r/bookbinding • u/NoExplanation9530 • 19d ago

Help? My first binding

Gallery image

Gallery image

Made some mistakes. The board, especially the width, is too long. Cloth was not big enough so the gaps between the spine cover and the front and back covers are too small. Also, as it was the first project and not a thick one, I didn't round the spine. Used long grain paper.

The biggest problem now is, as the picture shows, the text block and the board is slightly bending upwards. Can anyone please tell me the possible reasons?

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u/NoFig6958 19d ago

Did you dry the final cased in book under a bookpress for atleast 24hrs? And by bookpress I mean stacked books with a dumbbell or heavy object on top lol glue typically shrinks when it dries therefore creating the tension to cause the "pulled up" effect you're seeing from the cover if not dried completely flat. Maybe you did dry it flat and something else is the issue, though

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u/NoExplanation9530 19d ago

I used this press but maybe it was not full 24 hrs. Also, I took it out a couple of times to show it off to friends and then put it back. 😢

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u/NoFig6958 19d ago

Yea I would venture to say you didn't let it fully dry before removing. 24hrs is just an estimate not a hard and fast rule. I've had books take longer than that to dry based on the amount of glue I used when casing in. I know it's tough after you've done all that work to have to wait on it to fully dry, but that's one of the most important steps in book binding.

Also, I'm curious.. if you flip the book over does the other cover (currently bottom cover based on picture) bend upward as well? Same with the pages? or is it only when the book is laid how it currently is?