c/bookbinders

Glue pot failure almost ruined a $400 leather project Sunday night

I was doing a fine binding in dark blue goat leather, the one I'd been saving for months. My glue pot decided to overheat right as I was about to paste out the spine piece, and the whole batch of PVA turned into this lumpy stringy mess. I had to scrape it off and start over with a fresh batch, but by then the leather had already started drying out a bit and curling at the edges. Ended up having to recut a new piece from the hide because the first one was too stiff to work cleanly. The whole thing added about 45 minutes and I was cussing under my breath the entire time. So here's the debate - do you stick with a cheap glue pot that's done you fine for years but could betray you, or do you drop $80 on a temperature controlled one? Has anyone else had a glue pot cook their batch at the worst possible moment?

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abby_kim55•1d ago

I was so sure that Japanese bookbinding glue was a gimmick

For like a year I just used regular old PVA on my projects, thinking the fancy rice-based stuff was just overpriced hype. Then I tried a little jar of methylcellulose on a paper repair last month and honestly, the difference in how it holds thin pages flat is wild. I mean, I'm still not gonna use it for everything, but for certain repairs it's actually way better. Has anyone else found a tool or material they wrote off at first but now swear by?

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gray_smith67•3d ago

Crazy week - perfect grain direction ruined one job but saved another

Had a run last Tuesday where I glued up a text block with the grain running the wrong way by accident, then Wednesday I did the same thing on purpose for a vintage restoration and the spine flexed perfectly. Has anyone else seen grain direction make or break a project like that?

c/bookbinders

Glue pot failure almost ruined a $400 leather project Sunday night

I was so sure that Japanese bookbinding glue was a gimmick

Crazy week - perfect grain direction ruined one job but saved another

Rant: My first leather spine took me 8 hours to finish

Tried wheat paste on my last rebind and it turned into a gooey mess

That old binder at the library sale who changed how I trim pages

Took me 4 years to figure out my grain direction was backwards

Appreciation post: The binder who told me to stop using PVA for everything

Finally hit 100 hand-bound books and it shook me

Spent last Sunday in my workshop trying to fix a 30 year old book press I picked up at an estate sale

Old timer told me to stop using PVA for leather hinges

I used to trim all my book cloth by eye before gluing... what a mess

Got roasted by a master bookbinder over my glue consistency

That moment my bone folder snapped in half mid-fold in my living room

Almost ruined a whole batch of leather with cheap PVA glue last week

Appreciation post: That $50 bone folder I almost returned is now my favorite tool

Swapped out my old linen thread for waxed synthetic last year

Shoutout to the lady at my local craft store who made me try a bone folder

I think grain direction is way overhyped for most projects

Hit 200 hand-sewn books last week and I still can't believe it

My old bone folder finally snapped after 12 years

Old bookbinder at a shop in Austin told me I was ruining my glue

Had a stretch last summer where every single spine I glued came out perfect...

Had a spine crack on me during rounding up in my garage last winter

That feedback about my spine rounding was brutal but necessary