Mend it and make do

[Gunk]

it's a temporary accommodation until I get the new radio/gps installed

View attachment 570938

Looks like a minicab!

 

[ColinJ]

I did a bit of wireless mouse mending-and-making-do t'other evening. The e-rodent in question had been kindly donated by @slowmotion. It worked well apart from sometimes doing double-clicks when the left button had only been clicked once. It was really annoying. A YouTube video suggested that friction between a little plastic rod into the microswitch below the button top might be the problem. It seemed unlikely, but it was an easy thing to check. It took me less than 5 minutes to get inside the mouse and put drops of lube on the plastic rod into each microswitch, and another drop to smooth the turning of the scroller wheel. I was pretty amazed to discover that it DID fix the double-click problem!

2 weeks later and the mouse (used 8+ hours every day) has not done a single phantom double-click OR missed even one deliberate double-click!

YouTube 'how-to' videos are an incredible resource... Who would have thought of lubing a microswitch in a mouse!

 

[MontyVeda]

2 weeks later and the mouse (used 8+ hours every day) has not done a single phantom double-click OR missed even one deliberate double-click!

YouTube 'how-to' videos are an incredible resource... Who would have thought of lubing a microswitch in a mouse!

i bought an Xbox of a bloke at work just after Xmas... but the controller he gave me was a bit dodgy; one of the joystick things would stick at 3 o'clock, which I fettled with a nail file, and one of the bumper buttons wasn't working, which I knew could be fettled with a bit of contact cleaner. YouTube told me how to get the sodding thing open

 

[ColinJ]

i bought an Xbox of a bloke at work just after Xmas... but the controller he gave me was a bit dodgy; one of the joystick things would stick at 3 o'clock, which I fettled with a nail file, and one of the bumper buttons wasn't working, which I knew could be fettled with a bit of contact cleaner. YouTube told me how to get the sodding thing open

There is a lot of rubbish on YT but the good stuff is REALLY good!

The lubed wireless mouse is still clicking and double-clicking perfectly.

 

[Chris S]

The batteries in my bank card reader ran out when I was in the middle of making a number of transactions. Fortunately I realized that they were the same size as the ones in a wrap-on LED light so I just swapped them over. The LED light still worked with the weaker batteries as well.

 

[pjd57]

I posted on here a while ago about replacing the foam padding on pram handles using handlebar tape.
Really liked the look and feel of it.
There was some tape left and this week our grandsons balance bike needed a new grip on the bars.
He was pleased with his handlebar tape as well.

 

[fossyant]

I posted on here a while ago about replacing the foam padding on pram handles using handlebar tape.
Really liked the look and feel of it.
There was some tape left and this week our grandsons balance bike needed a new grip on the bars.
He was pleased with his handlebar tape as well.

Don't get me started on wheel chair handles. MIL's are held on by gaffa tape - they are a non standard size and replacements literally cost an arm and a leg. Usual incredible mark ups on any disability aid.

 

[ColinJ]

I didn't have any bar tape handy when I got an old bike ready for my turbo trainer so I used pipe lagging instead, with some gaffa (gaffer?) tape to hold it in place.

 

[the snail]

One small victory over the modern world> Managed to fit a new jack plug to my cheapo headphones, despite the microscopically thin resin coated nylon core wires practically invisible to my tired old eyes, and crappy lead-free solder

 

[HMS_Dave]

I remember a little plastic cap on the bleed nipple of the coolant system on my Peugeot 405 1.8 petrol had split and was squirting coolant everywhere. I was near a Peugeot dealership so i went in a bit desperate. They wanted £5 and some change for what looked suspiciously like a schraeder inner tube valve cap. I got the car home, got a valve cap and voila! New coolant, bleed and fixed until i sold it!

I found a picture on the internet of the offending part...

 

[postman]

Going to do a job on a very very old rusty spanner.I have lost the little spanner that I got in 1987 when I bought my Brooks saddle,the saddle needs a tweak or two.So I need to split the very old spanner,going to hold it in vice then waggle it back an forth till the top only breaks off.I went to a local diy store yesterday and could not find anything suitable.,So going to have a go at fudging something.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Going to do a job on a very very old rusty spanner.I have lost the little spanner that I got in 1987 when I bought my Brooks saddle,the saddle needs a tweak or two.So I need to split the very old spanner,going to hold it in vice then waggle it back an forth till the top only breaks off.I went to a local diy store yesterday and could not find anything suitable.,So going to have a go at fudging something.

I keep my Brooks spanner on my keyring, because I know I'm gauranteed to lose it if I don't...

 

[Salad Dodger]

I cut my finger on Monday, whilst re-grouting a small area of tiles in the shower.
Not wishing to miss Tuesday's ukulele club zoom meeting, where I was due to lead some songs, I superglued the wound and got through the night successfully.
A second coat of glue last night got me through another uke club zoom meeting without blood being shed.
Just be aware that the glue takes a few minutes to dry. Don't touch anything unless you want to risk being permanently fixed to it.......

 

[pjd57]

Don't get me started on wheel chair handles. MIL's are held on by gaffa tape - they are a non standard size and replacements literally cost an arm and a leg. Usual incredible mark ups on any disability aid.

The pram I fixed had aluminium frame held together by rivets. No easy way to dismantle it so I didn't.
Just cut the foam off and used a half decent roll of bar tape.
Could work on a wheelchair.....worth a try.

 

[Chris S]

Somebody on the radio fixed a washing machine door seal with a Poundland puncture repair kit.