Libodun baby fence: cute baby standing up. Made in China
My neighbour left a mess of long parts in a bag curbside, so out of curiosity I took it to try to figure out what it was and if I could use it for something else. The bag had metal tubes, metal brackets, padded baby blue metal bars and some plastic corner pieces. It looked like it had something to do with babies or small kids. It turned out to be a couple of sets of Libodun baby fence, used when a baby is small and prevents the kid from rolling off the edge of the bed.
Bucket Head Wet/Dry Vacuum, disassembly and quality inspection
Thrown to the curb, this was, with its tail cut off. So sad, I had to take it home, give it a try and possibly a second life. This unit pleaded underdog, discarded and forlorn. Unremarkable in appearance, ’tis a vacuum, for sure, but where is the bottom? The Bucket Head wet/dry vacuum is meant to couple and sit on top of the standard inexpensive Home Depot 19L 5G bucket, sold separately. It just clips onto the top of the bucket, hence the name “Bucket Head”. The vac head even has slots for the bucket’s wire handle!
Delonghi Convection Oven EO1270 is stainless steel and looks really nice. Too bad it is not repairable. Photo by Don Tai
This Delonghi Convection Oven, EO1270, made in China under the name “德龙“， came to me in near pristine condition. It looked like it was used only a couple of times. Yet when I plugged it in it would not work. I decided to take it apart and see if I could repair it. It was pretty evident that this oven was not designed to be repaired. In the end I found a flaky on-off switch, which could have been replaced, but to get to the electronics I’d have to drill out a couple of rivets. This repair would not have been worthwhile.
A friend has this Thinkpad/Lenovo keyboard for a long time, but the right mouse button was becoming erratic. We decided to disassemble and clean it and try to fix the right mouse button. on the back of the keyboard, CEM-2015-05-29 Rev W02 Fru PIN 03X8715
ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. Front of keyboard. Photo 1 by Don Tai
Prying the Clamshell Apart
Turning the keyboard over there are rubber pads on each corner and one in the middle. These do not have screws underneath, so disregard them. This is a plastic clamshell. I used a credit card to pry open the clamshell from the USB port, and then used a flat head screwdriver to pry the two halves part. The front bezel comes apart easily.
Philips System One HT Humid CPAP machine. Photo 11 by Don Tai
I enjoy taking apart machines, especially well engineered and built machines. How do you know if a piece of engineering is well built? You take it apart and see for yourself. This is a friend’s Philips System One Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine that, after 6 years of daily use, was replaced by a better model. Here’s how to take it apart.
Overall the machine is made of thick ABS. The air intake has both a foam and paper filter. Surrounding the motor is a silicone liner that was very clean, even after 6 years. There are air gaskets that seal in the air.
Little Giant 554405 VCMA-15 non-submersible condensate pump
Awoke, we did, to a puddle at the foot of our basement stairs. Water. Perchance Little Weed had spilled a very large glass of water? Surely not. It turned out that our furnace water pump was no longer pumping. A repair was in order, and fast. Here is how I cleaned out the pump. It now works.
