Finally figured out why my spine pieces kept ripping at the fold

Been binding for about 3 years now and every time I used book cloth for the spine it would tear or fray right along the hinge after a few opens. Tried different glues, different weights of paper, even switched my board thickness. Turns out I was cutting the cloth with the grain running perpendicular to the spine instead of parallel. Flipped it 90 degrees and the last 5 books I've done have held up fine through multiple opens. Anyone else make this dumb mistake for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_allen24d ago

Three years, man. I was actually told grain direction didn't matter that much for book cloth, so I never paid attention to it. Guess that was wrong. Definitely going to start checking mine now.

the_eva24d ago

Wait, someone actually told you grain direction didn't matter? Oh man, that's rough. I learned the hard way too after a project warped so bad it wouldn't close right. Best tip I got: just do the simple test where you bend a scrap piece both ways. It'll bend easier one way, that's your grain. Now I check every roll before I cut, saves me from wasting expensive cloth and a whole afternoon of re-doing corners.

walker.jana24d ago

Stick a fabric sample in your pocket @blair_allen, one quick bend test before cutting saves all the headache.