What did you do today?

[DennisCA]

It's good to see you've seen the light Paul. I mean obviously it's the correct system because it's the one I'm using and therefore everyone else is wrong!

This but unironically

[J Tiers]

Ironically I've been forced into UNC work lately as the stuff I've been fixing and/modifying was made in the US of A. Very irritating when you find out that none of your existing tooling or stock of screws is going to fit.....as I'm sure you've experienced previously in reverse!

Yes..... discovered that I have no die for the M10 thread I needed, 1mm pitch (extra fine). Not a part I can easily chuck, it's a plumbing adapter of a very irregular shape. I can measure it, I can check it with a pitch gauge, I can thread a nut for it, I have the coarser pitches, but no external thread die for M10 x 1.

[Tungsten dipper]

Finished my table for the granite surface plate (w/cover) and down below a new home for the optical comparator.
With the cover off the granite plate and set behind it, this give me a place to set (on top of the granite and cover) and use the comparator.

[Dan Dubeau]

Boy that's a cute little comparator. Would love to find a little guy like that.

[Tungsten dipper]

Boy that's a cute little comparator. Would love to find a little guy like that.

I bought it for 22 bucks

[Dan Dubeau]

I bought it for 22 bucks

Wow, great deal on it too. I would have got a friction burn pulling the money out of my wallet that fast for that price.

[J Tiers]

Got the one lawnmower fixed finally, mowed the lawn with it to check it out, and took it back to the neighbor. She is finally over the Covid stuff, and ready to get back to yardwork again.

That's the one with the packed air filter, cylinder fins clogged with grass, and about 12 oz too much oil in it, nearly 2" too high on the dipstick. It was actually hydrolocked with oil when it was brought to me..

Cleaned it up, cleaned the plug twice, removed the excess oil, cleared the carburetor, put in gas from this century, and it worked. One more project out of the engine shed.

[Tungsten dipper]

, put in gas from this century, and it worked. One more project out of the engine shed.

So in other words, it was last year's gas. It doesn't take long these days.... BTW that was a nice thing to do for your neighbor.

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks to Mr Fixit for this suggestion. I put a piece of wire rope on this magnetic backup camera mount so as to restrain the camera if it gets knocked off.

[Baz]

I've been offered a trashed venetian blind for scrap (the Men's shed gets a few pennies for it). The metal leaves are springy steel but curved. Is there anything I want to save a few for? Hate to think of a use two days after the opportunity has gone.

[J Tiers]

So in other words, it was last year's gas. It doesn't take long these days.... BTW that was a nice thing to do for your neighbor.

Last year's or worse, don't know. Had to flush out the main jet, it was starving out after the prime was used up. There was NO maintenance done.....except adding too much oil. Grass under the deck basically jamming the blade, grass totally plugging the air filter, grass plugging the air cooling fins, gas left in it, and hugely too much oil.

In other words, "typical mower".

When she got out of the hospital, the neighborhood "ladies union" got together and supplied meals while she got to where she was ready to cook her own. The mower was no biggie. Got worse projects waiting. I'm the local "fixit" guy for my wife's friends and mine. Keeps me out of trouble, and I meet all the neighbors. Our little area is like a small village, we mostly all know each other.

[Dave C]

I've been offered a trashed venetian blind for scrap (the Men's shed gets a few pennies for it). The metal leaves are springy steel but curved. Is there anything I want to save a few for? Hate to think of a use two days after the opportunity has gone.

They make pretty good guards for when you are painting one color next to another, like where the ceiling and wall meet.

[lynnl]

As for stale gas .... a few days ago I tilled my garden, for the first time since the 2017 season. The gas in the tank had been in there for probably a full three years, or at least nearly so.
After installing a new battery that tiller started right up just as if it had been run the day before.

I now have a handy place to buy alcohol-free gas, but that wasn't the case back when that tiller was last gassed up. It reinforces my belief that it isn't so much the ethanol fuel that causes trouble for small engines these days, but rather the stricter EPA mandates for carburetors. (This is a Troybilt, 8hp Kohler, mfg'd sometime in the mid-late 80's. I don't recall the carb mfgr, maybe a Mikuni. ...I know I have a Mikuni on some machine I have.)

[Tungsten dipper]

I've been offered a trashed venetian blind for scrap (the Men's shed gets a few pennies for it). The metal leaves are springy steel but curved. Is there anything I want to save a few for? Hate to think of a use two days after the opportunity has gone.

They are perfect to put between laminate and contact glue so you can position the laminate before you permanently glue it down.

[J Tiers]

Exciting day.... varnished the second pair of snowshoes.... did yard work, drank beer at the neighbor's this evening. Hot day, almost 80F

I've been offered a trashed venetian blind for scrap (the Men's shed gets a few pennies for it). The metal leaves are springy steel but curved. Is there anything I want to save a few for? Hate to think of a use two days after the opportunity has gone.

They could be spring material, they could be "wavy spacers", if pairs are cut to same length. I'd toss a few into the stock rack, but not get excited.

The PLASTIC ones cut to 150mm or so make good plant markers, felt tip pens write on them well.