repairing things

i would love to be better at formal mending. i made an instagram account lately and it 25% gives me repairing videos. I've seen some techniques that are just amazing and would love to try.

The Repair Shop is now also in australia but i'm thinking the quality standards aren't quite as high...

a kid bought in a model of the Flying Scotsman which wasn't running. they fixed the motor and all but either didn't notice or didn't care that the entire front bogie was missing, so instead of being a 4-6-2 it was a 0-6-2.

(i did wonder if they'd even know what the Flying Scotsman was but it spent some time i australia at the end of the 80s, set a bunch of records there)

on topic, i'm trying to fix the floorboards that the plumber left untidy after he'd done replacing some pipes. in the hallway (1m x 2m) he left 3 boards un-nailed and another one split in half. but the entire area had been covered with hardboard (nailed) and then a layer of cork (glued) and he'd removed this from around the boards he needed access to, but didn't for the rest of the hallway, so there's a 5m difference in heights in random places. he'd put the carpet back down, without even picking up all the nails he'd pulled.

it's slow going, mainly because i don't have the tools. plan is to screw down the loose boards (i don't have a hammer). but some of them he's cut in places where they are no joists underneath. and, of course, there are now additional pipes there.

i would love to be better at formal mending. i made an instagram account lately and it 25% gives me repairing videos. I've seen some techniques that are just amazing and would love to try.

― plax (ico), Tuesday, April 2, 2024 1:21 PM (three weeks ago)

this is the stuff I learned to do as a teenager when I worked for a theater costume shop. of course that was 30+ years ago so I could probably use some remedial lessons.

I need work clothes. I need to think about how mending can still be elevated.

I think it depends on the garment ... as in, pants, dress, shirt ... a huge rip in the knee of a pair of dress pants is likely not going to something you can mend and have look normal, but inseams and hems and belt loops you can definitely do. In terms of feminine tops and dresses, currently there is so much "fussiness" in design with bows and buttons and contrast colors, I think you've got a leeway there.

it's slow going, mainly because i don't have the tools. plan is to screw down the loose boards (i don't have a hammer). but some of them he's cut in places where they are no joists underneath. and, of course, there are now additional pipes there.

In a way, screws are better than nails as it's a lot easier to take them out again if you need to or if you mess up. A cheap cordless screwdriver would save you a bit of time. Not sure about the unsupported ends though - if you're not able to fix a supporting beam underneath, it might be easier to buy a new board