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PSA: Stop gluing your spine liners to the boards, a binder in Tulsa showed me why
Last Tuesday I brought a half leather rebind to a guy named Harold at his shop on 11th Street in Tulsa, and he flipped it open and pointed at where I had glued the mull right onto the board. He said that is the number one thing he sees from newer binders, and every one of them thinks a stiff spine is a strong spine. He pulled out two books he made in 1994 and both opened flat at the middle without a single crack in the hinge. His point was that the spine has to move as its own unit and the boards have to swing free, otherwise you are just building a clamp that snaps the first time someone leaves it open on a table. I went home and redid three of my own books with a hollow back and they already feel better. So my unpopular take is that a tight spine is a beginner mistake, not a sign of quality, and I want to hear from anyone who still glues the whole thing down and why.
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