c/bookbinders

Can we talk about that $60 bookbinding kit I grabbed off Etsy?

I was pumped to start bookbinding, so I dropped $60 on a starter kit from some shop on Etsy. It came with a bone folder that was basically plastic, a cheap awl that bent on my second hole, and thread that kept fraying like crazy. I wasted three evenings fighting with that stuff before I gave up and ordered individual tools from a proper supplier for maybe $50 total. The difference is night and day - the real bone folder actually creases paper flat, and the awl goes through signatures like butter. Has anyone else burned cash on those all-in-one kits and regretted it, or did I just pick a bad seller?

PSA: That $40 guillotine cutter from Amazon is a waste

I bought one last month thinking it would save time on trimming book blocks. The blade bent after 15 cuts on standard 60lb paper, so now I'm back to using my old $15 Olfa knife and a metal ruler. Anyone found a budget cutter that actually holds up?

I finally changed my mind about using PVA glue for bookbinding

For years I was a pure hide glue guy, thought PVA was just for kids and cheap notebooks. Took a class at the bindery in Chicago last month and saw a restoration project that had held up 15 years with PVA. The pages laid flat and the spine was still flexible, no cracking at all. Now I'm splitting my projects based on use, PVA for journals and hide glue for hard use books. Anyone else find themselves switching adhesives after seeing a demo or old project hold up?

Tried using PVA glue for a spine hinge after years of wheat paste - wish I'd done it sooner

I've been binding books for about 6 years now and always used wheat paste for my spine hinges because that's what the old guy who taught me did. But last month I had a project with this really heavy text block, like 400 pages of thick art paper, and the wheat paste just wasn't cutting it. The hinge felt weak and I was worried about it snapping after a few opens. So I caved and bought a bottle of Lineco PVA from the craft store down on Main Street. I glued up the hinge and let it dry overnight and honestly the difference was night and day. The spine flexes way smoother and the whole thing feels solid, not like it's gonna fall apart after a year. I still like wheat paste for paper repairs and stuff, but for a heavy book that gets used a lot, PVA seems way better. Has anyone else switched and found cases where you still prefer paste over PVA?

Unpopular take: stop using PVA glue for every single repair job

I see so many folks on here reaching for PVA glue for everything from spine repairs to corner fixes. But I restored a 1920s textbook last week in my shop near Philly, and PVA would have wrecked the paper. I used wheat paste instead, and the pages didn't warp or crack. Has anyone else tried alternatives like hide glue on old books?

Shoutout to the old-timer at the guild meeting who told me to stop using PVA for everything

I'd been using PVA for every binding job for like 4 years, but this guy with 30 years experience said try wheat paste on a cloth case - totally different feel, way more forgiving. Has anyone else switched glues for different projects and noticed a big difference?

Finally figured out why my headbands kept slipping off while binding

Turns out I was cutting my book cloth grain wrong for like 2 years and it was warping everything. Caught it when a friend pointed out my spine was pulling to the left on a 300 page restoration job. Anyone else had grain direction mess up their projects without realizing it?

Heads up: Instant glue on leather hinge repairs warped my book cover in under 2 days

I tried using super glue to fix a loose leather hinge on a 1940s novel last week here in Portland. Thought it would be a quick strong fix. By the next morning, the leather had shrunk and warped the whole cover face. The glue soaked through and dried way harder than the surrounding material. I had to pry the cover off and start over. Has anyone found a glue that works on leather hinges without causing this?

Hit 500 hand-sewn headbands last month without even realizing it

Was counting some inventory for a big order I had to fill by the 15th and I tallied up my headband count. Turns out I passed 500 sometime in late November. I've been binding books for almost 12 years now and I never really kept track before. My grandma taught me the stitch when I was visiting her in Ohio back in 2012. She always said "don't count your stitches or you'll jinx the book" which is silly but I guess it stuck. Now I'm wondering how many total I've done over the years. Has anyone else hit a random milestone that caught them off guard?

My sewing frame snapped mid-project on a 400 page restoration

I was working on an old 1920s novel last Saturday, about 60% through resewing the sections, and my homemade sewing frame just gave out. The crossbar split right down the middle, sending the whole setup crashing to the floor. I had to pick up all the loose signatures and figure out what to do next. Ended up clamping the frame back together with some wood glue and a couple of C-clamps, but it held for maybe another 20 minutes before it cracked again. Anybody else had a frame fail on them like this, or am I just pushing my luck with a cheap build?

My sewing frame snapped in half mid-signature yesterday

I was working on a pretty big 400-page restoration project and right as I was starting the third signature, the crossbar on my old wooden sewing frame just cracked clean through. I had to scramble and rig up a clamp with some spare wood and a C-clamp I had lying around just to finish the job. It held together but it felt super shaky the whole time. Anyone else had a frame fail on them and what did you replace it with?

That one critique about my spine rounding changed everything

I had a customer send back a leather journal last year because the spine was too flat and wouldn't open right. She said it felt like trying to read a brick. So I started rounding my spines to about a 3mm curve and now the books lay flat way better. Has anyone else had to rework their spine technique from a complaint?

Spent a whole weekend fighting with a single headband

I was making a leather-bound journal for a client in Seattle and the headband just would not sit right. It took me about 14 hours over two days to get the stitching tight and the curve perfect, mostly because I was using a new, thinner linen thread. Has anyone else had a headband fight back that hard, and what thread do you trust for them?

Appreciation post: I thought Japanese paper was just hype until I tried making a cover with it last month

Three years ago I started using a bone folder from a craft store for my leather work. My mentor in Portland took one look and said 'You're going to ruin that spine.' Guess who was right?

Can we talk about the time I used the wrong glue on a full leather binding in my garage studio

I was rushing a client's order for a wedding gift in Denver and accidentally grabbed a bottle of PVA instead of my usual flexible animal glue, which caused the spine to crack and the boards to warp after a single day, so has anyone else found a foolproof way to clearly label your adhesive bottles to avoid this kind of disaster?

Overheard a kid at the library say my book looked like a sandwich

Binding a custom poetry book for a friend. Used marbled paper on the cover. This little girl points and says, "Mom, that book's a fancy sandwich." Her mom was so embarrassed. But honestly? Kind of a compliment. Made me think about how we see our work versus how others see it. Anyone else get a weird but funny comment on a project?

My old bone folder gave out on me last Tuesday

I was creasing a spine on a leather journal and the tip just snapped clean off, it had been my go-to for about fifteen years. I ended up using the back of a spoon to finish the job, which worked okay but felt wrong. What's a good, solid replacement that won't break the bank?

Showerthought: My old concrete mixing habit fixed my book cloth bubbles

I was getting tiny air pockets under the cloth on a quarter leather binding, and on a whim I used a drywall knife to spread the paste... it lays it perfectly thin and even. Anyone have a different tool they use for pasting out large areas?

TIL a lot of folks are cutting their headbands way too short

I mean, I see it all the time in project pics. People cut the headband material exactly to the spine width, but that's wrong. You need to add at least 3/8 of an inch on each side for the turn-ins. If you don't, the ends of the headband pull away from the text block after a few openings. I learned this the hard way on a batch of five notebooks I made last month, and three of them started to fail. Has anyone else found a better allowance, or is 3/8 inch pretty standard?

My local guild is split on whether to use a bone folder or a teflon folder for smoothing leather.

I think the bone folder gives better control and a sharper crease, but half the members swear the teflon one prevents any chance of marking the leather, so which tool do you reach for first on a fine binding?

Serious question, has anyone else had a book spine just refuse to round properly no matter how many times you hammer it?

I was working on a leather rebind of 'Moby Dick' and that whale of a spine took me nearly four hours of careful hammering and adjusting in the press before it finally took a decent curve, which got me wondering if certain paper types or grain directions are just more stubborn than others.

Checked out the old library in Salem and saw something about their repair process.

They had a display case with a 19th century ledger that was being conserved, and I noticed they used a specific type of Japanese paper for hinge repairs instead of the usual Western stuff. The archivist said it was because the fibers were longer and more flexible for that brittle leather. Has anyone here worked with those papers for historical repairs?

Finally got my 100th book spine to line up perfectly with the cover board, no gaps at all.

Changed my mind on that $80 corner rounding punch

I always thought hand trimming corners was fine and a punch was a waste. Then I got a big order for 50 leather journals. After the tenth one, my hand was cramping and the cuts were getting sloppy. I bought the punch out of pure frustration. It saved me hours and made every corner look the same. Anyone have a good source for replacement blades for these things?