Serious question, does anyone else skip the PVA and use wheat paste for basic case binding?
Three years back I took a class in Ann Arbor from a binder named Ruth who taught everything with straight PVA, and I went along with it until my copy of a 400 page novel cracked at the hinge after two summers on the shelf. Switched to a 1 to 3 wheat paste and PVA mix for my spine glue ups and the joints have held flat through three humid Julys since. Everyone online pushes straight PVA for speed, but I think that advice is built for production shops, not for books you actually want to last. What mix ratio are you all using, or am I the only one still cooking paste on a Sunday?
Oh man, a buddy of mine ran into the exact same thing with a cheap paperback he rebound. His hinge popped loose after one damp spring because he used straight PVA on the spine, and when he switched to about 1 to 3 paste to PVA it stopped cracking. So you are for sure not the only one still cooking paste on a Sunday.