Do you have a pruner that no longer has the part that locks it closed? Well, I have a solution for you. I was sharpening tools at the Shepard this last weekend, when two pruners came in that were kept closed with a rubber band—not just an ordinary band—but the wide kind you occasionally find bundling fresh produce. Although I hardly ever throw anything away, my supply of veggie bands was limited to two. Neither were strong enough to close the pruner blades, but perhaps you will have a stash with the proper sized band. Perhaps you noticed in the photo that the pruner lock was still there. I simply didn’t have a pruner with a missing lock. How ‘bout the spot of rust on the blade? Shameful huh? I removed it immediately. Did you notice the dirty hand? Hey—I’m working with tools and getting ready for the next sharpening event at the Gardener’s Market. What, you may wonder, would I do with a rubber band when it’s not in use on the pruner? Just wrap it around 2 fingers.

Please let me know if you have some small sized bands that you don’t need that I could use for pruners that arrive for sharpening without locks. How about a section of bike inner tube—mine was too small. Anyway, I think it would be a pleasant surprise improvement for my tool sharpening clients.

Stan, The Tool Man

Have you ever had a problem that you were unable to solve? . . . Don’t you lie to me!  Of course, that has happened.  Although failure can be frustrating and disappointing, I think it’s a healthy option to simply accept the fact that you cannot succeed at everything you attempt.  That scenario occurred recently when a leak appeared in the coiled hose that LaVille loves.  (Not my sentiments, by the way.) 

Since I had had success stopping the leak in an aluminum spray wand using epoxy (Fig. 1), I tried the same technique on her hose spreading an ample amount of epoxy over the area before taping.  I was so sure it would work that I laid out the materials to be included in the photo (Fig. 2) for your information.  I use JB Weld Epoxy so frequently that I just leave it out on my work bench. 

Note in the photo that I mix the epoxy on a sticky pad with a toothpick and then simply tear off a sheet the next time I do a repair.  Good idea, huh?  Anyway, since both the electricians’ tape and epoxy were flexible, I thought the mend would work.  Nope.  Well, I thought a perfectly acceptable option would be to simply buy another hose, but when I attempted to uncouple the hose, it was really frozen at a union with mineral deposits.  So, after that failure, I attacked the leak again with a tightly wrapped strip of bicycle inner tubing and a hose clamp (Fig. 3).  The fix was a success this time, but only after failures. 

I guess I’m sending a mixed message.  I was willing to accept failure and go buy another hose, but the failure to be able to do that forced me to fight on until success was reached.  In any case, I encourage you to think about using JB Weld for your repairs. and do your mixing on a sticky pad.  But whatever problem you attempt to solve, be willing to accept failure as an option. 

Stan, The Sometimes-Failing Man

Yes, gardening friends, it’s time once again for another mystery tool contest.  This tool comes courtesy again from Ruth Ostroff.  (Do you remember her outstanding worm scraping tool?)  This time you must guess the purpose of the round object attached to the painted post in the photo below.  Once again, the person who emails me the correct guess first will be the winner.  If no correct guess appears, I will reward the person who is most creative in her (or his) response.  The winner will receive information as to how to buy this device.

The bonus challenge this month is to tell me the TV program that features a Mystery House in each episode.

And Beverly is disqualified for this contest since she clued us in to this series.  Sorry Bev.

Ready.  Set.  Go!

Stan, The Mystery Man

GIVE UP?  Click here to see this mystery tool in action.

LaVille kept complaining about her favorite pruner.  Her hand kept slipping down the handles toward the blades where she has less mechanical advantage.  My first solution was to slide a couple pieces of rubber hose over the handles to act as slippage stoppers.  Well, that worked fairly well except she started developing a callus where her hand met the black hose piece.  My latest attempt to alleviate her agony was to buy a can of Plasti Dip.  This is available on Amazon in a good variety of colors.  I chose yellow as it is my go-to color for finding misplaced tools.  You dip the tool handle into the tall, slender can and hang the tool to allow it to drip off excess and dry for 4 hours.  What you see in the second photo is the result of 3 dippings.

You know, if you accomplish nothing else, you could use this technique to identify your own tools.  Don’t you think it would be classy for all your tools to have the same color handles?

Quiz of the month.  You will note that I ended up with a tool with red, black, and yellow handles.  Name 3 major countries that have these 3 colors in their national flags.  The first reader to respond by email with the correct answers gets . . . . nothing but my admiration.  I know—Wow!

Stan, The Helpful Husband

P.S.  You may have noticed in the first photo that the grips had worn through to the metal.  You may consider this technique as a nifty means of tool upkeep.  If nothing else, I would suggest you try Plasti Dip as simply a very different and easy project.