I’ve had a chance to experiment with a few different types of glues for my books and the best one I have come across are PVA glues which can be found in any art supply or craft store.

PVA is easy to work with and strong. This is just a common white glue that is very flexible and can be easily brushed onto the spine of the book. PVA glues are acid free and used in libraries to repair books. The biggest problem is slow drying time. You will need to keep the pages clamped together for a while as it dries. Adding another layer of glue to the book block later and attaching the cover works fine.

Another very common glue choice is contact cement. PowerPoxy is a brand name that comes up a lot in my research. This is a neoprene-based contact cement and is somewhat thicker than working with PVA glue, but you can still brush it on the spine. You apply it to both the spine and cover and then let the glue ’set-up’ for a minute before pressing the spine and cover together for drying (which only takes a few minutes.)

My initial projects used Gorilla Glue to glue the pages together. This glue tends to soak into the paper a bit and gives a very strong (and somewhat stiff) spine, but it also expands as it dries which often results in lumpy spines. Plus, every cover I have used it on becomes discolored as the glue soaks in.

The drying time for Gorilla Glue is more like PVA glue, so you will have to keep the pages clamped together for a while as it sets-up. Be very careful not to leave ANY excess glue on the surface of the paper as it will expand as it dries and ‘puff up’ creating the lumpy spine I mentioned before.

You could use Gorilla Glue to bind the pages and then come back with contact cement to apply the covers. I’m not certain how well these to glues would bond to each other over the long term, but my guess is it would be strong enough.

I have experimented with hot glues, but don’t recommend them. They are hard to work with and don’t offer any benefits over the cold glues I have mentioned. The drying time is faster, but I spent a considerable amount of time trying to get smooth even coverage (often resorting to using an iron to re-heat the glued book spines making the glue workable again.)

It may be possible to create some sort of heated glue pot that keeps the glue warm enough for you to brush it on before it hardens and then quickly fold the cover over (or later run a hot iron over the cover to re-melt the glue underneath and bond it to the cover.)

It took a lot of time to get my results (I never had this much trouble with a cold glue) and I wasn’t happy with the results. I recommend contact cement or PVA glues. The dry times are longer, but the results are nicer and more consistent.

Another glue that I have recently discovered is PUR glue. It is very strong and flexible and dries quickly. I’ve come across several commercial binderies that are using it as their primary glue and claim it to be the best on the market.

There are many variations of PUR glue on the market. You can usually find it at your local Home Depot. I have not had an opportunity to use it yet for a project, so I can’t vouch for this glue, but it looks very promising.

If you have a better glue option than those listed (or advice for applying the glues I did mention), leave a comment and share your experience.

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