kai564•15d ago

The day my book press cracked a spine I'd just finished

I was in my garage shop last Tuesday, pressing a text block I'd spent 4 evenings sewing. The press was my grandfather's old iron one, and I thought I'd snugged it down evenly. About 20 minutes later I heard a sharp crack, and when I opened it up the spine was split right down the middle. Turns out I'd put a piece of scrap wood under just one side of the pressing board, throwing the whole thing off. Has anyone else had a press trick like that backfire, or am I the only one who still uses hand-me-down equipment?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethb4514d ago

Man, I used to think any old press would do the job as long as it clamped down hard enough, lol. This post totally changed my mind about that.

kelly.parker14d ago

Ha, yeah "any old press" used to be my motto too. I remember I was clamping down a glued panel and the thing just split right down the middle. Learned real quick that even pressure matters way more than just raw force.