Old timer at a guild meet told me my spines were too stiff

He said you gotta let the paper breathe or the book won't open flat, so I backed off on the glue and started using a lighter hand with the rounding hammer.

2 comments

2 Comments

matthewgonzalez8d ago

Oh, I see what you're getting at but I gotta push back a little on that old timer's advice. A stiff spine is often more about the sewing and the lining than the glue or the hammer. You can use a medium weight glue and still get a nice open flat if your sewing stations are spaced right and you're not overdoing the crash. Lighter hammering is good, sure, but I've seen plenty of well rounded spines that open fine because the sewing allows the sections to flex. The real trick is balancing the swell from the thread against how much you compress the back, not just backing off the glue entirely.

quinn_king168d ago

Did you check if the issue is the number of sections in the text block? I've found that a thinner book needs a lighter touch on the spine, but a thicker one can handle a bit more glue without getting stiff.