RickP
Well-known member
Merry Christmas to you too!








Nice work Jeff!
Thank you both!Nice work!
Working with pre-finished wood is hard, and you made it look easy. Cabinet looks great!
^+1Absolutely. Could be carpet. Could be the house, floor, elves, cosmic event, . . . My Mom smoked, so my Dad always had matchbooks to use as shims. But wood shims are good.
Absolutely. Could be carpet. Could be the house, floor, elves, cosmic event, . . . My Mom smoked, so my Dad always had matchbooks to use as shims. But wood shims are good.
Thanks, gentlemen. I guess what caught me off guard about this is the old cabinet was at least 3 times heavier and covered a deeper and wider footprint - and I never detected any leaning or off level on it. When I brought the new cabinet in and set it down, I noticed the lean at once and repositioning it did not correct the problem (leading to my initial assumption that I had screwed up the construction). The house is slab built and I don't detect any underlying floor problems. So, it appears the only explanation is the compression of the carpet/pad by the new cabinet. That got me wondering if I should have considered that possibility when designing the cabinet and included a cross piece at the rear bottom rather than leaving it open so some of the wires could be tucked under the cabinet. The wood shims have solved the problem and are not noticeable, just trying to figure out if I should do something different in the future.^+1
It's so bad for me that I've come to expect everything to lean toward the wall, and I'm surprised when it doesn't. I usually just grab a couple of those rubber things that go under furniture feet and use those under the back of the cabinet.
The finished piece looks really good -- nice job on reusing all that prefinished wood and matching the stain so well.





...One of my finds was this Gerber knife which was about 8 inches deep. I am soaking it in WD40 and then plan to clean it in an ultrasonic cleaner and then attempt to disassemble it to clean and lube the inside. Anyone have experience rehabbing such a knife? Is there a better way?
Perfect time of year to head south for a few days! Nice find on the knife.Decided it was time to take a trip and enjoy a different environment and try out my new metal detector on a beach.
Drove to Biloxi, MS.
Saw these strange barge like boats on the water. Is this some kind of specialized fishing rig?
One of my finds was this Gerber knife which was about 8 inches deep. I am soaking it in WD40 and then plan to clean it in an ultrasonic cleaner and then attempt to disassemble it to clean and lube the inside. Anyone have experience rehabbing such a knife? Is there a better way?









Anyone know anything about recumbents? Are they any safer?
Thank you. Me too - I miss shop time.On man, that accident sounds brutal.
I hope you're able to recover quickly!
Thankful I was able to ride away, but hate down time.Wow! Glad you are taking care of yourself. Must be frustrating.
Thank you.Ouch, sorry to hear of your accident. Heal up quick!
Years ago, my wife and I tried the across Oklahoma bike ride, called Free Wheel, twice. We completed it one and a half times as the first year a blowing empty water bottle caused a wreck that took both of us out. During those rides, I saw so many examples of inattentive and even antagonistic vehicle drivers (beer bottles thrown at riders) that I avoid riding on public roads except those with designated bike lanes or in quiet neighborhoods. This area has a wonderful trail system, but most of my rides these days are a Sunday morning jaunt to pick up the paper and some pastries to enjoy while working the puzzles in the paper - part of my program to stay mentally alert. I appreciate your comments on recumbents. The 2-wheel recumbents look like they might be harder to balance at my age and the 3-wheelers are making me wonder if I could navigate the sidewalks I sometimes have to rely on to avoid traffic.I'm sure the crashes are less severe and less likely to cause serious injury. I'm also sure that since motorists can hardly see regular bicycles, you're taking your life in your hands whenever you ride one alongside traffic. I might be biased in saying this, because Arizona is in the top ten states for killing bicyclists. I realize it's anecdotal, but I can count on one hand the folks I've seen testing their luck on recumbent bikes on the roads, probably because they know the statistics and prefer not to hedge in favor of becoming one.
...The sad part is that I don't know what happened so that I can avoid that in the future (unless I quit riding). The only thing I can think, is that for some reason I applied the front brake too hard or it locked and I rotated into the air and then dropped. But that doesn't quite explain why I landed on my face and right arm...
Thank you. Sorry to hear about your wife's crash. I have actually been able to ride almost year round. I don't ride in the rain or when the temp is below about 45 degrees. So, sometimes I go a few weeks between rides.Wishing you a quick recovery Jeff...
Wife crashed her bike last week going around a corner - the front tire hit a small patch of mud and she went down on her right arm and shoulder pretty hard. Thankfully it she only ended up with some good size bruises and a few scratches.
IMO, early spring is always the most dangerous time of year to be on two wheels. You haven't ridden for months, so you are out of practice. You are happy to finally be out in the nice weather so it's easy to get distracted from the task at hand. Finally, while IA might be different from OK in this regard, there are a lot of seasonal debris (sand, mud, leaves, etc.) on the paths and roads that haven't been washed away by the spring rains yet.




Good information, and glad to hear you are up and about, and getting back on the horse that threw you. You have been missed.It's been a bit over 4 months since my bike wreck. I am still doing physical therapy, but feel like I am back to full range of motion and close to full strength. Been thinking about getting back on the bike for a couple of weeks, so the last couple of days I have worked on the bike to see if there was anything that needed tweaking to help prevent a repeat of the wreck.
Now the bike wreck was clearly my fault - I do my own maintenance and I was the rider when I went down, probably due to a locked front wheel. Today, I discovered what I think is a significant contributing factor to the wreck.
On top is a new brake pad and the bottom is the one I removed from the front of the bike.
Here is a view of the wear surface. I do not remember ever replacing brake pads on this bike that I have had since 1999. The bike has at least 2000 miles on it. I did a number of google searches with various phrases trying to determine if worn brake pads could cause wheel lock up without much success. I did find info that indicated squealing brakes might indicate worn out pads and grabbing brakes might indicate worn out pads. I had experienced both of these symptoms before the wreck, but failed to recognize the significance. So new pads both front and rear and then I climbed on for a bit of a ride up and down the driveway. No squealing. I could apply the front brake only without any grabbing.
There are others on this forum that know a lot more about bikes than I do, but I think worn out pads helped cause my accident and I will be paying a lot more attention to their condition in the future.
Thanks, Prospecter. Went on an 8 mile ride this morning with absolutely no problems.Good information, and glad to hear you are up and about, and getting back on the horse that threw you. You have been missed.
I hear you on the FEL woes -- I have to fight with mine almost every time it goes on. (Although my tractor doesn't have a mower deck, so the FEL doesn't come off nearly as often as yours.) There's something a bit intimidating (at least for me) about fighting to align a bunch of steel that's taller than me and outweighs me by 600 lbs! So I just always think about the "get a bigger hammer" expression and hit it harder.On my BX2380, I remove the FEL every time I mow and reinstall it before putting the tractor away in the barn. Every once in a while the FEL wants to argue with me about going back on the tractor - the third WDIDT of the day. This time, after several attempts, I finally got it on without any damage.
I agree. Crazy thing is I can take off the FEL and put it back on with no problems half a dozen times in a row and then the next time it argues with me.All those WDIDTs in one day -- so frustrating! Sounds like you got out of the heat at just the right time.
I hear you on the FEL woes -- I have to fight with mine almost every time it goes on. (Although my tractor doesn't have a mower deck, so the FEL doesn't come off nearly as often as yours.) There's something a bit intimidating (at least for me) about fighting to align a bunch of steel that's taller than me and outweighs me by 600 lbs! So I just always think about the "get a bigger hammer" expression and hit it harder.
Amen to the "lot of work". Managed to finish dragging the drive this morning. Got the box blade dismounted and put away. Got the new deck belt on and everything lubed. Next, I will see if the deck will go back on so I am ready for the next mowing session.I also identify with tractor woes. My JD790 FEL is only quick attach in theory. I leave mine on for bush hogging the field to offset the weight of the bush hog, but your mower is center mount, so no need to offset the weight. My Kubota (15hp) is a little smaller, and no FEL. It came with a center mount mower, but too old for the ramp feature. I need to use my engine lift on the front bumper. Not too bad now that I have the routine down, but not convenient. We do a lot of work to keep our places up to snuff, and tractors are a big help.