THE PROBLEM:
The Lutheran Service Book Organists Edition (Hymns) is a great book, but the spiral binding that holds the pages together is held into the cover with a piece of plastic. After a couple years of use, this plastic, which is riveted to the cover, tears and then you have two sections of Hymnal that aren't held together in the cover anymore.
For example:
This results in frustration and ultimately destroyed or lost pages. The cover can't do its job of protecting the pages if they're not held INSIDE the cover, now can it?
I took this problem to my parents and my dad came up with this solution:
A plate with two rods in it, the rods to go through the spirals, and the whole thing bolts to the cover where the rivets used to be.
Step 1:
Drill out the rivets on the cover.
Step 2:
Make the plate.
- Cut the plate
- Drill the two 10x24 holes in each end
- Make the bends
- Spot-weld the corners to hold everything in place (for insurance, really)
Now drill your 3 center holes.
The bottom hole is centered exactly 1 inch above the BOTTOM of the bent plate. This is so that the hymnal will sit flat when in use and not "rock" on the nuts holding the rods in place.
The other two holes are, obviously, located off the first hole and will match the spacing in the hymnal cover.
I recommend attaching the plate to the cover first, then attaching the pages. It's easier.
Put the Rods through the top set of holes, through the spirals, and through the bottom set of holes.
Attach nuts to the top & bottom of the rods to keep them in place. Voila, a Permanently Fixed Hymnal. You can get black or brass-colored fasteners to make it pretty if you want; I like mine this way.
