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Improving a Damaged Extension Cord
The humble extension cord is frequently overlooked relative to its value in a garage or shop. Over the course of years of abuse, one of my extension cords wound up with a cut in the insulation, exposing the copper wiring. This resulted in an electrical "POP!" when it was pulled across a piece of metal. I cut out the damaged portion of the extension cord, but didn't throw the cord away. Instead, I gathered up some electrical bits from stuff I had salvaged and bought a few parts from the hardware store.
- two-gang metal box
- power outlet
- dual power switch
- two-gang faceplate
- two grommets
- a bit of copper wire
I wired the switch so that one controls the outlets in the electrical box, and the other (the one closer to where the cord leaves the box) controls the plug on the last foot or so of the extension cord.
Pictures showing the internal wiring:
Ready for the faceplate:
The end result:
Playset Construction Discovery
I had an opportunity to acquire a large, second-hand playset for the cost of "tear it down and haul it off." I knew that wasn't going to be as cheap as it sounds, but there were still a number of surprises involved.
As you can see, the structure was leaning rather severely, which I knew meant some of the wood would need replacing or reinforcing. The vertical posts were the main culprit; they had rotted out the bottom 2-3 feet of their 7-foot length.
But what I was surprised by was their construction.
The green wrap is a thick plastic sheathe around the posts. And for some, the bottom end of the post was sealed with this same plastic. With the plastic removed, you can see that the 3"x3" post is not a single piece of wood, but built up from smaller lumber. I understand the cost savings of that approach, but I was surprised when I pealed a 1x4 (ish) off the side of the post to reveal that the core was hollow. I had expected the central 2x2 (ish) to run the length of the post. These are, after all, the load-bearing posts for the whole construction.
I presume the resulting box was structurally sound for the intended purpose originally, but it appears that the plastic sheathe acted like a plastic cup and held moisture in the lower portion of the post. It rotted out quite thoroughly.
The rotted portion was black enough you would have thought someone had used it for a campfire.
Rather than try to duplicate the construction technique, I bought 4x4 cedar posts, cut them to length, and planed them to 3"x3" to match the original post dimensions and exceed the original post strength. That generated mountains of cedar sawdust, but I'm pleased with the result.
More importantly, I'm not the only one who is happy with how the final playset turned out:
