My worst binding week ever - 4 books in a row with glue failures

Last Tuesday I had three paperback rebinds crack open because my PVA was too old, then a fourth got this weird tacky residue all over the text block. Has anyone else had a batch of glue just stop working right out of the bottle?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliviahenderson1mo ago

Three times now I've had brand new bottles of Lineco PVA straight from the supplier that just would not grip, even with perfect temperature and shaking. I actually tested one batch against a year old bottle I'd kept in my basement, and the old stuff outperformed the brand new one by a long shot. It's not always user error... sometimes manufacturers have a bad run or the formula sits on a warehouse shelf for months before it even gets to you. I've heard horror stories from older bookbinders about glue batches from the 90s that were basically unusable, so it's not like this is a new problem.

jason5241mo ago

Nah the glue itself probably wasn't bad, more likely it was the mixing or the temp. I keep my PVA in a water bath at around 70 degrees F and it stays good for months past the date. If that bottle sat in a cold garage or near a heater it can separate or get grainy. Try stirring it really good before your next use, sometimes the solids settle and you get a watery layer on top that won't bond right.

blair6261mo ago

Totally agree with you on that. I had a bottle of Titebond that acted exactly the same way after I left it in the shed through a cold snap last winter. Mixed it up real good with a popsicle stick and it was like new again, bonded just fine on the next project. People blame the glue way too fast when it's usually just storage or they forgot to shake it. A water bath sounds like a solid idea too, I might have to try that myself.