screw

Jan

2012

How To Convert Vertical Blinds From Cord And Chain To A Wand

If you have corded vertical blinds that have a centered master control gear running through the center of the gear channels than the blinds can be converted. All you need is a master wand control, a wand, and about fifteen minutes spare time to make the change. First loosen and remove both end brackets. Next remove the gear mechanisms from inside the end caps (usually held in place by a keeper). Discard the inner gears and blind chain. Behind the blind gears opposite of the corded end you will find the cord is knotted or split weight clipped. Cut off the knots or split weights and remove the entire cord. (Watching the youtube video I made on this will help you better understand the steps involved.)

Next find the keeper and make sure it is installed in the proper place just in front of what will be the very last slat. If it is in the wrong place remove it and install it in the proper place. If the blind slats are curved the convex portion should go to the back. Next install the rear end bracket. Now slip off any guides in the way of the first stem control and remove about the first four slats to give better access. Next slide out the main gear a bit and some of the blind stem controls enough for you to use your screwdriver more easily.

The new master control will have two screws that pass through it linking it to a stem control. Remove the two screws and discard the stemless stem control. Next slide the master wand control onto the main gear, screw holes facing towards the blinds. Next slide the first stem control up against the master control and use the two screws to link the first stem control to it. Now re-install the guides previously removed and reattach the end cap.

Attach the blind wand, reinstall your four slats and your ready to test the blinds for proper rotation. If you can’t get a full rotation you may need to pop each stem over a couple points. I will try to cover this better in a future video so subscribe to my Youtube channel if you want to be one of the first people to see that video (your subscribing helps support and encourage me to make more videos and write more blogs).

As I have mentioned before do be careful as the blind head rail is very sharp unfinished metal and cuts flesh just a bit to easily. The video on Stems and Gears should help a bit in understanding the way vertical blinds work.

~ I Wish You Great Success ~
~ Kung Fu Maintenance ~

Jul

2011

How to Repair Just About Any Stripped Screw Holes

Who hasn’t crossed paths with a stripped screw hole? You go to tighten the screw and it just turns in the hole but no righty tighty and maybe too much lefty loosey. A quick trick here is to fill the hole with a sliver or two of wood, plastic, matchsticks (minus the heads, so you don’t start a fire) , toothpicks, or even a rolled up bit of paper. This will give the screw something to bite on and help it to grab into the hole. You can either cut off or roll up appropriately guestimated sizes and amount of wood slivers or use rolled up paper and insert it into the hole then anchor your screw in the modified hole.

Now I wouldn’t recommend this repair for fixing planes, trains, or automobiles, but it works just fine on light duty applications such as cabinet pulls or interior door jambs. It can also work in some instances where the proper screw was lost you can use the wood and a smaller sized screw to anchor into the old hole. You may need to use a washer if your screw head is a different size. If you are concerned about longevity of the repair you might add a bit of wood glue to your inserted tree mixture and let it dry, if need be, and then screw in the screw.

Most screws are all about plane leverage. The screw threads grab into the material anchoring into the weaker spaces between material particles forcing the remaining weaker particles closer together thereby making them denser, more concentrated, and better to anchor to. The correct screw is particularly engineered at the proper angles and thread size for the material it is designed to anchor to for optimum holding power. Some materials including some types of wood need to be pre drilled to avoid splitting of the material.Each material is different in it’s density and tensile strength. Wooden matchsticks, toothpicks, and rolled up bits of strong paper are very flexible and still strong enough to fill voids, this is why they work well for this application, making them anchor into the existing subtances and create holding power.

This same effect works well in reverse the same plane leverage helps the screw to be easily turned out and removed for repairs or modifications. If you had to take apart something where this repair was done you may need to repeat the insert of some material if it had not been glued in.

~~~ Stay Strong ~~~
~~~ Kung Fu Maintenance ~~~~~~~

May

2011

Increasing Your Balance ~ Weighting out a Ceiling Fan Wobble

This is my eleventh video. It was the first Kung Fu Maintenance video I used my voice on. To my surprise it has gotten far more hits than any of my others. This is true even though (among my vids) it is one of the most disliked uploaded videos. Perhaps for the noise (voice) (music) but I think more than anything for the fact that this repair takes so much patience. It is a tried and true method and I have done it many times. It is not my favorite repair either but it normally works, unless the fan is beyond balancing. I have had many dislikes over the brand of this particular fan. Also I think it gets many dislikes because there are some who think it is not worth it to balance a fan (or believe it impossible) and would rather buy a new one. This is fine. (You can make pizza, if you have the dough( and sauce, and cheese etc. . ). What follows is for the savers.

First clean the fan. Then tighten up all the screws. Tighten the fan blade screws and especially the down rod set screws where the down rod goes into the fan top. Often times this is enough to fix the wobble. Sometimes you can adjust the position of the light kit or the position of the down rod socket by pushing the whole fan up and turning a little bit (with power off of course). Try several different positions to see if you can rid the wobble.

If those attempts don’t rid your wobble than you will need a fan balancing kit. They are sold at most hardware stores or you can order one from my store Kung Fu Maintenance Supply and Appliance. They usually have instructions to follow which normally involve the following.

Clip the fan blade weight clip to the back edge of a fan blade either on the very end center or in the middle at the back of the blade. Turn the fan on and note if it wobbles more or less. Note the blade you started with than do the same on each of the other fan blades to determine which one gives you the least amount of wobble. This takes a lot of patience as you have to let the fan blades stop each time so no one gets hurt.

Next clip the fan weight in the center at the back of the fan blade with the least wobble. Slide the clip two inches toward the fan center and check the wobble. Than slide the clip four inch away from the center of the fan blade. Whichever direction towards the center or further away gives you the least wobble continue checking for the least wobble in two inch increments until you determine the best spot for least wobble. This is where you will stick one of the fan weights clean the spot on the center top of the fan blade really well. This way the weight doesn’t go flying off later (It’s all fun and games till someone gets hurt). Remove the plastic covering the adhesive and press it down top center of the fan blade directly in line with your fan weight clip.

Now you can remove the fan weight clip and check for wobbling. All set you’re all done but if there is still some wobble sometimes it takes more than one weight. This is why the weight kit usually comes with two or three weights. Repeat the entire process again with the second and if necessary the third weight. Yes it is understandable that this video gets some dislikes. I could even sometimes dislike it myself. It puts a real tester on ADD and caffeinated people .

~~~Increasing your Balance~~~

~~~~~~~~~~Kung Fu Maintenance~~~~~~~~~~~