Wow, thanks for the thorough replies, all.

I'm in the deal with it not work around it camp, so will try and correct it tonight.

The spine looks pretty wonky with uneven wear and the tap and wobble is a fail.

I've not taped the spine and do hone with hone in left hand.

I'll play around with some of these tactics you've kindly suggested and scrutinise the sharpie test more closely.

Thanks for the tips, this forum is just as helpful now as when I first joined in the noughties.