🐿️Pinecone Attack

c/bookbinders

10

allen.amy•14d ago

Customer told me my spine hinges were cracking too much and I was mad until I checked

Some guy at a craft fair last Saturday said my books looked nice but the spines were gonna fall apart in a year lol. I was kinda offended at first but when I got home I tested my hinges and he was totally right. I was gluing them too tight and not letting the spine flex naturally. Switched to a looser rounded spine method and now the books open way better. Anybody else get salty feedback that actually helped in the end?

25

foster.ruby•15d ago

Hit 100 hand-sewn bindings last week and noticed something strange about my needle wear

I replaced my needle for the first time in 5 years after finishing binding 100 books and it cut my stitching time by almost 20 percent, has anyone else noticed how much a dull needle slows them down?

6

hernandez.jordan•18d ago

Rushed a glue-up and paid for it today...

I was in my basement workshop last night trying to finish a book for a client's birthday and grabbed the wrong PVA. The spine split clean open when I tested it this morning, so now I'm picking glue out of the hinges at my kitchen table. Anybody else ever mix up their glues in a hurry?

19

nathan_torres34•19d ago

Shoutout to the guy who told me to stop buying pre-cut book board

Wasted about $40 on pre-cut sheets from a craft store before figuring out I could just buy a full sheet of binders board and cut it myself. Anyone else get nickled and dimed by pre-cut supplies?

-1

emma684•20d ago

Just finished my 50th case binding and it finally clicked

I started bookbinding as a hobby about 8 months ago and just hit 50 case bindings yesterday (a little travel journal for a friend). It surprised me because for the first 30 or so I struggled with getting the spine square and was ready to give up, but now the steps feel automatic. Has anyone else hit a random milestone that made the craft suddenly feel less like fighting and more like flow?

16

jake_kelly24•22d ago

Finally got my first perfect rounded spine after 6 months of trying

I was skeptical that a bone folder and some patience could replace a backing press, but I spent last Saturday working on a leather bound journal and it came out cleaner than any jig setup I've tried. What trick took you longer to nail than you expected?

12

thompson.christopher•22d ago

Why does nobody talk about PVA glue drying too fast in winter

Last month I was trying to glue up a textbook rebind in my unheated garage in Cleveland and the PVA skinned over before I even got the spine cloth on, has anyone else had to switch to something slower drying when the temps drop?

3

riverf34•23d ago

Talked to a guy who hand-sews all his bindings. Made me feel like a hack.

He said machine stitching is for efficiency, not strength. Said his 40-year-old notebooks still lay flat. Has anyone here switched to hand-sewing and actually stuck with it?

2

reese550•23d ago

Almost ruined a rare 1800s binding with cheap PVA glue last month

I picked up a beautiful 1884 edition of Ivanhoe from an estate sale for $40. Thought I'd do a quick reback at home with some standard PVA I had lying around from a craft project. Three days later the spine was already cracking and the leather was pulling away from the boards. Took it to a proper conservator in Portland who told me I used the wrong pH glue completely. Repaired it right with a reversible starch paste that cost me $12 total and now I'm paranoid about every adhesive I buy. Has anyone else messed up a vintage book using the wrong glue?

20

xena_taylor64•24d ago

Hit 100 perfect spines today and it felt like a bigger deal than I expected

I've been binding as a side gig for about 2 years now. Mostly rebinding old paperbacks for friends and some small commissions. But I started keeping a tally of how many books I finished without ANY flaws on the spine - no ripples, no glue showing, no cracks. 100 just felt like a real milestone, you know? My first 20 were a total mess. Tons of waste. Now I can actually trust my process. Has anyone else tracked something weird like this just to see if you're actually improving?

17

cole_mitchell8•24d ago

I think everyone is way too obsessed with grain direction on endpapers

I have bound maybe 80 books over the last 3 years and only had one endpaper buckle, and that was because I used too much glue. Does the paper grain really make that big a difference for most projects or is it just something we tell ourselves to feel professional?

14

lindaw29•26d ago

Took me 3 months to figure out why my book cloth was bubbling

Honestly, I kept getting these weird bubbles under my book cloth on the spine area. Tried everything, more glue, less glue, different brushes. Finally realized after trying 7 different PVA brands that my glue was drying too fast because my workshop in Minneapolis is super dry in winter. Adding 10% water to the mix fixed it completely in like 2 minutes. Has anyone else dealt with glue tack time issues based on your climate?

26

cameron770•28d ago

Pro tip: don't glue your endpapers before checking the grain direction on the cover board

I just spent 40 minutes peeling off a warped cover from a project I started at my shop in Portland because I forgot to check the grain first and now the whole thing is trash.

10

derek_burns•1mo ago

Switched from PVA to wheat paste for spine linings and here's what happened

I've been using PVA glue for years on every binding, but my teacher told me wheat paste gives a more flexible spine on rounded backs. After 8 books with the wheat paste mix, I noticed the covers open way flatter without cracking. Anyone else stick with one glue type or do you switch based on the project?

12

reese_lane29•1mo ago

Found a cheap way to fix my rounded spine problem

I had this issue where the spines on my hardcovers kept coming out rounded instead of flat, no matter how tight I cranked my press. After like 15 tries with different pressures, I just started using a stack of heavy dictionaries on top of the book overnight. That extra weight sitting there for 8 hours actually got the spine to lay flat. Has anyone else tried something dumb like that instead of buying a real finishing press?

16

jason_fisher4•1mo ago

I just hit 500 bindings and it hit me harder than I expected

I was cleaning up my workshop yesterday and realized I've finished 500 books since I started binding back in 2010. That number surprised me because I always thought of myself as just a hobbyist who messes around in the garage. The first 50 were rough, I still have some of those early ones with crooked spines and glue drips. But seeing that stack of 500 made me think about all the mistakes I learned from along the way. Anyone else ever count up their total and get caught off guard?

28

allen.amy•1mo ago

Bought a cheap corner rounder that mangled a whole batch of covers

I got a $25 corner rounder from a craft store last month, thinking it would be fine for small projects. It worked okay on paper, but when I tried it on some book board for six leather covers, it just crushed and tore the edges. I had to scrap all the board and start over, wasting about $40 in materials. Has anyone found a decent corner rounder that won't destroy thicker materials?

25

nancy154•1mo ago

My best week ever started with a customer bringing in a box of old family letters

I spent five days turning them into a cloth-bound book for her, and seeing her cry when she picked it up was amazing. But I charged way less than I should have for that much hand work. How do you guys price custom projects that become super personal?

8

andrew7•1mo ago

Rant: I was reading about the Library of Congress and found out they have over 40,000 bookbinding manuals

I was looking up some history on bookbinding techniques and stumbled on their digital collection. They have a specific section just for manuals on binding, some from the 1800s. It blew my mind that there's that many resources in one place. Has anyone here actually used their archives for a project?

23

the_wendy•1mo ago

A talk with a librarian in Tucson made me check my glue

I was dropping off a repaired book at the main library last week, and the head archivist asked to see my work. She pointed at a tiny crack in the spine and said, 'That's from the PVA drying too fast in our dry air.' I've always used the same brand, but she told me to try adding a bit of methyl cellulose to slow the set. I never thought about how local weather could mess with a bind. Has anyone else in a dry climate had to change their glue mix?

23

the_joseph•1mo ago

Hot take: a client in Chicago said my headbands looked like cheap plastic.

I switched to using real leather strips and now the whole book feels more solid. Anyone else get a piece of feedback that made you drop a material for good?

29

lisa_wilson87•1mo ago

I bought a cheap book press online and it cost me a project

I needed a press for a small leather-bound journal I was making, so I ordered one for about $35 from a website. The wood was thin and the screw mechanism was plastic, which I didn't realize from the pictures. After tightening it for about two days, the whole frame warped and the book block came out crooked. I lost the materials, about $20 worth of leather and paper, and had to start over. Has anyone found a good, solid press that won't break the bank?

14

elliot_lane96•1mo ago

Vent: My first leather spine repair looked like a mess until I switched to a bone folder

I was fixing a 1920s copy of 'Moby Dick' for a client last month and the new leather I glued on kept getting these weird wrinkles. After three attempts with just my fingers, my mentor in Chicago said to try a bone folder instead. I picked one up for about $8 and the next spine came out completely smooth, like night and day. Anyone have other simple tool swaps that made a huge difference?

3

vera_dixon89•1mo ago

Rant: I think we overcomplicate leather paring sometimes

I spent 4 hours trying to get a perfect, even taper on a spine piece for a quarter binding, and it still looked lumpy. I switched to a basic safety beveler and got a good enough result in 20 minutes. Is the perfect hand-pared edge really worth the extra time for every project?

10

mason209•1mo ago

My local guild keeps saying you need a bone folder for every crease

I've been using the back of a plastic spoon for a decade and my lines are just as sharp. The obsession with specific tools over technique is costing newcomers money they could spend on good paper. Has anyone else found a simple household item that works better than the 'proper' tool?