Pressing a book with a cinder block actually worked

I had a warped text block that wouldn't flatten with my usual boards, so I stacked two 18 pound blocks from the backyard on it for 3 days. It came out perfectly flat and I didn't have to buy a fancy press, has anyone else tried heavy random objects instead of proper equipment?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor.brooke18d ago

My Grandma used a frozen turkey on a cookbook once, worked great.

williams.luna18d ago

My grandma used a frozen turkey once too, but it was for a different reason. She was trying to flatten a stack of old family recipes that got all crinkly from water damage, and she just threw the turkey on top and forgot about it for like a week. Honestly, the book came out fine, but the turkey went bad and she had to toss it. That cinder block thing makes way more sense to me, though. I've got a bunch of old textbooks that are bowed out from years of cramming them into a bookshelf, and I never thought to just grab something heavy from the yard. I wonder if the weight matters or if it's just about time and pressure, because I tried a heavy cast iron skillet once on a warped cookbook and it only helped a little after two days. Maybe I need to stack like three skillets next time.