27 years of binding and I just learned I was gluing my spines wrong

I had a customer bring in a textbook from the 1950s last week for a simple repair. While I was looking it over, the old binding just fell apart in my hands. But how it was constructed was completely different from what I've been doing. The spine lining was attached differently, the glue wasn't pooling in the same spots. I asked around and a retired binder I know said yeah, the method I learned in the 90s was apparently a shortcut that causes cracking after 10-15 years. So I've been doing it wrong this whole time, and every book I've bound before 2010 probably has weak spines now. Has anyone else had that moment where you find out a basic technique you've been using for decades is actually the wrong way?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenix_carter20d ago

1980s Japanese bookbinding manuals actually show that shortcut method as the standard for most commercial work. The cracking you're seeing might be more about modern paper acidity and environmental shifts than glue placement. Maybe the old way worked for old materials but your method was fine for the books you were actually working on.

robertgreen20d agoMost Upvoted

Switched to a thinner glue mix myself and the cracking stopped almost overnight.