Wednesday, February 17, 2021

LUCK THAT TURNED ON A DIME

     Sometimes we have a streak of good luck and at other times bad luck hits us over and over again.

     I had some bad luck the other day and before I knew it my luck had turned.

     I had to tighten the handle on my kitchen sink which required the use of a small Allan wrench. As can happen wrenches can magically slip and go flying away. This Allan wrench chose to go down my sink drain before I could see it. In other words the wrench goes down the drain and stops in the trap. Oh ! why didn't I put the cover on the drain.


Well. when a problem occurs you immediately begin looking at how it can be solved. The Micro Manager happened to be there and immediately said , "Have we got a magnet? Red says , "Can I take the pipes apart and get the wrench out."

     Well I admit the the magnet use would be the most sensible. You can see the magnet the Micro Manager found. It's a magnet on a telescoping rod. Whoops! The end of the magnet was too large to go down the holes in the drain. 

     Well, look around and see if there's something else that could be improvised.  For some reason I decided to look in a cheap tool kit my daughter left me. To my great surprise there was another telescoping rod with a magnet. 

     I put the magnet down the drain very carefully. There was a small bend that I didn't think I got around. I was checking to see how to navigate the bend when I suddenly noticed that the Allan wrench on the end of the magnet. What a surprise.



     So some bad luck turned very quickly into some good luck. 

     So the Micro Manager and I had a good laugh.

42 comments:

  1. Those telescoping magnet things are quite handy to have. Certainly a lot easier than taking the pipe apart!

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    1. It's surprising how many times I've used the magnet.

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  2. Great job getting the wrench without having to take the pipe apart! I have one of those magnets and it is really handy.

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    1. This one worked so well that I was surprised when I found the wrench on the end of it.

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  3. I have never heard of such a thing.

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    1. This one was given away at the Home show here.

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  4. Well, congratulations on your easy solution! That was a close call, though. :-)

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  5. I guess the advice in such situations is put the plug in before you start. However, I don't think it would occur to me that an Allen key would go down the plug - but of course it would!

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    1. I will think about the plug the next time.

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  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  7. I've never heard of a telescoping magnet. What a very cool thing to have. Well done!

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    1. When it's shortened it fits nicely in the tool box.

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  8. Lol. It sounds like something we’d do too.

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    1. You'd be lucky and the thing wouldn't fall through the drain.

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  9. The micro-manager was right! The magnet was a great idea. I have a loose handle on my sink - could you pop down to Illinois and fix it? I have tried my Allen wrench and it won't turn. What am I doing wrong, Red? Help!

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    1. I'll be right over! With mine the whole faucet seems to be worn out and yes the screw won't tighten anymore.

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  10. You are a Plumber! That saved you a lot of trouble! :)

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    1. For small jobs plumbers are a waste of time.

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  11. An ingenious solution! I don't think I've ever seen a magnet like that.

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    1. This one was being given away at a home show.

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  12. Stuff like that rarely happens to me. But maybe I need your patience. Glad it all worked out without have to take apart the pipes/

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    1. well, I do get caught not taking some safety steps.

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  13. Well, we need one of those telescoping magnets! I could have used one yesterday when my neighbor pulled in the driveway asking for my help. She had dropped an earring between the car seat and the console. We tried everything. Finally I got the longest skinniest screwdriver I could find and stuck doubleface tape to the end. We finally got the earring.

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    1. You're very creative to think of using tape.

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  14. I never heard of a telescoping magnet either but it did what you wanted. Good luck indeed!

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    1. I was a freebie given out at some home show.

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  15. I think I need to add one of those magnet grabbers to my shopping list!

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  16. I have a pen just like that, but didn't know all the tricks it can do. More power to the three of you.

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  17. Just ordered on Amazon ...

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075XK449M/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_XM5R2WJRT1GRK2RCYTQE

    Perfect tool when needed. Thanks Red!

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    Replies
    1. You'll never regret getting this tool. Just remember that you have it.

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  18. Over here in Micro Manager's homeland we call them Allan keys - not Allan wrenches! That's you crazy Canadians again - taking your lead from Trump's homeland. Who was this Allan guy anyway?

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  19. Glad what could have been a plumbing disaster turned out well, thanks to the micro manager's suggestion and the magnet being available in that tool box.

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  20. Art just said, "Very good!" Congratulations, Red. Yay! I don't think we even have one of those telescoping magnets. That is so cool! Art also said, "Thank you for the warning about keeping that sink screen on."

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