c/bookbinders

Caught my glue joints failing after 3 years of bindings

I was showing off a stack of my finished books at a guild meetup in Portland last month and one guy just picked one up and snapped the spine open. The whole text block came loose right in his hands. He pointed out I was using way too much PVA and not letting it tack up before assembly. I had been drowning my spines in wet glue for YEARS and never realized it was weakening the bond over time. Has anyone else had a similar wakeup call about their adhesive technique?

So I counted all the books I've repaired this year, I was shocked at the total

I was cleaning up my workshop last weekend and decided to tally up all the bindings I've done in 2024. The number came to 47 books, which is way more than I expected since I only work part time on this. Most were vintage hardcovers with broken hinges, but I also did 8 new leather bindings for a collector in Portland. Has anyone else kept track of their yearly output and found it was higher or lower than you thought?

Found a weird stitching pattern at a local antique shop last weekend

I was browsing this little antique place in Lancaster, PA and saw this old book from the 1800s with a criss-cross stitching on the spine I've never seen before. It looked like flax thread but the pattern was almost like a figure-8 loop. Has anyone run into a binding style like that or know what it's called?

Had to pick between glue and thread for my last rebind

I was working on an old paperback that fell apart. The spine was completely shot. Decided to try glue only instead of sewing signatures. It held together fine for two weeks then cracked right down the middle on page 87. Back to thread for me. Anybody else find glue-only never lasts for paperbacks?

That old bookbinder at a shop in Portland told me I was ruining my spine by using PVA glue on leather

He spent 20 minutes showing me how wheat paste breathes better and I switched over after my 3rd project cracked at the hinge, has anyone else run into a purist who made you rethink your whole technique?

Wasted $45 on a cheap guillotine paper cutter from an online auction - do not make my mistake.

The blade went dull after 15 cuts and now it just tears the edges instead of slicing clean, has anyone found a decent entry level cutter that won't break the bank but actually works for bookbinding?

My book press decided to crack right down the middle mid-project

Was gluing up a stack of signatures last Tuesday and heard this loud snap. Looked over and my trusty wooden press had split from top to bottom. Gave me a good scare and ruined about 2 hours of work. Anyone else have a tool just give out on them at the worst possible moment?

I finally glued my fingers together trying to fix a spine split on a client's book

Was working on a 1938 edition of 'The Great Gatsby' for a collector in Portland, and the spine was completely detached. Got too cocky with the PVA glue and tried to clamp it one-handed, ended up gluing my thumb and index finger together solid. Had to spend 20 minutes peeling them apart with a palette knife and acetone while the book sat there drying crooked. Anyone else had a glue mishap that ruined your whole afternoon?

Got told my endpapers were too thick and it changed everything

A binder at a guild meetup in Portland last month straight up told me my endpapers were adding way too much bulk to my spines. She said I was using 80lb text weight when I should have been using 60lb or even 50lb for smaller books. I thought thicker meant stronger but she showed me how it was causing my covers to not close flat. Switched to 60lb yesterday and the difference is insane... the book lies open so much better. Anyone else get a simple tip that completely changed their process?

Switched from PVA to wheat paste for my cloth covers and it's night and day

Spent a year fighting with PVA bubbling on book cloth, especially on the tighter weaves. Tried wheat paste on a whim for a batch of 5 journals last month and the adhesion is way more forgiving, plus it cleans up with just water. Anyone else find certain cloth types just don't play nice with synthetic glues?

Just wasted $35 on a cheap awl that bent on the third hole

I grabbed a $7 awl off Amazon last month thinking it was a steal. It bent sideways on my third hole when I was starting a new journal in Denver. Now I'm out the money and had to redo that whole signature because the hole was crooked. Spent another $20 on a decent one from a local craft shop that actually holds up. Anyone else learned this the hard way with budget tools?

Rant: Why does every tutorial skip how to actually sew the signatures?

I've been watching binding videos for a couple months now, and almost all of them go right from 'here's how you fold the paper' to 'and now here's the finished book block.' They never show the actual sewing process step by step. I taught myself by trial and error on 50 sheets of copy paper, and my first three attempts came out loose and crooked. It took me four tries just to figure out the kettle stitch. I work with my hands every day installing fencing, so I know how to pull thread tight and keep things even, but the videos still skipped over it. Why do people put out tutorials that leave out the hardest part? Has anyone found a resource that actually walks through the sewing without cutting away?

Spent 2 hours redoing a headband on a single book and finally got it right

I've been working on rebinding an old copy of Dune for my brother and kept messing up the headband tension. Tried watching a bunch of tutorials, but what finally worked was gluing the headband to a piece of scrap paper first to hold it steady before attaching it to the spine. Has anyone else tried that trick or do you have a better method for keeping headbands from slipping?

Stitching vs glue: which holds up better over 5 years?

I just finished rebinding a 2018 novel that had the glue binding crack down the middle. But my old 2019 stitch-bound notebook is still solid. Has anyone else seen a clear winner between the two methods over time?

Warning: Don't waste money on those cheap bone folders from Amazon

I bought a 3 pack of bone folders off Amazon for $12 because I thought I was being smart. The first one broke the second time I used it to score some heavy cardstock. The second one left weird marks on my leather because the edge was rough from the factory. I spent the extra $25 on a single good one from Talas and it's been going strong for over a year now. Total loss was $12 plus the cost of ruining that leather project. Has anyone else had bad luck with those budget tool bundles?

Changed my mind about PVA after hitting up a specialty store in Portland

I used to swear by wheat paste for everything, but I swung by Oregon Bookbinding Supply last month and saw their PVA demo. How they tested it on a hinge that held up to 500 flips changed my mind. Has anyone else had good luck with a specific brand?

Showerthought: Switching from paste to PVA glue for my spine rounding was a game changer

Spent 3 years using wheat paste and wondering why my spines kept cracking until an old timer at a shop in Denver handed me a jug of Lineco PVA. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a huge difference in flexibility?

Rant: That guy at the guild meetup who said my grain direction was 'creative'

Was at the local binders guild meeting last Tuesday in Portland and showed my latest rebind of a vintage sci-fi novel. Some older guy, been doing this for 30 years, looks at my endpapers and goes 'interesting grain choice, very creative.' At first I was pissed because he clearly meant it was wrong. But then he showed me his test board with different grain directions and how the paper buckles when you go cross-grain. I spent the whole next day redoing my endbands and honestly he was right. Has anyone else had a seasoned binder call out a mistake in a way that felt more like a dig but actually helped?

Blew $120 on a guillotine paper cutter from a garage sale. Big mistake.

Turns out the blade was dull as a butter knife and those things cost more to sharpen than a new one. Has anyone had luck resharpening one or am I stuck eating the loss?

Got a used book press for $40 at an estate sale and it changed my flatting game completely

I was at an estate sale in Portland last month and spotted this old cast iron book press for $40. The guy running it said it came from a retired binder's workshop. I've been flattening signatures with heavy textbooks for years but this thing does it in one pass, no fuss. The pages come out way flatter than anything I've done before. Anyone else had luck with cheap finds like this?

Old school vs. modern: do you still hand-sew headbands or use pre-made ones?

Caught a new binder using PVA glue on a leather cover today

Watched a guy at the local shop wreck a $60 piece of goat leather. PVA soaks right in. Makes the leather stiff and cracked in a week. You need flexible glue for leather. Something like pH-neutral or a proper leather adhesive. I've been fixing these mistakes for 5 years now. Anyone else seen this happen?

Found out the hard way that wheat paste pH matters for old bindings

I was restoring a 1920s novel for a client last month and used my usual wheat paste. The pages started yellowing around the repairs after a week. Turns out my paste was testing at pH 9.2, way too alkaline for paper from that era. I read a 2019 article from the American Institute for Conservation that says paste should be between pH 6.8 and 7.2 for anything pre-1950. Anyone else actually test their paste pH regularly?

Spent 6 months using a bone folder wrong before a binder at a workshop in Portland called me out on it

I always thought you were supposed to really press down hard with the bone folder to get those crisp creases. Turns out I was just compressing the paper fibers and killing the hinge strength. This older guy at a workshop saw me doing it and was like "hey you're gonna break that spine in a year". He showed me to just glide it with lighter pressure. Felt like an idiot but my joints are way stronger now. Anyone else have a basic tool they used wrong for way too long?

Vent: That older binder at the shop who showed me a different way

There was this guy, maybe 70 years old, who used to come into the shop where I worked in Portland like 8 years ago. He brought in this beat-up 19th century hymnal that was falling apart, and instead of just asking us to fix it, he sat down and showed me how he would have done it back in the day. He took a sharp scalpel and shaved the old glue off the spine in these thin, careful strips, telling me to "listen for the scrape" so I didn't cut the paper. That single interaction changed how I approach any restoration now, because he wasn't rushing or using fancy tools, just patience and a steady hand. I still think about that when I'm working on a tight deadline and want to cut corners. Has anyone else had a random encounter with an old pro that stuck with them for years, or is it just me?