Whats Your Best Macguyver

[OMD-227]

A very long time ago, I was forced to make a top cover clip to enable it to lock down, on a QMS/Minolta Magicolor 2. I was over 150km's from the office, where I knew we had an old one sitting around for parts, so I wasn't making the return trip just for a plastic clip. I made the clip from a wooden paddle-pop/ice cream stick, crazy glued onto the latch and prayed. It actually held up perfectly. The machine was upgraded to a Minolta CF2001 copier 1 year later, and I noticed my handywork was still there... still working fine. I never went back to that client while they still had the Magicolor printer, but I had the proper/real clip required in my car all that time.... just in case it did come back.

[blackcat4866]

Back when the Mita DC-152 was still new, we had one in the office that had never made it out to a customer. After ~4 minutes of warmup the heat roller would warp like a banana and start to melt it's way through the pressure roller. After two years and 5 fuser rebuilds it was still sitting there.

I had gotten the idea that a couple of the AC relay leads could have gotten switched at the factory. After comparing it to another machine, indeed two of the leads were different. I switched them, installed the sixth set of fuser rollers, and to my delight it completed warmup without melting down the fuser. The problem was, that someone had taken the lower fuser exit guide for another call, and it was missing.

I just had to see if the machine would actually pass paper before I went home for the day. So I pulled down a piece of suspended ceiling T-rail from our office, reformed it a bit, and fabricated a very ugly-but-functional exit guide. We even sold the machine later the same week (with a new exit guide). =^..^=

[OMD-227]

So I pulled down a piece of suspended ceiling T-rail from our office, reformed it a bit, and fabricated a very ugly-but-functional exit guide. We even sold the machine later the same week (with a new exit guide). =^..^=

Down here, you'd be known as a 'butcher'. Thats mad!

[nmfaxman]

Repaired DI 650 DV unit that broke the shaft off on of the drive gears.
Paperclip welding 101 and JB weld. Held for 2 months while I searched for a used DV unit.
I still keep in on the shelf for backup.

[KEVIN900]

Top this guys. A few years ago, I had a very fussy, very old law office administrator for a customer. Her desk was right by her Minolta ep4050, and she would call all the time for faint squeaks, that our vacuum cleaner-induced hearing loss can never detect. On my way in for yet another noise call, it dawned on me. I stopped at a drug store, and bought her a cheap $8 clock-radio. I plugged it in, put on a Muzak station, and said it was her's for being so patient for the squeaky machine. The problem wasn't the machine. The problem was her office was too quiet. The noise calls stopped, and only saw her again for real issues. Every time I visited, she's thanked me for the radio, that she still uses. That was 3 copiers ago. Not bad for eight bucks.

[OMD-227]

Top this guys. A few years ago, I had a very fussy, very old law office administrator for a customer. Her desk was right by her Minolta ep4050, and she would call all the time for faint squeaks, that our vacuum cleaner-induced hearing loss can never detect. On my way in for yet another noise call, it dawned on me. I stopped at a drug store, and bought her a cheap $8 clock-radio. I plugged it in, put on a Muzak station, and said it was her's for being so patient for the squeaky machine. The problem wasn't the machine. The problem was her office was too quiet. The noise calls stopped, and only saw her again for real issues. Every time I visited, she's thanked me for the radio, that she still uses. That was 3 copiers ago. Not bad for eight bucks.

Superstar, or is that smooth-operator?

Can I please use that one? I have the perfect candidate in mind right now.

[KEVIN900]

Be my guest, Wazza. In fact, if I hear you telling a bunch of techs how you did that, I'd act very impressed, and comment what a sharp tech you are.

[OMD-227]

A Sharp tech indeed.

[Oze]

I had a Canon iR5570 snap the web out sensor arm and it kept dropping into the sensor.
I used a cable tie to keep it fastened to the fuser frame til I got back with the part.

[fixthecopier]

Just yesterday I had a plastic bushing making a bad noise. I bent the metal bracket it was in and got rid of most of the noise, then saw on a desk a bottle of baby lotion, which I used to lube it and get rid of the rest of the noise.

[prntrfxr]

@ Kevin900 - you get an A+ in my book for customer service
@ fixthecopier - you didn't have any grease, dude? What's up with that? :P

I didn't do anything truly scientific, like the rest of you awesome guys. I had an end-user who had a broken fin on the top cover, that actuates the top cover switch (HP printer). She told me her boss didn't want to spend any money on parts, because he wanted the printer replaced (Lexmark). She loved the machine and didn't want to part with it. I took the broken piece and melted the edge with my soldering iron, reattached it and melted the weld thoroughly. I used the iron to smooth out the surface when I was done and it looked almost like new. The smell of melted plastic is not the greatest and if I'd had fine grit sandpaper with me I'd have made it look like new, but she thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I vacuumed the machine, cleaned the covers and charged her 1 hour labor for cleaning the machine. (Took me 15 min to do the welding and 15 to clean.) her boss came in just as I was finishing up (it looked as good as new). She told him I just saved the company the price of a new machine. He smiled and signed the work order.

[Dark Helmet]

I was working on a PB DM500 mailing machine. Call was for jamming when sealing envelopes that were to thin to seal. Kept crashing on the stripper blade. Any ways i accidently broke the stripper blade in half. It was that super hard plastic shit that has no flex or bend, just break. As it broke in my hand i went "Uh oh". The customer could be a bit of a dick and shouted from across the room, "what do you mean uh oh!" Quickly i replied nothing as i was pulling out the JB Kwick weld. That shit held it together until i got back 2 days later with a new part.

Ive also used that stuff to rebuild the fuser screw holes on the plastic frames sharp uses. Break out the remains, sand it up, fill in the the gap and build it up and drill a new hole and let the screw tap it. Then you tell the customer it's on it's last leg and leave.

[CableGuy]

I never leave home without my super glue and a few spare pieces of mylar..... most important pieces of kit in my bag.....

[fixthecopier]

@ fixthecopier - you didn't have any grease, dude? What's up with that? :P


Sure I had grease. It was down 3 flights of stairs, and about a quarter of a mile away in my truck. I was there to replace the drum. It was 99 degrees yesterday, but with the humidity, it only felt like 106. If the noise comes back, I will take grease.


I must give props to copylady 57, whom I work with. While I was away at training a few months ago, she had a bizhub 500 that the post had broke off one end of the transfer corona. She used electrical tape to rig the tension of the wire to work til we ordered a block. It made good copies.

[prntrfxr]

@fixthecopier.

It was down 3 flights of stairs, and about a quarter of a mile away in my truck.

LOL...that's why I don't have a 3 ton tool case, so I can keep the essencials with me. . I couldn't resist messing with you and you took it pretty well. Anyone who deals with those military morons can take a little ribbing like an ace. .

Props to copylady57.