We bought William a Billy bookcase from IKEA. We put all his books on it. After a few weeks, the shelves started to bow downwards and the sides were bowing outwards. The result was that the shelves fell off and deposited the books all over his floor in the middle of the night, scaring the crap out of all of us. They don't make 'em like they used to.
I got a length of threaded rod, some washers, and some domed nuts; drilled two holes, cut the rod to length with a hacksaw, and tied the whole thing back together. A technique I've seen used on Grand Designs when renovating old barns!
I got a length of threaded rod, some washers, and some domed nuts; drilled two holes, cut the rod to length with a hacksaw, and tied the whole thing back together. A technique I've seen used on Grand Designs when renovating old barns!
I was working outside when I dropped the cap for my silicon grease down a drain. I happened to have a bag of Polymorph granules (a brand-name of Polycaprolactone, a type of polyester with a low melting point) which I'd been meaning to experiment with, and this seemed like a good opportunity to try the stuff. Polycaprolactone melts at 60°C which makes it easy to work with at home, even to work by hand as it doesn't conduct heat very well.
I took a small handful of granules and melted them in an improvised bain-marie (a steel bowl suspended over a pan full of boiling water). Once it was all melted (no pic, I'm afraid, but it'll go translucent eventually) I scraped it all out with a spoon and rolled it into a ball using my hands. If you try this, don't worry about any bits left in the bowl, they can easily be scraped out with a metal spoon once they've cooled and hardened. I then push the ball of soft plastic onto the tube nozzle and moulded into what I thought would be a good shape for a cap.
Caps moulded in a factory have ridges to help with grip. I didn't think I'd be able to achieve this effect easily so I just squeezed the ball flat to make a kind of rudimentary wing nut. The plastic shrank slightly as it cooled and had to be squeezed a bit tighter to maintain good contact with the screw thread on the nozzle. I eventually left it overnight and when I came down in the morning, here's what I found:
And it's pretty good. The plastic has taken on the shape of the screw thread and seems to make a good tight fit. And there's plenty of polycaprolactone left for more moulding fun.
I took a small handful of granules and melted them in an improvised bain-marie (a steel bowl suspended over a pan full of boiling water). Once it was all melted (no pic, I'm afraid, but it'll go translucent eventually) I scraped it all out with a spoon and rolled it into a ball using my hands. If you try this, don't worry about any bits left in the bowl, they can easily be scraped out with a metal spoon once they've cooled and hardened. I then push the ball of soft plastic onto the tube nozzle and moulded into what I thought would be a good shape for a cap.
Caps moulded in a factory have ridges to help with grip. I didn't think I'd be able to achieve this effect easily so I just squeezed the ball flat to make a kind of rudimentary wing nut. The plastic shrank slightly as it cooled and had to be squeezed a bit tighter to maintain good contact with the screw thread on the nozzle. I eventually left it overnight and when I came down in the morning, here's what I found:
And it's pretty good. The plastic has taken on the shape of the screw thread and seems to make a good tight fit. And there's plenty of polycaprolactone left for more moulding fun.
And here's another one that didn't work out. I had this nifty little USB key, which got broken when I bumped into my laptop while walking past. I figured it might just be a broken trace, so opened it up and frankensteined the circuit board onto a connector I'd harvested from another faulty device.
The idea was sound (I thought), but I couldn't get it to work. The data and power lines were the right way round, there was continuity all the way to the board, no short circuits, but it wouldn't fire up. Dunno if that means I screwed up somewhere, or if the board got damaged too.
The idea was sound (I thought), but I couldn't get it to work. The data and power lines were the right way round, there was continuity all the way to the board, no short circuits, but it wouldn't fire up. Dunno if that means I screwed up somewhere, or if the board got damaged too.
This one didn't work out quite so well. I rescued a table saw from a skip outside someone's house (don't worry, I asked). When I got it home, it turned out to be broken. I stripped it down to the motor, where I discovered that the gear attached to the shaft had sheared right off. No way to replace it, as far as I could tell, so I gave it to someone else (having explained the fault to him). I think he was going to salvage a few parts and scrap the rest.
My employer threw this aluminium trolley out because one of the swivel castors had lost its ball bearings, making it wobbly and difficult to steer.
I couldn't see a way to take the casing apart so did a bit of research and found a suitable replacement castor (100x30mm wheel, rubber on steel centre, plate fixing with 80x60mm hole centres) for sale on eBay by A&L Castors. Because I wasn't sure that the new part would be an exact match, I replaced both swivel castors.
It turns out the bolt holes are not quite in the same place as the originals, but they're close enough. Now I have a working lightweight folding trolley for the cost of £17 in parts. These things cost about £150 to buy, so it was worth fixing.
I couldn't see a way to take the casing apart so did a bit of research and found a suitable replacement castor (100x30mm wheel, rubber on steel centre, plate fixing with 80x60mm hole centres) for sale on eBay by A&L Castors. Because I wasn't sure that the new part would be an exact match, I replaced both swivel castors.
It turns out the bolt holes are not quite in the same place as the originals, but they're close enough. Now I have a working lightweight folding trolley for the cost of £17 in parts. These things cost about £150 to buy, so it was worth fixing.
The final part of the shed project: replacing the windows.
The original plastic panes were in a sorry state. Years of UV exposure had clouded the plastic and made it very brittle. Note the cracks covered up with gaffer tape in an attempt to maintain watertightness.
The new glass. I was surprised it was so cheap. The sawmill had just taken a delivery of new glass and had a huge pile of the stuff. They don't usually sell it directly to customers but my man let me have three panes for a fiver.
First pane out. The wooden retaining strips were removed with a bit of encouragement from a pallete knife and a flat-bladed screwdriver.
First one done. The glass was exactly the right size (18"x24" seems to be a standard size for sheds) but was slightly thicker than the plastic (3mm vs 2mm, i think) so the wooden strips didn't go back on in exactly the same place. I used the original nails to re-attach the strips.
Hammering next to glass is a bit unnerving, but once you get the knack it's fine. The guy at the sawmill told me to always slide the hammer along the glass. Since it's already touching the glass it's less likely to bounce back and smash stuff.
...and compared with the other two.
Two done!
All done, and just in time: partly because it was starting to get dark and I couldn't actually see the last few nails; but also because the next day our nice spell of weather broke and it pissed it down.
There's a shelf just below the windows and now that there's some proper light going in there during the day I can start thinking about getting some crops ready for next spring. I'm going to start with some garlic and see how it goes.
The original plastic panes were in a sorry state. Years of UV exposure had clouded the plastic and made it very brittle. Note the cracks covered up with gaffer tape in an attempt to maintain watertightness.
The new glass. I was surprised it was so cheap. The sawmill had just taken a delivery of new glass and had a huge pile of the stuff. They don't usually sell it directly to customers but my man let me have three panes for a fiver.
First pane out. The wooden retaining strips were removed with a bit of encouragement from a pallete knife and a flat-bladed screwdriver.
First one done. The glass was exactly the right size (18"x24" seems to be a standard size for sheds) but was slightly thicker than the plastic (3mm vs 2mm, i think) so the wooden strips didn't go back on in exactly the same place. I used the original nails to re-attach the strips.
Hammering next to glass is a bit unnerving, but once you get the knack it's fine. The guy at the sawmill told me to always slide the hammer along the glass. Since it's already touching the glass it's less likely to bounce back and smash stuff.
...and compared with the other two.
Two done!
All done, and just in time: partly because it was starting to get dark and I couldn't actually see the last few nails; but also because the next day our nice spell of weather broke and it pissed it down.
There's a shelf just below the windows and now that there's some proper light going in there during the day I can start thinking about getting some crops ready for next spring. I'm going to start with some garlic and see how it goes.
I rebuilt the door on my shed. As with the side of the shed, the boards on the door were curling and starting to let the elements in; not conducive to healthy shed contents. Also as before, only basic hand tools were used.
So here's what needs to be replaced. Note the massive gaps and general poor condition.
I start by tapping the new boards together on the ground. The nice man at the sawmill cut these exactly to size. I tried to save a bit of time by painting them in the garage the night before but made the schoolboy error of not checking which side was which beforehand (tongue & groove boards are not the same profile on each side).
It's not as simple as this, though (is it ever?). I need to remove the groove from one side and cut another board lengthways to add a thin strip to the other to make this new door the same size as the old one. My neighbour generously offered to lend me his belt sander, but i scoffed at him and called him a bounder.
And by the time i'd cut down the 1780mm length of two of these buggers with a tenon saw, I'd seen the error of my ways. Too late now, let's push on.
Newly-cut narrow board added and it looks like it'll fit.
A quick lick of paint and we'll call it a night.
Fresh from work two days later, I'm checking the structure on the back of the original door. The plan is to re-use the braces and lock and scrap the rest, but before I get out the claw hammer I take a few measurements.
Ah, that's better.
Here's the gap I need to fill. And quick, before it rains.
I make some marks on the back of the new door and clamp the first brace piece in place. This picture was taken before I realised the clamps would have to be the other way up for me to be able to turn the door over and hammer the nails in. Duh. I also used a piece of string blu-tacked across the front of the door as a guide for me to follow when nailing.
Much clamping and hammering later (my son William helped me with three of the nails) and it's all done. A quick test fit revealed that the new door wasn't lining up correctly at the hinge side. The hacksaw was used to cut a few mm off the ends of the brace pieces to stop them fouling on the door frame.
There we go, it fits! Yes, it's a different colour, but I'm beyond caring at this stage. Right, what's next?
Ah yes, let's add hinges. I hadn't thought at all about how these would fit. Luckily the brace pieces were in the right places to hold the screws and only one screw on the door was blocked by a nail (indicated by blue circle). I just left this one off as there are plenty of other screws.
And now the moment of truth... will it open?
It opens! Even I was surprised at this!
A bit of drilling and filing to make a new key-hole, and the job is done. Still got the new windows to source and fit, so watch out for part 3.
So here's what needs to be replaced. Note the massive gaps and general poor condition.
I start by tapping the new boards together on the ground. The nice man at the sawmill cut these exactly to size. I tried to save a bit of time by painting them in the garage the night before but made the schoolboy error of not checking which side was which beforehand (tongue & groove boards are not the same profile on each side).
It's not as simple as this, though (is it ever?). I need to remove the groove from one side and cut another board lengthways to add a thin strip to the other to make this new door the same size as the old one. My neighbour generously offered to lend me his belt sander, but i scoffed at him and called him a bounder.
And by the time i'd cut down the 1780mm length of two of these buggers with a tenon saw, I'd seen the error of my ways. Too late now, let's push on.
Newly-cut narrow board added and it looks like it'll fit.
A quick lick of paint and we'll call it a night.
Fresh from work two days later, I'm checking the structure on the back of the original door. The plan is to re-use the braces and lock and scrap the rest, but before I get out the claw hammer I take a few measurements.
Ah, that's better.
Here's the gap I need to fill. And quick, before it rains.
I make some marks on the back of the new door and clamp the first brace piece in place. This picture was taken before I realised the clamps would have to be the other way up for me to be able to turn the door over and hammer the nails in. Duh. I also used a piece of string blu-tacked across the front of the door as a guide for me to follow when nailing.
Much clamping and hammering later (my son William helped me with three of the nails) and it's all done. A quick test fit revealed that the new door wasn't lining up correctly at the hinge side. The hacksaw was used to cut a few mm off the ends of the brace pieces to stop them fouling on the door frame.
There we go, it fits! Yes, it's a different colour, but I'm beyond caring at this stage. Right, what's next?
Ah yes, let's add hinges. I hadn't thought at all about how these would fit. Luckily the brace pieces were in the right places to hold the screws and only one screw on the door was blocked by a nail (indicated by blue circle). I just left this one off as there are plenty of other screws.
And now the moment of truth... will it open?
It opens! Even I was surprised at this!
A bit of drilling and filing to make a new key-hole, and the job is done. Still got the new windows to source and fit, so watch out for part 3.
I re-clad the side of my shed. The old boards were starting to curl - due to lack of maintenance on our part - and risked letting in water. My wife wanted to get a whole new shed and have someone deliver and install it (cost between £300-£600). Being a terminal cheapskate and nutter, I decided to source some new boards from a local sawmill and re-clad it myself. Total cost was £54 and about 6 hours work. Given that I only used basic hand tools (claw hammer, tenon saw, knife, sandpaper), that's not too bad. I did find myself wishing for a nailgun though.
The boards on the door are also curling and splitting. That's my next project!
This is how it looked before I got destructive with my claw hammer.
Sides off.
Naked shed! NB windows were not replaced at this time because I'd forgotten to buy them when I was at the sawmill. Next time I go there I will get some proper glass panels and fit them at a later date.
The new boards. Because I'm an idiot, I bought tongue-and-groove instead of shiplap. But they're otherwise the right dimensions and do the same job, so it's no big deal. I used the longest and shortest boards today. The mid-length boards are for the door.
The pressure-treated boards were all cut to size using a tenon saw, then sanded at the ends and given two coats of fence/shed treatment. As you'll see, the unpleasant colour I chose doesn't quite match the existing hideous colour, but it's close enough.
Adding the first few boards. The underside of the window frame has a groove in it and the long board across the middle must sit in that groove so it goes in first. Everything else goes in around it.
A closer view of the right side.
And again.
They seem to fit ok.
Left side's done now.
A wider shot. I re-used some of the nails from the old boards as well as some new annular or ring shanked nails. At each batten, each board got one old nail and one new one. In total I knocked in nearly 100 nails. And I only hit my own thumb once! Like I said, a nail gun would've been handy.
Looking nice and neat inside.
Detail of the inside. The shed was originally made by making up each panel separately and then nailing them together to form the structure. Rebuilding the side while it's attached to the frame means there's not enough space to get the tongue into the groove at the top, so I snapped off the back of the groove and just nailed the board on. No-one will notice and it won't let any rain in.
All done! The last two long boards were tricky as there wasn't enough space to tap them into the grooves of the boards above. I borrowed a crowbar and used a lump of old wood as a fulcrum to lever the boards into place.
The boards on the door are also curling and splitting. That's my next project!
This is how it looked before I got destructive with my claw hammer.
Sides off.
Naked shed! NB windows were not replaced at this time because I'd forgotten to buy them when I was at the sawmill. Next time I go there I will get some proper glass panels and fit them at a later date.
The new boards. Because I'm an idiot, I bought tongue-and-groove instead of shiplap. But they're otherwise the right dimensions and do the same job, so it's no big deal. I used the longest and shortest boards today. The mid-length boards are for the door.
The pressure-treated boards were all cut to size using a tenon saw, then sanded at the ends and given two coats of fence/shed treatment. As you'll see, the unpleasant colour I chose doesn't quite match the existing hideous colour, but it's close enough.
Adding the first few boards. The underside of the window frame has a groove in it and the long board across the middle must sit in that groove so it goes in first. Everything else goes in around it.
A closer view of the right side.
And again.
They seem to fit ok.
Left side's done now.
A wider shot. I re-used some of the nails from the old boards as well as some new annular or ring shanked nails. At each batten, each board got one old nail and one new one. In total I knocked in nearly 100 nails. And I only hit my own thumb once! Like I said, a nail gun would've been handy.
Looking nice and neat inside.
Detail of the inside. The shed was originally made by making up each panel separately and then nailing them together to form the structure. Rebuilding the side while it's attached to the frame means there's not enough space to get the tongue into the groove at the top, so I snapped off the back of the groove and just nailed the board on. No-one will notice and it won't let any rain in.
All done! The last two long boards were tricky as there wasn't enough space to tap them into the grooves of the boards above. I borrowed a crowbar and used a lump of old wood as a fulcrum to lever the boards into place.
My neighbour owns a Mitsubishi Starion which he's doing up as a drift car. Part of this work involves stripping the interior of useless things like sound-proofing and passenger seats, and he was going to take this to the tip. He let me have it for nothing, since it was useless to him and also covered in primer overspray from when he'd been doing some bodywork. I cleaned up as much of the paint off the leather as I could and gave it a thorough oiling as it was quite dry. It sat in my garage for a while.
This picture was taken before I started cleaning. You can see that the leather is quite discoloured.
A couple of months later, the company that rents the office next to my employer's office moved out and chucked everything they didn't want in a huge skip/container in the car park. I spent a few lunchbreaks climbing around in there taking things that looked useful/interesting - including two office chairs with bases which looked like they might be suitable for my hybrid chair project. The bases came home and I found that the mounting holes didn't line up at all with the mounting holes on the car seat. So they sat in the garage for a few more months.
My wife had mentioned the project to her friend Andy, who's a bit of a tinkerer. He offered to take the car seat and see if he could clean the rest of the paint off the leather. I loaded the seat into Hayley's car one night before she headed off to work. She snuck down in the morning and put one of the office seat bases in the car and got Andy to make up a subframe to allow the two to be fixed together.
On the day before my birthday, she came home from work and called me out to the car to help her lift out the cleaned car seat. When I opened the boot I saw a completed chair! All the controls still work - the gas lift works (though needs encouragement to go back up due to the heavy seat), both the base and the seat have their own recline mechanisms, the headrest and the bolsters are adjustable.
The seat still looks a bit green here. Over time it has gone back to black.
Big thanks to Andy for welding the subframe! Awesome birthday present!!
This picture was taken before I started cleaning. You can see that the leather is quite discoloured.
A couple of months later, the company that rents the office next to my employer's office moved out and chucked everything they didn't want in a huge skip/container in the car park. I spent a few lunchbreaks climbing around in there taking things that looked useful/interesting - including two office chairs with bases which looked like they might be suitable for my hybrid chair project. The bases came home and I found that the mounting holes didn't line up at all with the mounting holes on the car seat. So they sat in the garage for a few more months.
My wife had mentioned the project to her friend Andy, who's a bit of a tinkerer. He offered to take the car seat and see if he could clean the rest of the paint off the leather. I loaded the seat into Hayley's car one night before she headed off to work. She snuck down in the morning and put one of the office seat bases in the car and got Andy to make up a subframe to allow the two to be fixed together.
On the day before my birthday, she came home from work and called me out to the car to help her lift out the cleaned car seat. When I opened the boot I saw a completed chair! All the controls still work - the gas lift works (though needs encouragement to go back up due to the heavy seat), both the base and the seat have their own recline mechanisms, the headrest and the bolsters are adjustable.
The seat still looks a bit green here. Over time it has gone back to black.
Big thanks to Andy for welding the subframe! Awesome birthday present!!
I acquired a faulty TFT monitor from the place where I work. The screen itself worked fine, but the backlight wouldn't stay on for more than a couple of seconds. I figured it would be a dodgy capacitor and got straight into the job, taking the back off and having a good look around.
Visually, it was fine; no leaking or bulging caps or anything. So I fired it up to see if I could spot any problems. No, still nothing. Maybe it's overheating? I know, I'll touch the heatsinks and see how warm they are!
Bad idea.
After I had recovered, I measured 160V to ground on one of the heatsinks. Ouch. So my tip here is don't assume, like I did, that heatsinks will always have zero voltage on them.
Having read other peoples' experiences with similar monitor faults, it seems that they're almost always caused by a bad cap. The best thing to do is replace all the caps regardless of what they look like. I ended up giving this to someone else, who also couldn't get it working. Oh well.
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