Just wondering. Since Christmas I've put new a seal and bearings in washing machine, a new fan in drier, replaced pilot burner / igniter in pool heater, ripped down picture rails and plastered up the holes, fixed fridge ice maker, took a door off that wouldn't close, chopped a bit of f the bottom and refitted the hinges so it fits the opening evenly, fixed front door frame where it was coming away from wall and a lot of the usual house maintenance
So do you do the same things or is it just me being tight fisted?
koan
All of the above, and old watches as a hobby.
Chris M.
Make and fly model aircraft and also collect and repair old watches and clocks, as I am a watchmaker. (Since 1967)
Other than cars, it's electronics and acoustics for me. I'm usually doing something with analogue synthesizers, Hi-Fi, Loudspeakers, computers etc.
Tim
I gatta hobby of fixin up some home made wine, from pressed grapes to bottles to tummy
also have to repair dings in my surfboards fiberglass,
yardwork.
back in the high school days me n my one buddy grew thes plants ... oyea back then wed bmx i can fix bikes very good n fixin trails/ buildin halfpipes quarter pipes me n a group of us built i fairly decent skatepark
other then that ... odd jobs/ pointless little tasks around the house
Speaking of "plants" the one thing I don't do is gardening. I'm sure the activity gives lots of pleasure to some but to me it's one of those jobs that's never finished, you get the place looking OK and two weeks later there's weeds popping up and things to be pruned, it just goes on and on, pointless.
koan
Fixing things is what I do for a living.
Spent some quality time the other day with some TNA Robag VFFS baggers. Made in... Australia!
I very rarely pay for repairs, oil changes, tire installation and exhaust system welding are about it for cars and I fix that which goes wrong around the house.
This summer I'll be doing a mild rebuild of a DeWalt model MBC radial arm saw made in 1955 or so.
Michael
4 stroke lawn mowers
vintage TRS-80 computers and accessories
builds flat pack furniture (don't ask... well.. I have kids who ruin everything so there's no point buying nice furniture..yet)
various maintenance tasks around the house
I.
" I don't do is gardening. I'm sure the activity gives lots of pleasure to some but to me it's one of those jobs that's never finished, "
its something i enjoy even after i just cut the grass really good ill just hang out on my patio n drink a couple beers n admire my well done job
What I try not to do is the three "p's".That Painting,Plastering and Plumbing.
For work I build road cases for transporting delicate equipment around the world.
Equipment from Denture moulds to V8 supercar engines and windscreens.
Regards
Darren
All of the above with the addition of people - I am a Doctor.
Don't do watches however I do repair clocks, not so keen on the garden but do keep it tidy, do less painting these days.
Bill
Networking, Servers, and Computers.
G'day all, well I'm new to this forum so why not start with a whinge? I seem to spend most of my time fixing holes in the bank balance made by her indoors, beats me how she does it really. I fix industrial air conditioning in my day job and video recorders, nintendos, fluffy toys and whatever else the kids lay their hands on at night. Oh, and about once a month I'm allowed to spend a few hours on the benz, makes life worthwhile...
Cheers,
Ken
I do not fix anything in/around the house at all. I might replace a lightbulb under extreme duress. I guess that is because I have to fix up other people's mistakes every day in my day job. Generally I am the last person in the line having to fix things that at least 4 others tried to fix.
Not much of a handy-man. I did try to repair my marriage. Bombed out on that one...
At least I have both carspaces in the garage to myself now. ::)
heh 450,
that was one of the best replies yet! ;) commiserations mate!
however, now you have room for only 2 handbrakes in the garage, and not 3!
Quote from: 450SE_melbourne on 16 July 2009, 08:52 PM
Not much of a handy-man. I did try to repair my marriage. Bombed out on that one...
At least I have both carspaces in the garage to myself now. ::)
The best cure for breakup blues to to buy additional mercedes cars ;)
I should have about 50 by now but just the one keeps me busy enough ::)
Judging by nathans collection, he should be on his 500'th wife by now
just dont tell the other 499 wives about the other one!
This thread really hits home for me, as it touches upon my personal pet theory concerning the recent backsliding of civilization. I fix Volvos for a living, and anything in my personal life that needs it, or at least give it a good try. I am appalled at the lack of knowledge that the general public has in how things work. It seems as though the interest or ability to fix things is not only not valued, but actually disdained by most people. I put this down to lack of curiosity, which to me is the same as lack of intelligence, no matter the individual's success in one specialized field. Successfully diagnosing and repairing machinery, far from being banal or demeaning, builds valuable skills in abstract and organized thought and implementation of the basic Scientific Method. In the US at least, I think that this deterioration started after WWII when much of the populace moved away from farming and into the urban environment. To survive as a farmer, one had to have some degree of mastery in machine repair and maintenance, construction, hydraulics, electrics, not to mention that uncommon commodity "common sense". Now everyone is a specialist, with no ability to generalize or transfer skills. I much prefer the company of people who can actually do something (like the contributors to this list, obviously).
OK, rant over :)
John
Quote from: nathan on 17 July 2009, 03:42 AM
heh 450,
that was one of the best replies yet! ;) commiserations mate!
however, now you have room for only 2 handbrakes in the garage, and not 3!
Thanks - but in the end, it was for the best. ::)
I have been looking into my backyard for a little while now, working out if, how & what the best approach for additional car storage could be. Land space restrictions around inner Melbourne make it a little difficult to gain the third garage space.
First option is to dig down & install a 'stacker' style unit. Messy & expensive - especially given the sandy soil in my location & the fact that I'm about five feet above sea level...
I'm fortunate to have a 'larger' block of land, but in order to build the extra garage car space, I'd have to lose the inground spa - an asset to the house & myself, whichout which, would drastically reduce the chances of meeting a new future ex. :D
Quote from: 450SE_melbourne on 23 July 2009, 08:20 PM
I'm fortunate to have a 'larger' block of land, but in order to build the extra garage car space, I'd have to lose the inground spa - an asset to the house & myself, whichout which, would drastically reduce the chances of meeting a new future ex. :D
Ah yes, don't ever get rid of that spa, women love them, and if they dont, its just because someone hasnt shown them why they should 8) :o
Quote from: jpstuckey on 22 July 2009, 09:17 PM
.............. I am appalled at the lack of knowledge that the general public has in how things work. It seems as though the interest or ability to fix things is not only not valued, but actually disdained by most people...........
John
I'm a consulting engineer during the week, and over weekends I fix other peoples old benzes. I've turned it into a little business, which is welcome as I need the cash to assist with my family's medical bills etc. So while I spend my weekends constructively, my contemporaries sit around drinking beer, and THEY are the ones that look down on ME as being second rate, covered in grease etc. Really quite sad.
And just incase they think I'm wasting my time, the surplus funds from my car endeavors is paying for my trip to Finland. So they can go suck on that.
Oh, and BTW, I actually enjoy working on the cars, learning all the time.
i prefer field working with tools & a laptop also, and doing something different and being somewhere different everyday.
occasionally i do in house training which requires me to sit at a desk in front of a computer all day and that drives me insane. I couldn't think of anything more boring or depressing to do all day everyday, but sit there and watch my backside grow wider, yuck.
I repair reef.
That must have had limited opportunities in Alaska?
I shall be experiencing the fly in fly out mining expeirience next week, will be interesting to see if i like it. I somehow doubt that im man enough to do it full time, I dont like getting my hands dirty or working in dirty environments - thats sure to go down real well. ;)
Vintage audio equipment (valve) from the 1950's and 1960's equals my car passion, also watches and for most of this year, a home renovation, and alarmingly I can say I have not had one tradesperson in the place, yet lol. So I can't confess in print what I've done...
Also handy with timber and metalwork, electronics, the usual back shed stuff. Average painter though.
Nor working atm, so a bit of time to get back into projects. Last girlfriend wanted me to sell a car to put towards a bigger place so end of that, hahahahahahaha.
Regards,
Carl.
Quote from: Carl Jones on 18 August 2009, 07:44 AM
Last girlfriend wanted me to sell a car to put towards a bigger place so end of that, hahahahahahaha.
I'm glad to hear that. Selling a car because of someone else is something that leads to a lot of regret.
Quote from: s class on 18 August 2009, 10:58 AM
Quote from: Carl Jones on 18 August 2009, 07:44 AM
Last girlfriend wanted me to sell a car to put towards a bigger place so end of that, hahahahahahaha.
I'm glad to hear that. Selling a car because of someone else is something that leads to a lot of regret.
haha, yes, thanks s class. Of course, all my female friends said I was an ****hole, my male friends, said, "Good for you."
Here is a pic, I still have the one in the background hahahahahahah. Of course, I celebrated the end of the relationship by purchsing the W116. What a wise decision that was!
(http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n281/carl308888/Ferrari%20308%20GTB/?action-view¤t=lydia-1.jpg)
Hmmm, something up with pics maybe, i'll try again:
(http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n281/carl308888/Ferrari%20308%20GTB/?action-view¤t=lydia-1.jpg)
I'll have a go at fixing anything (except electrical stuff), cars, clocks and watches, old furniture, women, Mercedes central locking, disobedient dogs, what you got?
Chris M.
My backyard. That's what's kept me busy and away from the cars. We moved into the new house in Nov 07. It wasn't until Sep 08 that I removed the three parts cars, trees and all crap from the backyard so we could start on the turf and more recently, a brick paved area bordered by brick planter boxes. I got 2500 free bricks that were previously used as pavers. Sometime in Feb and March this year I dug them up, brought them home and high pressure cleaned them as needed.
The most satisfying part of the whole excercise thus far is that I've never laid a brick before and by some miracle, the paved area and walls have turned out remarkably well. A brickie would've done it neater and faster but I can't complain, we've saved a bundle but it's been an eye opener to appreciate the expertise a pro develops over years of experience. I've made dozens of mistakes along the way but somehow it's come together well. A gun brickie might lay what - 600 bricks a day or more? My best was 56 ::)
(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2855/imgp3153large.th.jpg) (http://img41.imageshack.us/i/imgp3153large.jpg/)(http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/4171/imgp4739medium.th.jpg) (http://img18.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp4739medium.jpg)(http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/8056/imgp3457large.th.jpg) (http://img245.imageshack.us/i/imgp3457large.jpg/)(http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/338/imgp4868medium.th.jpg) (http://img269.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp4868medium.jpg)(http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/8550/imgp4917medium.th.jpg) (http://img32.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp4917medium.jpg)(http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2742/imgp5080medium.th.jpg) (http://img32.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp5080medium.jpg)(http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/2614/17042009665medium.th.jpg) (http://img194.imageshack.us/my.php?image=17042009665medium.jpg)(http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/6214/25042009674medium.th.jpg) (http://img32.imageshack.us/my.php?image=25042009674medium.jpg)(http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8590/imgp6322medium.th.jpg) (http://img18.imageshack.us/i/imgp6322medium.jpg/)(http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/4238/imgp6341medium.th.jpg) (http://img18.imageshack.us/i/imgp6341medium.jpg/)(http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3111/imgp6378medium.th.jpg) (http://img18.imageshack.us/i/imgp6378medium.jpg/)(http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/4649/imgp6399medium.th.jpg) (http://img194.imageshack.us/i/imgp6399medium.jpg/)(http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6513/imgp6401medium.th.jpg) (http://img34.imageshack.us/i/imgp6401medium.jpg/)(http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3927/20102009799medium.th.jpg) (http://img132.imageshack.us/i/20102009799medium.jpg/)(http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/1453/22102009804medium.th.jpg) (http://img194.imageshack.us/i/22102009804medium.jpg/)(http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/6547/22102009807medium.th.jpg) (http://img198.imageshack.us/i/22102009807medium.jpg/)(http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9824/22102009805medium.th.jpg) (http://img132.imageshack.us/i/22102009805medium.jpg/)
Gee, that's a remarkable achievement Oscar! 8)
I would imagine that parking of 116es is now forbidden on the new turf. ;)
Tim
dearest Oscar,
My whole block is a sandpit with a brand new house on it.
your photos are troooly inspirational.
My biggest achievement this week was pulling a massive amount of thorny weeds out, and then growing frustrated at the situation and simply setting fire to the rest of the backyard. The neighbors were not impressed.
Thanks guys ;) definitely no heavy vehicles allowed in the backyard. Bit of a shame really. Just wish I had a couple of acres off to the side where I could accumulate sub $1k mercs. 8)
Quote from: Patrick Bateman on 24 October 2009, 08:34 AM
My biggest achievement this week was pulling a massive amount of thorny weeds out, and then growing frustrated at the situation and simply setting fire to the rest of the backyard. The neighbors were not impressed.
I hear ya. Not pictured is a ratty 40yr old olive tree that used to be behind the clothes line. It dropped a couple of limbs during storms and it had to come down. At a ridiculous $15 for a 6'x4' trailer load of green waste at the tip, once chopped up, we had a few bonfires instead. I was surprised to not hear from council at some stage. Don't know the rules on backyard fires but I figured I'd not ask questions first so I could plead ignorance later.
Looks good oscar.
56 bricks a day, around 5 or 6 an hour, not bad, that's about what I'd manage the way I stuff around ;)
koan
So when are you coming to Perth next Oscar.... I need some paving done ;)
PB, gardening not being my forte, I would love to be able to execute a gardening strategy that involves the liberal use of fire. However being perched on the edge a national park in an area renowned for its ability to burn to the ground every 15 years or so makes me slightly hesitant. Me thinks the authorities would take a very dim view indeed of such an approach.
My current strategy with the garden is to ignore it until it gets so bad we have to get a Bobcat in. This has the benefit of requiring very little effort on my part.
I shouldn't even have a garden at all. When i sat down and screwed around with my house plans I some how forgot that i was a car enthusiast, my ultimate dream was to be able to drive cars into the back yard and have a big shed to work on them. That's never going to be possible now without serious structural changes that are never likely to pass council approval.
Id have about 3 or 4 old mercs at any one stage being parted out - what a paradise that would be ;)
Quote from: koan on 24 October 2009, 01:08 PM
56 bricks a day, around 5 or 6 an hour, not bad, that's about what I'd manage the way I stuff around ;)
And that was a very busy day. More than 10hrs from memory is it any wonder I can't afford a change in career path at the moment. :o
Pat, it's amazing the things you miss or unknowingly omit from the plans. I was lucky enough to have the shed that was already there, built back in 84. Otherwise I doubt the minister for finance would've allowed a shed. I have backyard access but only just. The house measured out with a 2.3m gap between it and the shed. A w116 with both side mirrors only just squeezes past.
As for gardening/landscaping, flutes I used to scoff at what some people paid for a landscaper to do to an urban backyard. Now I appreciate more how much of a time consuming laborious PITA excercise it is, I sort of wish we could've gone into debt more to get it over and done with.
I also have 2.3 meters between my house and the side wall - unfortunately there is also a gutter downpipe installed there which brings it significantly less than 2.3 meters. There is also one of those pesky water meters very near that gap so its pretty much impossible to drive down there. :(
Quote from: 450SE_melbourne on 16 July 2009, 08:52 PM
Not much of a handy-man. I did try to repair my marriage. Bombed out on that one...
At least I have both carspaces in the garage to myself now. ::)
It was the lack of car spaces that kept my marriage together....................... I couldn't find another place with garage space for 5 cars, so I had to stay here............... :D :D :D
Sorry mate. It sounds like you're doing ok, though. :)
Seriously, I enjoy playing with little Honda CT90 and CT110 motorbikes and the occasional old camera.
Quote from: 13B on 29 March 2009, 09:04 PM
vintage TRS-80 computers and accessories
13B, that's pretty impressive.
How many TRS80's do you have? What do you do with them after you've restored them?
sometimes i buy old motorcycles with some work on it and than i can fix it up , and the only motorcycles i buy are yamaha RD 350 lc YPVS 2stroke after fixing it up i sell them but now days the RD350 isnt that easy to find annymore also the RD500 is getting rare , last year i fixed up an suzuki RG 250 2stroke sold it few months ago the RG is also in my country hard to find , hope to find another RD350 soon becouse its fun to work on and fun to drive and fun to sell it to an RD enhousiast who gives it good care :)
greetings : johnny
When not working 144 hour fortnights i spend all of my spare time fixing my retic thanks to my beautiful golden retiever :D
Sorry to bring up a dying thread, but I didn't see this one until now.
I mostly work on computers, electronics, cell phones, networks, websites, Ipods, and with software. That includes programming / building / maintaining / servicing (when I have time). I find I save a lot of money doing these things on my own. I never really buy a new computer... it just seems to evolve over time. I try to get things which will both work with what is already inside and which will also offer whatever newer technology is available. Sometimes a bit tricky.
I enjoy gardening, too. I took 4 years of agriculture and horticulture in high school. Although, last year sucked. We got so much rain, my watermelons exploded and my corn rotted from mold. :o
I know a little about a lot. If it is broken and I think I can fix it, I will, to the best of my ability, find out how. So, I guess it is mostly out of necessity that I learn things. I guess it's pretty diverse, but electronics are definitely my forte.
And I think I saw someone post about a TRS computer. A TRS-80 was my first frankenmachine. ;)
I fix rugby league matches.
Hi, I'm 29 years old, my name is Ryan Tandy -and I fix Rugby League matches that I play in.
Hahah... A few people might get a laugh out of that. :D :D :D
I fix houses. I also fix disobedient children.
I'll have a crack at fixing most things before I pay someone to do it, not entirely because I'm a tightarse but mostly because I like to learn new things all the time. I can't be idle - it's not in my nature.
I used to fix computer systems for mid to large sized companies, I wasn't so much hands on and my job was best described as a Babysitter for "Gifted" adults who did all the work.
Most of you probably would believe the actual work i had to do to keep my Company running but some day it will make for a bloody funny book.
Prior to that I worked in related industries (Information Tech) but Ive been far more diverse than that including serving Summons/Court Orders, private Eye work (Enquiry agent), Hospitality (Kitchen/Cook/Kitchen hand/Dishwasher), Tourism Coach driver/Host, Comms Tech, and for a fair while on and off Driven trucks local and interstate. Add to that many years of part time Limo driving and Cab driving and its been an interesting life so far.
And now Im a Grazier breeding Sheep.........
Oh and my First computer was a Sinclair ZX80, then a Dick Smith Cat200? then an Amiga, Commodore 64.
There were so many at one stage I kinda forget but there were a few Macs in there as well