I fix, invent and jury-rig so many things I'd be typing for a week if I tried to remember a major portion. "Cheap" will make you learn all sorts of things.

Major one: had a downstairs toilet that was leaking around the rubber bulb that seals the drain from the tank. It seems to be an old, rare type. No one had parts..(whole mechanism slid up & down a center tube rather than lifting arm). Tried all sorts of things, including extra weight.... after finally having to turn off water inlet after each use, I disassembled it and found a teeny little serial # on a brass ring... A-HA!. Go to that Google machine and VOILA! Complete kit for $12... Sent off $$$, a week later, I installed new kit and it works like new. (I think the old one was over 30 years old, so I may be set for awhile)

2nd major one- same toilet- a kid cut off some hair and FLUSHED it, rather than using waste basket... GLURG..stopped up and overflowed! After trying plunger and snake in vain, I pulled the whole thing off the wall and wax seal, and used the snake to retrieve a glob of hair....and then... *grin*.. with no help, re-set the toilet on the same wax seal and bolted it down. 2 plumber visits avoided.

The list of stuff fixed with duct tape & super glue goes on & on. Last night it was a good bowl with a hairline crack that had not totally broken. Took it to shop, got bottle of 'special' (pro-grade) super glue and ran a teeny bead down the crack area, quickly spread the crack a teeny bit by hand so the glue ran in it..let it go, and wiped the glue from both top & bottom surfaces. Bowl sealed! (Dried super glue in a thin bead like that is not toxic or anything. It can be used to seal battlefield wounds....I get it on my hands every day.)


Oh... one more. Had a trash can (outdoors) with plastic wheels. One wheel broke... El Cheapo Wheelo... I took the other one off the 3/8 axle and went to the shop and turned 2 new wheels out of Walnut. Now it wheels better than before.


Ooops... JiK reminds me of one MORE. Bought a cheap tire inflating foot pump (clamp onto valve stem and pump interminably) It had saved my bacon several times... then bound up and ground to a halt. Turned out the shaft that operated the valve ran thru a simple aluminum disc with a hole in it... which wore unevenly. Hmmmm...AH! I keep exotic woods! Got a piece of Lignumvitae (sometimes used for self-lubricating bearings for ships propellers) and made a new, thicker disc insert. Works like a charm and will probably last the life of the pump.

I do love fixing stuff that needs round parts!