Folks Of Interest Am I weird, or just like all of you??

Nope, you're not weird. I once spent a few days studying resistance through materials in relation to making heating element grids. I even talked to my old college professor in depth about it. I remembered a story that he had about making a heated table for doing outdoor fab work during winter in the northern midwest using some mild steel wire he had laying around the job site.

Why would I do this, you may ask. Well, I've always thought that toast takes too long. So, I made my own heating grid and installed it in an old toaster. It's definitely faster, but, not many kitchens have 25amp service, and it damn near caught the counter on fire.

I really should get to work on perfecting that.

 

Re: Am I weird, or just like all of you??

Well, if you just like all of us you might be weird. Wait, did I read that wrong?

Our washing machine started a knockin'. So I took it apart, found a broken arm on the drum. Bought another used washer on CL for the arm and parted the rest out. Saved the sheet metal for car body work. Now in addition to car parts I have a box with a spare washer motor, electrics, etc.. I should be set for the duration.

Anyway, this is what our washer was doing, taken a bit farther.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/83241198

 

if you're weird so am i. i some times hate to admit it but i love picking the metal dumpster at the town transfer station. people bicycles,lawn mowers,motor cycle parts, you name it. i fix stuff or repurpose it. i must just be cheap or a better word for it is frugal.

 

I'm the same way. My parents were so poor we didn't even have a phone, car or anything else that cost money to maintain. But if you could pull something off a trash heap and fix it that was free game. Now I make a good salary but it has become a hobby. Fixing something is much more pleasant than buying new.

Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone

 

I make my living by owning and operating a 1-800GOTJUNK? franchise, so I have a daily stream of appliances, power equipment, stereo components, tools, etc coming into my lot, all needing a some love to get in working order. I'd love to fix all of it but I just don't have the time. Have a leaf blower that's busting my balls at the moment...those diaphragm carbs are a pain in the ass and they're new to me. I'll figure it out.

No, you're not weird.

Chris

 

Yep. Just the other day someone asked about my junk pile and I told them that if I put it in a junk pile its truly useless because I don't throw away anything. Even the junker cars I have I remove all the nuts and bolts before I scrap the rusty leftovers.
My dad was the same way. He ran a tv and radio repair and he would unsolder all of the resistors,etc and catalogue them and sort them for future use before he scrapped an old chassis.

 

It's only weird if the crew from "Hoarders" shows up at your door. The next bar-b-que you get invited to could be an intervention.

 

As my Mom used to say, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

 

I showed my wife a few episodes of hoarders in order to illustrate that I'm not even 10% as bad as I could be. But it backfired and she looked at it as how bad it could be "if left untreated". But I pointed out I lived alone for 10 years and had little more than jehova's witnesses come to my house and I still did not turn hoarder. She accepted that as proof

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Reminds me of keeping my old washer/drier unit alive long past it's experation date with the help of fellow H.A.M.B.er JERRY. Motor went out, Jerry had a larger one that would fit! The part that controls the pump to drain it down goes bad and it's too damned expensive to replace? Figure out how to "shift" it manually. Gets too hard to reach down and shift? Pull the front cover off and strip that bitch a bit and make a shift handle! And so it went until it was a washer dryer unit stripped to it's barest of essentials running the largest motor that would fit.... sound familar?

 

HAHA you just described my house and garage!! Amen man

 

We have a 1964 stove that was given to us in 1978, till we found something better, still use it everyday. I have a better stove, a 1961 Frigidaire in the garage, along with a 1933 GE refrigerator. Goes good with the phone booth, and other old crap we still use!

 

Weird?Hell no.Just self sufficient.And thrifty(read CHEAP).Love this thread.As far as old stuff goes,my sister is still using the Kirby vacuum cleaner that our Mom got when Mom and Dad got married.Mom and Dad are gone now,but the Kirby is still doing its thing.
Its about 70 years old.And YES I do have a box of old power cords.Hehehehe.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

I think you slightly missed the point of that repair - it was for my wife, who LIKES the thing.

I also repaired her "Magic Bullet" mixer/blender some time back, and added buffering capacitors, so the microswitches would last longer.

Fixing stuff is almost a compulsion. If I cannot fix it, I feel defeated, in a way.

And I DO have a few line cords hanging, just none rated for heaters. Safety First!!

Cosmo

 

That's cool, whatever it takes to make the wife happy, makes a happy home. Just that those Foreman grills make me cringe but what you did to the Magic Bullet is impressive.
and Safety first, always.

 

Good one!

Sent from my Paper-cup w/Tension string

 

Was your washer a Whirlpool? The coupler went in mine a few months back. The appliance site had me taking the cabinet off and all I really had to do was access it from the bottom. Took me longer to run out to get the part.

I buy all Delta products, but may look into the Moen line. I fixed my Delta kitchen sink faucet for the 2nd time, but the parts ran me like $7 at Lowes. I still had the package from the last one I replaced, wrench and all.

Bob

 

My buddy was dating a girl eons ago. Her father was into old radios, etc. Had a basement full of them. He would even take old electrical tape off something and wrap it onto a roll he had.

Long story short, the father gets killed before his time right after I heard the above story. The week following his wake, they had a 20-yard dumpster brought in and had to get another one to get all his radio stuff out of the house.

Kinda an eye opener for me, although I heard the original tale 25 years ago.

Bob

 

Breaks your heart. Happens a lot. I just today saw a post on another forum of a junkyard that has 100% ford stuff, 1939 and up, in minnesota, fire sale, everything must go, or it will go in the crusher. Hastings,MN 651-437-6787, ask for Joe. If I was rich i'd buy up all the old cars that would otherwise be crushed, to preserve it for future generations. As long as the epa is in office we will not see any more new cool cars.

Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone

 

those are some good words

 

So, uhm, yeah...your weird...just like us.

 

Now that's some funny chit right there, best repair yet!

 

Idk about the rest of it(short attention span) but I just use charcoal.


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thats just like old George, a new lease on life. Going like the energizer bunny.

 

We're not weird........it's the rest of the "keep up with the Jones'" and, "it's last weeks model so it's no good" world that has a problem!
Most of our appliances were found or repaired jobs from roadside, dumpsters, etc. (TV, washing machine, beer fridge, power tools, etc.)
My wife sometimes spots them out and brings them back!
Unfortunately here in Oz as soon as the paint is dry on an appliance, it's deemed "old" and ditched out so the newer, shinier shittier chinese model can be bought.