Distillation Heating Mantle Setup In my lab courses, we were taught to use textbooks off the shelf as elevating props to adjust the heights of heating mantles to the right height during distillations, but I was wondering if there was a safer and better way to do so? I recently used a different type of heating mantle that was like a nest and charred the cover of a textbook as well as a heat glove that I put on the second time to prevent further damage to the book.
You need to use something called a lab jack ... just search google to see what they look like.  They are quite cheap too.

You should tell whoever told you to use books about lab jacks, too.