Rewiring mid-century fans and the joy of taking things apart

Our family has volunteered at a local repair cafe for nearly two years. Every other month, we gather at a senior center in Warwick and offer to repair and fix things people bring in, for free. Raheli mends and adjusts clothes and fixes the occasional stuffed animal, and the kids and I run a take-apart table. The table is mostly for kids, but I’ve had adults come and break into something just for the fun of it. The table is intended to give kids permission to do something that many are naturally curious about; take a tool to something just to see what’s inside. It’s also a good way for kids to get practice with tools, develop dexterity, and learn how things are put together. I have a collection of batteries on hand so the kids can make motors run, light up LEDs and otherwise activate things.

I collect old cameras, tape decks, hard drives, sewing machines, radios, power tools, etc., mostly from people tossing them during bulk garbage week. Most get taken apart in our basement, but some we put aside for the repair cafe. We usually only get a handful of kids at the table, and otherwise it’s me and the kids working through a few things and assembling small machines with the motors, wires, switches, LEDs, and other parts we harvest. I think the kids really enjoy it, and seeing little kids be proficient with screwdrivers, pliers, wire strippers, etc. really gets people’s attention.

Today we decided to not only harvest motors from an old inkjet printer/scanner, but fix/rewire two mid-century desk fans. We had to finish the repairs at home since they required soldering and I hadn’t brought our soldering station to the repair cafe. Each kid wanted to help me with a fan. Able went so far as insisting that he replace a rusty bolt and nut in his, which required cutting the new bolt to length with the table vise and a hacksaw.