Sunday, February 26, 2006

How To Make a Secret Hollow Book:

The first step into making the hollow book is to select a book. Make sure this is a book your own, and not one belonging to the library, or your family. I suggest rummaging through books at yard/garage sales.


Make sure it is a hardback; otherwise you will cut all the way through the other side when you are cutting out the insides.
You'll also need:
  1. Elmer's white glue
  2. a container to hold glue solution (I've chosen a film canister)
  3. X-acto knife, and/or box cutter. Both if you have them
  4. brush to apply glue solution
  5. pencil/pen
  6. ruler, or other rigid straight edge

Select a page that you want to be the first one cut out, and save that page to be cut out at the end. (I'll explain later) Even if you don't want to save any pages at the beginning of the book, you must set one aside for a later step.

Mix a solution of white glue and water. Just enough for the glue to be runny, and absorbed by the edge of the book's pages. 50% to 70% glue (30% to 50% water) worked well for me. - Half a film canister full was enough for this book.

Holding the remaining pages together, brush the edges with the glue solution - enough to soak in pretty well, but not too drippy.


Allow this to dry, but use a spacer so the first couple pages, and the front cover don't get stuck. I spaced mine with post-it notes, and used some old hard disk platters to apply pressure. It dries quickly- about 15 to 30 min


When dry, open the book to the first glued page.

Draw out a half-inch boarder around the edge on all four sides. (Don't forget along the spine too.)


Using a strait edge and knife, cut out along the inside of the line. Try to make the cut as vertical as possible, or else try to tilt so the hole will narrow as you go down.


Continue cutting down through the layers. I found that a box cutter was easier to keep straight. This part takes a long time. I recommend listening to music while you work. Watching TV though could be distracting, and you could also cut a page out of your finger. (no, I didn't.)


The longer you spend on it, the smoother and straighter the inside edges of your book will be. My first attempts at this yielded rough edges, but the fuzz flattens down a little when glued (later).

After a while, you can store some of your tools in it while you take breaks. I did this book in 2 evenings.


When you get to the back of the book, and through the last page, stop. Dump out all the little paper fuzz that inevitably comes from the cutting.

Next, brush the glue solution on the inside edges of the pages. Give it a bit to soak in. A little bit of drippiness is okay, as the glue dries clear. This is also a good time to apply a second coat to the outside of the pages with the excess glue.


Brush the rim of the book with a light coat of glue. This will affix it to that one page we saved earlier (and will cut through later).


Close the book again, this time without any spacers. Give it another 15-30 minutes to dry. Clean up any glue that drips on your desk, like it did mine.


Remember that first page we saved? It’s now glued to the rest of the book. Lets all turn there now.

Cut through this first page with your knife to open it. The insides of the book may still be a little gooey since there was no air inside to let it dry. -So let it dry now.


When it’s dry, you're done!

Fill it with whatever treasured items (or contraband) you choose.


Happy hiding.



Reproduced with permission from the author: Aud1073cH

606 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   401 – 600 of 606   Newer›   Newest»
Anonymous said...

How about just for shits and giggles, someone could hollow out one of the twilight books. It would at least be better use of the pages.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much! The instructions were very helpful! Though mine is far from perfect and I made an outrageously large mess from the paper strips everywhere I am still satisfied. Crime and Punishment has been transformed, and on top of that I made a cool collage on mat board using the leftover glue and all the pages that I had cut out. Can't waste literature!!!!

Anonymous said...

Even if I have to go out and buy it, I'm going to cut up Twilight with a vengeance. ...at least the cover is still pretty, so it'll have been useful for one thing in its (short) shelf life.

Michael said...

Mp3 Albums

Anonymous said...

These posts make me laugh so effing hard! I like the one about the old Writer's Inc book and the dude stashing his bible in the Satanic Bible. LOL

Anonymous said...

if you really wanna make it look cool, i put ribbon the rim of the book and decorated the coverz.

yam articles said...

This might very well be the most awesome idea I've ever seen. Now I just have to find a book....

Amanda Wrege said...

I used a home-made glue solution since I didn't have any elmers. worked perfect. you use: milk, vinegar, a coffee filter, hot water, and baking soda!

Im working on a huge book about Magellan's trip around the globe called "Over the Edge of the World".... a Goodwill find that we've already read.

I'm doing 1 a day until Christmas.... I have no $ for presents, and these cost absolutley NOTHING! :0)

Anonymous said...

nerdy fucks why hide your stuff...tell people “touch ma shit i'll kick your teeth in” much quicker.

Anonymous said...

I tried spray glue. Not awesome. The pages aren't really staying together so it looks like Elmer's is my next option. Plus spray glue leaves this sticky residue that I'm afraid won't go away.

Anonymous said...

hehe, now i have somewhere to hide my spirits :D

Anonymous said...

I'm doing this! I went to a thrift shop and found 6 books with fitting titles (For Keeps, Green Crimson, The Sky's the Limit, Northern Lights, The Last Magic, and the Dictionary) all for 50cent each. Two of us been working on it for two days now, and we're done with four, so that's good progress. We're using cheep snap off box knifes, they dull pretty quick. I've had to re-glue the pages several times, and it doesn't look unnatural when it's just sitting there

Anonymous said...

I just got some free books from the second hand store to make this. One of the books was so old that I got all of it hollowed out in like 5 minutes. We'll see how it holds up to the gluing process though. They are currently drying under the weight of a heavy Encyclopedia of Gardening. I'm making this a double book for my son to hold his stuff in where his sisters will never suspect to look. It's hard enough to get them to read the new popular books. There's no way they'll come near these books (1) The Exodus: a novel of Israel and (2) The Rains Came: a novel of modern India published in 1937. Both look exceedingly old, but the titles on the bindings are completely illegible. Nothing to draw anyone near them. ;-)

Stephanie said...

I got some red felt and cut a pattern to tuck into the secret hollow cuz my lines were so sloppy, looks pretty good but needs a little more space to close it. I had to take more pages from the front to get the book to close. Or try the magnet thing. I might just try this again to get it just right. I also thought it was easier to cut the papers seperate instead of glueing it all down first, the pages came apart as I was cutting; first with an exacto knife, then my dremel (which seemed to make the worst mess of the pages) then just the exacto to start my cuts and plain sharp scissors to finish it. It went much faster that way. Not quite done though, I'm thinking I might mod podge/ or hot glue some gold rope around the inside edge to finish the hem of the red felt. Just waiting for the hubby to go to work so I can finish his gift.

Anonymous said...

So, I tried this and the first thing I found out was that the original glue on the outer pages takes waaaay longer than 15-30 minutes to dry (at least here in cold San Francisco). I wound up having to wait overnight for my pages to finally stick together. Still, it is a very fun gift idea and I'm making them for a few friends this year! Just be warned when planning your 'crafting time' to give this one a lot more downtime than the directions may lead you to believe.

Anonymous said...

It's also nice to add gold paint as a fake gold leaf, let dry, then apply glue. Weighting the pages after gluing works best if you put the book between two slightly wider/longer flat objects (distributes weight evenly)before laying your heavy object (I use a mini filing cabinet or a tub of cloth scraps)on it. The expensive (10$) box cutters you find at craft stores work wonderfully and can be used for 3 or so medium books per blade segment.

bigcathead said...

I just used this on a hardcover copy of 365 Ways to Drive a Man Wild in Bed. Worked perfectly, thanks so much! You just made someone's Xmas! (or this case, the cd case for someone's Xmas mix)

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for the step by step. I saw this idea for my e-reader, and I can't wait to cut my book and carry my electronics!

Anonymous said...

i hollowed this out and when i"m in school i put my phone in it so i can text while the teachers think i"m reading

Vivien said...

I'm making one of these for a friend's birthday, using a fancy boxed edition of "The Diary of Samuel Pepys." Not only is it a pretty boring book and therefore not a loss, it comes in a little box and most people would just not bother taking it out to leaf through it. The only bother is that the pages are quite thin and they like to rumple as I cut them. This would probably be remedied with a sharper blade, though.

Anonymous said...

I did it with a periodical dictionary for my DS. Fits right in with all my college textbooks.

Bia Butt said...

LOVELY idea-! Thankx for sharing-! ;)

Anonymous said...

I have lots of old books that need a new perpose, and now I've found one for them!!! The photos were very helpful!

Unknown said...

So I tried doing this, and the edges were just so rugged and bad! I started with a huge triangular box cutter, big metal one, then moved on to exacto knife because that just ripped pages.

But the edges inside are all frayed and bleh. :(

Anonymous said...

sweet, now i can hide my weed eficiently

Anonymous said...

i'm a huge book worm, so normally i wouldn't even consider destroying a piece of literature like this. but then i realized i own all of the books in the Twilight series. I don't think i'll feel any guilt for ruining them, and it's very unlikely that anyone in my house will be tempted to read it.

Lastiques said...

I used an old book called "The Kennedys". How could I forget which book I stashed my money in? When I think of Kennedys, I think of money.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful idea my friend. who could cut up harry potter, they where great lmao. but i can say one thing, the dictionary with LITTERALLY EVERYWORD IN THE WORLD IN IT! Is a wide ass book >.> its great for hollow book.

Anonymous said...

Great post and hilarious comments! Great way to use my grandparents old bible, which I wanted to save but will never read. I'll just leave the hand written family history pages in front unglued.

mensajes claro said...

I find that any old Bill Clinton Biography books work best

Anonymous said...

I started out reading this page for instructions but have been highly entertained by some of the comments, especially from the burglar who now knows where to look. I don't have a Dremel so I'm going to try a jig saw. If I survive that feat without injuries, I'll let you guys know how it turned out.

Regan T said...

Woo! I'm so excited to see the finished product! I used an old Nursing book my Mum had while in nursing school and it's going to be great because it's a super big nursing book!

... I thought of reading the book first, since it was filled with a lot of valuable information.. but I got too excited to cut it up. :)

Kazr Da Jaat said...

is pvc glue the same as white glue????

Carlie... said...

i found that i got a little destracted when i was cutting and i started cutting into the 0.5" part that is near the binding! be carfull! ;D

Anonymous said...

I tried this with an e-book.. It didn't work :(

Abbie said...

Great instructions! I tried them out on a book about Presidents I found at Goodwill as a birthday gift for my history nerd brother. It had a lot of high gloss black and white pictures, so instead of cutting all the way to the very end of the book, I stopped at one of the last pages with a full-page picture of the white house on it. It looks pretty neat!

UpCycle Studios said...

If you want to save time, you can always head over to Etsy for some well-made and affordable book-safes. These book safes include invisible magnetic closures and are just $29!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/UpCycleStudios?section_id=10210046

jamjar919 said...

Pretty awesome

I sabotaged my camera case and got the two magnetic bits (the bits that make it hold in place), and embedded them in the book using superglue.

Anonymous said...

Just finished my book. Used a thick book from Stephen King. Took about 3 hours all together. The beginning took the longest and once it's started it goes really fast. I found cutting one corner at a time was the best. Cut about 10-20 pages at a time after all 4 corners have been done.

Used book: $1 at my work
White glue(for kids): 1$ 300ml @ Dollarama
Paintbrush: $1.50 @ Dollarama
Knife: $1 @ Dollarama

Very cheap and very happy with the result. Thanks for posting your tutorial!

Anonymous said...

Now I have to make one - this is possibly the best idea for keeping thing safe - I just hope my brother doesn't take my secret book off the shelf!

Anonymous said...

when I made this, the sides where I had cut it were so fuzzy... even when I glued it down... :( must make another one cause my old one is nearly outta space. My aunt flipped when she saw what my sis and I were doing to the book! XD

wil- said...

I just finished my second book, about 350-400 pages. Took me just under 2 hours. The trick is definitely to go around in circle doing one side at a time.

I mean you cut one side as deep as possible, then you do a joint side the same way, then the third side, and then the last one and you end up removing 10-30 pages at a time. Second book's inside walls were also a lot more straight. Thanks for the post!

Lynaya said...

I just made five of these using these instructions. It worked well, but make sure you give yourself a lot of time. It takes forever. Drilling the corners worked well, and was very helpful. I stopped a few pages before the back cover so the inside of the compartment looked better. The bottom of it was lined with a page of the book. It's also cool to stop on a page with a picture. Also, be sure to use something VERY heavy to hold the book down while it dries or you will end up with gaps in the pages. Lastly, get a several exacto knives or buy extra blades. Sharper blades really save time and help you get a cleaner cut..

Anonymous said...

This is something I could do with the old school books that for some reason strill have laying around :D

Anonymous said...

Wow. What a waste of paper.
I'd rather go on Youtube...

Anonymous said...

I'm making 2 separate boxes from 2 parts of old version of "Shogun" by Clavell.

Anonymous said...

careful with those exacto knives. i have a scar to show my carlessness while making one of these.

Unknown said...

Wow that's a really good idea I'm doing that for my friend,I'm her secret Santa

Rily said...

I made 8 of these books and used these directions to do it! My dad and I split the cutting responsibilities because cutting was definitely the hardest part, but by the last few we were able to make them look pretty good. I finished everything, including decorating the covers of all 8 of the books in just a week!I am super broke this Christmas, so I am happy with my result and proud to give these books to my friends and family! (:

Sammy said...

I know what I'm making my boyfriend for Christmas... <3
He LOVES Harry Potter and I have the first one laying around so I'll use it! :)

Sammy said...

I know what I'm making my boyfriend for Christmas... <3
He LOVES Harry Potter and I have the first one laying around so I'll use it! :)

Anonymous said...

im just a 6 grader but using this i can brin gadgets to school

Madcow said...

I tried making one with two different compartments to store smaller things. It turned out pretty good. You just have to make sure you glue all the inside edges.

Jennifer Marien said...

Thank you so much for sharing how you did this! I have always wondered and would really like to make myself one!

Lorena Emille said...

Cool! Now I can make my brother a Christmas present!

Anonymous said...

Tried this with my copy of "Tale of Two Cities" on the Kindle, and it didn't work.

Anonymous said...

I did a book for each of my parents for Christmas and the gift was a hit.

One note that I over looked: if your book has a cover jacket, be sure to clue it in with the rest of the pages when you do your first glue. I forgot to and had to fasten the back cover to the book in an unorthodox manner.

thanks for the idea.

Crystal said...

this was really helpful. thanks! x

Anonymous said...

Firstly: Great tut look really easy to follow :D
Secondly: HARRY POTTER?? Ah well your life but when I read that comment I did automatically think do you support Voldemort or sumthin???
Thirdly: I'm soooo gonna do this! And do you know what book i'm gonna use?? BREAKING DAWN Sorry twilight lovers but tough Breaking Dawn is the only book to do this with. Where can you get Elma Glue or elmo or whatever it's called?? C:

Anonymous said...

Cool! I like the idea. I'v seen stuff like that on movies. I know now where i can find my sister's diary! SWEET!

Anonymous said...

Cool! I like the idea. I'v seen stuff like that on movies. I know now where i can find my sister's diary! SWEET!

Anonymous said...

Kkuch kiya summ lela ching chilz hitsu manga ringinham

Anonymous said...

yay! i know what to do with my twilight books now :)

Anonymous said...

Why would anyone even think about using the Bible for this?! -__- ugh

Anonymous said...

One more thing, you might want to look up the book you're planning to cut and make sure you haven't just destroyed a $1000 book to hide $50, see bookfinder.com

Anonymous said...

Now I can shove it up my vagina! =]

Abigail said...

Thanks for the great idea. My first is a 6 inch deep physician's desk reference.

Anonymous said...

For as long as it takes to read all these comments, you could make one of these books and put your "stash" in it.

Anonymous said...

lol not copied of wiki how (photos check em out !!!)

ISO Standards said...

I actually used this when backpacking in Europe. When rummaging through your stuff no one wants to steal your beatup copy of "A tale of two cities".

Cheap Cars for Sale said...

Please write some more on this subject.

Anonymous said...

If you use a drafting pencil, or make light marks on your pages with a normal pencil, and you are using a newer book (like I will be) then you can just erase the markings later. I intend to leave a few pages still 'functional', so that the illusion of a working book is more viable. Most people don't inspect past page 10 or so.

Anonymous said...

Thanjjs! this gives me a perfect place to hide my condoms! lol!

talha said...

Its interesting idea, I do try it.


Plastic Card Holders
Plastic Card
Scratch Cards Printing

Anonymous said...

FINALLY! A use for the Twilight book my mom bought me for Christmas. No one would touch it! :D

Rhizza18 said...

Nice article! For the sake of the important things that I have to hide in order not to be stolen by anybody, I will try this at home. This thing is great. I've seen like these, using these secret hollow book in movies wherein they hide the guns and drugs and cds inside of it for commiting crimes.

Anonymous said...

AHHHHHH TOO MANY COMMENTS!!

Anonymous said...

-_- really dude...

weightloss programs said...

wGreat, I like it dude..:) I like your way to explain it, Stefani.

Anonymous said...

Excellent guide. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

yeah he doesnt mention how your knife gets dull, ur neck hurts from looking down and ur fingers cramp from all the cutting. but still

Anonymous said...

I <3 it! I used it for my blog!

Anonymous said...

i'm going to make a pencase out of this for school ^_^

Anonymous said...

copy miniweapons of mass destruction lah

Anixou said...

Haha, thanks for this! I'm currently working on one made from "Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics". I found it at a giveaway at the library, thought "I wonder if there's a way to turn this into a box, took it home, googled it, and here I am!

Anonymous said...

Do you think spray adhesive would work to bond the pages together?

Anonymous said...

Waiting for the glue to dry on my Sorcerer's Stone book, and although I love the idea of hiding things, I'm using mine as a case for my NOOK so no one would be as likely to steal it. The cover's great, it's a really old library book and I LOVE the Harry Potter series. Wins all around!

Anonymous said...

im useing a reader's digest book right now because it has a cool cover. i have an idea lets use Twilight instead of Harry Potter. That way the extra pages can be used for there true calling...toilet paper.

Chris P's Minis and More said...

I like to make a miniature scene inside one of these I have books...now which one....

Unknown said...

Impress your friends with these gorgeous and fashionable link bracelets that are quickly becoming the hottest new trend around.

Unknown said...

If you got a big enough book, you could hide all of your magazines in it, the kids wouldn't read it there probably to busy on the computer. Or better then your magazines hide your chocolate from your husband.
:D

Unknown said...

I have so many cool hardcover book that hav e that awesome ancient look to them so I can give it a shot. Right now the books are acting as the legs to the table, holding up a heavy piece of glass. I hide everything... I think I learned that from my grandma. Only problem was that she would hide $ somewhere and end up actually hiding it from herself. She could never locate it...someone will, someday.off the topic a tad, but... The best way to see if you are in the company of thieves, just plant something worth taking, that you don't mind loosing. $20 bill is a good amount to leave under there face to determine if they are a shisty turd or not. Best hiding spot for anything though is an outlet, light switch that isn't wired. So unscrewing the switch plate leaves you with the entire blue box to fill with whatever you feel the need to hide.

Fun to the Future said...

AWESOME! Trying it out now

Anonymous said...

Really.... Using Harry Potter when there is Tw*l*ght books to be cut?? Come on, people.... use sense! :D

Anonymous said...

I have done this once before and it went swimmingly. I just attempted to do another one a couple weeks ago and i was being stupid with the box cutter, it slipped, and cut open my leg. PLEASE BE CAREFUL.

Anonymous said...

The reason that you have to leave the extra page is because when you closed the book after gluing it,the page got stuck to it. Otherwise the cover would be glued.

Unknown said...

Such a great Blog .............. love this

Anonymous said...

I've made two now! On my way to buy more old books so I can make more for christmas gifts!

TaSunke said...

I think I will do this using the Twilight series my husband mistakenly purchased for me.

Anonymous said...

Hi, It never says what you do to the hard cover back of the book. Do you glue the pages to the hard cover back?

Anonymous said...

Sad

Anonymous said...

I recommend using a metal ruler as a guide for cutting; you can ruin a plastic or wooden one (if it has no metal edge).

Anonymous said...

I burglarize homes and never thought to check the books...
Thanks! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm hollowing out a dictionary 2 inches thick and am about 2/3 done. However, the glue has started bubbling on the outside of the book where a bunch of the pages are cut out already. It almost looks like the pages are decompressing and the glue is coming off (except I can't peel it off because it's stuck to the rest of the book). Any suggestions?

Grace said...

Hey I like the idea of gluing together junk mail and making one of theses hide away books. Now there is a real use for all that junk mail.

Grace said...

Hey I like the idea of gluing together junk mail and making one of theses hide away books. Now there is a real use for all that junk mail.

FeltByRae said...

I'm making one each for my twin nephews for Christmas this year - I picked up a couple of 80s b0nk-busters for 50p in a junk shop so I'm going to make sure no 'naughty' words re left and also I'll cover the books with Beano wrapping paper as I think 8 is a bit young for an introduction to Jackie Collins style literature!

Anonymous said...

As I found destroying books physically painful but still wanted somewhere to hide stuff, I cut up an old textbook that I had left over from high school and I made a larger compartment with my Twilight books, since nobody I know actually likes them. I know people that have done this with old yearbooks but I think it would be a shame to not be able to look at them anymore.

Anonymous said...

Just did this tonight with a thick anthology of British Literature. Worked alright, but the corners were definitely the hardest part to get right. By the way, whoever first suggested slashing up Atlas Shrugged deserves to be applauded. That is a terrible book by a terrible author full of terrible philosophy.

Hotels in Abu Dhabi said...

Sweet. I got tons of old reader's digest books laying around.

Abdul Qadir said...

Cut through this first page with your knife to open it. The insides of the book may still be a little gooey since there was no air inside to let it dry. -So let it dry now. Rug Cleaners

Anonymous said...

click here it is in short
http://asdfghjklpoiuytrew.webs.com/

Anonymous said...

http://asdfghjklpoiuytrew.webs.com/
here it is on short

Anonymous said...

awesome going to make one right now.although i have nothing to hide. nice for when i do though.

Anonymous said...

I finished mine a couple of months back and cut a hole through the top. I then fed my ipod, phone and camera chargers through it. Now when I go to bed my bedside table looks neat and tidy with my gadgets charging away inside and no ugly cables everywhere.

Unknown said...

Thats a great idea and I'm going to probably try it out but its gonna make me feel bad to cut up a book :( I just read to much. At least nobody will be suspicious with another book on my shelf.

AmyLou_Who said...

Thanks for the tutorial. It was really helpful. One question and one tip:

Question: Is there a trick to applying the diluted glue that will keep the pages from rippling as though they have been wet?

Tip: If you are working with a hardback book that has a dust cover, you'll need to be sure not to glue the back cover of the book to the pages so you can put it back on. I didn't and ended up having to glue the back of the dust cover to the back of the book. It will look normal on the shelf but might look suspicious if someone picked it up.

Anonymous said...

Got tired of reading through all the comments, so I don't know if someone already said this or not...

I've heard of this book storage idea before, but when I was reading through your step-by-steps it made me think...what if you put stuff inside the book (like a time capsule) before you glued the last page on! It would be so cool to do this for a child.... a "do not open until graduation" sort of thing!

Anonymous said...

Definitely doing this. And to throw my two cents in to book suggestions, any of the Twilight series will work perfectly.

Anonymous said...

who in the right mind would cut a perfectly good and innocent bible? if you do use a bible yo should be ashamed of yourself.
and also its not going too work too good (its too flimsy)

Anonymous said...

yay thankyou^-^

Unknown said...

Prepare for
free ged practice test printable Testing by Following a Few Simple Guidelines

Anonymous said...

after I saw my bro reading this I couldn't find his wallet now I know where to look:)

Anonymous said...

lmao at the comments on here especially to harry potter....NEVER CUT SOMETHING AS AMAZING AS A BOOK WITH GEORGE IN IT DOBBY WILL LIVVVEE FOREVERR

Aimee of East Avenue said...

To anyone who doesn't want to cut up a book, go to your local thrift store (or yard sales) and find a book for 50¢. I guarantee you will be more likely to want to cut it up if its not "yours" and you got it for cheap.

Clockgoestictoc said...

This is awesome, gotta try it out!

Anonymous said...

Dang. I threw away an entire set of Compton's Encyclopedia's from 1963. You cannot GIVE those things away at yard sales or flea markets nor can you give away Reader's Digest Condensed books, but the encyclopedias from 1963 would've been awesome. Coffee table books would be good too as they are big. But it would help to have a really thick book to put on a top shelf. Don't put a pistol in a book you have on a lower shelf because a child might pull out all the books (they are notorious at doing that.)

Alisha said...

what is the point of the last saved page exactly? it doesn't seem to make any sense if your just going to cut through it like the others

Unknown said...

I am still confused who did you make this book.

Energy Patent

dovo razor said...


Hi There, I just spent a little time reading through your
posts, which I found entirely by mistake whilst researching one of
my projects. Please continue to write more because it’s unusual that someone has
something interesting to say about this. Will be waiting for more!

Anthony said...

Ha ha, funny. About as funny as the Amazon Kindle Anti Theft cover! See more here: http://www.thetraveltart.com/amazon-kindle-ebook-reader-cover-the-anti-theft-version/

GeekConundrum said...

great post, thank you. really enjoyed reading through the comments as well. great community, lots of great advice and ideas! glad to have found you.

Anonymous said...

To find a cheap, very thick, hardcover, boring book, go on amazon, look up "bedford introduction to literature" Then scroll through, and you can find used book for a penny, with about 3 or 4 dollars in shipping.

Anonymous said...

Great, I will go and do that to one of the qurans. So I can quench my thirst when my relatives aren't looking. Maybe my father would like this.

Whatsup said...

I just came across these guys on ETSY, they have some fantastic hollow books

Anonymous said...

Thank God that fiver you got there is going to be safe! I'm looking for a thick enough book for the thousand or so sheets of LSD that I'm sitting on until my bud gets sprung from the state pen..

Anonymous said...

Funny, I was going to use Bill Clinton's "My Life" till I found out it has his autograph on the title page.

Anonymous said...

I tried this, but my glue did not hold after haveing it dry for 2 hours... now i have no book and no hiding spot. :(

Anonymous said...

I did one that fit my iPad . Drilled a hole in the back for the camera, You can surf all you want and everyone thinks you are reading up a storm.. Cut out a small slot for the charging cord and earphones...

not gonna work stalker! said...

I am using "A Guide to Observing Insect Lives" no one would want that book

Unknown said...

Know Easily how to take a snapshot. Learn

everything how to do. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I could never cut a book!

Anonymous said...

I just did this project (thank you for the tutorial!), and it was super easy, but my lines sure didn't end up as neat as yours ;)

Either way, it'll be a great present :)

Anonymous said...

currently making one out of my old twilight book
no one is going to open that thing

Unknown said...

i did this exept i cut all the pages and made it into a wallet for a birthday
cuting is harder then you think at least for me

Anonymous said...

This is a brilliant idea! The only thing is, I have to find a book to sacrifice

Anonymous said...

I don't use glue. I choose how many pages I want to save from the front and I clamp them to the cover. I do the same with the back of the book. I slide a piece of wood in the back, so I don't cut into the pages I'm keeping. I clamp together the pages I want to cut out. I recommend clamping all the way around to firmly hold the pages you're cutting in place. For a little extra support while cutting, I poke a hole in the middle of the pages I want to cut. I thread a screw with washers on both ends through and tighten it with a nut. Draw the shape you want and cut, cut, cut. I make these all the time. They sell very well at flea markets along with other crafts I make. It's nice to have a hobby or two that can make you a few bucks.

Anonymous said...

I've always wondered how to do this. I followed these wonderful instructions to the letter, then I cut out a space big enough to accommodate a little wooden box I made. The box fits in the book snuggly, and I can just grab the box when I need it and head out the door.

Anonymous said...

I used an old math textbook and it worked perfectly since
1)no one wants to read my geometry text book
2)it's big enough to fit anything, and everything i need
The only down side is it took atleast an hour and a half to do

Lisa Swasey said...

So the top cover doesn't get glued down also

Sajp said...

Wow! Such a cool idea! Now, I just have to find a book.....

Kat said...

My best friend got me all of the Twilight books in hardcover. I was excited to turn them into book-safes, because they are the only books I would even think about cutting into! I used a Dremel and took my time sawing through the pages. It was very therapeutic. :) I was going to try to make them into one big book-safe, but I couldn't figure out the perfect thing to get them all to stick together. So, I have 4 individual book safes. They are on the bottom of my bookshelf, behind other books. No one questions me about them, because they know that they were a gift. And you can't throw out a gift from your best friend, right? :)

Kyle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kyle said...

I was curious if you could use this to only cut through half of the book and leave the rest untouched. I'm looking at embedding a small screen into a book of mine, but want to still be able to write in the back of it. Any ideas?

FlashGirl said...

If you cut up a book you might wish to read later on, you could always scan the pages (for your own use of course) after you cut them out (provided you did not cut into the text and did not get them mixed up) and since the pages are cut out, they go into one of those feeders on a printer with built in scan feature ... much easier than scanning each page seperately and gives a much cleaner scan ... ;)

Anonymous said...

A dremel pushes the wood pulp in between the pages and makes the book expand around the hole and makes it all misshapen. It won't close properly or look neat. Speaking from personal experience.

Anonymous said...

Great idea! Unfortunately I tried it on a textbook. Hardcover - the type with glossy pages. Took me forever to hack through 800 pages.

Note to self and others: stick to the thinnest paper you can find.

Happy crafting :)

Anonymous said...

How do you get it so neat at the edges?

Anonymous said...

One thing you could do is buy the book on kindle then buy a hardcover version so you can still read it after you've cut it up

I like to read books more than once

Anonymous said...

If you are using softcover books take extra care because you might cut the back cover of it. Hardcover books are good. I suggest you glue while you're cutting so it would take a shorter time to dry and clean up the little cut marks on the side

Anonymous said...

dictionaries work great just watch out for the grammar nazis

Anonymous said...

I got a bunch of outdated (very thick) encyclopedias, as well as some very old music books at a 10 cent book sale that was going on at my local library last year, now I know what to do with them!

Lincolngal said...

Good instructions. Hint: I made one wth round hole including top cover but not bottom. This is to hold a small flower pot say with cactus or artificial plants. Great bookended.

Anonymous said...

That's terrible!!

Anonymous said...

this is a really cool way of doing it, I thought you needed to stick each page to one another...I feel so stupid. anyway, I was wondering, if I wanted to hold a selection of poems in the one book, would I just slip spacers in between each section? its for a school project in case your curious.

wanita sehat said...

You have really great taste on catch article titles, even when you are not interested in this topic you push to read it
jual crystal x
khasiat crystal x
obat keputihan
crystal x
I think you mean Portsea! :)

Unknown said...

This is one of the best ideas, I have ever seen about upcycling old books. I'll try it out soon. I have gone through many related projects regarding this in the Book of Books as well http://www.amazon.com/Book-Books-Projects-beautiful-ornaments-ebook/dp/B00MGJADUK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1407385936&sr=8-5&keywords=mahe+zehra. It shares many interesting projects. Altered Upcycling also has an awesome website and lots of free ebook offers if you sign up.

Anonymous said...

I'm using a biography of Nixon lol.

Anonymous said...

I did this project and then read the comments. I don't know any of you, but you are all my favorites.

sarindustries said...

IR Lamp for Quick Drying of Printed bag sarindustries.com is manufacturer and supplier of printing units, printing tables screen print machines, light curing unit, , screen printing machines, Screen Printing Machine for Plastic Bag,screen Storage Racks and so on.

Anna Schafer said...

It isn’t the best of starts and the guy behind the desk really definitely doesn't get my inner sounds humming happily. make real money online

Unknown said...

This was really an amazing blog about this kind of stuff. I do really appreciate this steps of making some secret hollow book. the article was informative. I just hope that maybe it is better if you put some video the steps of this how to.

Arthémisia said...

I did this in a telephone directory.

Anonymous said...

I love the idea, but when I do it I'll add one small change; I use sketchbooks frequently. Using one that I artificially beat up will not look suspect on my shelf, and I can use the pages still! This is a great and useful article!

Anonymous said...

Try reading one. It will teach you all you never knew you needed to know.
It is Gods Love Story to you. It will explain how to distinguish what is important to hide in a book and what is important to hide in your heart

Unknown said...

cool idea, i like it I did a knife of a old saw blade is not so handsome but it is very practical https://www.patriotdirect.org/step-by-step-instructions-to-make-a-knife-from-an-old-saw-cutting-edge/

Amy Cooper said...

I found it when I was looking for a different sort of information but I am very interested in the article, It is nice to read such kind of good posts I like your work keep it up!
concealed carry holsters

Anonymous said...

What about rubber cement and glueing the individual pages together?? No one would see it's glued.

Anonymous said...

Creepy stalker... :-) Jk.

Anonymous said...

Yes, this sounds perfect considering I am a college student! I needed a secrete place to hide my flasks from surprise dorm inspections. Nobody is going to touch my "Complete Works of William Shakespeare!" I am an avid classic literature reader and it should not draw any attention. Leave it to Old Will to keep my secret! :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the information. very detailed once to describe them. I will try to practice. review my site please Obat Mujarab Untuk Maag Kronis Alami Tradisional

Permana said...

Creating a book like this was not so hard, one day I will definitely try to do. Thank you very much for providing this information
Review my site : Obat Alami Untuk Penyakit Maag Akut 100% Herbal Alami

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Any idea on what to do when you get deeper into the book? Because the handle on the X-acto knife isn't flat, it started to make it hard to keep the blade flush with the cut once you got deeper into the book - and I couldn't find any flat-handled X-acto knifes.

Anonymous said...

It's so after you glue the rim and close the book to dry, it sticks to that page, not the cover. ... I had to think about that one as well.

Unknown said...

Trying to update this project to the 21st century doesn't work by converting it to the Kindle, fyi. The knife just makes a mess of it. ;-)

And yes, a print copy of Atlas Shrugged makes a perfect use for an item where you'd love to hide the fruits of your labors from those who wish to take them, especially people who aren't intelligent enough to figure out the deception. Who is John Galt?

Aside from those vague references to the book, Ayn Rand didn't say anything in that monstrous work that she didn't say (in drastically edited form) in The Fountainhead, or any of her other writings. It was a roller coaster of repetition, ad nauseam. We didn't need to read all of John Galt's 2 hour radio broadcast... every. single. word. She needed an editor.

Kabir said...



Thanks for sharing, I will bookmark and be back again


Harry Potter Phone Covers

Kabir said...




Thanks for sharing, I will bookmark and be back again



Harry Potter Phone Covers

Anonymous said...

The pages are already stuck together.

Tiamomondo said...

It was above the surface, but I didn't think of it once...

Anonymous said...

I did this for my little brother's thirteenth birthday, and decorated the book as the Monster Book of Monsters from Harry Potter.

EssayService said...

It's a very valuable hack. Thanks, I'll definitely create one soon.

Stella said...

Amazing post you have shared with us !! Keep sharing.

Please have a look:
Black Friday Sales and Deals

cara mendeteksi kanker payudara said...

Thank you for sharing this article. Awaited updatean next gan
Cara Mendeteksi Kanker Payudara
Obat Alami Kanker Payudara Stadium 2
Ciri-ciri Kanker Payudara Stadium 1
Penyebab Kanker Payudara Yang Harus Diwaspadai
Waspada Gejala dan Ciri Kanker Payudara
Pantangan dan Anjuran Makanan Penyakit Kanker Payudara

radang prostat said...

Tanda Penyakit Radang Prostat

Risma Herbal said...

informasi yang sangat berguna sekali gan buat saya

penyakit asma said...

Thanks for information gan

Risma Herbal said...

Thanks for sharing this article. Verry nice:)

Asma

Risma herbal said...

Terimakasih infonya:)

https://goo.gl/mVyrAa
https://goo.gl/XHT7Mm
http://herballestari.com/

https://www.couponndeal.com/ said...

Wow! This is a very good idea to hide something that you wont show. Great (Y)
Hayneedle First Order Online 2018 plus Free Delivery

«Oldest ‹Older   401 – 600 of 606   Newer› Newest»