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Just realized my old way of rounding spines was making my books look lumpy
For about a year, I was rounding my spines with a basic wooden hammer and a lot of guesswork. The curves always came out uneven. Last week, I watched a video from a binder in Chicago and saw them use a proper backing hammer and work in smaller, measured sections. I tried it on a practice text block, doing maybe five light taps per section, and the difference is night and day. The spine is a smooth, even arc now. Do you think the right tool or the technique matters more for a clean round?
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colesanchez5mo ago
Honestly, that part about smaller, measured sections is the key. I used to just whale on the whole thing with whatever was heavy. Tbh, the technique matters way more at first. You can have the perfect hammer, but if you're just smacking it, it'll still look bad. Getting the rhythm of light taps in a pattern is what makes it smooth. The right tool just makes that good technique easier to keep up.
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oliver_adams5mo ago
Oh man, I feel that. Getting the right technique down makes such a huge difference.
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lucas_grant834mo ago
In my experience that's true across a lot of stuff, like how I can use a cheap chef's knife just fine if I take my time with the cuts but a fancy one won't fix bad chopping habits. Technique is the foundation, the tool just removes friction once you've got the basics down.
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