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Counted my first 50 failed spine hinges and had to laugh
Been at this for about 8 months now, and last night I was cleaning up my workbench and noticed a pile of scrap leather. On a whim I tallied up every messed up spine hinge I trashed since starting. Hit exactly 50 failures before I got one that actually laid flat. Most of those came from my first 3 months messing around with cheap PVA from Michael's. Anyone else keep a tally of their early screw ups or am I just weird about tracking things?
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the_cole1mo ago
Saw a video from this bookbinder in Ohio who said he went through 60 spine failures in his first year. He was using that same cheap PVA from craft stores too. Switched to a proper pH neutral PVA and said his success rate jumped way up. 50 is a decent milestone honestly, means you actually stuck with it long enough to figure out what works.
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tarar271mo ago
Cheap materials almost always cost you more in the long run.
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the_jamie1mo ago
Friend of mine hit 40 spine fails on his first 50 books using craft store glue. He called me after the 39th one split and swore he was done. @tarar27 is right about cheap materials, he switched to the good stuff and hasn't had a failure since.
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