Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm not really a great mecanic to be fair, losing my temper too quickly when I need to disassemble half the damn car to do one little thing being part of it, and too liitle time sunk into it being the second one. And worst of that, my grandpoa IS a retired mecanic!!!

But as for shaggy fixes... I thing it happened lataly. While working as a welder tremendously develops my overall crafting skills and I'm starting to get kind of good at it, wood working is not exacty my best. I lack understanding of the material, and tend to beat it bad.

I was crafting a chariot to bear a statue of Holy Mary for an event in my parish, and I was at the stage of making the shoulder lifted underside handles. But I made the wrist a tad too thin apparently, and manage to break it while rounding up the edges on my beltsander. So I went to the other side of the garage, got my power drill, rebar, and stuffed the rebar between the two half before drowning it in two parts epoxy glue... And it held! But goodness even from the outside you can spot the crak and the tons of epoxy I poured on it. Though I did try to sand it as best I could.

Another one is me having to weld 1,7 centimeter square tubes with MMA welding, which is not quite suited for it because it brings to little metal in and develops too much power... So I used TIG welding rods to compensate for the thin material. The weld was horrible, but for what I intended, it work. It is normally forbidden because the gas coating on the electrod is calculated for the exact amount of metal the electroc contains, and adding more screws the gas protection. But, hey, good evough.

Heh.

I don’t know the abbreviations for your job, but when I see MMA my brain goes to “Mixed Martial Arts”. So MMA welding brings to mind a pair of guys locked in a cage match, no holds barred. Torch in one hand, length of rebar in the other. Last man standing wins.

I guess you've come up with a new sport lol.

MMA means Manual Metal Arc, a form of welding where you create an electric arc through a self consuming electrod oated with solidifed gas ( sort of) that, when melting, shield the liquid metal from oxygen.




https://weldingheadquarters.com/what-is-mma-welding/

Learn something new everyday.

So I just had my driveway replaced, as it was getting to the point where it needed to be weeded, and was basically did a better impression of cobblestones than a smooth surface.

As the team was ripping up the old stuff, they noticed the asphalt was just laid down straight on dirt. Which if fine for if you just want something that will look nice, but not last very long. Done right you have a packed base of gravel/crushed rock. Which I have now.

One of those “We can save a few bucks, and will move out before it’s our problem” kinda home fixes. Well, it was my problem, and I fixed it right this time. So hopefully the next owners will not have to look back and go “WTF did he choose that?"

Hehe half my motivation for doing stuff well is so that I don't have to do it again, and the other half is so some potential future owner of the house doesn't think FFS what w*nker did that?

Pretty much. I'd say most of questionnable tinkering comes in when you face either an "emergency" or you haven't got the right tools and those are too expansive for what use you'll make of them. I've found that one of the way to deal with the latter it to rent them, if you know for certain you won't be using it often.

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
Pretty much. I'd say most of questionnable tinkering comes in when you face either an "emergency" or you haven't got the right tools and those are too expansive for what use you'll make of them. I've found that one of the way to deal with the latter it to rent them, if you know for certain you won't be using it often.

Don’t forget ignorance, laziness, or just being cheep.

Or people whole know enough about the work to think they know how to do it, but not enough to realize that they, in fact, do not.

Yeah I guess i kind of overlooked that lol!

Questionable fix - I have an old, heavily modified Fender Stratocaster guitar I tinker with periodically. Recently, after it developed some irritating buzzes, I pulled it apart and discovered I'd used a paperclip to earth it.

Sigh. Don't drink and solder, kids.

Hey, if Rom, son of Keldar can use a spatula to fix a plasma conduit, why not use a paper clip for your guitar?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Hey, if Rom, son of Keldar can use a spatula to fix a plasma conduit, why not use a paper clip for your guitar?

You're right, and I'm going to follow it up by using gaffer tape for my transmission ;-)