Easy Peasy Repair Kit – Sugru

I love mending things. Delight in darning. Making a stitch in time … it does save time. Mending a really loved well worn jumper, or jacket. Patching whenever possible! Love the lived in comfortable look!

So when the base of the marble lazy susan I have used for so many tasks for so many years literally came apart in my hand, I had at last found a use for Sugru that I have been itching to use for months. I have used the lazy susan for so many things. Painting a gold line on a white bowl gave it that extra bit of style. Icing cakes of all shapes and sizes. Even used it as a base for a camera when taking product shots, much easier to get a fine adjustment quickly than a tripod. The chance to repair it, simply, was irresistible.

The base had a ball bearing case which sounded a bit gritty so I used a little releasing spray, after which it sounded much smoother.

Careful to clean the base and the turning circle and washing my hands to remove any oil or grease, as directed on the packet, I found the Sugru very easy to roll into about a six inch sausage.

I put the turning circle onto the base and left it for the requisite 24 hours to cure.

The biggest insight and some exciting ideas for using Sugru I found on YouTube. Mending cracked perspex in the fridge struck a chord. Mending a fraying power line on an Apple Mac helped to avoid buying a new one for at least a year or more. Mending a child’s cracked shoe would be a relief to a parent not to have to buy yet another pair for a while.

When watching the videos I was reminded that two soft feet on my Apple MacBookPro had gone walkabout and I just knew I could replace them with Sugru saving a round trip of 174 miles to the nearest Apple Store in Leeds. Now that’s what I call a great saving in time, effort and cash.

So what is Sugru? It’s a self adhesive flexible silicone plastic that moulds like play dough and sets like glue. It’s heat proof so you can now adapt that hot metal saucepan lid to use safely. It’s bouncy – one parent added Sugru to each corner of his iPhone and when young child managed to get hold of it – quite often apparently – and throw it around no harm came of it – the phone that is, can’t vouch for the child!

There are several YouTube sequences showing Sugru uses. I found this one the most thought provoking.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZXjjLJz8V4

And this one is fun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQFX0yg62kc

There is a Sugru newsletter you can subscribe to and read about people’s experiences all over the world.

In 2010 Sugru was voted one of the top 50 inventions of 2010. The iPad was number 34, Sugru was number 22!

Invented by Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh from Kilkenny it is made in the UK and is the best bit of kit I’ve found for a very long time.

You can read all about it, including the range of colours available, on http://Sugru.com/

I’m off. Just had an idea – draughts from our doors facing west can have a howling gale come through them in strong winds … Am going to experiment with Sugru! Watch this space!

Oh, by the way, the lazy susan is in full operating mode again – what a relief!

Val Reynolds, Editor