What Do You Fix?

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Are you handy? Do you fix/mend things? List your projects here.

Currently, I plan to fix the switch (for speed) on a box fan and also repair the toaster oven (the thermal fuse blew and maybe something else). I also still have to fix the spring on the toaster, but we're using a hammer (claw end) to hold down the lever and well, that works for now.

For fun, I may buy an oscilloscope (saw some nice handheld ones online) and build an EKG (ECG) circuit using it. I wanted to do this for my Physics courses, but didn't have the time.

[ergative]

My most recent triumph (discussed on the inhale thread) was identifying that a rattle in my kettle was due to a loose screw in the base. I removed the base, found the screw, and screwed it back into what looked like an empty screwhole. Later, the rattle reappeared, and turned out to be another screw from the same mechanism (not the one I had rescrewed earlier--a partner). I repeated the process. My kettle continues to heat water, and all is well in that corner of the kitchen.

Witness me! Wielder of the screwdriver, assembler of Ikea furniture!

[sinenomine]

I recently got a new computer, which didn't want to link up to my ten year old laser printer, even with the original software and drivers. Rather than cave to the obvious ploy to buy newer hardware, I dug deep into the HP site and rooted out a printer driver, so lo and behold, the new computer and "old" printer get along just fine.

Oh, and I'm really good at repairing fences — wood and electric — when my horse and his buddies take them down.

[nebo113]

I've been refinishing my small floor loom and discovered that some of the wood had cracked.  Wood filler to the rescue.  I broke a large ceramic pot made years ago by the husband of a high friend, so clued it back together; it might not hold water, but that isn't it's purpose.  Perhaps the most aggravating recent challenge was replacing the light underneath the microwave oven, above the stove.  Took a mirror, cursing, and standing on my head to get it firmly in place.

[marshwiggle]

Are you handy? Do you fix/mend things? List your projects here.

Currently, I plan to fix the switch (for speed) on a box fan and also repair the toaster oven (the thermal fuse blew and maybe something else). I also still have to fix the spring on the toaster, but we're using a hammer (claw end) to hold down the lever and well, that works for now.

For fun, I may buy an oscilloscope (saw some nice handheld ones online) and build an EKG (ECG) circuit using it. I wanted to do this for my Physics courses, but didn't have the time.

I just bought a DS212 this summer (to potentially use for online electronics labs in the Fall and Winter) and it's pretty cool. I also have a Smartscope USB scope, which is moire expensive, but also pretty neat.

FWIW.

[Puget]

Since I bought my (1890, last majority renovated in the 70s) house a year ago, I've been taking on lots of DIY projects-- it's been rather empowering.

My latest was giving the bathroom a makeover-- it started with the old ugly vinyl floor tiles starting to come loose, so I decided to remove and replace them with new peel-and-stick vinyl tiles. In which case it made sense to paint first, while I didn't have to worry about the floor. In which case it also made sense to repaint the vanity and mirror frame with left over cabinet paint from the cabinet repainting I did last summer. So that turned into several weekends of project, but it looks SO much better now.

One of the most satisfying, which I did last fall after it became apparent that water was going to pour into the unfinished basement every time it rained really hard, was to put in drainage pipes to take water from the downspouts at the side of the house where it was getting in, and carry it out to near the street in front. A few hundred dollars worth of snap together components from Home Depot and a couple weekends of work, and no more water in the basement since. This spring I reinforced the system by building up a dirt berm sloping away from the foundation and getting grass growing on it.

[apl68]

I grew up in a do-it-yourself family.  We grew many of our own vegetables, cut our own firewood, and built our own sheds.  Dad built our house mostly by himself over the course of about three years, then used me and my brother to clear brush around it to make a yard.  When I turned 13 Dad had me and my brother work with him full-time each summer helping him lay bricks for a living.  And we maintained our own vehicles and lawn mowers.

Remarkably little of that has stuck with me.  I can maintain a lawn mower and do minor vehicle maintenance.  As far as maintaining stuff around the house, though, I've never done anything more complicated than replacing a flapper valve in the bathroom.  I know a little bit about fixing and maintaining photocopiers and computer hardware at my job.  Not as much as I really should in my line of work, though.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Are you handy? Do you fix/mend things? List your projects here.

Currently, I plan to fix the switch (for speed) on a box fan and also repair the toaster oven (the thermal fuse blew and maybe something else). I also still have to fix the spring on the toaster, but we're using a hammer (claw end) to hold down the lever and well, that works for now.

For fun, I may buy an oscilloscope (saw some nice handheld ones online) and build an EKG (ECG) circuit using it. I wanted to do this for my Physics courses, but didn't have the time.

I just bought a DS212 this summer (to potentially use for online electronics labs in the Fall and Winter) and it's pretty cool. I also have a Smartscope USB scope, which is moire expensive, but also pretty neat.

FWIW.

That is pretty cool!

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Instead of fixing the box fan switch today, I repaired the vacuum cleaner. Well, I cleaned it out which fixed the problem- a horrible squeal. WD-40 fixes almost anything.

I did notice two small (as in 1-2 mm in diameter) pebbles stuck near one the wheel recesses. They may have been responsible for the squeal- can't prove it. But, the vacuum, she squeals no more. As Martha would say, 'That's a good thing.'

[dismalist]

I can fix all kinds of small things around the house. Electrics are my favorites.

A proof - from ages ago - was that my then six year old daughter was assigned for homework to write a sentence describing what her mother does and what her father does. At the time, I was adjuncting, mostly at night, so hanging around during the day. I was  terrified at what my daughter would write, you know, "My lazy father hangs around the house all day, doing nothing ..." .

After a week, what she had written had been graded and was returned home. She had written: My mother takes care of me and my father fixes things.

Sigh of relief; off the hook. :-)

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

You're off the hook, dismalist! My family, mainly my Dad, is also a do-it-yourself family.

In other news, I managed to rescan the antiquated black box that is hooked up to our CRT TV set. SO says that I am way too tenacious and stubborn I suppose.

I actually detached one of the remote buttons to make contact with the electronics (since the MENU button had vanished into a black hole). I pulled out the GUIDE button and used it to 'connect the circuit' and open up the menu so I could autoscan and get my PBS channels back. Minor triumph for the day. It's the little things.

I now have a remote button on my night table in case I need to use it again.

[Parasaurolophus]

I'm not handy at all. I've done so much handy reno work (of so many different kinds) in my life, but I learned basically nothing.

But I did just top up the water levels in the dead Vespa battery and then charge it right up with a battery tender, which feels like something. One of the mirrors came off and won't screw back in--I think the bolt is stripped. So the project for sometime in the next week or two is to take the front casing off, get the bolt out for inspection, and try replacing it. 0_o

I also recently restored some teak deck furniture we just bought. It turned out great, and that feels like a thing I did.

Finally: I'm currently engaged in re-upholstering the dining table chairs. They're made of rosewood, and the hex bolts holding in the back rests were covered with screw plugs (lightly glued in), so dealing with that has been absolutely terrifying. I got them out okay with a forstner bit, but it was nerve-wracking. So that feels like a real accomplishment. I'm ready to start upholstering sometime next week.

[Treehugger]

I am in awe of everyone's handiness!

Here is the sad extent of my "handiness":

I can re-attach buttons when they come off clothes.

I can change most lightbulbs (but, alas, not the ones in our cathedral ceiling even with the special light bulb-gripper tool we have). 

I have once or twice actually sharpened a kitchen knife with my automatic knife sharpener.

I "fixed" our Prius's broken tail-light cover with clear duct tape (Yes, it's legal.)

I know where our main shutoff valve is located so I can turn on/off water to the whole house at once (although I unfortunately only learned this by making a few frantic phone calls about 20 minutes after water started pouring into the house one fine day).

Is that it? Can't think of anything else ....

[hmaria1609]

I can mend holes in my socks and a few other small items, that's the extent of my sewing!

I bought and have a color customized paint pen from an online auto car paint retailer to paint minor scratches on my car.

[mamselle]

Just as important as what you fix is what you don't fix.

As in, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

;--}

M.