A Few Fixes & Builds

About This Video

Van Neistat runs through six fixes and builds in 66 seconds, from engraving identical keys to extending a quarter-20 mic adapter with a custom arm.

The fixes: keys engraved by location because they all look the same. A rig built to keep revolver moon clips preloaded and organized for the range. A rag box Van built three years ago whose glove-finger hinges finally annoyed him enough to replace. A plug on the verge of failure, saved with five minute epoxy and shrink tube. The plug powers a light table, and Van does not have replacement power cords for it, which is the whole reason the repair matters. A piece of bent metal straightened with IMI Trophy No. 2 sheet metal screws. And a quarter-20 mic adapter fitted with an arm extension so Van can stand further from the tripod while recording.

No single fix here takes more than a few minutes. None of them would justify their own video. Together they make the argument that repair is not an event but a posture. The rag box sat with bad hinges for three years. The plug was "on the verge of failure." Van treats maintenance as a running list, and this video is one page of that list, shot and posted in the time most people spend deciding whether a thing is worth fixing.

What Van Uses: Five minute epoxy, shrink tube, IMI Trophy No. 2 sheet metal screws, quarter-20 mic adapter, light table.

Related: Van Neistat Fixes Your Stuff Now, Why Do Details Matter?, Details Within Details

FAQ

What epoxy does Van Neistat use for repairs? Van uses five minute epoxy for quick structural fixes. In this video he applies it to a failing power plug for a light table, then reinforces it with shrink tube for added durability.

What is a quarter-20 mic adapter? A quarter-20 (1/4"-20) adapter allows a microphone to mount on a standard tripod thread. Van built a custom arm extension for his so he could position himself further from the tripod while filming.

What fixes does Van Neistat show in A Few Fixes and Builds? Six in 66 seconds: engraving keys by location, building a revolver moon clip organizer, replacing glove-finger hinges on a rag box, epoxying a failing plug for a light table, straightening bent metal, and adding an arm to a quarter-20 mic adapter for more distance from the tripod.

Transcript

These keys all look the same, so I engrave them by location. I built this to keep revolver moon clips preloaded

and organized for the range. Go back and forth. I built this rag box 3 years ago

and for some reason made the hinges out of glove glove fingers. It's always annoyed me. This plug was on the verge

of failure and I do not want to find another one. Five minute epoxy. Now I put it in this little rig resin hardener

and I'll put shrink tube bomb in it after. And it's for the light table. I don't have any replacement power cords for it. I don't know how I bent this,

but I bent it. My imi trophy number two sheet metal screws.

I didn't build this quarter20 mic adapter this month. It makes it so that a microphone can fit on the tripod.

But I made an arm for it so I could be further away from the tripod.

Products & Tools Mentioned

• five minute epoxy uses — adhesive used for various fixes