Repairing household items, teaching repair skills and connecting our local community.
The Woodend Repair Café is an activity of the Woodend Neighbourhood House.
The Woodend Repair Café repairs most household goods – if you can push it or carry it to our door, we will have a go at repairing it!
Our fantastic fix-it volunteers are willing and able to repair a wide range of items, from knife sharpening, textile mending to household furniture and electronics. Our list of example repairs tells you what you need to know before we repair them. Generally, we will:
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Sharpen your blades - knives, scissors, garden equipment, chainsaw chains (by arrangement)
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Repair your textiles – clothes that are ripped, torn or simply worn out in places, cushions, curtains, bags and toys. We do both hand stitching and machine repairs.
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Repair your bicycles, tricycles, monowheels and even penny-farthings! We do both mechanical and electrical repairs
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Repair your household electrical and electronic appliances, including lamps, fans, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, radios and bread makers. We will even look at your computers!
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Everything else including furniture, clocks, toys, garden tools (including lawnmowers), workshop tools (hand, electric and battery), leather items and baskets.
The list goes on....!
If a repair requires a spare part, we will ask you to purchase the part and bring it in with you so that we can fit it. If you don’t know what you need, we are happy to advise you (and if you are really lucky, we may even look it up on eBay for you).
And if you are unsure if your item can be fixed at the Woodend Repair Café, please email us at repaircafe@woodendnh.org.au (please include a photo of the item and what needs repair if possible). A repairer will contact you to discuss likely outcomes (typically via email).
Are we always successful?
Sadly no!
Most repair cafes, ourselves included, have a successful repair rate of around 70-95%, and a little lower for electronic goods at around 50%. This is due to most household items stopping working because of blockages, broken wires, dirty contacts and a lack of grease and oil. Electronic items can be a little more tricky with faulty components, and we don’t always manage to find the problem.
It's always worth trying to repair something before sending it to landfill. You can drop your goods off for repair during our monthly sessions, or at the Woodend Neighbourhood House during the week. And if you're interested in learning more about the repairing process, you are welcome to drop in to learn how repairs are made, or simply stop by for a coffee and a chat!
When is the Repair Café held?
Repair sessions are held monthly on the first Saturday of each month, concurrently with the Woodend Farmer’s Market. We are open between 9am and 1pm.
If you want to watch the repair or drop in for a coffee and a chat, then this is the session for you.
We are centrally located in Woodend for the Macedon Ranges townships of Kyneton, Macedon, Gisborne and Romsey, and we work from the Undercroft at the Woodend Neighbourhood House.
If you can't make it to one of our regular Repair Café sessions, you can drop off your items to the Woodend Neighbourhood House during office hours (for current hours click here). Goods dropped off in this way will typically be held and repaired during the monthly repair session.
Once repairs have been completed, we will send you a text to your mobile phone telling you it has been completed and is ready for pick up!
View Upcoming Dates
Finally, three very important things you need to consider:
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You must fill out a Repair Request form before we will attempt to repair your goods. You can do it when you drop the goods off for repair, or you can fill it out beforehand by printing this Repair Request Form. Please note the “Terms and Conditions” in the form that you will need to agree to. Importantly, you will need to agree that the repair is done at your risk. We don’t guarantee we can repair your item, nor do we guarantee the serviceability and safety of the repair going forward.
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The service is completely free. We do have a lovely donation box if you care to make a donation, but this is completely optional on your part. We use any donations given to us to buy more consumables (more glue, screws, nuts and bolts, minor spare parts), more tools, improvements to our workspace and if there is anything left over by the end of the year, a beer or wine for the volunteers
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If our service is not convenient, there are other Repair Cafés located nearby in Bendigo, Castlemaine, Sunbury and Ballarat. They all operate on slightly different bases, and at different times in the month, so please look them up and consider using them (view a summary of other Repair Cafés here)
We look forward to seeing you soon!
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When and where do you hold repair sessions?They are held on the first Saturday of each month, between 9am and 1pm in the undercroft of the Woodend Neighbourhood House.
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Do I need to book my repair in beforehand?No – we do repairs on a first come, first served basis during a repair session.
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How long does it take to repair goods?Typically it takes about 60-90 minutes to repair a good. We repair goods in order that they are dropped off to the Repair Café, so we may not be able to start your repair straight away
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What can I do while I wait for you to repair my goods?You are spoilt for choice -The Woodend Farmers Market is held at the same time as repair sessions, so you have lots of choices for food shopping, coffee, etc -Woodend has an extensive set of cafes, hotels, bakeries etc which are worth a visit -Woodend has a Coles supermarket where you can do your weekly shop
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How should I prepare my goods for repair?Please prepare your goods as follows; - Ensure they are clean (this particularly applies to clothes) -Bring all parts (including broken pieces, and any new parts that need to be fitted) -Bring any manuals that you have (this particularly applies to electrical or electronic goods) -Ensure they are packed safely for transport (this particularly applies to knives for sharpening)
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Are the Woodend Repair Café services free?Absolutely free. If specific parts are required to repair your particular item, you will be asked to purchase them beforehand and bring them with you
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You say your services are free, yet you have a donations box. Am I expected to make a donation?Absolutely not!!
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Are all your repairers trades people or professional repairers?No. All our repairers are volunteers, who have a lot of experience repairing their own and others’ goods. Trainee repairers when we have them, work with experienced repairers.
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Can I bring my children to watch the repair?Yes of course. If your child is less than 12 years old, you will need to stay and look after them. Between 12 and 16 years, they may stay unaccompanied but not leave the Repair Café until you come to pick them up. Over 16 years of age, they may come and go as they want.
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Do you guarantee your repairs?No. We are a free service, and whilst we take all the care we can in making the repair, we do not take responsibility for the repair, or any losses you may have if the repair fails in service. You are welcome to bring it back, and we will attempt to repair it again.
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What happens if you lose or damage my item that I have dropped off for repair?We have a robust system for monitoring repairs, and we take a lot of care of all submitted items. However, there is always a risk of loss or damage, and the terms and conditions on the Repair Request specifically pass this risk to you. There will be no reimbursement for lost or damaged items.
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What happens if something cannot be immediately repaired in the repair session?This can happen for one or more of two reasons; - We can’t find the problem, we don’t have the tools on hand to fix it, and/or we ran out of time to fix it. In this case, you are free to take the goods back, or you can leave them with us, and we will make arrangements to get it repaired over the next month - The repair needs new parts that we don’t have to hand. In this case, we will return the goods to you, and have a discussion with you on what parts are required. You will then need to obtain the parts, and bring the goods to be repaired and the new parts back to a later session for final repair
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Your repair session timing is not convenient for me – can I get my items repaired at a different time in the month?No. We only do one repair session per month. You can drop off and pick up your item from the Woodend Neighbourhood house during office hours which may make it for more convenient for you.
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Do you do home visits to repair items?No
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Can you pick up my items for repair from my home?No
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Can you drop off my repaired items to my home?No
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Do you fix motor vehicles, tractors, etc?No. We suggest you approach a qualified mechanic for all vehicle repairs
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If you cannot fix a good I brought in for repair, what happens to it?We will return it to you for disposal. We can give you advice on the best way to dispose of the item.
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Can I donate items to the Woodend Repair Café?Yes, you can donate working items, or items we feel confident we can repair. We reserve the right to refuse donations for any reason. We may also accept some non-working items that we can strip for usable parts.
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What happens to my items if I am unable to pick them up within 2 months of repair?We have limited storage space, and after 2 months, we will treat the item as if it was donated to us. We will dispose of the item as we see fit, including selling it. No monies from the sale will be reimbursed to you.
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I would like to volunteer as a Repairer. How do I join?Fantastic news. Please contact us by email at repaircafe@woodendnh.org.au, or drop in and see us on a repair day.
Links to other Repair Cafés:
Bendigo Repair Café
Ballarat Repair Café
https://repaircafeballarat.com.au/
The Ballarat Repair Café website has an extensive section on how to dispose of unwanted goods (in the FAQ section)
Castlemaine Repair Café
Sunbury Repair Café