Fazza's Laptop Repair Tip - Hot Glue Hinge Repairs..

[Fazza]

Some people like to use Epoxy Glue when conducting a hinge repair on a laptop and although this may work, epoxy glue can be messy (especially if you spill or dribble a little bit of it like I do) and it dries/cures (pretty much) rock hard - rock hard is not necessarily a good thing, what you really need is something strong, yet a little flexible (a large amount of laptops used in schools are cheap and cheerful Cheap Low Spec Devices so the hinges are attached to thin/flexible plastic so if you use too hard an adhesive then it may cause different damage in the future).

 

This is where Hot Glue comes in!  It has been used in electronics for decades - if you've ever looked inside a desktop computers PSU (unless you know what you're doing, please don't try and repair one) you will often see a dab of hot glue on some of the components).

 

Hot Glue can also be very cost effective as the Art Department in your School/Academy may already have a large box of the glue sticks that you can 'borrow'... 😉

 

Below you will see 4 different types of hinge repairs I have done:

 

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Hinge Repair 1

 

Here you can see the hinge has broken away from the laptops screen, I've left the threaded insert (the metal bit the screw screws in to) on the hinge along with the plastic around it as this will help give the hot glue something to stick to.

 

 

Using a hot glue gun I have squirted enough hot glue to fill the area the hinge was originally attached to.

 

IMPORTANT: Whilst the glue is still hot, quickly place the hing in/on the hot glue and secure it in place with a clamp.

 

Don't worry about any seepage - once dried this can easily be removed with a sharp knife (I use a scalpel for this sort of thing).

 

Then all you do is put it all back together and job done!

 

 

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Hinge Repair 2

 

With this type of hinge repair I start by putting a small amount on and building it up in layers as if you try and put too much on in one go it just spreads out in to one thin layer!

 

 

 

This particular 'cheap low spec device' that we have, doesn't come with an optical drive, if it did then this would be a little more problematic to repair as it wouldn't be able to slide in so watch out for that.

 

 

Hinge Repair 3

 

All three screws and the associated threaded inserts have come away from the screen bezel/lid.

 

 

A bit of hot glue:

 

 

Tidied up with a scalpel once it has hardened:

 

 

Bobs Your Uncle - another damaged laptop repaired!

 

Hinge Repair 4

 

This was a fun one to do as it was on a small 10" laptop:

 

Just one screw had come out so only a small amount of hot glue required but there is a thin bezel that goes over it to install as well so I had to act fast before the glue starts to set..

 

 

 

😎

[chazzy2501]

nahh, do it ugly  (if the lid is plastic use a washer)

 

[Fazza]

1 minute ago, chazzy2501 said:

nahh, do it ugly  (if the lid is plastic use a washer)

 

 

I've seen people doing it very ugly with nuts and bolts but this is the first time I've seen them riveted on!! 😎

[Dos_Box]

56 minutes ago, chazzy2501 said:

nahh, do it ugly  (if the lid is plastic use a washer)

 

That really is a 'There is no money to replace this laptop' repair!

ETA: You get points for that BTW.

[Hoyt]

I say when they tear stuff up to this degree there really should be a "badge of shame" for them to carry around to let folks know to stay far away from them.

[chazzy2501]

18 hours ago, Hoyt said:

I say when they tear stuff up to this degree there really should be a "badge of shame" for them to carry around to let folks know to stay far away from them.

The two rivets sticking out the back is shame enough you would think.

 

The teacher who got this laptop back did not care at all and was just happy to get it back the same day. This laptop was recently recycled but not because the hinge broke, it was 6 years old. 

 

I first did this to a compaq armada e700 (my first laptop) I had to use washers on the back as the lid was plastic. ((I still have it))