Electronics > Beginners
Your best/worst innovative but completely incorrect usage of tools...
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james_s:
This isn't mine, but I spotted it in the building my office is in the other day.
RoGeorge:
LOL, that door stopper is on par with the gold hemisphere door stopper tale, from Richard Feynman in "Los Alamos From Below" (minute 1h5m52s)

IDEngineer:

--- Quote from: jmelson on October 12, 2018, 06:55:30 pm ---
--- Quote from: paulca on October 12, 2018, 05:15:15 pm ---So... I just used my hot air rework gun to help defrost my freezer. Unsurprisingly ice won.  It doesn't matter if you hit that stuff with a hot air rework at 450*C or a full on flame thrower ice is self insulating. All I could do was speed things up slightly, enough to get the top drawer out.  Now I have to wait while my food defrosts slowly in the other fridge on full.
--- End quote ---
An ordinary heat gun does a good job of defrosting a freezer.  You have to take care to not overheat the Freon tubing or any plastic in the freezer, though. The heat gun probably delivers a LOT more Watts than the rework tool.
--- End quote ---
Even simpler (and far safer): A standard box fan (really, any normal air circulating fan). Room ambient air is many tens of degrees warmer than the ice, and the constant circulation is more than the ice can endure. We used to have one of those small refrigerators at our office which would ice up a couple of times a year, and by propping open the door and directing a fan into it the entire thing would be completely ice-free AND dry in an hour. Zero risk of excessive temperatures to any components, zero risk of physical damage from tools, etc. And you don't have to monitor it, just turn it on and go do something else while a simple fan takes care of the problem safely and swiftly.

Another favorite of mine is using a very normal C-clamp to install PEM nuts and other press-in fittings. I don't have a hydraulic press but you can impart a LOT of force with a C-clamp, and using sockets or other devices (even custom-shaped ones if necessary) you can focus that force down to very small, or even custom-shaped, areas.

This one's not too surprising, but: You can use a soldering iron, particularly with a flat tip, to do in-the-field repairs of 3D printed objects. This works really well with TPU and other flexible filaments that can "tear" between layers. I learned this when my FPV pilot son was at a distant competition and tore the antenna mount on the flexible 3D canopy that he designed to cover the electronics on his quads. No access to a 3D printer, no spares, what to do? Well, it was already useless and I couldn't make it worse, so I tried field-welding it and it worked great. Probably stronger than before, in fact. I haven't tried using a soldering iron to repair inflexible filament objects but I bet that would work too.

I once rekeyed a lock - at the locksmith's! - by using the lock's own parts. The locksmith could not figure out how to hold all the parts in place while reinserting the cylinder, it kept knocking the little pieces out as he slid it in. Over the course of 30+ minutes he got more and more frustrated, while I sat wondering why in the world he was making this so difficult. Finally he let me try. I partially inserted the cylinder to the first little piece's location, inserted that piece, and slid the cylinder in just enough more to hold that piece. Lather, rinse, repeat until all 6-8 pieces were in place. Took about 60 seconds. The locksmith was absolutely amazed, which frankly was a little scary for a guy supposely in that profession.
vk6zgo:
I have several candidates:-
(1)Using a sheet metal screw (the ones you use for metal roofs) mounted in the chuck of a drill press, to fit an IDC connector to a ribbon cable.
The connector was in the small acessory vice belonging to the drill press, the screw head placed on top.
Pulled the lever down--- worked better than the proper tools do!

(2)My Shift boss & I arrived at work to find the big papier mâché  air duct connecting the socket  of a 6166 PA tube to the air blower had broken--- no air, no HT, no RF!
Off to the hardware store, dug through their assortment of plastic drainage pipes, selected some likely bits.
Back at work, a little work with duct tape, a metal brace bent up to hold the whole thing steady, & back on the air.

(3)Many years ago, I spent a year in England.
One Sunday, I grabbed the little Ford Popular, and headed off some 70 miles to London, to buy some "Colonel Sander's Kentucky Fried Chicken"(KFC to you youngsters).
Part way back home, the "Pop" coughed, died.

I had a look in the car for tools, found a small, sloppy, adjustable spanner, &  a screwdriver.
The latter did the job to open the fuel pump--- no blockage there.

After checking spark, etc, it was back to the fuel system.
The fuel pipe was connected to the carby by a "banjo" connector, held in place by a hollow screw incorporating a filter.

This was much larger than the little spanner could fit, so I trudged up the hill to an open Service Station (not always a sure bet in 1970s Britain)
The owner heard my sad tale, ordered a tow truck to get the car to the garage, & we sat down to wait,having a "cuppa tea & a yarn" while we waited. (I did say it was Sunday).
After some time, I decided to walk back to the car & wait there, whilst he rang the tow people again.

Stood around, got a bit weary, so decide to unlock the car & sit.
To this end, I took out the keys, & noticed the crown seal bottle opener attached.
Just maybe?
Yep the bottle opener fitted the "hollow bolt" perfectly, I removed & cleaned the filter, & a few minutes later,
pulled into the service station.

The owner was on the phone again to the tow truck people.
He said,with icy sarcasm "Don't worry about it, the customer just drove in!"
I tried to insist that I pay him,  but he wouldn't take my money, saying "I didn't do anything!"
coppercone2:
scratch back with iron :-\
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