Aha! Found the perfect replacement adjustment arm for this bicycle trainer! #BikeTooter #repair #kludge

@ai6yr

Mother-in-law has a bunch of vise-grips she is trying to give away.

You make me think I can’t have too many vise-grips.

@AndrewHenry @ai6yr
Vise-grips are like duct tape: seductive but usually wrong. They can solve some immediate problems, but at the cost of long-term problems. That's fine if you're going to throw away the stuff you used them on when you're done, but you'll curse them later if you aren't.
@VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry So, how to fix this problem without vise grips 🤔

@ai6yr @AndrewHenry
You mean other than getting (or making) the actual right part? This may be one of the things vice-grips are good for: extending the life of something that would otherwise be useless. You don't care if you damage it, because the only other alternative is throwing it away.

The other thing they're good for is removing something like a rounded nut. You know you're going to throw it away once you get it off, so you don't really care if you damage it in the process. The key point is that vice-grips are most useful when the thing you're using them on is pretty much scrap anyway.

@VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry LOL looks like it's just a (missing) handle on the end of a bolt. i.e. essentially a fixed/permanent wrench.
@VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry new crank arm I guess needed at the end of this.
@ai6yr @AndrewHenry
Yeah, or you could get a bolt the same size (probably with a washer) and use a standard wrench on it. That looks like it was originally a standard bolt that had a cap with a crank arm attached. It looks like the original bolt head is still there, so you might be able to use that if you can remove the added widget on the end.
@VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry tried to add an arm, but needs to be attached to the bolt head. BUT, now I can use a standard wrench.
@VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry @ai6yr Hey now, don't be down on duct tape like that. I'm an engineer over here, and I know the Rule of Movement: if it moves and it shouldn't, duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, WD-40. /s
@Sempf @AndrewHenry @ai6yr
The problem with duct tape is that it won't keep that thing from moving for the long term. The adhesive in duct tape will dry out and crack before you know it. That's OK if you only need a short-term fix, but it sucks if you're left with the same problem, and now the thing that moves and shouldn't is covered in duct tape residue.

@Sempf. I always thought this rule was if it moves and it shouldn't, duct tape; if it doesn't move and it should, hammer.

@VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry @ai6yr

@VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry @ai6yr

Joe walks down the aisle of a hardware store, and cover his ears before passing by the duct tape section.

— Hey handsome! Let’s go repair something together.

Croons a particularly large roll of tape.

@wtrmt @VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry

The siren sounds of duct tape
Luring people in
Make them want to wrap stuff up
Leading to a life of sin

Strapping stuff together
With cloth, plastic, glue
It's all fine and dandy
You can even fix your shoe

It all seems to be working
No need for bolts or screws
Til you have a sudden failure
And your shoes you lose

Now I hear you can duct tape
Your broken bumper now
Still one day in the future
It'll still fall off, POW!

Their seductive rolls beckon
Fix everything thing with me
Alas another year in the sun
And it's broken again, see!

#poem (human written!)
#ducttape

@ai6yr @wtrmt @VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry

for years, i used duct tape for anything *except* ducting work.

then, i was running ducting out to a work space in the garage from the main house. i was *so* disappointed to learn that duct tape was no longer code for taping ducts... there is sometimes no justice in this life.

@paul_ipv6 @ai6yr @wtrmt @AndrewHenry
My understanding is that it's properly "duck" tape after the cotton duck fabric used to reinforce it, not "duct" tape.
@VATVSLPR @paul_ipv6 @ai6yr @wtrmt @AndrewHenry I'm going to have to pull canon trumping etymology on this one
@VATVSLPR @paul_ipv6 @ai6yr @wtrmt @AndrewHenry Interestingly the duct tape in Australia is pvc tape without cloth, basically like wider electrical tape, it's stretchy and not super adhesive.
Cloth tape is called gaffer tape, which comes from the film industry. Gaffers are the people responsible for lighting on a set and they use cloth-reinforced tape (just not on the gels or the light stands unless you want a booting) that is very adhesive, and very expensive.
The hardware store version is a pale imitation but is about a fifth of the price.

@stib @VATVSLPR @paul_ipv6 @wtrmt @AndrewHenry Australia has its own nouns... Like... "CBD" in Australia is very different from "CBD" in the United States. 😂

I was very confused about reading about the Sydney CBD one day until I finally figured out it stands for "Central Business District" and not the California "Cannabidiol", the ever popular near relative of marijuana everyone seems to want to cram into everything.

@ai6yr @stib @VATVSLPR @paul_ipv6 @wtrmt @AndrewHenry "CBD" for "Central Business District" is a common urban-related term in the U.S.
@lauren @stib @VATVSLPR @paul_ipv6 @wtrmt @AndrewHenry LOL, apparently I have lived in SoCal too long, CBD only means "not marijuana but close" in my brain wiring. 🤪
@ai6yr @stib @VATVSLPR @paul_ipv6 @wtrmt @AndrewHenry Well, OK. I'm here too, but CBD always has meant Central Business District to me, all the way back to UCLA and earlier.
@stib @paul_ipv6 @ai6yr @wtrmt @AndrewHenry
Here in the USA, gaffer's tape is similar to duct tape, but it's definitely not the same stuff. The big difference is that gaffer's tape is designed to be removed without leaving a nasty residue. Gaffer's tape is also matte while duct tape is smooth, so gaffer's tape won't result in specular reflections.
@VATVSLPR @stib @paul_ipv6 @wtrmt @AndrewHenry Gaffer tape is far superior, but EXPENSIVE. And there's a lot of "gaffer tape" on the Bezos Expo which is crap.

@ai6yr @VATVSLPR @stib @paul_ipv6 @wtrmt @AndrewHenry

Gaff tape is the best. Unaffordable most of the time, but worth the price. I miss doing lighting/rigging work. The companies would buy it in bulk so I could often make off with a roll or two without it being missed. lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWqNdXznQY8

Take Stuff from Work

Provided to YouTube by Virtual Label LLCTake Stuff from Work · King Missile · King MissileMystical Shit/Fluting on the Hump℗ 2004 Instinct RecordsReleased on...

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@VATVSLPR @stib @paul_ipv6 @ai6yr @wtrmt @AndrewHenry Gaffer's tape also doesn't stretch and tears easily and neatly. Pro Gaff (formerly part of the Shurtape brand) is the good stuff. Gaff will leave a residue if you let it sit long enough, especially on smooth surfaces.
@frog @VATVSLPR @stib @paul_ipv6 @wtrmt @AndrewHenry Thanks!!! Will note that brand. Have gotten twice buying random brands (admittedly from the Bezos Expo Of Crappy Stuff A Lot Now)
@VATVSLPR @stib @paul_ipv6 @ai6yr @wtrmt @AndrewHenry That reminds me that I need a roll or three.
@ai6yr @wtrmt @VATVSLPR @AndrewHenry
Back in the before times, when you could go to a hardware store without fearing deportation and without checking their policies on a variety of social and ethical issues, i once noted there were about six grades of duct tape ranging from the cheapest of the cheap to better than gorilla tape.