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GENERAL WORKING TIPS
Grain of materials
Paper and board bend, stretch, and tear more easily with the grain than against it. In general, all materials used in a book should have the grain parallel to the spine. When a book is printed on paper with the grain running perpendicular to the spine (another name for this is "short grain"), it does not open as well as when the grain of the paper runs parallel to the spine ("long grain"). The pages tend to stick straight up instead of draping over as they are turned. There will often be wrinkles going from the spine out to the three edges, in a fan shape.
When making repairs to books or paper objects, the grain of the new material should match that of the object being repaired in order to avoid cockling and warping. For
example, the bristol spine inlays must have the grain running the length of the strips and any photocopied pages added to a book should be on long grain paper.
Determining grain
Paper: Several methods can be used to determine grain in paper.
-visual: many papers have lines which are visible when you hold the sheet up to the light. There are very closely spaced lines, called "laid lines" and there also
wide spaced lines at right angles to the laid lines. These are called "chain lines". The grain is almost always parallel to the chain lines.
-bending: curl the sheet over in one direction and then in the other. It will bend more easily one way. The direction with the least resistance is parallel to the grain.
-wetting: wet the corner of the sheet, just along the edges, with a Q-tip. The grain is parallel to the edge which stays smoother. The other wet edge will curl with ripples.
-tearing: tear a test piece. The paper rips easily with the grain. Ripping against the grain offers more resistance and produces a ragged tear. The grain is parallel to the
straighter tear.
Board:
place a piece of binder's board or museum board on a flat surface; place your thumb under the board and your fingers on top and bend the board. Try it on the edge at right angles to the first. The board will resist more in one direction than in the other. The grain is parallel to the direction which bends with the least resistance. It is more difficult to determine the grain of museum board because the layers ("plies") which make up the board are sometimes laminated cross-grain. In such cases, grain direction of the board does not make a big difference.
Cloth:
the grain is along the length of the roll, parallel to the selvage. (This is the direction of the warp threads). Cloth should be cut so that the grain is parallel to the spine of the book. The joint area of the binding will work better this way. But it can be used in the other direction if necessary.
MEASURING TIPS
Measuring is greatly simplified by using strips of paper instead of rulers, especially when the surface is not flat.
Mark the measurement on a strip of paper and transfer the measurement to the material to be cut
Place the item to be measured on the material to be cut, and mark that material directly.
When you need to measure equal distances (for example to mark up sewing holes in a pamphlet), take a long, narrow strip of bristol or
bond, cut it the same height as the book, and fold it in half. Make a fold for the kettle stitch approximately 1/2 inch from each end. Bring
the middle fold to meet the kettle stitch folds. Crease the new fold. If you need to sew many signatures of a book or a lot of similar size
pamphlets, fold the strip in half lengthwise and make a hole at the intersection of each fold to make a piercing jig.
Scoring and folding
To score, place a straight edge on the area to be scored and draw the point of a bone folder firmly along the edge a few times.
Leave the straight edge in place and fold the paper or bristol against it: slide the bone folder under the paper and run it along the straight
edge. Then fold the paper completely and bone it down, starting at the center and going out in each direction.
Pasting
A thin coat of adhesive is better than a heavy one. Thick layers can ooze out, dry unevenly, and cause distortion to the paper or the cloth.
Place the material to be pasted on waste paper. Hold it steady by placing your fingertips firmly in the center. 
Apply paste from the center out to the edges. This prevents paste from getting under the material and staining the front.
Clean fingers on a rag or paper towel before handling the pasted sheet.
Discard or fold the waste paper immediately after use.
Place the pasted sheet on the work and rub it down gently but thoroughly through a piece of waste paper. Slip a sheet of waxed
paper between the newly pasted area and the adjacent dry area (for example, between the board of the book which has just received a new board paper, and the book block). Put the book under a wooden
board and a weight. Let dry several hours under pressure.
When gluing up a spine, apply adhesive from the center out to the head and tail.
Cutting tips
Precision cutting is best done with a scalpel or utility knife with a fresh blade, on a self-healing mat. You will get better results by
making several light cuts along a straight edge, especially when trimming brittle pages with ragged edges. The knife can slip if a very
quick cut is attempted, wrinkling or tearing the paper, and possibly injuring the worker. For safety, always keep an eye on the hand that is holding the straightedge
Barrier sheets
If a book has acidic endpapers, bookplates or other inserts, they can stain and damage the bookblock. Cut sheets of acid-free paper to the
size of the pages and slide them between the acidic endpapers and the bookblock. They need not be attached. This will prevent acid migration or at least slow it down considerably.
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