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Unpopular opinion: a teacher at a bindery class in Portland got me off PVA glue for spine lining
I took a two day class at a bindery in Portland about 4 years ago and the teacher grabbed my freshly glued spine out of the press, peeled the mull back, and said 'see how it's still flexing? that's your glue still moving.' She had me line the next one with wheat paste instead and let it dry overnight under weight. The spine cracked open clean when I tested it, no springy feel at all. I still keep PVA around for casing in but I do all my spine lining with paste now. Does anyone else here split it that way or am I making extra work for myself?
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the_evan21d ago
Wondering what your mix ratio looks like for the paste on spines, because that seems to be where people get into trouble. I tried straight wheat paste on a spine last year and it worked great for the crack, but it grabbed so hard that the paper lining wrinkled up on me before I could smooth it out. Do you thin yours down at all, or are you brushing it on and letting it sit a minute to soak in first? Also curious if you still press the spine the same way with paste overnight, or if you change up the pressure since it dries so much harder than PVA.
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