Ouch
Ever pinched your hand using a pruner? Well, if not, you don’t know what you are missing. LaVille didn’t miss out, and you can see the results on her hand. This injury frequently occurs when using a pruner with a sliding lock mechanism. The plastic lock always seems to have sharp corners, and when you close the handles, the skin of your palm can get trapped.
The 3 pruners pictured all use this type of lock. The pruner with the orange handles was the culprit in this case, and I will fix it next. The pruner on the far right was treated long ago and is safe to use. I used my trusty Dremel to grind away the plastic edge of the sliding lock to round it off where the arrow is pointing. I don’t know how you could do the same with your pruner at home. Perhaps an emery board would work.
Stan, The Fixit Man
The second photo shows a badly rusted spring. If you soak a rusted spring in vinegar, it will remove the rust and work much smoother, especially with the addition of WD-40. Note that the top spring in the first photo and the treated spring in the third photo certainly don’t appear new, but they will work just fine. This may be the experience that hooks you on cleaning the rust off your tools.
It’s easy with springs because any small container will work. I use a measuring cup. If you choose to tackle the whole pruner, try a plastic take out container. It’s recommended that you dilute the vinegar to 50% with water. A black substance will replace the rust. It is different iron oxide that appears to shield the iron from more rusting.
Hose clamps can often be used to fix water leaks in pipes and hoses. I was digging a hole to plant irises from a 3 gallon pot, when I hit a PVC pipe and put a crack in it. You may be able to see the line of the crack in ¾ inch pipe. Normally, I would fix a crack or break with a repair kit or fittings and glue, but that wouldn’t work in this case because the pipe couldn’t be dried.
The 2
The 3
I was headed out to the roses, but never made it. A week ago LaVille and I had attacked the Australian Somethin Or Nuthers. (I thought they were Johnny Jump Ups.) You can see the Australians are all entangled in the base of the rose where we were loathe to reach.
Well, as I walked by pots of Abutilons, I noticed small weeds growing in the pots—mainly baby tears and oxalis. I found that the long tweezer forceps I was carrying could very easily pull the weeds out. Now, perhaps you personally have no need for 12 inch tweezers.
You can see in the second photo the 1/4 inch drip tubing that is currently removing water. Since there will always be some water remaining, I always sprinkle some “Mosquito Bits” into the pot. Ideally the tubing should be clear so you can see the water rising when you suck on the end to start the siphon. A mouthful of stagnant water is always an unpleasant experience.