You may remember my earlier post, photos, and instructions about creating a Kindle cover from a Leonardo Leather address book. The idea was to contrast the advanced technology of the Kindle with a classic book cover. Here's a photo of the originals (I made three0.

http://photos.imageevent.com/artsci/kindle/huge/Photo%2050.JPG

With the arrival of the Kindle 2 and the hinged attachment on the new Amazon cover for the Kindle 2 I anticipated a way to make a new version of the Leonardo cover for the Kindle 2 using the hinged attachment. So I ordered two of the Amazon covers, planning to take one apart to see if I could adapt the hinged attachment for my custom Leonardo cover. I also took apart the original Kindle cover to prepare it for the much thinner Kindle 2. Here are some photos of the results.

The new cover is much thinner, but it looks the same when closed.

http://photos.imageevent.com/artsci/kindle2/websize/_DSC2846.jpg

The new cover arrangement is much simpler and given the how thin the Kindle 2 is I saw no need to create the gilt page edge replicas that I made for the original cover.

http://photos.imageevent.com/artsci/kindle2/websize/_DSC2847.jpg

The hinge attachment for the Kindle 2 is a imaginative solution for attaching the Kindle easily. It's very reliable and holds the Kindle securely in place, even with the cover folded back (which is the way I tend to read with the Kindle 2 in the cover).

http://photos.imageevent.com/artsci/kindle2/websize/_DSC2849.jpg

Removing the hinge attachment from the Amazon Kindle 2 case requires cutting the case apart. The attachment is a one piece device with the 2 attachment points mounted in a plastic case about .114 thin. The device has two attachment points that slide into slots on the left side of the Kindle 2. The upper attachment point is hook-shaped and spring loaded so it hooks tightly to the upper slot. It's ingenious and quite simple.

It was very easy to find a way to mount the device on my new Leonardo cover, and it work like a charm. The Kindle 2 will not come loose unless the upper hook on the device is pushed downward to unhook the Kindle 2.

Here's a photo of the hinge device mounted in the new Leonardo cover. It's hard to even see it.

http://photos.imageevent.com/artsci/kindle2/websize/_DSC2851.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/artsci/kindle2/websize/_DSC2852.jpg

Wow that's gorgeous!

Removing the hinge attachment from the Amazon Kindle 2 case requires cutting the case apart.

Dude... don't tell me you cut apart that $30 leather case for a $2 piece? Is there not any place to order just the attachment spine piece?

BOb

BEAUTIFUL. I accidentally ordered an extra one myself, and haven't sent it back. Maybe I'll gut it just for the hinge too. Expensive though... : (

A little pricey, but I'd probably do the same thing if I was confident enough in my ability to have the finished product come out so nicely. It's a lot more attractive than the plain black case.

How did you mount the hinge piece?

I don't think the hinge piece is available separately. I searched but could not find it -- even information about it was not available -- only the photos posted by Amazon of the Kindle 2 cover. Based on careful examination of those photos, I made an educated guess that it was a single piece and that it functioned the way it does. Lucky for me, when I cut the cover up I discovered that I had guessed right.

In the Amazon cover the hinge piece sits in a slot surrounded by a somewhat stiff foam lining that's sewn between the cover edges. It's all backed by a thin piece of clear plastic. The hinge piece is glued into place with what seems to be some kind of contact cement.

On my cover I followed the Amazon example. The hinge is sandwiched and glued between two pieces of the thin aircraft plywood (wonderful stuff for this kind of project) that form the cover lining. The marbleized paper is glued over the assembly then the whole thing is glued on the cover. Not difficult at all. Took about two hours of work. The greatest time was taking care to be sure it was all aligned perfectly.

By the way, I think Amazon did an outstanding job with its Kindle 2 cover. It's far superior to the original Kindle cover and the hinge attachment works beautifully. I cut it up to make my own cover only because I wanted something original. I already had my original Leonardo cover and extra material from its construction, so my only cost was the extra Kindle 2 cover, which I thought was a small price to pay for having a unique cover that was my own creation.

Another thought. I'd advise anyone who's planning to buy an aftermarket Kindle 2 cover (say the M-edge, for example) to wait or insist that the manufacture use the Amazon hinge piece for mounting the Kindle to the cover. All those ugly and inconvenient corner attachments as well as velcro mounting solutions are now totally unnecessary from both a functional and aesthetic perspective.

It may be that Amazon is not making the hinge piece available to the aftermarket manufacturers, which would be unfortunate, since it works so well and represents simplicity in its highest form. In my view, the new hinge attachment has made all other mounting solutions, in a word, crude.

Thanks for the extra construction detail.

The Amazon cover looks pretty good, but I usually prefer something with a little less generic style. If I don't start to see nice third party cases that use the hinges then I may end up trying this myself.

Unrequited - wanna sell your second cover?

Artsci -- were there any holes in the hinge piece, that one could sew through? I've got an Oberon journal cover (not the customized Kindle cover) that I've temporarily adapted to my Kindle 2 (will create another thread) but I was wondering if I could glue (or better yet sew) the kindle hinge in there?

Unrequited - wanna sell your second cover?
...I doubt you want to pay full retail for it + shipping, 'cause that's what I'm getting from amazon.com returns. But if you do, lemmie know, I can easily as ship it to you as back to amazon, and it's still in the sealed box unopened. PM me so we don't derail this thread though.

Unrequited - wanna sell your second cover?

Artsci -- were there any holes in the hinge piece, that one could sew through? I've got an Oberon journal cover (not the customized Kindle cover) that I've temporarily adapted to my Kindle 2 (will create another thread) but I was wondering if I could glue (or better yet sew) the kindle hinge in there?

Sewing it in would not be possible. It's about 1/8" thick (.114 to be exact) and it's made of plastic. White plastic on the top side, and clear on the bottom, with melted over plastic tabs on the bottom to hold the clear in place. There's also a small spring built into the mechanism the pulls the top hinge/hook tight into the top slot on the Kindle 2 itself.

I don't know how the Oberon cover is lined, but you might be able to carefully slice open the lining, slip and glue the hinge piece in place (contact cement recommended), cover it back up with the lining, which you could glue or hand sew back into place. Not having seen the Oberon cover in the flesh, all this is speculation, of course.

Another thought. I'd advise anyone who's planning to buy an aftermarket Kindle 2 cover (say the M-edge, for example) to wait or insist that the manufacture use the Amazon hinge piece for mounting the Kindle to the cover. All those ugly and inconvenient corner attachments as well as velcro mounting solutions are now totally unnecessary from both a functional and aesthetic perspective.

It may be that Amazon is not making the hinge piece available to the aftermarket manufacturers, which would be unfortunate, since it works so well and represents simplicity in its highest form. In my view, the new hinge attachment has made all other mounting solutions, in a word, crude.

I would bet that Amazon or one of its subsidiaries/partners has a patent on the hinge piece and is licensing it to the manufacturers of covers -- or is requiring them to buy the piece from Amazon. At any rate, it's an extra cost to the 3rd-party manufacturers.

Sewing it in would not be possible. It's about 1/8" thick (.114 to be exact) and it's made of plastic. White plastic on the top side, and clear on the bottom, with melted over plastic tabs on the bottom to hold the clear in place. There's also a small spring built into the mechanism the pulls the top hinge/hook tight into the top slot on the Kindle 2 itself.

I don't know how the Oberon cover is lined, but you might be able to carefully slice open the lining, slip and glue the hinge piece in place (contact cement recommended), cover it back up with the lining, which you could glue or hand sew back into place. Not having seen the Oberon cover in the flesh, all this is speculation, of course.

No lining at all; straight, yummy thick leather. I may try glueing the hinge to it. Or maybe I'll order the M-Edge with the hinge, and use my Oberon cover for an actual journal (the way it was purchased).

P.S. I love your K2 cover above!!

No lining at all; straight, yummy thick leather. I may try glueing the hinge to it. Or maybe I'll order the M-Edge with the hinge, and use my Oberon cover for an actual journal (the way it was purchased).

P.S. I love your K2 cover above!!

Glad you like the cover:)

I would bet that Amazon or one of its subsidiaries/partners has a patent on the hinge piece and is licensing it to the manufacturers of covers -- or is requiring them to buy the piece from Amazon. At any rate, it's an extra cost to the 3rd-party manufacturers.

I'm sure that's the case but it couldn't cost that much. It can't be worth more that $1.00 or so, if that much.

That is so gorgeous I'm actually tempted to get a k2 so I can do that. I'm quite happy with my k1 and had not immediate plans to upgrade.

Must. Avert. Eyes.

Absolutely love your design! I'm planning on getting a Kindle 2 and was looking at the various covers out there, have kind of narrowed it down to the original Amazon one and the M-Edge Prodigy because they both have the latch system but still find them a bit generic. Was even considering just getting the original one and covering it with another fabric or something but after seeing yours I'm contemplating doing something like yours. Would you considering putting up a tutorial on how you did it?

meibao.

I'll write up and post a tutorial as soon as I can pull it together. This is not that difficult to do, especially if you have any skill with an Exacto knife.

That's beautiful, and for something that beautiful, it was definitely worth it to cannibalize the Kindle cover -- although it would be nice (and an additional income stream) if Amazon were to make the hinge mechanism available separately.

DH is really good with an exacto knife, maybe I could get him to do that part....

artsci, how did you stick the hinge to your new cover; did you glue them or sew them into the book cover?

artsci, how did you stick the hinge to your new cover; did you glue them or sew them into the book cover?

It's glued in. The hinge is a rectangular plastic piece about 5 1/8 x 1 x 1/16".

I made a base of very thin aircraft plywood (great stuff for this kind of work), glued the hinge to that with contact cement, then built up the area around the hinge with more aircraft plywood so I would have a completely flat surface to glue the marbleized paper on. Then I glued the whole thing to the inside cover of the Leonardo book. Everything was cut with an Exacto knife, and I used a stainless steel straight edge to make perfect cuts. I always try to follow the old rule: measure 2-3 times and cut once:)


Won't be able to post the tutorial for a few weeks.

Since I have to buy another Amazon Kindle 2 case and Leonardo address book to do the "how to" instructions for making the Leonardo Kindle 2 case, I thought I might as well offer someone the opportunity to purchase the case when it's completed. It will be just like the one shown in the photos, down to every detail.

I'm not sure of the exact cost, but with the Leonardo address book now selling for $155 (it used to be available on eBay for much less, but I can no longer find a less expensive source) and the Amazon case for $30, we're talking $200.00. This will be first come first served. If no one makes an offer now, it will go for sale on eBay when it's finished, and at a heftier price.

If someone can find the Leonardo address book for less, the price would be reduced by the difference.

artsci, can it be done with an Oberon journal instead? I'm willing to provide you with both the journal & Amazon stock cover for experiment. The pictures below show the journal and people have inserted the Amazon stock covers in them. The inside of the journal material beside the 2 leather pockets is the same material as the K2 stock cover inside.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/3309299619_1692e922ac.jpg?v=0

http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq137/PraiseGod13/DSC_0535.jpg

artsci, can it be done with an Oberon journal instead? I'm willing to provide you with both the journal & Amazon stock cover for experiment. The pictures below show the journal and people have inserted the Amazon stock covers in them. The inside of the journal material beside the 2 leather pockets is the same material as the K2 stock cover inside.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/3309299619_1692e922ac.jpg?v=0

http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq137/PraiseGod13/DSC_0535.jpg

Since I've committed to providing how-to instructions for the Leonardo address book, with which I am intimately familiar, I do have to proceed with that.

But I'm willing to consider the Oberon. How is it constructed? Does it have a stiff cover and are the edges stitched/finished or exposed leather? It also looks like some things would have to be removed, such as the corner attachments. It's hard answer these questions base on the photos you provided as well as those on the Oberon site.

Since I've committed to providing how-to instructions for the Leonardo address book, with which I am intimately familiar, I do have to proceed with that.

But I'm willing to consider the Oberon. How is it constructed? Does it have a stiff cover and are the edges stitched/finished or exposed leather? It also looks like some things would have to be removed, such as the corner attachments. It's hard answer these questions base on the photos you provided as well as those on the Oberon site.

Actually it is the journal not the Kindle cover and it does not comes with straps or velcro. Just the 2 leather pockets and I believe the rest of the inside is a leather material like suede. I've asked someone to post a picture of the inside of the journal from the Kindle board and I'll post it heare as soon as I get it.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/bonanzleimages/afu/images/0241/2557/journallg_celtdiamond_open_thumb200.jpg

The inside of the Oberon journal cover is just the underside of the ~ 1/8" thick leather.

Lilly -- from your pics, it looks like you want to include the cover of the journal, inside the leather outer shell? Wonder how you would neatly disconnect all the journal pages.

Anyway --- if you want the journal cover included for the stiffening -- Somebody else took the $29 Amazon leather-with-hinges cover and just stuffed it into the book edge pockets on the Oberon cover. No extra effort then, to glue the hinge piece in. And since you have to buy both bits ANYWAY - the Oberon journal cover (which includes a hardbound unlined journal) AND the Amazon hinged-cover -- why not buy them and try fitting the one onto the other, without any other mods?

If you don't like the fit, you can *then* send it onto artsci for further modification. But if you *do* like it, it's already done. Plus you can tell us about it! ;)

I'll be eager to see the photos of the inside.

I'll be eager to see the photos of the inside.

Here are my pictures of the inside (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=372221&postcount=2) (ok, I was busy gluing stuff *to* it). The journal cover is one piece of thick leather (not quite 1/8") with a thin leather pocket sewn to each side.

Artsci. I would be eager and appreciative to be the underwriter of the cover. Can we arrange that?

Just want to confirm that I'll be making the making the Leonardo Kindle 2 cover for danielgore.

I'll post the how-to instructions as work moves ahead, starting this weekend with removal of the hinge piece from the stock Amazon cover a preparing it for mounting in the Leonardo cover.

Just want to confirm that I'll be making the making the Leonardo Kindle 2 cover for danielgore.

I'll post the how-to instructions as work moves ahead, starting this weekend with removal of the hinge piece from the stock Amazon cover a preparing it for mounting in the Leonardo cover.

artsci, please take lots of pictures!

yes yes lots of pics!!!

wow, that amazing. You could have a great little cottage industry going making them