Phlogiston

joined 1 year ago
 

I'd love some advice on repairing or replacing this bamboo cup lid, which has lasted around 5 years otherwise!

I've thought about doing a kintsugi type repair, since I still have the broken pieces:

However, most kintsugi kits I've seen for sale online are either pretty expensive or not meant to be in contact with food. I'm cautious about using a cheaper epoxy for that reason as well -- I'm not sure how concerned I should be about chemicals leaching into my coffee even after it's cured.

Maybe I should just look for a replacement lid online? This one is about 9.5cm across, but I'm not sure they come in standard sizes

 

I was recently looking at old posts in this community, and it reminded me that it's been over a year since I repaired these two backpacks and made a few posts about the process.

Both of these have held up remarkable well in a year of near daily use. Some of the shoe-goo sealant is starting to detach in places:

But most of it is still in place. The fabric patches and sewing line I used to close the rips are also still in one piece:

The shoe goo is still in a drawer somewhere, so I may apply a fresh coat at some point, if more of it flakes off. But overall, I'm really happy with how these have held up!

 

This video made me think of this community. Fixing a camping chair and stool with Tyvek is pretty inventive, as well as sewing a tent with the material!

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Yup, I think that's a great idea! Will look into having more of a wiki/FAQ

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Pretty bursty when there's a new post, but quiet otherwise

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

That's a great idea, thanks!

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 year ago

That's a great point! Here in Canada I'm already nearing the end of my caching season. Maybe we'll hear some stories from Texas soon!

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Unfortunately I don't have anywhere near the time, or content ideas, for that to be sustainable. I'll keep the posting times in mind though, that's a good idea!

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 year ago (4 children)

!geocaching@lemmy.world

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 year ago

Thank you! I'm glad someone is enjoying the content

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
 

I've been plugging away for about 2 months now trying to grow a small hobby community here on Lemmy. It's doing well, up from 200 to 425 subscribers in the time I've been active.

But, sometimes it feels discouraging. I'm still the only one who posts with any regularity, and I miss the more in-depth discussions I was able to have at the other place. How long, or how many subscribers, does it take for a community to become self-sustaining?

Edit: !geocaching@lemmy.world for anyone curious

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Geocaching! Yes, it's a very niche hobby that I'm obsessed with, but I really miss the discussions in that subreddit...

!geocaching@lemmy.world is still mostly me shouting into the void, although it's been getting better lately. It'd be awesome to hear other people's stories, if they're out there!

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am trying hard to get !geocaching@lemmy.world going, although I'm not a mod myself. Subscriber numbers are growing, but it's still rare that someone else posts. I just try to keep plugging away at a sustainable pace. Luckily I have a repository of pictures and stories to share, which dates back several years

[–] Phlogiston@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not sticky at all, the best comparison I can think of is dried Elmer's glue. Feels like a smooth plastic coating, stiff when it's in a thick layer, but pretty flexible when applied thinly

 

This is an update to this post.

I turned the backpack inside out to see the damage on the inside. Most of the black plastic coating was gone, and you can see the patch I applied in the outside.

I decided to coat pretty much the entire bottom with Shoe Goo sealant, like I did in my last repair. This gave the material a lot of extra stiffness, as well as waterproofing it. You can see it applied in the shinier areas:

Here is the sealant on the inside of the biggest rip, holding the patch in place:

I know this update isn't particularly visually impressive, but it felt like a pretty successful fix. I'm looking forward to being able to use this bag again!

 

This backpack has been stowed away at the back of my closet for a few months waiting to be fixed. It was being held together pretty tenuously: Sewed some of the smaller rips, then added repair tape to the largest one:

Next step will be to turn it inside out and add some more material to the large rip. The entire bottom is pretty much thin enough to let light through at this point. I'll try to post an update once I fix that!

 

Zipper pull made from some shoelace I had lying around:

Parts of the bottom of the bag were threadbare (literally starting to let light through). Gooped over everything with a bunch of Shoe Goo sealant, which turned out messy but effective:

Overall I'm pretty please with how this turned out. Maybe not too pretty to look at, but thoroughly functional, and I'm sure it'll extend the life of this bag quite a bit