Magnetic Clasp Repair

This is the imitation leather case for my Kindle. It has a clasp with a button magnet buried in it. Eventually the magnet wears a hole in the fabric retainer on the underside of the clasp.

This Instructable will demonstrate using larger diameter shrink wrap tubing to cover the magnet and hold it in place while giving a neat, professional look.

Materials

• Shrink wrap tubing - 1/2 inch size

Tools

• Scissors
• Heat gun or a hair dryer

Next to my thumb is some of the soft cloth that retains the magnet used in the clasp. The actual magnet is below my thumb. (I completed this project before I thought about making an Instructable from it.)

My wife volunteered to stitch what was left of the fabric around the magnet, but I saw that is extending the present problem into a later date in the future.

Initially I used some black duct tape I had bought as a repair material for a book binding. The duct tape worked and looked good at first. After a few weeks, though, the repeated pulls from the magnet during opening the case loosened the tape, and left unsightly gray adhesive from the tape.

I began to wonder about using shrink wrap tubing in place of the duct tape. But, most shrink wrap tubing comes in a relatively small diameter. At our local hardware store I found 1/2 inch and 1 inch diameter shrink wrap tubing in the drawers containing all sorts of odd parts.

The 1/2 inch shrink wrap tubing is 1/2 inch in diameter when the tubing is rounded like a piece of pipe. But, it is 1 1/4 inches wide when flattened. The clasp on my Kindle case is 1 inch in width. The 1/2 inch diameter shrink wrap will work fine, and will wrap tightly around the clasp.

Slip the shrink wrap tubing over the clasp. Cut to length with a scissors.

A heat gun is idea for shrinking larger diameter tubing like this. A hair dryer or a match would have worked, too.

(I did not actually do this over a nice table.)

The shrink wrap tubing gives a nice clean look and should be very durable for a long time.