Do it yourself
June 1st, 2015 at 6:33:00 PM permalink | |
Face Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 61 Posts: 3941 |
It's almost as if you're purposely trying to tempt me into wheeling and dealing ;) On the channel lock, totally agree. Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it. |
June 1st, 2015 at 7:05:24 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25010 |
Oh, I would never give any of it up, I might need them someday. That's the whole point of having them. And I did use them a lot up until I was about 50. I still have all the wood working stuff, clamps and wood vices and collapsible work bench that's just one big clamp. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
June 4th, 2015 at 4:56:46 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25010 | Spent the whole afternoon sanding down the rail boards on the deck, staining them, and putting on 5 coats of brush on lacquer. I use Deft because it's like glass when I'm done. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
June 4th, 2015 at 5:21:24 PM permalink | |
terapined Member since: Aug 6, 2014 Threads: 73 Posts: 11786 |
Impressive I pressured washed mine 1 coat of Thompsons water seal Sometimes we live no particular way but our own - Grateful Dead "Eyes of the World" |
June 4th, 2015 at 5:25:55 PM permalink | |
Face Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 61 Posts: 3941 |
I'm more interested in how you win the mental battle than what you use. Sanding is just the pits. I have a hundred things that need sanding and painting and I just can't bring myself to get them done. I spent two days pulling a tree out of the ground because it was more palatable than sanding lol Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it. |
June 4th, 2015 at 5:32:51 PM permalink | |
AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18136 |
I need to pressure wash mine, but no Thompsons. It is basically wax. The President is a fink. |
June 7th, 2015 at 12:52:08 AM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25010 |
I did so much furniture sanding, I don't think about it. 100 grit is my all around paper, then 150 if it's furniture. Sanding makes all the difference. I always use a rag for stain, and a rubber glove. You don't want that stuff on your bare hands. At a dollar store grab a handful of pairs, the kitchen type. They always come in handy. Don't be afraid to brush on shellac or lacquer, it dries real fast. By the 4th and 5th coat the brush strokes disappear. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
July 7th, 2015 at 2:44:14 PM permalink | |
Face Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 61 Posts: 3941 | Someone wants a bottle tree, and I'm just the man for the job. A bottle tree is kind of hokey, but easy enough to make. You know what a bottle tree is. It's just a tree shaped frame you plop bottles onto, letting all passersby know that you're down to party. For this, you'll need little more than a bit of plate steel and a mess of rebar. I got about 3 sections of 6', plus a bit of scrap laying around the garage. I think I may need more, but this is a good start. First step is the base. I dunno if my customer is going to want to set it on a porch or actually plant the thing, so I'm making a base that can do both. So I got out the cutting wheel and cut four pieces each of 9" rebar and 9" plate. These will be the legs and feet. I figure they're wide and flat enough to rest on a deck or concrete pad, or they'll serve as good anchors if they're buried and planted. Win-win. Simple enough to do, just overlap them enough to run a good bead, clamp them together, and burn them in place. I can feel AZD cringing from PA, so for the uninitiated, I'll confirm that nylon shorts and sleeveless tees is NOT the proper attire for welding. But here in the Good Enough Garage, we do what we do. I got a sheet down to catch the slag. When a drop of molten metal falls off and hits the cold concrete, it rolls and skips all over the damn place. Got a nice burn scar on my thigh from welding on the floor in nylon shorts, so now I use a sheet. Pain is a wonderful teacher ;) But sheet or no, it's not smart. Flux splatters, and when it hits skin it's like melted plastic. It's just on ya, and it ain't coming off til it cools. The radiation is pretty intense, too. I won't say I'm burned to a crisp, but even having a good base tan, I feel as if I was on the boat from 1000 to 1600. I'm a little toasty. So don't do this. But if you do, weld is so hot that it'll burn so bad the nerves will die, so it only hurts for about a second and then you're fine =p Anyways, a bunch of cutting and burning later and you'll have your feet. Pretty simple both in thought and action, it just takes a while to cut, grind smooth, and run a good bead. I think it was about 2hrs to get to this point. Not a bad bead for a self-taught hack =) Now to connect them. I cut a 3" x 3" piece of plate that will serve to connect all the feet together, and drilled a hole in the middle of it to accept the "trunk". At that time, cutting sent something into my eye and I had to take a break. Nothing major (so far), but I could tell an interesting story of my last eye and metal issue, if anyone wants to be creeped out =p After I addressed my eye, I got back to finishing the base. Simple enough, just set it on the flat floor, arrange the legs just so, and burn it all together. Now, to get the trunk on there good, I didn't want to just set the rebar on top and hope the weld held. So I drilled a hole just a tick smaller than the rebar, then beveled the end so it would pass entirely through, like so. Test fitting showed the rebar passed all the way through and stuck out maybe 2mm on the other side, and that was perfect. I could get good penetration, and then just grind it smooth so it doesn't wobble. So, frame up on blocks so the rebar could sit tight, I burned the trunk onto the base. Good enough bead up top, and plenty of space on the underside to make those two pieces become one. Once I filled in the bottom, 2 minutes of the grinding wheel had it back to dead smooth. All finished. Now the only question is what kind of tree to make. Pine shaped? Open trunk with a "bush" on top? Shrub shaped? I dunno. I'm gonna let the idea marinate and see where it takes me. Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it. |
July 8th, 2015 at 3:59:25 AM permalink | |
Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831 | Cheap plastic bottles are a great way to provide support for an earthen ceiling as well as transmissible light to your subterranean greenhouse |
July 8th, 2015 at 1:36:10 PM permalink | |
Ayecarumba Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 89 Posts: 1744 |
Here's an idea: image from acartoonchristmas.com You could wire it so that the red ball on the end lights up. |