Make a secret book safe

You will need:

● Book – we used an old hardback – if you use a paperback, make sure the cover isn’t too flimsy
● PVA glue and paintbrush
● Clingfilm or plastic bags
● Scalpel, ruler and pencil

Prepare the book

Image 1: If the book has a fly cover, remove it so it doesn’t get spattered with glue. You can put it back on later.

Protect the cover of the book by putting clingfilm or the plastic bags over it.  

Start gluing

Image 2: We watered our glue down a little so it wasn’t too thick and gloopy. 

You’re going to start gluing a few pages into your book so there’s about 15 to 20 pages covering the ‘safe’ area.  We started on page 36!

Begin painting the PVA on to the pages, giving each page a light covering and sticking them together as you go.  

Image 3: The pages can become creased near the spine area which makes it difficult for the book to close naturally.  Avoid this by holding your pages so they are vertical (or at a right angle to the table) and keep opening and closing the book as you go to make sure it closes naturally.
 
Keep gluing the pages until you reach the last page of the book.  

Leave to dry.

Cut the secret compartment

Image 4 and image 5: With your ruler and pencil, mark the rectangle that you are going to cut on the uppermost page of your chunk of glued pages.

Using your ruler and scalpel (make sure it has a new blade otherwise the paper will tear rather than slice), start slicing away the layers around your pencil lines.

When you’ve sliced through, you should be able to lift away the glued paper.

We did ours when it was still slightly wet, which meant that pages tore a little and came away in layers – however it is still possible.

Finish it off

We left our edges so the layers of pages could be seen. To seal them we painted them with PVA.
 
If you prefer, you can line the sides of the hole with paper to make a smooth edge. Simply cut pieces of paper to size and glue on with PVA.

Tuck your valuables into the compartment and replace the book on your shelves. Make sure you remember where it is!

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