Most anything, using the handyman's secret weapon...
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2025
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So remember, if the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy
Keep your stick on the ice.
Yeah, was gonna say, “duct tape. We’re done here.”
Remember that small era in 2008 when everyone was making stuff out of duck tape? Had a guy go to prom in a bright pink tux made of duck tape in my school.
The duct tape wallets were everywhere
Don't know if this fits with what you want to get at, but the main part of the rear mudguard for my mountainbike has now been the cut-up bottom of a 1.5l plastic bottle, fixed with zip-ties to the end of the bike, for many years.
Not only is it superior in function to all the expensive commercial variants I used up to now (actually has a suitable shape and size to catch all the mud...), but it surprisingly also seems to be more durable. And also lighter.
Optics are... special... though.
But I really see that as a positive point: The more ugly a bike appears, the less likely it will get stolen.
Besides, it is a nice talking point when meeting new people :-)
I love it! I love being able to hack something together that's better.
I feel you on the aesthetics OTOH I chose a gigantic purple milk crate attached to the back rack for that reason as well
Using Shoe Goo to hold a patch in jeans. It's orders of magnitude better than those crappy iron-in patches that usually fall off after a couple times through the wash. It lasts longer than needle and thread because it gets into the weave, stabilizes and reinforces the weakened denim around the hole/tear.
Shoe Goo is great for fixing lots of stuff. It's basically liquid duct tape. Of all the things I've attempted to fix with Shoe Goo, the only ones that failed were, ironically, shoes.
For shoes I use amazing goop aquarium sealant. My dad once glued some quarters to the ground by a vending machine outside of his job. It took 8 years for the kids in the apartment complex to finally pry it up and they ended up taking part of the concrete with it.
Wow awesome, this is going in the bookmark pile. I've been so annoyed with every adhesive I've tried for fabric. Cheers for this tip!
You completely reminded me of this stuff called "Plumber's Goop" which I never once used in a plumbing application but it was everywhere in my fix-it life.
It was basically some kind of silicone glue-sealant and heavily rubberized, or at least the cured product was like rubber, but also tougher than a $2 steak.
I used to re-tip pool cues with it! No lie I've played more than 10,000 games of snooker/pool and never once did a tip fly off. The ability for it to weather that level shock and shrug it off was incredible to me!
With exception of some incompatible materials, for a few decades it was my "do you want to stick these things together forever" go to lol
It also smelled like a skunk's ass. And probably was deleting brain cells in realtime. Maybe that's why I haven't seen it on shelves for a while
I made a padlock cover with a cheap bin and a hinge from a dollar store.The lock used to freeze all the time in the winter.
Spoon rests are just another thing that needs cleaning. If you are using a pot with a hole in the handle for hanging, a clothes pin can grip a mixing spoon while the other side of the pin gets wedged in the hole. Spoon drips back into the pot, and no additional cleaning is needed.
TIL spoon rests exist. Not sure why, though.
You've never wanted to put a utensil down for later use and not mess up the counter?
I don't see how it would mess up the counter. It's literally the surface meant to put things down on.
Also you just put the spoon in or on the pot. Not like extra time in soup is going to damage it.
A butter knife is a decent screwdriver, but there's no way I'd ever user a screwdriver to spread butter.
I really cannot think of any sort of jury-rigged solution that is better than a properly engineered one except maybe in one case I encountered.
Had a problem with my car. It was some kind of pipe connector or something, but it's in the engine in a spot that can get quite hot and it was plastic. The mechanic told me this specific part is prone to melting because the plastic is not rated for how hot it can get where it is. So they make their own out of metal to avoid future problems.
Using a wad of slime to clean dust & dirt from nooks & crannies
I have one of those car phone mounts that stick to dash or window. It kept falling or unsticking over and over. I sprayed the bottom of the plastic parts with glue. It's like a spray paint can of glue. That fucked has fallen off in years.
I had one that stuck so well that my mom broke hers off when yanking on it, she just clumsy. Goo begone just takes it right off as needed.
I'm going to use this post to ask for a fix. I have an old generation kindle with no frontlight. What would be the easiest way to get a decent amount of diffused light on it? The device even has exposed power leads at the back for specialized covers for such things but frontlight covers aren't available for sale in my country now.
A flashlight with a piece of paper over it
That actually gives me an idea. I have an LED light that can be mounted on the head with a strap. I can diffuse its light with a paper, as suggested by you. Thanks!