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#11
Practical solutions / Storing tools, spare and usefu...
Last post by bobirving - May 02, 2021, 07:54:25 AMHow the heck do you do it?
We have 3 - 4 sorts of stuff for running our Café: tools, either loose individual tools, sets in cases, loose sets; spares, like light bulbs of all sizes, cable, plugs; consumables, like adhesives, screws, bolts and washers. Everything is a different size and shape and needed randomly or not at all(!). We have to get it all out at the start of the session and put it away at the end, neatly, because we only have limited storage space. There are so many different things that it's difficult to remember whether we have a particular thing...
What do other people do to store stuff?
We have 3 - 4 sorts of stuff for running our Café: tools, either loose individual tools, sets in cases, loose sets; spares, like light bulbs of all sizes, cable, plugs; consumables, like adhesives, screws, bolts and washers. Everything is a different size and shape and needed randomly or not at all(!). We have to get it all out at the start of the session and put it away at the end, neatly, because we only have limited storage space. There are so many different things that it's difficult to remember whether we have a particular thing...
What do other people do to store stuff?
#12
Repair tips & questions / Re: Spare parts thanks to 3D p...
Last post by bobirving - May 02, 2021, 06:58:10 AMThanks for this offer. Is it still available?
#13
Repair Café and the coronacrisis / Re: Ideas for Repair Café in t...
Last post by 7tronics - September 16, 2020, 12:58:27 AMThank you for your summary of ideas for continuing Repair Cafe activities during the pandemic.
We have several ideas that have worked with individual members of our Maker Space which recently closed due to loss of funding due to the pandemic. In person sessions were often arranged as Repair Cafes, now we are trying:
Do you all have any further suggestions on expanding upon Virtaual Repair Cafe sessions (VRC?).
Best, Mark
We have several ideas that have worked with individual members of our Maker Space which recently closed due to loss of funding due to the pandemic. In person sessions were often arranged as Repair Cafes, now we are trying:
- Scheduled virtual drop-in hours. This arrangement worked for several years when a small business was purchased by peer company across the country. For blocks of time advertised in advance a crew of people will be on a web meeting (happens to be Zoom) and assist those who come on with problems. With the paid version of Zoom, we can put people in breakout sessions.
- Use Zoom or other web tools to create an assisted virtual repair session longer than the breakout sessions above. This is mainly for Light EVs (ebikes, escooters, Segway minis, etc) and Light EV batteries, where the person with item to be repaired shows us what they see and how they are proceeding to repair or diagnose problems. Setting a time limit requires some negotiations, and often the person with the problem requires tools that they do not have. We have asked people to buy inexpensive special tools, and do warn in advance about that. If a part is needed, we refer to a source as there are no regional repair centers for any of the above not on a factory warranty.
- For those whose problem is larger than can be handled by either of the above approaches, we do refer to local shops or individuals who will either assist or for a fee can acquire new parts for the person. Then it is up to them to rejoin a virtual Repair Cafe session to complete their repair, or hire the specialist.
Do you all have any further suggestions on expanding upon Virtaual Repair Cafe sessions (VRC?).
Best, Mark
#14
Repair Café and the coronacrisis / Re: Ideas for Repair Café in t...
Last post by Michelle Walker - September 10, 2020, 11:07:55 AMThanks for this document - very easy to read with some great ideas and thought prompters. Much appreciated. michelle australia
#15
Repair Café and the coronacrisis / Ideas for Repair Café in the 1...
Last post by Martine - September 07, 2020, 07:54:59 AMVolunteers from various Repair Cafés have written a document full of ideas for organising safe repair events during the coronacrisis. This document is available for download here:
#16
United Kingdom / Advice electric toothbrush
Last post by PattyLDN - August 11, 2020, 01:18:54 PMDear Repair Café,
Hope you are all safe and well. Since 2013, I have an electric toothbrush which works perfectly fine and I hope it will still serve me for many more years to come. The issue I have is with the handle which has gone sticky, has ripped on one side and it's coming off a little.
Is there a way to repair this damage and if not, is there a way to replace this part of the handle which gives the toothbrush grip?
I am including pics of the front and back of the toothbrush so you can see what I mean. The front looks as good as new the back not so.
Many thanks for the advice.
Regards,
Patty
Hope you are all safe and well. Since 2013, I have an electric toothbrush which works perfectly fine and I hope it will still serve me for many more years to come. The issue I have is with the handle which has gone sticky, has ripped on one side and it's coming off a little.
Is there a way to repair this damage and if not, is there a way to replace this part of the handle which gives the toothbrush grip?
I am including pics of the front and back of the toothbrush so you can see what I mean. The front looks as good as new the back not so.
Many thanks for the advice.
Regards,
Patty
#17
United Kingdom / Re: Public Insurance
Last post by repaircafeweymouth - July 25, 2020, 03:56:36 PMWe use Mid Cornwall Insurance Brokers ( Kirk Razzell) who provide us with Public Liability Insurance, product liability and employee liability. Tried loads of other companies. Ansvar has been suggested for groups of RCs. Farnham uses Zurich but they no longer insure RCs. MCIB is remarkably helpful and insure lots of RCs.
#18
United Kingdom / Re: New Repair Cafe in Gilling...
Last post by repaircafeweymouth - July 25, 2020, 03:52:36 PMHi Stuart,
if you want to email your phone number I can tell you what worked for us. We started lat year and are very successful. repaircafeweymouth@gmail.com.
Regards
Ros
if you want to email your phone number I can tell you what worked for us. We started lat year and are very successful. repaircafeweymouth@gmail.com.
Regards
Ros
#19
United Kingdom / Re: Repair Monitor
Last post by repaircafeweymouth - July 25, 2020, 03:50:46 PMWe use RepairMonitor to log our repairs retrospectively. It is very easy to use especially on an iPad. It needs refinement so if people keep giving feedback to RepairMonitor when they ask for it, it should get more sophisticated.
Regards Ros
Regards Ros
#20
United Kingdom / Re: Advice
Last post by repaircafeweymouth - July 25, 2020, 03:47:39 PMHi Stuart, I see you have had 0 replies to your query so I hope I can tell what works for us at Repair Cafe Weymouth.
Location + Repair Cafe. I was advised the other way round but apparently Repair Cafe org changed their standard because everyone did it as location + Repair Cafe.
Someone helped me to create our RepairCafeWeymouth facebook page. He created under his own personal account and made me an administrator. Once we had another person who could also manage the page, he removed himself as administrator. We created it as a page, not a group. This means anyone can like and follow us. They don't have to wait to be accepted into a group. We are a not for profit community organisation and created the page under this category. I could have done it myself once I saw how.
How we got and how we get volunteers and vet them: I suggested on a local Facebook page in January 2019 that a Repair might be a great idea for Weymouth. People replied saying it was a great idea, and even volunteering. I posted it on nextdoor.co.uk and got an even better response rate. I created an email address for our Repair Cafe. We called a public meeting a pub in Feb 2019, hoping to find someone to run it as well as volunteers. We got 40 people - all either volunteers or press/ radio. We captured their contact details. At the meeting we publicly asked each person what skills they could contribute. Our trial run, with all paperwork in place was 7 weeks later. We are very successful.
Now, people come to an event, they love it and they volunteer! I interview every volunteer face to face. We've had 2 who didn't work out - an electrical repairer who just declared everything fixed (without fixing it) or not fixable and wouldn't get things PAT tested. Also a rather doddery sewist who was a bit of a liability. We have 53 volunteers.
I hope this helps. If you would like to know more, see our facebook page and message me. Ros
Location + Repair Cafe. I was advised the other way round but apparently Repair Cafe org changed their standard because everyone did it as location + Repair Cafe.
Someone helped me to create our RepairCafeWeymouth facebook page. He created under his own personal account and made me an administrator. Once we had another person who could also manage the page, he removed himself as administrator. We created it as a page, not a group. This means anyone can like and follow us. They don't have to wait to be accepted into a group. We are a not for profit community organisation and created the page under this category. I could have done it myself once I saw how.
How we got and how we get volunteers and vet them: I suggested on a local Facebook page in January 2019 that a Repair might be a great idea for Weymouth. People replied saying it was a great idea, and even volunteering. I posted it on nextdoor.co.uk and got an even better response rate. I created an email address for our Repair Cafe. We called a public meeting a pub in Feb 2019, hoping to find someone to run it as well as volunteers. We got 40 people - all either volunteers or press/ radio. We captured their contact details. At the meeting we publicly asked each person what skills they could contribute. Our trial run, with all paperwork in place was 7 weeks later. We are very successful.
Now, people come to an event, they love it and they volunteer! I interview every volunteer face to face. We've had 2 who didn't work out - an electrical repairer who just declared everything fixed (without fixing it) or not fixable and wouldn't get things PAT tested. Also a rather doddery sewist who was a bit of a liability. We have 53 volunteers.
I hope this helps. If you would like to know more, see our facebook page and message me. Ros