c/bookbinders

I used PVA glue on a leather spine and it didn't ruin the book

I was rebinding a 1900s poetry collection and ran out of my usual paste. In a rush, I used a thin layer of Lineco Neutral pH PVA on the leather spine piece. Everyone says PVA makes leather brittle, but after letting it cure for two full days, the spine is still flexible and the hold is strong. I learned that maybe the 'never use PVA on leather' rule isn't absolute if you're careful with the amount and cure time. Has anyone else had a good result using something they were told to avoid?

Just counted the pages in my first full rebind and the number shocked me

I finished my first full leather rebind of an old novel last night, a copy of 'Moby Dick' I found in rough shape at a flea market. After I got the new cover on and the book was sitting on my bench, I got curious and decided to count the pages... all 552 of them. I had to count twice because I didn't believe I'd hand-sewn that many signatures. It felt like a huge mountain when I started, just a stack of loose paper, but seeing it all together as a solid book now is wild. The number matters because it shows how much slow, quiet work goes into something that looks simple from the outside. I think I spent more time on the sewing than anything else. Has anyone else been surprised by the sheer scale of a project once you added it all up?

TIL a trick for cleaning old book cloth that saved me a project

I was reading a forum thread from 2015 where someone said they gently clean old cloth covers with a soft eraser, like a white vinyl one. I tried it on a 1950s repair job with some grimy green cloth, and it worked way better than I thought it would. Do you have any other gentle cleaning methods for old materials?

Rant: Bought a 'professional' bone folder that was a total waste

I saw this fancy looking bone folder online for $35, the listing said it was for 'serious bookbinders'. It arrived and the edge was so blunt it couldn't crease a simple fold in text weight paper. I tried using it on a new leather cover project and it just slid around without making a mark. Ended up having to redo the whole cover with my old, cheap one. Has anyone found a brand that actually holds a sharp edge?

My sister asked why I bother with hand-sewn signatures

She said 'isn't it just the inside?' while I was working on a gift for her. It made me realize I'd been treating the structural work as a chore, not the foundation. Anyone have a favorite stitch pattern that feels more like part of the craft?

A binder in my local guild pointed out my headbands were way too tight

I was showing off a quarter leather binding at our meetup in Tacoma last month, feeling pretty good about it. An older guy, who's been doing this for like 40 years, picked it up and said, 'You're choking the spine.' He showed me how my headband stitching was pulling the text block too much, making the book hard to open fully. I went home and re-did it, leaving just a millimeter more slack in the linen thread. The difference was huge, the book lays flat now. Anyone else have a simple fix they learned that solved a bigger problem?

My first leather cover turned into a disaster halfway through

I was working late in my garage last night, trying to finish a custom journal for a friend. I had just cut the leather for the cover, a nice piece of veg tan I got from a shop in Austin. When I went to mark the spine line, I realized I'd measured the text block wrong and the cover was a full inch too short. My heart just sank. I sat there for ten minutes thinking I'd ruined a $40 piece of leather. Then I remembered a video where someone used a leather skiver to thin the edges and create a hinge. I carefully thinned the leather along the spine area and managed to stretch it just enough to fit by re-wetting it. It's not perfect, but it closed. Has anyone else saved a project with a weird fix like that?

I bought a $150 'professional' bone folder that warped after one project with paste.

It's just a fancy piece of plastic now, so what's a truly durable material for a heavy-use folder?

Pro tip: I spent three whole days trying to get the headband on a quarter-leather binding to sit flat without puckering.

What finally worked was a tiny bit of paste on the leather itself before I put the book in the press, has anyone else found a better trick for this?

Finally got the foil stamping on my leather journal spine right

Spent three whole evenings trying to get the heat and pressure just right on my cheap hand press. The gold foil kept coming out patchy until I tried pre-heating the leather with a hair dryer for 30 seconds. Anyone else have a better trick for small-scale foil work?

Can we talk about using beeswax on thread for Coptic binding

I was sure it was just a fancy extra step until I tried it on a project last month. Running the linen thread over a block of pure beeswax made stitching through the signatures way smoother, with less snagging. I used it on a 200-page journal and the difference in hand feel was real. Has anyone else found a specific wax brand that works better than others?

My old teacher said to always use PVA glue for endpapers and I finally get why

Mrs. Carter at the Seattle workshop swore by it, saying hide glue would warp thin paper. I ignored her for a year, using my usual mix, and kept getting ripples on my 120gsm sheets. Switched to straight PVA for my last three projects and the lay is perfect. Anyone else have a glue rule they fought but now follow?

Shoutout to the weird glue tip I thought was a joke

For years I heard people at the local book arts center in Austin talk about using a thin layer of wheat paste under PVA to help with flexibility on thick leather bindings. I always thought it sounded like extra work for no real gain, like mixing ketchup and mustard. Last month I was working on a big family bible repair, the leather was super stiff and old. I was worried the new spine would crack. Out of ideas, I tried the wheat paste trick. I mixed a small batch, brushed it on, let it get tacky, then put my regular PVA over it. Let me tell you, when it dried, the difference was crazy. The leather moved so much better and the joint felt stronger. I guess those old heads knew what they were doing after all. Has anyone else tried this on a really stubborn project?

Watching a bunch of tutorials online, I keep seeing people skip the grain direction check on their book board and it's going to cause problems later.

I mean, if you don't line up the grain to run parallel with the spine, your cover is going to warp like crazy after a few humidity changes, which I learned the hard way on a batch of 20 journals I made last spring.

Wasted $40 on a 'quick fix' leather conditioner that ruined a cover

Bought a fancy bottle of leather conditioner at the craft store last month. Used it on a nice calfskin cover for a custom order. Stuff left greasy spots that never soaked in. Had to redo the whole cover from scratch. Anyone know a good conditioner that actually works on bookbinding leather?

Tried a 50/50 PVA mix for a repair and it went all wrong

I was fixing a 1902 poetry book from a local library here in Portland and used a half water, half PVA mix on the spine. The paper soaked it up way more than I thought and now the pages are wavy and stiff, almost like cardboard. Has anyone else had this happen with old paper, and what glue mix do you use instead?

I finally stopped fighting my bone folder on curved spines

I was binding a small poetry book last month and kept getting these tiny wrinkles in the cloth along the spine curve, no matter how careful I was. I watched a video from a binder in Portland, and she said, 'Let the tool do the work, don't push it.' I realized I was pressing way too hard with the bone folder, trying to force the material. I eased up, used lighter strokes, and the cloth just settled into the curve perfectly. Has anyone else found they were overworking a simple step?

Shoutout to the librarian who told me 'a book's spine should flex like a handshake, not crack like a whip'

That one line from a chat at the Central Library last week completely changed how I approach rounding and backing on my personal projects.

A binder in my guild pointed out my headcaps were too tight

She said my books were opening stiffly because I was pulling the thread too taut across the spine. I started leaving a tiny bit of slack, maybe a millimeter, and now the text block moves so much better. Has anyone else found a sweet spot for thread tension on rounded spines?

I just finished my 100th hand-bound notebook this morning.

It hit me that a decade ago, I was just gluing pages into cereal boxes for practice. What's a project that made you feel like you'd finally 'arrived' in the craft?

Spent $45 on a bone folder with a 'lifetime guarantee' and it snapped on my third book

Has anyone found a truly tough folder that can handle thick paper?

Back from a trip to Thailand and saw some monks binding books by hand. Looked peaceful. Where do I even start learning?

How our town's binding event turned into a thread hunt

Last month, our community center held a binding workshop for beginners. So many people came that we used up all the linen thread by noon. I had to run to three craft stores to get more, but they just had polyester. This made me see how hard it is to find good supplies locally. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden need for materials in their area? What do you do when your local stores don't carry what you need?

Warning: Trying to recreate vintage marbling left my studio a disaster zone

Back then, they had patience I clearly lack. I've got more dye on my clothes than on the paper!

Thinking back on how we dealt with hand aches in the bindery

Back in the day, we just accepted that our hands would hurt after hours of folding and sewing. Now, I start each session with a few wrist rolls and finger stretches. It seems simple, but it has completely changed how I feel at the end of a long project. It's wild to realize we once saw that pain as just part of the craft.