Repair Café

repair cafe

PPLD's Repair Café is a neighborhood initiative that promotes repair as an alternative to tossing things out. At a Repair Café you’ll find the tools and materials needed to repair your broken items, as well as knowledgeable volunteers who will show you how to do it. Repair Trainers will offer a diagnosis and suggested remedy for broken items, repairing items when possible and otherwise explaining what parts you may need to obtain to complete the repair.

The Repair Café exists to show how much fun repairing things can be, and how easy it often is. Why don’t you give it a go?

Click Here to learn more about the international Repair Café initiative.

ImportantDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Repair Café organizers have cancelled all in-person events for 2020. We are exploring alternate options to support our local community with repair needs, so please stay tuned for future updates and resources.

Individuals must agree to the Repair Café Guidelines and Disclaimer to participate.

Volunteers offer no guarantee of items being repaired made by them or with their assistance, and are not liable if objects repaired do not work properly at home. Volunteers are not obliged to reassemble disassembled appliances that cannot be repaired.

Disclaimer: Please know you bring your items to be repaired at your own risk. Because repairs are made by unpaid volunteers there may be risks. Neither the facilitators of Repair Cafés nor the repair volunteers are liable for any loss or damage that may result from advice or instructions, for the loss of items handed over for repair, for indirect or consequential loss, or for any other kind of loss resulting from repairs made by Repair Café.

Get Involved!

Do you enjoy sharing your knowledge with others? Can you…

  • Repair tires, chains, or brakes for bikes?
  • Mend, hem, or patch clothing?
  • Test, dismantle, or fix small appliances?
  • Assess, disassemble, or possibly repair electronics?
  • Fix wobbly furniture or other wooden objects?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, help your local community by becoming a Repair Trainer!

To apply, fill out our volunteer application and skill specialty questionnaire and drop them off at Library 21c attn: Creative Services, or email both to repaircafe@ppld.org.

Comments

Dale M. Collins replied on

Hello -
I am the organizer for the Repair Café at the Manitou Art Center in Manitou Springs. I see that your first event is this weekend, and am afraid I plan to be out of town, but would still like to meet with you organizer to see if we can share resources and ideas. Our first event is Sunday, July 17.

I hope your event is a huge success!
Sincerely,
Dale M. Collins

PPLD Librarian replied on

Hi Dale,

Thanks for contacting us! Your contact information has been shared with our Repair Café program coordinator, and you will receive a direct email from her soon.

Thanks again,
PPLD Librarian

Morgan replied on

Hi Lisa,
We will have a volunteer there who can fix many issues with furniture. Are you asking if we will have someone there to help bring your piece inside to the library? Please contact us directly at RepairCafe@ppld.org to address this concern. Thanks!

Gary replied on

Hello, I would like to know if Repair Cafe might have machines such as reflow ovens, preheaters, and heat guns to repair smd type computer circuit boards. I would like to learn how to use these tools to make my own repairs.

PPLD Librarian replied on

Thanks for your interest in the PPLD Repair Café. Our tools and equipment serve a broad variety of applications, but primarily focus on repairs for small appliances and electronics, textiles, and wooden furniture. Because of this, we do not currently carry reflow ovens, preheaters, or heat guns. However, we will consult with our Repair Trainers to see if these items may be useful for future Repair Café events. If you have additional questions, please contact the Repair Café team directly at RepairCafe@ppld.org.

-PPLD Librarian

Gary replied on

Thank you for your answer.

The electronics repair equipment I mentioned is exactly what is necessary for repair of modern electronic equipment and is not especially expensive or difficult to obtain. A suitable open-source reflow oven kit can be purchased for approx. $200, and a combination heat gun/preheat station might sell for approx $125. However, there might be an issue with the amount of demand for such equipment because the work can be microscopic and require steady hands.

Linda replied on

I have a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer that accidentally tipped over when I tried to move it off of my counter. The beater now hits the side of the bowl wearing the covering off the beater and the locking mechanism is loose and does not lock correctly. Do you have someone who can help me fix a problem like this and can I go to any of your different events to see if I can repair this? Also, is there a fee or registration/reservation required?

PPLD Librarian replied on

Thanks for your interest in the PPLD Repair Cafe. The Repair Cafe is a free event, and no registration is required to participate.

I'm not sure if our Repair Trainers can fix your Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, because they will have to take a look at it to determine the extent of the damage. But I do encourage you to bring it in to the next Repair Cafe event so they can inspect the item and then either suggest possible solutions, or fix it.

If you have additional questions, please contact the Repair Café team directly at RepairCafe@ppld.org.

-PPLD Librarian

SL replied on

Hi
The email listed does not work unless you are already approved to receive email by the group. My email was returned with the following reason:

The group repaircafe only accepts messages from people in its organization or on its allowed senders list, and your email address isn't on the list.

vfranklyn replied on

Hi there. Thanks for the heads up! We've taken it down until we can get it fixed.

UPDATE: It's fixed. Thanks again!

Teresa Albin-Davis replied on

I think I was at the first one and there was some disconnect after that. Still happy to come and do repairs. I have a good sewing machine. And am a retired dentist so pretty good with jewelry repairs as well. Let me know. Teresa

Anna replied on

This page currently only has 2019 dates. Will you be having workshops in 2020?

PPLD Librarian replied on

Hello, thanks for your interest in the PPLD Repair Cafe! We are finalizing the 2020 Repair Cafe dates with our volunteers, but are planning to offer events in March, May, July, September, and November. We will update the dates here as soon as our volunteers confirm their availability. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to the Repair Cafe team at repaircafe@ppld.org.

Robert Barnsbee replied on

I need to change the chain and replace the brake pads on my 600 Yamaha. Can you help me with that?

PPLD Librarian replied on

Hi Robert,

Thanks for your interest in Repair Cafe! Unfortunately, PPLD's Repair Cafe is on hiatus at the moment due to the pandemic. We will update the page as soon as we start holding events again. We don't currently offer automotive repair at our events (partly due to the tools we have and partly due to our events generally being held indoors), but we will keep that in mind for the future.

In the meantime, PPLD does have a LibGuide with some resources on automotive repair that might be useful to you: https://research.ppld.org/automotiveresources.

If you're interested in attending virtual repair events, there is also a resource called Repair Cafe TV (https://repaircafe.tv) that tracks virtual Repair Cafes across the US and the UK. I can't speak to how they run personally, but the volunteers there may be of help in repairing your motorcycle as well. Please let us know if you have any questions!

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