Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on Apr 14, 2018 1:19:00 GMT -5
A week ago at my storage yard, the manager had a cheapo Harbor Freight Tools angle grinder for cutting off customer locks. It was in very good condition compared to some well-used portable tools I have seen. I found it in the dumpster, which I monitor closely due to the crazy enormous amount of good things people toss out when clearing out.
After finding that it was dead, I determined that there was no continuity through the cord. Figuring the break was most likely at the end where the most commotion takes place, I stripped off two inches of the jacket at the tool, but no joy; it looked fine. Then I cut the plug off and the problem was gone. When I tugged on the black hot wire going into the molded plug, it came right out, so it was a factory defect. A new plug fixed it.
Lucky for me that the clamping nut that holds the grinding wheel on was on the tool when it was tossed.
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Today I found a big 4-year-old new-looking Panasonic microwave oven. Evidently it had been dropped, because not only was the door in pieces, the mating surface of the cavity front was warped. When that happens, it's not repairable, because that surface constitutes 1/2 of an RF choke that keeps the waves inside the cooking cavity; it's got to be absolutely flat. But it is full of juicy parts that I can now harvest with no guilt whatsoever.
After finding that it was dead, I determined that there was no continuity through the cord. Figuring the break was most likely at the end where the most commotion takes place, I stripped off two inches of the jacket at the tool, but no joy; it looked fine. Then I cut the plug off and the problem was gone. When I tugged on the black hot wire going into the molded plug, it came right out, so it was a factory defect. A new plug fixed it.
Lucky for me that the clamping nut that holds the grinding wheel on was on the tool when it was tossed.
----
Today I found a big 4-year-old new-looking Panasonic microwave oven. Evidently it had been dropped, because not only was the door in pieces, the mating surface of the cavity front was warped. When that happens, it's not repairable, because that surface constitutes 1/2 of an RF choke that keeps the waves inside the cooking cavity; it's got to be absolutely flat. But it is full of juicy parts that I can now harvest with no guilt whatsoever.
