Ngl when I started bookbinding last year I never thought I'd get to double digits. I've been doing rebacks on old library books for a local shop and hit number 10 this afternoon on a 1950s copy of Treasure Island. It just felt good to see the spine hold after all the practice. Anyone else keep track of their early milestones like this?
I ordered one of those $25 starter kits for a project last week and couldn't figure out why my glue was peeling off after two days. Turns out the PVA they include is watered down to basically white school glue, I only realized after checking the ingredients against a better brand. Nearly ruined a whole batch of signatures I spent hours on. Has anyone else had trouble with those kits or found a good way to tell if the glue is cheap before buying?
He saw me messing up a red morocco binding at the Rocky Mountain Book Fair and just shook his head, said PVA makes leather brittle over time, and now my test cover from back in March is still flexible while my old PVA ones from last winter are cracking already, has anyone else switched to wheat paste for their leather joints?
I was in my garage workshop around 11 PM trying to finish a leather-bound journal for a client's anniversary deadline. The glue was setting weird on the spine and I put too much pressure on my cheap plastic bone folder. It cracked right down the middle and sent glue and leather scraps flying everywhere. Has anyone else had a tool fail at the worst possible moment or do I just need to upgrade to a Teflon folder?
I was finishing a custom clamshell box for a client last Monday and the corners just wouldn't line up no matter how I trimmed the board. It turned out my old binders board was warped from sitting in my garage too long, so every measurement was off by about two millimeters. Has anyone else had this happen with older board stock that just won't cooperate?
I was redoing this old 1940s novel from a thrift store in Columbus, and the original binding was completely shot - the sections were basically falling out in my hands. After three tries getting the stitching tension right on my sewing frame, the finished block came out perfectly square and flat. That moment when you press the finished text block and it feels solid is just the best. What was your first project that actually came out right?
I noticed the glue on the spine was cracking on page 87, and when I checked the binding, the sections were just stuck together with hot glue instead of sewn like on older editions, so does anyone else have tips for reinforcing these cheap glued spines before they fully give out?
A guy named George at a guild meetup in Portland told me PVA would fail on leather after a few years. I didn't listen and used it on a restoration job last fall. Sure enough, the hinge on that book came loose last week. Now I have to redo the whole thing. Anyone else learn a glue lesson the hard way?
I thought I was being tough finishing 100 books with leather spines in 3 months for that local library order in Portland. But my finger joints started locking up something awful by the end of last week. The constant pulling and stitching tore up my hands way worse than cloth ever did. Has anyone else run into joint pain from doing too many leather bindings in a row?
He told me I was killing my spine hinges by using too much PVA on every single rebind and handed me his old wheat paste recipe. Anyone else ever get called out by a veteran and had to totally rework their go-to method?
For years I ONLY used wheat paste on my cloth bindings because I thought PVA was just for school kids. A guy named Tom in Portland did a spine repair for me using PVA and it held up perfectly through a whole rainy winter. Now I'm starting to think wheat paste is actually the weaker option for everyday books. Still, wheat paste feels more traditional and easier to reverse if needed. Has anyone else switched sides on glue and regretted it or been glad they did?
Watched a bookbinder on YouTube fold 300 pages in 10 minutes without a single split tear and I realized my thumb was just a meat tool (not a good one). Has anyone else fought switching to the "right" tool for way too long?
I was fighting with flaking leather on a 1920s hymnal I was rebacking, tried expensive commercial conditioners and they just sat on top. Picked up a tiny tin of Howard Feed-N-Wax on a whim in Des Moines, rubbed a thin coat on a test scrap and let it sit 24 hours. That cheap stuff softened the leather just enough to handle without crumbling, and it didn't darken the color like the fancy stuff did. Has anyone else had luck with hardware store products on book leather, or am I just getting lucky?
This older guy was repairing a beat-up encyclopedia and I asked him what he used. He said he's been using the same wheat paste recipe for 40 years and never buys PVA anymore. I thought he was just old school but he showed me how reversible it is compared to modern stuff. Made me wonder if I've been over-engineering my repairs with expensive adhesives. Anyone else ever switch to traditional methods and regret it or not regret it?
Was at a meetup in Portland last month and this older guy was talking about how he tested the pH of his PVA and it was acidic enough to yellow pages over 5 years. I never even thought to check that. I've been using the same cheap glue from Amazon for 2 years now. Anyone here actually test their glue's pH or just trust what the label says?
I was at the Bookbinding Convention in Chicago last April and this older binder named Tom showed me his paste mix. He uses 3 parts wheat paste to 1 part PVA for hard covers, said it gives more flex without cracking. Tried it on my last batch of journals and he was right, the spines lay flatter than my old 50/50 mix. Anyone else mess with their glue ratios like that?
I was rebacking an old encyclopedia last week and noticed the covers were getting soft and crumbly. Dug into it and found out my PVA glue has a pH of like 4.2 or something crazy low. I got this glue from a supplier in Portland 3 years ago and never thought to check. Anyone else ever tested their adhesive pH or am I just paranoid?
I was at a shop in Portland last month showing off this new PVA I'd been using. This guy in his 70s who's been binding since the 60s just looked at me and said "you know that stuff will crack in 10 years, right?" I laughed it off at first but then he showed me some books he did in the 80s with wheat paste that still lay flat. Now I'm sitting here wondering if all these modern adhesives are really better or if we just got sold convenience. Has anyone else taken apart old bindings and noticed the glue holding up better than the paper?
I bought a pack of that washi-something paper from a store in Portland last month thinking it would make my covers look amazing. Turns out it tears way too easily when you try to fold it for a multi-section binding, so I ended up using regular craft paper instead. The stuff is pretty but not practical for anything heavy duty like a full journal. Has anyone else fallen for expensive paper that just doesn't hold up?
The old guy running the place said he switched to polyester because it's cheaper and never breaks, but I miss the feel of linen between my fingers, has anyone else noticed this shift in your local shops?
Back in 2019 I was at a small craft fair in Boise showing my first batch of sewn bindings. An older guy named Tom came up and just stared at one of my books for like two minutes. He finally pointed out that I was using waxed thread way too thick for the paper weight and showed me his own awl with a smaller diameter. I had been struggling with tearing pages for months and never connected the dots. He sat down and walked me through the right thread size for different signatures right there at his booth. Has anyone else had a random encounter with an old timer that totally changed how you do something?
I was flipping through a 1960s bookbinding manual I found at an estate sale last month, and it said the average hand binder could only finish 8 to 10 books a week back then. That blew my mind because my crew does about 40 a week using modern presses and glues. The manual also mentioned that most binders used animal glue exclusively, which took hours to set. Makes me grateful for PVA and quick dry times now. Has anyone else found an old stat that put your own workflow in perspective?
I was at my workbench in Portland last Saturday, about to glue the spine on a new binding for a craft fair. The linen I'd prepared had a hidden thread that started unraveling as I worked it around the boards. I had to stop, cut a fresh piece of 90lb paper, and shape a new spine cover in a rush. It held fine in the end, but has anyone else had a material fail on you at the worst time?
Been binding for 2 years now. Used PVA for everything. Old timer named Frank at the shop kept saying use hide glue for the spine. I ignored him for 6 months. Tried it on a 300 page novel last week. The spine flex is way better now. No cracking or popping when you open it flat. Frank definitely knew what he was talking about. Anyone else stick with one glue type too long?
Been bookbinding for about 2 years and always struggled with the sewing step. A guy at a workshop in Austin told me I was cramming 10 signatures into one sewing session. He said to cap it at 5 per session and let the machine cool down for 15 minutes between. I honestly thought he was being dramatic but tried it anyway. Now my stitches are way more even and I haven't snapped a needle in 3 months. Has anyone else gotten feedback that seemed annoying at first but actually helped?