Hot take: the 'no glue on the spine' rule I learned from an old bookbinder

Met this retired guy at a library sale last month who told me to never use glue directly on the spine of a book, even for repairs. I thought he was just being a purist, so I tried it my way on a 1920s novel and now the spine is all cracked and stiff. Has anyone else had a project get wrecked by ignoring that kind of old-school advice?

2 comments

2 Comments

susan_wells27d ago

Experienced the same thing with an old Craftsman tool chest. Grandfather told me to never use WD-40 on the slides, stick with dry graphite. I figured what could it hurt and now the slides are all gummy and the drawers stick halfway out. That old timer knew his stuff. It's funny how often the simple old rules turn out to be right even when they sound like superstition.

the_henry27d ago

Haha yeah that "it couldnt hurt" mindset gets you every time. My buddy Mike thought the same thing with his grandpas old drill press, sprayed silicone grease on the quill and it collected so much dust it seized up solid in like two weeks.