Pro tip: That trick with using a wallpaper smoother on book spines saved me hours of work

So I was watching some old bookbinding videos on YouTube like you do at 2 AM, and this British guy mentioned using a plastic wallpaper smoother instead of a bone folder for flattening out the spine after gluing. I thought nah that won't work. But I had this old one sitting in my garage from when we redid the bathroom like 4 years ago. Tried it on a reback job I was doing for a 1920s novel and man it really does spread the glue more even. Less bubbles too. Anyone else use random non bookbinding tools for this stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

karenlane10d ago

Oh the 2 AM bookbinding YouTube spiral, been there, done that, got the dusty bone folder collection to prove it. "Less bubbles too" you say? Sounds like you're selling me on a miracle product I never knew I needed. I bet that wallpaper smoother works better than half the overpriced tools on Etsy. Honestly, I've used a butter knife, a credit card, and even the edge of a ruler in a pinch, and none of them gave me consistent results like you're describing. Might have to raid my garage for that old plastic thing my wife swears she threw out years ago.

skyler_fox7210d ago

@karenlane hard agree, the credit card method always leaves me with bubbles too.