I finally glued my fingers together trying to fix a spine split on a client's book

Was working on a 1938 edition of 'The Great Gatsby' for a collector in Portland, and the spine was completely detached. Got too cocky with the PVA glue and tried to clamp it one-handed, ended up gluing my thumb and index finger together solid. Had to spend 20 minutes peeling them apart with a palette knife and acetone while the book sat there drying crooked. Anyone else had a glue mishap that ruined your whole afternoon?

2 comments

2 Comments

luna_sanchez11d ago

okay but hold on, that 20 minutes you spent peeling your fingers apart was probably the best part of the whole job. You messed up the book's drying time, now the spine's gonna be weak in that exact spot. Overthinking with the palette knife and acetone, you probably damaged the paper more than if you'd just let the glue set and carefully cut the bond with a razor blade later. I get wanting to fix it fast, but rushing just guarantees a worse final result. That crooked drying angle? It's gonna be a nightmare for the owner when they try to open it fully.

umaadams11d ago

@luna_sanchez made a point about taking your time, but honestly that 20 minute panic peel was probably smarter than letting it fully cure. PVA sets up fast and hard, waiting just gives you a thicker bond to cut through later with no guarantee you won't knick the paper anyway. Acetone evaporates quick and breaks down the glue just enough to separate clean layers. Crooked spine is an issue sure, but you can always reheat and reset the joint with a tacking iron after it dries. A slow wait-and-cut approach might have let the glue wick deeper into the paper grain too, which is way harder to fix.