Are you too good at fixing things for your own good?

[ultrarunner]

I guess the corollary is "No good deed goes unpunished"

Started to notice the ability to fix things isn't always appreciated...

Here's a few examples:

My neighbor's son said their vacuum cleaner stopped working and he asked if I could help him fix it... turned out it only needed new armature brushes.

A few days later... his mom was driving by and I mentioned the vacuum... she was less than pleased and said it was a wedding gift from the in-laws and she had wanted to get rid of it for years...

Another time a friend at work how was having dishwasher problems... told him to check the line for obstruction and that fixed it... his wife is also unhappy because she wanted a new Stainless Steel Bosch.

At work last week... one of the doors from the recovery refrigerator fell off... the hinge was broken... turned a new one out of monel at home on the lathe and good or better than new... the nurses were a little miffed because they had wanted an upgrade...

Seems lots of what gets tossed or replaced is simply because it is no longer wanted...

A big pet peeve of mine... coming from a farm family that had to make things last is discarding things simply because they are old... more than a few times I said to someone I hope no one decides to toss you when you're old...

It could be as simple as one person's cast-offs are an other's treasure...

When I look around and see what routinely gets tossed in the trash... it confirms that we truly live in a very rich country...

I managed a number of low income rentals... the Dumpsters would be over-flowing around the Holidays... overflow trash was a weekly problem and every home had the same size container by city ordinance.

It would never fail that a few month later lots of those Christmas gifts would end up in the Dumpster... especailly things like children's bikes and all that imported plastic junk...

I asked one little boy why his new bike was in the trash and he said his Mom was going to get him a new one next Christmas... I then asked why he needed a new one and he said because his was broken... all that was wrong was the chain had come off...

Fixed it and showed the Mom who didn't want it back... so I gave it to a little girl I know and it was her pride and joy...

 

[Cat_Driver]

Do you see the pattern yet. Offer to buy all the "broken" stuff for cheap, fix it and make some beer money.

It would be a win-win situation. The people that sell their old "junk" are happy you would buy it and your happy because you make some money.

Solves everything.

I'm always buying "junk" and making it work. 20 years ago a business tossed out a electric pencil sharpener. I asked if I could have it, they said sure, I got it home connected the lose wire and it still works today.

I bought a truck from the Government GSA auction drove it for 10 years and sold it for more than the auction price.

A lot of money can be made in this toss out society.

 

[ultrarunner]

I actually do this a lot...

Every car I have ever owned except one was used and many were basket cases when I hauled them home...

Same for shop equipment and appliances...

Upgraded the TV's at home when folks started going flat screen... got a beautiful Toshiba Picture in Picture, Surround Sound just for saving it from the trash....

Much to my tenants chagrin at times... they know if they call me... 99 times out of a hundred I will fix as opposed to buying new...

On a side note... I find more and more households don't own tools as basic as a screw-driver or adjustable wrench...

I make sure my neices...oldest is 10... always get a least one tool for the little tool boxes I gave them on their birthdays... and they are already on their way to making little repairs...

 

[LarryD]

I have been on both sides of that fence as well. It aint broke till I say it's broke.

Most of the time the missus is happy but other times she was really hoping for a new whatever. All things die eventually, just have patience.

Yesterday I helped a friend repair a control cable for his kicker motor. A new one was $80. Spent a couple hours soldering some wires and came home with a 12 pack of Alaskan Amber, 1lb of prawns, and two bags of cookies. It's good to be handy!

 

[whistlepig]

I'm 60 years old and still do some truck repairs. Brakes, belts, hoses, etc. The dealers want about $100.00 an hour to do most of this kind of stuff. $200.00 + an hour for brakes the dealers charge. $500.00 an axle set they want. I can do an axle set in two hours max with $59.99 of the best brake pads ever made. So it pays me $230.00 an hour to install an axle set of brakes. The only job I have ever had that pays me $230.00 an hour.

 

[super55]

I'm always fixing something. I will always try to fix something long before I junk it. If I junk it I try and strip every little piece possible for who knows what down the line. Steel is expensive these days and a lot times I may only need a small piece of sheet metal So I will take my power shears or air chisel cut out the metal and angle iron of washers just about everything. After I've salvaged everything I think I might need it goes to the scrap bin. After I get enough I will then give it to a local fella that collects scrap for supplemental income.

Personally I love the challenge of fixing stuff and trying to resurrect it again.

 

[Sutol]

Personally I love the challenge of fixing stuff and trying to resurrect it again.

So do I.

Fix it just because I enjoy fixing things and dont throw much away.

And......I always take the sticky lables off car parts when I fit them even if they are going underneath and no one will ever see what I've done.

How sad am I

 

[ultrarunner]

When I visited my Grandparents Farm as a child it gave me an entirely new perspective on things...

All the furniture in the house was home made and they didn't have a trash can or garbage service...

My Grandmother loved peaches and one year the blight got all of them... I thought I would surprise her and brought a case of DelMonte Cling Peaches with me... later that day, my Grandfather was using a punch as a con opener... they never had bought canned anything and didn't own a can opener.... everything was preserves put up in jars...

They were GREEN before it was popular... table scraps to the livestock, wood, paper and cardboard for kindling... metals and glass reused or held for scrap... old clothes for rags...etc.

In the workshop... I saw some old ceramic bowls on the top shelf held together with wire... my Grandfather said they belonged to his Grandmother and they were very precious in the old days... if one broke... you would wire it together because you never knew when or if you would have the opportunity to replace it...

They did have a small tractor that took years of selling timber to be able to buy...

I loved tractors and he would let me sit on it and pretend to be driving... once he saw grab the emergency brake and pull it sharply back... ratcheting all the way.

He came right over and showed me how to do it properly... push the button down and then pull the handle back... no ratchet noise and no wear to ratchet teeth...

I never forgot that lesson in taking care of equipment

 

[om21braz]

I can relate to your dilemma. The fun starts when you get the old "I don't know what happened, it just quit." Sometimes just telling what they did before it quit would be a big help LOL.

 

[KubotainNH]

I'm always fixing something. I will always try to fix something long before I junk it.

I'm the same, mostly out of need but sometimes habit because I've been doing it for so long. Many items are made better when the weak point breaks. Cars, tools, toys...you name it. My last 2 cars were free or very cheap.

Sometimes I fix things to save time, one example is I got a jump starter from HF for Christmas. Nice unit but the light stopped working in the first couple days. I got a rain check for replacement because they had none left. Called a week later and still none. I ended up pulling the cover off and resoldering a bad solder joint. Saved myself a bunch of time trying to get it replaced.

I do keep hoping our TV will break because it is a really old 19", would like a 32" LCD. Phones may be the most quickly replaced item.