DISCLAIMER: If you have particularly valuable, collectible, or sentimental books, I highly recommend taking them to a professional bookbinder for restoration rather than attempting any of these techniques yourself. Not every technique will be appropriate for every book, and I am not an expert in book conservation or restoration, although I do use these techniques myself frequently and have been taught by people with decades of experience in the secondhand book industry. These tutorials are aimed at helping out with average books which aren’t worth the cost of being taken to a specialist, and as such, I hope you find them useful. That said, by all means check out the comments for others’ results, experience, and criticism before deciding whether to try a repair technique yourself. If you like my content and would like to support me with a small tip, please use this link (1% of all donations are being donated to help the environment): ko-fi.com/squirrellynerdyjess
Thank you for all these repair videos. I've avoided buying second hand books as they always come with these little problems, and while visibly looking old is fine, being skewed like this looks unacceptable! Already fixed 3 books like that, thanks again!
Oh my goodness I can't thank you enough for this video! I used the first method and now my previously very skewed books look so much better. Thank you so much!
Jess, I need to thank you so much! I have recently started properly collecting old ‘Biggles’ books rather than just buying the odd cheap copy every now and again. For example I recently bought two good condition first editions from the 1950s for about £20 and £30 respectively, both with good dust jackets but unfortunately both with skewed spines. Being naturally someone that likes to do things properly I had originally planned to take them to a book binder/restorer for them to be fixed, but following your clip I decided to try myself, although admit that at first I did even think about buying my own book press until I realised I really couldn’t justify it. I Instead followed your instructions for both backward page turning and simply pressing the book under a pile of heavy books, although I did still put in extra effort and turned every single page (although it still only took a few minutes), and left the books pressed until he following morning rather than for just half an hour. I’m pleased to report complete success and I suspect the repair has increased the collector value of the books by about 50-100% not that that is really important. What is important is that the books now look great and take pride of place on one of my library shelves. Thank you so much, I would have never have known that this was something I could fix so easily and without professional help.
Really invaluable video. Many thanks. Method 1 worked like a charm for a couple of old Martin Amis hardbacks I’d recently bought. (PS Working in a secondhand bookshop, repairing old books, communing with the past, sounds like a beautiful way to spend the days.)
Well this saved my first print The Shining, I got from a library, it was all sorts of Skewed, now she sits nice and straight, thanks so much I subscribed 🤘
Oh, I LOVE your book press! 😍 And what a good video. I buy a lot of used books and everyone are not as gentle as I am with their books. I hate crooked spines and try to avoid buying them. Hadn't got a clue that the remedy was this simple. Thank you!
Ahh thank you so much! Just bought a few old library books. First three of the Dune series, and much like many other library books I've bought they have been cocked to one side or the other. I'm happy to hear they can be straightened so easily :) Also, I'm totally getting a cast iron book press now. It is *essential*
I must tell you I was a bit horrified at the second method for my 90-year-old first edition of Death from a Top Hat by Clayton Rawson. The book is in -VG and had a pronounced cocked spine or spine lean. Your second technique worked like a charm. I'm VERY happy with the outcome. The text block and covers were tight, so I wasn't too worried trying with extream caution. KUDOS!
Somewhat related question: what happens if the "stack of heavy books" is actually the source of the problem? I made the poor decision of stacking several heavy (relatively modern) textbooks cover-to-cover, forgot about them, and now the spines on the bottom books are bowed. The covers are still square, but the spine profile is now convex and the pages are bowed inward, following the spine. To put it concisely, there is swell where there shouldn't be. Would the first method be sufficient, or is there something more that I should be doing?
It can be tough, but putting them in some sort of book press or under a stack of heavy books for a while. It may not work out completely but could help.
What about a TWISTED ("cocked" ?) spine? Where the front and back covers don't line up when closed- front is skewed ~20 degrees. I'm trying pressing with an OPPOSITE twist for a minimal time. It's a (gasp) non-hardback BIBLE with leather covers. It seems to have been damaged by shipping USPS. :-(
Paperback books tend to behave differently. Sometimes opening it backwards can help, but it depends on the paperback and how it’s bound together, and I wouldn’t want to risk the pages coming loose.
are there any reasons as to why these methods may not work? i got a book secondhand, its 45 years old, in relatively well condition except for the crooked spine, it's not any worse than the ones you showed in the video. i've tried everything and it's still not straightening out :(
Would you recommend any of these methods for fixing a paperback? The spine on one of them is probably at an 87 degree angle and the opposite side is at 80 degrees, I’m not really sure how to go about it. Thank you for the video :)
Hi! It really depends on the paperback but generally I don’t use this method. If a paperback is fixable (which some aren’t), it’s best to put it in a press or under a heavy pile of books sitting in the position you want for a time. So, push the spine with your thumbs into the correct angle and hold it there until the pressure can be applied. Then leave it for at least an hour and see if that helps at all. I can do a video in the future about this if you’d like.
@@SquirrellyNerdyJess I see, thank you I’ll give that a go! And thank you so much for your offer! That’s so kind of you but don’t trouble yourself just for me :) however I am subscribed now, so I’ll watch it if you end up making one anyway :p
@Rainiepie @Squirrel's Bookshelf oh no believe me, there's many of us who would love to see a video about that! I have several oldie, second hand paperbacks that need a miracle haha x
Yeah i left my book open facing downwards every time i was going to leave for just a short bit (like going to the toilet), and coudnt be bothered to put in the bookmarker. Big mistake =(
Hello I am an Italian boy who follows you. Could you advise me on a method to eliminate the creases on the cupertine of the books? I take this opportunity to compliment you, good and beautiful :)
Thanks for watching! I’m not entirely sure which part of the book you mean, but there isn’t much one can do about creases generally. You can help to flatten any bends by leaving the book under a stack of heavy books for a while, but the creases will still usually be visible.
Ok fine. Some people crack the spine just a little. But SKEWING/WARPING the spine???? Unacceptable!!! I don’t understand how people do that and I’ve never ever seen it until I bought some books second hand..
