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Interesting Way to Repair Plastic Parts

Are you tired of having to throw away a perfectly good item just because some cheap plastic connector or other part broke? Like most of us, Matthias Wandel was just as frustrated, so he devised a novel way to repair these broken fittings.

The problem often faced when merely gluing the plastic piece back together, is that when under stress, any repair made will be weaker than the original one that broke in the first place. Matthias’s technique is to wrap the repair joint with nichrome wire that he melts into the plastic. His video shows how he does it.

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Repairing Things

How many times have you thrown something away because some little piece of plastic broke? The item was perfectly serviceable, save for that cheap little plastic part. I can’t count the number of times it has happened to me. Times are tougher now. Many of us just can’t afford to throw away things because of such small issues. Not to mention the other downsides of a throw-away society – toxic waste, exploitative multi-national corporations, dwindling resources, etc. Which leaves us in a quandary. How do we fix these things?

That is where I bring good news. In most cases, you do not need to throw these things away anymore. You can repair them. Even if they are plastic. I just posted clear instructions, complete with photographs and even video on how I repaired a large hole in a plastic automotive part. You can view it here:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Repair-Plastic-Parts/

Repaired air handler cover for car

I also recently salvaged an expensive vacuum sealer machine which had a crucial plastic clip that broke off. I used super-glue to join it back on, and then reinforced it with hot glue. It works great now.

Another recent repair was to a used refrigerator we had bought. In many older refrigerators, the … Read the rest

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Materials for the Maker/Provider

If we are are going to break free from total dependency on manufactured goods, we will need to make uncommon use of materials – materials we don’t normally think of using or materials that are new to us. Materials that will permit us to make a lot of different things ourselves, and in using them, we can craft our stuff to suit us better – whether we are hacking existing items or making something from scratch.

There is a great sci-fi book by Jerry Pournelle called . This book describes a race of people which are differentiated into specialized breeds. While such a concept (eugenics) is abhorrent to us here at ProvideYourOwn, the book is fascinating nonetheless. One of the breeds among this race is an engineering class. Not only are they brilliant tinkerers, but they have an array of materials and skills with which they are constantly making, rebuilding and/or hacking things to suit their needs. No rummaging through catalogs or wandering the store aisle; ending by buying something that only partly meets your need. No, these folks would cobble together exactly what they needed from a combination of miscellaneous parts and some very versatile materials. I think that … Read the rest

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