Tag Archives: repairs

How To

A quick fix to the chime of our baroque clock

Video

We recently purchased an ornate Baroque wall clock which was working perfectly fine at the store. When we got it home and put it on the wall, we discovered that the crystalline chime it makes each half-hour had disappeared. I assumed that it was a minor issue, so I opened it up carefully, after which I discovered that the hammer which struck the bell inside the mechanism had gotten stuck during the transport. After I got it unstuck, the clock started chiming again. Not an earth-shattering discovery but we were happy. Here’s a look at the process:

A Guide To A Good Life

Have great shoes? Use a cobbler.

If you like and buy quality leather shoes (over $100 or more), and if after you’ve worn them for some time, they need repairs (sole or heel repairs or restitching) don’t throw them away. Find and use the services of a good cobbler (a shoe repairman) to breathe new life into them.

A cobbler repairs shoes. A great cobbler can make old shoes look new again and can even repair a shoe’s sole so well that you’d never know it was replaced. Good cobblers are few and far between, but they’re the only ones that can help you, so it’s worth it to find them.

In this video, I talk about how I repaired three pairs of shoes.

There’s also a great video from Put This On, a web series about dressing well, where shoes and shoe repairs are discussed (found it thanks to Sheldon Schwartz). It’s a great video that teaches you how quality leather shoes are made and how they can be repaired. It will also show you how to shop for good shoes.

Enjoy!

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How To

Why I fixed my wheelbarrow instead of chucking it to the scrap heap

This video explains why I chose to fix my wheelbarrow instead of throwing it away. (It has to do with conserving resources and reducing waste.)

Its inner chamber couldn’t be patched after too many punctures, and when I went to Home Depot and Lowe’s, I discovered I couldn’t buy a new inner chamber, because they’re no longer stocked. I’d have had to buy an entire new wheel and tire assembly, for almost the same price as a new wheelbarrow. What I did instead was to buy a new tubeless tire, which is made of solid rubber and never needs replacing, thus saving my wheelbarrow from the scrap heap and eliminating the need for new wheels in the future.

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