Please know that your effort is very much appreciated, every time. So interesting!

This is one of the best descriptions of rounding and backing that I have come across. You are the first person who has given an explanation of why it is done. Mostly it is just presented as something you do. Can't say you answered any questions for me as I had already worked most of them out. What you did do was put things into a logical structure, which made it a lot easier to understand.

Regarding your question "Mathematics and bookbinding, does it get any better?"... having studied mathematics as an undergrad, and doing bookbinding now, I can definitively answer that question with "No, it does not." ;-)

Coming back to this video again to work on my first rounded and backed quarto for a friend! Thank you so much for the education!!

I always appreciate how thorough you are in your videos. Thank you again for such a helpful lesson!

Brilliant video that answered a lot of questions that I've had as an amateur bookbinder. Thank you!

Great video! I was having trouble finding a good backing hammer or even a cobblers hammer. So I made one from a regular hammer that I grinded down to be convex then I used sandpaper to buff out and polish the face. It's smaller than a normal backing hammer, but that makes it great for books with raised chords!

Stellar video! Lots of great info, plus a new turn-of-phrase: cheap comes with a price. Never heard it before, but it’s great. Now to get back to work with my cheap, homemade tools. 🤣

My Friday evening treat! Great tip about slightly heating the glue if you forgot to round after gluing, or life got in the way. Thanks, as ever!

Oooh this was interesting!!! Learned a little history :)

Thank you. I particularly like your style of explaining the reasoning and then leaving up to the person to decide what's appropriate in their circumstances. Not one good way but one thelat fits the objectives.

I really enjoyed this video, perhaps my favourite of all your videos that I have watched. Your explanations are very clear and I think that you do a great job of showing the techniques. I hope that people will have a better appreciation for bookbinders' skills, after these videos, and will be prepared to pay the extra cost over machine-binding for special books.

Another great video Darryn. I really appreciate the indepth explanations of why things tend to be done certain ways. It really helps me to remember things if the reasoning behind it is explained. Add in that you provide us with links to the supporting documentation and you really do make it a lot easier to learn things. Got a 2 day course on Limp Vellum Binding with Kathy Abbot coming up next month - it will be interesting to see if I find in-person teaching as opposed to online best.

I would move to Australia just to be able to learn from you in person. This is one of my favorite channels and i use Everything you teach to make the best books i can. You're a genuine treasure

Some insightful and incredibly useful information for anyone interested in the process of bookbinding. Thank you for all the time and effort you've put into your channel. I can't wait to see what comes next!

Thank you for such a clear explanation, it is really helpful to learn the when and whys as well as the how tos. Brilliant!

Thank you. I enjoyed the arch-column similarity (especially with the Trinity College Library) -- it gave me a new perspective on backed books 🤗

I stumbled accross this video when I was searching for the making of medieval books and their bindings. I absolutely loved it and was glued (ah, pun intended) to it for the whole duration. So what started initially with a fun idea of making a simple "medieval-like" notebook for fun, became a group of several ideas on books to create and to bind (e.g: I have a LOTR book that is in not so great shape, and I started thinking and imagining about how fun and lovely it would be to bind it with something thematic and artistic!). Thank a lot for this, and mesmerizing (and really informative) video!

Another great video, and thanks for the reminder on not overtightening stitches.

Your videos are so rich!! Thank you for sharing all that knowledge with us!

Thank you so very much for your information! I have only what tools I can cobble together, but I have enjoyed bookbinding for years. I would love to support your work in the future when conditions are better! For now, back to my current effort: a large writing journal. Review with your videos is instructive and relieving.

This has been so helpful and will be a great reference for the future. Thank you.

Again, another watched (and rewatched, and rewatched) video!

Thanks for an accurate and comprehensive demonstration! And you're quite right about glancing vs. hammering blows for backing -- those shoulder muscles can do some damage. Really interesting point about concave backs, too. With the usual trimming protocol, there might be unwanted contact with the shelf and tail edge . . . and new possibilities open up for enhancing the case instead of the headbands on a book block . . .

another great video. lot of Informations. and now i will do my very best at translating. Greetings from Bavaria

Thank you for another great video!

I love your videos. Thank’s for sharing your knowledge with us!

Excelent as always! Always providing a masterful work master. I love your videos.

Fabulous video tutorial as usual. I am full steam ahead with book binding. I suspect I have reached the point that i need to start investing in some real equipment. First photography, now this! I’m not sure if I should thank you or blame you for getting me hooked on an even more expensive hobby. Haha. But seriously, I genuinely appreciate your knowledge, technique, and consistent willingness to share. 😁📚🔨

Wonderful video ! Thank you so much for making it . I'm just recently getting into making a simple book home printed.

All your videos are so helpful!!

Un Trabajo Grandioso. Gracias por Subtítulos en Español!!!

Merci pour la traduction ! C'est encore plus clair comme cela !

"Maths and bookbinding. What could be better." Only a physicist could say such a thing. . . . Oh, wait. Another great video. Probably the best explanation for rounding and backing I have ever read or seen. Thank you once again!

this was so helpful

I prefer gilding after the sewing but before the rounding, because despite its slightly lesser quality on the negative rounded edge, doing otherwise seems too much of a hassle.

Excelente, gracias por los subtítulos en español, Happy New Year.

p.s. you can also crisp up the backing to a nice 90 degrees with a stout folder, pushing the edge down against the intended book boards.

Thank you Darryn! I like your deep dives, and good ideas of how to think about processes, even if I am already doing them, I always pick up ideas! Somehow I did not find the link to reddit article with maths though (listings below did not include it??!).. thanks again!

Thank you for this video (and all of your videos!!!) I got to show an Amish man how to make a book! (not that I'm a pro but I really cant show him your videos LOL)

Thank you for that link to James Brockman’s video. It’s a rather intriguing idea. I wonder whether it might be of particular use for binding sheet music, where the book lying flat without being held open would be especially handy. Has anyone else posted videos of attempting the technique, do you know?

Thank you for your kind words. "Math of bookbinding" is probably the less succesful topic of Reddit bookbinding's subs. Fortunately.

I would like to bind loose sheets/papers and round the back of it! Is there any proper technique to do that? Please suggest some videos. Before I forget, this video on rounding and backing is brilliant and educative. Thanks

Hi Das! What is the angle of the backing boards? My brother's wanting to make me some and I can't seem to find that dimension online.

Sir what is the covering material name you used in Double fan book binding video...and exact colour name of the material .where do we get it

The amount of rounding is not so important when you are binding blank jotters. More care is needed when rebinding an old book, or even a valuable modern edition. Before Cobden S. in the early 1800's, as well as often in the 1700's and even the 1600's backs were made quite flat as the text was printed closely often in two or three columns. This often left little by way of gutters and the book had to open well flat to make it readable. Over rounding, even the trad, one third circle will many times remove what gutters there were and will make the book difficult or impossible to read. I've seen this even from binders of vast experience. Good video, Matey, very useful for those learning about the beautiful craft.

Do you have a link where I can get the boards that are in the clamps?

I'm wondering if it would be possible to do the rounding without a backing hammer but instead with a clean regular hammer if you go slow an carefull enough?

What are you doing at 2:40-2:50? Given the thin strips of paper dropping down, it seems like you're using some kind of hand plane instead of a guillotine to trim the fore edge. Is that right?

I've seen a spine rounding tool, a thing with a groove. Are they useful? Have you ever use then?

Hi Darryn. I just used my new brass frottoir for backing for the first time. It was truly a revelation. I found that it was so much easier than hammering, especially with raised cords. More importantly, my results we so much better than I had ever achieved with a hammer. More consistent and even, forming the perfect "mushroom" shape. I think that this was the result of having more control with the frottoir than I have ever been able to develop with the hammer. Have you used one? If so, what are your thoughts on any dis/advantages of using a frottoir vs. a hammer for backing?

Can you round the spine of a book that has loose leaves that have been glued? I only need to round it a little bit to avoid the spines going inwards on my paperbacks.

What kind of chip board is best for binding of 150 sheets of 120 gsm paper..if you could help will be happy about

I have heard that for very thin text blocks (say 10mm) that would be difficult to back, there is a solution where rounding only is done and a string or cord about the width of the greyboard is glued to the text block to create false backing. It is possible for you to demonstrate this method in a video?

I have a question which may sound daft but hopefully many will answer! I am quite inspired to take up this as a hobby, but once you have made a book full of blank paper, what do you do next? I'm not into journaling or scapbooking or anything so there must be other things people make with their bookbinding skills ? or is it about making books with blank paper and selling them? Thanks for any input!

Have you ever made a long-stitch book? Or have I just missed it? Thanks for the fantastic videos!

Thank you for a nice video. Is there a good reason for not rounding the back before puting on any glue at all?

Where did you get your large press and plough?

Wow! what's the name of that big wooden machine please?

Hello, would you sew on the head and tail bands before or after rounding and backing?

I'm having a hard time doing rounded corners and smooth edges. Is it possible to do it mannually and get nice results? tks.

Where do we get good quality chip boards

@Das Bookbinding Have you experimented at all with James Brockman's concave spine design? I found the video you linked to be fascinating. It makes me think that all modern books should go that route.

man i'm so glad I found this channel, such a wealth of practical info on the subject, it's really helping me learn this huge topic

have you ever made a heart shaped book?

rounding and backing are essential for books, unfortunately, modern day cheaply made books are not bound in this way.