How to Repair Your Laptop or Net-Book Charger

If the power supply / charger for your laptop or net-book starts to fail intermittently the chances are that it's because the insulation of the cable is broken where it connects to the power supply causing short circuits.

This is a common problem and normally starts to happen when the net-book is 3 or 4 years old.

What happens is simple, when storing the laptop in it's case most of us wrap the cable round the power supply. Over time the constant bending of the cable where it connects to the power supply takes it’s toll on the insulation and it eventually breaks.

To try and stop this from happening the manufactures reinforce the cable at the weak point. Eventually the cable breaks at the end of the reinforcement. At first this results in intermittent power failures when you move the net-book. Eventually the power supply stops working altogether.

Ideally you'd replace the cable but since the power supply is a sealed unit the simplest fix is to simply repair the broken cable. Fortunately this is an easy repair which takes around 15 minutes.

 Power Supply Repair step 1

 Cut the broken cable at the break and carefully remove the plastic which reinforces the cable to expose the inner cable and outer shielding (earth). Twist the outer metal shielding so that it becomes a second wire. Tin both wires with solder - see photo below which shows you what I mean. Be careful not to further damage the wires or insulation  when you do this (There's only about a cm of wire available and you don't want to have to cut that back any more than necessary).

 Power Supply Repair Step 2

Now we are going to prepare the cable ready to be reconnected to the charger. Carefully strip some of the insulation from the exposed wire as shown. Twist the outer shield (earth) to form a second wire as you did before and "tin" both wires with solder. This time you can take as many attempts as you like because there's plenty of cable to play with. Note how I've deliberately left the outer meatal shielding longer than the centre core. It's now been twisted to form an earth wire and tinned with solder. Its best to leave it overlength until the centre wires have been soldered together (see below)

 Power supply Repair Step 3

Cut 4cm long sections of heat shrink tubing in increasing diameters and thread them onto the cable. This step is optional, if you don't have heat shrink handy you can use insulating tape. I prefer to use heat shrink because it protects the repaired cable better.

 Power Supply Repair Step 3

 Carefully solder the inner wire to the powr supply, take care not to overheat the wire when you do this since it is imperative that you don't melt the insulation. If possible get someone else to help you with this step because you realy need 3 hands in order to hold the wire, solder and soldering iron.

 Power Supply Repair Step 4 

Wrap the soldered inner wire with insulating tape. Cut the earth wire to length if necesary and solder the outer cable. Hopefully the repair looks something like the one in the photo below.

 Power Supply Repair Step 5

Finish the repair with the 4 layers of heat shrink or Insulating tape.

Job done, if you've got a volt meter you can check that the power supply works before plugging it into your net-.book / laptop.

If you have any questions please leave a comment and I'll try and help.

How to Fix a Trailer Connector Electrics

My 20 year old Mercedes van failed its last MOT (actually because I live in Spain it was the Spanish ITV) because of a faulty trailer connector. Unfortunately they didn't tell me what was wrong, just that it didn't work. Since I haven't got a trailer or a caravan the only way to find the problem was step-by-step troubleshooting using a voltmeter. If you haven't got a voltmeter you could also use a bulb with two wires to check between the pins on the trailer connector.

How to Fault-Find Trailer Electrics

The first thing to do is a visual check to see that the connector pins are clean and not damaged.

Next I dismounted the plastic socket and checked that the wires were all connected firmly and that the colour codes followed the diagram below.

Wiring Diagram Trailer Connector

Wiring diagram

All the wires were firmly connected and the colour coding was correct so the next thing to do was check that the pins were connected correctly using a volt meter.

First I checked that the earth pin had continuity with the earth strap of the battery.

Then I checked that there was continuity between each pin of the trailer connector and the live connector of the corresponding bulb holder on the van.

All the connectors checked out OK for continuity, so the next step was to check for shorts.

To do this you have to remove the bulbs, otherwise all the pins will register a short circuit to earth.

The next thing to check is that each pin gets 12V when it should be lit (see wiring diagram above).

When I checked this I found that one of the rear bulbs didn't get 12V, odd seeing how there was continuity and there didn't seem to be any short circuits.

When you find something odd like this, a bulb which doesn't get voltage but which seems to be connected correctly. The chances are that it is because of a bad earth connection. So I decided to add a second wire to connect the earth pin of the connector to the chassis of the van (see photo)

Once this was done all pins checked out correctly with the volt meter, so I took the van back to be retested and "hey presto" it passed the MOT!

How to Descale a Philips Senseo Coffee Maker

Modern coffee makers have become a big success, largely because they are so hassle free and easy to use. Let’s be honest, the coffee might not be quite as good as a traditional coffee machine but the big plus is that there’s no messy coffee grounds to deal with. Convenience is the name of the game here. Saying that, as clean and easy as they are to use, once in a while you need to descale them. Luckily that too is easy to do!

 Phillips recommends that you should descale your coffee maker at least once every three months.

To descale your Philips Senseo coffee maker you will need:

•  Enough “Citric Acid Based Descaling Mix” to make 2 litres of mild descaling solution. 
• A measuring jug 
• A bowl 
• A spoon to mix the solution 
• 2 used coffee capsules (no need to waste new ones these just serve as filters while descaling) 
• About half an hour or so to spare

First check the instructions on the packet of descaling mixture to see how much you need to mix to make a litre of descaling solution. You are going to need 2 litres.

Stage 1: Descaling

Mix a litre of descaling solution in a jug with cold water and stir with the spoon.

Fill the Coffee maker reservoir with the descaling solution and fit it to the coffee maker.

Place the bowl on the drip tray (see photo)

Insert a coffee capsule in the one cup holder and close the machine.

Switch on the Philips Senseo coffee maker, once the red light is steady press the 2 cup button.

You have now started the descaling process.

Once the coffee machine stops filling the bowl with descaling mix, wait until the red light stops flashing then press the 2 cup button again.

Keep doing this until you have used up the 2 litres of descaling solution. (Fill the reservoir and empty the bowl as necessary!)

Stage 2: Rinse Clean

Once you have used up all the descaling solution remove the water reservoir and rinse it under the tap.

Refill the reservoir with clean tap water and fit it to the machine. Place the bowl on the drip tray and put the other used coffee capsule in the one capsule holder.

Begin the rinsing process as before.

You must now rinse the machine with at least 2 reservoirs full of clean water to ensure that no citric acid solution remains in the machine.

Your Senseo coffee machine is now descaled and ready to use!

How To Replace The Indicator Bulb of a Mercedes Benz MB100D Van

One of the downsides of living in a big city is petty crime. The other day when I got up to go to work I found that someone had stolen one of the indicators of my Mercedes Benz MB100D van! So today I'm going to explain step-by-step how we replace the entire indicator assembly. At the end of the post I'll also explain how to change just a blown bulb (more common).

If you are replacing a damaged indicator assembly the first step will be to remove it. Since someone has already done this for us I will just say that removal is simply a matter of reversing these steps!

Once you've removed the old/broken assembly, the next thing to do is remove the indicator bulb holder from the new assembly and connect it to the wiring loom. Copy the connections from the old indicator bulb holder (Since I didn't have anything to copy I connected the brown wires to the tip of the bulb - in fact I don't think it matters which way round you connect them).

This is easiest done before the indicator housing is replaced. The wires are easier to get at from the front of the van through the gap left by the missing indicator assembly.

Simply push the 2 spade connectors into place then gently hang the bulb holder and bulb into the wheel arch as shown. Now is a good time to check that everything is working correctly. Turn the ignition on and check that the direction indicators and the hazard lights now function correctly . There's no need to start the engine, if everything is OK the indicators should now work.

If they don't check the following:

1. That the spade connectors are connected and that they aren't short circuited.
2. That the fuse hasn't blown ( The fuses are on a board under the dash by the steering column. The indicator fuse is the fourth one down on the right hand side. If it has blown change it for a 7.5A replacement - check for short circuited connectors first)
3. That the relay isn't working. The Mercedes Benz MB100D has 2 relays related to the indicators, one for the hazard lights and one for direction indicators. They are on the fuse board under the dash and are the 2 larger relays.



Connect the bulb holder and check the indicators work correctly before replacing the assembly

Carefully let the indicator bulb hang down inside the wheel arch

Once you've checked that everything works and the bulb is hanging inside the wheel arch you can now fit the indicator assembly in place.

This simply clicks into place and is held there by the 2 integral clamps. First you locate the tabs at the side of the headlight then push the assembly home until it if firmly seated. You will hear the 2 plastic clamps at the back of the headlight click into place but keep pushing until the 2 outer grooves locate firmly on the van bodywork. You need to push fairly hard to get it to locate totally flush with the wings. Don't be afraid, I ended up giving brisk taps on the indicator lens with the heel of my hand to get it to sit fully flush.

The 6 location points

Once the Indicator assembly is fitted you can twist the bulb holder into place. This is done from below,reaching up from the wheel arch. The good thing about older vehicles is that there's plenty of space to do this!



Twist the bulb holder into place from below

Here's a few more detailed photos that might be useful.



Spade connectors of replacement bulb holder



Replacement indicator housing showing 5 of the 6 locating points

IMPORTANT
If you're simply replacing a blown bulb then you don't need to remove the whole assembly. Simply reach up from below the wheel arch and twist the bulb holder out (quarter turn anti clockwise). Replace the bulb then twist the holder back in place.

If after doing this the indicators don't work check the fuses (panel under the dash next to the steering column) and relays as described above.

As always - If you have any questions or comments please leave a comment below and I'll try to help out if I can.



How to Adjust the Handlebar Folding Mechanism on a CONOR INDIE (Dahon clone) Folding Bike

I commute to work each day by bicycle and a few weeks ago bought myself a shiny new CONOR INDIE folding bike.

I chose this bike because it seemed to offer the best quality within my budget. One thing that really attracted me to the bike was the fact that the folding mechanisms are licenced copies of the Dahon folding mechanism.

I looked at a few different models of folding bike and the Dahon folding mechanism (also known as the "ViseGrip" hinge) seemed to be way better engineered than the other options. It is both very quick and easy to use and very firm once closed.

I've been using the bike daily for about 4 weeks now and have noticed that there is slight play in the steering column. This means that the handle post hinge (as dahon refers to the folding mechanism) needs tightening slightly.




Undesireable "play" in the handlebar post


To do this you need to first fold the handlebars down against the wheel.




Fold the handlebar post down


Next the handle post hinged is adjusted using a suitable spanner to tighten the latch bolt as shown in the photo. I tightened it by just under a quarter turn (see arrows indicating direction) this was enough to stop the handle post from wobbling without making the mechanism too tight to close.




Turn the latch bolt to the right to tighten


If the mechanism is difficult to close you need to loosen it by turning the latch bolt in the opposite direction (see below)




Turn the latch bolt to the left to loosen


The main frame hinge clamping mechanism (arguably the most important component on a folding bike) which Dahon call the "ViseGrip Hinge" didn't need to be adjusted. However, I thought I'd include a couple of photos to show how to adjust the main frame hinge clamp.

The working principle is exactly the same as for the handlebar hinge. Simply turn the latch bolt in small increments (Dahon recomend one sixth of a turn at a time or 60 degrees)




Main Frame Hinge ( Dahon ViseGrip)


This direction loosens the clamping mechanism:




Turn the latch bolt upwards to loosen


And this direction to tighten it:




Turn the latch bolt downwards to tighten


The ViseGrip Hinge is correctly adjusted when it closes firmly but without needing excessive force.

According to Dahon specifications:

Steel framed bikes 29 - 59 N
Aluminium framed bikes (like my CONOR INDIE) 49 - 59N

It took about a minute to adjust the handlebar post folding hinge.

As always, if you have any questions please leave a comment below and I'll try and answer as best I can.

How to Repair an Ariston Oven Door

The door of my friend's 15 year old Ariston electric oven has 2 problems:

1. The oven door doesn't stay shut (old hinges with weakened springs).
2. The inner glass has come partially unstuck, this means that the door lets heat out and that it is impossible to clean the door properly since the glass will likely come away completely.

I decided to break this post down into 3 key stages:

How to Remove an Oven Door

How To Replace Oven Door Hinges

How to Replace The Door Glass of an Ariston Oven

NOTE: Since the oven is about 15 years old I wasn't surprised when my local Ariston dealer told me that the hinges are no longer available. A few minutes searching online later I sourced replacements online. When the hinges arrived they turned out to be slightly different; They have only one spring instead of 2 and are fixed by 3.5mm screws instead of 4mm. Saying that they fit perfectly and work fine (as you can see in the photo above of the repaired oven).

How to Remove an Oven Door

This post explains how to remove an oven door. We removed the door in order to replace worn out hinges and the window glass. You might also want to remove the door in order to clean the oven really thoroughly.

Oven Door Removal Step 1.

Open the door fully to reveal the small metal flap on each door hinge.

Oven Door Removal Sep 2.

Lift the metal flap using a screwdriver and rotate it to the fully open position.

Oven Door Removal Step 3.

Partially close the oven door until the Small meta flap causes the hinge to remain blocked open.

Note: The original photo taken while removing the door wasn't very good so we used a door hinge which had been removed from the door to illustrate more clearly how the hinge blocks open

Oven Door Removal Step 4.

Lift the door clear of the oven (Upwards and Outwards at 45 degrees)

Oven Door Removal Step 5

Replacing the door is the reversal of the above process. Once the door has been correctly seated on its hinges make sure that the flaps close fully.

NOTE: The illustrations show the hinges used on Ariston ovens and some other makes. There are other types of hinge but the removal method relies on a similar principle: Open the door fully then block the hinge open in order to lift the door clear of the oven.

As always, if you have any comments or questions please comment below.

How To Replace Oven Door Hinges

A pretty common problem with older ovens is that the door no longer stays closed due to faulty hinges. This is the case with my friend's 15 year old Ariston oven. Its pretty easy job to replace the oven door hinges. Even tho the cooker is pretty old replacement hinges are available online. This is an Ariston Oven but the sequence is similar for other makes.

Oven Door Hinge Replacement Step 1

Remove the door from the oven  as described in this post: How to remove an oven door.

Oven Door Hinge Replacement Step 2

Place the door on a flat surface and remove the 4 screws at the bottom of the door.

Oven Door Hinge Replacement Step 3

Once the 4 screws have been removed we lift away the chromed metal plate from the bottom of the door and carefully slide the outer door glass (door fascia) out of the handle which retains it along the upper edge.

Oven Door Hinge Replacement Step 4

The outer glass is lifted away to reveal the hinges are now only held in place by a metal tab at the top and can be lifted out .

Oven Door Hinge Replacement Step 5

The replacement door hinges need to be partially opened using a large screwdriver or pliers. They can then be slotted into place in the oven door.

Oven Door Hinge Replacement Step 6

Once the new hinges are in place it's just a matter of reversing the sequence to reassemble the door and fit it back to the oven. Take care when opening the door hinges and blocking them open using the small metal tabs they can easily spring shut - This is best done by 2 people, one holds the hinge in the open position with pliers and the other uses a flat screwdriver to open the flap and lock the hinge open ready to slot into the holes each side of the oven.

How To Replace The Oven Door Glass

The inner door glass of this Ariston oven was glued in place at the factory. Unfortunately it had become partially unstuck and needed gluing back in place. To do this you nee a silicon glue which can withstand the 300ºC temperature of the oven and remain flexible to absorb the expansion and contraction of the metal door frame. I couldn't find this in my local hardware store so once again I had to buy online. Luckily there are various options available. I bought 3 tubes of glue from www.ovendoorglue.co.uk which came with a handy scraper and plastic gloves to protect your skin from the silicon glue.

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE BEFORE STARTING THE REPAIR!

How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 1

First we remove the door from the oven as described in this post: How to remove an oven door


How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 2

Next we disassemble the oven door as described in this post: How to replace oven door hinges


How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 3

We now remove the partially unstuck inner door glass from the door frame and thoroughly clean both parts with KH7 de-greaser. We scrape off the left over glue and any burnt on grease using a razor blade scraper before cleaning both parts again with the de-greaser.

How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 4

Once both parts are thoroughly clean and grease-free we clean the glass and the metal where we are going to glue it to with alcohol. Lastly we wipe the surfaces which are going to be glued with the wipes provided with the glue. It is essential that both parts are absolutely clean and grease free otherwise the glue wont stick properly.

How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 5

Te next step is to prepare ourselves to glue the glass back in place. We put newspaper on the kitchen table to protect it and the oven door on top. We then put the glass in place and use small strips of masking tape to mark where the glass goes. The strips of tape are both a guide for when we put the silicon glue on the frame and subsequently allow us to locate the glass correctly without having to move it and smear the glue around. We also do a dry run with the cam clamps to check that we are 100% ready before adding glue - this avoids nasty surprises when the glue is applied.

How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 6

Apply a continuous bead of glue around the perimeter of the metal frame using the strips of masking tape as a guide.

NOTE: There is a 2mm lip around the edge of the metal frame. This means that it is essential that the bead of glue is deep enough to ensure that it comes into contact with the glass all the way round. We used 3 tubes of silicon glue.

How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 6

Now we position the glass in the door and clamp it gently in place with 2 cam clamps (using plywood to spread the load evenly across the glass). It is important that you don't clamp it too tightly, the idea is to hold the glass in place as the glue dries, not to create "glue squeeze-out" or heaven forbid damage the glass!

How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 7

We leave the glue to dry for 48 hours before un-clamping. Once the clamps are off we remove the strips of tape and check that the glass is glued in place correctly.

How to Replace Oven Door Glass Step 8

Finally we reassemble the door as described in the post: How to replace oven door hinges

And reattach it to the oven as described in:  How to remove an oven door


As always, if you have any comments or questions please leave a comment below.

How to Repair a Broken Rolling Window Shutter.

If you live in a house or flat with rolling shutters then you’re probably familiar with the problem of a fallen shutter that you can’t raise.

There are 2 common causes:

1. The webbing strap which raises the blind has worn and broken.
2. The blind has separated from the drum which it rolls around.

Today we are dealing with the second of these 2 causes.

This type of failure is common in old shutters.

The plastic becomes brittle with age and prone to breaking.

Here we can see that the top lamina has broken at the point of attachment to the drum.The shutter then fell shut.

This is how we go about repairing the broken shutter:

1. Drill out the pop rivets and open the exterior plastic flap. This allows you to get access to the roller mechanism/ drum.

2. Wind the drum into the “down” position. If you forget to do this you will not be able to wind the shutter back up once repaired.

3. Remove the webbing straps which connect the blind to the roller drum ( self-tapping metal screw)

4. Carefully raise the shutter in the guides until the broken lamina is free to be disconnected from the second lamina. The plastic laminas slot together and can be easily slid apart.

5. Take the broken lamina to your local hardware shop and buy a replacement cut to the same size. (In this case we didn’t buy a replacement lamina since the remaining laminas were enough to allow the shutter to close properly. When the next lamina down breaks we’ll buy 2 replacements! Sometimes when the roller blind slams shut other brittle laminas also break and need to be replaced. This is easy to do since the laminas simply slide together.)

6. The replacement lamina slides into place.

7. Slide the 2 attachment straps onto the top lamina.

8. Screw the attachment straps to the drum and wind the roller shutter up and down to make sure that everything works correctly.


9. Close the plastic flap and secure it in place either with Pop Rivets (as original) or if you don’t have a rivet gun you may prefer to use self-tapping screws (as we have here).

10. Job done!

Mildewed Bathroom ? No Problem !

We’re in my friend’s Brighton flat again. Anyone who’s ever lived in the city will know that the beautiful Edwardian/Victorian houses are prone to damp and that especially in the bathroom, keeping on top of mildew growth is a part of life. Part of the reason that the flats in Brighton tend to be damp is the fact that the buildings are generally built from the beach itself. This means that the walls are full of salt which draws water from the air. Add to this a total lack of damp courses and poor ventilation and you’ve got a recipe for at least mildew growth and at worst dry or wet rot.

My friend’s flat is generally pretty good in that it doesn’t suffer from rising damp. But it has been rented out for the last few years and the walls of the bathroom have a severe case of mildew growth.

Things are so bad that the paint’s starting to peel off the walls and there’s more mildew behind the peeling paint. Basically we are looking at inadequate ventilation and a total lack of maintenance (otherwise known as cleaning!)

Mildewed Bathroom Facelift Step 1

First up we’re going to wash down all surfaces with a fungicide wash using a sponge. Wear adequate protection while you do this, gloves and a facemask are essential to stop you breathing in the fungus and protect you from the fungicide.

Mildewed Bathroom Facelift Step 2

Next we remove all the old mildew stained paint from the effected walls. Large areas of paint came off when we washed down the walls so now we’re going to remove the rest of the paint using a metal scraper, sponge  and diluted fungicide solution in a spray bottle (diluted about 50/50 with water). This is unpleasant tedious work but it has to be done if you want the finished job to look good and stay looking good. Some of the paint comes off easily, some of it takes a significant amount of work. We took 2 days off and on to get the 3 affected walls completely stripped back to bare plaster.

Part way through scraping the old paint off the walls

Mildewed Bathroom Facelift Step 4

We now re-wash the stripped walls and woodwork with fungicide, clean all surfaces with water and leave everything to dry out fully (24 hours).

Our fungicide of choice !

Mildewed Bathroom Facelift Step 5

Unfortunately scraping off the old paint has revealed short sections of the galvanized steel corner strips which should be covered by plaster. The fact that they are galvanized means that they shouldn’t rust, but to be on the safe side we are going to prime the whole corner edge with universal primer. This is an oil based primer suitable for metal, wood or plaster and will stop the metal from rusting when the water based paints are applied.  Obviously water based wood primer is suitable for this job. We apply 2 coats, just along the very edge of the wall from skirting to ceiling. Each coat takes 16 hours to fully dry.

Mildewed Bathroom Facelift Step 6

While we are waiting for the universal primer to dry, we fill any blemishes in the walls and ceiling with Polyfilla. Ployfilla can be sanded flush after 2 hours and primed after 24 hours.

Mildewed Bathroom Facelift Step 7

We now paint the walls with one coat of “damp proof paint”. This is really a misnomer since the paint doesn’t really damp-proof the walls, what it does is stop the black stains left by the old treated mildew from showing through the new paint. Once the damp-proof paint has dried the mildew stains should be barely visible – if in doubt apply a second coat (in our case one was enough)

Mildewed Bathroom Facelift Step 8

The damp proof paint takes 24 hours to dry. During this time we clean the woodwork using 100 grit sandpaper and wooden sanding block and apply 2 coats of water based primer undercoat (4 hours between coats).

Mildewed Bathroom Facelift Step 9

So with the preparation done we can proceed with the fun part of redecorating. It is important that we use bathroom paint instead of normal emulsion paint. The bathroom paint resists condensation and mildew and, most importantly, can be scrubbed clean (coz with the best will in the world – Brighton bathrooms attract mildew). My preferred sequence is 2 coats on the ceiling followed by two coats on the walls and finally a gloss coat on the woodwork.  Don’t try and skimp and do just one coat, after all the effort we’ve put in to get this far it’s worth the second coat to ensure a perfect, longer lasting finish.

The redecorated bathroom

There we go, a dingy mildewed bathroom has been transformed into a pleasant place to be !

How To Replace a Broken Sash Cord

Antique sash windows look great but they often need a bit of TLC. If you live in a rented Victorian house with sash windows it’s pretty common to find that the windows don’t move properly and if they do move they either move awkwardly or just won’t stay up once open. Both these symptoms are due to broken sash cords.

What are sash cords exactly ? Sash windows slide up and down in their frames and should stay in which ever position you choose -  seemingly by magic. Actually there’s no magic involved, each part of the window has a cord attached to each side of its frame which runs up and over a pulley and is connected to a cast iron counter weight. That’s 4 in total for a typical window.

On this window, in my friend’s flat in Brighton UK, one of the sash cords for the lower panel has broken. This is how we fix it.

Sash Window Repair Step 1

First we remove the decorative strip which holds the lower window panel in place. We use a hammer and chisel to do this. The trim strip splits as we remove it, which is pretty normal, so we will replace it with new wood.

Sash Window Repair Step 2

We can now disconnect the panel from its weights and lift it out of the window frame. Obviously in this case since one cord is already broken we only need to disconnect the other one.

Sash Window Repair Step 3

Next we disconnect the cord from the lower panel and lower the iron counterweight down inside the window frame.  Then we prize out the 2 pieces of wood which cover the space containing the weights  (one either side) see photo.

Sash Window Repair Step 4

Now we carefully lift out the counterweight and detach the broken cord.  We thread the new replacement cord through the pulley and tie it to the cast iron counterweight which we place back in the window frame.

Sash Window Repair Step 5

If, like me, you damaged the trim strips when you removed them now’s the time to cut new ones to fit.

Sash Window Repair 6

Replace the Wooden panels which cover the space where the counterweights are.

Sash Window Repair Step 7

Next we replace the window panel in the frame, attach the sash cords each side of the panel and replace the decorative strips. Remember to make sure you knock the nails in so that they are below the surface of the wood. You then fill the small hole with polyfilla, by doing this you ensure that the nail head won’t rust and stain the paintwork later (see handy hints post)

Sash Window repair step 8

The final step is to that the window slides up and down in the frame correctly.  Luckily all is well so we now proceed to make good and prime the window frame ready for redecorating.

How to Clean a Grungy Electric Guitar

Each time you play your guitar its a good idea to wipe down the strings, neck and body of the guitar along with the metal parts using a soft clean cotton cloth. This both keeps the guitar looking good and stops the strings from corroding. This helps keep the strings sounding bright for longer. Also corroded strings will wear the frets more quickly.

With the best will in the world, eventually the guitar will get a dirty build up on the fretboard and handling marks on the body. This needs to be cleaned off now and again.

IF YOU DON'T READ THE REST OF THIS POST PLEASE READ THIS !

Q. Why shouldn't I use furniture polish on my guitar ?

A. Furniture polishes contain solvents and silicon. Some guitars (Gibson, top end Fenders and some other makes) use a thin Nitrocellulose finish which is softened and damaged by the solvents. The silicone in the polish also causes problems if the guitar needs to be refinished.

To be perfectly honest, if you have a cheap guitar with a poly finish and you aren't worried about future repairs being invisible you may as well use furniture polish on your guitar rather than buy specific products.

So what should you use to clean your guitar? The best thing is a dampened soft rag (an old T-shirt is ideal) it should be damp but shouldn't leave the guitar surface wet.

This guitar is about as bad as it gets. Apart from not being wiped down very regularly, it's been put away in its case after a gig, wet with sweat and left there for a few months. The result is that the guitar's finish is dull and stained to the point that a damp rag won't suffice. The fingerboard is grimy with a build-up under the strings and the frets are tarnished. This guitar definitely needs a bit of TLC.


When working on your guitar you should always be careful protect it from knocks and sharp objects. This photo shows my improvised "Guitar Tech's Workstation" which helps protect the guitar from accidental damage as you work on it.

Step 1

We remove the strings and wipe down the entire guitar with a barely soft, damp, cotton rag. Notice that since this guitar has a tune-o-matic bridge, as well as removing the strings , we have also removed the bridge and stop tailpiece. This is to ensure that they don't fall off during the cleaning process and avoid damaging the guitar's finish.

Step 2

Since this guitar has a rosewood fretboard, we are going to clean it with a few drops of “Lemon Oil” applied with a cotton rag.

A note about “Lemon Oil”

Many guitar shops sell lemon oil as a “fingerboard conditioner” which ensures that the fretboard is “correctly hydrated with natural oils”. This is not the case, although it smells nice and gives a glossy sheen to bare wood fingerboards it is a mineral oil like diesel or gasoline and be used sparingly to clean the fingerboard and the excess wiped off completely.

Bearing this in mind we use a few drops of  lemon oil and rub vigorously to remove the grime and dirt from the rosewood fingerboard. Once the fingerboard is clean we completely remove the excess lemon oil with a dry rag ( as always old T-shirts are my rag of choice ). If the fingerboard has accumulated a lot of dirt you may need to scrape it off. I have found that old credit cards are excellent tools for this job as they shift the grime without damaging the wood of the fingerboard.

Finished maple fingerboards should be cleaned with a dampened rag.

Step 3

This guitar's frets have tarnished very badly and have a greenish oxidised surface. We now proceed to polish the frets. First totally mask off the pickups using the widest masking tape available in our local hardware shop. This is very important since we are going to use wire wool to polish the frets. During the cleaning process the wire wool sheds tiny wire scraps. Since the guitar's pickups contain magnets, these tiny pieces of wire would stick to the pickups.

Once the guitar's pickups have been masked off (see photo) we proceed to polish the frets using a small pad of “0000” grade wire wool dampened with a few drops of lemon oil. Polish each fret individually working back and forth along the fret. It should only take a few strokes to clean each fret – don't get carried away here ! Take special care not to damage the guitar's finish in the area where the fingerboard is fixed to the guitar body.

If you need to polish the frets on a finished fretboard you should mask off between the frets to protect the guitars' finish from the abrasive wire wool (see this previous post). In the case of rosewood or ebony fretboards there is no need to mask off between the frets.

Once the frets have been polished we clean the excess lemon oil off the fingerboard.

Step 4

Once the fingerboard is clean and the frets shiny, we wipe down the guitar with a clean cotton duster. Since the finish on this guitar has been dulled by sweat we are going to use a cream cleaner which we are sure will not damage the guitars finish. I use a few drops of “Planet Waves – Restore” on a soft rag applied gently with a circular motion and then buffed off with a soft, clean duster. You shouldn't do this too often since nitrocellulose finishes are quite thin. If the guitar's finish is damaged or chipped then you should take care not to apply the cream cleaner to bare wood.

Step 5

We now apply a small amount of graphite grease ( Stewart MacDonald Guitar Grease) to each groove of the guitars nut. This helps keep the guitar in tune by lubricating the strings where they pass thru the nut preventing them sticking. I have found that the best tool for applying the grease is a short section of old guitar string. Scrape a tiny bit of the graphite grease from the tub with the tip of the string (see photo) and insert it in each groove of the nut.

Step 6

We now refit the bridge and tailpiece and fit new strings to the guitar. We then tune the guitar and check the “intonation” and “action”. When I have time I'll write another post which explains in detail how to adjust and check the intonation and action of your guitar.