c/bookbinders

Swore by PVA glue for years, finally gave linen thread a real shot

I was always a PVA guy for spines, thought linen thread was just for the old school purists who like making things harder. Last month my usual PVA gave out on a 1880s novel I was recasing and I had to order thread overnight from a local shop. After sewing with it for that one book, I get it now - the flexibility and the way it holds up to opening flat is just better. I still use PVA for some things but the thread has me rethinking my whole go-to setup for anything older than 1950. Anybody else made a late switch on a basic material like this?

Had to choose between traditional buckram or bookcloth for my first full rebind

I was working on rebinding a 1950s encyclopedia set and couldnt decide between stiff buckram or a softer bookcloth. Buckram won because I needed something tough enough to handle all the kids pulling them off the shelf in my library. Has anyone else dealt with buckram fraying at the edges when you cut it, or did I just get a bad batch?

Stopped by a library sale and saw a bunch of hand-bound books

I was at the local library sale last Saturday in Portland, digging through old paperbacks, and I noticed a small table in the corner with a stack of books that looked different. They had exposed spines, colorful threads, and some handmade covers. I picked one up and saw it was bound by someone local, probably from a workshop or a hobbyist. It made me think about how often we focus on new materials or fancy tools, but here were these simple, sturdy little books that someone made with just paper, thread, and glue. The librarian told me they get donated sometimes and people don't always know what they are. Has anyone else found hand-bound books at a thrift shop or sale, and did you check if they were done with a specific stitch or method?

The day I realized I had been trimming book cloth wrong for 15 years

Last Tuesday I was at a workshop in Portland and the instructor watched me trim my book cloth with scissors. She quietly handed me a sharp rotary cutter and a straightedge and said try this. I had been fighting with wavy edges and fraying threads for over a decade thinking that was just normal. After one clean cut with the rotary tool I felt pretty silly I hadn't figured this out sooner. Has anyone else had that moment where a simple tool swap changed everything?

TIL a customer almost ruined my press with a stack of old books

I was working a booth at a craft fair in Portland last fall, and this older guy walks up and plops a pile of vintage paperbacks on my table. He says "these need rebinding, they're family heirlooms." I flipped through one and the pages were brittle, the glue was dust, and the spines were held on with packing tape. I had to tell him straight up that any work would destroy them further, and he got pretty upset. Has anyone else had to turn down a job like that and deal with a customer who just won't listen?

Found out old bookbinding glue has animal bones in it and I didn't know

I was reading a forum post last night about historical bookbinding methods and saw that most old-school glues were made from boiled animal hides and bones. It kinda threw me off because I never thought about where the sticky stuff came from. Has anyone else looked into what's actually in their glue?

Was dead against using PVA for leather covers, but a bad batch of paste proved me wrong

I've always used proper wheat paste for any leather binding work, swore by it for years. Then 4 months ago I got a batch that went moldy within a week on a commission for a local historical society. Switched to Lineco PVA on a new project just to try it and honestly, the adhesion is way better and no mold issues after 2 months. Anyone else find PVA actually holds up better on leather than people let on?

My dad casually told me something about grain direction that floored me

I was visiting my parents last weekend and my dad saw me trimming some book board. He said "you know the grain should run parallel to the spine, right?" I've been binding for like 3 years and nobody ever said that to me! It explained so many books that wouldn't lay flat. Has anyone else had a family member drop binding wisdom on them out of nowhere?

My first leather binding cracked after 3 months

Used a cheap acrylic coating to finish the leather and it cracked right along the spine hinge. Anyone else had that happen with acrylics vs going back to wax?

PSA: Sewing your signatures with linen thread isn't always better than waxed polyester.

I tried polyester thread on my last rebind of a 400-page fantasy novel after using linen for years, and the polyester held up way better under stress without snapping, has anyone else moved away from traditional materials for durability?

Shoutout to the old bookbinder at the Seattle workshop last spring

I was at a community workshop in Seattle last March trying to fix a torn spine on an old novel. A retired binder named Frank walked over and showed me how to use a simple bone folder to get perfect creases, something I had been messing up for months. Has anyone else had a stranger step in and totally save a project with one small tip?

Old bookbinder told me to stop using PVA for everything

Back when I started out an old timer named Frank who worked out of his basement told me I was ruining my books by using PVA glue on everything. He swore by wheat paste for any project that wasn't a perfect bound paperback. I ignored him for two years because PVA was faster and stronger. Then I had to rebind a customer's 1930s encyclopedia set that I used PVA on originally and the spines cracked open like a dry riverbed. Has anyone else found wheat paste to be worth the extra time for certain books?

Spent 3 hours fixing a headband that took 10 minutes to sew

I was finishing up a leather journal last week and the headband on the spine kept pulling loose. Thought it was a tension issue so I kept adjusting my sewing frame. Redid it twice before I realized the thread I grabbed was too thick for the linen cord I was using. The whole thing unraveled every time I pulled it tight. Switched to a thinner waxed thread and it sat perfect on the first try. Three hours wasted because I didn't check my materials first. Has anyone else had a simple fix turn into a whole day project?

Tried PVA vs. wheat paste on my last restoration job. No contest.

The PVA gave me way cleaner spine repairs and didn't wrinkle the paper like the wheat paste did. Has anyone else found PVA just works better for modern book repairs?

Cowhide vs. book cloth on a restoration job - huge mistake

I tried using a scrap of cowhide to reback a 1890s ledger last week and it was way too stiff, cracked right down the spine after 3 days. Switched to a proper book cloth with a starch fill and it bent perfectly with the old text block. Anyone else found that leather on old books only works if it's actual goatskin or calf?

Spent 3 days fixing a spine that just needed more PVA, not that fancy wheat paste I tried

I was trying to do this gold tooled leather binding and the spine kept pulling away from the text block. Thought it was a humidity issue, then a pressing issue. Tried wheat paste like some old forum said and it just made a mess. Finally caved and used good old PVA and it set in like 20 minutes. Why do we overthink this stuff? Has anyone else had a project where the simple fix was staring you in the face for days?

Last Tuesday my book press hinge broke and I fixed it with a paperclip

I was pressing a stack of signatures for a journal and the hinge on my old press just snapped clean off. Found a heavy duty paperclip in my desk drawer and bent it into a temporary pin to hold the lever arm in place. Has anyone else had to MacGyver their equipment to get through a project?

Heard a guy at the craft fair say leather hinges are ruining modern bookbinding and I can't stop thinking about it

There was this older binder at the Portland Craft Fair last weekend. He was looking at my journals and just said "leather hinges are the death of honest binding." Then he walked off. I mean I use leather hinges all the time for my coptic stitch books. They look great and hold up fine. But now I'm second guessing myself. Is there really something wrong with leather hinges or was he just being a gatekeeper? Has anyone else run into older binders who hate on modern materials for no reason?

Changed my mind about using PVA glue for book spines after a talk with a old binder last Saturday...

I always used wheat paste for everything because that's how I learned 5 years ago at a shop in Seattle. This guy named Frank showed me how a PVA mix holds up better on modern paperbacks that aren't acid-free and I tested it on a beat-up novel last week. Has anyone else switched from traditional paste after seeing better results on newer books?

I finally compared PVA vs wheat paste on a rebinding job

Been using PVA for years on my rebinds because it's easy. Last month I tried wheat paste on a 1920s novel for a client in Denver. The wheat paste gave way more time to adjust the spine lining and didn't bubble up at all. Anyone else find wheat paste beats PVA for older books with fragile paper?

Found a 300 year old book bound in what looked like human skin at a garage sale in Ohio

PSA: My PVA glue failed on a wedding album job last week

I was binding a leather album for a couple in Austin, 40 pages of thick cardstock. I used a fresh bottle of PVA like always, but the glue just didn't grab right. By day two, the spine was already pulling away from the text block. Anyone else run into a bad batch of PVA lately or know a reliable brand to switch to?

Hot take: my bone folder snapped on a simple fold last night

I was working on a small run of 50 chapbooks, just doing the final fold on the cover paper, and the tip of my Teflon bone folder broke clean off. Had to finish the job with the back of a spoon, which left some marks I'm not happy about. What's a good, strong bone folder brand that can handle thick paper without giving out?

Just found out the original 1930s edition of The Hobbit used a specific kind of goat skin for the cover. Read it in a footnote in a library book about publishing history.

Vent: Found out my old copy of Moby Dick from 1922 has a hidden watermark I never noticed for 10 years.

I was regluing the spine and held the endpaper up to the light, and there was this faint embossed logo from the original binder in Boston, which made me wonder how many other secrets are hiding in plain sight on my shelves - has anyone else stumbled onto something weird inside a book while working on it?