Current mini-project: fixing my laptop computer.
With J-B Weld.
... Yeah, 'twas a mechanical failure: the screw that secured the left hinge fell out, apparently having stripped the mating threads, 'cause it wasn't nohows re-engaging the block. This left the block trying (with altogether too much success) to pry open that corner of the casing every time I opened, closed, or adjusted the lid.
So there I was, with the full panoply of my tools elsewhere and/or in storage, and besides this thing is nearly 8 years old, was a bargain-bin purchase in the first place, and consequently has been annoyingly short on pixels for CAD, IDEs, and such. The grand plan called for relegating it to lab use, a couple of months hence, and getting a new model with a bit more horsepower and a 1080P screen. In short: not worth putting a lot of hours into fixing it right; I just need to fix it so it doesn't fall apart right away.
Hence the J-B Weld; I stuffed a bunch into the offending corner, getting as much as possible around the hinge block. Then apply clamps, wiggle to try to get the block as near as possible to its proper location, and go do other stuff for a while.
The glue being somewhat set, I moved one of the clamps to the other side to level the keyboard, and now it's working. As a computer, anyway. I'll test the folding later.
Update: Seems to be functional, for now. On close examination, the corner has a slightly melted look to it, and the lid isn't quite snug against the base in that corner when closed. But how many 8-year-old laptops are still on the road, anyway? Ya gotta expect a little Bondo, right?
Update 2: Is this the most SVR thing ever, or what?
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