A stupid project

Welp this is dumb.

Laundry basket handle cracked and so I made a pair of these pieces and bolted them together (like a sandwich, one on front and one on back). Not sure how long it’ll hold, but whatever, I was just mad that I need to get a new basket at some point so I made this out of spite.

Funny enough I cared enough to engrave it but not enough to mask it. And that’s saying something because smoke marks bug me. :slight_smile:

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I will often finish a simple thing, but find I want to embellish it - just cuz I can.

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I’ve made projects like that!
Use acrylic next time – it’s much stronger than wood.

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Stuff like this may be dumb…but at the same time it’s so smart. I love that we can do stuff like this.

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That was a major (of many) reasons for getting into this stuff. If I had my 3dprinter working that would be 80% of what I did with it. You would not believe how much stuff is out there with a single simple design flaw that would make the product unusable. Then perhaps you would.

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Yes…I would believe that. :grinning: Either a design flaw or a poor choice of material. I made a water ‘diffuser’ (for lack of a better word) for a fountain I had. It was to keep the water from splashing out all over everything when it hit the bottom pool of water. The original was made of metal…which rusted completely through (how strange…imagine that happening :wink: :laughing:) I made the new one out of acrylic.

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But think of the money they saved! :roll_eyes:

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Funny what we do when indulging in little temper tantrums

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I had a vegetable chopper that I could almost hear the thinking how it was easier to offset a circle that was weaker than a slightly more complex shape that would be stronger.

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Ha haha…yeah right. I forgot about that. :laughing:

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Well that “dumb” project brought a smile to my face. so I would suggest it wasn’t dumb at all.

and i will say they dang sure don’t make stuff like they used to.

I have insulated cups I got at Big Lots 30 years ago. they still work great. my 4yo tervis? not so much.

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hmm… I’m not so sure it would be here. This is a flexible basket, and acrylic tends to get brittle when it’s a narrow piece like this (0.4" at its widest with a hole for the bolt at nearly the weakest point). I figured the flexibility of 1/8" BB ply would be warranted here, but who knows. This is a super ephemeral project, the next time I’m at target/walmart/wherever I’ll probably get a new basket and then reclaim the bolts from this and toss the old one.

This just takes the time pressure off as to when that might be, I don’t often go to big box stores.

That being said, acrylic wouldn’t be affected by moisture, which I suppose could come into play if I ever put wet clothes in the basket or something. It would have been a solid choice.

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I love it…took me reading to see what it actually was. Made me chuckle :slightly_smiling_face:

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Repaired out of spite. Love it!

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I don’t mask very often. A light pass with some 220-grit sandpaper on a $25 palm sander will get that cleaned up in no time.

Great idea for fixing those annoying plastic baskets!

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Yeah that’s a good tip. I do sand a lot of projects if the parts are big and few enough. The real tricky cases are when you have lots of little parts, masking is key then… but removing the masking gets harder. I use a method I call the tape sandwich to get it done:

BTW @kryptonian you should come out of your fortress of solitude more often with good tips and projects :slight_smile:

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Agreed!

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Yes I really liked that “tales from the Kryptonian”

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I love those practical projects. One of my own favorites (Delrin dishwasher cutlery basket liners) is still going strong and way outlasting the original, so you may be using that laundry basket for years.

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Several loads of laundry later, I’m not sure I’m going to replace the basket now. The fix is holding up perfectly. I may need to take a Dremel to the bolts — they’re a bit too long — but other than that they’re perfect.

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