Creeping is part of the benefit of a PVA glue. Emphasis mine:
Quote:
There are a number of variants of PVA glue, but all are water based, and all are intended for gluing porous surfaces such as wood, paper, fabric, or cork. Since a previously glued surface is no longer porous (without total removal of the previous glue), a joint is not easily repaired. It is normally applied to both surfaces so that it can be worked into the pores. PVA likes to be clamped firmly, but not so tight that all the glue is squeezed out of the joint. PVA glue joints will creep slightly, an advantage when gluing dissimilar woods that may have uneven expansion/contraction, but that creep makes them undesirable for most bent-wood laminations and veneering (where the creep can allow the veneer to slip during seasonal expansion/contraction). These glues will tack (so the joint no longer slips) in minutes, will set in an hour or so (the clamps can be removed if the joint is not under stress), but takes a day or more to reach full strength.
Urea resin glue would not have done shrunk back, but urea resin cannot be hammered. Hide glue is the only glue I know of that can be hammered without creating problems later.