c/bookbinders

PSA: A client's complaint about my endbands changed how I bind everything now

I was at a craft fair in Des Moines last fall and a retired librarian picked up one of my journals. She ran her thumb over the endbands and said they felt loose and cheap. I had been using machine made endbands for years and never thought twice about them. After that I started hand sewing my own endbands and it added about 45 minutes per book. The difference in how tight and clean they look is huge. Has anyone else had a customer point out something that made you switch your whole method?

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torres.drew•1h ago

My press slipped and cracked a whole signature of my hand-sewn text block

I was working on a restoration project for an old 1890s hymnal last Tuesday night, had the book clamp tightened just right, or so I thought. Went to apply some pressure to flatten the spine after sewing and the whole thing shifted sideways. Heard that sickening crunch sound. One signature near the middle got a clean crack right down the fold. I had to carefully unsew the whole section and recut new paper that matched the grain. Took me three tries to get the pulp tone right with tea dye. Anyone else ever have a press failure ruin hours of work?

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quinn_nguyen•1d ago

Finally tried a lying press for rounding and backing after 2 years of fighting with a bench vice

I was sure it was just a fancy way to spend money but after wrestling a 400 page text block on my third try last month I broke down and ordered one from a local woodworker, and the first book came out cleaner than any I have done before, has anyone else had a tool they resisted that turned out to be a game changer?

c/bookbinders

PSA: A client's complaint about my endbands changed how I bind everything now

My press slipped and cracked a whole signature of my hand-sewn text block

Finally tried a lying press for rounding and backing after 2 years of fighting with a bench vice

My sewing frame broke in the middle of a 16th century binding last night

Hit 200 books rebound this year and I'm honestly worn out

So I watched a guy try to glue a book spine with hot glue from a craft store

Tried using a wallpaper seam roller on book spines... worked too well somehow

That time I swore by cheap PVA glue for everything

Split my leather cover after a bad glue job - any fix?

Why does nobody talk about using a bone folder on your spines instead of a burnisher?

Switched from cheap PVA glue to proper bookbinding adhesive and wow

Spent 2 years cutting board corners wrong in Chicago shop

Rant: The so-called 'archival' bookcloth at that supply shop downtown is a joke

A master bookbinder told me my glue was all wrong and I almost lost it

Why does nobody talk about how linen thread breaks easier than polyester?

The librarian who taught me about endpapers

Found a simple trick for endband sewing that saved my hands

Old timer at the shop told me my grain direction was all wrong

That time I glued my fingers to a book board at 2 AM

Hit 500 bindings this week and still mess up the hinge joint

PSA: That book press I built out of a car jack and some plywood nearly ruined my first Folio Society binding

Saw an old bindery in Philly that still uses a 1950s nipping press

Hot take: That antique store find taught me about cloth hinges

That retired bookbinder at the craft fair told me I was using way too much glue on my spines

Finally got the hang of rounding spines without tearing the leather