YAGT (Yet Another Glue Thread)

[Sooner Boomer]

Not directly rocket related. I read a lot*. I've collected quite a large collection of paperback books (paperback because my eyes are so bad that hardbound books are difficult to read, esp. with my glasses off). Sadly, a lot of the older books are showing their age. A lot of them are having the glue fail at the spine, usually for an inch or so at the top and/or bottom of the page. I've tried various glues to fix the problem, but haven't found the right one yet. The glue needs to be strong enough to hold the pages in, and sometimes rebuild a whole section of spine, but it needs to be flexible enough for the spine to flex and the book to open. Yellow and white glues are nice and strong, but dry too rigid. I'm thinking of trying silicone glue next. Has anyone had this problem, too? Got a better solution?

*sadly, most of what I read/collect is science fiction. I tried to make myself read at least one "classical" piece of literature for every ten science fiction, but then I started in on Jules Verne and H.G. Wells trying to justify them as "classical literature". Even worse was getting hooked on Janet Evonovich - literary potato chips - "you can't eat just one...".

 

[Rex R]

ask at your local library what they use to rebind books. I have used rubber cement a time or two with varied success.
Rex

 

[Onebadhawk]

If you can get someone here to divulge what adhesive they use.....

https://turulbookbindery.wordpress.com/

You'd be golden...

Teddy

 

[mkadams001]

try this....https://www.demco.com/goto?blk00172...Ti695LT35YpHhSYbQq-99r_iOptWw9Bck4hoCBErw_wcB

 

[Onebadhawk]

try this....https://www.demco.com/goto?blk00172...Ti695LT35YpHhSYbQq-99r_iOptWw9Bck4hoCBErw_wcB

Wow,,,
Ya can't get any better then that...lol...
There you go...

Teddy

 

[The_Lone_Beagle]

Wow, it never even occurred to me that I could try to repair some of my old books...this forum is great!

As for "classics," well, I think Mark Twain put it best...

 

[Sooner Boomer]

Wow,,,
Ya can't get any better then that...lol...
There you go...

Teddy

I'm wondering... This is PVA, the same stuff as white glue. It may be formulated to be a bit more flexible, the others I've tried dried hard and ended up cracking.. I gotta stop by the local library and see if they have recommendations.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

I just checked the book I glued up with RTV. It seems to have held the pages in, and remains flexible. Going to try one more repair, on the book below, before I call it a success. The book below is a good example of *most* of the damage that occurs. The cover is torn away from the front, the glue has peeled off of the edges of the pages (in other books, the spine/cover is in good shape, the glue just decomposed and released the pages). I'll glue the pages back, along the spine, and use clear plastic tape to reinforce the cover. None of the books I'm repairing are really worth anything - they're "readers" rather than "collectors". I would never treat a "valuable" book like this. OK, all books are valuable, these don't have any extraordinary value to them. I do have a few that are valuable, for whatever reason, but they're wrapped up in the proper stuff to help preserve them, and hidden away.

 

[Onebadhawk]

I'm wondering... This is PVA, the same stuff as white glue. It may be formulated to be a bit more flexible, the others I've tried dried hard and ended up cracking.. I gotta stop by the local library and see if they have recommendations.

When you are choosing anything ( like a glue ) to be used on a book,,
don't you have to be concerned with the ph of the glue ??
I remember hearing or reading about that somewhere..
If the glue is incorrect it may work but degrade the book over time...
That's why I thought if there's a glue made for this purpose it would be a safer, better bet....

No ???

Teddy

 

[mkadams001]

When you are choosing anything ( like a glue ) to be used on a book,,
don't you have to be concerned with the ph of the glue ??
I remember hearing or reading about that somewhere..
If the glue is incorrect it may work but degrade the book over time...
That's why I thought if there's a glue made for this purpose it would be a safer, better bet....

No ???

Teddy

Demco has a lot of book care products and several adhesives for books and lists the ph for the adhesives. People use a lot of products to repair books including silicone caulk and seem to have successful repairs. Of course, these are not valuable books and the repair is just to hold it together.

A decent art store should have some products suitable for book repair.

 

[ScottJ]

Search on Bookbinder's Glue. As mentioned above, pH will be a concern. However, if the books are the older "mass market" paperbacks it won't matter much since the paper will be acidic anyway. In the 90s publishers started going more with "trade paperbacks". These are a bit larger than the mass market paperbacks, made with higher quality materials and bindings. They generally have paper that is pH neutral. They're also more expensive. (If you're a book geek, the back story on the why's of the paperback formats is interesting, but that's a whole 'nother thread.)

 

[Micromeister]

Not directly rocket related. I read a lot*. I've collected quite a large collection of paperback books (paperback because my eyes are so bad that hardbound books are difficult to read, esp. with my glasses off). Sadly, a lot of the older books are showing their age. A lot of them are having the glue fail at the spine, usually for an inch or so at the top and/or bottom of the page. I've tried various glues to fix the problem, but haven't found the right one yet. The glue needs to be strong enough to hold the pages in, and sometimes rebuild a whole section of spine, but it needs to be flexible enough for the spine to flex and the book to open. Yellow and white glues are nice and strong, but dry too rigid. I'm thinking of trying silicone glue next. Has anyone had this problem, too? Got a better solution?

*sadly, most of what I read/collect is science fiction. I tried to make myself read at least one "classical" piece of literature for every ten science fiction, but then I started in on Jules Verne and H.G. Wells trying to justify them as "classical literature". Even worse was getting hooked on Janet Evonovich - literary potato chips - "you can't eat just one...".

As a woodwork and cabinet maker I've done a few book restorations over the years. Our family history Bible dates back to the 1800's and Over time the binding and spine needed some major work. I contacted a book binding company in the mid-west. They recommended using white glue which dries clear and gauze to reinforce the spine and binding. It takes time to build up the binding but it worked perfectly the original leather cover looks almost as if nothing ever split.
I've used this method to repair several other OLD bindings with very good results.