Spent 4 hours trying to fix a single headband tear on a rebind

I was working on a leather rebind of a 1960s paperback and the headband just split right where I glued it. Thought I could just dab some PVA and hold it for a minute. Nope. Tried three different clamps, a bone folder, even a tiny clamp from my wife's jewelry kit. Nothing held. Ended up rebuilding the whole headband from scratch with thread and a strip of bookcloth. Took another 2 hours. Has anyone found a trick for keeping those old headbands from peeling apart?

2 comments

2 Comments

cora_scott771mo ago

Oh man, that sounds like a total nightmare. Did you try using a tiny bit of heat from a hairdryer to soften the old glue before reapplying?

margaret_gonzalez251mo ago

Actually I used to think heat would just make a bigger mess, but @cora_scott77 you might be onto something there... never thought of using the hairdryer that way.