~WESTR: MacGyver's How-To Guide

Showing posts with label MacGyver's How-To Guide. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Making A Filing Drawer

I originally posted this on my old website November 19, 2003.

PRESENTS

MAKING A FILING DRAWER

"You're gonna have to trust me on this."

- MacGyver

You wouldn't think a troubleshooter for the Phoenix Foundation would end up gathering a lot of paperwork. But then, if I've learned anything from the Phoenix Foundation, it would have to be "Always expect the unexpected." Grandpa Harry probably said that too, but it probably didn't sink in right away.

It turns out I didn't expect the unexpected, and found myself with a lot of paperwork that I needed a place for. Boxes just weren't cutting it, and living on a houseboat, there's just no room for a traditional filing cabinet. Besides, I don't have that many papers worth keeping. One drawer would be plenty.

I did find room for a desk I got for free. It was on the sidewalk near a college campus, where it was destined for the landfill, but I figured I could use a cheap desk, so I brought it home. I'm a sucker for lost causes.

The desk has fairly large drawers, so I decided one of them would make a good "filing drawer" for storing my papers. The drawers were a little shallow, so I couldn't really turn it into a "real" filing drawer for hanging folders with a kit from Wal-Mart. I needed a different solution.

I acquired a 4-foot length of 1/2" aluminum angle. This would be the runners for the hanging folders. I cut it in half with a hacksaw, and then measured the length of the drawer to see how long I really needed them to be. (See FIGURE 1)

The inside of the drawer was 22 1/4" long. My runners were 24" long, about the same as the outside length of the drawer, so I didn't have to cut the runners down any more lengthwise. (If you copy this project yourself, you may have to cut the runners shorter if your drawers are shorter.) The runners would overhang the inside of the drawer by 7/8" on each end. This would be about the right length for my mounting strategy.

Since I got the desk for free off the sidewalk, and it didn't look that good anyway, my plan for mounting the runners would involve defacing the drawer front. If the desk were worth anything, I would have come up with a different plan, but for this desk, this was the easy solution. First, I cut half the angle off of 7/8" of each end of the runners, as shown in FIGURE 2. Since I used aluminum angle, this was easily accomplished with the hacksaw, though I did clamp them down. If you are using steel angles, you may need something more substantial to cut them. You can remove the unneeded part, or simply bend it down, as it won't be in the way.

Now for the defacing part. I used the hacksaw to cut a slot in the top of the front and back of the drawer, about 3/4" from one side of the inside of the drawer. These slots should be as wide as the thickness of the runners, so you may need to make two close cuts for each slot and remove the material in between. Measure 12" in from these slots and cut another set of slots, as shown in FIGURE 3. All of these slots should be deep enough that when the runners are put in place as shown in FIGURE 3, the top of the runner is at least 1/8" below the lowest point of the top of the drawer. Once you have all the slots cut to the same depth, you can put in the runners. Make sure that the vertical parts of the runners are facing each other, with the horizontal parts toward the outside.

At this point you may be wondering, "Why even bother with angles? Why not just use plain aluminum or steel bars?" There are a couple reasons for this:

1. The angles are stronger than plain bars. The horizontal part of the angle not only adds strength, but also keeps the runner from twisting or bowing from side to side.

2. The angles keep the runners in place. The horizontal part of the angle keep the runner from being able to slide back and forth in the slots, so no additional hardware or adhesive is necessary to keep the runners from moving.

With the runners in place, your filing drawer is now complete. Just put the drawer back in the desk and the runners should be at the correct spacing for standard hanging file folders.

BONUS SECTION!!!

MAKE YOUR OWN FILE FOLDERS

FIGURE 4 shows how you can make your own hanging file folders. Start with a piece of heavy paper or cardstock about 11" wide and 20" inches long. Fold the paper in half. Next you need some stiff metal wire. (Not electrical wire!) Wire coat hangars are good for this. The wire should be 12 1/2" long. Bend a 90° angle at each end as seen in FIGURE 4. You will need two (2) wires per folder. Place one wire at one end of the paper about 1/2" from the edge. Fold the end of the paper over the wire and staple (or glue in a pinch) into place, as shown in FIGURE 4. Repeat with the other wire at the other end of the paper. Repeat these steps for each folder. These folders should fit any filing cabinet or drawer intended for hanging folders.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:

MacGyver and everything related is © Paramount Pictures. This includes all characters and the vague references to actual episodes of MacGyver. This post, and the content contained herein, including the "How-To's" and the accompanying diagrams, are my own creations and are © Robert D. West, 2003. I am not affiliated in any way with Paramount Pictures. Any opinions expressed in this website are my own and do not represent the position of Paramount Pictures in any way. This site is intended only as a fan tribute to the series, and as a way to showcase things I have done that reminded me of the series. Please do not take anything for your own use without permission.

How To Fix A VCR

I originally posted this on my old website November 13, 2003.

PRESENTS

HOW TO FIX A VCR

"A paperclip can be a wondrous thing. More times than I can remember, one of these has gotten me out of a tight spot."

- MacGyver

You've been working non-stop for weeks, going from project to project to project. You just found out your boss Pete volunteered you for a project you didn't even know about. Your friend Jack has another get rich quick scheme he wants your help with. Penny Parker wants you to hear her new song and dance routine. You just need some time to yourself though, so you put a tape of your favorite western in your secondhand VCR and lay back on the couch for a little R&R.

Just one problem: as the tape starts to play, you hear this "click-click-click" sound. The tape is playing just fine, but the noise is a little distracting. You just can't enjoy your favorite movie like this. You stop the tape and open up the VCR to investigate.

FIGURE 1 shows a very simplified view of the inside of a VCR, or at least, the part we are concerned with. This is the deck the tape rests on in the VCR while playing. To rotate the reels inside the cassette are two sprockets on shafts. There are springs around the shafts and under the sprockets to keep the sprockets at the top of the shaft and in good contact with the ridges on the inside of the reels in the cassette.

The problem turns out to be that one of the springs that should be around the shaft holding up the sprocket is missing. Without the spring, the sprocket is not making good contact with the ridges of the cassette reel, and keeps slipping, making the clicking sound. Because this is the sprocket under the take-up (or initially empty) reel, and the supply reel (the reel with the tape on at at the beginning) spring is still there, the tape still plays fine, though toward the end of the tape it might not.

The solution is simple: you need a new spring. The problem is, where can you get a new spring? Now, you could probably go out and buy a new spring, but you're really not in the mood to go anywhere. So, you need a spring, or at least something that will work as a spring. The spring from a ballpoint pen is too small to fit around the shaft in the VCR. Wait a second, how about that old standby, the paperclip? A paperclip could certainly be bent into the necessary size of spring. You go find a small paperclip, and a pen to shape the spring around, although any round object about that size would work.

Start by unfolding the paper clip. You may not need to unfold it all the way, as one of the curves might have the right diameter to be part of the spring. If this is the case, it makes a good starting point, otherwise you can start anywhere. FIGURE 2 shows the process from paper clip to spring.

Once you've bent your new spring, all that's left is to put it in place in the VCR. This is a simple task. Remove the sprocket from the shaft. Place the spring in place around the shaft. You may have to adjust the spring at this point. It should sit freely around the shaft, but it should not be so large that the sprocket can slip inside it. Also, the spring should be tall enough that it will support the sprocket, but it should not be so stiff that it cannot be easily depressed. Use the remaining spring for the other sprocket as a guide. Once you have the spring in place and properly adjusted, place the sprocket back on the top of the shaft. FIGURE 3 shows these final steps.

Now you can put the top back on your VCR, and it should be back in perfect working order. At last, you can get on with the movie. And just in time too, as this small project pretty much used up what remaining energy you had. Just don't fall asleep on the couch during the western. You just might have some rather interesting dreams.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:

How To Fix A Lamp

I originally posted this on my old website November 19, 2003.

PRESENTS

HOW TO FIX A LAMP

"I've found from past experiences that the tighter your plan, the more likely you are to run into something unpredictable."

- MacGyver

Here's the situation. You've just returned from helping your friend Jack Dalton with a rescue mission. Now, in order to get your attention, Jack had broken into your apartment and moved everything you own to his hangar. He promised to move it all back, but this is Jack we're talking about here. So now you've moved everything back yourself (It's amazing how much you can fit in a Jeep) and you're finally going to get a chance to relax. It's starting to get dark, so you plug the lamp in and turn it on...

The knob is supposed to click when you turn the lamp on, and then turn freely to adjust the light level. Instead of giving you a click, the knob simply turns. There is no click at either end of the knob's rotation. What's worse...the lamp isn't on either!

Jack Dalton strikes again! He must have broke the switch when he moved it. This lamp was too expensive to just throw out. You'll have to try and fix it. "Shouldn't be too bad," you think. "All I need is a new switch."

So you go to bed early, and the next day, you start on your plan to fix the lamp, which involves taking the lamp apart, taking out the old switch, taking it to get one just like it, and putting the new one in. FIGURE 1 shows the lamp, at the beginning of all this. You unscrew the top two pole sections and remove the not holding the switch in the hole. Now you get your first lock at the switch, which turns out to be attached to a circuit board. Connected to the circuit board are 6 wires, two going to the base and four to the fixture. You disconnect the wires (after labeling them to indicate their positions on the circuit board), and take the switch to the nearest hardware store (where you bought the lamp in the first place) in search of a replacement.

"Oh, we don't have anything like that."

"Nothing even close?"

"Nope, but you could try this one electrical supply place..."

After the third conversation like this, you realize you have three choices:

1. Go to the place across town the last electrical place suggested, even though there's no guarantee they will have the switch either. This will have to wait until at least tomorrow.

2. Contact the manufacturer of the lamp, if you can figure that out, and see if they have a switch. This would likely take several days (or weeks) to get the new switch, if they have any.

3. Get whatever switch you can get your hands on and fix the lamp yourself today.

It's pretty dark at your place without a lamp, so you decide to try #3. After all, you can fix anything!

Now, if this lamp simply had two wires coming from the fixture, this would be easy. However, this lamp has 4. You know you only need two of these; the other two are for the dimming function. But which are which?

First, lets take a look at the original switch and circuit board, and the wires, as shown in FIGURE 2. We won't concern ourselves with the layout of the board, or any of the other components on it. They just don't matter. The wires from the base are identical. They attached to terminals labeled "L" and "N." The other terminals, the ones the four wires to the fixture attached to, aren't labeled. Of these four wires, there are one white, one black, and two blue wires. Chances are, the black and white wires are the essential ones.

There is one sure-fire way to find out which wires connect to which: start connecting them and see what happens! Now, this might not sound like the best way to do this, but it's not like we're dealing with a bomb or anything. It's just a lamp. Your intuition tells you that "L" probably stands for "Live" or "Line" and "N" probably stands for "Neutral" or "Negative." Given that, you decide to try connecting the "L" wire to the white fixture wire and the "N" wire to the black wire. You twist one pair of wires together, then plug the lamp in and touch the other two together. Eureka! The lamp came on. Now you know how the lamp is wired. All you need now is a new switch.

The only switch you have on hand that will fit through the hole in the lamp pole is a small Single-Pole Single-Throw toggle switch. This switch has two positions, and is intended to be used to switch between one circuit and another. It has three terminals, but since there is only one circuit, you only need two of these. FIGURE 3 shows how to inset the switch into the circuit between one pair of wires. The other pair of wires can simply be soldered to each other. You should either wrap the extra terminal with electrical tape, or remove it completely, to avoid the possibility of a short circuit when the lamp is "off."

Now you can reassemble the lamp. Just one problem left. The switch is too small to fit snugly in the hole in the lamp pole. You need some way to make its diameter larger. The way to fix this is to wrap the switch with electrical tape until it fits snugly in the hole, as shown in FIGURE 4.

You can now finish reassembling the lamp. Getting the switch through the hole in the pole is a bit if a challenge, but it's not impossible. Once the switch is in position, you can reconnect the pole sections, and your lamp is once again in working order. Now, it won't dim anymore, so instead of a dimmable fluorescent lamp, you now have just a regular fluorescent lamp, but who really needs a dimmable lamp anyway? At any rate, it's certainly better than a lamp that doesn't work at all.

Isn't it amazing how a working lamp can brighten your day?

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:

About MacGyver

I originally posted this on my old website November 19, 2003.

"I'm not trying to be mysterious about it, it's just that what I do is tough to explain."

-MacGyver

ABOUT MACGYVER

MacGyver was a action-adventure television series created by Henry Winkler and aired on ABC from 1985 to 1992. The show's main character was the mono-named MacGyver, played by Richard Dean Anderson, who had the ability to find a solution to any situation using his knowledge of physics and chemistry, his Swiss Army knife, and whatever materials happened to be nearby. The basis for the show was that MacGyver would be a thinking hero; one that succeeded though the use of his mind, not his muscles or weapons. Though the series ended its run in 1992, it spawned two TV movies in the mid 1990's and still remains on television in syndication. In the United States, MacGyver is currently aired on TV Land, and is probably the most modern series they air, attesting to its quality.

WHO IS MACGYVER?

MacGyver is, as he has put it, a troubleshooter. It is difficult to put it any other way; even MacGyver himself will admit that. Basically, if there's a problem, MacGyver can solve it. It doesn't matter if it's a rescue mission, stopping a crime syndicate, getting a crashed plane back in the air or averting a nuclear meltdown, MacGyver can handle it.

MacGyver originally worked for a government agency called the DXS or Department of External Services. He later went to work for an independent think-tank called the Phoenix Foundation. He also volunteers at the Challenger's Club, a community center for inner-city kids. In the past, MacGyver has been many things. He apparently did a stint in the military, he has been part of a bomb squad, he has done some work in archaeology, and he apparently has had some education in the field of nuclear power. He also knows the basics of flying a small airplane.

MacGyver is opposed to violence and will not use a gun (at least not as a weapon) due to a childhood incident. That's not to say he can't defend himself. MacGyver has knocked out many a bad guy (though his hand always hurts after) and he has also made many an ingenious trap to incapacitate the enemy. He is also afraid of heights, but that hasn't kept him from rock climbing, skydiving, or flying in (and under) a vast array of airplanes and helicopters, a hot air balloon and a makeshift airplane/hang glider.

MacGyver stands out among action heroes because he is an intelligent, educated hero. MacGyver has a vast knowledge of physics and chemistry and is very computer-savvy, especially for the 1980's. He is also quite the mechanic and handyman; he can fix just about anything with a paper clip and some duct tape. He also has a lot of regular old common sense. If MacGyver walks into a trap, it is because someone has exploited his one major weakness: he believes so much in the inherent good of people that he is likely to trust just about anyone.

WHO IS PETE THORNTON?

Pete Thornton is MacGyver's boss. More than that, MacGyver and Pete are also close friends. A former military man, Pete was MacGyver's boss at the DXS, and when Pete moved to the Phoenix Foundation, MacGyver went with him. Pete became Director of the entire Phoenix Foundation and would usually assign MacGyver to his most important assignments, knowing that MacGyver would be sure to accomplish them. Pete also sometimes accompanies MacGyver to the Challenger's Club, and Pete made the Phoenix Foundation a major contributor to the club. Pete has developed Glaucoma, and is almost completely blind. He uses special equipment to read printed text. (Note: During the run of the MacGyver series, actor Dana Elcar, who played the role of Pete, developed Glaucoma and began losing his sight. The writers of MacGyver wrote the actor's struggle into the character of Pete as well.)

WHO IS JACK DALTON?

Jack Dalton is an old friend of MacGyver and Pete. He is a pilot, and is always in the lookout for a business opportunity that will make him successful. One of Jack's catchphrases is "I have a plan," but Jack's plans usually end up having MacGyver get him out of trouble. In addition to being a pilot, Jack has also been a taxi driver, operated a messenger service, and been a magician. Jack's various business ventures have included Fly-By-Night, Jack-Be-Quick Messenger Service, Dalton Air, Dalton Air and Sea, and The Great Sheldrake the Magician.

WHO IS PENNY PARKER?

MacGyver met Penny Parker while on a mission in East Europe. The mission had been going fine until Penny slipped some jewelry she had taken from her ex-boyfriend into MacGyver's pocket at the airport. It turned out the boyfriend was a high-ranking government official and the jewelry was from the government's treasury! Such are the situations Penny, an long-winded, aspiring actress, gets herself into, and that MacGyver must get her out of.

WHO IS GRANDPA HARRY?

MacGyver's parents and maternal grandmother died when he was a child, and he had no siblings. His only family was his maternal grandfather, Harry Jackson, who raised him from then on. Grandpa Harry was a source of much grandfatherly wisdom for MacGyver, both as a child and later in life. MacGyver would often find himself remembering Harry's lessons. It would turn out that even at his death, Harry would leave one more lesson for MacGyver to learn.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:

MacGyver’s How-To Guide

I originally posted this on my old website November 19, 2003.

"He can fix anything. He can fix a computer with a hairpin and a piece of duct tape."

- Pete Thornton

Welcome to MacGyver’s How-To Guide!

The point of this page is to showcase MacGyver-like things I have done, and to help you, the reader, learn to think like television’s greatest problem solver. The solutions to these problems are probably not the best solutions, and they are certainly not the “correct” solution. They are, however, solutions that involved whatever materials I had on had or could easily acquire. They are also very inexpensive solutions. After all, MacGyver rarely had a store he could go to for supplies.

Don’t know who MacGyver is? Click Here.

Episode 1: How to Repair a Lamp

Episode 2: Fix a VCR with a Paper Clip

Episode 3: How to Build a Filing Drawer

More to be added as I come up with them.

Thanks to Scott Keller for the screen captures.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: