Last week at a workshop in Portland I watched a guy with 30 years experience slap hide glue on a spine like it was the only option, then the librarian across the table said PVA is stronger and won't rot over time, so which side is actually right for hard use books?
Last month I watched a buddy whip up a notebook in 20 minutes and his paper lay perfectly flat. I had always been slapping the glue straight onto the board and then pressing the paper on top. He showed me how you gotta brush the glue onto the paper first and let it sit for 30 seconds before placing it. Has anyone else had a moment where a small step change totally fixed their work?
I got told by a guy at a shop in Portland that I was ruining my books by using PVA for everything. He said wheat paste is the only way for spine repairs on older books. I switched for a few months and honestly my repairs felt weaker and took forever to dry. Now I'm back to mixing both depending on the job. Anyone else get conflicting advice from old timers that ended up not working for your specific projects?
I was at Home Depot grabbing some glue and saw a cheap plastic bone folder in the tile section for like $3. Figured why not, my nice one from the craft store keeps scratching my paper. Used it on a project this weekend with some heavy book cloth and honestly it worked way better for burnishing. Has anyone else had luck with non-traditional tools for bookbinding?
I used to think wheat paste was the only real way to do cloth covers, but I got tired of waiting 24 hours for it to dry. Last Wednesday I tried PVA glue on a batch of 5 books and they all held up fine through the pressing. The drying time dropped to about 4 hours, which saved me a whole evening. Is it traditional? No. But for a personal project, does speed really matter that much? I'm curious if anyone else has moved away from paste for certain jobs and what glue you use instead.
He said just use rubber cement, it'll hold fine. By last week the spine on my customer's journal completely separated and I had to redo the whole thing. Anyone else had a project ruined by bad glue advice?
I finally got around to binding that old copy of Leaves of Grass I've had sitting around for 2 years. Took me about 6 hours over three nights to get the cover on and the endbands sewn. I kept messing up the turn-ins on the corners, one of them is a little bunched up but honestly it gives it character. Anyone else feel like their first few projects look better from a distance?
I was making these tight, drum-tight hinges because I thought that meant quality. A guy who restores 18th-century books pointed out my covers were starting to crack the text block after a year. Now I leave a 2mm gap in the hinge and my books actually lay flat - has anyone else had to unlearn what they thought was right?
Everyone there was raving about using a plough for trimming, but after 8 years of binding I grabbed a chisel and knocked out cleaner edges in half the time. Has anyone else ditched the fancy tools for something simpler?
I was working on a 400-page fiction rebind last Tuesday and somehow cracked the spine on three copies in a row because my homemade wheat paste was too thin. Has anyone else had a specific paste consistency wreck an entire batch of books?
Turned out the pH was way off and it ate through my endpapers after three days, so now I just stick with basic PVA from the craft store - anyone else have a glue that totally failed on them?
I messed up six books in a row before I realized the new roll of bookcloth I got from that online shop in Portland was cut cross-grain (which is wild because I always specify grain direction on the order) and nobody else at my shop caught it either since we were all rushing to finish a custom set for a local library fundraiser, has anyone else had a supplier just completely ignore the grain direction note on an order?
I bought a cheap plastic bone folder off Amazon because I didn't want to spend $25 on a real one. After two months of regular use it warped in the middle from the heat of my hands and left uneven creases on every book. Ended up buying a Teflon folder from a specialty shop in Portland and it's been perfect. Anyone else have a tool they cheaped out on that just didn't hold up?
He watched me cut a cover the wrong way and just said 'you're fighting the paper, not using it.' Showed me how the spine cracked clean when he folded his test piece. Has anyone else had a pro correct a basic habit you thought you had down?
Used to swear by the bone folder until I had a batch of bookcloth covers come out all shiny and bruised, so I switched to teflon and now my spines don't have those weird dents - anyone else deal with that burnish problem?
I used to do it for every journal I made, but after 30 books I realized the spine limits how flat it lays. Switched to coptic binding about 2 years ago and never looked back. Anyone else ditch a technique they thought was the gold standard?
I was rebinding a 400 page novel last weekend and got curious halfway through, so I started tallying up the stitches as I went. Figured maybe a couple thousand at most. By the time I finished the text block I was over 8k and it totally blew my mind. That's not even counting the endbands or cover sewing. Has anyone else ever actually counted their stitches on a full book? Curious what numbers you get.
The spine split clean in half after three weeks on a shelf in my garage, so does anyone else stick to the pricier PVA glue or did I just use the wrong ratio?
Found a guy selling off his whole bindery setup at an estate sale outside Richmond. He saw me buying some linen thread and told me I was using the wrong gauge for my endbands. I ignored him at first, but a week later I tried his thinner thread on a restoration job and the endbands laid totally flat. The difference was night and day. Anyone else got advice from an old timer that actually saved them time?
I was at a local book fair last Saturday and got talking to this older gentleman who used to run his own bindery for 40 years. He saw me struggling with a leather spine that had some bubbles and told me to try a wallpaper seam roller instead of my bone folder. I went home and grabbed one from the hardware store for about 8 dollars. It applies even pressure without marring the leather, and it saved me at least 20 minutes on my last project. Has anyone else tried using tools from other trades like this?
I used to glue every spine on my rebinds because it was faster and I was cheap. About 6 months ago I finally tried sewing signatures for a 400 page novel and the difference was night and day. The book actually lays flat now without cracking the spine. Has anyone else made the jump and felt stupid for waiting so long?
I used to just glue on pre-made endbands with PVA cause it was fast and easy. About 6 months ago I watched a guy at a binding workshop in Portland show me how he does them with wheat paste and paper wraps. Took me like 3 tries to get it right but the way they sit flush with the spine now is just way better. Anyone else find wheat paste worth the extra hassle for certain parts?
I was trimming a text block last month and noticed my covers kept warping after a week. Then a guy at the local craft store pointed out I was gluing the paper grain perpendicular to the spine every time. Anyone else have a dumb beginner mistake that took way too long to figure out?
I spent 2 years using PVA glue on every single project because it was cheap and dried fast, then a retired binder at a shop in Portland showed me how wheat paste handles leather better and my last two restoration jobs actually hold up now. He had me do a test with an old library book and the PVA joint cracked in 3 days while the wheat paste one is still solid after 6 months. Has anyone else had a glue routine that they thought was gospel until someone proved them wrong?