Handy-Man Corner

[Iowanian]

I'm tired of bad Chiefs news.....


I thought it would be a good idea for a thread on the Handy-Man.

Do you have any Home remedies, gadgets you've made, advice on car repair, home maint, sollutions to kill weeds in your yard, bugs in your garden?

Use Coke to clean your batteries? That type of stuff.
Home made floor dry?

[badgirl]

if you get mildew on some of your clothing because it layed against something damn or whatever, use liquid dishwasher detergent, put it right ont he stain and leave it a hour or so, it take it right out.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Glue residue removal.

OK.

Who has an idea how to remove dried "liquid nails" and glue?

The situation is, I put in a new tub surround, and must have exposed a little glue on the seams. Now, its discolored, and doesn't wipe off with cleaning.

If you are really desperate try a drop or two of brake fluid on a small area. Let it soak in for a bit then try scraping it off. Be careful though, that stuff will eat right through paint and plastic type stuff.

Or you might try a good rust penetrant. I mean the real kind, not wd40. Mopar makes the best I've ever used. When it comes out of the can it's kinda foamy at first, then it settles down into a liquid. I have used it to clean/remove all kinds of stuff that nothing else would touch. One example from a few years ago : The boys had gotten hold of a leaking ink pen. They had blue ink all over my basement. On the tile floor, painted walls, wood trim, terra cotta type tiles around the fireplace. I tried everything I could think of and nothing would touch the stuff. I went to get my razor scrapper and it had some surface rust on it. Sprayed the mopar stuff on it and noticed the ink started coming off my hands immediately. That stuff cleaned every single thing the little heathens tried to dye blue.

Duct tape, bailing wire, and rust penetrant. The handymans secret weapons.

[Iowanian]

Very true.

As per usual, Thinking my house was done and ready for sale, and the impending open house, while working on the tub glue issue, the light fixture crapped out. I'm no electrician, but had a new one installed in an hour. I did think to turn the power off though, because it never fails that I get shocked or melt a screwdriver.

[cdcox]

I use a milk crate for my 100' heavy-duty extention cord. I loop the male end to the crate so there is about 5' of slack to plug into the wall. I then coil/stuff the long end into the crate. It takes about 2 min to pull the cord back in and coil/stuff it in the crate. Next time I need to use it, I just pull out what ever length I need and it uncoils without any hassle.

[Kyle401]

Use dry laundry detergent instead of floor dry. It does a better job of soaking up oil stains and you can wash it off with a hose and then use a squeegee to finish the floor. This is no more work than sweeping and it leaves the floor much cleaner.

[Hoover]

Dear Handyman,

My home has copper gutters that are original to the home which is 90 years old. The gutters are attached under the tile roof. My gutters have leaks, how the hell can I fit it? Can I patch and sotter the seems.

Thanks

Mr. Drippie!

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by Hoover

Dear Handyman,
...
Thanks

Mr. Drippie!

"If ya get it, go to a doctor and get rid of it."

[Kyle401]

Originally Posted by Hoover

Dear Handyman,

My home has copper gutters that are original to the home which is 90 years old. The gutters are attached under the tile roof. My gutters have leaks, how the hell can I fit it? Can I patch and sotter the seems.

Thanks

Mr. Drippie!

You could sodder the seams or you could just use a silicon caulk on the inside. Caulking would be much easier but the sodder would be more authentic to the original construction. How's the new house?

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by Kyle401

How's the new house?

Realtor: "This is an early century..."
Hoover: "I'll take it!"
Realtor: "But Sir, the gutters..."
Hoover: "I'll take it!"
Realtor: "But SIR..."
Hoover: "Shut up! I said I'll take it! Where do I sign?"

[Cntrygal]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Last weekend, I had a brand new rod and a new baitcaster.........put the boat in the water......got a snag on the first cast, while pulling it, the rod broke. The second cast, with another rod/real...got a snag (using plastic worms that aren't supposed to snag easily).....pulling on the string(so as not to break another rod).....the string cut my finger like a deep paper cut.

Which brings me to my next tip.

A Product called DERMABOND is being used instead of stitches in alot of cases.....straight cuts, not on face etc.........................If you wash cuts on your fingers etc.......you can pinch them together and squirt Superglue on them, smear it over the top and it will dry and hold it closed.

It works the same, costs $200 less..........the dr stuff is heat activated or something, so the Glue takes longer to dry.....but it works. I've seen some pretty nasty cuts fixed that way.

When working with PVC... PVC glue works too.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by ptlyon

Realtor: "This is an early century..."
Hoover: "I'll take it!"
Realtor: "But Sir, the gutters..."
Hoover: "I'll take it!"
Realtor: "But SIR..."
Hoover: "Shut up! I said I'll take it! Where do I sign?"

FYI. I knew about the Gutters, I made them cut me a check for 6K for buying there place so I could fix them.

[Hoover]

The house is great, we love it. He have got over 4 inches of rain the past 2 days, and got just a tiny spot of water in the basement.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by stumppy

Duct tape, bailing wire, and rust penetrant. The handymans secret weapons.

Very true.

If it moves and it's not supposed to; use bailing wire or duct tape.
If it's supposed to move and doesn't; use WD-40 (or your preferred brand)

[Iowanian]

I've heard of people who claim they can cure warts by spraying WD40 on them, and then covering it for a week with a piece of duct tape.

Somewhere on the planet tonight, someone's girlfriend is going to think their unit looks funny wrapped in duct tape, with wd40 dripping out the end.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Somewhere on the planet tonight, someone's girlfriend is going to think their unit looks funny wrapped in duct tape, with wd40 dripping out the end.

Damn baby, looks like an axe fell on that thing. We better tape it back together.