Warning: don't try to rush a rounded spine with wet glue

Was working in my garage last night on a leather binding and thought I could save time by gluing up the spine before the backing was fully dry. Ended up with a crinkled mess that took 45 minutes to pick apart with tweezers. Has anyone else had a project go sideways from skipping a drying step?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana1796d ago

And PVA needs at least 12 hours to really set, not just tack dry.

rowanc295d ago

...and yeah I learned that one the hard way too. I had a bookcloth spine that looked perfect until I peeled back the waste paper and found it had actually stuck to itself in a few crispy spots. Now I do what I call the "patience test" - I wait until the backing is dry enough that I can tap it with my knuckle and it sounds hollow. That saves me from having to pick glue out of the grain with a bone folder for half an hour.