I really love paperclips.
Ok, stop looking at the screen so funny. I almost never use a paperclip for holding paper together. I just love the convienece of paperclips when I need small pieces of stiff wire. Yesterday, quite by accident, I got pulled in to consult on a damaged color laserjet 4650. The paper pickup assmbly had been damaged by improper removal of a paper jam. During that jam removal part of the printer that holds a paper guide door (comes into play when duplexing) was broken off. After some time Ron and I found all three pieces of the guide while Calette was looking up the replacement part on HP’s website.
While looking the broken part over I decided I could probably fix it with a little ingenuity. I came back to my desk grabbed my locktite superglue like compound, and returned to the broken printer. Once there I “cut” a paperclip into small pieces the right size to act as support “splints” and glued them on the sides of the broken assembly. Just to make sure the rough areas where the breaks occured didnt cause anything to bind, I then coated the inside with a piece of book tape. (really heavy duity, scotch tape) We then left the glue to dry overnight. Around 11 today I reassembled the printer. (The repaired part slid right into place perfectly. I was worried that it might break again while trying to get it into place.) Then after a little mishap with popping a door spring loose that then required the printer to be dismantled even more than the 1st time, I re-assembled the printer again. Once the diagnostics, and calibration finished, I ran the paper path tests and held my breath. “Ok everyone, cross your fingers”. You know, it’s really funny to watch an office full of people simultaniously cross their fingers…
The printer quietly printed the 1st side, and without missing a beat, printed the second side of the page as well.
So, as I said in the beginning, I love paperclips.
John's Musings 