What did you do "IN" your garage today?

[kaymccampbell]

Well darn it... Apparently I should have asked about this on GJ before placing my order for the bird spikes...
I mentioned to my wife about the responses from the site...
In about 2 seconds she says... "Just eliminate the ledge and the birds won't have a place to sit"...
Whaaaaaattt???
"Just cap the ledge with an angled piece of wood so the birds slide off the ledge, and the spikes idea won't hurt them"
I feel like a failure...

Cap the angled piece of wood with coil stock, so they won't be able to dig their little claws in like they do to trees.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Unwrapped and assembled new goodies. Homed them. Shaved dog butts. Cleaned a bit. Gathered some **** to go fix a damaged coax on a pole. Made up some half shields for the coax.

 

[PassnThru]

Was this a Lead-acid battery, or an alkaline? Acid base batteries you clean with baking soda, Alkaline you clean with a mild acid like white vinegar, then neutralize.

Standard AA batteries - I assumed that baking soda would neutralize any battery acid.

 

[Outlawmws]

Standard AA batteries - I assumed that baking soda would neutralize any battery acid.

Alkaline batteries have no acid its an alkaline base. to "kill" alkaline corrosion you use acid.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Standard AA batteries - I assumed that baking soda would neutralize any battery acid.

Lemon juice for alkaline batteries.

 

[rd65]

Reinstalled the crossbars on the CX30 and installed the kayak racks. I will need to make some adjustments tomorrow, the crossbars are too close together and the kayak racks are too close together. Installed a MagnaFlow axle back muffler. Not loud, nice throaty sound and much smaller than the stock unit. Stock muffler would clank against the hitch hardware over decent size bumps.

 

[rharman]

I have a temp gauge in the attached garage with a remote that I keep in the freezer in said garage to monitor the freezer temp. I noticed the other day that it was blank - needs new batteries of course. Yep - little late to the party as they leaked severely. So I took it apart and mixed up some baking soda and water and cleaned what I could and wire brushed the terminals. The negative terminal wire was really bad so I unsoldered it and gave it special attention. Putting things back together I just could not get the negative wire soldered into the terminal - the solder just wouldn't stick. Given that I'm a novice electronics solderer at best it was confusing. I finally figured out that the corrosion had traveled up the wire and that's probably why it wasn't sticking. I cut the wire back until I found shiny wire and spliced in a new wire. Then soldered that wire to the battery connector easily. Pic is of the soldered splice and the old wire - that corrosion can really travel up a wire.

About the beginning of 2022, I gave up on Duracell and have slowly witched out almost everything to Energizer Lithium. Yeah, they may have their own issues but I feel a lot better going this route. And, I always label everything with the date they were changed.

 

[Outlawmws]

I switched almost everything to lithium or NIMH rechargeable batteries; eventually my Duracell supply will go away and that will be it for straight leaky alkaline.

Yes slightly more expensive for liths, but you also get more usable battery life as the discharge slope is near flat.

Also using more and more USB charged things.

 

[rharman]

I switched almost everything to lithium or NIMH rechargeable batteries; eventually my Duracell supply will go away and that will be it for straight leaky alkaline.

Yes slightly more expensive for liths, but you also get more usable battery life as the discharge slope is near flat.

Also using more and more USB charged things.

Yeah, but there appears to be a tipping point at which they discharge pretty quickly.
My experience has been that they're good, they're good, they're gone.

I've thought about the USB option but, every time I need one of the rechargeable tools I have like that - they've gone dead. I have to make a concerted effort to recharge on occasion even if not using.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Pics, or it didn't happen!

Only in PM, please.

Not requesting, just throwing a warning out.

 

[Mike65]

Close!

Conversion to shower!

New mud set shower, floor, cabinet, top, etc.

After this one, then the master.

4 adults here; wife and 2 daughters. Had to build a new basement bath before I could take this one off line. No way 4 of us could get by with one bath.

Nice work. When my wife & I bought our "retirement home" we removed the tubs in both of the bathrooms & replaced them with showers since neither of us take baths & with our bad knees it was getting harder & harder to step over the side of the tubs.

 

[Outlawmws]

Yeah, but there appears to be a tipping point at which they discharge pretty quickly.
My experience has been that they're good, they're good, they're gone.

I don't think thats bad. With alkaline, and NiCad's for that matter, they would taper off to semi uselessness, and you still had a fair amount of energy, but not enough voltage to do much if anything with -with Lihts you get almost all the amps out before the voltage drop.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Only in PM, please.

Not requesting, just throwing a warning out.

Not a chance I'd be sharing that, even if I had a picture.

 

[DGersic]

I have a temp gauge in the attached garage with a remote that I keep in the freezer in said garage to monitor the freezer temp. I noticed the other day that it was blank - needs new batteries of course. Yep - little late to the party as they leaked severely. So I took it apart and mixed up some baking soda and water and cleaned what I could and wire brushed the terminals. The negative terminal wire was really bad so I unsoldered it and gave it special attention. Putting things back together I just could not get the negative wire soldered into the terminal - the solder just wouldn't stick. Given that I'm a novice electronics solderer at best it was confusing. I finally figured out that the corrosion had traveled up the wire and that's probably why it wasn't sticking. I cut the wire back until I found shiny wire and spliced in a new wire. Then soldered that wire to the battery connector easily. Pic is of the soldered splice and the old wire - that corrosion can really travel up a wire.

Battery corrosion, once it starts, is very damaging to everything. I’ve had to cut several feet of wire out of a harness to find good copper again to work with.

 

[DGersic]

What's wrong with a garden hose in the back yard?

As kids, this was pretty much a daily occurrence. Cold hose water was our reward for playing in the mud.

 

[Wiz02]

Wrong thread

 

[PhantomEB]

put away tools from my Friday off where I promptly got to start my holidays with a text my sister sent me about she’s embarrassed about her being the only house on the block with a brown lawn. And how she expected me to fulfill my word I would get the supply line fixed for moms underground sprinker system. Needless to say last thing I said well there’s nothing else I promised to do at moms house. She then asked about the deck railing, a ceiling fan in the dining room….I replied maybe when my own **** is done. Here’s the number for railpro, go hire an electrician.

yeah I do pay myself out of moms bank account but no way in hell I taking days off not to do my own stuff!

so after that speil, I backed the truck in and ready to do kickback mud flaps on the truck Today.

 

[Prospecter]

No he had very neatly disconnected all the two pole 20 Amp breakers and capped all the cut wires. The problem is he disconnected and cut and capped the feed to the water heater in addition to the feeds to the radiant heaters in the ceiling.

Stories like this make me feel much better when I need to correct my DIY mistakes!

 

[Fixr]

Nice work. When my wife & I bought our "retirement home" we removed the tubs in both of the bathrooms & replaced them with showers since neither of us take baths & with our bad knees it was getting harder & harder to step over the side of the tubs.

My wife and I are in the position of needing to replace our only tub with a more accessible shower. Going to be a while using a temporary shower outside or in the garage while I do the whole job by myself. We're trying to figure out something less demanding than mud and tile for an older guy with a lot of physical wear and tear. We want something nicer than the low-end 5 piece acrylic or fiberglass kits. We don't have the budget to pay a pro, even if we knew a good, reliable one.

 

[Outlawmws]

Going to be a while using a temporary shower outside or in the garage

For a temp shower look at camp showers, or you can convert something into a shower like I did over 40 years back:



With an extension, its works as a shower this is in "wash station" mode:

I either forgot or could not find the extension but the privy enclosure doing double duty, setup right outside my tarp canopy as it was about 40 degrees out...:




The above is my big 5 gallon main setup - below is a one gallon version converted from a fire extinguisher - handy as its small enough to heat directly on my stove if the sun does not warm it enough. I have showered fully, hair wash and all, with one gallon -its a get wet, scrub, and rinse deal, but works.



And the one that started it all -from a soda-acid extinguisher:



You can also make these from a Hudson sprayer BUT use a new one, not one that has had god-knows-what in it. You can't heat it on a stove (plastic) but you can boil about half the water and get a good warm temp once mixed.

 

[Fixr]

For a temp shower look at camp showers, or you can convert something into a shower like I did over 40 years back:



With an extension, its works as a shower this is in "wash station" mode:

I either forgot or could not find the extension but the privy enclosure doing double duty, setup right outside my tarp canopy as it was about 40 degrees out...:




The above is my big 5 gallon main setup - below is a one gallon version converted from a fire extinguisher - handy as its small enough to heat directly on my stove if the sun does not warm it enough. I have showered fully, hair wash and all, with one gallon -its a get wet, scrub, and rinse deal, but works.



And the one that started it all -from a soda-acid extinguisher:



You can also make these from a Hudson sprayer BUT use a new one, not one that has had god-knows-what in it. You can't heat it on a stove (plastic) but you can boil about half the water and get a good warm temp once mixed.

We'll probably use a cheap outdoor shower that hooks up to a garden hose. We have a deck about 5 feet away from the laundry sink, and nobody to see us wrinkly old folks using it.

It would be nice to have a smallish water extinguisher for its intended purpose.

 

[Mike65]

My wife and I are in the position of needing to replace our only tub with a more accessible shower. Going to be a while using a temporary shower outside or in the garage while I do the whole job by myself. We're trying to figure out something less demanding than mud and tile for an older guy with a lot of physical wear and tear. We want something nicer than the low-end 5 piece acrylic or fiberglass kits. We don't have the budget to pay a pro, even if we knew a good, reliable one.

Good luck with the shower conversion.

 

[Fixr]

Good luck with the shower conversion.

Thanks. Not looking forward to it. We'd both like a low threshold and smooth, flat solid-surface slab-type type walls with absolutely minimum seams. Not sure those are doable without a strong, skilled helper.

 

[Wrench97]

Thanks. Not looking forward to it. We'd both like a low threshold and smooth, flat solid-surface slab-type type walls with absolutely minimum seams. Not sure those are doable without a strong, skilled helper.

Corian it's lighter then tile or stone.

 

[Magnum440d100]

Changed the oil on the trusty rusty Ariens. The first in like 3 years!

It leaks so much oil that I just kept topping it off lmao.


Found I didn’t have a filter in stock. So I put some “cheap” oil in it. I’ll run it for a couple hours, then do another change with the “good” oil and new filter. That should help flush some of the filthy oil out lmao.

Next, the pressure washer I haven’t done in like 7 years! But truth be told, it’s only used maybe 5 hours a year.


It’s supposed to rain throughout the week, so maybe I’ll do more inside/in garage work.

 

[Demon69]

This afternoon I pretended to be a steel fitter.

 

[welder4956]

Not much today - put away tools, cleaned off the bench, swept the floor, put some bolts in Evapo-Rust to soak for the night, cleaned up a set of valve covers, bead blasted an intake manifold, soaked my shirt in sweat, ordered a 2 piece fuel pump eccentric and timing cover.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Demoed TinkerCAD for a friend. Cleaned. Prepped a casting core. Poured a mold.

 

[KwikFab]

Cut out part of an order

Finishing this first batch.



Pile has doubled in size now.



One specific customer wanted stainless steel so I did those real quick.



Come tomorrow just have to put bends on certain parts, tack weld some hardware, and ship them out.

Here's my master piece.

 

[niget2002]

This is one of those days where I did stuff that fits in multiple posts... I'm just going to put everything here.

Started the day buying 15 gallons of fuel for the yard equipment.

Then sat on the porch with the wife and outside cat. She has a little street cred.


Then the wife and I went to breakfast and got groceries.

We came home and I did the oil change in her car.

Then I mowed the yard while her and the kids cleaned the front flower bed.

Next, I took a break from the kayak build and put together our new breakfast room furniture and hung some paintings.



Then my son and I swam in the pool and now I'm cooking salmon, Brussel sprouts, and corn for dinner.

It's been a busy day.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I wanted to make a Yoga Chick joke, but thought it might offend .lol

 

[coldh2o]

Then sat on the porch with the wife and outside cat. She has a little street cred.

Wife or cat?

 

[KwikFab]

Wife or cat?

 

[Bessy]

Didn't even get out to the shop really until 5:00-5:30 tonight after visiting my parents and friends of ours this weekend, in an effort to try my hand at some smaller projects (as I frequently like working in larger projects) I decided it's time to try and make a mallet. So far I've cut the head to length with a 5° head profile on either end. Now I'm just trying to figure out the size of the mortise to cut for the handle. I have not yet added a mortiser to the shop (it's on the list) so I'm going clear most of the hole out with the drill press, and follow it up with some chisel work (wish me luck, because I **** with a chisel).

Next up, selecting a nice handle from my scraps.

 

[Outlawmws]

wish me luck, because I **** with a chisel

My recommendation is make sure the chisel is properly sharpened - 90% of the pre-owned chisels I've bought over the years should have been classed as blunt instruments - did they have an edge of some sort? Many, yes. Was it suitable for working in wood? God no!




After I sharpened:



The one on the far right is just too far gone with pitting to be more than a can opener for barrels and such.

 

[rktinc]

Spent the weekend sweating in a tiny office from the 1950's in need of a gut job, but chose instead to restore it. Should be a neat little spot for a garage office. Very pleased with the re-staining process and the repurposed granite slab. I unfortunately re-learned the lesson that stain reacts to wood in all kids of wild and crazy ways. My new desk shelf was needed for the granite install but it took my beautiful "Gunstock" stain and turned it orange. Oh well, if my OCD acts up I can always paint it. My small order of Snaplock/carpet from Racedeck arrived as well. This should be fun.

 

[niget2002]

Wife or cat?

Wife is a Jr High Art teacher. I'll let you judge that one.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Wife is a Jr High Art teacher. I'll let you judge that one.

Definitely both.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Rubbed acetone into some poison ivy bumps I missed. Stings a bit. Unmolded the pediment mold. Now it needs to dry.

 

[Outlawmws]

They still teach art in Jr. High?