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?

2 comments

2 Comments

troyjackson2h agoMost Upvoted

Dude, that crunch is the worst sound in the world. I had the same thing happen with a sketchbook once, and I ended up just reinforcing the cracked folds with a thin strip of Japanese tissue and wheat paste before sewing it all back in, saved me from having to redo the whole thing.

taylorcarr1h ago

WOW, tea dye! That's some serious dedication. I would have just stared at the wrong shade for an hour and then given up and called it "vintage character" or something. You actually rebuilt the whole signature from scratch? I can't even imagine matching the grain and the tone. That's a level of patience I just don't have with three kids running around. Hats off to you, seriously.