Roger Hare Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 My apologies in advance. This is wildly off topic, but there are folks here with so many arcane skills, that to me it's the obvious place to ask. I want to make a chess set, using paper templates for the board and pieces downloaded from the internet. It's dead simple in theory - glue the board and pieces to a piece of card - cut out the pieces, trim the board and we're off. I want to make it all as professional-looking as possible because it's for a demonstration at an exhibition in a few months time. Question - what sort of glue to use? It must be easily 'spreadable' over the card, and must not stain or show through the paper templates when dried. I can only think that an aerosol spray glue might be the best way to achieve an even coating of glue on the card - I'm wondering if there are any other suitable types of glue... Thanks - and apologies once again for veering so far away from concertinas.... Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) Hi Roger, I have in fact a simple suggestion which I must add had been deemed debatable by experienced craftsmen here but worked a treat for glueing papers to the bellows of my Lachenal Excelsior: a glue stick. It‘s removable (which had been important for my work back then), it‘s dry and it doesn‘t shine through. Only thing is that you‘d have to smooth out bulges in order to get a plain surface. Had no problems with durability, however you might nevertheless find something more lasting. Best wishes - ? Edited June 24, 2018 by Wolf Molkentin typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) You need "spray mount" adhesive. Also know as template adhesive. It's designed to be temporary. Edited June 24, 2018 by Theo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 2 hours ago, Theo said: You need "spray mount" adhesive. Also know as template adhesive. It's designed to be temporary. Thank you - you have successfully jogged my memory! I used this stuff (or the alternative 'Photo Mount' product) about 35 years ago for a similar purpose - I had simply forgotten what I did, and with what, if you see what I mean. Thanks again. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 5 hours ago, Wolf Molkentin said: ...a glue stick... Thank you, I might just try that. I might also try simple PVA glue, and spread it evenly with a rolling-pin once the two sheets have been placed together. What fun - I think it might be a bit squidgy... I want to get it right because I want to be able to give bomb-proof instructions on how to make these chess sets when I do the demonstration... Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Somewhere I read the tip that, if you're glueing paper parts to card for cutting out, you should glue paper to both sides of the card. This prevents the assembly from curling, should the paper and the card shrink by different amounts while drying. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 20 minutes ago, Anglo-Irishman said: Somewhere I read the tip that, if you're glueing paper parts to card for cutting out, you should glue paper to both sides of the card... Thank you. As it happens, I was planning to do exactly that. The paper with the board printed on it is 'wood-effect', and I want the whole thing to look like a solid piece of wood - so, 'wood-effect' paper on both sides... Ta. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Ham Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 I second the spray mount suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Having re-read your original post I’m not sure spray mount would be the best. If you want the paper and card to be fixed permanently then you may want something longer lasting. If a lack of staining is important that will depend very much on the quality of paper and the way the image is printed. A bookbinder friend recently suggested I use a 50/50 mix of bookbinders pva and starch paste as a general purpose adhesive fir card felt and leather. This will give a very secure tight bond between the paper and card. It wouldn’t stain, but the water in it might make your ink smudge. Test it first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Cow gum is another possibility, or "studio gum" which I understand is basically the same thing. It avoids the wrinkling problem you get with water-based glues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Theo said: Having re-read your original post I’m not sure spray mount would be the best. If you want the paper and card to be fixed permanently then you may want something longer lasting. (Fallible) memory is telling me that when I used this stuff, a million years ago, I used 'Photo Mount' rather than 'Spray Mount' for exactly the reason you outline. I just wish I could remember exactly what I was doing - possibly pasting up graphs and images for a presentation... I think 'Photo Mount' is the preferred option in the spray-can sector... 2 hours ago, Theo said: ... If a lack of staining is important that will depend very much on the quality of paper and the way the image is printed. A bookbinder friend recently suggested I use a 50/50 mix of bookbinders pva and starch paste as a general purpose adhesive fir card felt and leather. This will give a very secure tight bond between the paper and card. It wouldn’t stain, but the water in it might make your ink smudge. Test it first. The paper is standard printer paper which has been through - well - a printer, so it's not a top-quality image. I've already done a test using an off-the-shelf cheap spray adhesive from 'The Works'. It sticks like **** to a blanket, but is difficult to apply evenly, and seems to bleed through a little. I did a second test using some PVA I had lying around and although it's also difficult to apply evenly, it doesn't seem to bleed through and can be spread evenly using a rolling pin on the 'sandwich' once the paper has been applied to the PVA-ed card. So, the mixture of PVA and starch paste sounds promising, and there even seem to be pre-mixed recipes available from bookbinders suppliers, which is fine as I have some book repairs to do in any case... I will surely test first... And, I just found this article on bookbinding adhesives, which seems to supply the answers... 1 hour ago, alex_holden said: Cow gum is another possibility, or "studio gum" which I understand is basically the same thing. It avoids the wrinkling problem you get with water-based glues. I don't know if it's still possible to get Cow Gum? I will investigate. Thanks both... Edited June 25, 2018 by lachenal74693 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryjhs Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Hello, I'm actually also a learner bookbinder but I have also won some first and second prize in our state fair competition! For what you want to do, PVA glue is fine. You can water it down with a bit of wallpaper paste mixed in water if the glue is thick, but it should not be runny. The trick is to spread it over the paper with a stiffish paint brush if you don't have a more traditional round brush, and then flip onto the pasteboardfrom the edge avoiding as many bubbles and sticky fingers as possible, as well as bits of hair or dirt. Then use a bonefolder or a plastic ruler edge to squeeze it down and get glue that is squeezed out away from the edges. The flipping or laying bit is easier said than done. Use a waste sheet underneath, past outwards. Then, lay it all between two pieces of board, between sheets of WAX paper, and lay some bricks or weights on top for a few minutes, so that it absorbs the moisture. In fact, check it, and you should still clamp it for some time to prevent what is called cockling - curling and in fact, keep it weighted until it is quite stiff. you may want to use 3mm paste board or something thicker The video shows how https://bookmaking.wonderhowto.com/how-to/glue-bookbinding-195805/ with a simple version. In this version, the paper goes over the board and is folded nicely on the back. Good instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellowbelle Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 I don't know if it's the best option, but I like to use Mod Podge decoupage as a glue. I like the Dishwasher Safe formula, and I think I once used it as a glue (instead of a surface coating) but diluted it with some water first. The other Mod Podge formulas are good, especially a dilution of the one intended for use on fabric (but on paper). Best applied with a small foam brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 larryjhs & bellowbelle, thank you for your posts. The delay in responding is because I was away at a Morris gig all weekend and am only just catching up. I think I like the idea of mixing PVA with some other water-based goo - at least one person has already suggested that and I have seen a couple of references to this approach on book-binding web pages I finally found. I suspect the proprietary goo suggested by larryjhs may not be available in the UK, but I have to go to the craft shop (again!) tomorrow, so I will check it out. I must say however, that I am intrigued by the idea of using a home-made starch based recipe. The bookbinding pages seem to be saying bookbinders used this stuff for centuries with no problem - if it was good enough for them, it may well be good enough for me... Thanks, both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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