c/bookbinders

I finally used a bone folder on a different kind of paper

Tried it on some handmade lokta paper from Nepal for an endpaper, and it left a faint, shiny streak instead of a crisp crease. Turns out the surface sizing reacts differently to pressure and heat. Anyone know a better tool for delicate, fibrous sheets like that?

I just finished my 100th book repair

It was a 1920s copy of 'The Great Gatsby' with a broken spine and loose pages. I didn't keep count until I logged it in my work journal last night. That number really hit me, thinking of all those books saved from the bin. How do you all mark your own milestones in this craft?

Finally got my first Coptic stitch to look right after three tries

I mean, I've been messing with it on and off for a month, but last week I sat down with some scrap paper from my local print shop and just went for it. The first two attempts were a total mess, but the third one came out with even tension and a clean spine. Has anyone else found a good trick for keeping the kettle stitch knots from getting loose?

I was ready to give up on getting clean headbands, but a weird trick with a hair dryer actually worked.

Saw a guy at the craft fair selling 'hand bound' journals for $75 each

He was using PVA glue on the spines and calling it a proper binding. I watched him for about twenty minutes, and not one of those books had any rounding or backing. They were just glued blocks shoved into premade covers. That's not bookbinding, that's assembly. It makes our whole craft look cheap when people pass that off as quality work. I've been doing this for 15 years and a real rounded and backed case binding takes me at least three hours start to finish. How do you guys feel when you see stuff like that being sold for serious money?

Showerthought: A workshop in Portland made me switch from PVA to wheat paste

I was at a bookbinding workshop in Portland last fall, and the instructor insisted we try wheat paste for a week. I'd always used PVA glue for everything, but after seeing how flexible the wheat paste made the spine on a test journal, I gave it a shot. The difference after letting a repair sit for 48 hours was huge, no more cracking. Now I use it for all my older text block repairs. Has anyone else made a permanent switch after a workshop like that?

Went to the library in Spokane and saw something about old book repair

I was there last Tuesday picking up a book for my kid. Walked past their little history display in the lobby. They had this old repair log from the 1950s open under glass. It showed how they fixed a ripped map in an atlas. The binder used wheat paste and thin Japanese paper, but the notes said they had to wait a full day for it to dry before doing anything else. Made me think about how we rush things now with modern glues. That patience was built into the job back then. I've been guilty of moving too fast on a spine repair and messing it up. Do you guys ever slow down a project on purpose to let things set right?

A binder in Vancouver showed me a trick with a bone folder I'd never seen

She pressed it at a really low angle against the paper grain, saying 'it's not a knife, it's a persuader.' Anyone know other odd tool uses?

I finally got my head around rounding spines after a year of messing it up

For the first 12 months, I'd just hammer the text block on my bench and hope for the best, which gave me uneven, lumpy curves. Then I watched a video from a binder in Portland who uses a simple piece of dowel and a rolling pin motion. I tried it on a poetry book last week and the curve came out perfect, no weird flat spots. Anyone have other low-tech ways to get a smooth round?

I finally gave that Japanese paper hinge method a real shot

For years I thought it was just a fancy look, but after a workshop at the Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts, I tried it on a small journal. The way it lets the book open flat without stressing the spine is a total game changer. Has anyone else switched over to this style for their personal projects?

Rant: My friend told me to just use PVA glue for everything

I listened and now my quarter leather binding from last month is already cracking at the hinge. Should have used a flexible paste for the spine like everyone says. Anyone have a good fix for this, or is it a total redo?

Serious question, why does everyone think a bone folder is just for creasing paper?

I keep seeing people use them to press down book cloth and it's going to tear the fibers... you need a proper roller for that step. Has anyone else had to fix a project where the cloth got wrecked like this?

Swore I'd never use PVA for a full rebind, but a rainy weekend in March changed my mind

I was working on a 1920s poetry collection for a friend. My usual wheat paste just would NOT hold the new spine lining on the old, brittle text block. After the third fail, I remembered this old binder in my city who always talked about using a 50/50 mix of PVA and methyl cellulose for problem books. Mixed up a small batch, applied it thin, and the hold was instant and perfect. The flexibility after drying is way better than I expected. What other 'rules' have you all broken that actually worked out?

My stitching went from looking like a drunk spider did it to actually straight in about six months, and the only thing that changed was my needle choice.

My uncle swore by using PVA glue for headbands, and I finally tried it.

He said it was 'the only way to get a clean set' on a leather-bound journal I was making. The glue soaked through the fabric and left a stiff, ugly ridge that took hours to fix. What's a better method for attaching headbands that actually works?

Just tried two different ways to line a spine and one ruined my book

I was binding a poetry collection last week and used a thin, flexible glue on the first spine... it dried way too fast and cracked when I opened the book. For the second one, I switched to a slower-setting paste and let it cure for a full day, and the difference is huge, it opens perfectly. Has anyone else had a glue fail like that and found a brand that works every time?

I used to think a bone folder was just for creasing paper

I was at the craft store in Madison and the person next to me said, 'I use the rounded end to burnish my leather after dyeing, it gives a nicer finish than my fingers.' I tried it on a small journal cover and it worked way better, the leather looked smoother. Do you all use your bone folders for stuff other than folding?

A goat ate my book cloth at the county fair and I learned a lesson

I was doing a bookbinding demo at our local fair in Springfield last fall, showing how to cover a simple case. I had a nice piece of blue linen cloth laid out, ready to glue. A kid with a 4-H goat on a lead walked by, and before anyone could blink, that goat leaned over and took a huge bite right out of my cloth. It chewed it up like it was the best snack ever. I was left with a perfect half-moon missing from the corner. I had to finish the demo with this weirdly shaped, chewed piece, but it actually worked. It taught me to be less precious about my materials and to adapt on the fly. Now I keep a little 'oops' box of odd-shaped scraps for practice. Has anyone else had a project saved by a happy accident, or in my case, a hungry farm animal?

A talk with a museum archivist changed how I think about my own book repair work

I was helping a friend at the local history museum last week, just fixing a few old ledgers. I got chatting with their main archivist, Sarah. She was watching me reback a 1902 account book and said something simple that stuck with me. She said, 'You know, for us, the goal isn't to make it look new. It's to make sure it can be handled by researchers in 50 years without falling apart.' I've always aimed for a clean, invisible repair, but she made me realize I was focusing on the wrong thing for some jobs. My perfect, hidden joint might not be the strongest long-term choice if the original paper is brittle. Now I'm rethinking my whole approach for conservation versus restoration. Has anyone else had a client or project that shifted their focus from looks to pure function?

I used to glue my headbands flat until a rainy day in Portland showed me why they curve

For my first ten books, I just stuck the headband straight onto the spine with PVA. Then last fall, I was rebinding a water-damaged novel from a Portland library sale, and the old headband had this perfect, springy curve that fit the rounded back. I realized it's not just decoration, it needs to move with the book. Now I shape mine over a dowel before attaching them, so they have some give. Does anyone else have a different method for making headbands flexible?

My kid's kindergarten teacher said she prefers board books with sewn bindings, not glued

She told me they survive the class library bin for years, while the glued ones fall apart in a term. I've been using PVA for my personal projects, but now I'm looking at getting a proper sewing frame. Anyone have a good beginner model they'd recommend?

Had to choose between using a cat or a book press for flattening signatures

I was working on a custom journal last week and my book press was full with another project. My cat, a 12-pound tabby named Gus, decided the stack of folded signatures was his new bed. I had a choice: shoo him off and wait, or let him sit there as a living weight. I picked the cat, figuring his warmth might help the paper relax. It worked surprisingly well for about 20 minutes until he got bored and knocked the whole pile onto the floor. Has anyone else used a truly unconventional weight in a pinch?

My friend who runs a print shop said he'd rather I use a bone folder than any metal tool for scoring, which got me thinking about my whole process.

He mentioned that the bone folder gives a more consistent, gentle crease on the paper grain (especially with the 120 gsm stock I use for covers) and now I'm wondering if I've been too rough with my scoring technique this whole time.

Just read that the earliest known bound books were Buddhist texts from the 1st century AD, found in a cave in Afghanistan.

I always thought the codex was a Roman invention, so this totally flipped my view on bookbinding history, and I'm curious if anyone else has found a fact that changed their understanding of the craft?

Update: A client in Seattle really pushed back on my choice of headbands

I was finishing a custom order for a set of poetry books (you know, the fancy kind with marbled paper) and the client came to my shop for a final look. I showed them the headbands, which I'd sewn in a dark green silk to match the endpapers. They got this look on their face and said, 'Oh, I thought those were just glued-on decoration. Can't you use the fake, pre-made ones? It seems like a waste of time for something no one sees.' I was pretty taken aback. I tried to explain that a proper sewn headband protects the spine and is a mark of real craft, but they just kept saying it was an 'unseen detail' and not worth the extra two hours of work I'd put in. It stuck with me because it felt like they were saying the heart of the work, the hidden structure, doesn't matter if the outside looks good. Has anyone else had a client question a core part of your process like that? How do you talk about the value of the things that aren't immediately obvious?