Help with book repair

[Bill Gill]

I am currently reading "Death of a Swagman" by Upfield. This is
one of his Bony books and is another good one. There is one
problem with it. The book was printed in 1945. Itis in pretty
good condition, except for the spine. The spine is badly deteriorated.
Well, that's no problem. I grabbed the book tape and a bit of stiff
paper. Cut the paper to slide into the spine to cover the missing
bits, then taped it up. That is where the problem came in. The
book tape won't stick to the cover. I have tried a couple of
times, and it just won't stick. I have used book tape on some
other books and have had no problem. Now all at once on this one
it won't stick. Does anybody have any suggestions as to how to
handle this. I would really like to take care of the book now
before it deteriorates even more.

Bill

[Francis A. Miniter]

I am currently reading "Death of a Swagman" by Upfield.  This is
one of his Bony books and is another good one.  There is one
problem with it.  The book was printed in 1945. Itis in pretty
good condition, except for the spine.  The spine is badly deteriorated.
Well, that's no problem. I grabbed the book tape and a bit of stiff
paper.  Cut the paper to slide into the spine to cover the missing
bits, then taped it up.  That is where the problem came in.  The
book tape won't stick to the cover.  I have tried a couple of
times, and it just won't stick.  I have used book tape on some
other books and have had no problem.  Now all at once on this one
it won't stick.  Does anybody have any suggestions as to how to
handle this.  I would really like to take care of the book now
before it deteriorates even more.
Bill

Hi Bill,

I do a good bit of book repair. First of all, you want to use pH
neutral glues and tapes. Lineco provides a full line of pH neutral book
repair materials. What I would do, if I am visualizing your problem
correctly, is the following:
Apply pH neutral adhesive to one side of the webbing and slide it into
the spine, using wax paper to keep it from adhering to the spine cover.
After it has set, use a scalpel to life up the end paper on the inside
of the cover.
Now slide the remaining webbing (with adhesive) into the slop so created
and close the book with pressure until the adhesive has set.


Francis A. Miniter

[Bill Gill]

Post by Francis A. Miniter

I am currently reading "Death of a Swagman" by Upfield.  This is
one of his Bony books and is another good one.  There is one
problem with it.  The book was printed in 1945. Itis in pretty
good condition, except for the spine.  The spine is badly deteriorated.
Well, that's no problem. I grabbed the book tape and a bit of stiff
paper.  Cut the paper to slide into the spine to cover the missing
bits, then taped it up.  That is where the problem came in.  The
book tape won't stick to the cover.  I have tried a couple of
times, and it just won't stick.  I have used book tape on some
other books and have had no problem.  Now all at once on this one
it won't stick.  Does anybody have any suggestions as to how to
handle this.  I would really like to take care of the book now
before it deteriorates even more.
Bill

Hi Bill,
I do a good bit of book repair.  First of all, you want to use pH
neutral glues and tapes.  Lineco provides a full line of pH neutral book
repair materials.  What I would do, if I am visualizing your problem
Apply pH neutral adhesive to one side of the webbing and slide it into
the spine, using wax paper to keep it from adhering to the spine cover.
After it has set, use a scalpel to life up the end paper on the inside
of the cover.
Now slide the remaining webbing (with adhesive) into the slop so created
and close the book with pressure until the adhesive has set.
Francis A. Miniter

I've been working on repairing books off and on for about a year and a
half now. I mostly got my instructions for doing the repairs off of the
internet. I just googled 'DIY book repair' and started reading the
responses. There is some good info out there. Naturally I don't just
slavishly follow every bit of info I read. I stop and think about
whether it sounds like good advice. I'm glad to know there is somebody
else who is doing it.

I have a supply of Ph neutral glue and a roll of Scotch book tape. I
have certainly been trying to fix my books so they will last as long
as possible. I don't really do a full out repair most of the time.
I more think of what I do as patching. I certainly wouldn't try to
work on anything of value, either intrinsic or personal. My daughter
has her Grandmother's bible. I would not touch that.

I may have given a wrong impression of my problem. The book block is
in good shape. My problem is what I think you mean by 'the spine
cover'. This is the arched portion of the cover that is free of the
book block, but is basically part of the cover. It has the title and
author printed on it. A large part of that is missing and the rest is
delicate. I have repaired other books with the same type of problem and
had no problem. I just, as I said, inserted a piece of heavy paper
inside the spine against the spine cover, then taped over it with the
book tape. Always before it has worked just fine. This time though the
book tape won't stick to the outside of the book cover. I can only
assume that the cover has something on it that keeps the tape from
sticking. So I need to come up with a way to patch the spine cover.

Thanks and glad to hear from you.

Bill

[Bill Gill]

I am currently reading "Death of a Swagman" by Upfield.  This is
one of his Bony books and is another good one.  There is one
problem with it.  The book was printed in 1945. Itis in pretty
good condition, except for the spine.  The spine is badly deteriorated.
Well, that's no problem. I grabbed the book tape and a bit of stiff
paper.  Cut the paper to slide into the spine to cover the missing
bits, then taped it up.  That is where the problem came in.  The
book tape won't stick to the cover.  I have tried a couple of
times, and it just won't stick.  I have used book tape on some
other books and have had no problem.  Now all at once on this one
it won't stick.  Does anybody have any suggestions as to how to
handle this.  I would really like to take care of the book now
before it deteriorates even more.
Bill

OK, I worked out a patch that helped the book tape to stick to
the cover of the book. I glued a strip of rice paper to the
spine edge of the front and back cover, with the ends wrapped
over to the insides of the covers. I used a good quality
Ph neutral glue, the equivalent to PVA. It doesn't say it is
PVA, but the description is almost exactly the same. Then
I taped over the spine cover with book tape. Now it seems to
be holding. So I hope the book will last for many more
years.

Bill

[Francis A. Miniter]

Post by Bill Gill

I am currently reading "Death of a Swagman" by Upfield.  This is
one of his Bony books and is another good one.  There is one
problem with it.  The book was printed in 1945. Itis in pretty
good condition, except for the spine.  The spine is badly deteriorated.
Well, that's no problem. I grabbed the book tape and a bit of stiff
paper.  Cut the paper to slide into the spine to cover the missing
bits, then taped it up.  That is where the problem came in.  The
book tape won't stick to the cover.  I have tried a couple of
times, and it just won't stick.  I have used book tape on some
other books and have had no problem.  Now all at once on this one
it won't stick.  Does anybody have any suggestions as to how to
handle this.  I would really like to take care of the book now
before it deteriorates even more.
Bill

OK, I worked out a patch that helped the book tape to stick to
the cover of the book.  I glued a strip of rice paper to the
spine edge of the front and back cover, with the ends wrapped
over to the insides of the covers.  I used a good quality
Ph neutral glue, the equivalent to PVA.  It doesn't say it is
PVA, but the description is almost exactly the same.  Then
I taped over the spine cover with book tape.  Now it seems to
be holding.  So I hope the book will last for many more
years.
Bill

Excellent.

For those who have not yet got into the details of book preservation, I
would just like to say that pH neutral materials is the only way to go.
When I see dust jackets "repaired" - or more accurately, ruined - with
scotch tape, my heart breaks. The same goes for the vandalism committed
by librarians, with their tape and labels with harsh glues.

We are just custodians of these books. With any luck they will be
around when we are gone. It is our job to be good custodians and treat
them properly.


Francis A. Miniter