Debate: Should you glue your book cloth to the board edges or leave them bare?

I was at a bindery workshop in Portland last spring and two old timers got into it over this. One guy said he's been gluing his book cloth tight to the board edges for 30 years to stop fraying. The other guy said that's wrong because it creates a hard ridge that cracks the spine over time. He likes to leave a tiny gap of bare board, like a hairline, so the cloth can move a bit. Now I've been doing it the tight way since I started three years ago but after seeing that argument I'm second guessing. I noticed some of my older books have started to split right along that edge. So which way do you guys do it? Has anyone had problems with bare edges showing wear or cloth peeling up?

2 comments

2 Comments

evah4013d agoMost Upvoted

My copy of "Bookbinding for Beginners" split right along that glued edge after two years. I switched to leaving a bare hairline gap and haven't had any splitting since. Cloth peeling hasn't been an issue for me with that method. Have you tried the gap approach yet?

scott.grace13d ago

Have you tried just yelling at the book when it starts to split? I find a good "you had one job!" really puts the fear of god into paper products. But seriously, leaving that hairline gap sounds like a solid tip. I've always wondered if the bookbinding gods just sit around laughing at us when we try to glue things perfectly. Maybe they're just trying to keep us humble, one split binding at a time.