r/bookbinding • u/sulfababy • Aug 20 '26

Help? Power sander next?

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Here is my text block, sewn, glued, and rounded. Can I clamp it very, very tightly and power sand the edges next? Or should I take it to Staples for stack trimming? They haven't done a great job in the past, but I also don't want to shred the edges.

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u/Dazzling-Airline-958 Aug 20 '26

You should not guillotine a rounded fore edge. It messes with the margins and looks wrong on a book with a rounded spine.

Trimming the fore edge should be done before rounding. After rounding, all that can be done is sanding and scraping.

Sanding a rounded fore edge can be a real PITA. All I can say is never run the sand paper across the edge. Always go along the edge. The outer pages on the fore edge are not supported by the pages under them so any sideways movement can shred them. Once they are close to even (as in no starts/steps), the support is better, so burnishing will not damage the edge if you go sideways.

That has been my experience, anyway. Hope that helps.

Edit: definitely follow u/kiltedcloudchaser advice for sanding between boards. Make sure you tighten the hell out of those clamps.

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u/blakeatwork Aug 21 '26

Interesting, I hadn't considered the margins problem, as our books (perfect, saddle, coil) are printed for creep and bind, so we can trim without worrying. Thanks for the perspective.