What can you MacGyver?

[Taz Baby]

:)

I thought this would be a good thread for everyone to learn about making do in the SHFT. Since there will not be any available things in the stores to buy, like parts for cars, ATV’s different motors, genny’s and such. So tell us what kind of Macgyver-ing things you can do. Here is one Bright idea I had just the other day. As some of our bigger solar lights clear plastic covers are cracking and breaking, I thought I would make new ones. The little battery power panel was still good and so was the stand. So I took a 2 liter coke bottle. Took the label off, cut the bottom off, and stuck the solar panel light part on. Then stuck the neck of the bottle in the holder and I now have a bigger, brighter solar light.

I save all the soda bottles for water, hanging planters, (like the topsy turveys in the store. I just cut the bottom off, then just the neck, cut a small sponge in a circle with one split in it, ( I use the one for washing dishes with out the soap) put it in the neck part of the bottle. Use an ice pick to make 2 holes in the bottom part of the bottle, put a wire coat hanger (The ones with the cardboard middle. Take that part off.) into the holes and now you have a hanger. Insert your plant upside down (roots inside the bottle) in the neck of the bottle. Open the sponge and put it inside and around the stem to hold the plant. Fill with potting soil, hang up and water. Just like the other ones do. Now it’s your turn.

[Gunfixr]

Gosh, so many things over the years. I forget most once they are done.
I'll have to work on it.

[mitunnelrat]

Lemme see...

I once made a rappel harness out of a clothesline, and my buddy made a 10' vertical descent with it.

I, uh, "secured" a military vehicle with a short length of lacing wire.

The tops of soda bottles make good funnels. I did that in Joplin.

I do things like that all of the time, largely without thinking much of it. I remember the top two because they were so over the top, and the funnel because it was recent. I'll have to see what else I can recall.

[mongoose]

dropped a drive shaft as a kid, replaced the cap and needle bearings w/a 3/4'" 1/2" dr socket and a wad of grease. hook like H but made it out of the middle of nowhere.

[Taz Baby]

I was going down the interstate when my tailpipe started sounding loud. Pulled over, then cooled with water I keep in it, wrapped ducktape around the hole of the tailpipe at left. Stunk for a few miles but was still working fine when I sold it 3 Years later.

[Sniper-T]

A buddy broke a throtle cable on his sled out in the bush, I disconnected it off the carb replaced it with a piece of snare wire, wound it through the engine and up to the handle. I made a finger loop, so he could just give it a tug to throttle up.

Broke the rear universal joint in my truck, Waaaayyy back in the bush one time. didn't have so much as a pair of nail clippers with me. I hammered the front end apart with a couple of rocks (took 2 days), then limped out on the front end

Blew a wheel bearing on my dads boat trailer once, again way back in a place I probably shouldn't have been. I jacked it up high, took the tire off then cut a 6" diameter birch tree, tied it to the rail of the trailer, and out under the axle like a skid. I had to re-rig it a couple times, and replace the tree once, but I got the rig home. Shoulda seen my dad's face when he saw the trailer.

[izzyscout21]

read my Bio. LOL.

[mitunnelrat]

LOL. I have. The last line should say "I don't always drink beer, but when I do..."

[Taz Baby]

My solar lights plastic shade was cracking, and the lights were still good. So I thought of using a 2 liter bottle to make new ones. Cut the bottom off and cap off and stuck neck down in the shaft of the light. Put the solar part on top of the bottomside of bottle and now I have a bigger brighter light.

[Evolver]

Wrapped a foil gum wrapper around a blown out headlight buss fuse in my truck to get home in the dark. It stay there for about a year until I broke down a got a new fuse.

I did something similar to what T did... My throttle cable spring broke on my mid engine car so I hooked one end of the bungee strap to the linkage on the carb, fed it through the motor cover and hooked the other end to the luggage rack. Presto! Yeah it was a odd feeling when it broke... the peddle went to the floor and it's a good thing it was a standard trans, I'll a had to do is turn the key off but it took a second to think it through.:eek:

[Katrina]

Depends Taz, whatcha want made? Drama teacher in high school used to say things like make me a carpet bag for the play and hand me a piece of material, two handles and needle and thread. Or she say need eyeglasses and hand me some wire and tape. Or she'd need what ever and I could usually jury rig something, fairly sturdy for her.

[Sniper-T]

Wife and I just went out snowmobiling. Her machine is typically a pig to start, having to pour gas into the plugs, and then giving a shot of ether when it fires. We weren't going far, and I figured that 1/2 a tank of gas would be enough. So off we went, but I didn't take into account her playing in all the deep snow (she typically stays on hard pack). So, needless to say, with about 6 miles left on our tour, she runs out of gas. NP. I just run home and grab a gallon jerry can, and go back. Just as I finish dumping the can in, I think... hmm I should kept a bit for the cylinders.

Pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull... and nothing short of exhaustion.

Stop
Take inventory...
had one thin cotton glove in the glove box of my machine, had some black take wrapped around spare plugs in hers. look around...

I break off a 18" branch, strip all the little branches off, shove it into the glove, tape it on so it is secure, and dip it into the gas tank like a wick.

Then like milking a cow, I squeezed the gas out into the cylinders. plugs in quick, tighten, connect, and pull.

took a couple times to keep it running but it worked and we were good to go. She looks at me and says: "That was certainly innovative". I smiled sweetly and said " It was nothin' I read it in the guys' manual"

lol

I am going to put a small 1/4 hose into her machine, about 20 inches long, and then if I ever need to do this again, I'm set.