An old bookbinder in Chicago showed me a trick with wheat paste that changed how I do endpapers

I was at a shop in the Loop maybe 3 years ago, just picking up some linen thread. This guy in his 70s saw me looking at pre-mixed paste and just laughed. He said "put that bottle down, it's chemicals and regret." He walked me through making wheat paste from scratch using a double boiler. Took maybe 15 minutes total that first try. I use it for all my endpapers now and they lay so flat with no bubbling. Has anyone else switched to homemade paste for certain parts of the binding process?

2 comments

2 Comments

theabennett16d ago

Pre-mixed paste is fine though, right? I mean I get that homemade has its charms but calling a bottle of store bought stuff "chemicals and regret" feels a little dramatic. Some of us don't have time to mess around with double boilers and measuring out flour every time we want to glue something down. I've used both and honestly I can't tell a huge difference in the final result, maybe my standards are just lower.

ray21016d ago

Oh man, @theabennett, I get where you're coming from but that old bookbinder wasn't just being dramatic for no reason. Most of those pre-mixed pastes have preservatives and synthetic binders that actually weaken the bond over time, especially on handmade paper. I used pre-mixed for years and always had issues with wavy endpapers after a few months. The homemade stuff takes maybe 10 extra minutes once you get the hang of it and I've never had a single bubble or lifting problem since I switched. Plus you can control the consistency way better for different paper weights.