Credit card repair

No, I'm not repairing my credit. That's in pretty good shape. Often, when something breaks and needs fixing, I'm all too quick to whip out a credit card and purchase parts or materials to fix it. This time, I did it a little differently. The credit card became the replacement part.

I was refurbishing an Electrolux flippy floor tool and found that the elbow that snaps into the brush had a big chunk of plastic missing that would let air in when the non-bristle side was in use so after looking on eBay to see what a replacement elbow would cost and finding it was basically the same price as a used floor brush, I started thinking about how I could repair the existing elbow. While this was going on, I had the TV on the Velocity (soon to be Motor Trend) channel and they were welding in new sheet metal on a car to replace a spot that had rusted out and it came to me. I just need to glue in a piece of plastic to cover where it was broken. It had to be relatively thin but strong and I thought of a couple of possibilities—an old CD-R disc or maybe the lid to a margarine container—but then I spied an expired credit card that I hadn't yet destroyed and the solution was clear as day. I cut up the credit card as I should have done several weeks ago when the new one came but I first cut out a piece the right size to cover the gap on the elbow. I tried to test fit it on top of the break but it was too thick to insert into the brush that way, so I trimmed it a little more until it would fit inside and then super glued it into place.

It's not pretty but it works for now at least, it's saved me a little money I didn't need to spend. If the repair holds up long term, I will have come out ahead. If not, I can always start looking for a more durable older aluminum replacement.

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 View Full Size


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Post# 401087 11/18/2018 at 13:26 (1,979 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)
Checkrate/Likes No, I'm not repairing my credit. That's in pretty good shape. Often, when something breaks and needs fixing, I'm all too quick to whip out a credit card and purchase parts or materials to fix it. This time, I did it a little differently. The credit card became the replacement part. I was refurbishing an Electrolux flippy floor tool and found that the elbow that snaps into the brush had a big chunk of plastic missing that would let air in when the non-bristle side was in use so after looking on eBay to see what a replacement elbow would cost and finding it was basically the same price as a used floor brush, I started thinking about how I could repair the existing elbow. While this was going on, I had the TV on the Velocity (soon to be Motor Trend) channel and they were welding in new sheet metal on a car to replace a spot that had rusted out and it came to me. I just need to glue in a piece of plastic to cover where it was broken. It had to be relatively thin but strong and I thought of a couple of possibilities—an old CD-R disc or maybe the lid to a margarine container—but then I spied an expired credit card that I hadn't yet destroyed and the solution was clear as day. I cut up the credit card as I should have done several weeks ago when the new one came but I first cut out a piece the right size to cover the gap on the elbow. I tried to test fit it on top of the break but it was too thick to insert into the brush that way, so I trimmed it a little more until it would fit inside and then super glued it into place. It's not pretty but it works for now at least, it's saved me a little money I didn't need to spend. If the repair holds up long term, I will have come out ahead. If not, I can always start looking for a more durable older aluminum replacement. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 View Full Size

Post# 401101 , Reply# 1 11/18/2018 at 16:44 (1,979 days old) by kirbyklekter (Concord,Ca.)
Checkrate/Likes *Wow nice fit !* If it ever does break free, the credit card, try J.B. Weld.

Post# 401112 , Reply# 2 11/18/2018 at 18:37 (1,979 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)
Checkrate/Likes I dunno man, seems like an expensive repair. But credit to ya anyway.