Split my leather cover after a bad glue job - any fix?

I was in my basement shop last Tuesday trying to finish a folio for a friend, and I used too much PVA on the spine lining - the moisture warped the leather and it cracked right along the hinge after I pressed it. Now I have a nice 4-inch split staring at me and a pile of wasted work. Has anyone salvaged a split cover like this with a patch or do I just cut my losses and start over?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan_patel8d ago

I heard from a bookbinder that heat and moisture from PVA is basically asking for trouble with leather.

nancys908d ago

Well, at least you've got a nice 4-inch reminder of why we don't trust PVA for spine work, right? You could try a patch if you want a franken-book, but honestly, that split is just going to keep haunting you every time you look at it. Cutting your losses and starting fresh sounds like the less painful path to me, unless you're into that whole visible-mending aesthetic.