c/bookbinders

Found an old book from 1890 with thread stitching still intact

I was cleaning out a box of donations at my local library last Saturday and found this old textbook from 1890. The spine was falling apart but the thread stitching on the sections was still completely solid. I looked up how they did it back then and apparently they used unbleached linen thread that had a natural wax coating. That stuff holds up way better than the synthetic thread I get from the craft store now. Has anyone else run into old bindings where the thread outlasted the covers?

A retired bookbinder told me my stitching was too tight and it fixed everything

I was at a local bindery meetup in Portland last month and this old guy named Frank looked at my coptic stitch binding and said straight up 'you're pulling that thread way too hard, you're crushing the signatures.' Tbh I was kinda defensive at first because I thought tight stitching meant quality. But I tried his advice on my next project, a 200 page journal for a friend, and loosened up each stitch by about half the tension. The spine flexes way better now and the pages lie flat which is literally the whole point of coptic binding. Has anyone else gotten simple feedback that totally changed their technique? What was yours?

That $12 bone folder from the craft store was a total waste

Bought a cheap plastic bone folder at Michael's for 12 bucks and it snapped on my second book. Had to order a real cow bone one from Talas for 25 bucks that's been going strong for 6 months now. Anyone else had luck with the cheaper ones or am I just rough on my tools?

Vent: People using the wrong grain direction on book cloth

I was at a workshop last month in Portland and watched someone spend 45 minutes covering a text block only to have it bubble up overnight because they ran the grain against the spine. I've been binding for about 6 years and this is the one mistake I see over and over even from folks who should know better. It's not just cosmetic either - wrong grain makes the cover warp over time and the hinge gets weak. Has anyone else noticed this in local groups or classes?

SWITCHED TO FRENCH LINK STITCHING AND IT'S NIGHT AND DAY

I used kettle stitch for like 3 years on all my bindings (thought it was fine, you know?), but then a guy at a workshop in Portland showed me French link stitching instead and holy cow the spine opens so much flatter now. Has anyone else tried this and noticed a big difference in how their books lay flat?

That shop guy who said to always use PVA for case bindings was off base

I was at a guild meeting in Portland last Tuesday and heard a well-known binder say you should never use starch paste for case bindings because it's not strong enough. In my experience, a 50/50 mix of PVA and wheat starch paste has held up better on my last 12 books than pure PVA ever did. The paste gives you that extra working time and the glue-down feels more forgiving on the boards. Has anyone else found that pure PVA actually leads to more warping on larger folios?

That binder who told me to stop using wheat paste for everything was right

I used to be one of those people who swore by wheat paste for every single book project. Leather, cloth, paper joints, you name it, I was mixing up a batch. Then this older binder at a workshop in Portland last April pulled me aside and told me I was ruining my spines by using something so stiff on flexible materials. I got defensive at first, but she showed me how my last three rebinds had cracks forming right along the hinge because the paste wasn't giving at all. So I switched to a PVA mix for the spine area and kept wheat paste just for paper-to-paper stuff. It hurt my pride a little, but my books are actually lasting way longer now. Has anyone else had to give up a favorite adhesive for something more flexible?

Hit my first 100 perfect leather hinges at the workshop meetup in Portland

Watching that old pro demo his method with a fresh scalpel at the Rose City Bindery last Saturday finally made the beveling click for me - anyone else have a lightbulb moment from just watching someone work?

Tried to repair a vintage spine and the glue just would not hold

I was working on an 1890s poetry book in my kitchen last Tuesday, using my usual PVA mix, but the spine cracked again after just 3 hours of drying. Turns out the leather was too dried out and needed a different adhesive altogether. Anyone have a go-to for really fragile old leather spines that won't just peel off again?

Used to glue every spine straight with PVA, now I let the rounding happen naturally after watching a binder in Portland do it.

Changed my whole approach last year after a 60-book run where half the spines cracked because I forced them flat - anyone else ditch PVA for spine shaping?

My cat took a flying leap right into my wet book press

Last Wednesday I was pressing a freshly glued text block and stepped away for 30 seconds to grab more paste. My cat Jasper decided that was the perfect moment to launch himself from the bookshelf onto the press lid. The whole thing tipped sideways and my nice 16th century manuscript replica ended up with a crooked spine and cat hair pressed into the endpaper. Has anyone else had pets destroy a project mid bind?

Stopped into an old bindery in downtown St. Louis last month and it was like walking into 1982

Noticed the shift in book cloth quality over the last 15 years

I was sorting through my supplies last week and pulled out a roll of book cloth I bought in 2008. The cloth from back then had a woven texture that felt solid and took glue without puckering. Compare that to the stuff I got from a craft store in 2023, which is basically paper backed with a thin layer of fabric. I think the change happened around 2015 when more companies started cutting costs to compete with online suppliers. Has anyone else had trouble finding good quality book cloth locally?

Chat with a retired binder in Portland flipped my view on old techniques

I was talking to this guy named Gene at the Powell's book fair a few weeks ago. He said something like 'we overthink spine rounding now, just let the paper tell you where it wants to go.' It hit different because he had 40 years of experience and my modern tools don't make up for that feel. Anyone else had an old school binder drop a line that stuck with you?

Discovered a trick for flattening warped boards with a damp cloth and a brick

Last weekend I tried wetting the concave side of a warped book board and setting a brick on it for 24 hours, and it actually flattened out perfectly. Has anyone else used this method for stubborn warps or do you have a better way?

Spent 4 hours trying to fix a loosening spine on an 1880s hymnal last Tuesday

The cloth hinge had completely detached from the text block and I ended up using a wheat paste/PVA mix that held way better than straight PVA. Anybody got a go-to method for brittle cloth hinges on older books?

Serious question, is anyone else's PVA getting cloudy after a week? Just swapped brands and same thing happening

I noticed my last few batches of bookcloth came out with white spots after sitting for a week. Switched from Lineco to a generic archival PVA from a local art store in Portland and still getting the same cloudy residue on the spines. Turns out it was the humidity in my basement workshop - above 60% makes the glue cure weird and turn milky. Got a dehumidifier last Tuesday and the new batch looks perfect now. Anyone else deal with this or am I the only one storing glue in a damp room?

Always used PVA glue for bookbinding, tried wheat paste on a whim

Did a small repair on a 1920s novel I found at a thrift store in Portland and the wheat paste held way better than I expected, no warping at all on the thin paper. Has anyone else switched glues based on the book's age and gotten weirdly good results?

My first coptic stitch book fell apart because I forgot one thing

I spent 3 hours last night sewing a coptic stitch journal with some nice Canson paper I got on sale at Hobby Lobby. Turned out gorgeous but when I opened it this morning the whole spine just let go on me. Turns out I used waxed thread that was way too smooth and the knots kept slipping - has anyone else had this happen with certain thread brands?

That time I tried to fix a 1920s textbook with wood glue

Last month I picked up a beat-up 1920s chemistry textbook at a thrift store and thought I could save the spine with some wood glue I had laying around. The glue seeped through the fabric and now the cover feels like a hard plastic shell, it's totally ruined. Has anyone here found a good method for reattaching old cloth covers without ruining the look?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?