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Watching a new binder skip the pressing step for a leather cover just made me cringe

I was at a workshop in Austin maybe two months ago, and this person glued up a full leather binding and went straight to trimming. They said it was 'dry enough.' I learned from my old teacher, Mr. Ellis, that you press that cover under weight for a full day, no matter what. If you don't, the leather will pull and warp as it fully cures. Has anyone else had to correct this for a beginner recently?
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3 Comments
christopherwilliams
Ugh, that's just asking for trouble later.
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ryanprice
ryanprice1mo ago
Oh man, I gotta disagree with you there. That stuff is basically rolling out the welcome mat for problems down the road (and I'm not talking about the fun kind). Even if a glue sets up faster, it's still a shortcut that'll bite you later. I've seen too many jobs go sideways because someone went with the "it's fine" option instead of doing it right. Plus, fixing a mess like that takes way longer than just doing it proper the first time. Just my two cents, but yeah, that's a hard pass from me.
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harper_gibson2
I mean, is it that big of a deal? Some glues set up faster than others.
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