Do you have a great idea for someone? It can be anything! If its in your head, paste it in this thread!!!!

MacGyver Tip: Save your hard drive in the freezer


One way to resuscitate a busted drive long enough to get a backup? Stick it in the freezer.

One of the methods used before is to actually remove the drive from the PC, place it in the freezer for a day, then quickly put it back in the machine and try to access it. Why does this work? Who knows, but the idea surfaceed years ago, and it has worked!

Cool A Small Room or Tent with this Portable Air Conditioner



If you're going camping, or just want to cool a small room down without running the actual air conditioner, this DIY portable unit can get the job done.

You'll need to attach a PC fan to the top of a large protein shake container, then cut a hole in the side of the canister and insert a portion of a water bottle to direct the cold air into your room. Then, strap a battery to the side of the unit, wire up the fan, and put some ice packs inside. The fan will suck in warm air, cool it over the ice, and blow the cooled air out of the side. If you don't have ice handy, just pouring some cold water in the container would create an evaporative cooling effect to achieve basically the same result. It's not going to cool an entire house, but it's pretty simple to build, and should at least keep a tent comfortable.

Denizen, that is awesome! Thanks for sharing....I'm going to try making one of these!

Keep Your Super Glue from Drying Out with a Jar of Rice



If you're a regular user of super glue or other kinds of epoxies, you can keep the tips from drying out by storing the tubes in a jar of rice.

Super glue needs water in order for it to harden and dry out. Unfortunately, that also means that the moisture in the air can cause the tips of super glue tubes to dry out and practically ruin the whole tube. Just toss your super glues and epoxies in a jar filled with a tiny bit of rice and the rice will absorb a lot of the excess moisture in the air. You can also use kitty litter if you have some of that around.

LEGO Figures Make Perfect Cable Holders

Who knew that LEGO designed their figures' hands perfectly to hold Apple lightning and other types of cables? Stick a LEGO brick on your desk, attach LEGO figure(s), and, voilà, an ingenious cord-catching solution.

You can also hold keys, your phone, and just about anything else with a LEGO brick and a little bit of sugru, as we've seen before. But now you can add an army of LEGO figures to prevent your cables from getting lost.

And then...

How to Build a LEGO Organizer For Your Keys and Everyday Items

Even though I have a "spot" for my keys and wallet, I still end up misplacing them. The LEGO organizer is a fun and convenient place to store all of your everyday carry things. A standard LEGO base plate is stuck to a wall, while bricks and plates attached to everyday items make them attachable to the mat—never to go missing again. Here's how to make your own.

This fun and colourful project is a great way to keep things organized and show your love for LEGO. LEGO purists beware: modifying the pieces are essential to make this work.

Step 1

LEGO Pieces:
·Base: base plate
·Key fob: 2x3 bricks (or any 2x brick)
·Wallet + phone back: 4x6 plate
·Key name markers: 1x2 plate

Tools + Materials:
·Rotary tool with cutting wheel
·Sandpaper (100 grit)
·2-part epoxy
·Drill and small bits ( 2mm [5/64"] )
·2-sided tape (or other heavy duty dual adhesion)

Step 2


Using a 2mm (5/64") bit, openings were drilled through the side and top of each 2x bricks. Once initial openings were made, the drill was directed to a 45 degree angle and the openings were reamed to connect the two openings. This opening was large enough for my key loops—ream with a larger bit if you need more room. Any plastic burrs from drilling were removed with a sharp hobby knife. Key loops were then threaded though each brick opening and keys added.

Step 3


Instead of labeling the keys, have them color-coded with a corresponding nameplate. This method allows the bricks and keys to be changed easily. Then all you need is a new name plate. On masking tape, scribble what your keys open and place it on the corresponding color brick.

Step 4



For the phone and wallet, a 4x6 plate. The pip crowns on the topside of the plate don't serve a purpose when attaching them to a flat surface and add to the thickness, so a rotary tool with a flat cutting wheel to remove them was used. The plate was then sanded smooth with 100 grit sandpaper. 2-part epoxy was mixed and smeared over the sanded top of the LEGO plates. The plates were then attached to the phone and wallet, then clamped in place and left to set overnight.

Pro-tip: With most 2-part epoxies, less is more. Too much epoxy applied may leak into openings created when removing the plate crowns and prevent the bottom of the plate from connecting with the mat. If you accidentally use too much glue, the spillover can be removed with a sharp hobby knife, as dried epoxy is brittle and can be chipped off once set. (Remember you can always use a phone case instead so you don't damage your phone).

Step 5


Using a strong double-sided tape to adhere the base plate to the wall is recommended. If you're planning to load up your base plate with lots of items, then you might need a stronger solution to stick your base plate to the wall. Consider mechanical fasteners. After applying the tape, the backing was removed and the base plate was pushed against the wall to ensure a strong bond.

Step 6

All that's left now is to populate your base plate with your everyday carry items, like your wallet, phone, and keys. You can expand with more key fobs or larger objects as the need arises.

I've tons of Legos around the house. What a great idea!!

You could also use those moisture bags you find in electronics which usually end up being thrown out with the rest of the packaging.

I've had success with the hard drive in the freezer fix in the past. Once it worked, twice it didn't. Has to do with the tight spinning space within the casing and the contraction of metal when it is cooled.

I can only think of a humorous think outside the box event that I 'macgyvered' one Christmas. It was about -30c below and the car battery was dead. I needed to get going within the hour and so I called the tow truck company for a boost. They said that they were too busy with so many dead batteries that it would be at least a 3 hour wait and the charge would be $100.00. No good, so I started calling some friends/family and no one was around or could come within the hours. I was dead to rights. So I ran down the driveway with my booster cables waving them at any passing car ... but the snow had started up again, frostbite was a risk, and visibility was almost zero and nobody was stopping. And then I got a brainstorm. Hook a solar charger with a solar panel, makeshift micro circuit, alligator clips and soldering iron. Bam!!!! Done!





























(kidding)


Nope, I ordered a fricking pizza, instead! What? Well, I remembered that the local shop had a 30 minute or free promotion. Bingo! He was there in 25 minutes with a nice hot pizza ... and before he could drive away, I said 'couldn't bother you for a boost could I?' He said 'sure' and so I popped the hood and Vrrroooom, Vrooooom. Gave him a $10.00 tip and we were both on our way.

Nice one.

That's the best one so far!

Well played, Sir!

I like it, especially the iced coffee cubes!

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If you press your floor and the door close button at the same time, the elevator will go directly to your floor.

If you need to do something in the middle of the night, cover one eye until you turn the lights off. That eye will retain its ability to see in the dark.

Insert toothpicks to fix a stripped screw hole.

To test if a remote is working, point it at a cellphone. The screen will pick up the infrared light.

To increase the distance a remote control reaches, place it under your skull. It will give it a boost.

Remove a stripped screw with a rubber band.

Awesome post Denizen!

Something I do with regularity is to save old rucksacks when the kids have worn them out at school. The strong materials and old straps and fittings have proved useful for mending, strengthening and improving with padding all sorts of outdoors gear.

So here is probably my best MacGyverism



It started life as two rusty pieces of ornamental wrought iron gate that I got from the local scrap merchants. I (note - 'I' ) welded them together at an angle (OK, I had the help of an experienced welding person, but I did it myself). Then I drilled four large holes in them at the corners and de-rusted and painted them with red lead and black Hammerite, Four lengths of chain were obtained from the iron-mongers along with a couple of really strong ceiling hooks. The hardest job was finding a suitable ceiling beam to get the hooks into and then some cheap butchers hooks and I was in business with a ceiling pot holder far bigger and better than anything I could buy. It's been up with the occasional clean for over 15 years.

Nice Job Maclover! I was gonna say that finding a beam to hold the weight must have been interesting....awesome job!

Great post Maclover! Keep em coming!!!

Now THAT's creative!!! I love it!

Make perfect pancakes with a squeeze bottle


Seal plastic bags with old bottle caps

Denizen, that's a great idea! I usually make pancakes for my family and it's a bear (and a real mess) trying to get the batter in the pan. Thanks!

Anytime, Barry.

Create extra shelf space with a tension rod
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Organize cables with toilet paper tubes

Keep 'em coming Denizen!!

the toilet paper tubes one is an ingenious idea!

You want more?! You got more!!!