What did you do today?

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

Watched a documentary about AlphaGo and decided to get a nice Go game set... Now I need to learn how to play Go with the kids. I figured it would be easier to learn/teach than chess but I'm struggling to learn Go myself... It's going to take more than a few 10-15 minutes tutorial videos

[tlfamm]

About 20 months ago I replaced the cast-iron DWV plumbing in my home with PVC (roof to basement). Demolition, re-plumbing & reconstruction took about 7 weeks - but I left the 1'st floor wall & ceiling cut-outs open to keep an eye on the main 4" stack, dual-tees, closet elbow, etc. and check for leaks. No problemo, except that it sounded like Niagra Falls in our living room when the upstairs toilet was flushed. So I wrapped the 4" and 3" PVC in rigid fiberglass pipe insulation, packed the vertical pipe chase and under-toilet joist-bay with mineral wool fire & sound insulation and replaced the sheetrock, a few days back. I only managed a 12-14 % noise reduction, but it's tolerable - a flush is virtually undetectable with the TV on..

Biggest home-improvement project I've done in a while.


Special thanks to the previous plumbers (post WW-II) who removed 20 flipping inches of floor-joist to plumb the upstairs toilet in my 110+ year-old-house. Explains the cracks in the bathroom tiles immediately under the head. I spent hours upon hours designing and building a repair splice: a glued-up pair of 2 x 6's which had to have a central crescent cut out to clear the stack tee which accepts the 3" line from the toilet. The splice was lag-screwed to the damaged joist.

[J Tiers]

Local political stuff is taking up entirely too much time. I never even got downstairs to the shop today, and it has been like that.

BTW, 3PL..... "Go" is a lifetime study.... for a simple thing it is incredibly complex. I used to know some folks who were into it, and it made chess look easy to me... (but I used to play tournament chess).

[DennisCA]

Most of my days are not spent in the shop, only a few hours per week. Too little I'm afraid. Last night I got 20 minutes in the shop, indicated the lathe tail stock horizontally with a dial test indicator, one of my twins (5 + hyper) was with me the whole time and I have to keep an eye on him at the same time, made the whole thing a bit challenging.

[Cenedd]

except that it sounded like Niagra Falls in our living room when the upstairs toilet was flushed.

Had the pleasure of working in the basement levels of an office block recently. This particular room was where the plumbing for the toilets on all the floors above came down through the ceiling and did a 90° turn....just above your head. It was.....an experience! And for those thinking a long-drop onto a 90° bend is asking for trouble....yup, that happened shortly before I was there!

[J Tiers]

About 20 months ago I replaced the cast-iron DWV plumbing in my home with PVC (roof to basement). Demolition, re-plumbing & reconstruction took about 7 weeks - but I left the 1'st floor wall & ceiling cut-outs open to keep an eye on the main 4" stack, dual-tees, closet elbow, etc. and check for leaks. No problemo, except that it sounded like Niagra Falls in our living room when the upstairs toilet was flushed. So I wrapped the 4" and 3" PVC in rigid fiberglass pipe insulation, packed the vertical pipe chase and under-toilet joist-bay with mineral wool fire & sound insulation and replaced the sheetrock, a few days back. I only managed a 12-14 % noise reduction, but it's tolerable - a flush is virtually undetectable with the TV on..

Biggest home-improvement project I've done in a while.


Special thanks to the previous plumbers (post WW-II) who removed 20 flipping inches of floor-joist to plumb the upstairs toilet in my 110+ year-old-house. Explains the cracks in the bathroom tiles immediately under the head. I spent hours upon hours designing and building a repair splice: a glued-up pair of 2 x 6's which had to have a central crescent cut out to clear the stack tee which accepts the 3" line from the toilet. The splice was lag-screwed to the damaged joist.

It is possible to have bad pipes lined. I had something like 60 feet of drain lined several years ago, from inside the house to the "yard trap" out near the street. Roots were getting in, and the pipe was collapsing. Lining avoided a 10 foot + deep trench across the yard, which would have taken out two trees and a section of expensive new concrete path.

Now, pipes can be lined starting from upstairs at the toilet and roof vent, which can be less expensive overall than having the plumbers bash boles in everything. We have a concrete and tile floor in the upstairs bathroom, and the stack pipes are behind plaster and fixtures in a brick wall, which would be even more hassle, so we are considering having that lining done pre-emtively when some other plumbing stuff is done.

[tlfamm]

@JTiers, re relining pipe

I don't hear much about that technique in my area, maybe not popular here yet. But maybe coming soon, see below:


I talked to a local plumber who specializes in (and enjoys) conventional re-plumbing of DWV systems in older homes. He says a major job-function of his is that of a psychologist: offering soothing, calming words to soften the blow of a major bill - as much as $35K in a town where most dwellings are within 35' of the sewer line.

[RB211]

Removed the guard on my DeWalt 306 sawzall and mounted an adapter on it for a "marital aid". So far the wife hasn't run away screaming.

[Ian B]

RB211,

Pictures, or it didn't happen

Ian

[DICKEYBIRD]

Pictures, or it didn't happen

FUNNY!!, I needed that this morning Ian!

[plunger]

I am a plumber by trade and the plumber who did the shower must have been a midget because the shower arm was too low. I couldnt find any thing off the shelf so I made my own arm from stainless. I machined a bracket and a flange from stainless and tig welded the pipe to make a higher rose. I need to make a bender to do this because it was very time consuming to weld. But it came out well and saved me from having to chop the tiles to raise the pipe. Client is very happy because he is 6' 3"

[754]

Jeepers , what height was it at before ? Looks like 5 feet or under.

[vpt]

Steaks and stuff on the flat top I made around a week ago now. Phenomenal!

[Tim Clarke]

I am a plumber by trade and the plumber who did the shower must have been a midget because the shower arm was too low. I couldnt find any thing off the shelf so I made my own arm from stainless. I machined a bracket and a flange from stainless and tig welded the pipe to make a higher rose. I need to make a bender to do this because it was very time consuming to weld. But it came out well and saved me from having to chop the tiles to raise the pipe. Client is very happy because he is 6' 3"

That's great! In the USA there's a goose neck fitting to raise the shower head. However it looks pretty ugly. Yours is first class! when I re-tiled my shower, I raised mine, high enough that my wife has to reach way up to adjust the spray head. For some reason, I enjoy doing first class plumbing. Most of my experience comes from hydraulics, however.

[fixerdave]

DT-2234C Laser Tach... something's not right... probably me.

So... being curious what my CNC Ronter spindle was actually doing, I picked up a cheap Laser Tach ($11cdn) and it arrived today.. I got a consistent reading right off the bat... 8600rpm or so at the motor. Hmm...

I thought the DC motor was spec'd at 1500 to 3000, depending on voltage... 12vdc 30vdc... I seem to recall that. I'm running it at 24vdc (23.8vdc no load... I just checked the buck output) and it didn't seem fast enough. That's why I made my own spindle to multiply the speed by 4.

So, I reduced the tape, blackened the surface, still got 8600rpm. Measured at the spindle, 36800rpm or thereabouts... math worked, anyway. Hmmm...

Doesn't seem like it's spinning that fast. So, I find an AC induction motor. Label says 2500rpm, no load it spins about 3300rpm. Hmmmm...

So, Google says florescent tubes will read 7200rpm... Took a while, compacts read nothing and most everything is LED anyway, but I finally found a florescent tubes at home. That checks out at 7220 or so... Still don't trust it though.

Oh, Ebay specs on the 775 Motor, that apparently comes with my 1610 CNC Ronter, are all over the map. Some say 3000 to 9000, others go up to 15000rpm. None say 1200 to 3000rpm. Sigh...

Well, if my spindle is really turning at 36000rpm, it might explain why I cooked my 25cent fidget spinner bearings. 36000rpm... that's pretty quick. Still don't trust that $11 tach though.

David...