camerona79•1mo agoProlific Poster

Vent: I finally realized why my spine pieces were always off

For like 5 years I was cutting my spine pieces to match the book block height exactly. Turns out you need to account for the rounding and backing by adding about 2mm. A guy at the local Guild meeting in Portland pointed it out when I showed him one of my books. Has anyone else had a similar 'duh' moment with basic measurements?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_robinson1mo ago

Wait have you been using the standard formula where you measure the book block spine, add for the boards and then your cloth, and then just cut your spine piece to that same number? Because that was my exact problem for way too long. The rounding and backing adds a little curve that makes the spine just a tiny bit taller than the book block itself, so if you cut the spine piece to the block height it always ends up short at the head and tail. What finally clicked for me was when I started making my spine piece about 2.5mm taller than the block on each end, so like 5mm total extra, and then trimming it after I glue it on and the book is in the press. That little bit of extra length gives you room to wrap the cloth over the edge without it pulling away from the spine piece. It took me way too many books to figure out that the book block and the spine are not exactly the same size after you round it.

butler.brian1mo ago

Wait, so you're telling me that after 5 years of measuring the same way, the problem wasn't your ruler, it was the geometry of the book itself? Man, that's like the bookbinding version of realizing you've been trying to put the square peg in the round hole, except the hole is your book and the peg is your spine piece. I had a similar moment when I forgot to account for the turn-ins on my cloth and ended up with a book that looked like it was wearing a crop top.