What did you do today?

[Cenedd]

Well, in a twist to the usual, today's less-than-perfect job wasn't someone else but me. Proving to myself that I can balls it up as well as the next man!
How do you find a live power cable? Turns out a vibro saw (aka multi-tool) works REALLY well! *sigh* I'd just finished exercising my colourful language and getting a cable from the downlight in the middle of the ceiling to the top of the wall cupboard - because the feed didn't run anywhere near there. Was just channeling it into the plasterboard when *fzzt* the lights go out and there's a hole in my saw blade. Turns out the feed does run somewhat near there....like exactly there. I foresee a bigger hole before things get better :-C Good job it's not just been (really nicely) painted! *facepalm*
Oh, in the name of context, why? "You won't need underlights, there'll be plenty of light off the ceiling downlights....done this before....trust me...". I'd argue the old adage that if you want something done properly, do it yourself.....but it seems a little hypocritical given the recent *fzzt*

[The Metal Butcher]

Got most of the way through rebuilding the front suspension on my Z3. Needed shocks in the worst way, but I decided to hit everything while I'm in there. I got the struts rebuilt with all new spring pads, strut mount, bumper, boot, etc. New tie rods for the steering. New sways bar end links and bushings. Tomorrow I need to press in 2 ball joints in the each of the control arms and one bushing. Only old part will be the springs, which were fine. Should be tight as can be after I'm done!

Bless Southern cars. Didn't fight one fastener.

[DennisCA]

I am putting up the roof:


The material I am using for purlins are not long enough so I am using my pantorouter to boxjoint them longer. Glueing with polyurethane glue creates a strong joint, stronger than the wood itself. Still I am making sure the joints are in different places.

[Tundra Twin Track]

I am putting up the roof:


The material I am using for purlins are not long enough so I am using my pantorouter to boxjoint them longer. Glueing with polyurethane glue creates a strong joint, stronger than the wood itself. Still I am making sure the joints are in different places.

Nice Job Dennis,You have a huge amount of Patience!

[DennisCA]

Thanks, I got the roof up last weekend and water proof sheating almost done, so I got a mostly weather proof shell.




Ridge plate didn't fit however, gonna get a new one that's wider.

[Cenedd]

Looking good Dennis. The big question is, will you be filling it with machinery....or a bar?!
After your demonstration of handtool prowess, I was blaming you for my stubborn persistence to use handsaws to cut a shelf round pipework. It wasn't at all because I couldn't be bothered to get a jigsaw out of the loft even when it became clear it was going to be more work to continue being ornery about it!

[DennisCA]

It will be mainly a storage place, with my smithing equipment there as well. I will start making shelves soon, cantilever design that go straight into the studs. Woodgears is my goto solution as usual, I have had these for 6 years or so in my garage and they work well and hold a heavy load. I think I will fill one wall with these.

https://woodgears.ca/shelves/

In the future I will also put in a ceiling so I can have an upper floor for more storage. I am thinking there will be a long opening or a slit in the center of the floor with room for a ladder, and then I can use block & tackles to lift long items like lumber up into this place for long term lumber storage.

[Bob Engelhardt]

... I think I will fill one wall with these.

https://woodgears.ca/shelves/...

Built to last a hundred years! IOW, way overbuilt. The linked site shows builders supported by one bracket. Does each bracket need to hold more than 100kg (220lb) ... what is the actual limit? If the actual limit is many times what it would normally carry, there's a lot of "wasted" effort in cutting, gluing, screwing. ("Wasted" in an engineering sense - if it's built that way for the fun of it, then "wasted" does not apply😀)

I would back yard engineer it: guesstimate the maximum that 1 bracket needs to hold - 25kg (55lb) (?), double it and experiment with what it takes to hold that. My intuition is that a bracket made of 20mm (3/4") plywood would do:



Not as pretty,to be sure!!

[Cenedd]

Well, given that nothing can be absolutely exact, it follows that if it's not over-engineered, it must therefore be under-engineered....and you know what they say: "If you're going to do something, do it properly!"....so Dennis' spec is more a minimum spec Or, as my father would have said: "Why use a 2" screw when you can get a 6" screw in there?!" It's definitely him I take after in that respect!

[DennisCA]

I just wanna know I can really overload the hell out of these shelves for decades to come and not worry about it.

[J Tiers]

Cleared brush and old fencing from my Minnesota property.

[Bob Engelhardt]

I made a crank & I wanted its handle to turn freely. It's held to the crank with a through screw and that screw couldn't be tightened or the handle wouldn't be able to turn. The screw could have been made as a shoulder screw, or loctited, or fixed with a jam nut. Easier and/or better than any of those was to use a jam screw:


Jam screws are used on top of set screws holding things on shafts, but this jam screw comes from behind & locks the front screw in its position.

[Fear]

I just got this done, I asked for help on another thread so this is something of a cross-posting.

After 20 years my Snap-On (Big Red) 80gal air compressor had the motor finally give up the ghost.
While checking it over to order a replacement motor, I realized that it was not a 7.5HP motor as advertised but rather a 6HP (and a cheap one at that).
After some Googling I realized the cheap pressure switch on it was also a cheap shortcut. I went ahead and put in an order to Amazon for a WEG 7.5HP cast iron motor/pulley and WEG magnetic switch.
The motor was about twice the physical size and weight of the motor it replaced. Luckily Snap-On/BigRed left plenty of mounting options for the larger motor. The cast iron 2-stage pump still seems to be in great shape so a newer bigger motor seemed the logical choice.
Next I needed to figure out where to mount the magnetic starter. I made up a simple metal bracket and drilled some lightening holes in it to hopefully keep the vibration cracks in distant future to a minimum.
I installed the bracket, box, conduit and soldered ends to make it all nice and tidy.

With the bigger motor it is now way quieter than the old one. It's quiet enough to talk in a normal voice conversation next to it while it's cycling. Next project will likely be a baffle-box for the air filter. i saw some company started marketing their compressors as super quiet with a simple baffle box they won't sell separately but it looks easy enough to fab up. An old trick was to adapt an automotive 14" air cleaner to your compressor to significantly drop the sound level.

This got a little frustrating at a few points but I'm very happy with the finished product.

[Cenedd]

Been having a new kitchen fitted into a slightly expanded kitchen. The snagging list is like an uphill battle...through treacle. Silestone worktops (generically: Quartz) are nice but lots of offcuts thrown in the skip. Well, that can't be allowed now can it?! So I've psuedo-voluntarily added to my own job list! Windowsill that matches the worktops will look lovely....and for free too Just need a diamond blade for my track saw like the fitters used, dust-extraction, mask, sorted......oh, my track saw is by Bosch and they've used an odd sized blade so no diamond blade is available, let alone a cheap one. Ok, dust hood for the angle grinder (for both extraction and also to be able to run it along a straight bar for a straight cut. $37 including the blade. Not quite free any more but it's ok. Ah, the only offcut long enough for the windowsill I have doesn't have a factory bevel and polish. Set of diamond polishing discs another $26. Ok, the builder has put the window in pissed so there's very little support on one back corner and none on the other. Asked him to put a support batton at the back in lieu of supplying and fitting a windowsill. "Oh yes, just wait for the silicone to set and that 2x1 'glued' to the brick will support your heavy stone, trust me!". Yeah, it might....at least until he's long gone and then I fear gravity would win out. Fortunately I've recently succumbed to tool addiction and bought a 12V driver with a right--angle attachment and an offset attachment so I can get into the cavity to drill straight through the batton and into the brickwork. Only issue, in a configuration short enough to get in, it only takes hex shank drill bits. Another $35 on a set of Multi Construction drills and screwdriver bits (as cheap as buying them on their own and come with a nice case ) and we have a screw about every 8 inches. Amazon ARE doing well out of me this month! So this free windowsill has so far cost me $100! Ah well, at least I've got some new toys...er, tools out of it

Little 12V drill did remarkably well. Would have benefited from a percussion action but that wouldn't have worked with a rightangle attachment anyway. Multiconstruction bits: I'm not sure. Reckon they'd have done much better with percussion but they got the job done. Did have to keep withdrawing them and cooling them off though. I suspect that may be a shortcoming of their jack-of-all-trades design as the carbide tip doesn't project out the side like a masonry bit does so the shank behind it overheats PDQ. Three bars ("full") still showing on a 3Ah battery at the end of it too. Reckon this'll be my daily driver (pun intended and not apologised for ). Dust shroud for the angle grinder came with a "universal" convertor for hose. Forgot that "universal" invariably means "fits nothing" with these things. Still, that's what the 3D printer's for.....have to justify it to my wife somehow!

[RB211]

Put the 10EE up on wood blocks so I can move it easily with a pallet truck