vale19•10d ago

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?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.reese9d ago

That Portland binder's advice is spot on. I had the same fight with headbands on leather bindings last year. I was pulling the thread so tight it distorted the spine lining. My teacher told me to just guide the needle, not yank it. The tension evened out immediately when I stopped forcing it. Do you find some materials need a lighter touch than others?

parker_bell9d ago

@craig.reese Isn't that just like life, where forcing things often makes them worse?