Took me 4 hours to fix a bookbinding spine that should have taken 30 minutes

I was making a small journal for my sister's birthday and messed up the spine completely. Thought I could just wing it with some PVA glue and a bone folder, but the sections kept popping loose. Had to undo all the stitching, re cut the signatures, and start fresh. Anyone else have simple bookbinding projects turn into a whole weekend thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_fisher241mo ago

Winged it with glue and a bone folder (been there). That's always when a 30-minute fix turns into a whole Saturday project.

xenaf511mo ago

Wait, does that mean I should just skip the glue and go straight for the swear jar? @pat_fisher24 I swear my last "quick fix" started with a bead of gorilla glue and ended with me trying to unstick my finger from the spine while balancing a cat on my lap. The bone folder wound up covered in glue and I had to scrape it off with a butter knife, which is probably not in any restoration manual.

felix_black1mo ago

The butter knife scraping is a classic move, I've definitely used a rusty screwdriver in a pinch for similar glue disasters. My "quick fix" era ended when I glued my phone to a book I was trying to tape, had to use my nose to call for help.