DIY Home Improvement Thread..

[stoshuaj]

Not exactly home improvement, more of a “oh ****” now what:

 

Restaurant kitchen floor drain.  So think under tile and foundation.

 

apparently it got clogged and the fellas decided to break out the snake and have at it.  Good for them, I appreciate the effort.

 

but, in doing so, the got the snake hung up and broke it off, “I’m not sure how far”, inside the drain.  Not only is it probably still hung up, it’s also broken off inside.  So, even if by some miracle I do manage to hook it, it’s going to most likely break off again.

 

any ideas that don’t involve a jackhammer?

[kfrankie]

Anyone have experience using a wood lathe to make a baseball bat??  Just bought the lathe and ordered a bat blank, got 3 chisels and some measuring calipers. Watched a few videos, those guys make it look pretty easy.  Hopefully I don't cut my arm off.

 

Any advice, other than don't cut your arm off?

[Jabbyrwock]

16 minutes ago, kfrankie said:

Anyone have experience using a wood lathe to make a baseball bat??  Just bought the lathe and ordered a bat blank, got 3 chisels and some measuring calipers. Watched a few videos, those guys make it look pretty easy.  Hopefully I don't cut my arm off.

 

Any advice, other than don't cut your arm off?

 

Wear short sleeves.

 

Use goggles.  The amount of chips that can inexplicably get around those safety glasses is ridiculous.

 

 

[kfrankie]

1 minute ago, Jabbyrwock said:

 

Wear short sleeves.

 

Use goggles.  The amount of chips that can inexplicably get around those safety glasses is ridiculous.

 

 

 

Is it safe to say that if I do this in my garage without some sort of automatic vacuum setup, i'll sweeping up wood chips for the next 2 years?

[Jabbyrwock]

2 minutes ago, kfrankie said:

 

Is it safe to say that if I do this in my garage without some sort of automatic vacuum setup, i'll sweeping up wood chips for the next 2 years?

 

Probably.  Think of wood chips and dust as man claiming his environment.

 

It also makes nice bedding when the wife kicks you out there for tracking wood chips into the living room.

[kfrankie]

2 minutes ago, Jabbyrwock said:

 

Probably.  Think of wood chips and dust as man claiming his environment.

 

It also makes nice bedding when the wife kicks you out there for tracking wood chips into the living room.

 

Yes, I've considered the repercussions of my intended actions.  I bought the lathe and then told my wife about it 3 hours before it was delivered. No idea amazon would so damn prompt.  

[Jabbyrwock]

1 minute ago, kfrankie said:

 

Yes, I've considered the repercussions of my intended actions.  I bought the lathe and then told my wife about it 3 hours before it was delivered. No idea amazon would so damn prompt.  

 

Honestly, ive never found a solution to the chips.  They basically fly everywhere.  A strategically placed shop vac hose acts mostly as a suggestion, but chips are still gonna fly.  The place you really wanna think b4 you act is the sanding.  Shop vac might help, but for your safety where a good fitting mask.  Ridiculous fine dust flies everywhere.  I know people that use respirators.  Ive only ever used goggles and some n95's...works well enough for me but your mileage may vary.

[PleaseBlitz]

And just what do you intend to do with this homemade, and therefore untraceable, baseball bat?

[Captain Wiggles]

🤔

 

 

[stoshuaj]

4 hours ago, kfrankie said:

 

Yes, I've considered the repercussions of my intended actions.  I bought the lathe and then told my wife about it 3 hours before it was delivered. No idea amazon would so damn prompt.  

Now just skip to the part where you throw a tarp over it a shove it in the corner and go buy a damn bat.  
 

Then you can just put the bat on top of the lathe and find them in a couple years when you need to make room for the next thing that needs to get shoved in a corner.

Edited November 18, 2023 by stoshuaj

[dfitzo53]

15 hours ago, kfrankie said:

Anyone have experience using a wood lathe to make a baseball bat??  Just bought the lathe and ordered a bat blank, got 3 chisels and some measuring calipers. Watched a few videos, those guys make it look pretty easy.  Hopefully I don't cut my arm off.

 

Any advice, other than don't cut your arm off?

I don't have lathe-specific advice. I do have hobby advice. 

 

Go out there and use it sometimes even when you don't really feel like it. There are going to be a lot of times you won't want to deal with the hassle, or you won't feel motivated, or whatever. The less you use it the harder it becomes to get back into it, and the more likely it is that you'll forget about it or even resent that it's taking up space in your house. 

 

On the other hand, the more you use it the better you get, and the more positive feelings you'll develop connected to it. You'll feel pretty dang good when you actually finish a project and you have an actual bat, or you make some custom table legs or railings and really feel like a baller. 

 

Worst case scenario, you discover that you really don't enjoy it, and you'll feel secure in your decision to get rid of it and let somebody else deal with it. 

[stoshuaj]

1 hour ago, dfitzo53 said:

I don't have lathe-specific advice. I do have hobby advice. 

 

Go out there and use it sometimes even when you don't really feel like it. There are going to be a lot of times you won't want to deal with the hassle, or you won't feel motivated, or whatever. The less you use it the harder it becomes to get back into it, and the more likely it is that you'll forget about it or even resent that it's taking up space in your house. 

 

On the other hand, the more you use it the better you get, and the more positive feelings you'll develop connected to it. You'll feel pretty dang good when you actually finish a project and you have an actual bat, or you make some custom table legs or railings and really feel like a baller. 

 

Worst case scenario, you discover that you really don't enjoy it, and you'll feel secure in your decision to get rid of it and let somebody else deal with it. 

 

[Jabbyrwock]

7 hours ago, stoshuaj said:

 

[kfrankie]

So the lathe is supposed to have 4 speeds, 1100/1600/2300/3400 rpms.  Its cheap, so have to manually adjust the belt on the engine drive....

 

 

I was able to get the band onto the largest diameter setting of the lower wheel, which connects directly to the drive. So problem is that i cannot pull the belt beyond the second largest setting on the upper wheel to get to the 3400 rpm setting.   I actually got the band up there once, and it locked up the motor.  Adjusting this is all a huge pain, so i hooked it up to an oscillator i had bought a few years back, which allows to me control the level of current going into the machine with a dial.  Anyone see any potential problems with that?

[kfrankie]

First shot at a bat:

33.5 inches, weighs a  ton, hopefully I can get it down to 35 ounces once I cut the spindle ends off

Edited December 3, 2023 by kfrankie

[Fergasun]

Too many cracks between our masonry and house. My wife is crazy about seeing any ants around our house.  Anyone else seal up all around then foundation and patio?  

[EmirOfShmo]

3 hours ago, Fergasun said:

Too many cracks between our masonry and house. My wife is crazy about seeing any ants around our house.  Anyone else seal up all around then foundation and patio?  

At our former house, I used clear exterior caulk to fill the gaps between our asphalt driveway & the concrete apron into the garage. Also filled the gaps between the asphalt driveway & the brick foundation. I did it to keep water from getting in the cracks. 

In this house we have about 1-1.5" gap between the brick foundation & aggregate patio. I have been thinking about filling that gap to keep out water & bugs. Frogs in the summertime love hiding in there & appearing on the patio at dusk. Wife freaks so I probably should fix it. Suggestions to fill the gaps included self-leveling caulk with foam stuffed in the gap first. But, the caulk only comes in certain colors & I'm not sure it will match the aggregate patio. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by EmirOfShmo

[stoshuaj]

“Hey, a path through the woods (~3/4 acre) and a cleared area by the creek would be nice for our guests”, they said.

 

”no problem, I’m on it”, I says.

 
This is just the metal and tires (23 total), not including a previous trailer load.  Add in a 55 gallon can full of bottles and a 5 ft burn pile of rotted lumber.  
 

Happiness is having 3 weak mind, strong backed HS football players that eat this kind of stuff up. 
 

yes, that’s a car hood, metal truck cap remnant, dryer and washer (why do people do that ****?) among other things.  Hell, there’s even a literal kitchen sink in there.  

 

Edited March 10 by stoshuaj

[CousinsCowgirl84]

someone I managed to quote a year old post

Edited March 10 by CousinsCowgirl84

[stoshuaj]

The cabin the I posted back in Sept is 98% done.  Only about 2 months past expected.  The biggest issue was that the structure was built without any drain tile or waterproofing around the foundation.  Whoops.  We ended up 75% hand digging ~5 ft down, including under the porch…..that was a **** and couldn’t have done it without my resident weak mind/strong back HS football players.

 

Anywho, a few pics:

 

 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

45 minutes ago, stoshuaj said:

The cabin the I posted back in Sept is 98% done.  Only about 2 months past expected.  The biggest issue was that the structure was built without any drain tile or waterproofing around the foundation.  Whoops.  We ended up 75% hand digging ~5 ft down, including under the porch…..that was a **** and couldn’t have done it without my resident weak mind/strong back HS football players.

 

Anywho, a few pics:

 

 

You’re quite the homesteader. Pretty soon you’ll show us how you powered your house with a stream, free straws from wawa, an old alternator, and wood.