Saturday, July 29, 2017

Fixit Clinic CCXXI 221 San Lorenzo Library


A bright sunny California day and the newly opened San Lorenzo Library hosts a fabulous Fixit Clinic. Among the highlights:

It was a two weed whacker day: one gas and one electric, both fixed:


We've been carrying around a bicycle patch kit for awhile now and finally got to fix a flat:


This Keurig uses the reusable K-cups, we're glad to get it working again:


in the past year we've held Fixit Clinics at these Alameda County Library System Branches: Castro Valley, Fremont, Newark, Union City, and now... San Lorenzo.

More photos from Fixit Clinic CCXXI 221 at the San Lorenzo Library can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KMevSDxEcYz2tz4B2

All in all, another satisfying day of fixing; we look forward to our next Fixit Clinic here.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Our Name In Tools



Fixit Coach Steve White designed a Fixit Clinic logo out of tools. As he writes in his accompanying email:

The F is a Monkey wrench that I bought in Malaysia in 1979.  These were the first adjustable wrenches made.  They were used by "grease monkeys" - so called because they had to climb all over those big early machines to get to the lubrication points - in the days before oil pumps.  And they got covered in grease in the process.  Later on the Crescent Tool Company realized that if they put the jaws at a 30 degree angle, and you turned the wrench over every 1/12th of a turn, you could tighten a hex head bolt when there was limited clearance.

The first I is a scribe I made in 1962 in an 8th grade shop class.

The X is a pair of needle nose pliers.  I don't remember when/where I got them.

The second I is a 1/4" drive flex handle and socket I got in 1977 when I was a mechanic working for the city of Beverly Hills.

The T is a crate hammer that I got from my dad.

The first C is a clamp - don't remember where/when.

The L is a square - don't remember where/when.

The 3rd I is a hex drive screw driver & bit that I got in the 1980's when I was working at Electrical Appliance Parts Co. in San Francisco - across from the Cal Train station.

The N is a folding rule that I've had since I was a kid in Wisconsin.

The 4th I is a metric box/open end wrench that I bought in 1973 when I was living in Munich, Germany.

The 2nd C is a clamp (one of 6) that I made in a welding class in Santa Monica in 1977.  The body was cut with a torch from 3/4" scrap.  Top "grip" is 1/8" steel plate, arc welded.  Bottom is a pair of 5/8" nuts, arc welded.  Uses 5/8" all thread with a ball ground on the end.  The "pivot grip" is the end of a 5/8" bolt with a hole drilled to fit over the ball on the all thread.  It is held in place by a split/lock washer with a 5/8" OD.  I bent it open/closed to get it around the neck of the ball and then flame welded onto the grip.  The other end of the all thread, not shown, has a 5/8" nut welded in place.  You need to use a wrench to tighten the clamp, but you can also use another wrench on the pivot grip to prevent the clamp from disturbing the alignment of your work while you tighten the clamp.  It was a great welding class - they let you bring in all sorts of projects if you wanted to.

As you can see, there are lots of good memories to go with the tools in the picture.

Steve's even incorporated it into his Fixit Clinic badge:


Thanks Steve for this wonderful design and your enthusiasm for Fixit Clinic.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Fixit Clinic on the PBS Newshour

A news crew from WGBH in Boston attended Fixit Clinic CCVII (207) at MIT; the segment they produced for local coverage was picked up by the nationally broadcast PBS Newshour.

You can watch it on youtube here: https://youtu.be/DarcSxamvE8 or just click on the embedded video below.


National coverage for Fixit Clinic has been great in raising awareness and we've gotten lots of inquiries on how to start a Fixit Clinic. If you'd like to start a Fixit Clinic in your area start here: http://fixitclinic.blogspot.com/p/start-one_13.html

(And Judy Woodruff is welcome at any Fixit Clinic, anytime, with all her broken stuff. ;-))