping the spine lining on all my bindings since I started. Has anyone else had someone call them out on a basic step that you just never learned?
I've been struggling with sewing French grooves on my handmade books for ages. Last week I finally got one where the thread actually laid flat and didn't bunch up at the ends. What changed was I started using a curved needle and slowing way down on the second pass. Anyone else have a specific tool that just clicked for them one day?
I spent 3 years doing standard link stitches on my leather journals and never thought twice. Then I tried French link stitching on a custom order for a client in Portland and the difference was massive. The threads lay so much flatter and the spine opens way easier, almost no cracking. Has anyone else switched to a different stitch style and felt like it changed their whole workflow?
Last week I ruined a full set of 1890s Shakespeare boards because my PVA was 15 degrees too hot, and the delamination didn't show up until I had already trimmed the text block, has anyone else had a batch fail from heat like that?
After spending 8 hours last Tuesday on a leather-bound journal for my dad's retirement, the spine started peeling apart because I used cheap PVA instead of proper archival glue, so has anyone else had a budget adhesive fail on them at the worst possible moment?
I was at Great Lakes Bindery downtown yesterday. Checking out their leather stash. Walked into the back room and smelled gas. Like strong gas. Turns out their water heater was leaking natural gas right next to stacks of paper and glue. Nobody noticed for hours. They had no detector anywhere. I reported it to the owner but he shrugged it off. Said it 'always smells a little funny back there.' I'm not going back. Any of you ever run into safety issues at supply shops or binders you use?
I was working on a 1870s copy of Moby Dick for a client in Portland and the spine just crumbled in my hands. The leather was so dry it basically turned to dust when I tried to lift it. Has anyone else had a project completely fall apart on them like that?
He showed me how my covers were curling after 2 weeks on the shelf and after I flipped the grain on the boards everything lays flat now. Has anyone else had an old timer call them out on something basic like that?
Honestly, I see so many people in here swearing by wheat paste for its reversibility and historical accuracy. But after binding three notebooks last month with PVA and two with wheat paste, I can't go back. The PVA dried way faster, held the spine tighter, and I didn't have to worry about mold forming in the humid weather we've been having in Boston. Has anyone else ditched wheat paste for modern adhesives on everyday projects?
I was browsing this store's site near Portland to get some book cloth, and buried in their fine print it says they can re-sell photos of your finished books without asking. No extra payment, no permission needed. I get that they want portfolio shots, but they should at least ask first. Has anyone else run into sneaky clauses like this when ordering supplies?
Kept glueing endpapers that wrinkled or cracked. Drove me nuts. Watched a guy at a leather shop in Portland last month. He showed me how paper fibers change how it flexes. I was just matching the edges instead of checking the actual fold. Now I rip a test strip every time before cutting. Takes 10 seconds. Has anyone else been getting this wrong forever or just me?
The handle just snapped off while I was 3/4 through stitching a leather journal cover. I had to switch to my backup awl and the spacing doesn't match, so now I'm figuring out how to salvage the project without starting over. Any tips for matching stitch holes after a tool fails?
I got this old biology textbook from a thrift store in Akron for my own binding practice. When I cut it open to study the structure, it had real stitched signatures sewn together, not just a glued spine like most modern books. This thing was printed in 1978 - when did publishers stop doing the quality work?
Had a guy at the local bookbinding meetup last month watch me work on a rebind and just straight up said "you're drowning it in PVA." I was kinda annoyed at first, thought I knew what I was doing. But I tried backing off on the glue amount on the next project, just a thin even layer instead of slathering it on. Night and day difference. The spine flexes way better now and I dont get those weird bumps near the hinge. Anyone else get feedback that stung at first but turned out to be golden advice?
For 3 years I swore by wheat paste for all my bindings, thought PVA was just for lazy people. Then I watched a 10 minute repair on an 1880s ledger at a local shop in Denver, and the guy used PVA because he said wheat paste can attract bugs over time. He showed me the spine he fixed 7 years ago with PVA, still flexible and no cracks. That got me thinking about my own shelves with wheat paste jobs from 2 years back showing some yellowing. So I tried PVA on a 400 page novel last month and the spine opened flat like a dream. Anyone else make the switch and regret it or stick with it?
I was just counting up my completed projects from the past year and realized I hit 100 case bindings with clean, square spines. That number surprised me because I still feel like a beginner every time I pick up my bone folder. Has anyone else lost track of their milestones because you were too focused on the next book?
Picked up a used copy of methylcellulose from a retired binder for $15 at a garage sale. Figured I'd try it on a repair job for a 1920s textbook that had seen better days. Mixed it thin, slapped it on, and the spine held better than anything I've gotten from a bottle. Anyone else have a cheap tool or material that outperformed the fancy stuff?
I was rebinding a 1920s novel for a client last week and got stuck deciding between linen thread (traditional look) or synthetic (stronger hold). I went with linen because the book was already fragile, but halfway through the stitching the thread snapped twice on me. Do you guys stick with tradition even when it makes the job harder?
I was looking up why my last two projects had spines splitting and stumbled onto something. There's an actual thread strength rating from the Library of Congress that measures how many pounds of pull a thread can take before snapping. I had been using basic craft store stuff rated at 1.5 pounds when the standard for proper bindings is like 4 pounds minimum. Just switched to a linen thread rated at 4.2 pounds and the difference in tension is night and day. Has anyone else run into this thread rating thing or am I late to the party?
Everyone talks about how great it feels to hit landmarks like this, but I actually felt a little let down. I bound Aldous Huxley's Brave New World in full leather with hand sewn endbands, took me around 60 hours total, and when I closed the last section I just thought "that's it?" Maybe I put too much pressure on the number meaning something. Has anyone else finished a big milestone project and just felt kinda empty instead of proud?
I was in my little workshop space in the basement, trying to round the spine of this 400 page novel I was rebinding. Thought I had it clamped down tight enough, but I guess not. About halfway through the rounding process with my hammer, I heard this awful crack sound. The spine just snapped right off the text block. I was so mad I threw my hammer across the room. Ended up having to cut the whole thing apart and start over from scratch with new paper. Has anyone else had a text block just give up on them like that? What do you do when the paper quality is garbage and it can't handle the pressure?
Did a regency style binding last month for a client in Louisville. Used PVA on the first go like I always do. Boards popped off after a week. Redid the whole thing with wheat paste and it's solid as a rock now. Anyone else have better luck with paste over PVA for certain structures?
Paid $40 for what looked like 30 yards of assorted linen and buckram from the 1960s. The colors are weird - lots of mustard yellow and avocado green - but the weave is surprisingly tight. Anyone have luck using vintage book cloth, or does the glue dry out after 50 years?
I had a guy at a craft fair in St. Louis look at my books and say my edges were too rounded from too much sanding. He showed me how to use a sharp knife to trim the cover material instead of relying on sandpaper, and it made my corners way sharper. Has anyone else swapped out sanding for more trimming and seen better results?