c/bookbinders

23

rivera.keith•3h ago

Cloth hinges vs paper hinges for a rebind, which do you prefer?

Had to pick between cloth and paper hinges when I was rebinding a 1920s novel last month. Went with cloth because I figured it'd hold up longer. Big mistake on a thin text block. The cloth made the spine way too stiff. Book won't lay flat at all now. Paper hinges would've let it flex open easier. Anyone else run into this problem with cloth hinges on smaller books?

9

paige_harris•1d ago

Torn between PVA and wheat paste for a leather spine repair I tried last month

I had this old 1890s family Bible with a completely detached spine, and I couldn't decide between using PVA glue or wheat paste for the leather reattachment. I've used PVA on cloth bindings before and it's super strong, but wheat paste is reversible and more traditional. I ended up going with a 50/50 mix of the two, which I read about on a bookbinding forum from 2018. So far the repair has held up nicely over the last 3 weeks, no cracking or peeling. Has anyone else tried mixing adhesives like that for older books, or do you stick to one type?

3

corad84•2d ago

Took me 3 tries to figure out why my book cloth was bubbling up

I kept getting these little air bubbles on the covers of my hardback bindings. First try I thought it was the glue temp. Second try I used a bone folder to smooth it out harder. Still bubbled. Finally realized I was using way too much PVA and not letting it tack up long enough before laying the cloth down. Cut my glue amount in half and waited like 45 seconds and boom, flat every time now. Anyone else fight with this for way too long?

25

colemiller•2d ago

Swapped from PVA to wheat paste and I'm not looking back

I used to swear by PVA glue for all my bookbinding projects. Thought wheat paste was too slow and felt like making soup every time. But last month I tried it on a rebinding job for a 1908 poetry collection that had super fragile paper. The wheat paste let me adjust the hinge placement for a full 90 seconds before it tacked up. That alone sold me. Has anyone else had a specific project that made you switch glues for good?

32

robertsmith•2d ago

Just realized I was sanding my book edges way too smooth

For the last two years I always sanded my text blocks down to 400 grit. Smooth as glass. Then last week at a guild meetup a guy noticed my pages were hard to turn. He said the fibers need a little tooth to separate right. Tried his trick with 220 grit on my latest rebind and the pages move way better. Who else learned something basic way late?

9

rowan_hayes•18d ago

Old school PVA vs modern flexible glues - a bookbinder at the Seattle Public Library swap changed my mind last weekend.

He told me he's been using the same batch of methylcellulose since 2019 and his spines outlast anything I've made with Lineco PVA. Do you stick with what you know or try new adhesives when you hear a convincing argument like that?

25

lily89•18d ago

My uncle Joe told me to use rice flour for bookbinding paste instead of wheat

Tried it last weekend on a rebind of a 1920s novel and the paste held way better with no yellowing after 3 days. Has anyone else experimented with alternative flours for paste?

14

dakotaknight•19d ago

Found a stat that says 60% of bookbinders still use animal glues even though PVA has been around for decades

I bumped into that number in a trade survey from 2022 and it made me wonder if tradition actually holds up better than modern adhesives in the long run, so which side do you fall on for your own projects?

11

ivan522•20d ago

My press bar bent mid-press on a 80-page stack last Saturday

I was in my garage compressing a book block around 9pm and heard a loud pop - the bar bowed out so bad it cracked my MDF pressing boards. Has anyone else had a cheap press fail like that mid-project, or am I just pushing too hard?

7

lewis.mila•23d ago

TIL my book press can double as a sandwich press in a pinch

I was rebinding a 1940s novel last week and set my press on the kitchen counter to dry. Came back 10 minutes later and my roommate had put a grilled cheese between the boards. The book came out fine with a slight breadcrumb imprint on the endpapers. Anyone else ever have kitchen tools invade their workspace?

5

sandra_black•24d ago

Talked to a retired binder at the library yesterday and it changed how I look at grain direction

She saw me struggling with a bookcloth piece and pointed out I was going against the grain, then showed me this trick where you fold the cloth first and let it crease naturally before cutting. Makes so much sense now for avoiding that weird puckering on the spine. Anybody else learn something from a random pro that made you rethink your whole process?

2

shah.evan•27d ago

Three years ago I made my first leather cover and it still feels like a mistake

Picked up a cheap piece of veg tan from Tandy back in 2021 and tried to do a Coptic stitch binding without any practice. Still have that warped cover sitting on my shelf as a reminder to learn the basics first. Has anyone else kept their first ugly binding just to see how far you've come?

12

jamieburns•28d ago

Tried bone glue vs PVA on a restoration job last week and wow what a difference

I was working on this old 1890s hymnal that some lady brought in from her church in Burlington and the spine was completely shot. I figured modern PVA would be fine but after reading some old forum posts I decided to try hide glue for the first time. The way it sets up and lets you reposition things compared to PVA is just night and day for this kind of work. Has anyone else had good luck using hide glue on fragile old paper?

22

angelacooper•29d ago

Little girl at the library asked if I could fix her worn out copy of Charlotte's Web

She had taped the spine so many times it was just a sticky mess. I showed her how to reback it with book cloth and she watched every single step for 20 minutes without moving. Have you ever had a young kid really pay attention to what you do?

2

james_ross•1mo ago

Spent $60 on a bone folder and it nearly ruined my first leather binding

Tbh I thought buying a cheap bone folder from a craft store would be fine for my first leather bound book. It cost like $12 and the edge was so rough it scratched my leather in three places before I even finished the cover. I dropped $60 on a proper polished one from a bookbinding supply shop and the difference is insane. Has anyone else been burned by cheap tools messing up expensive materials?

19

beth_green•1mo ago

That talk about 'museum grade' materials got under my skin

I was at a bindery meetup in Portland last month and this guy kept going on about how we should all be using only pH neutral boards and linen thread for everything. Look, I get it for archival work but telling someone their family Bible rebind is worthless because they used standard book cloth? That's just gatekeeping. Has anyone else run into this 'purist' attitude at local workshops?

8

mia_anderson•1mo ago

Changed my mind about those expensive bone folders after 8 years

I always said a cheap plastic bone folder works just as well as a $30 one. Picked up a cheap 3 pack on Amazon and used them for years without complaint. Then a friend let me borrow her nice Japanese bone folder last month and I felt the difference immediately. It smoothed out a leather hinge in one pass that I usually have to fight with for minutes. Still not sure I'll spend the money but I get why people do now. Anyone else have a tool they brushed off until they tried the real thing?

19

victor_butler50•1mo ago

That time a customer pointed out my endbands were backward

I been binding for about 6 years, but last spring a retired librarian came to pick up her journal and asked why my headbands were facing inward. Turns out I had been sewing them on the wrong side of the text block for years. Now I double check orientation before I glue up and it looks way more professional.

20

lisa671•1mo ago

Spine glue disaster last Thursday, did I recover it right or should I have just tossed it?

I was in my basement workshop regluing a 1920s novel when the PVA bottle tipped over and soaked the spine and first 20 pages before I could grab it. I dabbed it off with a damp rag and clamped it tight, but now the pages feel stiff and crinkly - does anyone else have a trick for fixing a glue spill mid-project or should I just start over?

20

wyatt513•1mo ago

The debate over rounding corners vs keeping them square in bookbinding

I hit 1,000 books bound this month and it got me thinking about the tension between speed and quality. My first 500 I rushed through and had a 12% rejection rate, but the last 500 I slowed down and it dropped to 3%. Is it better to produce more faster or focus on fewer better ones for a portfolio?

0

the_jake•1mo ago

My leather grain ran the wrong way on a custom order for a Denver client

I was finishing a full leather binding for a local history book and realized I'd cut the spine piece with the grain running head to tail instead of across. This was after I'd already tooled the title. I saved it by carefully splitting the leather with a thin blade along the spine line and inserting a new, correctly grained piece underneath, then re-tooling. Has anyone else fixed a grain mistake without starting over?

20

leo603•1mo ago

A customer at the Portland market asked me why I don't use linen thread

I was selling my handbound journals at a craft fair last fall. A woman picked one up, ran her finger along the spine, and said 'The work is beautiful, but that polyester thread is going to outlive the paper.' She explained she'd repaired 50 year old family books sewn with linen, and the thread aged with the pages. I switched to linen on my next project, a poetry book, and the difference in feel was huge. Has anyone else made a switch like that after a simple comment?

2

kim_brown•1mo ago

Hit 200 perfect spines this month and I still can't believe it

I've been binding for about two years now and somehow managed to get 200 books with flawless spines in the last 30 days. Has anyone else kept track of their numbers like that and been surprised by the count?

14

harper254•1mo ago

Serious question, heard a binder at the Portland show say they never use PVA for repairs

Honestly, they were telling a small group that wheat paste is the only 'correct' adhesive for any historical repair, even on modern books. Ngl, I've used Jade 711 for years on small tears and it holds up fine without the extra prep time. What's your go-to glue for a quick, solid fix on a paperback spine?

21

dylan976•1mo ago

Just realized my headband corners went from ragged to crisp after I switched to a bone folder I heated slightly with a hair dryer for 5 seconds.

Has anyone else tried warming their tools for stubborn materials, or is there a better trick for that final sharp crease?