Why does nobody talk about how cover boards have gotten thinner over the years?

I was cleaning out my workshop and found some bindings I made a decade ago. The boards back then were thick and heavy, almost like cutting small planks. Today's materials are so much lighter, which is nice for my hands but doesn't give the same solid feel. It just makes me appreciate the old way things were built.

3 comments

3 Comments

vall421mo ago

Found some old shop bindings too, totally get that solid feel. I ended up keeping a couple just for the rare project where that weight matters.

reese_hill1mo ago

You said cover boards got thinner, but it's more about the materials. Modern composites are lighter without always being thinner.

val_taylor23d ago

Hey, what about the noise? Thinner boards don't muffle the sound of pages turning like the old ones did. I had this big old photo album from my grandma, and flipping through it was almost silent. My new one with the thin covers makes this cheap, flappy sound. It's a tiny thing, but it changes the whole feel of using it.