Everyday Mechanical Fixes
Learn why moving parts squeak, stick, slip, and strip—and how to diagnose and fix them. Build an intuitive feel for friction, fasteners, drive tension, and leverage in the physical objects around you.
Like Duolingo, but for Everyday Mechanical Fixes. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Diagnosing Moving Parts and Fasteners and Transmitting Force and Resolving Jams. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Everyday Mechanical Fixes
- Sudden squeaking or stiff resistance in a mechanism indicates metal-on-metal friction or contamination
- Applying extra force against mechanical resistance can gall, gouge, or permanently bend moving parts
- Stopping to inspect and clear the contact surface prevents irreversible wear
- Standard WD-40 is primarily a solvent and moisture displacer, not a persistent mechanical lubricant
- Spraying it dissolves and flushes out heavier, protective grease from internal pins and bearings
- Once its light carrier evaporates, the bare metal is left unprotected against rapid friction and wear
- Dry lubricants leave a slippery film without wet residue, preventing airborne dust and sand from sticking
- Thick wet grease cushions high mechanical loads and resists being squeezed out of tight spaces
- Wet oils attract and hold abrasive grit if left exposed to open, dusty environments
- Adding fresh oil directly over existing dirt dissolves the grit into a destructive grinding paste
- Old grease and trapped grit must be chemically broken down and physically wiped away first
- Fresh lubricant should only be applied once the bare metal surfaces are completely clean
- Excess wet lubricant escapes bearing seams and acts like a magnet for airborne grit and lint
- Accumulated grease and trapped debris turn into thick sludge that jams narrow mechanical clearances
- Proper lubrication requires only a micro-thin boundary film between moving surfaces
- Phillips drivers naturally tend to ride up and slip out of the screw slots under turning force (cam-out)
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Everyday Mechanical Fixes the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What happens if you push with all your muscle when a metal handle resists turning?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
How to learn Everyday Mechanical Fixes, step by step
Go in order. 12 short levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Diagnosing Moving Parts and Fasteners
- The Squeak and Stick: Friction and Lubrication
- Fastener Mastery: Loosening and Securing Screws
- 2
Transmitting Force and Resolving Jams
- Cables, Belts, and Chains: Managing Drive Tension
- Leverage and Clearance: Freeing Jammed Mechanisms
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Everyday Mechanical Fixes
How do I learn Everyday Mechanical Fixes?
Go in order: start with Diagnosing Moving Parts and Fasteners, then Transmitting Force and Resolving Jams. On Tomo that's 12 short levels, about 24 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Everyday Mechanical Fixes?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Everyday Mechanical Fixes is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Everyday Mechanical Fixes course free?
Yes. Everyday Mechanical Fixes is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Everyday Mechanical Fixes?
12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Everyday Mechanical Fixes?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Everyday Mechanical Fixes is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Everyday Mechanical Fixes today.
Download Tomo, search Everyday Mechanical Fixes, and play your first lesson in under a minute.