Mend it and make do

[Andy in Germany]

I think Brasso has amonia in it . A bit like T Cut .

So does pee, so if you're really going for that self-sufficiency vibe there's a ready supply.

 

[Drago]

I should get you to create a replacement control knob for my gas hob - I broke one of its plastic knobs by dropping a tin of beans on it!

You can but those gor manynhops and ovens, not too expensive.

 

[ColinJ]

You can but those gor manynhops and ovens, not too expensive.

I haven't found exactly the right one yet, but similar ones found so far are what I would describe as EXTREMELY expensive - £9.50 - £15+ for just one plastic knob!

If I can find the broken knob***, I might go back to plan A - epoxy something inside to replace the broken collar.

*** My rational way of dealing with such things is to leave the broken part where I can see it, as a reminder to do something about it, and to make sure that I know where it is. After 5 years, it was still there, next to the hob. 6 months of bubble pal visits later though, it has mysteriously disappeared. It may have been tidied away somewhere. Alternatively it might have been judged to be broken and useless, and therefore to be disposed of...!

 

[ColinJ]

If I can find the broken knob***, I might go back to plan A - epoxy something inside to replace the broken collar.

I tracked it down!

It was sufficiently close to its original location that I might have been responsible for moving it...

It was hidden behind the back of the Shimano shoe box full of bank statements that are lying around as a reminder to fill in my tax return!

It looks fixable. I tried simply wedging a piece of plastic in before but it only lasted a few uses before it got twisted out of position and fell out. I'll fix it more permanently this time.

 

[Illaveago]

Please report back on your fixing of the vacuum cleaner.

I binned the body of the vacuum cleaner. My wife didn't think it was very good . It seemed a shame to get rid of electric motor which could be used for something else .

 

[Blue Hills]

I've often thought the main reason cycle companies are going for Ebikes is because they've realised a well maintained regular bike can last forever, and the replacement parts can be bought anywhere: Ebike parts can be much better controlled and made more bike-specific.

fair point. It's the "subscription model" being frantically pursued by many companies producing all sorts of stuff. And there has long been more easy profit in the "knowledge economy". ie - they retain the knowledge and you can't fix it yourself.

 

[Blue Hills]

I think Brasso has amonia in it . A bit like T Cut .

Thanks. I will peer at the small print to see what those captivating childhood whiffs may have been. Will wait until the rain stops as I seem to remember from nervously approaching the tin when I bought it that any close-up work with it should be done outside/not in an enclosed space. Will report back if the trees wilt.

 

[Illaveago]

A lot of electrical appliances are far too complicated these days . Why do I need to be told that I have just wiped the top of the cooker over ?
Yes ! I can tell that the freezer door is open as my hands are getting cold looking for things !

 

[Drago]

Im thinking of modifiying an old mircowave to make a nice garden airgun target/pellet catcher. Remove the door, make a wooden frame to hold the target over the hole, paint the whole lot NATO green, and Robert if your Mother's Brother.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Surplus plastic dustbin used as a rainwater butt.

Flexible curtain pelmet brass strip covered in electrical cable casing and bent into hooks to suspend bike.

Odd blocks and bricks built to make a garden incinerator.

Old car wheels fixed together with carriage bolts and made into an anvil using an old bit of joist:


50-litre metal wood-treatment drums repurposed as plant containers.

Garden climbing plant trellis + a coat of varnish = the perfect coat rack for a narrow entrance hall:

Made-to-measure trellis available here: https://www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk/fencing/family/trellis
Great varnish available here: https://www.rustins.ltd/rustins/our-products/indoor/quick-dry-coloured-varnish

 

[mudsticks]

Working in a German City Farm was a similar experience, but with better engineered baler twine.

What with having a German farm trainee right now, the perennial joke atm, is that if some piece of kit is working well, it must perforce, have been engineered by Germans* -

- I'm sure given another 9 months, or so this might cease to be quite so hilarious.

*On closer inspection, this does often turn out to be The Case.

 

[Andy in Germany]

What with having a German farm trainee right now, the perennial joke atm, is that if some piece of kit is working well, it must perforce, have been engineered by Germans* -

- I'm sure given another 9 months, or so this might cease to be quite so hilarious.

*On closer inspection, this does often turn out to be The Case.

I'ts also a running joke that if I fix or make something it's German Engineering, or at least it is if I did it in the last two years.

 

[ColinJ]

I wasn't too impressed by a new German Autobahn which was featured on Massive Engineering Mistakes this week! It was built to cross a peat bog and they sank 30 metre foundation piles into 50 metre deep peat... The road quickly broke up and started collapsing!

 

[Drago]

What with having a German farm trainee right now, the perennial joke atm, is that if some piece of kit is working well, it must perforce, have been engineered by Germans* -

Such as emissions defeat devices.

 

[oldworld]

I haven't found exactly the right one yet, but similar ones found so far are what I would describe as EXTREMELY expensive - £9.50 - £15+ for just one plastic knob!

If I can find the broken knob***, I might go back to plan A - epoxy something inside to replace the broken collar.

*** My rational way of dealing with such things is to leave the broken part where I can see it, as a reminder to do something about it, and to make sure that I know where it is. After 5 years, it was still there, next to the hob. 6 months of bubble pal visits later though, it has mysteriously disappeared. It may have been tidied away somewhere. Alternatively it might have been judged to be broken and useless, and therefore to be disposed of...!

The knob that controls the temperature on our oven broke. It's always been stiff to turn to the higher temperatures and it finally lost it's grip on the 'D' shaped spindle because it had cracked. I swapped the knob with the one that selects the oven's function as it was much easier to move. I thought of Aralditing the broken knob but wasn't sure it would be strong enough. I did a real Pikey repair using copper wire twisted around the broken section. Not pretty, but when on the oven you can't see it. Should outlast the oven.