Do it yourself

Quote: petroglyph

I ran the beads for this stove.

Hah! can't fool me. You are referring to welding wherein the solder looks like a series of beads. something tells me this is not in arizona.

Quote: Fleastiff

Hah! can't fool me. You are referring to welding wherein the solder looks like a series of beads. something tells me this is not in arizona.

60 degrees, 20 minutes,15 seconds N.

151 degrees, 16 minutes, 28 seconds W.

Not in AZ. but when stove is fully cranked and face is 6 inches from the case, it is easy to imagine being in Havasu. Either that or leave my head in the oven too long while basting a turkey.

Quote: petroglyph

60 degrees, 20 minutes,15 seconds N.
151 degrees, 16 minutes, 28 seconds W.

wow, that must be cold in summer (both weeks of it). I have an acquaintance whose son joined the rcmp and did two years "North of sixty". It was worse than the canadian tv show by that name.

by the way, for those who really want a risky side hustle..... a twenty dollar bottle of booze goes for 200 easy on a reservation in canada and the local territoral tribal officer is not allowed to carry arms.

drunken fleastiff: Cheap plastic bottles are a great way to provide support for an earthen ceiling as well as transmissible light to your subterranean greenhouse

sober poster: Is there a photo of this somewhere? I can't imagine how it is supposed to work, since the bottles aren't very sturdy, and break down in UV light.

Quote: Fleastiff

I usually post drunk, so I'll try to get enough spare change together and get drunk again.... maybe the citation will appear in my drunken stupor this time.

findings so far: students from MIT in Brazil's poor areas used one liter plastic bottles filled with water and a splash of bleach to "light" interiors of hovels lacking electricity. bottle placed two thirds under roof one third through roof. Probably more "glow" than light. No data on multiple "lights" through the same roof.

Univ western carolina boone county: cut up empty flimsy plastic bottles as over lapping roof shingles. demonstrated but no engineering data for loads or wind loads.

send me money and I will get more drunk and try to do a better search job.

Quote: Fleastiff

findings so far: students from MIT in Brazil's poor areas used one liter plastic bottles filled with water and a splash of bleach to "light" interiors of hovels lacking electricity. bottle placed two thirds under roof one third through roof. Probably more "glow" than light. No data on multiple "lights" through the same roof.

Seen this. You won't see well by it but it makes if feel less dark by scattering light instead of the light looking like it came in through a small hole in the roof. The later leave a spot of light and the rest in dark.

I have a 3' high length of white fiberglass panel
that runs the length of the barn at the top of the
south wall. It fills the barn with diffused light.
The early settlers used oiled parchment in the
windows of log cabins because they had no windows.

My barn looks kinda like this:

Quote: Face

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.

Well, AZD is not perfect. My brother needs something simple welded. My dad has a welder. So yesterday I go over and we check to see if it works. All I want to do is make sure I can strike an arc as the rest will take care of itself.

Well, first thing that happens is an argument over the rods. My dad and I work better together than we used to, but if you have seen "American Chopper" it will pretty much give you a picture of how it often ends up. I mention to my mother I will need to buy a few rods. She says my dad has some. She doesn't know any better. My dad says to use his. I say they will not work. He says try them. I say I am not welding something that can break and hurt someone over buying 5 or so rods. He again says try his rods. So I try.

Oh, did I mention these rods have been in the basement for 25 years?

I forget the rod numbers, but he has a few types. 60/70 tinsel strength. I think any position. I really should have reviewed what the numbers are before I left, but I really just wanted to see if the welder was AC or DC so I can buy the right thing.

Now, for those who know welding and wonder what happens to rods not kept in an oven but left out 25 years........ One kind I could strike an arc but that was it. Either the amps were too low to strike and keep the arc or so high the material blew everywhere. Another kind struck and laid some material, but not enough and not well. It made a mess, not a weld. The third kind not bad, but by this point I was kind of done playing with this old stuff. Not so fast.

My dad wanted to see me weld two pieces of metal together. I was not keen, I was wearing shorts. I know better, but I planned to strike and be done, few minutes. But he wants to see his kid weld, so I oblige. I managed a half-decent weld. He said it looked pretty good, which we upgraded when I let him know the angle iron was light enough that I was almost cutting it in half, it had holes in it, was on the floor welding in a very uncomfortable position, we did not clean it, and he pointed out it was galvanized. Perhaps I did learn something in class?

Managed to make him happy without sunburning my legs or a real burn via a spark. Now I have to convince him to toss the rods before someone tries to use them.

No sun

Have you ever panned for gold. Do you live near streams? Think this is something that takes some Zen like patience. Or perhaps the activity itself is calming.
`


~

I hear panning for iron pyrite is less crowded (she said with a straight face)

as drought lowers river levels and build up sediment behind dams...might be time to investigate those low levels?

Placer gold and vein gold. You have to mine to find veins but placer gold is a hobby and spending money.