I always used PVA for everything because it's fast and easy. But a guy at the Austin book arts fair told me wheat paste gives a way cleaner finish on book cloth, especially with really thin materials like mulberry. I tried it on a batch of six journals Wednesday. First few hours I was cursing because the paste is watery and the cloth kept shifting. But after they dried overnight, the spines are flatter with zero wrinkles. PVA would have bubbled up on those thin covers for sure. Anyone else bother with wheat paste or am I just making extra work?
I always used PVA glue for my coptic bindings, but last month I tried linen thread from a little shop in Portland. The glue made the spine too stiff and it cracked after a few opens. The thread gives it way more flex and the books lay flatter now. Has anyone else made the switch and found a good source for linen?
Was picking up some supplies last Tuesday and this older binder next to me asked why I was grabbing PVA instead of a good old-fashioned starch paste. He said 'you kids use glue for everything, but paste lets you adjust way longer on the spine.' Made me pause and think about how I've been rushing through my case bindings lately. Has anyone else switched back to paste for certain steps or am I overthinking this?
Honestly, I've been using straight needles for years on book spines and always fought with getting the thread through tight sections. Last week I swapped to a curved needle for that final spine lining step and it cut my time by like 15 minutes per book. The curve just slides around the spine folds way easier, no more stabbing my fingers or fighting the thread. Has anyone else switched and noticed a big difference, or is it just me?
After binding two journals last December, one with a saddle stitch by hand and one with my sewing machine, the hand-stitched one already has loose threads while the machine one is still tight - is the extra time for hand binding really worth it for durability, or did I just mess up the tension?
I've always just slapped them on with glue but after watching a YouTube guy explain how sewn labels last decades longer and seeing my first one from 6 years ago still perfect I gave it a shot and now I'm hooked, anyone else find a random milestone that made them switch techniques?
Was working on a leather journal binding Tuesday night and my trusty cheap bone folder just gave up mid stroke. Snapped right at the handle. Tried finishing the job with a plastic one from my backup kit but it just doesn't give the same feel. Any recommendations for a bone folder that won't quit on me?
I bought a $5 bottle of PVA from a craft store last year, fully expecting it to fail. But after 6 months and 4 books, the bindings are still holding tight and the spines flex perfectly. Has anyone else had a budget glue surprise them?
I spent $80 on a grain mill last year. Thought it would make paste way better. Hand grinding stuff seemed like a cool idea. My paste came out lumpy every single time. Took me three tries to realize the grind was too coarse. I ended up going back to a blender I already owned. That blender cost me nothing extra and gives me smooth paste in 30 seconds. The mill just sits in a drawer now. Anyone else bought a niche tool that totally flopped for bookbinding?
Tbh I spent my first 2 years of bookbinding using Elmer's glue for everything, including endpapers. I thought the bubbling and warping was just something you had to deal with until a binder in Chicago pointed out I was using the wrong adhesive entirely. She told me to switch to PVA and suddenly my books looked 100% better. Who else had that kind of 'oh no' moment with a basic step? What was your wake-up call?
I compared two copies of the same 2013 reference manual I rebound, one with a proper French link stitch and the other with a basic saddle stapler job. The hand-sewn copy is still tight and lays flat while the stapled one is shedding pages and has rust marks everywhere. Has anyone else noticed a major difference between hand vs machine methods on books you actually use frequently?
Watched a buddy restore a 1920s book with hide glue and it took forever to set, then I did the same repair on a modern paperback with PVA in under 2 minutes, makes me wonder if the old timers just had more patience or if the glue really was better for lasting repairs?
They had this tiny prayer book open to display and the stitching was this wild zigzag pattern I'd never seen before. The conservator said it was a "herringbone chain stitch" from the 1700s. Has anyone here tried that technique on a modern project?
I had this one day back in March where I was finishing up a full leather binding for a client's antique poetry book. The gold tooling on the spine came out flawless on the first try, which never happens for me. Has anyone else had a day where the stars just aligned and your work felt effortless?
I was at a library sale in Portland last spring and this old volunteer showed me something while I was flipping through some beat up books. She said to use a wallpaper seam roller instead of a bone folder for pressing down the spine when you're doing a rebind. I tried it on a 1940s novel I was fixing and it worked way better for getting into those tight gutter areas without damaging the paper. The roller cost me like $8 at a hardware store and it's been a game changer for my flat-backed bindings. Has anyone else used random tools for bookbinding that you found by accident?
I tried fixing a vintage 1890s Bible with regular craft PVA last month. After 3 days it dried so brittle the spine cracked right down the middle when I opened it 30 degrees. Learned the hard way that pH-neutral bookbinder's PVA is non-negotiable for old paper. A guy at the Portland Book Arts Center told me I should have added a little methyl cellulose to keep it flexible. Has anyone else messed up a special book by cutting corners on adhesive?
I bought this cheap wooden book press off Amazon a couple weeks ago. The pressure was uneven and it left deep indentations on my leather cover. Took me three tries to get it right by adding padding, but I still had to redo the whole thing. Has anyone else had trouble with those budget book presses?
Turns out I was switching between two different PVA glue batches without checking the mix ratio, and the dryer winter air was making the problem way worse than usual, anyone else run into mystery glue problems during colder months?
I was working on a leather-bound journal for a client in Denver and putting some real pressure on the spine when my cheap bone folder just cracked right down the middle. Now I'm stuck halfway through the project with a useless tool and a deadline in three days. Anyone have recommendations for a sturdy bone folder that won't break on me?
I've been doing leather binding for about 2 years now, always using calf because that's what I learned on. Last week I had a customer request goat skin for a 6x9 journal they wanted. I was nervous because goat is thinner and supposedly trickier with the grain. But after cutting and folding it, the flexibility is insane. Way easier to turn corners and it takes tooling marks cleaner too. Cost me $28 for the skin versus $35 for calf. Has anyone else made the switch or stuck with one type?
Swapped to PVA for a rebind of an old 1950s novel last weekend and the pages lay so much flatter than my wheat paste ever did. Has anyone else found PVA more forgiving for spine rounding or am I just late to the party?
I spent 4 hours last Saturday trying to figure out why my text block was off by almost 3mm and it turned out my cheap plastic ruler was just cut wrong. Has anyone else had a tool totally throw off their measurements like that?
For like 6 months I was fighting with flat spines and they kept looking terrible. I watched a tutorial by a binder in Portland who showed how rounding the spine lets the signatures move naturally. I tried it on a 300 page journal last Tuesday and the cover closed perfectly on the first try. No more fighting with the glue or having the pages sag. Has anyone else had a big "lightbulb" moment with a technique they were avoiding?
I was rebinding an old textbook from the 1940s, and the original hinges were these tiny brass things with screws that looked like they were from another planet. I spent a solid three hours just trying to get one of them off without destroying the board underneath. By the end I had to just slice through the hinge with a jeweler's saw and patch the hole. Has anyone else run into weird old hardware that makes you question your whole approach?
I spent two years using a cheap plastic bone folder from a craft store, swore it did the job just fine until I borrowed a real cow bone folder from a friend at a guild meetup last month. The difference in creasing and burnishing was so huge that I went back and redid three books I thought were finished. Has anyone else had a basic tool flip their whole workflow like that?