Honey Do list.

[barry2952]

I'm sure you all have them. Here's one that that I've been promising for a number of years. We're in good shape, financially, because getting my wife to spend money is like pulling teeth. She drives an old rusted BMW during the winter because she can't justify a new car if the 25 year old beater still works. I, on the other hand, have no problem spending money.

She spilled the contents of her purse a few times because the clasp would no longer stay shut. Mark Cross is out of business and there are no new clasps available. A luggage repair place wanted a fortune to put a new clasp on it, but she didn't like the style, so it ended up on my Honey Do list. According to her, the purse isn't worn, it just has "patina".



It's amazing how much equipment was needed to make this repair.

Here's the problem. As the clasp closes a spring-loaded brass plunger puts pressure on the clap to keep it open. You can see the brass part between the clasp base and the clasp flipper, for lack of a better word. When you close the clasp the plunger gets pushed into the base and pops up again to rest on the flat spot you see on the flipper. This is what should have kept the clasp closed.



I drilled off the peened end of the hinge pin and drove out the pin. Once I removed the flipper I could plainly see what the problem was. The 90° angle between the flat spots wore away the top of the brass plunger. This lack of material lessened the spring tension until the clasp would no longer stay closed. I got out my letter drill set (very small increments between sizes) and found one that fit into the spring hole in the plunger.



Using my acetylene torch on a very low setting I was able to use some brazing rod to build up a new wear surface. The exact sized drill bit retained the integrity of the spring hole while welding.



After some filing I chucked the drill bit into a battery powered drill and used a fine file to finish shaping the part.



Reassembled the clasp and checked it's operation.



Wife's happy. My work here is done.

What's on your Honey Do list?

[Papa Dras]

-finish last details on entertainment center
-trim all the bushes in the back yard
-french drain on both sides of house before winter
-interview landscape consultants for next spring
-make a decision on some lamps she purchased
-build the shed so we can clean the garage out

...you got off easy.

[kritiostodd]

Nicely done, Barry!

My list:
1. Finish building automatic watering system for chicken coop.
2. Run electrical conduit/wire to coop for heat lamp before winter.
3. Paint new chairs for patio (color TBD by the Interior/Exterior Decorating Committee).
4. Build hypertufa table for patio (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-...508086,00.html).
5. Retrofit slide-out shelves in lower kitchen cabinets.

Gonna be a busy couple of months!

[Rockhead261]

According to her, the purse isn't worn, it just has "patina".

Consider yourself lucky. My wife is also quite careful when it comes to large expenditures, but she has a collection of D&B and Coach bags that would make Ivana Trump envious.

I just got back from a 3-week motorcycle trip, so my list includes:

1. Rebuild pool chlorinator (parts arrived today)
2. New seals for bottom of garage doors (parts ordered)
3. Replace faulty surveillance camera (part ordered)
4. WEED! I've really got to get a handle on this crabgrass situation.

[barry2952]

4. WEED! I've really got to get a handle on this crabgrass situation.

You have to do the pre-emergent for a couple of years to get rid of it. I've found that it likes being next to things that are hot, like manhole covers and concrete or asphalt curbs.

[spockcat]

Here's the problem. As the clasp closes a spring-loaded brass plunger puts pressure on the clap to keep it open. You can see the brass part between the clasp base and the clasp flipper, for lack of a better word. When you close the clasp the plunger gets pushed into the base and pops up again to rest on the flat spot you see on the flipper. This is what should have kept the clasp closed.




Reassembled the clasp and checked it's operation.

They look the same to me?

[barry2952]

It's the same picture to make two different points. You couldn't see the damaged area before I disassembled the clasp.

[spockcat]

It's the same picture to make two different points. You couldn't see the damaged area before I disassembled the clasp.

OK. Just thought I was somehow missing the "before" damaged portion.

[unimogken]

Nice job on the repair!

Sheesh where do I start with the list?
I'm not really a "list" kind of person because instead of motivating me it puts me into a state of being overwhelmed and/or depressed.

So I chip away here and there on projects until they're complete!

The past couple weeks I have been working on catching up on vehicle maintenance and trying to free up some space in the garage.

[Bibs]

- install 30 ft of wire mesh to keep the raccoons from setting up shop under the deck (just done)
- re-stain the kids play set
- wall paper 2 walls in the dining room (this one has been on the list almost a year!) I hate wall paper.
- relocate a a ceiling light box so I can put a ceiling fan in the stair/hall way (big job for me)

With 2 young kids, I tend to push off the non-essential things, and run around like a fool keeping the place from falling apart. I'd rather sit with the kids and read/play/draw than start some huge project...that's my excuse, for now!

[barry2952]

- install 30 ft of wire mesh to keep the raccoons from setting up shop under the deck (just done)

Hope this works for you. Never worked for me.

[HookedOn16v]

We have a brand new house (rebuilt) and the list never ends. Quite a few good topics in this forum that have helped over the last few months.


- Finishing sod today
- Fence next

The next few are in no particular order, the first two are mandates to be done ASAP, lol.

- Shed
- Shower sliding door
- Bringing in gravel for the yard
- Dog run

[Mk1Racer]

Nice work barry. Did you have to replace the hinge pin since you drilled the old one off? I think before I went to the trouble of brazing, I would have looked for a piece of brass rod the appropriate size, and drilled a new hole for the spring. I think a hobby shop would have been my first stop.

[barry2952]

With the spring pressure and the grooves that were already worn in the pin the likelihood of it coming back out on its own are pretty much nil. I had thought about capping a piece of tubing, but this worked fine.

[GreenandChrome]

my honey-do (and things I want to do):
Finish unpacking/organizing the garage - 50% done
Finish unpacking/organizing living room - 75% done
Hang pictures - 50%
put the felt sliders on bar stools and wine rack - 90% done
stuff the cable under the carpet (no euphemism) and trim - done
recycle the old satellite dish and paraphernalia
hang hooks and various storage "apparatii" in garage
organize DVD/BR (mostly me; needs to be alpha) - done
find wall-mount wine rack/glass holder
find kitchen island/prep cart for nook
find shallow cabinet w/ doors for hallway storage
hookup zen waterfalls in stairwell - done (honey did!)
build out garage storage to be gaming room (video, not cards/darts)

[rich!]

honey todo list this weekend...

backsplash kitchen (wife pick some crackled glass n travertine stuff - gonna be a pita)
finish up hurricane landscaping cutback (jungle yard)
more hurricane prep - caulk, pull out shutters n stuff
shampoo carpet/rugs/chairs/couch/etc

my list:
drink beer
golf
sleep (wife taking newborn + jr #1 out of town)

[Tornado2dr]

honey todo list this weekend...

backsplash kitchen (wife pick some crackled glass n travertine stuff - gonna be a pita)
finish up hurricane landscaping cutback (jungle yard)
more hurricane prep - caulk, pull out shutters n stuff
shampoo carpet/rugs/chairs/couch/etc

my list:
drink beer
golf
sleep (wife taking newborn + jr #1 out of town)

You mean making sure there isn't too much debris to slam into the house?

I'm taking the girls to the beach this weekend, coming back by myself on sunday. For the week:

Weed
walking path project(relay rock and some slate)
Rebuild climbing ramp into playhouse/swingset
Mount big-girl swing to playhouse/swings (this is a surprise)
work on broke-down vw.
Beer.
Silence.

[rich!]

yep - pretty much thin out the trees/palms/shrubs/vines/etc - allow more wind to pass-thru and strap down any newer plants

[SAPJetta]

Replace the inoperable ceiling fan in our master bathroom.
Swap the AC filter (this weekend)

There are probably more, but I try to conveniently forget them as often as possible.