I was dead set against using Japanese paper hinges for a long time. Thought it was just hipster bookbinding hype until a 1908 bible came in with pages so brittle I had no other option. The thing held up perfectly after 4 months of use so who else here was skeptical about something in the trade that turned out to be legit?
I had this older gentleman pick up a rebind I did for a poetry collection and he just said, 'the endpapers are choking the text block.' He showed me how the paper was pulling at the hinge. I realized he was right, I had been cutting them too short to save time and money. Now I leave a good 3mm extra on each endpaper for movement. Has anyone else had a customer call out something that made you rework your whole process?
Been binding for about 5 years now, and I keep seeing everyone swear by PVA for everything. Had a customer bring in a vintage poetry collection last month (1908 edition, really fragile paper). Used my usual PVA mix and the pages warped like crazy. Spent 3 days trying to fix it. Switched to wheat paste for that job and it worked way better. Anyone else find PVA too aggressive for older paper?
Honestly, I've been using PVA glue for all my bookbinding projects for like three years now. Thought it was the only way to go, you know? But I visited this small shop called Rose City Bindery down in the Pearl District and the owner showed me how they use a gelatin-based adhesive for their spine linings on certain leather bindings. At first I was skeptical, but she let me feel the difference after it dried. The flexibility was way better than what I get with my PVA on rounded spines. She said it's been around forever but got pushed out by cheaper options. Now I'm thinking about grabbing a small batch to test on my next project. Has anyone here switched from PVA to something else and regretted it?
I've been binding for about 5 years now and always did everything by hand. But last month I borrowed my buddy's industrial sewing machine to try a batch of leather journals. The machine stitches look perfect and took me like 2 hours vs 12 hours for a whole book. But I'm worried the machine stitches will fail over time since they don't have that same tension control. My hand sewn stuff from 3 years ago is still solid. Anyone have experience with machine stitching on leather that lasted years?
Bought a 20-pack of those no-name needles for $8 last spring, and they kept snapping on me during my coptic stitch bindings. Lost about 30 dollars in wasted thread and ruined two signatures before I gave up. Has anyone else had way better luck with just paying for a quality needle instead of bulk garbage?
I figured PVA would hold better on the boards but the moisture made the cloth shrink unevenly and now I'm wondering if anyone else has found a way to mix adhesives that works for heavy fabrics?
I bought a bargain press off an auction site thinking I was saving money, but the wooden platen arrived crooked and left a permanent dent in the leather cover of a family photo album I was rebinding. Has anyone else had luck with DIY press alternatives, or am I stuck buying a proper one?
The PVA cracked on the spines within 6 months while the wheat paste is still flexible and solid, has anyone else had better luck with traditional pastes over modern adhesives?
Last Tuesday I was working on a journal cover and thought I could save time by not paring the edges of my leather. Big mistake. The whole thing ended up bulky and wonky at the spine, totally unusable. I wasted a full afternoon and a piece of veg tan that cost me $20 alone. Now I'm back to using my trusty French paring knife every single time. Has anyone else tried to shortcut leather prep and regretted it?
I was flipping through a copy of 'Hand Bookbinding in the Modern Style' from 1962 that I found at an estate sale. There was a section on endbands that said to thread them under 3 sewing stations instead of 2 on a text block over 12 inches. I tried it on a big cookbook I'm rebinding and the bands sit way flatter now. Has anyone else run into old books with tricks that still work better than modern methods?
Some old bookbinder saw me using PVA for endbands at a workshop and told me I was making my life harder. Switched to a starch paste mix and now the bands actually stay flexible without popping off after a year. Anyone else have a glue trick they swear on?
After three books with glue bleeding through the spine, I finally tried his trick of just rubbing the thread through a dry bar of soap instead, and the thread glides way smoother, has anyone else switched from wax to soap for their sewing?
I was at the Midwest Bookbinding Show in Chicago talking to a guy named Frank who's been binding since the 70s. He told me I was wasting time using PVA glue for everything and said I should switch to a mix of wheat paste and PVA for most projects. At first I brushed him off, but after trying it on a couple of test binds, the spines are way more flexible and lay flat. Has anyone else made that switch and noticed a big difference?
Back when I started binding last spring, my old teacher warned me wheat paste would eventually attract bookworms in my humid basement. Well, I found three little holes in a copy of Moby Dick I did six months ago, and now I'm recasing the whole thing. Anyone else had pests ruin a project after sticking with an older method?
He was just smoothing out the folds but the sound and precision he had made me realize I've been rushing my own work for years. Has anyone else picked up a tip just from watching someone else work?
Everybody in my local guild keeps raving about synthetic thread for its strength and stretch. I tried it on a rebind of a 400 page novel and honestly, I hated it. The thread kept slipping around my kettle stitches and I had to redo several sections because it didn't grip like linen does. Sure, it won't snap as easy, but I'll take a clean, tight stitch any day. My mentor told me "linen's been good enough for 200 years" and I think he's right. Has anyone else gone back to natural thread after trying the new stuff?
I was looking at a video from that restoration guy on YouTube and he mentioned professional finishers keep their thread waste under 5%. Did a quick weigh of my scraps from the last 10 books I did and I was pushing 15% easy. How do you guys track your thread usage without going crazy?
I was finishing a custom journal for a client in Portland and thought beeswax would give it a nice vintage feel. Rubbed it in thin, let it sit overnight, but the next morning it had this sticky residue that wouldn't buff out. Learned the hard way that beeswax needs to be mixed with a carrier oil or it just sits on top of the leather. Anyone else run into this with natural finishes?
I tried that new acrylic-coated bookcloth from a supplier in Chicago for a rebind last week. The stuff felt amazing in hand, smooth and flexible, but after I applied PVA and pressed it, the coating started peeling off in thin sheets. I learned the hard way that some of these coated fabrics don't actually bond with standard adhesives. Has anyone else dealt with this or found a glue that actually holds?
I've been working on making a proper rounded spine for a rebind of a beat-up copy of Dune. It took me 4 attempts but I finally got a smooth dome shape on the spine of this 400 page text block. Used a 12 ounce hammer and a curved backing board from Talas. Anyone else have trouble getting the shoulders even without cracking the spine?
I got a new book press last month and couldn't get even pressure across the boards. Kept getting warped signatures... wasted a whole afternoon adjusting the screws. Turns out my workbench had a slight dip in the middle from years of tree work weight. Slapped a piece of 3/4 inch plywood under the press and bam, perfect pressure. Has anyone else had a random uneven surface mess up their pressing?