The Design Community Hub

c/bookbinders

21

tyler_baker•1d ago

I finally got the hang of edge gilding after a week of messing it up

Last Tuesday I tried to gild the edges on a leather journal and the leaf just bunched up and looked awful. I watched a few videos and realized my paste was too thick. Yesterday I thinned it way down and tried again on a practice text block, and it came out smooth and shiny. Has anyone else had to adjust their paste mix for different humidity levels?

21

garcia.miles•1d ago

Tried using PVA glue straight from the bottle for a repair and it warped the page

I didn't thin it with water first, and now I've got a permanent ripple. Anyone know a good method for fixing this, or should I just redo the whole sheet?

30

jesse_harris•3d ago

Pro tip: I gave up on using a bone folder for leather work after a project in Boston last month

Everyone swears by them, but I found a simple wooden burnisher from a local craft store gave me way more control for tooling. Has anyone else tried something different for their leather covers?

5

the_susan•4d ago

I finally understood why my old glue pot was a problem at the guild meet in Boston.

I was showing a new person how to do a simple repair, and my hide glue kept setting up too fast in the cold room. An older binder saw me struggling and said, 'Kid, that stuff is like a moody cat, it needs a warm lap.' She showed me her setup with a cheap electric mug warmer under the pot, which keeps it at the perfect thin consistency for hours. Do you all have a simple trick to keep your glue workable during long sessions?

6

jake_mason30•5d ago

PSA: A guy at the craft fair in Springfield looked at my hand-bound journal and asked if I 'printed the lines on the paper before or after gluing it all together'.

He was dead serious, and I had to explain the whole process of folding signatures and sewing them to the spine, which took about 15 minutes while he just nodded slowly, and now I wonder if he thinks all books are just stacks of single pages glued at the edge.

26

the_shane•6d ago

The switch from PVA to wheat paste for my spine linings was a total game changer

My quarter-bound notebooks used to crack open after a few months of use, but after swapping six months ago, the flexibility is night and day. The wheat paste just gives a more forgiving, durable hold that moves with the text block. Anyone have a favorite brand or recipe they swear by?

18

briannguyen•8d ago

I tried a different glue mix for my headbands and it actually held up

Mixed a bit of PVA with some wheat paste for a repair on a 1902 encyclopedia set. It set with way more flex than I expected, didn't crack at all. Anyone have a go-to flexible adhesive for old, thick spines?

26

green.jenny•9d ago

Choosing between a bone folder and a Teflon folder for my first leather project

I just finished my first leather-bound journal and had to pick between a basic bone folder and a pricier Teflon one. I went with the bone tool because it was only $12 and I read it gives a sharper crease. It worked great on the paper signatures, but I noticed it left some faint marks on the dark green leather cover. The whole project took about two weeks working in the evenings. Has anyone else had this issue with marking, or is there a trick I'm missing?

11

troycarter•11d ago

Warning: My mentor told me to never use PVA glue on full leather spines, and I finally learned why the hard way.

I ignored her advice on a $80 commission last month, and the spine cracked after just two openings. Has anyone found a flexible adhesive that actually holds up for leather work?

19

tyler506•11d ago

Question about skipping the traditional pressing step for a quick repair

Everyone says you absolutely must press a book for a full day after a spine repair, but I was in a hurry to fix a client's 1920s poetry collection. I tried using a heavy-duty clamp and a hair dryer on low heat for about 20 minutes instead, and the adhesive set perfectly. Has anyone else had a good result with a faster method on older materials?

16

morgan_jenkins90•12d ago

Found out my local library throws away hundreds of books a month

I was chatting with a librarian friend in Columbus and she mentioned they have to remove about 300 worn-out books from circulation every four weeks. They can't even donate most of them because the bindings are totally shot. It's wild to think about that much material just getting tossed. Has anyone here ever tried to salvage or recycle books from a library purge?

6

beth_anderson•14d ago

Found a 1920s bookbinder's stamp in a box of old tools at the Portland flea market

I was digging through a stall last weekend and found this heavy brass stamp with the name 'J. H. CARTER & SONS' and a little city crest. The guy said it came from a house clean out. I cleaned it up at home and did a quick print on some scrap paper. The impression is still super sharp after all these years. You can see every line of the crest and the old style lettering. It got me thinking about how many shops like that must have been around back then. I'm going to try using it on the spine of my next personal project. Has anyone else found old shop stamps and figured out a good way to use them without damaging them?

30

alex_coleman•15d ago

An old binder in Portland told me my headbands were too tight

He said it was stressing the spine, so I started leaving a tiny bit of slack, maybe 1/8 inch. Has anyone else had a mentor point out a small habit that made a big difference?

29

adams82•16d ago

Serious question, is a bone folder really that much better than a smooth metal spoon?

I used a spoon from my kitchen for a week and got cleaner, sharper creases on my endpapers than I ever did with the folder. Has anyone else found a tool they're not supposed to use that actually works better?

29

riley_singh•17d ago

PSA: A batch of PVA glue from a new supplier just ruined three days of work for me.

I was finishing a set of six leather journals for a client in Tacoma, and the new glue I tried from a local art store caused the leather to bubble and warp after it dried. I had to strip everything back to the boards and start over, losing about $200 in materials and time. Has anyone else had a bad batch of adhesive from a specific brand recently?

13

viola_henderson•17d ago

Rant: Bought a cheap corner rounder that ruined a whole batch of covers

I was trying to save a few bucks and grabbed a $25 corner rounder from a craft store instead of a proper bookbinding one. It looked fine, but the blade was dull and the alignment was off. It mangled the corners on 12 leather covers I'd spent weeks prepping, so I lost about $80 in materials and a ton of time. Anyone have a solid corner rounder they actually trust?

7

the_river•17d ago

Changed my mind about using PVA for everything after a chat at the Portland book fair

I was gluing up a text block for a cookbook last week and a binder I met said, "That spine will crack in a year if you don't let it flex." So I switched to a wheat paste mix for the spine and kept the PVA just for the boards. What do you all use for heavy books that get opened a lot?

32

betty_fisher5•17d ago

A guy at the Portland library asked me to fix his 1890s family bible

He brought it in last month, the spine was completely gone and pages were loose. I told him a full leather reback would cost about $350 and take a few weeks. He just looked at it and said, 'Do what you need to, it's not the cost, it's the history.' Made me remember why I got into this. Anyone else have a client who really made you think about the value of the work?

5

reese_sullivan•17d ago

Stopped by the old library in Salem and the repair shelf was empty

I was there to check out their special collections room, but what really got me was seeing the mending cart in the back with nothing on it. The librarian said they send everything out now, even simple hinge fixes. It made me think about how many of us used to learn by fixing those public library castoffs. Does anyone still get books from local libraries for practice, or is that just a thing of the past?

2

joel536•17d ago

I finally figured out why my book cloth kept bubbling up

I was working on a custom journal in my garage shop last week, using some new linen cloth from Talas. I pasted it down like I always do, but when I went to smooth it out, these huge air bubbles formed right in the middle of the board. I ended up using a bone folder and a tiny pin to poke a hole and press the air out, which worked but left a small mark. Has anyone else had this happen with linen-backed cloth, and what's your trick to avoid it?

1

val_craig37•18d ago

Found a good way to get old glue off book cloth without wrecking it

I was fixing a 1920s poetry book from a local thrift store, and the spine cloth was stuck down with this rock-hard animal glue. I tried warm water, but it made the cloth soggy. Then I remembered reading about using a mix of white vinegar and water, about one part vinegar to three parts water. I dabbed it on with a cotton swab, waited two minutes, and the glue scraped off clean with a bone folder. Has anyone else found a better mix for really stubborn paste?

25

allen.reese•18d ago

Unpopular opinion: I started using a bone folder for everything and it changed my work

For a while, I just used my fingers to crease paper and set folds. About two weeks ago, I forced myself to use a bone folder on a whole run of quarter leather bindings. The difference in the sharpness of the hinge and the overall neatness was huge. It took a bit longer, but the finished books just look more solid. Anyone else have a simple tool they resisted that turned out to be a game changer?

4

sethr10•19d ago

That time I tried to rush a leather dye job and it went purple

I was working on a custom order last Tuesday and decided to skip the usual test patch on scrap leather (you know, to save maybe 20 minutes). I mixed my usual brown dye, but the bottle was almost empty and I think some old purple residue was stuck in the cap. The whole cover came out this weird, streaky plum color. Had to completely strip it and start over, which took the rest of the week. Anyone have a good method for cleaning dye bottles between colors to stop this from happening?

19

tara345•20d ago

My 20 year old board shear finally gave out last Tuesday

I was trimming some 80lb cover stock for a custom order when the blade just stopped moving, like it was jammed solid. I took it apart and found the main pivot pin had worn down to almost nothing, which is wild because my old boss said it would outlive me. Has anyone had to replace the pivot on a vintage Challenge shear, or is it time to start looking for a new machine?

22

alice128•21d ago

Showerthought: I saw a 'book repair' station at the Seattle library that was just a glue stick and some packing tape.

It made me think we're maybe too precious about 'proper' methods when a simple fix gets a beloved book back into a kid's hands for another six months, so what's the most basic repair you've done that actually held up?