Why does nobody talk about how hard it is to fix a warped book board after it dries?

I had a copy of an old atlas I was rebinding last Tuesday, and everything was going fine until I glued the book board and left it to dry overnight. When I came back the next morning, the board had warped BADLY like a shallow bowl, not even close to flat. I tried clamping it with some heavy weights for 6 hours, but it only got a little better. Then I tried dampening the opposite side and pressing it again, which sort of worked but left a weird texture on the surface. I think the issue was I used too much PVA glue on a thin board, but I'm not sure. Has anyone else dealt with a warped board that just won't flatten out, or do you have a go to fix that actually works?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_joel2mo ago

Dude same thing happened to me last month with a thin board and too much glue, total disaster.

the_wesley23d ago

Rookie move right there.

margaretrivera23d ago

Marble slabs? That must have been a nightmare to set up without cracking something. @olivers28 I can't believe you actually tried that, and it still left ripples. That's the kind of thing you only do once before you just accept the board is trash and move on. I'd rather start over than deal with a rippled surface that'll mess up every future project.

olivers282mo ago

Too much glue on a thin board" perfectly describes my atlas problem too. @the_joel, did your board ever fully flatten out or did you just have to start over with a new piece? I tried misting the concave side with water and then pressing between two heavy marble slabs for a full day, which did help a little but the surface ended up slightly rippled instead of smooth. What kind of board thickness would you use next time to avoid this mess entirely?