My neighbor told me to use a regular glue stick for endpapers and it was a disaster

I mean, my neighbor Carol is super crafty, so when I was working on a small journal last month and ran out of PVA, I tried her tip. The pages started peeling off after maybe two days, and the whole thing warped. Has anyone else gotten terrible advice from a non-binder that you actually tried?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivan_schmidt6d agoMost Upvoted

But what if the problem was the paper and not the glue? I've used glue sticks for quick repairs on cheap notebooks and they held fine for years. Maybe the journal paper was too thick or had a coating. Sometimes a warped book is from too much glue or not enough pressure while drying, not the glue type itself. I feel like we blame the tool when it could be how we used it.

oliviac226d ago

Yeah, that's rough. Carol probably meant well but glue sticks are just not made for that kind of stress. @ivan_schmidt has a point about technique, but I'm curious about the glue stick formula itself. Like, were you using a kid's school glue stick or a stronger acid-free one? I tried a "permanent" office glue stick on some text block repairs once and it just turned into a brittle mess that cracked. It peeled off in one solid sheet.