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6e1 Binding Repair?


Brian Stanfield

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If the binding has simply pulled away from the first page and everything else is still structurally sound, you can use acid-free linen hinging tape.  It's quick, simple and strong. I did this to a volume of 6e2 I got on the cheap because of its binding issue ... about 18 months ago ... and have had no issues with the repair.  You can also use glue, which should also be acid-free (ideally neutral pH).  I bought some thinking I'd need both tape and glue for that volume of 6e2 I repaired , but the hinging tape proved plenty strong, so the glue went unused.

 

In case it helps:

Here is the repair tape I used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/summary/edit.html/ref=dp_iou_view_this_order?ie=UTF8&orderID=110-2180671-8978607

Here is the glue I bought, planned to use, but never needed: https://www.amazon.com/Neutral-pH-Liquid-Adhesive-Ounces/dp/B000KNJEYA/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1520628367&sr=1-1&keywords=binding+repair+glue

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On 3/9/2018 at 2:48 PM, Surrealone said:

If the binding has simply pulled away from the first page and everything else is still structurally sound, you can use acid-free linen hinging tape.  It's quick, simple and strong. I did this to a volume of 6e2 I got on the cheap because of its binding issue ... about 18 months ago ... and have had no issues with the repair.  You can also use glue, which should also be acid-free (ideally neutral pH).  I bought some thinking I'd need both tape and glue for that volume of 6e2 I repaired , but the hinging tape proved plenty strong, so the glue went unused.

 

In case it helps:

Here is the repair tape I used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/summary/edit.html/ref=dp_iou_view_this_order?ie=UTF8&orderID=110-2180671-8978607

Here is the glue I bought, planned to use, but never needed: https://www.amazon.com/Neutral-pH-Liquid-Adhesive-Ounces/dp/B000KNJEYA/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1520628367&sr=1-1&keywords=binding+repair+glue

 

Your first link isn't showing anything: can you check it again?

 

Regardless, this is the same conclusion I made. The hinge tape comes in several varieties, and I've talked to several book people and done a lot of reading, and it all seems to point to the same solution.  How's the tape holding up? And how's the end-paper and spine holding up?

 

After cutting the cover off my copy of 6e1, I realized why the books are all failing: 

  • The glue is horrible and cracks apart. Everyone knows this issue. 
  • The book construction itself is half-baked. The spine is glued directly to the cover, and there are no actual hinges holding the text to the cover. So combined with bad glue, the moment one opens the book the pages are forced away from the spine as the book flexes open. The only thing holding the book together is the weakest part of the construction, and the only remaining part holding the text block in is the end-paper itself. 
  • This resembles the "perfect binding" of paperback books, but because it has a hard cover the pages behave differently and the covers can't move the way they need. 

That's what I've discovered so far. I'm going to experiment with hinging the text block to the boards themselves and avoiding the spine altogether. 

 

Thanks for the Input!

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  • 5 months later...

Yep; I'm too late to help you, 

 

but maybe someone else will have this issue in the future and stumble in.

 

First and foremost:

 

This is completely wrong.  It's not approved by any bindery that I know of, and screams of desperation.

 

But I've got two BBBs and a couple of shop manuals of even greater age that say it holds for at least thirty years.

 

Wood glue.

 

Well, that and some other books / weights / bench vise or what-have-you to apply even pressure until the wood glue dries.

 

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On 8/30/2018 at 10:49 PM, Duke Bushido said:

Yep; I'm too late to help you, 

 

but maybe someone else will have this issue in the future and stumble in.

 

First and foremost:

 

This is completely wrong.  It's not approved by any bindery that I know of, and screams of desperation.

 

But I've got two BBBs and a couple of shop manuals of even greater age that say it holds for at least thirty years.

 

Wood glue.

 

Well, that and some other books / weights / bench vise or what-have-you to apply even pressure until the wood glue dries.

 

 

What is completely wrong: the way the 6th edition was put together, the suggestions of PH neutral glue or the tape, or something else?

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1 hour ago, Tech said:

 

What is completely wrong: the way the 6th edition was put together, the suggestions of PH neutral glue or the tape, or something else?

 

 

Sorry about that.  I've been on the internet too long, I suppose, or perhaps away from this site too long.  I'm so used to "THAT'S WRONG!" and "NEVER DO THAT!" and "YOU'RE A MORON FOR SUGGESTING THAT!" etc, etc, with any different-from-expected solution to a problem.  Thus, I preemptively stated that the wood glue-injection wasn't endorsed by any major book bindery or any whatever-you-call-paper-fixing-guys.  (or girls. Or what-have-you)

 

 

1 hour ago, Asperion said:

If you do not mind the expense, when I needed to get my copy of FREd repaired I went to a copy store along the line of Kinkos.  In place of the original binding, I got a spiral binding that still held up years later, long after the original binding is expected to wear out.  

 

 

From what I recall, it's not really that expensive; it's certainly less expensive than having a book re-bound in its actual cover.  

 

My opinion is just that: the random rantings of a complete stranger on the internet.  Therefore, I suggest you not assign any particular weight or expertise to it. ;)

 

I tried spiral binding once on the suggestion of someone on this board who had done it numerous times and seriously enjoyed it, and I have to admit, the allure of a book that lays open flat to any page is huge.  In my own experience, though, I can't recommend against it fervently enough.

 

Again, these is simply an opinion of a guy you don't know and will likely never bump into, so don't put a lot of thought into it.

 

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