Wasted $120 on a heat press for book cloth, back to glue sticks

I got really into the idea of using a heat press to apply book cloth to covers, thought it would be faster and cleaner than the old glue brush method. Bought one of those hobby presses for like $120, spent a whole Saturday trying it on different materials. The cloth kept shifting, the adhesive would bleed through on thinner papers, and I ruined three covers before I gave up. What finally convinced me to ditch it was watching a guy at a local bindery shop in Portland do the same job with a bone folder and PVA glue, took him about 40 seconds. I tried it myself that night and got a cleaner result than anything the press gave me in like 6 tries. Now the press is sitting in my closet, I'd rather give it away than look at it. Has anyone else bought a fancy tool that just collected dust after going back to basics?

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paul_owens251mo ago

Sell that thing and buy yourself a nicer bone folder with the cash, it’ll do more for you than that press ever did.

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