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Just found out I've been pressing books backwards for 2 years
I was at a workshop in Denver last month and the instructor looked at my stack of finished books, then asked why my spines were all leaning. Turns out I was putting the book in my nipping press with the spine facing the wrong way the whole time. Nobody ever mentioned that grain direction and pressing orientation matter that much. I checked my last 15 projects and every single one has that slight curve. Has anyone else had a similar flip moment with a basic tool you thought you knew?
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the_parker1mo ago
Started laughing because I did something similar with my bone folder for months, creasing everything at a weird angle until a friend pointed out I was holding it upside down. Tbh the worst part was realizing every single project I'd turned in had that same subtle mistake and nobody said anything until then. Now I triple check my setup before I start, but honestly these tiny flips are just part of the craft I guess.
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daniel_gonzalez1mo ago
That reminds me of when @the_parker and I were at a guild meetup and I spent a whole afternoon sharpening my spokeshave blades with the bevel facing down. Took me like 45 minutes of wondering why they were getting duller until someone walked over and just flipped the blade over without saying a word. Grain direction tripped me up too, but with wood, not paper. Now I keep a little arrow drawn on my press with a sharpie so I don't do that again.
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