Found a cheap way to fix loose book hinges using a candle

I had this old paperback where the hinge was totally separating from the spine. Looked up tutorials and they all wanted special glue or tools I didn't have. So I tried running a regular candle along the crease and melting it in with a hair dryer. Worked way better than I expected, held up for 3 months now. Anyone else try something like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tessa26d ago

Wait 3 months? That's actually impressive for a candle wax fix. My mom used to melt crayons on her old library books to glue down loose pages, wonder if that's the same idea.

the_joel26d ago

3 months is wild lol @the_tessa, your mom was basically running a DIY book hospital. Crayon wax sounds like the cheap cousin of candle wax - both probably work great until you accidentally heat the book too much and end up with a melted rainbow puddle on your desk. I tried a similar fix once with an old paperback, used a tea light, and now the page smells like vanilla every time it gets warm in the sun.

johnson.jason23d ago

the_joel mentioned the vanilla smell, and honestly that's been the biggest surprise with this fix. I did the exact same thing with a tea light on a beat up old mystery novel last year, and now every time I open it in the summer it smells like a candle shop. Way better than that weird chemical glue smell you get from most book repair stuff. One thing I'd add is to go easy on the heat though... I almost scorched the spine on my first try holding the hair dryer too close. Just a few seconds of warm air, then press it flat with a heavy book for an hour.