One of our repairers asked me to test an extension lead he had acquired at a car boot sale. Our portable appliance tester can test extension leads: in the photo you can see the lead (orange) is plugged into the tester and then connected back at the other end (via the short black lead). The point of this is to check whether the earth wire is connected at both ends; and in this case, we see that the earth continuity test has failed.
How could this be?
The simple answer is that there was no earth lead in the cable, as this photo inside the socket shows. The manufacturers have used two-core flex, and also there’s no clamp on the cable, meaning it could easily be pulled out in use.
Not good. Lesson: get the car registration number when you buy anything potentially risky.
This child’s electric jeep had come in last month when our normal session had been cancelled, but I took it on as a job to do at home.
The problem was simply that it would not go.
Checking the battery voltage showed it to be dead, but with a temporary supply there were signs of life with the lights and sound effects so it seemed possible that the electronic controller (top of photo) was still working. The customer agreed to risk investing in a new battery which would either cure the problem or enable me to diagnose whatever else might be amiss.
With a new battery, fully charged, there was still no response to the accelerator but crucially everything worked when the jeep was driven by means of its remote control.
That meant that we could eliminate the onboard electronics and the motors: the next most likely culprit was the accelerator.
From the way it clicked I could tell it was just an on-off switch.
Having figured out how to remove the pedal assembly I could get access to the switch connections. Notice how they have used a twin switch, meaning that there are spare normally-open connections on the right.
Shorting across the connections on the switch brought the beast to life, proving that the switch contact was the culprit…
…so I just had to move the wires over to the spare pair of on-off terminals.
Put everything else back as I found it and job done.
The key here was to start with methodical diagnosis. And although the owner had helpfully brought the instruction booklet (never throw those away!) on the first visit, I didn’t learn until later that there was a remote control. It was the fact that it worked under remote control which enabled me to pinpoint the fault.
Lesson: bring all its accessories and ancillaries with the item you want fixing.
On 18th April we had to cancel at short notice as nearly all our repairers were away, and our refreshment person was uncertain about her availability. I was at home (dealing with a pre-booked repair) and as I live just across from the hall I was also intercepting anyone who had not seen the cancellation notices. This was my first extra patient: a dining chair with a broken back, where a previous attempted repair had failed.
Normally we can’t do proper repairs on furniture because there isn’t the time, but as I was at home with all my materials and gear, I was able to take this one on. After cleaning our the glue residue from the last repair I glued and clamped the joint and left it to cure overnight.
Next, by way of an unexpected bonus, I thought I would tidy up the missing wood at the back of the broken repair. Again, another overnight stage with wood filler (in two stages, because you can’t build it up in one thick layer).
Sanded, stained and with a light touch of varnish, it looks reasonably tidy.
Now the trickiest stage. The repaired joint was at risk of breaking a second time because it won’t be strong enough to withstand the bending force when someone leans back. So with the aid of an extra-long 4mm drill and a specially-made jig to ensure true alignment, I carefully drilled a deep hole from underneath up into the side member of the chair-back…
…popped a tiny bit of expanding adhesive down the hole, and tapped in a steel reinforcing pin.
Our session today (21 March) was our busiest ever, with record donations and cafe takings, so thanks to all concerned. Our eight repairers dealt with dozens of items.
The sewing team repaired a pair of shorts, shortened trousers for two customers, shortened the sleeves on a cashmere sweater, adapted a dog coat and replaced the elastic straps on a car cover.
Our mechanical and electrical team were kept busy too, cleaning and sharpening numerous secateurs, shears and loppers. They repaired two electric clocks, removed rust from a tin opener, and repaired:
You can now ask us to send you a reminder the day before our sessions by providing either a mobile phone number (for a text message) or your email address.
We don’t ask for your name, and you can have a reminder either for just the next sesssion, or all until further notice (if you want to cancel, just reply to the reminder to say so):
This brand new mini waffle maker failed its appliance safey test because its plug is unfused. It’s a Chinese import bought on Amazon. Be wary buying electrical goods online… This is not an isolated case.
Our insurance does not cover knife sharpening at the moment because insurance companies are generally refusing to provide cover thanks to fears of knife crime. However, we can sharpen shears, secateurs, mower blades, scissors and the like, and expect to be able to do so until there is a rash of mower-blade attacks.
Internals of a novelty illuminated Christmas decoration
18 April
16 May
20 June
18 July
15 August
19 September
17 October
21 November
You will find us at the Memorial Hall Market Square Newent GL18 1PS
Doors open to the public at 10:00 and we ask for items to be picked up by 12:45 so that we can clear the hall by 13:00. Thanks for your cooperation in this.
This commemorative plaque came in one Saturday with its paint scuffed and looking in a very sorry state. Could we restore it in time for the forthcoming birthday of ‘Gyp’, one of the two people it commemorated?
This was a job to take home because it was going to take a lot of time and care. Fortunately it went smoothly: the lettering was lightly engraved into the surface so after a coat of matching paint I was able to pick out the engraved letters with a sharp blade.
The stories behind the plaque were immensely sad and the job was of great personal importance to the person who brought it in, so I was pleased to be able to do it and complete it on time.
Our customer said this lawnmower didn’t work. After checking it out, it worked fine; possible some dirt in the commutator was dislodged when we took the motor cover off. They also wanted the blades sharpened, but the bolt holding them on was unfortunately seized completely solid so we couldn’t help.
How could this be?
On 18th April we had to cancel at short notice as nearly all our repairers were away, and our refreshment person was uncertain about her availability. I was at home (dealing with a pre-booked repair) and as I live just across from the hall I was also intercepting anyone who had not seen the cancellation notices. This was my first extra patient: a dining chair with a broken back, where a previous attempted repair had failed.
Normally we can’t do proper repairs on furniture because there isn’t the time, but as I was at home with all my materials and gear, I was able to take this one on. After cleaning our the glue residue from the last repair I glued and clamped the joint and left it to cure overnight.
Next, by way of an unexpected bonus, I thought I would tidy up the missing wood at the back of the broken repair. Again, another overnight stage with wood filler (in two stages, because you can’t build it up in one thick layer).
Sanded, stained and with a light touch of varnish, it looks reasonably tidy.
Now the trickiest stage. The repaired joint was at risk of breaking a second time because it won’t be strong enough to withstand the bending force when someone leans back. So with the aid of an extra-long 4mm drill and a specially-made jig to ensure true alignment, I carefully drilled a deep hole from underneath up into the side member of the chair-back…
…popped a tiny bit of expanding adhesive down the hole, and tapped in a steel reinforcing pin.
This brand new mini waffle maker failed its appliance safey test because its plug is unfused. It’s a Chinese import bought on Amazon. Be wary buying electrical goods online… This is not an isolated case.
Our customer said this lawnmower didn’t work. After checking it out, it worked fine; possible some dirt in the commutator was dislodged when we took the motor cover off. They also wanted the blades sharpened, but the bolt holding them on was unfortunately seized completely solid so we couldn’t help.