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I used to hate sanding signatures but an old timer set me straight
Guy at a guild meeting in Portland told me I was skipping the most important step by not roughing up the folds before sewing. Tried it on my next rebind of a 1910 poetry book and the whole thing laid flatter than anything I'd done before. Anybody else got a simple tip that totally flipped their process?
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jamesm4821d ago
My granddad taught me to always wet the paper before folding it.
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Wet the paper before folding it" - yeah let me just dunk my 1910 poetry book in the sink real quick, see how that goes. That sounds like the kind of advice that ends with me holding a wet lump of paper and crying. But hey, I also thought the sanding thing was crazy until I tried it and now I won't shut up about it to anyone who will listen. Maybe your granddad was onto something, or maybe he was just trying to ruin your book collection. I'm too scared to try it myself, but I'll admit I'm curious if it actually works or if it's just an old timer hazing ritual.
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lindaowens21d ago
That bit about hazing rituals made me laugh... I read somewhere that some of those old bookbinding tricks were passed down just to see who'd fall for them. But then I tried the sanding thing too and it worked, so maybe wetting the paper isn't as crazy as it sounds, as long as you don't actually soak the whole book. I've heard of dampening just the fold line with a tiny spray bottle, which seems safer than dunking anything...
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