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Corla Plankun posted:I want to make a podium out of an electrified tree trunk. Google can tell you all sorts of safety rules, and correct chainsaw technique.
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Apr 27, 2009 14:38
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Chainsaws are really pretty safe if you use them safely. I've only heard of one person cutting off their own head. A friend of a friend had a buddy who's chain snapped and it some how fatally wounded him in the neck area. You really have no other way of doing it easily. You could try to burn it out, like NA's used to do to make canoes, but good luck with that.
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Apr 28, 2009 03:52
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Well, an auger bit on your drill and a saws-all COULD work, but that would be tedious as hell. Chainsaws are really not that bad, as long as you do it safely.
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Apr 28, 2009 04:37
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 Ive been looking all over where I can get one of these fridges... They are the perfect size to fit a Cornelious keg(soda keg) for home brew. I have everything else, just missing a fridge, and every other fridge that is big enough is a full sized fridge. Way to big. Where do they sell these? They have them at corner stores everywhere, but Ive asked a few times and they wont sell there fridge. I got this picture from Instructables, and the only comments on it are on how he found it at a dump or something... Any help would be apreaciated.
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Apr 28, 2009 05:19
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They are on eBay: Auction. Another one. All Shipping is like $80+ though, and oddly enough, 3 are in Michigan. There are 5 on there right now. You could always DIY one too, if you wanted. I think most of them are just coolers where you need ice, and the few I have seen that are electric are not that good (thinking they just use a thermoelectric cooler instead of a gas compressing one)
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Apr 28, 2009 07:15
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Moved into a house about a month ago and I'm realizing all the joys of home ownership, particularly in regard to previous owners who took a somewhat lackadaisical approach to home maintenance. Specifically, I've got a couple of questions: The concrete driveway has started to get weeds growing up through the cracks. I have hit them with Roundup, but I'm wondering what I can use as a more permanent solution, specifically some sort of sealant I can use that won't mess with the expansion and will do a decent job of repelling water and plant growth. Will something like this DAP sealant do the job? We have a mudroom that was pretty obviously tiled by the previous home owners (read: they did a half-rear end job). The grout is pretty uneven across different parts of the floor and, worse, the grout appears not to have been sealed. Is there some tool I can buy to remove the grout, or at least work it down, so I can regrout and properly seal? Or will I just end up mangling the tiles and be better off just ripping up the tile and starting over?
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Apr 28, 2009 16:48
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^^^^Edit: Yes, you can easily remove the old grout and re-grout it and it's much easier than replacing all the tile. There's a variety of tools used for different types of tile and grout - this video shows several of them. Try "regrouting" as a search term. I'm in a rental house, which has a hydronic heating system consisting of a hot water boiler and baseboard convectors. There is no A/C or other cooling system. There are three heating zones in the house, each controlled by a round dial-type thermostat which doesn't have an "off" switch. I asked my landlord what we need to do with the heating system for the summer. He says just turn down the thermostats and that's all. But that means the hot water boiler is still going to be using gas all summer to heat the water that it's never called to use, right? Are you supposed to turn these off somehow? The landlord said no but I think he just doesn't want to deal with us. I can't find anything on the internet that says what summer maintenance involves one way or the other. Any resources or advice? alucinor fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Apr 28, 2009 |
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Apr 28, 2009 19:30
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skeetio posted:The concrete driveway has started to get weeds growing up through the cracks. I have hit them with Roundup, but I'm wondering what I can use as a more permanent solution, specifically some sort of sealant I can use that won't mess with the expansion and will do a decent job of repelling water and plant growth. Will something like this DAP sealant do the job? It sure will, but you'll need to remove whatever is in the crack first. If the expansion crack is too deep, they make a foam tubing to stuff in the bottom of the crack first, then you apply the sealant over it. Pay attention to the instructions with the sealant! If you apply it too deep, it will make big bubbles in the middle that rise higher than the concrete's surface. If you apply it on too steep of a slab on a hot day, your sealant could pour ever so slowly down the slope in the crack and pool at the garage or street before it sets. They make vertical sealants better suited for these applications. alucinor posted:I asked my landlord what we need to do with the heating system for the summer. He says just turn down the thermostats and that's all. But that means the hot water boiler is still going to be using gas all summer to heat the water that it's never called to use, right? Are you supposed to turn these off somehow? The landlord said no but I think he just doesn't want to deal with us. I can't find anything on the internet that says what summer maintenance involves one way or the other. Any resources or advice? As long as that hydronic boiler isn't connected to your hot water system in the rest of your house, you can shut off its gas and still keep hot water for showers and cleaning. Whether or not you need to comes down to that boiler's ignition system, and maybe some prep work when winter comes around again. It shouldn't heat the water if there's no demand. Still, it may still use a tiny bit of gas in the meantime, depending on which kind of ignition type it uses. If it uses a pilot light, then the boiler will always use a teeny tiny bit of gas to keep that pilot light burning so it can light the burner on demand. If it uses electronic ignition, then it uses electricity to make a spark which ignites the pilot which lights the burner on demand. Electronic ignitions shut off the gas themselves in the meantime. If you have a pilot light boiler and you decide to shut off its gas to save that tiny bit, do no just blow out the pilot light and assume it shut the gas off! That's one way to kill yourself/pets or make an explosion that makes the news. Shut off the valve for the whole boiler. If you do shut off the gas, you'll need to relight the pilot with a match once winter comes around again. There will be instructions written on the boiler's panels (outside OR inside) on how to do this.
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Apr 28, 2009 20:58
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I've been told by a boiler guy that shutting your boiler down for the summer is a bad idea because thats when all the internal corrosion happens.
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Apr 28, 2009 21:06
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I am building a deck, and I have a question about footings for it. The deck will be a few feet off the ground in the backyard of my Baltimore City rowhome. The backyard is currently an existing 4-6" pad. Can I bolt (with the proper boots) my posts to the cement pad? IRC and IBC 2006 say nothing of decks and vaguely reference the situation in the footings section.
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Apr 28, 2009 23:34
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You want to use sleeve anchors to attach the post base connectors.
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Apr 29, 2009 01:27
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My garage door is making a horrendous noise when lowered, at the point where the wheels touch the metal rail, particularly at the curve where it goes from horizontal to vertical (I imagine this is where most of the load is as the door closes). I resisted the urge to grab the blue and yellow can. What lubricant is suggested for this type of job, and how much of it should be applied? I do most of my woodwork in the garage; a lubricant that does not attract dust would be ideal.
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Apr 29, 2009 18:16
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I've always taken the rollers apart and used regular wheel bearing grease. I'm not sure how well dry lubes would hold up here. Sawdust isn't going to kill a door roller, it's not exactly a precision component or anything.
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Apr 29, 2009 21:47
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Orgasmo posted:My garage door is making a horrendous noise when lowered, at the point where the wheels touch the metal rail, particularly at the curve where it goes from horizontal to vertical (I imagine this is where most of the load is as the door closes). I resisted the urge to grab the blue and yellow can. What lubricant is suggested for this type of job, and how much of it should be applied? I do most of my woodwork in the garage; a lubricant that does not attract dust would be ideal. I used to sell garage doors, the manufacturer recommended a spray can of lithium grease for lubricating the rails *as long as you have metal rollers*. If you have nylon rollers, you shouldn't use any lubricant. Before you lube anything up, take a good look at the track. Make sure both tracks are parallel with one another, and are completely plumb and level. Check all the rollers, make sure they're intact and not deformed in any way. If the door is light enough, lift it up until it's completely horizontal (or as far up as you can get it), put a locking pliers on the track so it can't fall back down, then try lifting up at each hinge and make sure the wheels spin freely. There's always a chance the bearings went out in one of the rollers, and no amount of grease in the world can fix that. Lastly, check all the nuts and bolts on the tracks, make sure everything is tight. Once you've checked all these things, spray a light spray of grease on the U shaped portion of the track along the entire horizontal and vertical section of track. Run the door up and down a few times to distribute the grease, and hopefully the noise will be gone. While you're working on your door, you may want to lube the springs as well. Take a rag, put a bit of motor oil on it, and rub it along the length of the spring. If you have tension springs (the kind on cables on the sides of the door), rub the oil while the door is up. If you have a torsion spring (spring is along the top of the door on a long bar), rub the oil while the door is closed. Oh yeah, before you put any lube on the track, wipe it down with a rag first, to remove any foreign matter. Since you've come this far, you might as well clean the rubber seal from the bottom of the door too.
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Apr 30, 2009 01:10
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As a previous garage door salesman, do you advise I try to add more resistance to my doors via the springs so I can lift them a bit easier? One is obviously using more spring than the other and I'd like to even them up, and maybe just reduce their weight a tad bit more. There is a warning sticker next to the springs on the rails saying that if I touch it I'm pretty much going to get decapitated so I'm not sure if I should mess with it much.
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Apr 30, 2009 02:55
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ease posted:As a previous garage door salesman, do you advise I try to add more resistance to my doors via the springs so I can lift them a bit easier? One is obviously using more spring than the other and I'd like to even them up, and maybe just reduce their weight a tad bit more. Test the door first to see if it really needs to be adjusted. The door should lift pretty easily, and it should balance at the half-way point without moving. If it balances there, you really can't adjust it any more. Just like too little tension makes the door hard to open, too much tension will make the door harder to close. If you have an automatic opener, either one of these conditions will shorten the life of the opener. If the door is out of balance, you can adjust it. Assuming you have a torsion spring, you can adjust it with a set of winding bars, a wrench (to loosen and tighten the set screws), and a stable ladder. Working on the springs can be dangerous, and I'm guessing there was probably one Darwin award winner that was decapitated by a garage door spring, but as long as you work carefully you'll be OK. At the end of the spring you'll see a star shaped thing with four holes (for the winding bars) and a set screw. Look at the spring and you'll see which way it's wound, place one of your winding bars in the hole that's horizontal (make sure it's completely seated in the hole), get a tight grip, then loosen the set screw. Turn the spring with the winding bar until you can get the second bar in the next hole. Assuming the spring was tensioned properly when the door was installed, you shouldn't need to turn it more than 1/4 to 1/2 a turn. Tighten the set screw once you've adjusted the spring, then remove the winding bars. If your door has two springs, repeat the same steps for the other spring, winding it the same amount as the first spring. Test the door again, and repeat if necessary. Oh yeah, and if the door starts lifting when you turn the springs, stop and back it off a 1/4 turn. Those instructions only apply if you have a torsion spring, which can be micro adjusted. Tension springs can't really be adjusted, but you can replace them if they're getting worn out. If you have tension springs, there should be a color painted on one end, which tells you the weight capacity of the spring (or springs, if you have a double door/extra heavy door). If the color has worn off, you'll have to weigh the door. Lift the door as high as it will go, use a locking pliers to hold it in place, then unhook the springs from both sides of the door (there should be S hooks at the top of the door tracks that you can unhook to release the springs). Get a bathroom scale and place it at the center of the door opening, then release the pliers and lower the door *gently* on the scale to weigh it. If you have a double door, or a wooden door, or any door that has double springs on both sides, get someone to help you lower it, and you may need to get two bathroom scales to get the total weight. Round the weight up to the neareast 10 pound mark, and that's what springs you need to get. You need springs that match the weight of your door on each side. If you have a double spring, get the two closest together that add up to the weight (example, if your door weighs 250 lbs, get 120 and 130 lb springs, rather than 100 and 150 or 110 and 140). Once you get the springs you need, raise the door again, clamp it, and then you can just replace the springs. Unless your old cables and hooks are rusty, you can usually re-use them with the new springs. Just remove the old springs from the hooks (clip the safety cable that runs through the spring), and install the new ones in the same position. Don't forget to hook up the new safety cable (your springs did come with safety cables, didn't they?) Once the springs are secure, remove the clamps and test the door. Tension springs won't necessarily balance right in the middle of the opening, but there should be a balance point somewhere close to the middle.
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Apr 30, 2009 04:23
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Thanks for the door info! This is the kinda setup I have :  I thought you could make adjustments by shortening or lengthening the cable that attaches to the door. The door doesn't rest half way at all. It will stay up, but if you move it towards being down more than 1', it just slams down. I do have the safety cables.
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Apr 30, 2009 21:31
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I'm pretty much 100% sure I'm in the good, but just to make sure since I'm paranoid as all hell... I bought a floor model TruTech LCD HDTV 19" last night and I could have sworn I'd grabbed everything, but I couldn't find the AC cord packed in when I got home. However, the socket looks the same as a the type/shape of 3-prong cord used for computers and monitors. I managed to wrangle up an extra that seems to be working, I just REALLY have to wiggle it in all the way to get it to connect. I'm probably going to call Target in the morning to see if I left it at the electronics desk, but barring that, does it sound like this should work fine just in case they don't have it? (Note: The only difference I noted in the cord that I saw the clerk unhook was that the cord came off the plug at a right-angle, probably to help with wall-mounting.)
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May 1, 2009 11:14
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ease posted:I thought you could make adjustments by shortening or lengthening the cable that attaches to the door. The door doesn't rest half way at all. It will stay up, but if you move it towards being down more than 1', it just slams down. I do have the safety cables. Is the door still the same as it was from the factory, or did you add insulation to it after it was installed, or a window panel or anything else like that? Those foam insulation kits may not seem very heavy, but they can add enough weight to take a door out of balance. If you did add anything, weigh the door like I explained above and you may have to change a size in springs. Even if you didn't add anything, tension springs wear out over time. If the door is more than 10 years old, the springs should be replaced. As far as the cables go, tension spring cables are usually just long enough to go from the bottom of the door, up to the pulley at the top of the track, through the pulley on the spring, and back to the track at the top of the door. Lift the door to its full upright position and take a look at the springs. The coils should be tightly wound with no gaps between coils, and the spring(s) should be taught with barely any sag. If the springs are tight, but they sag considerably, you may be able to tighten the cable a bit. But if there are any gaps between the coils, adjusting the cables won't solve the problem, and will shorten the life of the springs. If you do have to replace the springs, replace them all at once, and take a look at the pulleys and cables while you're at it.
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May 1, 2009 15:53
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JediTalentAgent posted:I'm pretty much 100% sure I'm in the good, but just to make sure since I'm paranoid as all hell... I'm going to go all amateur on you, but unless there is an additional box modifying the current (like you see with laptop chargers) then all those 3-prong plugs are the same. I know for sure I've been interchanging monitor and PC power cords for years now with no blowups or meltdowns. The question you should be asking, though is did the floor model have one of those cords with an adapter? If you don't know the answer to that question then you shouldn't be connecting anything to your new TV; call the store or TruTech.
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May 1, 2009 15:58
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I'm about to move into a beautiful 3rd floor apartment on Chicago's north side. The only problem is that every room is covered in different flavors of hideous wallpaper. Obviously, this will not stand. Based on what Google has told me, I have 2 options: 1. Strip wallpaper down to drywall and then paint. 2. Paint over wallpaper with a huge amount of prep-work and no guarantee it will hide the wallpaper completely and/or cause the paper to start peeling away and drive me crazy. I don't even want to consider wallpapering over everything, because it sounds just as labor intensive, and I would be just continuing the cycle of who knows how many layers of wallpaper. Freaky Friday curveball: The house was built in 1897, so there is no telling how many layers of wallpaper there are to strip. Does each layer take as long as the first, or will decades of floral patterns come off at once? Furthermore, the landlord stated that the walls are in bad shape, and the wallpaper does do a nice job of covering it up. So I am humbly asking the goon hivemind what option is the best, in terms of finished product quality. I have a feeling it will be stripping the paper and painting, but I don't want to open that p.box if i don't have to. Thanks everybody. somethingcool fucked around with this message at 21:11 on May 1, 2009 |
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May 1, 2009 21:09
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somethingcool posted:You said drywall, but I'm assuming you meant plaster if the place is really that old. That's actually good if you want to peel off the wallpaper, because plaster can take a lot of abuse from steam and scraping compared to drywall. I'm almost done peeling the second floor in a 1903 house down to plaster, and the method that worked best for me was to use one of those paper tiger things (or whatever you call them - the plastic shell with spiky wheels on the underside) to punch holes all over the place, and then use a steamer and a scraper to take it off. Scoring it with a utility knife also works. The real bitch about my place was that there was a layer of latex paint on top of all the paper layers, which blocked the steam from getting underneath any place I didn't put holes in the surface ahead of time. If you only have paper, and it's paper paper instead of the vinyl stuff people liked to use in the 80s and 90s, you should find that it comes right off in one pass after you run a steamer over it. Edit: Forgot to mention, I wouldn't paint over it because you don't know what's under there. Just a little bit of moisture in there from a neighbor's plumbing problem or whatever, and you might find sections of your wall peeling off. The paint itself could even do it. gross fucked around with this message at 22:32 on May 1, 2009 |
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May 1, 2009 22:26
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Can anyone give me some advice on drilling small holes in a quartz countertop to mount my dishwasher to. I'm assuming I will need at least a masonry bit, if not something more.
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May 2, 2009 17:20
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Is a sabre saw a jigsaw or a reciprocating saw?
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May 2, 2009 17:21
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Elston Gunn posted:Can anyone give me some advice on drilling small holes in a quartz countertop to mount my dishwasher to. I'm assuming I will need at least a masonry bit, if not something more. If you still know how to contact the company that installed that countertop, ask them. You might need to step up to a diamond bit. Dominoes posted:Is a sabre saw a jigsaw or a reciprocating saw? A sabre saw is like a jigsaw, only bigger. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 17:56 on May 2, 2009 |
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May 2, 2009 17:51
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Friends of mine are moving into a new home and they currently have this lamp in their living room: lamp  opened, you can see the halogen lamp  glas The problem is: It is far too bright. Nice if you're looking for stuff but the brightness is really uncomfortable otherwise. It has a 150W halogen lamp inside and as far as I know (checked Amazon) it does not seem like variants of these exist. So they really like it and don't want to get rid of it, but how can it be made less bright? (stupid idea deleted) Thank you very much! \/\/\/ Good idea. There's no dimmer yet, but we will look into this if it doesn't exceed our skill level. Thanks for that! e2: I really like this. It's what were doing tomorrow. Thanks again! Karo fucked around with this message at 03:28 on May 3, 2009 |
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May 3, 2009 00:52
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Can you switch the light switch for a dimmer, or is there a reason you can't? Halogens are dimmable.
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May 3, 2009 02:38
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I have a quick question. When we bought the house 4 years ago it had a bar, it was very made very poorly and now as time has gone on the floor has been sagging. The bar is sitting on concrete on top of 2x4s that support the flooring. The 2x4s that make up the floor are only in the shape of a square with nothing in the middle to support them. This is causing the sagging. In the little bit i've researched, and experienced, I'm famliar with cross bracing in a vertical application, but how would I got about it in this application? Form an X under the floor with a notch cut where the two meet? Just a 2x4 down the middle? It will just have to support some plywood with nothing too major for a floor and some cabinets, and one small section would have a fridge on it. Any other suggestions would be welcome.
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May 3, 2009 04:25
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Karo posted:Friends of mine are moving into a new home and they currently have this lamp in their living room: The dimmer is really easy, just make sure the switch is off, or if you're really worried just cut the breaker for that circuit while you work. All you need is a screwdriver and pliers (needlenose preferred).
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May 3, 2009 06:19
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Ahz posted:The dimmer is really easy, just Fixed.
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May 3, 2009 11:09
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I made an air soft target range using some pulleys to move my target down the range and to retrieve it. The problem is its too slow. Its super easy to move at the moment so how can I trade some of that ease for faster movement on the rope? Basically what is the opposite of a block and tackle?
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May 4, 2009 08:11
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joebob posted:I made an air soft target range using some pulleys to move my target down the range and to retrieve it. The problem is its too slow. Its super easy to move at the moment so how can I trade some of that ease for faster movement on the rope? Basically what is the opposite of a block and tackle? You could make it go faster with gear ratios. Basically make sure your rope is nice and tight in the pulleys, then attach a small gear centered on your close pulley, then use a big gear with a crank to turn the small gear.
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May 4, 2009 16:31
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skeetio posted:Moved into a house about a month ago and I'm realizing all the joys of home ownership, particularly in regard to previous owners who took a somewhat lackadaisical approach to home maintenance. You too? I would kick the previous owner in the pills if I saw him again.
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May 5, 2009 13:48
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How strong is a solder connection? I have an interest in making desk lamps and I will probably use a good amount of metal. I don't have access to "real" welding gear and I want to keep things simple. I would be joining together different types of metal in applications not demanding a lot of stress. Would solder be sufficient? Are there alternatives which might be better?
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May 5, 2009 19:13
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Chinaski posted:How strong is a solder connection? I have an interest in making desk lamps and I will probably use a good amount of metal. I don't have access to "real" welding gear and I want to keep things simple. There are some epoxies like Quik Steel that are intended to be very similar to metals. In my experience, solder doesn't stand up very well as far as durability does.
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May 5, 2009 19:41
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Chinaski posted:How strong is a solder connection? I have an interest in making desk lamps and I will probably use a good amount of metal. I don't have access to "real" welding gear and I want to keep things simple. A Google search shows that solder has tensile strengths in the realm of 5-6 ksi, which is comparable to some glues and epoxies. Not knowing what you're doing I would suggest you give it a shot and see what the results are. Sweat joints (such as those associated with plumbing) are typically very strong when there's a lot of surface contact. Just remember that solder doesn't do a good job of filling large gaps. Also I believe solder behaves differently depending on the metal. I know it's good for copper and brass.
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May 5, 2009 20:24
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Thanks to the two answers above. I guess I'll try it out to see how it works and consider alternatives in the meantime.
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May 6, 2009 02:06
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Chinaski posted:Thanks to the two answers above. I guess I'll try it out to see how it works and consider alternatives in the meantime. Brazing is an identical process using a metal that melts at a higher temperature and is typically stronger.
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May 6, 2009 12:11
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I am scheming about how to give my AC all the benefits I can as we prepare for our long, hot, Arizona summer. Here is my idea. Our AC unit sits on the ground to the west of our house. It catches direct sun from about noon until six for most of the summer. Here is a crappy MSPaint to show the setup.  Anyone who has been to the southwest knows that we are like the fricking moon here in that there is a huge temperature difference between sunlight and shadow. I know the main thing with AC units is to make sure they are well-serviced and well-ventilated (not a problem), but I am thinking that giving the unit some shade of its coils don't have to compete with the burning sun. I would build a screen out of 2x4s and shadecloth below the fencline, but high above the unit so it could exhaust up without issue. This would spare it the temperature increase from direct sun.  I would anchor it so it wouldn't get lift during the monsoon and do all the other common sense stuff. I am curious what everyone thinks of such a setup. I don't expect night/day difference in electricity usage, but since I am on a time of use plan that charges 3x for on-peak usage between one pm and eight pm, any small efficiency gains would be multiplied. Good idea? Bad idea?
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May 7, 2009 00:08
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The problem is that AC units don't care about solar radiation, they care about ambient air temperature. The shadecloth won't lower the ambient air temperature but they will reduce air flow. Overall this method will lower your effiency, especially if you don't respect the clearance requirements. Spend the effort adding some reflective window film and attic insulation. It's always hilarious to see some house flip show put a plywood box over the condensing unit to enhance curb appeal.
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May 7, 2009 02:00
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