Just wasted $85 on a book press that arrived crooked

Ordered a cast iron book press off Etsy thinking it'd be a solid upgrade from my homemade setup. Showed up with the top plate visibly warped so every book I tried came out uneven. Spent 3 hours trying to sand it flat before I gave up and asked for a refund. Anyone else have bad luck buying bookbinding tools from random sellers online?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielnelson23d ago

Honestly that sucks but $85 for a cast iron press should've been your first red flag, that's way too cheap for something that's supposed to be flat and heavy. Tbh you got what you paid for, Etsy's full of guys casting stuff in their garage with zero quality control. Ngl I'd rather spend double on a vintage one from a real tool maker than gamble on another crooked hunk of metal.

sean_cooper5823d ago

Lee's got the right idea with the sanding trick on glass, but $85 for that kind of gamble is still rough. In my experience, those cheap Etsy castings are often poured in a damp shed and warp as they cool, no amount of sanding will fix a wobbly base either. Take this with a grain of salt, but I'd rather spend that money on a Lodge press from a store where I can check the flatness before buying, or hunt a thrift store for an old Griswold. Your mileage may vary, but a true flat surface is worth hunting for instead of settling.

lee84723d ago

Sand the top plate on a sheet of glass with 80 grit then 220 grit, that fixed one I got off Amazon.