Pluggers by Rick McKee for August 25, 2023

Not always. Some things just can’t be made to work.

and more and more things are made to not be fixable… just toss it and buy a new one. Ain’t that great for the environment. When we were young… glass bottles – reuseable; wood products – regrowable; appliances and motors, etc. – repairable. Wives/mother – the first one worked fine; husbands/men – stuck around and grew up and worked hard to provide (the only time he left was to take the kids fishing, hunting, etc.) Speaking of hunting, hunting and fishing was for food. Looks like the pluggers knew how life should be, and that is more than I can say for the young people who can’t even figure out what gender they are.

Nothing like making something work that my neighbors put out for the garbage . Some stuff is still repairable if you put the time into it . Thanks for the Leaf Blower and Weed Eater Guys ! … :-)

What galls me is the lack of repair parts. Our kitchen faucet (Grohe) is just over 12 years old and a quarter size rubber cover has worn out. I called and they said the part is discontinued. Suggested I buy a new one for $196 (just the nozzle not the whole fauchet!). The plastic piece is worth a nickel and only covers a rocker to select stream or sprinkle. Wife will not do with my duct solution even though the duct tape is endorsed by Red Green of The Red Green Show.

Same with my water system. They want big bucks for a new system. Only failure is a fan (bearings) that is OEM only and I am not allowed to buy one because I am not a licensed plumber! Well I modified a bathroom fan and installed that. That was a month ago. So far, so good.

Now ask me about the Apple all-in-one computer graphics chip. Flakey solder balls! Yes, FLAKEY SOLDER BALLS!

I’m both gladdened that right to repair legislation is coming in around the world, and dismayed that it’s necessary.

There’s a novelty sign in my house that says, “If a man says that he will ‘fix it’, HE WILL. He doesn’t need to be reminded every six months.”

I’ve fixed my dryer a couple times, but when the latch on the door busted, I just got in the habit of pushing something sufficiently heavy up against it to keep it closed. Works.

A hammer, duct tape, and baling wire take care of most ‘repairs’/get it working. Sometime a screw driver is also need for a pry tool.

Parents had a GE electric range 60 years ago. The one that the burner buttons light up depending on hot hot you want. Replaced the bulbs until they weren’t made any more (YEARS ago) but the thing still works just fine. I miss the opportunity to repair things. Everything is so expensive now, and repairs are a lost art/part. Got a new fridge a couple years ago. Paid stupid four digit price for it. After only 6-8 months, it has been a constant source of frustration and replacement part, if I could even get them. Haven’t even heard of a TV repairman in over 30 years! This throwaway mentality in Life is certainly disappointing for some of us.

As a teen (I am now 65=) I loved taking things apart the didn’t work and putting them back together. I never had parts left over and they almost always worked as good as new afterwards. I can’t wait until I retire (6 days) and buy my first home (few years to go). I intend to have a work space and go dumpster diving for real and find old stuff and fix it. Even if it doesn’t work afterwards, I intend to have fun.

I am cursed to have been taught by my father that “close enough” is not good enough. But sometimes you just have to do your best.

Duct Tape and mechanic’s wire and I’m good to go …….. :)

And that’s what counts……

When shopping for appliances, we always check to see if repair parts will be available. Just bought a replacement upper heating element for the oven in our nearly 20 yr old stove. Cost was less than a tenth of a new range and Hubby installed it in about 5 minutes from opening the package. Now, it’s good for another 20 years. It’s true that some things aren’t cost effective to fix, but so many other things are. It’s also true that most people don’t have a machine shop on their home property to make their own replacement parts. (Back in my grandfather’s day, a mechanic made his own tools.)

Hubby decided he wanted a wider gate in the chain link fence, but thought it was too expensive to buy it. He just made another to match the existing gate. Now, they will swing open from the center like cafe doors. He’s outside right now doing the part of the job he hates most— digging a hole for the post. (In our hard-pan soil, that requires an air hammer, and an auger attached to power drill.)

I don’t know what I would ever do without him or our computer tech son.

If the women don’t find you handsome, at least they can find you handy.

I love that “Good enough” Neighbor used to say “Good enough for Gov’mnt work”