Fixit Log

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
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Ego
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Ego »

Sclass wrote:
Wed Mar 16, 2022 7:35 pm
.. sell it as "tested working needs battery".
Yeah, I will sell it. Somehow I have this psychological defect where I am unable to keep something if I would not be willing to pay the price I can get by selling it.

That antenna looks great!

zbigi
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by zbigi »

I tried righting a slighly bent bike brake disc. By the time I got any practice and feel to it, I made the situation bad enough that I'm not really able to fix it now... The tolerances between the calipers are super small and I gave up after a couple hours of bending stuff back and forth. I ordered a set of two new discs for $7, they should arrive early next week.

davtheram12
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by davtheram12 »

Worked on my DWs car a few weeks ago. I noticed a clicking noise anytime she drove away and suspected it was a bad axle. During her routine oil change, I found a lot of sludge build up near the passenger front axle. Found the source of the sludge coming from the passenger CV axle boot. I suspected it tore open at some point allowing for foreign objects to get within the joint. No lubrication + foreign objects embedding themselves within the joint = noise development and premature failure.

I ordered a replacement axle from RockAuto.com for $102 shipped along with a 32mm deep socket and 1/2 inch torque wrench from Harbor Freight for $32. Only took me about 2 hours to replace it using common hand tools. Not a bad way to save some money. Mechanics were quoting $550-$650 in our area for the same job.

J_
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Location: Netherlands/Austria

Re: Fixit Log

Post by J_ »

In our bedroom we have a skylight without a sun screen. From two pillow-covers I have made two "sails" by making two hems in which I stuck two wooden sticks. One side is screwed on, the other side hangs freely. The sails are opened and closed with two threads.


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mountainFrugal
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by mountainFrugal »

Replaced the lens protector on my pixel2. No more fuzzy images! Heatgun to soften the glue, a new razor blade to pop the cap and clean out the old glue and $3 replacement cap. I also bought a $4 replacement backing, but it arrived cracked! They are sending a new one. My current screen is a bit cracked, but has held up so far for more than a year. I am hard on stuff like @theanimal. I will replace when the fatal blow comes.

zbigi
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by zbigi »

zbigi wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 12:11 pm
I tried righting a slighly bent bike brake disc. By the time I got any practice and feel to it, I made the situation bad enough that I'm not really able to fix it now... The tolerances between the calipers are super small and I gave up after a couple hours of bending stuff back and forth. I ordered a set of two new discs for $7, they should arrive early next week.
The new disc arrived and installing was simple enough. However, I found another problem - my (hydraulic) brake must have air in it, as it barely has any stopping power. Getting rid of the air ("bleeding the brake" as its called) seemed to be a bit of an dark art, with lots of convoluted and partially conflicting pieces of information available on the Internet.
In any case, I bought a cheap replacement bleeding kit (the original one, from my brake's manufacturer, is no longer available) and tried my luck with it. It ended in a small disaster, as the tubes that came with it don't really fit the brake that well, and, when I applied pressure, some braking fluid splattered on a nearby wall and furniture. I got rid of it from the furniture, but, since the braking fluid is a paint thinner, I've now got stains on the wall that won't come off (perhaps someone has some advice for this?). And the air in brakes is still there... I give up. This kind of work seems to require, at a minimum, a yard or a workspace that can be freely splashed with chemicals.

Perhaps this post should go to "Brokeit Log" thread... (#PerilsOfGettingOnTheS-Curve)

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Ego
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Ego »

Ego wrote:
Thu Feb 17, 2022 4:56 pm
Yeah, it's true. I learned. I may be wrong but I think maybe I was 90% there and just didn't clean the jets properly and then messed up the needle valve and bellow with the carb cleaner. We shall see.
Realized I never posted the solution. I made a few mistakes. I did not clean the jets thoroughly. I got carb cleaner on the rubber parts and it deformed. I messed up something with the float jet as well. The mechanic got it sorted out and the scooter is working fine now.

Looks like we may earn an additional $400 Cali gas rebate because the scooter is a "vehicle", which should cover the cost of my poor my mechanical skills.

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

I like using the little wires off bread bag ties to clean out jets. Just spraying them out doesn’t guarantee that they’re clear. The float valve is tricky. My motorcycle currently has a stuck valve and it pours gas all over the place. I need to clean it but I’ve stayed off my motorcycle a couple of years due to Covid (didn’t want to land in the ER unnecessarily).

@zibigi bleeding a brake system is easy if you keep it simple. The problem is that everyone has come up with all these novel ways to flush or vacuum out the lines with clever devices like pumps or one way valves. The best most reliable way to bleed air is use two people. One person compresses the lever and maintains pressure on it. Then the second person cracks open the bleeder valve and let’s out the excess pressure (put a hose over it to make it drain in a friendly direction into a bottle). Then the second person closes the valve. Then the first person releases the lever. Repeat till the air is flushed out of the system. You may need to refill your reservoir between cycles.

It’s just basic physics. Compress fluid, hold the pressure, then open the bleed valve at the caliper and let the fluid squirt out. If the lever person lets up the lever early you’ll suck air back in through the open bleeder so you must close it before the lever is released.

Don’t give up. Good luck.

zbigi
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by zbigi »

Sclass wrote:
Fri Mar 25, 2022 9:11 pm
Don’t give up. Good luck.
Thanks for the advice and moral support. However, once the brake fluid started squirting from a loose fitting (between the tube+syringe from the crappy bleeding kit and the valve in the brake caliper) all over my living room, I decided it's too much for me:) Any potential improvement on the fitting would require trial and error, which would likely result in more squirting and more damage. I handed the bike off to local repair shop.

davtheram12
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by davtheram12 »

Did something stupid a few days ago. I've been repairing electronics lately and have been having a lot of fun with it. Most of the repairs occur on electronics people have thrown out and require very little to get back up and running. I recently came across a working PS4 at a church sale for $80 and thought it would be wise to purchase it and sell it for $200-$250 for a quick flip. Brought it home and realized that the disc drive, although working, needed a good cleaning to function properly (it was making a rubbing noise because the block tray was getting stuck in the up position). Started disassembling it and managed to rip the 5v power supply off the motherboard :x great! It normally wouldn't be a problem but I ripped off one of the four solder pads from the motherboard. I'll now need to solder a jumper wire to the connecting via but the area of extremely tiny. So now I either have to attempt micro soldering or pay someone ($85-110) to repair it. Any suggestions from anyone?

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

Soldering a jumper shouldn’t be too hard. Use a fine tipped iron. Fine jumper wire - can be salvaged from an old power cord. Magnification - preferably a visor or microscope for hands free operation. Pre ball both contacts with solder. Hold one end of the wire with tweezers and the other end on your solder ball. Momentarily touch the iron to the ball to melt it all together then pull the iron back. Steady your hands by bracing them on the table and extending your pinkies. Practice on some junk board first. You can do this.

Use a longer wire than you need then cut off the excess with a razor knife.

Just curious, you are opening up a hard drive or is it a CDrom?

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

Micro soldering.

I like to use an iron that looks like the one on the left. The shorter tip allows me to brace my hand on the table while manipulating the tip like a pen. If the tip is too long like the one on the right it is harder because it’s like a big boom wagging out there in space trying to touch a small contact. The length amplifies the wiggles.

Unfortunately the iron shown is microwave heated and not cheap. But my point is try to find an iron with a short tip. Shorter the better the control. You don’t want to go mucking it up with a hardware store iron. You need to really “choke up” on it so to speak. It’s like cutting something small with a scalpel vs. a butcher knife.

Just a pro tip if you want to go down this rabbit hole.

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davtheram12
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by davtheram12 »

Sclass wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:27 pm
Just curious, you are opening up a hard drive or is it a CDrom?
Thanks for the tips! Definitely going to try it on junk boards first. No sense in destroying the PS4 motherboard. I opened up the CD-ROM. The whole console was caked in dust and some of it managed to get inside the disc drive. Worked as it was designed once I cleaned it out.

davtheram12
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by davtheram12 »

Sclass wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:42 pm
Just a pro tip if you want to go down this rabbit hole.
It's already started. My DW keeps calling me her electrical engineer because I keep messing around with electronics. I'm very curious about inner workings of items and learning about them keeps me happy. My next project is replacing the right analog stick on a working Wii U gamepad. Not difficult at all but since it still works, I'm less likely to fix it right away.

rref
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by rref »

Sclass wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:42 pm
Unfortunately the iron shown is microwave heated and not cheap.
The brand is Metcal* if anyone is curious. It is really nice to work with.

*https://learn.adafruit.com/smt-manufact ... ring-irons

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

Yeah Metcal soldering irons are wonderful. I use an MX500. It’s a twenty year old unit but it is unbeatable. If you’re patient you can find a used MX500 or PS2 on eBay for $300. It is worth it if you’re reworking modern high dollar hardware.

A lot of gear can be fixed by soldering alone. If a device is well designed it shouldn’t suffer from component failure. More common is mechanical stress related stuff from shock, vibration, thermal cycling, fatigue etc. on solder. A good soldering iron can save a lot of stuff.

My basic setup. $30 hot air station. Metcal MX500. Liquid flux. Not shown - 7x optivisor, tweezers, 0.6mm solder.

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SavingWithBabies
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by SavingWithBabies »

@zbigi That sounds frustrating. I had a similar problem and was lucky in that the kit I got worked on my bicycle and I was able to bleed the brakes without any drama. In my case, the brake pistons in the handles were made of a type of plastic that apparently swells in the brake fluid over time and then starts binding in the bore. I found some aftermarket metal pistons and swapped those in along with replacement fluid. Guess my only point here is if you get lucky and the brake bleeding kit works, you can definitely DIY. It was intimidating as it was not 100% clear what equipment was needed for the brakes on my bicycle but it ended up working out. Because the smaller amount of fluid and the more fiddly connections, I found it trickier to bleed the bicycle brakes compared to automative brakes. I was very close to handing it off to a shop except I was worried they might not want to install my aftermarket parts in a braking system due to liability.

zbigi
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by zbigi »

SavingWithBabies wrote:
Sun Apr 10, 2022 4:40 pm
In my case, the bike shop also didn't manage to successfully bleed the brakes. After that, they proceeded to replace various parts of the brake, suspecting that they are letting in air. They just called me (it took them several weeks), saying that the bike is ready and the bill is around $60. It's not nothing, but it looks like I'd never have the experise or conditions (a garage or yard) to pull this off. Or even the connections - the brakes are 15 years old at this point so getting spare parts is getting trickier (apparently some are no longer listed in stores), and the guys at the shop found them by calling people around and asking if anyone still has any.

I guess the lesson here is that the disc brakes are not really ERE friendly.

jacob
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by jacob »

zbigi wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 3:48 am
I guess the lesson here is that the disc brakes are not really ERE friendly.
Totally agree. Disc brakes are completely unnecessary on most bicycles. V-brakes or good caliper brakes can easily lock the wheel on any bicycle. Disc brakes are only necessary if you need to do a lot of carefully applied braking such as on downhill bikes. I've noticed that they started putting them on road bikes too (not much braking in road racing), which seemed silly. However, after googling around a bit, I learned that the reason is that they can make the wheels lighter (a rotating bike part feels 2-3x heavier due to the moment of inertia, think wheels, crank, pedals) because the rims can be less beefy. However, the main reason they need to do this is because there are minimum weight limits on road bikes and so unless you ride an optimal roadbike with an optimally trained body using a 4-5 figure wheelset, disc brakes on roadbikes is not the best place to put the money.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Mechanical disc brakes are an option. They are operated by a cable instead of hydraulic. You can get a set for about $100. It's often possible to replace a hydro set up with a mechanical set up but you need to check all the details to make sure it will work.

I like discs. Braking power is the same in the rain and snow. Snow and mud don't pack onto the caliper like with v or caliper brakes. If the rim gets bent it doesn't affect braking. Easier to remove a wheel for a flat tire. Pads last longer. Easier to set up. They may not be necessary (fixed gear die hards will tell you brakes aren't necessary) but they are better for some applications like bad weather commuting and all but the very most casual mountain biking.

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