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Update: A chat with my neighbor who's a retired printer totally changed how I view grain direction.
He said 'the paper always remembers' when you fight it, and now I finally get why my quarter leather bindings kept puckering. Anyone else have a simple tip that fixed a stubborn problem?
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kellyj231mo agoMost Upvoted
That grain memory thing is so true... it's like the paper holds a grudge. A game changer for me was finally understanding how much the humidity in my workspace mattered. I fought with warping covers for months before I got a cheap hygrometer. Turns out I was gluing in a totally different climate than the book would live in. Now I just check it like the weather before I start anything fussy. Letting materials sit in the room for a day first made a stupidly big difference.
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betty_ward1mo ago
What's your target humidity range, @kellyj23? I aim for 45-55% for most work. I also keep a scrap of the cover board on the bench while gluing. If it starts to curl, I know the paste is too wet for the current room conditions.
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avery3661mo ago
Wait, has anyone else noticed their paste goes bad way faster when the humidity is high? I had a buddy who used to swear by his old recipe, but he was gluing in a basement that felt like a swamp. He kept wondering why his joints were failing after a few weeks. Turns out the humidity was basically feeding mold in the paste before it even dried. He switched to mixing smaller batches and keeping his hygrometer right next to his glue pot. Now he checks it like we check the weather before leaving the house. It's wild how much that one cheap tool changed his whole deal.
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gavin9281mo ago
Threw my hygrometer right on the shelf next to my glue pot after reading this, @kellyj23. You're spot on, I had the same fight with warping covers for way too long because I was gluing in my heated garage in January then wondering why the books curled up when they came inside. Now I check it every single time before I mix paste, and I even run a humidifier in my shop during dry winter months. That grain memory thing is REAL, I swear the paper remembers where it came from and tries to go back. Letting materials acclimate for a full day before starting is the trick, but nobody tells you that when you're starting out.
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