What did you do today?

[Arcane]

I'm interested how that turns out. Had one done last summer, and wanted about 18" focus, ended up at 9" or 10", apparently it is not too precise on how it turns out. I was OK with that part, though. Next one is upcoming, have not made the appt yet, waiting to see how things go this year..

I was out and about today and my right eye feels perfectly normal and to my surprise, I could see better without my glasses than I could before the operation when I was wearing glasses, even with just the one eye fixed! I find small print under 18-20 inches away from my right eye starts to get blurry but over that it's great! I haven't been able to see this well for so long I can't remember when! I definitely am going to get the other eye done. Best of all is it took 7 minutes on the operating table.

[The Metal Butcher]

Finished up the pads for the leveling feet I'm making for the two new lathes. 12x 1 9/16", and 4x 3" pads. 5/8" thick. The swivel action will be proved by the 118° dimple in the pads and a matching angle on the stud to allow a small amount of rotation. I just used a hook rule to get them to length and to my surprise every one that I measured was within 3 thou and some much closer. Nice to still have young eyes.

[Arcane]

Which was more expensive?

Long term, the Lantus. At least the washer is a one time purchase that (hopefully) will be good for many, many years.

[Tom S]

Spent the day working on a stress-relief project. First time doing a brisket, happy with the end product.

[RB211]

Flew the 747 for the last time, onward to the 777!

[Danl]

Flew the 747 for the last time, onward to the 777!

Fewer engines, but a LOT more money flying around in that 777. Which variant will you be flying?

Dan

[E189552]

RB211 the last 747 will be produced some time next year. Worked a plant that made every tail section since #1 in 1969. That plant will be shuttered and sold sometime around the end of this year.

[RB211]

It's the 200F I'll be flying. It is a captain upgrade I took. My company will continue to fly 747-400's for a long time more.

[PStechPaul]

While working on the roof of my "outhouse shed", one of my Ryobi cordless drills fell to the ground and badly cracked the handle. It had fallen once before, with no apparent damage, but it may have partly cracked and this insult finished the mayhem.




It seems to be fairly well made, and I think I may be able to repair the broken handle. It's ABS plastic, and perhaps some plumbing cement for ABS pipe and fittings might help to fuse the cracked edges together, and I may add some metal strips or fiberglass screen, with JB Weld, to further reinforce it. The two speed planetary gears look pretty good:

Now, before y'all go quoting Sir John, calling me a "clumsy bastard", please be advised that my friend John was using the drill. He works on a trash truck and says he finds drills like this all the time in the trash, so he might be able to find one with the same housing. But I also wonder if many such drills are discarded just because the old NiCad battery has gone bad. Drills like this, without battery, sell for about $25 or more on eBay. So if he can find enough of these to swap parts around and otherwise repair, it might be a lucrative venture.

[lakeside53]

Fix it. If you don't have a plastic welder, Heat gun, soldering iron... Use stainless mesh for reinforcement - push it into the material on the inside. Fixed way worse than that.

[RMinMN]

I see those Ryobi drills in thrift stores occasionally for around $5 with the NiCad battery attached. I love mine now that I put lithium battery packs on it and the other cordless tools I pick up at the thrift stores.

[challenger]

I did another bee removal. The hardwood floors will be repaired by the original installer.

[DennisCA]

Bought a cheap chinese 125mm (5") 3-jaw chuck. I wanted to buy a bit nicer Zentra with two piece jaws, but it's out of stock and nothing more until July the german sore said. I am really tired of my old chuck so I am taking a chance on this, from the same dealer.

[Cenedd]

DennisCA Given some cleaning and deburring - you know the drill with this sort of thing - you'll probably be ok. If you've used better you may be a little disappointed but the ones I have (a 3 and a 4 jaw in 100mm) are good enough. Action could be smoother on some of the threads but you're not going to have things flying out or stuff windmilling round because it's so far off-centre.....unless you're still at my skill-level with a 4-jaw!

[Bob Engelhardt]

I did another bee removal. ...

How did you locate the hive so accurately - your hole-in-the-floor is spot on. Unless the eventual hole is way bigger than shown in the 1st photo

I know that people don't like bees in their houses, but is there a good reason to remove them?