Dominican Ingenuity

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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I like this story. When I was a poor university student, I used to simply purchase the rubber inserts instead of the complete blade. I do not care what anyone says: I have much respect for many a Dominican entrepreneur.

Which the point of my starting this this thread !!!!

Never fails to amaze me... the simplicity & the effectiveness of their fixes
 

Fulano2

Bronze
Jun 5, 2011
3,287
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Europe
THIS ONE IS A TROPHY WINNER

In STI today --- i had a red light.... the windshield wiper salesman came by

As it happens , I bought new wipers in the US over Christmas....2 fronts and the midget rear window one
The rear didn't fit.... awkward size, clip-on - todo

So I ask the guy if he can give me a rear wiper.....
Claro....he says.... 250 pesos
I give him the Winston Churchill signal & he agrees

BUT - he has a different solution to the problem.

He removes the rear blade... piezza enetera.... and strips the rubber from it.
Proceeds to insert new rubber into the old steel frame....
Basically - exchanging the rubber, not the blade mechanism itself

Red Light - Remember !!??

The buzzer sounds - time's up !!

He instructs me thru the intersection.... and finishes the job.... 200 pesos

He then says - turn it on , see if it works
I tell him --- get me some rain and we'll really see if it works !!

He laughs.... and we part ways

I still can't believe it......Incredible ..... IMO

hahahahaha

After that demonstration ...
I saw no reason why he couldn't summon a sprinkle of lluvia.....

Hè Will sell yours to the next customer.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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No... I may not have explained it well... nothing really left of mine

He stripped out the torn rubber from it....it was ripped /old

In retrospect.... the 200 pesos was for a new piezza entera.....
he only gave me the rubber part.... plus his manos a obra for the assembly/disassembly

I'm not complaining........
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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You sure he replaced the rubber? There is a new gadget that trims a wiper blade so "fresh" rubber touches the glass.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
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Yup I watched...

new piece slid in and he trimmed... full length went in

There are 2 'struts' that lie on each side as reinforcements

The rubber has 2 channels for these thin metal rods/slivers to fit into and be held by the pinched
blade holder.... the integral support mechanism really...between the pinch points

Fun to watch... you'd have enjoyed it
 

Buffness

Self-imposed banned🫢
Oct 9, 2014
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Our jardinero offered to clean our yellow cloudy oxidized headlights...so I went to look for the $30 3M headlight restoration kit we got from amazon...

Came back with the kit only to find he had already done the job ...very well...headlights looking spanking brand new... ...all done with a tube of 35 peso colagte toothpaste from the colomado and some elbow grease !

Gave him 500 pesos propina not to tell miesposa that we didn’t use the $30 kit.
 
Sep 4, 2012
5,931
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Our jardinero offered to clean our yellow cloudy oxidized headlights...so I went to look for the $30 3M headlight restoration kit we got from amazon...

Came back with the kit only to find he had already done the job ...very well...headlights looking spanking brand new... ...all done with a tube of 35 peso colagte toothpaste from the colomado and some elbow grease !

Gave him 500 pesos propina not to tell miesposa that we didn’t use the $30 kit.

Next time use WD-40. Works as a charm!
 

KyleMackey

Bronze
Apr 20, 2015
3,126
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I saw a guy run out of gas on his pasola. He stopped one of the concho cars, used a hose to suck gas out of the car into his mouth and then spit the gas into the pasolas tank until he had enough to get to the gas station. Then off he went.

Done that before, but I made sure the hose was long enough to go from one tank to another. Once you get the flow going in the hose it works.
 

Dr_Taylor

New member
Oct 18, 2017
351
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Our jardinero offered to clean our yellow cloudy oxidized headlights...so I went to look for the $30 3M headlight restoration kit we got from amazon...

Came back with the kit only to find he had already done the job ...very well...headlights looking spanking brand new... ...all done with a tube of 35 peso colagte toothpaste from the colomado and some elbow grease !

Gave him 500 pesos propina not to tell miesposa that we didn’t use the $30 kit.
I do the same thing. I purchase a tube of toothpaste with peroxide, and it works well. You simply need to repeat the cleaning every month or so. It takes five minutes.
 

Bluenoser

Newbie
Feb 26, 2019
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I used to buy just the replacement rubber at Canadian Tire. $8 for 2, cut the length to fit. They don't sell them anymore. Better to spend $25 on a whole blade and throw the old one in the trash.
 

Bluenoser

Newbie
Feb 26, 2019
42
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18
I'm all for repairing, comes from my upbringing in the 60s on a small rural farm, 20 miles from the nearest town. If something broke, you fix it yourself. Not only could you not wait for someone to come fix it, you couldn't afford to pay them anyway.
 

Russell

Well-known member
Jun 17, 2017
1,056
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I'm all for repairing, comes from my upbringing in the 60s on a small rural farm, 20 miles from the nearest town. If something broke, you fix it yourself. Not only could you not wait for someone to come fix it, you couldn't afford to pay them anyway.

Yup!
Same here in Rural Nova Scotia we had to do all the repairs and even make new parts on the lathe when push came to shove.
Not so much today as items are not made to last...... Russell
 
Sep 4, 2012
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One of the things that blows my mind is the art of plugging and fixing a leaking tire in the DR. Have you seen the entire process?

Just amazing!
 

kg4jxt

New member
Mar 28, 2014
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speaking of tires; we were following some visiting friends who had a rental car. They hit a pothole (hard) and had a flat so we took the tire to a repair guy but when he removed the tire he showed us the rim had cracked. Oh no! But I had a mechanic friend in town so we took it to him and he in turn ushered us to the heliarc welding guy who fixed the rim (and pointed out that it had been welded three times before and the crack he was repairing was in an old repair weld. In the real world, the visiting friends would have been on the hook with the rental car company for a new aluminum wheel rim and a new tire, but doing it the Dominican way, we were back on the road in under two hours for only 500 pesos. Not to say the next car renter will have a trouble-free experience - but who am I to protect anyone from their own chance at high adventure?!
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
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Rental Car
way back when , when I was renting cars... the passenger side rear view mirror fell out

In seconds the roadside swarmed with 6-7 people helping me look for it.... nope, was smashed
I took it ot the glass guy who made and in stalled a new one --
It didn't have the Smaller objects warning on it - but showed a rear view !

Not a word from the rental on return....