Fix It Fast: Start here for DIY help! (You'll know when it's a problem by smell.)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Fix It Fast: Start here for DIY help! (You'll know when it's a problem by smell.)

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Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I don't remember if it was my father or grandfather who taught me to tap the point of finishing nails lightly with a hammer to blunt them to prevent the wood splitting, but it helps to a noticeable degree.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2020 19:46

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 01:40

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

My Velux window seems to be leaking from the marked area, I'm guessing between the lead flashing and the metal frame around the window. I'm gonna test again with some water when it stops raining. As a fix, is there a product I can squirt in the gap that I can expect some durability from? I can't access the exact spot from inside.

Or is this a 'the whole window has to come out first' thing. I've got the number of a roofer who'll do small jobs if necessary.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2020 21:31

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

regulargonzalez posted:

Getting ready to do the countertops in my kitchen and I'm nervous. I've watched videos but any other tips y'all can provide? How viable is it to just use a jigsaw with a downcut laminate blade? Orbital setting on 0?

I put some layers of painter's tape on the line where I was going to cut (top and bottom) and then used a nearly brand new universal hand saw. This went very well without chipping. I don't like how a jigsaw blade can bend when cutting thick material.

e: for straight lines

# ¿ Jan 4, 2021 23:23

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Elviscat posted:

So, it's powered by a 12V power supply, there's a good chance that it's a voltage detecting power supply, you'll have to look at the power supply to determine if that's true (should say something like input voltage: 100-240V), if it is true you can put an American plug on it and use it.

This is stated explicitly in the manual you can find on that page. Yes, 100-240V 50/60Hz compatible power supply. There's even a picture where it shows it comes with a set of pin adapter plates so you're fine buying this for the US from the EU, UK, Japan or Singapore. Buying from Australia, Korea and China would give you a different set of adapter plates that wouldn't include a fitting one for the US.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2021 22:18

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Elviscat posted:

Yeah, I found that and edited my post, they kinda bury that info.

No, I'm specifically referring to this picture from the manual, about the included power adapter.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2021 22:32

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I've seen people do french cleat rails for a reconfigurable shelf system. Might be adaptable to your needs maybe.

# ¿ May 18, 2021 18:44

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Actually that video doesn't show how to access the gears at all.

I think the procedure for that is going to be similar to the one for the A701a here.

# ¿ Jun 3, 2021 15:27

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

It's normal for the lnb (the thing pointing towards the dish) to be powered by the set top box at 13 or 18V over the coax cable when it's in use. Generally the set top box will stop powering the lnb when powered off, which is a thing you can test. Other than that I'm not sure what you've got going on up there.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2021 20:45

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I'd go with alcohol and a paper towel first. Wouldn't go with anything abrasive like a magic eraser on a non matte surface if it's not necessary.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2021 16:54

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Teabag Dome Scandal posted:

I asked in the wiring thread a bit ago because I was getting ~14v when using a multimeter at the door bell (I was checking to make sure it wasn't a 12v transformer prior to buying a new chime) and they said it was probably fine. Maybe not fine after all?

No chance of a mix-up where the doorbell expects AC but gets DC or something?

# ¿ Sep 2, 2021 22:01

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

What should you do with a smoke alarm with a non-replaceable battery that has run out and keeps beeping because of it? Apart from replacing it, obviously. Crack it open and cut the wires? Put it in a bucket of water?

# ¿ Sep 28, 2021 13:39

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Yeah the new one is up already, no worries about that. Wasn't wired in or anything.

But what with the old one. It's an optical one, so it can go in the trash if the battery's removed. But there's no way of opening the thing up without violently destroying it.

I could probably get rid of it as is at the council recycling centre, but the idea of storing it in the house, beeping away, for a couple of weeks until I have the opportunity to go there, isn't appealing.

Was just wondering if there was a correct way of decommissioning it.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2021 15:16

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

H110Hawk posted:

There is normally a little thing you can do to disconnect the battery permanently. Otherwise yeah snap the plastic off with a screwdriver, pull the battery off, and recycle it. You will need to bring the battery somewhere to recycle.

No tab or thingy in sight; I'll crack it open, thanks.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2021 15:36

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

You can't buy it anymore in the EU and that sucks because none of the replacement products actually work anywhere near as good.

# ¿ Nov 26, 2021 22:25

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I don't remember where I heard the story of the guy purging the gas line with a vacuum cleaner and blowing up the place. Well, definitely don't do that.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2022 18:58

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I'd probably go with a low tech approach of creating a cardboard template that can be aligned with a fixed reference like the door frame or something. Just ram the cardboard in the corner to get a crease that is your diagonal. Should give a very reasonable approximation without having to overthink it.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2022 01:20

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I think you'd probably need to apply some force in a rotating motion opposite to the one that got it stuck in there. Nothing's really holding it in there but it being a slightly too small hexagon forcing its corners into the edges of a larger hexagon.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2022 01:39

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Should I pay attention to expiry dates on smoke or CO detectors or can I use them until they fail the test procedure? I don't think any of the ones I have have that radioactive thingy.

# ¿ May 13, 2022 00:19

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Motronic posted:

YES.

Absence of alert/detection does not equal absence of problems.

Thanks. It turned out it was just the CO alarm that was expired, the others are supposed to be still good until 2025. Ordered a replacement.

# ¿ May 13, 2022 17:59

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

If you need to be in there frequently, rework it to have a hinge and a couple of magnets to keep it closed.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2022 18:08

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I've got a can of spray on lithium grease here and I'm wondering if that would be a good thing to lubricate my roll up garage door with? The repair man that came a good while ago was very cagey about what the right product would be. Like, ok, not too thin and oily, not too thick and sticky, then what.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2022 20:28

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Good. Excellent. Thanks.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2022 20:37

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

16 AUD is like 11 dollar american and the linked bulb seems to have a switch to set one of three color temperatures.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2022 19:43

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Can you unscrew the drawer from the rails? Maybe at that point there's a hole in the rail that allows you to access the screw nearest the desk edge.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2022 21:10

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I'm gonna say double sided tape.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2022 12:43

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Trabant posted:

If I turn the bathroom exhaust fan off while the TV is on, the TV momentarily blinks out.

I've got speakers connected to my tv, and when I switch them off through a remote controlled power plug, they pop and anything connected to the tv through hdmi is apparently electromagnetically disturbed enough that the connection needs to be renegotiated. If something similar is happening for you, I wouldn't call it an electrical problem per se, more like a data integrity thing, poorly shielded hdmi cables acting like an antenna possibly.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2022 20:42

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I don't know if you can squeeze out a bit of extra height by inserting something between the legs and the top. Would depend on how they're attached, obviously.

# ¿ Sep 26, 2022 16:11

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

H110Hawk posted:

It's also really nice to just have two if you're drilling pilot holes then putting in fasteners. One has a twist drill and the other has the driver.

💯 the reason I got one, no more splitting wood because I was too lazy to swap out drill and driver for the 600th time. Also the impact driver can unscrew big bolts you'd consider stuck in no time. Had to take apart some kids thing in the garden with a tower and a slide and the impact driver was a godsend. Vrrrrrt. Behold!

# ¿ Nov 12, 2022 01:32

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

actionjackson posted:

it seems to me that given the black wire feeds through both the ballast and the starter, you would want to make four cuts where the red lines are, strip, and then connect those wire pairs that went into the ballast and starter respectively

Spec sheet says they are the double ended wiring type, so you want to end up with this:

# ¿ Dec 18, 2022 23:58

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

actionjackson posted:

looking at this again, if I put in the bulb so that neutral is on left, and hot on right, then the black/white coming from the left tombstone (between the two 3s in my picture) would go to the neutral coming from the wall, and the black/white coming from the right tombstone would go to the hot coming from the wall?

I think so, if I'm reading what you're saying right. I suspect it's not even necessary that the power goes to both pins on each side. I think the schematic just seeks to differentiate from the other type of led bulb that can be powered from one end, where one pin would be L and the other N on the same end.

Also, which way round you put the bulb doesn't matter as it's alternating current.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2022 16:52

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

actionjackson posted:

ok - I'm confused because one side of the bulb has a little black dot, so I thought that meant the load side. but there is no L/N labeling

Here's a better pic after taking it out. I marked neutral and load side. cut at orange lines and join, same for green lines. the two whites coming out of the top connect to the white coming from the wall, and the same for the two blacks (the right one isn't in the pic). sound good? the reason I think of the left as the neutral side is because you have the white and black in that wire nut - not sure why that is. Looks like it's continuing the current to the ballast, which then goes to the hot cwire in the wall

Ok forget what I said, you have a magnetic ballast with a starter and what I told you only applies to an electronic ballast without a starter.

You just have to take out the starter and insert the bulb. No rewiring required.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2022 17:57

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I'm trying to replace 4 12V, 20W g14 halogen bulbs with LED equivalents and for some weird reason when I replace them all, they flash once bright and then go out. If I replace up to three of them and keep one halogen bulb in the circuit, they all work normally.

The transformer:

The new bulbs:

It vaguely rings a bell that this could be a thing, but I don't understand what exactly is going on. Does this make sense to anyone? Am I going to have to replace the transformer?

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 21:00

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

I'm geoblocked from what's behind that there link, but hand miter saws are a thing and also guide blocks with 90 and 45 degree angles for use with other hand saws.

# ¿ Jan 25, 2023 00:04

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

STR posted:

I've thought about that, but as it is, my parents can barely handle a ladder at this point (which sucks, the furnace is up there and needs filter changes - though at least the new one uses 5" filters, so it's more of a 2-3x a year thing now instead of monthly). This would be a double whammy of a ladder to.. access a ladder.

Where I'm at, it's common to have a broomstick with a hook on it to operate this kind of spring loaded attic hatch door latch:

Works decently well imo.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2023 13:29

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

The light switch for my kitchen has three identically colored wires going to three contacts on it for some reason.

It behaves like this:

Does this suggest that there is (or was) a second switch for the light somewhere?

# ¿ Apr 22, 2023 13:46

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Slugworth posted:

Yeah, that's a three way switch. One is the common, the other two are travellers.

Weird. I don't know of another switch or where it would even make sense to have one given the layout. I guess I'll put a nut on the vestigial wire and leave it there when replacing it with a regular switch?

# ¿ Apr 22, 2023 14:01

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

The wiring goes through tubes embedded in the brick walls, which limits what I can look at. I've looked at nearby switches and outlets and none of them expose any red wire like the switch does. Actually there's not even any red wire coming from the ceiling where the lamp is. Love to see it!

# ¿ Apr 22, 2023 16:35

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Moat

# ¿ Apr 22, 2023 19:13

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Band clamp?

# ¿ Apr 24, 2023 14:22

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 01:40

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Cool NIN Shirt posted:

I have this hole in my floor from the old radiator pipe. Short of replacing the floorboards with new hardwood, is there a rubber stopper type thing I could use to fill it?

I used a cork when I was in the role of previous owner. Very neat fit, but color matching treatment didn't take. Currently I would probably go with drilling it out at the diameter of some wooden dowel I can find for sale and glue it in.

# ¿ May 15, 2023 18:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Fix It Fast: Start here for DIY help! (You'll know when it's a problem by smell.)

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