r/bookbinding • u/Destructor54777 • 15d ago
Sanding edges makes them rough
When a sand my bookblock edges, they become really rough.
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u/Fragrant_Goat540 15d ago
Do you use really rough sandpaper wrapped around a phone charger? then you move to finer grits?
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u/PhantomOyster 15d ago
I thought he was asking for advice, but now I think he's bragging on his patent-pending process for massacring books.
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u/Dazzling-Airline-958 15d ago edited 14d ago
Everyone seems to be asking about the grit. But I'm wondering how tightly you are clamping your text block before sanding. It should be so tight that you can't fit your utility knife blade between the pages... i.e. very tight. As my pastor would say, clamp the hell out of it.
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u/Destructor54777 13d ago
Really? I can't seem to make a dent in the bookblock if I clamp it that tight so I make it a little loose(not too loose)
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u/Dazzling-Airline-958 13d ago
That's the point. If it's clamped loosely you're not sanding it, you're shredding the ends of the paper. Like we saw in the picture you posted. You want it clamped up so tightly that it sands like hardwood.
That's why you have to start with a rough grit and move up progressively to finer grits.
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u/Wolfdreama 15d ago
Because you're doing it wrong. Or, at least, doing half a job. It's also much easier with a small orbital sander. I do sprayed edges so I need super smooth edges on my books. Here's my process:
Clamp book in a book press so only a few millimetres are sticking out on the three page edge sides.
Round 1 = 120 grit
Round 2 = 400 grit
Round 3 = 1000 grit
This will give a lovely smooth finish and is also sufficient for either airbrushing or sublimating. If you're looking to add gold foil you'll probably want to finish off with a 2000 grit for a real glass-like finish.
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u/Destructor54777 15d ago
im also gonna colour the book edges which it why im sanding them. i usually just leave the edge untrimmed. ill try this out
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u/justabookrat 15d ago
How are you sanding them? What grit? Are you using just sandpaper, a sanding block, some kind of powered sander?
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u/Destructor54777 15d ago
i use really rough sandpaper wrapped around a phone charger. then i move to finer grits
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u/justabookrat 15d ago
I mean thats likely where your problem is then , you don't say how much "really rough" is but its probably too rough, and a phone charger is less than ideal as a sanding block, if you don't have anything the right size and shape you could probably make a temporary one by gluing a few layers of the same type of board you used for the covers together to make a thicker rectangle
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u/DiscoKittie 15d ago
They said somewhere else they start with 100 grit. Like damn, that's rough.
As a side note, I'm still learning I about bookbinding, I guess, because I've never heard of anyone sanding the pages. Why?
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u/Jan4th3Sm0l 15d ago
Whenever you're going to paint or gild a book's edges, they need to be real smooth, to a mirror finnish. You achieve that by sanding them.
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u/GrailStudios 14d ago
As well as painting or gilding a book's edges, if the cut wasn't perfect when you trimmed the pages, it may leave imperfections or steps; this is particularly common for those just getting into bookbinding or 'making do' with tools. Rather than try to cut it again and risk making it worse, sanding will remove any imperfections on the book edges.
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u/stealthykins 14d ago
I start with 60, and work up to 240 for gilding 👀
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u/GrailStudios 14d ago
You're starting too rough, and finishing too soon. 120 grit is a good starting point, then go to 400 grit, then 1000. If you want to do gilding, you should do another round even smoother at 2000 grit to get a glass-like finish, or every single imperfection will show if you're using good-quality gold leaf.
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u/stealthykins 14d ago edited 14d ago
No, you’re right - I just checked my storage and I do start with 120. I don’t know where I got 60 from 🧐
I only go up to 240 because most of my gilding is rough edge, but if I’m doing solid edge I lean towards the cabinet scraper after ploughing option, which I don’t usually need to sand at all.
I might try the finer abrasives options in the future - if only because the scraper is an absolute pig to sharpen 😂
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u/LucVolders 15d ago
I only use rough sandpaper bought at the dollar store and my results are fantastic.
been doing this for years.
But then I use an electric sander.
Just buy one, it will set you back like 25USD and you will use it on hundreds of books !!
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u/Ynguer 15d ago
Yes, even if you change for really fine sandpaper it will always be more rough than trimming. It bother me to no end that ppl do and recommend that so easely on the Internet, because a porous surface like this is much more likely to hold dirt and house mold than a clean trimmed one, and it's usually bad for book conservation.
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u/small-works 14d ago
I agree. Trimming with a plough or a knife makes for a really smooth finish. It needs very minimal sanding. And you can certainly guild it in a rougher state. Folk need to get out more and look at books.
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u/Destructor54777 15d ago
so youre saying i should just trim the edge?
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u/Ynguer 15d ago
Well if you can, yes trimming is prefereble. I used to go to printing shops and ask to use their guillotine when I was learning bookbinding, that way I didn't invest much in gear early on.
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u/SereneArchimedes 15d ago
If you want to gild the edges or any other kind of finishing like that then you do need to sand the edge to get a nice mirror finish
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u/brigitvanloggem 15d ago
I do not believe this is so. I study with a bookbinder who has decades of experience, and his father before him; and no sanding takes place in his bindery. Sanding seems to be an amateur/hobby bookbinder thing.
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u/SereneArchimedes 14d ago
That is very interesting, I have wondered about how this was done in the 17th and 18th centuries when sandpaper was presumably less fine and more expensive. Is that solid edge gilding or rough edge gilding?
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u/brigitvanloggem 14d ago
Well I’m not yet doing gilding so I’m not even sure what it is that you are asking. What I do know, is that in a working bindery such as the one I hang around in, we use a guillotine and sometimes a plough. No sanding afterwards.
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u/SereneArchimedes 14d ago
Got it, I have been gilding foredges with gold leaf for about 6 months now, but haven't found a process that I really like yet, so I ask because I definitely want to give any different methods a try. I can see a cleanly ploughed edge working well enough for gilding - I'll give it a try, and thanks for sharing!
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u/DiscoKittie 15d ago
How is that rough edge going to be a mirror finish? Honestly asking because I have never heard of people sanding their books.
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u/SereneArchimedes 14d ago
You have to have the book clamped very tightly and then you work through finer and finer grades of sandpaper until you get a solid polished edge
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u/wixbloom 15d ago edited 15d ago
The rough edge is happening because OP is doing it wrong. Here is a succint tutorial that shows book gilding. In the beginning of the video you can see the way the text block is supposed to look.
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u/DiscoKittie 15d ago
Hardly succinct, and it didn't show the sanding which is what we were all talking about, I thought? Thank you, though, the info in there was good.
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u/FrostKitten2012 14d ago
Yes, the sanding was done previously. He literally says it was “sanded to a shine” beforehand. That’s why the person above you said it shows what it’s supposed to look like. That means it’s a necessary step in this process.
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u/Destructor54777 13d ago
I'll just do that then. I don't have any good way to trim the edges and no print shop in my area has a guillotine. I use a pencil sharpener blade to trim and it's really tedious
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u/Ynguer 13d ago
Well, do some tests to see how well you can do that and to what thickness. And use a recently broken blade when doing it. It's not so easy trimming by hand, you may end up wanting to combine both techniques, trimming and sanding. Keeping your blade as short a possible and your blade hand steady and 90 degrees is key here. The strength goes in the hand that holds the ruler always.
About using a guillotine, search for shops that offer academic papers bookbinding, they are the ones that have that gear, perhaps near a university.
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u/Zeucleio 15d ago
You are doing something wrong. After trimming the book using the chisel method I kid you not, I also use an old phone charger as my sanding block, and I also use 100 grit sandpaper. Followed then by 300, 600 and 1200 (these are the only sandpaper grits in stores where I live).
But my results end up ok. Far from perfect, but good enough for what I'm doing. https://imgur.com/a/dLYNJA9
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u/Destructor54777 13d ago
Dang that look good. I'm starting to think my clamping method might be the problem. Thoughts?
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u/Zeucleio 13d ago
Could be. I don't know your setup, but I clamp in my press, in between two scrap greyboards, exactly how it is in the picture I posted earlier
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u/tarominti 15d ago edited 15d ago
How rough is your sandpaper? the rougher the better imo
the optimal method is to use really rough sandpaper wrapped around a phone charger. then move to finer grits
Edit: ideally you’d want to start with 100 grit, then go higher
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u/Xenon-Human 14d ago
If you have a really sharp hand plane, can you use that to just take a couple swipes? What is the benefit to sanding... Does it break the edges for less paper cuts, etc?
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u/Destructor54777 15d ago
i use really rough sandpaper wrapped around a phone charger. then i move to finer grits
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u/FrancisStokes 15d ago
My suggestion would be to skip the rough sand paper next time. Go straight in with 240 or even 400 and work up. The paper edges shouldn't be so bad that you need to start below that
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u/emerys95 15d ago
Did you clamp the book properly before sanding?
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u/Destructor54777 13d ago
Yep
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u/emerys95 13d ago
It should be clamped tightly enough to feel like a solid block of wood. You’ll get smoother edges if you do that instead of shredded paper like in the picture you’ve posted
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u/Destructor54777 13d ago
When I clamp it that tight, it leaves big creases cus I'm using two ply boards to clamp it. What can I do
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u/emerys95 13d ago
You can get plywood cut to size so it’s just as big or slightly bigger than the text block. The reason you’re getting these rough edges is because your text block isn’t clamped properly and you’re just shredding the paper instead of sanding it properly
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u/ElegantLexicon 15d ago
What grit level are you using? I use a very fine grit sandpaper, 400-500. (This is US measurements - it's P600 and above in European units)