I have used the body of a Bic Pen,a couple of small hoseclamps and a bit of DuckTape to repair an airline leak on my semi a few times.

Does that count and would anyone like to know how.

macwheels

yep that sounds like a MacGyverism to me.

What happened?

I was just sitting out on the front step enjoying the sound and smells of the rain and watching the clouds roll in over the mountain in front of my house and my mind drifted back to a summer vacation I went on as a kid with my parents and a simple MacGyverism from my mother.

We where staying in a tent in a beachside camping ground with some family friends and I guess it started to rain on this particular day, which caught most people off guard without wet weather gear (why would you take wet weather gear in the middle of summer right?).. anyway.. my mother grabbed a large plastic trash bag (clean unused) out of somewhere, cut a hole in the bottom and a hole on each side of it.. turned it over and pulled it on like a shirt.. Instant rain coat!

It was long enough to hang just below her shorts, so kept her dry; I think she may have had some kind of sleeveless top on too, so it was a perfect makeshift rain coat and allowed her to carry doing whatever it was she was doing outside.

The other people we where staying with found it a great source of ribbing and joking for the rest of our holiday.

Awww Mum

My sister made something very similar when she was playing Strip Poker in college. For years her nickname was Hefty..........

This may have been posted before, but bare with me. Although it is rare, on some sticky situations we don't panic. We don't give in to fear and assume the problem is unavoidable. We think W.W.M.D? (What Would MacGyver Do?) and scrape together a solution ( ). As the makeshift plan works, we feel like MacGyver . Please share your most spectacular Mac solutions. My personal moment of greatness was a few days ago when I fixed a copy machine with a piece of tape and a paperclip.

Hi, True -- if you look back through this thread (always a good idea before posting) you'll note that when we describe our MacGyverisms, we generally say something about just what it was that we did. Would you care to tell us how you fixed the copy machine? There's also a special MacGyverism thread just for moments of paper-clip ingenuity.

'Beth

Oh sorry! This was meant to be a new thread but I didn't know we had one already. The Moderator combined them. Anyway, the paper was pulling into the copier the wrong way. It should have been slid into a small slot. But it kept curling up. I needed to make the sheet slide flat. So I grabbed a paperclip and some tape. Bending the clip into a shape like this [_] I taped it above the paper holder so that the sheets would slide up against it and continue into the slot. That's another point for MacGyver

The current version of this thread has been running since November of 2006, and is on its fourth page. And this is a reseurrected thread from before the crash; the first post contains salvaged items from earlier.

You can navigate to earlier pages by following the breadcrumb links at the bottom of the thread pages.

Thanks for the tip.

Hi everyone!
Found this forum while trying to discover how to make a clock work from two patatoes and after various tests, i concluded tjat im just not able to do it. So i tried a different thing: making a hot air balloon, like the one in "The escape" (1 season).
I'm using news paper, spellowtape (cause i dont have any ducktape), wire, your medikit alcohol, and cloth. However, as we all know, alcohol + paper + macht= fire. I need to fix that. Can anyone help???

Back again. I haven't said a macgyverism, so here goes.
There was once a forest fire right next to where i lived. I had two options, either call the fireman, and get out of there, or call the fireman, and try to do something about it. I chose the second. So i arrived at the fire site, and thre was another 2 people trying to cool the the trees and wet the ground. Their hose wasn't long enough, so they were using buckets. I knew that the fireman would get there in 10 minutes, which we didnt have. So i rushed to the house, graved a couple of aluminium brooms, ducktape, and another hose. I took the broom of, keep the stick, which was hollow. I stuck one end of it into one hose, and the other end into the second hose. I used ducktape to secure the extension, so that it wouldn't break with the presure. The result, a hose that reached the flames.

Not sure this counts, but its the only one that has come to my mind.

Using a potato as a battery does work...I wonder what went wrong with yours. May be something in the way you connected it to the clock?

We did something similar to this once, but we were using material lighter than newspaper so we didn't need much heat and could move the heat further away from the "balloon". Not sure if you can get the lift you need from the heavier newspaper while moving/reducing the heat source.

That counts. Good job and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the welcome.

As for what i did with the patatoe clock I used 2 patatoes, 3 cables and an alarm clock. I made sure the clock works using a battery. Next i placed one cable to the positive spring of the clock in the battery compartment. Did the same with negative spring. Next I placed the positive calble into 1 patatoe, the negative one into the other patatoe. I used a third cable (neutral) to link both patatoes.

As for the balloon, I think I may have come up with the solution. An aluminium box. It's not too heavy and i can put it right inside the balloon, although I still have to cope with the pores of the paper.
Just out of curiosity, what did you use to make your balloon?

We were just fooling about with some water-soluble wax sheets left over from something. It pretty much looked like a sheet of plastic until you got up close to it.

what about using Aluminum foil?

Aluminium? Instead of newspaper? Maybe, i could try...
Thanks for the idea, it'll keep me doing something tomorrow!

Ok, I finally remembered how to make sulfuric acid. All you need is the oxygened water from a medikit, sulphur and H2O. You had to mix the sulphur with water, then add the oxygened water. If you do it in reverse, it'll explode. This recepie makes sufuric acid up to 65%, so it's nasty.

Just a note -- speaking as someone who grew up in forest fire country. I hope you also called the firemen before you went out to try to put out the fire!

Okay, so I'm not really sure if this counts, but here goes.

My "normal" shift at work is two third shifts, followed by three second shifts, with 8 hours in between the third and second shifts. We call that a roll-over shift, because you go home, get in the bed, roll over, get back up, and go back to work. My home is about an hour from my work, so that leaves me 6 hours of home-time. Factor in settle-down time and wake-up time, and I'd be doing well to get 3-4 hours sleep, if that. So I devised a plan.

All it took was four curtain rods, one piece of plywood, some scrap wire, 5 yards of fabric, a dozen binder clips, some velcro strips, some sticky-back velcro, and bedding.

Oh, and one car.

First, I hung the curtain rods on the grab handles inside my car, using the velcro. Then, I clipped the fabric to the rods, using the binder clips. For the back window, I applied the loop portion of the sticky-back velcro to the inside of my hatch, and the hook portion to the fabric. Easy up, easy down. My husband made a steering wheel shelf for the heater by cutting a slot into a piece of plywood, drilling holes on either side of the slot, and tying some scrap wire through the holes. I folded down the seats, put in the bedding, put up the sunshade, plugged the heater to the outbuilding in the parking lot (only necessary in winter, of course), and voila! A portable hotel room!



('Scuse the mess; I neglected to make my bed for the picture. )



It's quite cozy, and there's even enough room for me to change into my pajamas in there.

The result? I get between 6 and 7 hours of sleep during that roll-over period, and I save fuel by not having to make an extra trip back and forth!

Now, I just have to figure out how to do this with my motorcycle.

Just a note -- speaking as someone who grew up in forest fire country. I hope you also called the firemen before you went out to try to put out the fire!

I'm mad, and happy to be so. I find it I can always take things with a bit more humor if you're mad. Despite this, yes, i did call in the fireman, mainly because there is no way yo can put out a forest fire without some sort of high presure water pump, and theres the water itself. There is a small water current, but it's a kilometer away. I think it was, despite being a forest fire, one the most pleasant activities I've ever made. You know what they say: Where's the fun without a little bit of risk??
Plus, I got to have a nice chat with them fireman and a ride on their truck, helmet on and off I went. They do know how to party!


By the way, SAK, I like what you've done with the place. Just add a couple of posters and you've got a home made bedroom, in a car! For the motorbike, just bring a big tent.

Posters! That's what is missing! Great idea! Anyone know where I can find some Mac posters?

And I do have a tent big enough for me and the motorbike. I don't know what my coworkers would say about me pitching in the parking lot, though. Then again, they probably talk about me while I sleep in my car.

Thanks, Issus!

I'm freshmen in college, and I've been lurking in the forum for about 2 years, but now I'm getting around to posting.

a nickname my friends in the dorms call me is Macgyver Jr. because I am always building something out of nothing, so I have a bit of a list.

it all started a few months ago, when I needed to charge my cell phone on the go, so I decieded to unscrew my Dynamo flashlight, which runs off cranking, and stripping my cell phone charger cord. I attached the cord to the rechargable lithium Ion battery, the voltages almost matched up perfectly, and now cranking the flashlight gives light OR charging my cell phone. it, however, needs like 30 minutes of cranking to charge one bar, but it's the principal of the thing, and my friends love it.

then, some prankster put a masterlock on my RA's locker, and he couldnt open it. he openly said he needed help, but me jobshadowing in a locksmith (and seeing a bunch of youtube videos) knew that cutting open a soda can, you can make a shiv that opens masterlocks. so one morning before everyone got up, I took a can out of the trash and within 3 minutes opened the lock. no one knows for sure if I did, because I dont want my powers used for evil.

also, I lost my Ipod case, so using duct tape and the plastic lining from a cigarrete case, I created my own case!...

...along with the classic handmade duct tape wallet I use

and just for fun, I take apart clothespins to make toothpick launchers, along with blowguns. (never had to use them though, its just a fun macgyverism.

my greatest feat yet, was when I dropped my xbox controller just before a crucial need for speed tournament. what happened was one of the trigger buttons was stuck on. thinking fast, I took apart the controller. I saw that the right trigger "H" bar, which controlled sensitivity was snapped and looked more like an "L". after about an hour of thinking, I figured it out! what I did was bent a paperclip into a small "Z" shape, which worked as well as the "H" but it was too skinning, so I cut open a cue tip which was the perfect width, and put it into place. it does not work as well as before, but I can adjust it if I need be. saved myself 30 $ and everyone is amazed.

those are just a few of my ventures over the past few months, and I'll be sure to post even more later! I hope you enjoyed them.

A pal of mine had broken her folder. It was of the three ring variety, although with plastic snaps. She pulled one of the rings out too fast and it snapped in half, part of it inside the other. Knowing me as the MacGyver fan, she entrusted its repair to me. It didn't seem too hard to fix, although it stumped several others. I pulled out a paperclip and went to work. The underside had the tip of the stick just visible in a small, cylindrical chamber. The paperclip wasn't strong enough to push it out alone. So I rebent the clip and fashioned some tweezers. I held open the other end of the cylindrical ring as best I could and reached for my trusty compass (the kind for drawing perfect circles, not directions). I unfolded it and eyed the pointed end with a sense of MacGyver-like inventiveness. At this point she asked "Should I just throw it out? (She is an impatient person)" I flashed her a grin and shook my head. I turned back to work and inserted the point into the end with the visible tip. I cautiously slid it in, still holding the paperclip. Soon the plastic, jagged top of the snap appeared. I pinched it with my fingers and pulled it out. I held it to her as if I just pulled off the world's greatest magic trick. She smiled in awe and hugged me. I'm proud to say that I saved a binder from certain compaction. She now asks me everyday what I MacGyvered.

Just pulled a more meager trick today. I was partaking in a friendly game of darts with my brother and cousin (three MacGyver fans, a video camera, the set of DVD's, and a WHOLE lotta time) of course discussing MacGyver. Well it was my turn and I tossed the plastic dart. The dartboard was resting on a workbench beneath a window. In other words, aim too high and you'd be buying a new pane. So I instinctively threw low, the ray of daylight illuminating the green flash of the dart. But the clang of metal told me that I had lost the dart to the labyrinth of paint cans beneath the bench. It is BLACK down there. You cannot see the wall a few feet back. No flashlight was around and trying to find one would take too long. I noticed an extra tin oven tray. It was slightly pliable. So I snatched it and strategically bent it to face the window and the underside. The light reflected and bounced into the cans, making the cans appear. I eyed the newfound illumination worked beautifully and I quickly retrieved the dart. I set down the pan to cries of "Awesome! Nice MacGyverism!"

Love the lair, SAK!

When I was growing up, my family went on long car trips, and camped; but my father also rigged up our van (a Chevrolet Greenbriar) to be an ad-hoc motor home. He built a portable kitchen into the back, with a fold-out counter; rigged hanging bunks for himself and my mother; and built a table that fitted between the second and third seats, which were bench seats. The second seat could be unbolted, turned around, and bolted back in place the other way, turning the interior into a booth table. On really long trips, we could pull the van over and park, cook and eat dinner, and sleep.

He also built a 'car-top carrier' -- a wooden box with a hinged side that went on the roof. It had room for sleeping bags, tent, duffle bags, and other gear, and had a trough that held shovel, rake, broom, and anything else longitudinal that we might need.

The only thing he couldn't do was make the van wider so we could actually stretch out while sleeping. It was easy enough when we were little -- and my mother was never tall -- but I'm not sure how he managed himself. His own bunk must have been really cramped!

Well . . . he was a physicist, not an engineer.

I made an alluminium hot air ballon, I put a heat source under it, and it flew... a bit, but actually flew... Now I got to find a way to climb up the tree wher it's stuck...

Mythbusters made a lead balloon fly, using lead foil.

Today my laptop shut itself down again while I was working on it (the screen just goes dark and leaves me sitting stunned). A few weeks ago I had it for cleaning for this problem, because the ventilator was full with dust and could not suck in air anymore.

So I turned it and yes, there was already dust all over the wire covering the ventilator again. How to get it off, without it falling inside through the holes? I wetted some toilet paper (only slightly damp) and carefully put it onto the dust layer, and so it stuck to the paper, and the airway is free again, as you can see, otherwise I would not be able to post this

A good way to clean dust out of your computer is with a vacuum cleaner.

Just turn it on and hold the nozzle against the air vent so it sucks all the dust out.

This works on all variety's of computers.