Tried using a wallpaper seam roller on book spines... worked too well somehow

I was doing a leather binding last weekend and couldn't find my bone folder anywhere. Spotted a little wallpaper seam roller in my toolbox from when I redid the bathroom last year. Figured why not give it a shot for pressing down the spine lining. Thing rolled over the mull and the leather so smooth I almost feel like my bone folder days are over. Anybody else use weird tools from other trades for bookbinding?

2 comments

2 Comments

joelsanchez5d ago

Man that is a really cool find. I have to say, I love when stuff like that happens by accident. It is amazing how some tools from completely different trades just click with bookbinding in a way nobody planned for. I have been using a plastic putty knife for years to smooth out my endpapers and it does a way better job than any bone folder I ever bought. Your mileage may vary of course, but there is something about repurposing tools that just feels right. Glad you found something that works for you, that is always a win in my book.

sean_foster525d ago

I read something the other day about how old bookbinders used to repurpose cobblers hammers for backing books, and it stuck with me. That "your mileage may vary" part you said @joelsanchez is exactly right though, for me the plastic putty knife works better than anything I have ever bought specifically for bookbinding. It is funny how we stumble into these solutions by accident and then swear by them forever. I honestly think the best tools are the ones that just feel right in your hand, no matter what the package says they are supposed to do.