kaih36•13d ago

Debate: Should you glue the spine first or last on a rounded back? My last rebuild taught me both ways.

I was rebinding a 1940s novel last month and tried gluing the spine first like the old books say. The rounding held perfect but the cover fit was off by about 3mm. So on the next one I did the cover first and then glued the spine after, and the joint was way cleaner but the rounding started to flatten out. I'm torn on which step actually matters more for a solid, lasting book. Has anyone else found a trick to balance these two?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.kim13d ago

Oh man I used to be all about gluing the spine first but your cover issue makes me rethink everything. The rounding flattening out is a real pain though, maybe try clamping the book shut while the spine glue dries?

wells.olivia13d ago

Have you ever noticed how in life we always try the obvious solution first, only to realize it messes up something else down the line? It's like when I tried to organize my garage by stacking all the boxes in the corner, but then I couldn't get to my lawnmower without moving everything lol. The spine glue thing is the same - you fix one problem and create another, and then you're stuck figuring out the whole system again instead of just the one step. I've started asking myself "what's gonna get in the way later" before I even start, and it's saved me a ton of rework.

the_nathan13d ago

Ha, yeah that's just life right? Fix one thing, break two others.