c/bookbinders

Found a trick for fixing torn endpapers with wheat paste and tissue paper

I tried this last Tuesday on a old textbook from the 1940s. The endpapers were split right at the hinge. Mixed up some wheat paste, cut a strip of Japanese tissue, and brushed it on thin. Let it dry under weight for 24 hours. Held better than any tape I have used. Has anyone else fixed hinge tears this way or do you use something different?

Why does nobody talk about bookbinding in a 200 year old library?

I was in Providence last month visiting this historic library, the Providence Athenaeum, and I noticed their collection of old books had some wild binding styles from the 1800s. The leather spines were all cracked but still holding up, and I saw this one book bound in what looked like tree calf leather with these tiny marbled edges. I asked a librarian about the binding on this 1842 atlas and she said it was repaired 30 years ago with an old school technique, not modern glue. That got me thinking, does anyone here actually try to replicate those antique binding methods for fun projects? Has anyone else stumbled onto something interesting about old bindings at a random place?

That guy at the Guild of Book Workers meeting who told me I was binding wrong

I was at a local Guild of Book Workers meeting in Portland back in February, just showing off this little Coptic stitch journal I made with some handmade paper. This older guy, probably in his 60s, walked over and picked it up without asking. He flipped through it and then said "you know, real bookbinders don't use Coptic stitch for anything functional, it's just for art shows." Just like that, totally dismissive. I told him I've been using Coptic stitch for travel journals for years and they hold up fine, but he just shrugged and walked away. It really stuck with me how someone can be so experienced yet so closed off to different approaches. Has anyone else run into someone in this community who acted like their way was the only right way?

Appreciation post: that before-and-after on my first leather binding job

I took a 6-week workshop last year in Portland and did a cloth reback on a 1920s novel with crumbly hinges, and after lining the spine with Japanese tissue and re-sewing the signatures, the thing opens flat as a pancake now. The difference came down to taking my time on the rounding and backing with a proper hammer instead of just using bone folders like I used to do. Has anyone else seen a big jump in quality after switching to one specific tool or step?

My sewing frame snapped mid-project on a $400 order

Last Tuesday I was stitching a leather journal cover and the crossbar on my old sewing frame just cracked in half. I had a $400 custom order sitting there with the signatures already sewn together. Ended up clamping everything to my kitchen table with some cheap bar clamps from Lowe's to finish the job. Anyone else have a tool fail at the worst possible time and have to improvise on the spot?

Tried to repair a broken spine with PVA and it turned into a disaster

I was working on this old novel from the 70s that had completely snapped at the hinge, you know that weak spot where the text block meets the cover. I thought I'd be clever and just slather on some PVA glue (the white stuff, not the fancy pH-neutral kind) and clamp it overnight. Well, when I came back the next morning, the glue had seeped way too far into the signatures, and now those pages are stiff as a board and won't open flat at all. It happened about two weeks ago, and I'm still kicking myself because I usually use a flexible adhesive for spine repairs but I was out. Now I'm stuck with this book that looks fine on the outside but feels terrible to read. Has anyone else had a glue job go sideways like this where the fix made things worse?

Talking to a retired bookbinder changed how I think about glue

I ran into an old guy at the county library book sale last Saturday. He started chatting while I was flipping through a stack of old Readers Digests. Turns out he worked at a bindery in Philadelphia for 40 years. He saw my fingers and asked was I a binder. When I told him I use PVA for almost everything, he just shook his head. He said modern binders lean too hard on glue that gives up after 20 years and we should be using animal hide glue for anything that needs to last a century. It hit me because I had never even thought about longevity past my own lifetime. He was direct about it too, said we are making books for a generation, not for history. Has anyone else had an old timer change their mind on materials like that?

Debate: Is expensive thread worth it or a total waste? I lost $60 on premium linen thread that kept snapping.

I spent $60 on high-end linen thread from a specialty shop, thinking it would make my bindings last forever. But it snapped on me 4 times during a single project, and I ended up using cheap polyester I had lying around. Has anyone else had good luck with fancy thread, or are we all just wasting cash?

I finally changed my mind about using PVA over wheat paste

For 5 years I swore by wheat paste for my cloth bindings. But I watched a YouTube guy from Hollander's show how PVA holds up way better on heavy boards 3 years later without any yellowing. I tested it myself on a sketchbook from 2022 and he was right - the PVA side still looks clean while the wheat paste has that dried crust. Anyone else made the switch and regretted it or am I late to the party?

Dropped $120 on a cheap book press and totally regret it

I bought one of those mini book presses off Amazon for like $120 thinking it'd be good enough for my little hobby projects. The wood split on the third use when I was pressing a text block for a poetry anthology I'm making. Now I'm looking at proper nipping presses that cost 4 times as much but probably won't fall apart. Anyone here had luck with a budget DIY option that actually holds up?

Dismissed PVA glue for years, now I regret it

I was all about that fancy starch paste for my bindings until a 6-month-old book I made started cracking at the hinges. Swapped to a basic PVA for my last project and the joints are way more flexible, no issues so far. Anyone else stubbornly avoid certain glues only to get proven wrong?

Finally sewed my first perfect spine after 6 tries

Spent Sunday afternoon on a small rebinding project for a beat-up paperback. The glue went on even and the hinge opened without cracking for once. Anyone else find that spine work just clicks one day out of nowhere?

Old timer said to chill on my parchment paper

A retired binder gave me this tip at a guild meetup in Portland - he said to stop rushing my backing and leave the mull on for 20 minutes after gluing. I tried it last week on a rebind of a 1920s novel and the spine came out way smoother than my usual hurry-up method. Anyone else have a weird timing trick that made a difference?

Heard a binder at the shop say he never uses PVA for endpapers

I was at a workshop last Saturday and this older guy who's been binding since the 80s said he thinks PVA is too stiff for endpapers and only uses wheat paste. I use PVA for almost everything because it dries fast and I'm impatient. But after he said that I tried wheat paste on a small journal I was finishing up and the endpapers actually laid down flatter with no wrinkling. It took longer to dry though and I had to wait overnight before I could close the book. I'm still not sure if the extra wait is worth it for a cleaner result. Has anyone else switched methods and stuck with one or the other long term?

Paper grain direction - do you actually plan around it or just wing it?

I spent years just grabbing whatever paper was handy and cutting it without thinking. Last month I finally decided to test both methods on a run of 6 hardcover notebooks. For half of them I carefully matched the grain parallel to the spine, and the other half I cut cross-grain like I used to. After seeing the cross-grain ones warp and refuse to lay flat even after pressing overnight, I'm seriously rethinking my whole approach. But some old timer at the shop told me grain only matters for larger formats, not small notebooks. Anyone here actually check grain direction on every project, or do you skip it for certain sizes?

PSA: That debate about hand-stitching vs machine-stitching book spines heated up at my guild meeting last night

I was at the Atlanta Bookbinders Guild meeting on Tuesday and one of the older members said hand-stitching is the ONLY way to get a proper round spine that lasts. Then a younger guy chimed in and said modern sewing machines can replicate the same tension if you adjust the stitch length properly. I sat there thinking about my own books - I do mostly hand-stitching but it takes me 3 hours per book versus 45 minutes with a machine. Has anyone here done a side-by-side comparison of spine durability after 5 years of use?

That tip about not trimming endpapers until after glue-up was dead wrong for me

I had a guy at the craft store tell me to always trim endpapers after the glue dries. I tried it on 3 books and every single one had a mess on the edges where the glue squeezed out and stuck to my bone folder. Went back to trimming them before glue-up like I used to do and my last 2 books came out clean. Anyone else have bad luck with that method?

Was ready to swear off PVA glue forever after a bad batch last year, but now I'm wondering if I just had bad storage habits.

A buddy in my guild kept insisting I was storing it wrong because my joints kept failing, and after trying his fridge-storage method for the last six months I have to admit the stuff works way better now, so is temperature control really that big a deal or did I just get a dud bottle?

My bone folder snapped mid-project yesterday

I was putting a lot of pressure on a stubborn leather hinge and it just gave out, left a weird crease in the cover. Anyone have a good source for a really sturdy replacement that won't break the bank?

I was gluing my endpapers wrong for a full year

I was working on a custom journal for a friend in Chicago and the endpaper just peeled right off when I opened it. I always used a thin, even layer of PVA, let it tack up for a minute, and then stuck it down. Turns out, that 'tack up' minute was letting the glue skin over too much. A binder I follow online said you should put it down while the glue is still wet and shiny, then immediately put it under weight. I tried it on my next three books and the bond is so much stronger. Has anyone else had to unlearn a glue habit that seemed right?

Spotted something weird at the library book sale in Springfield

I was at the annual library sale in Springfield yesterday, digging through the dollar bins. I must have picked up twenty books that had been 'repaired' with clear packing tape over the spines. Not a single one used proper bookbinding tape or even acid-free stuff. It made me wonder how many otherwise good books get ruined by well-meaning but wrong fixes. Has anyone else seen this kind of thing? What's the best way you've found to explain to non-binders why that tape is so bad for the paper?

Spent $80 on a 'professional' bone folder that snapped on the first signature

I bought this fancy brass bone folder online, thinking it would be a lifetime tool. The tip broke off while I was creasing a fold on some 80gsm paper. On one side, you have people saying you need quality tools that cost more. On the other, my basic $5 Teflon folder has lasted years without a single issue. Has anyone else had a high-end tool fail on them right away?

Serious question, I heard a binder at a meetup in Cincinnati say 'a perfect binding is a failed binding' and it's been bugging me for a week.

Honestly thought Japanese paper was just hype until I bound a poetry collection with it

Ngl, I avoided it for years thinking my usual cotton rag was fine. Then a client insisted on using 'kozo' paper from a shop in Kyoto for a special edition. The way it folded without cracking and held the ink was a game changer. Has anyone else had a material they were wrong about?

Got called out for my glue brush technique at a workshop

I was at a bindery workshop in Portland last month, and the instructor watched me apply PVA. She said, 'You're just painting it on, you need to work it into the paper fibers.' I was using a 1-inch flat brush and making maybe two passes. She had me switch to a stippling motion, really pushing the glue in for a full minute per section. The difference in how flat the spine dried was huge, no more ripples. Has anyone else had to unlearn a basic step like that?