I'll Fix Your Wagon

09/11/2021

Today we are setting up a new pair of oars for a customer's rowing tender to replace a set that was too short. We installed new hand stitched oar leathers, brass oar locks and leather buttons to get them all ready for use on the dinghy. Step through the photos for some more details on how it was done. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

07/08/2021

Today we are working on someone's sailboat. They had some older Beckson portlights in the aft cabin that were leaking. They had never been fond of them and decided to upgrade to ones made by lewmar that matched those installed in the main cabin. Look through the photos for a further explanation of the project. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

05/02/2020

It has been a bit slow in the shop due to the quarantine of late, but we have been keeping busy with some small repair projects. These speakers belong to a neighbor who bought them in the early 90s with lawn mowing money from one of his customers. They've had the drivers replaced once before in the early 2000s, and they now need another repair. Check out the pictures to see how we did it. What have you got that needs to be fixed.

01/19/2020

So in the shop today, we do a completely different project. This is a retro gaming consol that fits inside of an Altoids tin!! It runs off of a Raspberry Pi Zero single board computer and some software called RetroPie. I can not take credit for the design, but I can report that a lot of thought and effort went into the custom circuit boards and specific software required to make it work flawlessly. To see how we did it, scroll through the pictures for a more detailed explanation. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

12/18/2019

Today in the shop we did a repair and upgrade to a very useful tool. After a short hiatus, we found our parts washer pump had failed. So, we elected to replace it as well as adding a filter and drain plug to extend the fluid life and aid in changes when necessary. To see how we went about it, step through the pictures and read the descriptions. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

12/11/2019

Today on the bench we have a small form factor fully solid state PC. The fan was running excessively and ramping up to full speed frequently when performing simple tasks. This did not seem right so we cracked it open to see what we could find. After removing the CPU fan, the heatsink pressure side was found to be completely blocked with dust. Once cleaned and reassembled, it was back to its quiet old self again. To see more details, step through the pictures and read the descriptions. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

12/05/2019

Another project where it is all in the details, today we build a jig to cut a mortise for a new deadbolt strike plate using a router guide template bushing. The beauty of this set up despite the extra time to build the jig, is that it is repeatable on multiple doors to install the same piece of hardware. If you want to see how it all went down, take a look at the picture descriptions for a detailed explanation. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

11/30/2019

This may look like not that big of a deal, but this customer had the original mixing valve from 1960 in their shower and every time anyone turned on a water valve elsewhere in the home, the shower temperature would fluctuate greatly. As you can imagine, this was rather frustrating. We removed the old valve, installed a new pressure balance valve, and did so all without disturbing the original shower surround. Now the customer can take a shower at a comfortable water temperature regardless of other's water consumption at the same time. To learn more about the details, step through the pictures and read the descriptions. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

11/12/2019

Today we removed an inoperative porch light and relocated it to a more visually appealing location and added a photocell for dawn to dusk operations. The photos have further details if you'd like to know more about it. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

06/30/2019

Today in the shop, we are working on a vintage (mid 90s) honda lawn mower. In its day, it was a top of the line pro-sumer lawn machine. The customer brought it in due to the transmission binding up. We found a broken shift fork fouling the works. Flip through the pictures for more information. What have you got that needs to be fixed?

06/26/2019

While on a break from fixing things round the shop, I did a little You Tube surfing and stumbled upon this absolutely fascinating channel called Mustie1. He is a man after our own heart that rescues cast away machines from the side of the road or at yard sales and gives them new life again. His videos give you a one on one perspective of what it's like to troubleshoot and repair these machines and it totally feels like you're there at his shop watching, learning and sometimes helping. Give it a look see and tell me what you think!

Building on a budget, I repair,weld,mod,with whats on hand, come join in the adventure,