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Comment by jimnotgym | Hacker News Reader

>Originally I made myself one out of softwood, but I found that the wood bent too much and didn't give an even pressure over the spine when the nuts were tightened down

Never made a bookpress, but have transferrable knowledge. You didn't need a rigid piece of wood, you need a piece with a slight curve so the middle touches first and the edges after. When the nuts are tightened it will go straight but be pushing hard in the middle. In case you don't have a bent piece of wood, you can plane or even sand the subtle curve (I would guess 3mm/ 1/8" would do for an A5 book). I am itching to try this.

'Real' books seem to have some kind of linen scrim rather than tissue. I should imagine this helps with tensile strength like glass fibre tape does to GRP. Evo stick has a very pungent solvent smell, worth taking care of ventilation to avoid getting high

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> a piece with a slight curve so the middle

Sounds like an ideal job for a 3d printer. You can program in the thickness, height, and amount of flex, and as long as you print it with the vertical axis vertical the "grain" of the print will make sure it flexes instead of breaking.

(Personally, I just use a hole punch and zip ties when I make books, though.)

> Sounds like an ideal job for a 3d printer.

Or, you know, a piece of timber and some sand paper.

The consumer-grade 3d printers I have exposure to would have trouble with some combination of piece length, tensile consistency, strength and durability you'd want in a book press. Printing alone would take longer than sanding and drilling. And I suspect a printed part wouldn't be so forgiving of adjustments made after manufacture.

Using the 3d printer because it's fun and a learning experience is fine, but calling it "ideal" when it doesn't offer any real improvements over the cheaply and easily made "traditional" material is going a little bit too far :-).

I absolutely disagree. Printing might take longer than sanding and drilling, but: I can model it in code, I can make sub-scale proofs of concept, and when it comes to actually making the real thing, I can throw it on the printer and go do something else. While your wife is yelling that you're still in the garage making noise and sawdust at 8:00 PM, my wife and I will be on the deck eating barbecue and sipping a margarita. :)

I think you need to buy some quieter sandpaper

Or just increase the length under tension, i.e. make the bar taller. A slight curve might help too, one or two strokes with a file or a plane would probably be enough.

However!

Hardwood simply looks better than spruce.

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