Heard a binder at the library say text block glue is basically a myth if you use the right thread

I was at the downtown library last Saturday helping with a book repair workshop and one of the old timers said that if your sewing is tight enough, you don't need glue on the spine at all. She pointed to a 1920s encyclopedia she'd just fixed up and said it's held fine for 90 years without a drop. Has anyone else tried going glue-free on their spines?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnflores9d ago

@margaret_jackson73 your mention reminded me I once tried this on a cookbook and now it sheds pages like confetti lmao

margaret_jackson739d ago

Honestly, I've done it myself on old paperbacks and they've held up great for years.

the_angela8d ago

Wonder if it's really that serious though... I mean, some old paperbacks are practically falling apart already before you even do anything to them. The glue dries out, the pages get brittle, and then one little DIY fix can send the whole thing into a death spiral. I've seen people slap packing tape on spines and act like it's fine, but then a year later the pages are cracking along the tape line. A cookbook especially gets roughed up with all the flipping and splatters, so that's a rough test case. Maybe some books just aren't meant to last forever... or at least not with a cheap fix.