100 Foot Electric Cord Nightmare
I don't think it's just me
Who else out there has one of these?
( it's ok, I won't tell )
I can, however, help you
Our extension cord was in such a state of tangle-extremis, that it rarely got used. We'll be taking the van on a long trip and wouldn't it be handy, if we could actually use this cord? Of course we'd have to untangle it every time we wanted to use it, or . . .
Who else out there has one of these?
( it's ok, I won't tell )
I can, however, help you
Our extension cord was in such a state of tangle-extremis, that it rarely got used. We'll be taking the van on a long trip and wouldn't it be handy, if we could actually use this cord? Of course we'd have to untangle it every time we wanted to use it, or . . .
Getting It Together
well, it all starts somewhere
in this case, with this old CD holder that was on its way to the trash. This CD holder, of undetermined age, was made of black, fairly heavy plastic. It snapped apart, into upper and lower sections,
at first I was going to cut out flat pieces from the backs of the stand and screw them to a piece of 2x4
Plans change, like when I started to cut of the ends off and things got a bit shattery
Okay, new, simpler plan, as the plastic didn't like being cut, probably won't like holes drilled in it either
this is when I decided to just remove the top and bottom ends of the upper section of the CD holder, using the heavy duty snips and a slightly smaller pair of snips for smaller cuts. This left me with some sharp irregular edges, so . . .
Get a candle, match and a teaspoon to fix this
Caution! Melting plastic releases fumes! Best to do this outdoors
Hot stuff! Melting plastic can ignite if held in the flame too long. (might want a pot of water handy)
Light candle. Pass the sharp edge through the candle flame briefly, use teaspoon to smooth soft/ melty plastic. Wash off any soot with dish soap before next step
in this case, with this old CD holder that was on its way to the trash. This CD holder, of undetermined age, was made of black, fairly heavy plastic. It snapped apart, into upper and lower sections,
at first I was going to cut out flat pieces from the backs of the stand and screw them to a piece of 2x4
Plans change, like when I started to cut of the ends off and things got a bit shattery
Okay, new, simpler plan, as the plastic didn't like being cut, probably won't like holes drilled in it either
this is when I decided to just remove the top and bottom ends of the upper section of the CD holder, using the heavy duty snips and a slightly smaller pair of snips for smaller cuts. This left me with some sharp irregular edges, so . . .
Get a candle, match and a teaspoon to fix this
Caution! Melting plastic releases fumes! Best to do this outdoors
Hot stuff! Melting plastic can ignite if held in the flame too long. (might want a pot of water handy)
Light candle. Pass the sharp edge through the candle flame briefly, use teaspoon to smooth soft/ melty plastic. Wash off any soot with dish soap before next step
How I Wrapped It
Because this cord is so ridiculously long, I took about 15' ( with the male plug) and put it to one side. ( R side of photo 1)
The next 20" or so got bunched together, and secured with some of the rubber coated wire I use in the garden ( a zip tie would have worked, but who knows where those were at the time)
Next I took the nest of cord ( L side of photo 1) and wrapped it around the bunched up cord in the holder
Once the really long end of cord was wrapped ( photo 2), it just left the shorter (15' ) piece to wind up
The next 20" or so got bunched together, and secured with some of the rubber coated wire I use in the garden ( a zip tie would have worked, but who knows where those were at the time)
Next I took the nest of cord ( L side of photo 1) and wrapped it around the bunched up cord in the holder
Once the really long end of cord was wrapped ( photo 2), it just left the shorter (15' ) piece to wind up
Ta-Dah!
There you have it! All in one compact, easy to deploy parcel, ready to take to the road with us in search of adventure ( and maybe a low cost campground?)
The lower portion of the CD holder now fits beside my husband's desk, holding ( you guessed it!), CDs!
The lower portion of the CD holder now fits beside my husband's desk, holding ( you guessed it!), CDs!