Ripped a book spine clean off while trying to fix a loose hinge

Last Tuesday I had a customer bring in an old 1940s encyclopedia that just needed the front hinge tightened. I got too aggressive with the glue and when I tried to adjust it, the whole spine tore off from the text block. Had to spend three hours rebuilding the structure from scratch with new mull and liners. Anyone else ever have a simple repair turn into a full rebind?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_mia1mo ago

Ugh that's the absolute worst feeling when a simple fix goes sideways. Major props for pulling off a full rebuild though, not everyone could save that.

hayes.elliot1mo ago

The whole "not everyone could save that" thing... I mean, it really depends on what broke in the first place. Half the time when someone says they did a full rebuild it's just swapping out one part and calling it a day. I've seen people post about "saving" something that was basically still functional with a loose screw.