Rediculous Life Hacks

[Iplayfarmer]

The "Life Hacks" trend has officially worn out its welcome in my opinion. It seems for every hack that's slightly innovative or helpful there are a dozen or more that are overly complicated, don't actually work, or attempt to solve a problem that doesn't exist. The other day I saw a YouTube video how a guy could spend 3 hours welding/grinding on $20 worth of materials to build a jig that uses a cent and a half worth of wire instead of a two cent zip tie. I looked for the link before I posted this thread but didn't find it.

Take this as an invitation to rant on ridiculous life hacks.

 

[GLyford]

Or when they use a hand hacksaw and a hammer and chisel to make a crude something-or-other to avoid using power tools...then use an angle grinder and plasma cutter in the next step. All to turn $100 worth of parts and materials into an ugly chair I wouldn't pay $10 for.

My favorite actual life hack related to the wire-to-replace-hose-clamps thing is rather than building or buying the thing with the sliding sleeve and the two cross pins was to double the wire, thread the tails through the bent end...into a pop rivet tool. Use tool to tighten wire, bend over, cut and jam into hose.

 

[frugalangler]

I'll admit, I frequently will spend time and materials I have in my shop to create a solution rather than spend money on a Ready To (fill in the term) solution, but I was born into a string saver family of have-nots and time was much more plentiful than money, and junk was much more plentiful as well. Yes, I'll admit that a lot of those 'hacks' seem ridiculous to us now, but I learned a lot from getting an education in the school of hardship, which unfortunately many kids today (and many adults as well) have never been exposed to, so for them it's easier to go pay for service as opposed to DIY, and now DIY has become trendy.

My dear father had a mantra, If you can do it yourself, even if you have to buy a tool to accomplish the task, long term you'll be of benefit and that tool will likely serve it's purpose again at some time. Yes, I've plenty of tools now LOL

 

[newbury]

I'll admit, I frequently will spend time and materials I have in my shop to create a solution rather than spend money on a Ready To (fill in the term) solution, but I was born into a string saver family of have-nots and time was much more plentiful than money, and junk was much more plentiful as well. Yes, I'll admit that a lot of those 'hacks' seem ridiculous to us now, but I learned a lot from getting an education in the school of hardship, which unfortunately many kids today (and many adults as well) have never been exposed to, so for them it's easier to go pay for service as opposed to DIY, and now DIY has become trendy.

My dear father had a mantra, If you can do it yourself, even if you have to buy a tool to accomplish the task, long term you'll be of benefit and that tool will likely serve it's purpose again at some time. Yes, I've plenty of tools now LOL

My parents and grandparents mantra was "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" which resulted in a lot of innovative solutions to problems that were a kludge but used stuff we had on hand or was very inexpensive. I still remember explaining to the police that my VW Beetle muffler made of 2 sizes of tin cans, one inside the other, separated by pink fiberglass insulation and bound together well by baling wire was as effective as a new store bought, despite saying "Dried Peas" on the side. They suggested painting it over so it wasn't so obvious.

Even today I will generally wander around my shops looking for "spare" materials before cutting up a "fresh" pipe or piece of wood for the odd job that pops up.

I view a lot of the "life hacks" as ideas to be put in my knowledge bank, to be used or modified as needed but taken with a grain of salt.

 

[frugalangler]

I view a lot of the "life hacks" as ideas to be put in my knowledge bank, to be used or modified as needed but taken with a grain of salt.

I subscribe to 'Indestructible' not because I want to build what some of these clowns create, but it gives me ideas on different ways to approach some of my projects - and actually have found some quite innovative ways to solve some puzzles of mine. If you haven't been entertained by that site, it's worth a look. What I've found is that of folks in the far reaches of the world can come up with some very creative solutions to today's challenges.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I like the idea of driving a dump truck missing a front wheel on a highway with the box raised just enough to balance things out.

As for ruining a perfectly good car battery (which are really jam packed with AA cells, saw it on You Tube) just because I need a couple is ridiculous!

 

[coldsteelva]

I just heard a story from a co-worker today about an old japanese grey-market tractor (may have been Mitsu), but I guess the gearshift linkage had a nylon ball that disintegrates after 30 years and spares are a no-go. The solution was a $7 body mount bushing from NAPA with a hole drilled through it for the gear shift shaft. Wish I had pictures.