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1BOB81
I have a pretty severely warped large paperback: not only is it warped, but has become semi bowl-shaped, making the pages hard to turn. Is there any way, besides weight+time, to try and straighten it out?
3WholeHouseLibrary
You might try the following if the book has no financial value to you....
Start a pot of water boiling.
Place 2 1x4s, or half-inch dowels even, in some out-of the way place, parallel to each other, spaced (spine-to-fore-edge minus a half-inch, more or less) apart.
Have some weights ready nearby.
Steam the book -- expose the pages and the covers (but not necessarily the spine) to the steam for 2 minutes or so. Don't let droplets form on it. Wipe any excess water off it immediately.
Place the book, arch up, on the wood you laid out, and place the weights on it fairly evenly. Wait a week or two.
In the past, I've used the smaller weights from barbells, the bar itself, a block of metal (5x7x1 - weighs about 40 lbs) on warped hardcover books. I've never done paperbacks, but they don't require nearly as much weight. The narrower the weight (in this case), the better. If you have too much weight, you could support the book underneath with an old deck of playing cards (or two, or maybe 45 cards will suffice).
You want to try to overcompensate for the arch you've got in it now because the book will relax again to that bowed state, although hopefully not quite as pronounced.
Start a pot of water boiling.
Place 2 1x4s, or half-inch dowels even, in some out-of the way place, parallel to each other, spaced (spine-to-fore-edge minus a half-inch, more or less) apart.
Have some weights ready nearby.
Steam the book -- expose the pages and the covers (but not necessarily the spine) to the steam for 2 minutes or so. Don't let droplets form on it. Wipe any excess water off it immediately.
Place the book, arch up, on the wood you laid out, and place the weights on it fairly evenly. Wait a week or two.
In the past, I've used the smaller weights from barbells, the bar itself, a block of metal (5x7x1 - weighs about 40 lbs) on warped hardcover books. I've never done paperbacks, but they don't require nearly as much weight. The narrower the weight (in this case), the better. If you have too much weight, you could support the book underneath with an old deck of playing cards (or two, or maybe 45 cards will suffice).
You want to try to overcompensate for the arch you've got in it now because the book will relax again to that bowed state, although hopefully not quite as pronounced.
