Question to you "DO-it yourselfers"? Jerry-riggin?

[Popinski]

Not just cars.. anything.. appliances, lawn mowers.. etc etc.


....I tend to jerry-rig everything. It's a bad habit of mine. Many people tell me that it's a terrible habit to do.

Please tell me I'm not the only one that does it.... for example, today I didn't want to buy a new air filter for my snow blower(took it out today to test it). So instead, I cut a piece of home air ventilation filter instead.

 

[Nayov]

That's nothing, I patched a cracked fire box (home furnace) successfully about 10 years ago, so that saved me the cost of a new furnace! (yes, I have a carbon monoxide detector.)

the list is a long one

 

[Popinski]

Please list some of your repairs.

 

[javacontour]

I wrote about using the milk jug cap to fix my toilet, let me see if I can link to that post...

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/posts/1628491/

 

[JohnBrowning]

I only Jerry Rig in emergency's until I can get the right part to fix things properly. Normally it is a money issue I have to save up to get the right part or materials to do the repair properly. So yes I do it but I never leave anything Jerry rigged as a permanent repair. With appliances especially I find that most Jerry rig solutions are normally fire hazards or compromise the double insulated shock protection etc......

Nothing worse then buying a car or anything else used and then a year down the road finding out some idiot jerry riged just about everything on the vehicle or drastically tampered with the wiring etc.......

I once saw a big rig that did nto have switchs that worked for most of the stuff init. It had bare wires that you had to touch together for all kins of things. It was delievering bricks in Georgia it made most logging trucks like like Cadilacs!

 

[crinkles]

my lawnmower throttle and start cord is jerry rigged.

the throttle cable never worked. I now use a steel pin to push the throttle in and out. the handle of the cord is now a stump of lemon wood with a notch in it to start the mower with.

 

[Pablo]

I understand jury rigging - where did "jerry riggin" come from?

I have a jerry rigged air injection system on the volvo, including a rubber stopper covered with HVAC silver tape.

jerry rigging in the PNW usually involves the best 50 year silicone caulk.

 

[doitmyself]

According to Wikipedia:

Jury rigging refers to makeshift repairs or temporary contrivances, made with only the tools and materials that happen to be on hand. Originally a nautical term, on sailing ships a jury rig is a replacement mast and yards improvised in case of damage or loss of the original mast.

- The phrase "jerry-built" has a separate origin and implies shoddy workmanship not necessarily of a temporary nature.[6][7]
- "Jerry-rigged" was also employed by British troops during World War Two to refer to the German use of scavenged parts to keep vehicles and weapons functional, based on the use of "jerry" as a pejorative term for German soldiers.
- The term "jerry-rigged" is a relatively recent mingling (or perhaps garbling) of "jury rig" with "jerry-built".


In the OP's case, if his intent was to get the blower going temporarily, it was jury rigged.

If he leaves it in and his engine is ruined, then he "jerry built" or "jerry rigged" it.

Penny wise/pound foolish

 

[Pablo]

I know a rigged jury when I see it!

 

[crinkles]

so we are offending german soldiers with our terms of fixing things temporarily

 

[01rangerxl]

It depends on what I'm working on.

I always do everything the way it should be done on the truck. No corner cutting there.

On the lawnmower, ATVs, etc, anything goes.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
so we are offending german soldiers with our terms of fixing things temporarily


Friday night boredom is the only reason I can find to explain why I am even going here......

It seems that "jury" implies a positive definition.....innovative, ingenious,etc..

"Jerry" seems to imply a negative definition......shoddy, poor construction, etc..

So yes, technically, jerry rigged would seem to be offensive applied to ANYONE you are using it with.

I, by the way, JURY rig lots of stuff.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

It depends on what the item is.

If it's something that I can safely make "jury rigged" repairs on I will. I've made a lot of repairs that used a bit of creativity.

If it's a safety issue, automotive issue, or something that, if not repaired correctly could cause further damage it will get repaired correctly.

As a general rule I prefer to fix it right.

 

[wander2039]

I've heard Jerry-riggin called several several ways.. better not mention those. I do quite a bit of it mostly because I don't care to spend the money and stuff that's easily and cheap to replace. The mower hasn't had a throttle control or shut off for 9 years. Stills starts on the first pull though. One of our electric heaters the boy broke and flips the caution light a bit to early. I took the temp sensor out and taped it on top. Watch it like a hawk could burn down the house.

 

[labman]

In too many cases today, it is impossible or ridiculously expensive to buy the parts to repair something correctly. Off hand, I can't think of good examples of my repairs, but often I do.

 

[ksJoe]

I'm planning on making a lawn aerator tomorrow out of conduit. Then I'll aerate the soil around the gate and a few other areas that are very compacted.

 

[Shannow]

Best one to date was replacing broken steam turbine blades in situ (rotor still in), welding up blade tenons, and replacing cover band with machined out of bar stock.

Got us through 12 months before new blades could be made and installed properly.

 

[IndyIan]

I don't think I'm a pro jerry/jury rigger but I do like to have a 10lb roll of 12 gauge fencing wire around. Its great stuff to hold the garden shed from blowing away, wrap around a rattling heat shield on the car, make custom hooks, and for the odd fencing job too. Its kind of like all temperature, all weather, high strength duct tape.

 

[jcwit]

I usually look at it in 2 ways, safety, and how difficult. If it either of those two fix/rebuild to an overkill. If its something easy get it going ASAP any way you can.

 

[LAGA]

Now the term as morphed into "Mcguyvered". Example. " We will have to Mcguyver it to get it to work today". The term comes from the TV show and how the main character jerry-rigged everything.