Finally figured out a way to stop coolant splash on my old VF-2

I was getting soaked every time I ran a deep pocket routine, so I tried taping a piece of clear vinyl sheet from the hardware store to the side of the door frame. It cut the spray by about 80% and cost me maybe five bucks. What's your best cheap fix for an annoying machine quirk?

4 comments

4 Comments

riverw172mo ago

That whole binder sleeve thing is a perfect example. People get so hung up on buying the "right" part they forget to look at what's already around them. I've seen guys use old license plates to patch a hole in a truck bed, or cut up a milk jug to make a funnel. The best fix is usually the one that costs nothing and just gets the job done.

the_diana2mo ago

Oh man, that vinyl sheet is a solid idea. I had the same problem with my old mill and ended up using a cut-up plastic binder sleeve from the office, the kind for report covers. Just taped it right over the worst gap. It looked ridiculous but it worked for years. Sometimes the cheapest fix is the one already sitting in your desk drawer.

sage_green2mo ago

Wait, a plastic binder sleeve held up for years? @the_diana, that's wild. Those things tear if you look at them wrong. My old office had those same sleeves and they'd get wrecked just from regular papers sliding in and out. The idea of one surviving mill vibrations and dust without just crumbling into bits is actually kind of amazing. Tape must have been doing some serious work.

morgan.rose1mo ago

Honestly, the binder sleeve story got me wondering. Was it the specific brand of sleeve, or did the tape create some kind of super-structural support? Like, did you use that really thick, cloth-style duct tape that basically becomes part of the material?