T
2

My old shop teacher insisted on using PVA glue for everything, even headbands.

I followed his advice for my first three leather-bound projects, and the headbands on all of them have started to peel away. A binder I met at a craft fair in St. Louis told me to switch to a flexible animal glue, which has worked perfectly. What's your go-to adhesive for reinforcing headbands?
3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
3 Comments
mark_fisher48
Yeah, hot hide glue is the classic for a reason. It stays flexible as the book moves, which is the whole point. PVA just gets brittle and cracks over time.
5
lily_sullivan82
jade618 yeah that teacher callout hit close to home. my friend tomas used PVA on his first big restoration job and the headband popped off during a book signing. he hid hide glue from then on and never looked back.
4
jade618
jade6182mo ago
My old teacher swore by hot hide glue.
2