Hardcover home brew.

[Cpt. Tim]

I'm sure i'm not the only one to think of this but i thought i'd post a easy way to make a harcover book cover.

You'll need:
1. A hardcover book about the size of the reader.
2. Glue
3. Felt.
4. Velcro strips.
5. Exacto knife.

You basically gut the original book. I try to find nice hardcovers whose content is otherwise worthless to me. One was a hopelessly out of date book on physics, another was a book on drain and piping prices, another was an old management style series, Basically i try to pick things people aren't going to miss.

Gutting the book is easy, a swipe both sides where the inside paper meets the binding takes care of that. Then remove the contents.

Cut a square of felt matching the inside front covers size, and glue the felt square in, this is to protect the screen from scratching.

Place two velcro strips on the inside back cover of your book, as well as down the back of the reader. I put the fuzzy strips on the reader itself so i can take the reader out and hold it by itself and have the texture of it not be distracting. Also the velcro strips can be removed from the reader with eaze and any residue from the sticky strip simply wiped off later.

This way you can have any number of custom covers that you can swap out any time you see it. Cheap and easy.

[pitolee]

Love the idea!!!

[benn600]

That is an incredible idea. I just got my Sony Reader about 8 hours ago and I find it somewhat difficult to hold easily. I usually end up in strange sitting positions to get comfortable. Please post more as it progresses.

[JSWolf]

The problem I find wth holding the Sony Reader is that the buttons on the left side are too low. My thumb is more in the middle and the buttons make me either have to hold it near the bottom or move my hand to change pages.

[Azayzel]

Heh, at first I thought this was describing how to make one of them 'ol HB book-safes you used as a kid to hide things from your siblings. This idea is cool, but book-safe idea might work a little bit better for protection, etc., though it will take a bit more work to glue all the pages together (isn't there something you can dip the pages into to get them all to stick together?). Anyway, cut out an exact size for the Reader from the center of the now solid book, felt line it, velcro the back, and voila! no one bugs you anymore about that incredible gadget they've never seen before! You might even go so far as to add some lightweight balsa wood, or something sturdier, yet more durable, so the cover; that way you can help ensure the screen doesn't get cracked (though the HB book cover might do the trick on it's own).

Just an idea expounding on what's already been put out there. Novel approach!

[NatCh]

I've found the cover on my hollow book to be adequate protection. (you can find a link to instructions on how do make one here -- if I ever do another, I'm using a RotoZip, though)

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I've found the cover on my hollow book to be adequate protection. (you can find a link to instructions on how do make one here -- if I ever do another, I'm using a RotoZip, though)

Prepare yourself to breathe in that book if you do!!! The person doing the cleaning will kill you if that book didn't!

I'd do it with a scroll saw while everything's screwed between two boards.

[NatCh]

I haven't used a scroll saw before, will it let me cut to a given depth and stop? That's important, as you have to glue the pages to the back cover too, and you don't want to cut through that. It also requires being able to start the cut away from the page edges. I guess I just assumed that a RotoZip or router type device were my only options for that. Well, aside from the trusty Xacto knife.

[yvanleterrible]

You'll have to remove the cover pages to start. Then put scrap plywood boards on both sides of the paper block. Those boards have to be 3/4" wider than the paper block. Then, on the exterior overhang, srew the top board to the lower one(this one would have to be at least 3/4" thick to accomodate screwing) This will press all the paper together. You could also put screws in the waste part also.

You could also glue the pages together beforehand and press to make a block, that would shorten time. Then glue a pattern with the desired shape on top, drill a hole through the waste side and thread in a saw blade. Attach the blade at both ends in the saw, tension it and saw to the pattern. Remove the blade and sand the cut edges to level the miscuts. Bunched up paper behaves almost like wood so any treatment you do to it will have the same results. I do it with cardboard often. Instead of gluing you could also varnish or lacquer the edges, when dry it's almost the same.
Then reattach the cover and you're done.

You can get a decent scrollsaw for about 100bucks just make sure it has variable speed and you can use it to make tons of projects.

If you go the router way, get something better than a zip. Get a plunge router with pattern following bushings. And decent dust pickup!

[NatCh]

I'm hoping to get a garage or workshop out of this move deal, then I'll want all the tools I can lay hands on.

[yvanleterrible]

Beware! ... Buying tools is an addiction!

I'm up to my 9th router and 14th drill! It's like getting a vehicle for every type of transportation.
A first tool for every situation has to be a judicious choice. Good information is critical.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ Try this. If you buy the paper version it's even better.

[Cpt. Tim]

I breifly considered the book safe approach but concluded that the end result would be too large for my liking.

the aesthetic is definitely better though because you get the added look of pages, but all in all i'm happy with what i have. I'm thinking of finding a way of doing faux pages with small strips of wood, but will have to wait till i visit the parents so i can use their tools.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

Beware! ... Buying tools is an addiction!

Yes, I know.

Originally Posted by Cpt. Tim

I breifly considered the book safe approach but concluded that the end result would be too large for my liking.

the aesthetic is definitely better though because you get the added look of pages, but all in all i'm happy with what i have. I'm thinking of finding a way of doing faux pages with small strips of wood, but will have to wait till i visit the parents so i can use their tools.

The important thing is that you have a solution that you like and that works for you. For me, the biggest advantage of the hollow book approach is that because it looks like it's just a book, nobody's going to bash in a car window coming after it, someone walking by my cube at work isn't going to lift it, and luggage handlers at airports, etc. aren't going to give it a second glance (not that I'd fly without it in my actual posession -- what would I do during the flight?). The structural protection it provides is nice, but it's mostly a bonus.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by NatCh

...For me, the biggest advantage of the hollow book approach is that because it looks like it's just a book, nobody's going to bash in a car window coming after it, someone walking by my cube at work isn't going to lift it, and luggage handlers at airports, etc. aren't going to give it a second glance ...

This is an other indicator of people being tired of paper and that the ebook is taking over...kidding.

[Azayzel]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I've found the cover on my hollow book to be adequate protection. (you can find a link to instructions on how do make one here -- if I ever do another, I'm using a RotoZip, though)

Sweet! I must've seen that previously and it was stuck somewhere in my subconscious, only to be resurrected when I stumbled across this thread. Been reading way too many threads! That's a slick idea, though I guess it's tough finding a HB book thin enough to accomodate the Reader without adding too much weight with the extra pages (best choice, I suppose, is an uninteresting title so "browsers" won't be curious about what you're reading ).