When a splintered edge grows to a dagger, well beyond what can be easily rounded over, it can be hard to glue back down, mainly because it’s hard to get glue in the crack. Prying open the splinter risks making the crack bigger or, worse, having the piece break off. At some point I realized that a piece of paper is the perfect tool for getting glue into that small space. First slide the paper under the splinter as far as it will go, and apply a generous amount of glue to the paper on one side of the crack. Then work the paper back and forth to pull the glue under the splinter. When most of the glue is removed from the paper, pull it out and stretch several strips of blue painter’s tape across the splinter to clamp it down. It creates an invisible repair.

—MARK EDMUNDSON, Sandpoint, Idaho

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