What did you do today?

[Cenedd]

Had some of that carbohydrate foam* stuff on the lathe the other day. Gah, and I moan about the mess metal makes! Good job I had some nice sharp carbide...this stuff is tough!

Found the cat scratching post I re-wound recently was broken at the base. Suddenly suspicious, I asked my son of he knew anything about it. No, definitely not....must have been the cat. Did think the plastic base plug may have stress fractured after being tightened too much...until I saw my son climb the stairs and push off the post like a banister! Fast forward 48 hours and he's managed to snap the base in a ring around the repair I'd made. Sigh.

More sawdust all over the lathe I just cleaned but now the top is the bottom and there's a round wooden cap replacing the top platform.

*For those that don't follow AvE, this is also referred to as 'dead tree carcasses...or even wood by more generous fellows.

[Ridgerunner]

When I was 16 my buddy and I decided he would by a Lincoln stick welder and I would buy an OA setup. I taught myself to OA weld and it has served me well. I did this a while ago. Hydraulic fittings with rust damage. OA welded them up and they have been fine ever since. Not the way many would have done it but that is what makes the world go round.

[Dan Dubeau]

Just don't crap in the woods and grab a handful of leaves for a wipe. I know somebody who grabbed a handful of poison ivy for that job.---Not good!!!

It was a sockless walk home from creek fishing many years ago that taught me that if you take the cardboard tube out of a half roll of tp it folds flat enough to not be intrusive in a fishing vest pocket or gear bag. Stuffed in a ziplock sandwich bag it also stay dry and dirt free too. Not many good foliage options in the spring time

[vpt]

When I was 16 my buddy and I decided he would by a Lincoln stick welder and I would buy an OA setup. I taught myself to OA weld and it has served me well. I did this a while ago. Hydraulic fittings with rust damage. OA welded them up and they have been fine ever since. Not the way many would have done it but that is what makes the world go round.

You gotta really want it and had no access to pipe that size.

[Ridgerunner]

You gotta really want it and had no access to pipe that size.

Sometimes great enjoyment comes from the challenge.

[The Metal Butcher]

I loaded up my prototype woodrack. I spent the last 3 days fixing junk casters and building it. If it works well I may build 3 more. The goal is to move wood from the truck to the shed with only one lift, then roll the cart inside and move the wood straight into the woodstove.

So truck-->cart-->stove.

Previously

truck-->wagon-->back porch-->shed(or outside on poach)-->wagon-->stove.

Definitely a lot of lifting saved.
I wasted my time on the old casters I had, they were too broken to hardly roll. I've I can get the funds for a bunch of casters, I'll probably build three more, that would move the production time down to hopefully 8 hours.

[PStechPaul]

Continuing to work on my other house. Too wet to do roof work today, so cleaned up the central storage area and tore down some shelves that were in imminent danger of collapsing with hundreds of pounds of metal, transformers, and other things. It looked like this in 2009 when I had a shady contractor do a lot of work:








I also took a short video clip of the nestlings in the bush:

http://enginuitysystems.com/pix/house/Birds_In_The_Bush_5281.AVI

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

I love the staircase that walks into the wall.

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

When I was 16 my buddy and I decided he would by a Lincoln stick welder and I would buy an OA setup. I taught myself to OA weld and it has served me well.

I remember the extreme excitement of getting my first decent welders in 2005. I was ~33 at the time. I first bought a HF MIG welder but soon discovered that it was not what I really needed and I didn't know what I was doing either. After taking several night welding classes at the local tech I bought a MM210 and a Syncrowave 250DX TIGRunner and a O/A setup. Good times.

[J Tiers]

I loaded up my prototype woodrack. I spent the last 3 days fixing junk casters and building it. If it works well I may build 3 more. The goal is to move wood from the truck to the shed with only one lift, then roll the cart inside and move the wood straight into the woodstove.

So truck-->cart-->stove.

Previously

truck-->wagon-->back porch-->shed(or outside on poach)-->wagon-->stove.

Definitely a lot of lifting saved.
I wasted my time on the old casters I had, they were too broken to hardly roll. I've I can get the funds for a bunch of casters, I'll probably build three more, that would move the production time down to hopefully 8 hours.

.....

Unless the whole area is concrete, I'd get the biggest wheel caster you can.

Two reasons: They roll easier on surfaces that are not flat, or that have stuff like gravel, sticks or wood chips laying on them, and, larger wheels tend to bounce the load less. Even split wood likes to cascade off the rack if it gets shaken up bouncing over stuff on the concrete.

[Tom S]

Started cleaning my bearings last night, no real success. I could get some of the surface grease off, but after a couple hours anything deeper still wasn't softening up and I'm pretty sure I'd never be able to get the space between the double row bearings cleaned and lubed properly. Managed to find some NOS replacements and put them on order this morning.

[The Metal Butcher]

It's 100% concrete. Fully loaded they're 3000+ lbs, they would sink like a rock offroad.

One of the reasons I don't want too big of casters is that they lean in more on the swivel. I want the stability.

[PStechPaul]

I love the staircase that walks into the wall.

Looks that way, but this shows what it is:

[vpt]

Finally finished the metal work on the floor of my comet. Well at least the first stage of it...

Now I need to seam seal and then paint. Anyone have recommendations for good seam sealers that won't break the bank?

[Joel]

Perhaps polyurethane gutter seal. I have scraped out Lexel I had applied 25 years ago - impressive stuff.