Cracked a 100-year-old spine while demo binding in a cramped studio in Portland

Tbh I was showing a new client how I do a full leather rebind on this old poetry collection from 1923, and I had it in a cheap finishing press I borrowed from a buddy. I tightened it too fast and heard that awful snap, right down the middle of the hinge. The whole cover split clean off, and the textblock started shedding pages like a cheap paperback. I froze for a second, then just told the client, 'Well, this is the part where we learn what not to do.' I spent the next 4 hours mending the tear with Japanese tissue and wheat paste, and honestly it came out better than before because I reinforced the joints with linen. But now I'm paranoid about using any press that isn't my own. Has anyone else had a total failure in front of a paying customer, and how did you spin it without looking like a total rookie?

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grantthomas29d ago

Back in 2005 I was doing a rebind for a local law firm, their old ledger from the 1890s, and I thought I could get away with a used book press I found at an estate sale. The thing had a worn-down spindle and it slipped halfway through tightening, the whole jaw came down crooked and took a chunk out of the cover board like a wood chipper. My client was standing right there sipping coffee, and I just said, "Good thing we caught that flaw in the press before it ruined the real work." Then I spent two days rebuilding that corner with new board and a matching leather patch, and honestly the repair was stronger than the original. I told the lawyer it was a "stress test" and he believed me, but I never touched that press again. Bought a proper nipping press the next week and never looked back.