That talk with a retired bookbinder in Portland last week shook some habits I had

He told me I was killing my spine hinges by using too much PVA on every single rebind and handed me his old wheat paste recipe. Anyone else ever get called out by a veteran and had to totally rework their go-to method?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy_ross16d ago

PVA is fine if you're using the right grade and not drowning the thing in it. Those old timers act like wheat paste is the only way, but modern adhesives work just as well with proper technique. Your hinges were probably getting killed by poor joint prep, not the glue itself.

nathan_webb16d ago

Few years back I watched a guy restore an antique desk using nothing but Elmer's Glue-All because that's what he had on hand. Desk is still together today. Sometimes we overthink this stuff.