Broken rulers
#2
I sat on my 24 x 6 1/2 ruler when I was at the LQS for a class - the crack was so loud everyone heard it and of course it was embarassing to say the least. As it's my favourite ruler, I had to figure out how to repair it - here is what I did:
Read all the way through first to make sure you have everything you need ready at hand -
I found a place I could brace one end of the ruler tight up against, while laying it flat on the surface ( by co-incidence, my desk has this slight ledge along one side). I put parchment paper underneath where the join would be. I test fitted the edges a few times to make sure I could line them up cleanly and quickly.
I used Gorilla Glue (like super glue or Krazy glue) to baste a small thread of glue along the joining edge of one piece.
Then I lined up the edges exactly, pressing down from the top as well as from the side that was not braced.(Because the other side was braced/wedged, this gave me something to push against).
I held it in place like that for a minute or two, then I took a spare, 4 inch square ruler, put glue around the square about 1 inch in from all the edges. I put it in place on top of the join, lining up it's marking lines with the ruler I was repairing, more or less centering it. I held that in place for a minute or two, then I placed a very heavy weight on top, another heavy weight pushing from the unbraced side and left it overnight. I am not sure if the weights are required but I didn't want any shifting about.
The next morning, I took off the weights, peeled off the parchment paper and used a paring knife to gently scrape away any excess paper or glue.
This ruler is now pretty much good as new, I can see my lines, I can line up on my fabric and I can cut along it's edges, even with the join as it is barely noticeable. I am quite happy with this repair - all my rulers are the same make/manufacturer with the same pattern of cutting lines and I can't buy them anymore, so I really wanted a workable repair.
If you need more info, or pictures, please PM me.
Good luck,
GEMRM
Read all the way through first to make sure you have everything you need ready at hand -
I found a place I could brace one end of the ruler tight up against, while laying it flat on the surface ( by co-incidence, my desk has this slight ledge along one side). I put parchment paper underneath where the join would be. I test fitted the edges a few times to make sure I could line them up cleanly and quickly.
I used Gorilla Glue (like super glue or Krazy glue) to baste a small thread of glue along the joining edge of one piece.
Then I lined up the edges exactly, pressing down from the top as well as from the side that was not braced.(Because the other side was braced/wedged, this gave me something to push against).
I held it in place like that for a minute or two, then I took a spare, 4 inch square ruler, put glue around the square about 1 inch in from all the edges. I put it in place on top of the join, lining up it's marking lines with the ruler I was repairing, more or less centering it. I held that in place for a minute or two, then I placed a very heavy weight on top, another heavy weight pushing from the unbraced side and left it overnight. I am not sure if the weights are required but I didn't want any shifting about.
The next morning, I took off the weights, peeled off the parchment paper and used a paring knife to gently scrape away any excess paper or glue.
This ruler is now pretty much good as new, I can see my lines, I can line up on my fabric and I can cut along it's edges, even with the join as it is barely noticeable. I am quite happy with this repair - all my rulers are the same make/manufacturer with the same pattern of cutting lines and I can't buy them anymore, so I really wanted a workable repair.
If you need more info, or pictures, please PM me.
Good luck,
GEMRM
#3
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,783
If it's in many pieces, I don't think I'd bother. If it's just in two pieces with no missing chips along the broken edges, you can just superglue it. I broke a corner off a ruler once and superglue has held it just fine for a few years now. It's barely noticeable.
#4
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 41,548
I used $ store Crazy glue to fix my 15 inch square after I broke it. I put a long strip of clear tape on the bottom after matching the 2 pieces back up, make extra sure to get the edge perfect. I used the tape as a hinge at the table edge and ran a bead of the crazy glue along the crack. I quickly put the ruler back up on the table and held the ruler down and together for a bit. I left it overnight to dry and it is still going strong a year later. I left the clear tape on the bottom because it doesn't interfer with seeing through the ruler and the glue is stuck to it also.
#6
I used clear packing tape on a clean cut, on the back, and it's still holding after several years. I'd glue it (clear glue) then put the packing tape across it. I don't know why I hang on to it. At last count I had five 24" long rulers. I won three of them on blog and facebook give a ways.
Last edited by BellaBoo; 05-07-2013 at 03:14 PM.
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