Update: I keep seeing people skip the rounding step on spines

I was at a small book arts meetup in Tacoma last month and watched three people try to bind signatures without rounding the spine first. They all ended up with books that wouldn't open flat and the signatures looked strained. This matters because a rounded spine gives the text block room to move and stops the pages from pulling against the glue. I've been binding for about six years now and learned this the hard way on my third project. Has anyone found a good tutorial video that really shows the hammer technique clearly?

4 comments

4 Comments

victor_lee1mo ago

Yeah I used to think rounding was just for looks, like an old library book thing. Then I made a notebook with a flat spine and the whole thing felt wrong, pages just wouldn't sit right. Seeing it fail in person is what finally got me to slow down and do it right every time.

sandraf981mo ago

My first attempt looked like a brick someone glued paper to. It was a whole new level of bad.

the_taylor1mo ago

Oh man, my buddy tried to skip that step on his first journal. He ended up with this stiff, weird block that felt like it was fighting you to turn a page. Watching him struggle was proof enough for me to never rush past rounding.

wilson.joseph22d ago

My third book taught me the same lesson. The spine cracked because I rushed and didn't round it properly. Now I never skip that step, it's just not worth the ruined project.

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