I have a workshop manual for my Alfa Spider and it’s disintegrating. What can I do to glue the pages back in to the cover?
Not sure about the process you’d use or anything, but there is a wooden book press in CA.
You can reglue it, but you might want to consider spiral or comb binding instead.
I would pay for spiral binding, myself, but if you want to go comb I seem to recall we had a comb binder in CA.
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That’s perfect (HA!!) bound. To redo it, you’d get some PVA or Elmer’s Glue-all. Personally, I’d try to get all the bits off of the back. Line up all the page bits so that the spine is even. Wrap in some waxed paper. Don’t put paper over the spine. Clamp them together – I’d probably clamp all 3 non-spine edges. Binder clip – whatever. Put glue on the page bits. Put glue on the cover in the spine area. Stick them together. I’m thinking rubber-band the whole thing together. You may want to reclamp the binder clips/clamps so that they include the cover at this point. Let it dry – at least a day, maybe two to be safe. That should do it.
You might also just shift the binder clips to clamp down the spine, since that’s the point you want compressed.
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Perfect…
That’s exactly how I do my books, same as Beth does. BIG spring clips along with a type of white-glue like glue for doing perfect bindings. It seems to be a little more “rubbery” so it’s flexible. I don’t use a lot, current bottle has lasted over 5 years without going bad as long as bottle is capped. (Also squeeze most of the air out before capping.
I routinely make pads out of index cards or booklets out of printed documents that are long, say 100 pages (50 sheets). Keeps cards from scattering on sheet from being loose.
There are brands, but this is what I bought and has worked well.
https://smile.amazon.com/Lineco-Books-Hand-Neutral-Adhesive/dp/B00NZGD6OS/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=book+binding+glue&qid=1580806118&sr=8-4
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Capt finds that the Elmer’s Glue-all is a PVA glue – maybe not quite as good as book quality, but it’s still pH balanced, so that his books are still archival quality. And, it’s easy to get.
You do have to look for the Glue-all. None of their other white glues are “right”.
Looks like I’m getting myself some pva glue and creativity clamping the spine to reassemble my manual and make it usable again! I really appreciate the help guys! I’ll post some pictures when I get it all back together.
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Do you have a personal bin 102 flex area? If so, I can leave my bottle there tomorrow
I wish I did, but I don’t.
You guys are welcome to use my bin for the exchange. Matt Redmond. All the way down on the left, maybe second to last column, mid-high.
ETA: Glue only. No other abusable substances.