I’ve been putting Sugru through its paces. What’s that? you ask. It’s a soft-touch silicone rubber that moulds and sets permanently. Their marketing slogan is “Hack things better”. I’d say it’s going to be an essential in my “Mend it” tool box from now on.
Sugru comes in different colours and is very like plasticene. You mould it in your hands and once cured you can put it in the dishwasher. The pack I tried consisted of a foil outer pack with 12 mini packs inside. Here’s what I hacked:
Replacing the missing handle on a Le Creuset
This had cracked and then broken off altogether some time ago, requiring me to have burnt fingers and risk dropping the heavy lid as I had to lift it by the screw.
First I built a little Sugru wrap to go round the screw, then moulded a petal-like grip for the top. It’s not the finest craftsmanship as I was in a hurry – but it’s worked perfectly.
Sugru cures by being left at room temperature for 24 hours but, weirdly remains flexible. This freaked me out at first as I thought it hadn’t set, but I’ve used it happily since without mishap. I tend to only use this casserole on the hob but as Sugru withstands heat up to 180C I’ll probably give it a go in the oven too. One very expensive casserole now restored to full usefulness.
Fixing the shower door
For ages, every time I went into the shower I was cursing. The rubbery strip that slots in bevels at the edge of one of the two doors (and keeps the shower watertight) had lost the little holding piece at the bottom and the strip kept working its way down. The missing bit was something I didn’t think I could replace till Hey presto! Sugru to the rescue. 30 seconds later the strip is secure and my tedious weekly task of threading it back in is now over. Joy!
Making a widget
Funny how all those things you need to fix, suddenly elude the memory once you have the means of fixing them. So after fruitlessly searching for broken things, I decided to make a widget to hang up the USB lead for my camera and save myself hunting for it every time I want to use it. I moulded the Sugru into a little hook shape and stuck it to the 
Billy bookcase by my desk. Et voilà! The instructions say not to use it to hang heavy objects – but I reckon it should be up to the task of holding up a USB lead and a pair of bud earphones.
The mini pack I tested has 3 black, 2 green, 2 blue, and 2 orange pieces. Sugru does have a shelf life, so get a small amount and have a go first as it won’t keep unused forever.
And what’s even nicer about Sugru is it’s a great example of British inventiveness and entrepreneurship. Jane the inventor, came up with the idea while she was a student at the Royal College of Art and has been indefatigable in her efforts to bring it to market. Now Sugru has turned into a phenomenal worldwide success story and is sold in every continent. So go one try some. What’s your use for it?
Overall top marks for Sugru. It’s great fun and really useful and so easy to use. And how satisfying to be able to mend things with such ease.
