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Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT jonshonda-A Man On Too Many Missions

Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
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jonshonda

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Jul 17, 2017
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4,735
Location
Wisconsin
Bought it home, gave it a thorough cleaning and took it to the range. We need to shoot it more, but so far so good. Waiting on the optic plate from Walther for the Vortex Defender XL, as my son is addicted to red dots now. haha

Already making a list of upgrades. First will likely be the ZR Tactical Ultramass guide rod and lighter recoil spring, as the slide is very difficult for my son to pull back to show clear. Also looking at the LOK Palmswell grips, mostly for me as I have XXL hand and hoping my son will be ok with them as well.

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jonshonda

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Wisconsin
Well I tried to commit to NOT ordering any upgrades for the new pistol, but my son was really struggling with locking the slide back on the new Walther vs the 15lb spring on the Canik..which he handles just fine.

I really want his experience to be a positive one with our first big pistol purchase, so I ordered a ZR Tactical long stroke guide rod/spring kit. I was hesitant to go the long stroke route as some comments on the V1 setup noted a sluggish feeling, which isn't what we need. But ZRT must've taken that feedback and used it to create the V2 kit, which really starts to shine when you shoot fast...which is what we plan on doing.

We went to the range last night as the AR issue was bothering me to no end. idk about you guys, but when there is an issue like that it consumes my thoughts, and I MUST work on finding a solution. So after doing internet research, watching countless hours of videos and reading on forums (which is all good information), it ran JUST FINE yesterday. My conclusion...being lube stingy. I'm so used to our 22LR race guns and hunting rifles where a little goes a long way. Not the case for AR's apparently, and a generous helping of Lucas Extreme oil seemed to work perfectly.
 
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jonshonda

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Jul 17, 2017
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Wisconsin
FB Marketplace strikes again!! My 11yo daughter has been enjoying the upright bass at school, and has been practicing with her electric bass at home. I feel bad that I totally forgot that she needed an amp, and went on the prowl. Found a very nice Fender Rumble 25 and picked it up for her yesterday.

With winter coming I know I will be spending more time in the basement working out, 3D printing, and working in the shop. I finally found a decent desktop software I can edit Gopro vids on (my son wanted to record videos of the shooting matches) and using the cheap computer speakers I've got is painful. I found a nice older NAD T753 receiver on FB for too good of a price to pass up, and it's got A-B speaker outputs, so I swapped the Marantz SR4700 in the garage for the NAD, and I can then finally mount and hook up the outdoor speakers I've got.

Now on the hunt for some nice used bookshelf speakers for the basement work area. Hoping to find something higher end quality (but lower end price) that looks good with the grills off.
 
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jonshonda

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Wisconsin
Working on straightening things up in the basement.

Getting the 3d printing/design work station dialed in a bit more. I'm piecing together stereo components from some previous FB Mrkt scores, and have the Polk outdoor speaker temporarily occupying space in the filament rack. Eventual plan would be to have smaller bookshelf speakers to the left and right of the monitors.
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Marantz and 12" sub hiding. Scored the tower from work when we moved toward using workspot. Let's just say it's not a cheap unit. haha
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The basement workshop. Not the biggest space, but it has proven very beneficial.
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A few previous and future projects in the rack. I built an electrolysis setup for rust removal, and will eventually get it fired up once all the outdoor work is done.
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jonshonda

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Jul 17, 2017
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Wisconsin
The Marantz receiver did live in the garage, but now lives a posh life in the basement. This is the NAD I scored on FB, and it will live in this spot for now.

Nice part about the NAD is the A/B speaker outputs that the Marantz was lacking. I can now wire up the outdoor speakers so I can listen to music whilst farting around outside too.

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nicholam77

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Dec 18, 2016
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2,655
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Getting the 3d printing/design work station dialed in a bit more.

Looks great! Do you leave your filaments loaded in the AMS? I always have a problem (PLA) where if I don't cut the filament and extract what's loaded from the PTFE tubes, the filament will become very brittle and shatter within the tubes. Then it gets stuck in the extruder and I have to take it apart or try to clean the pieces out of the tubes. So I always just 'rewind' the filaments after a print job. End up losing a few feet of filament each time doing this, but it's better than having to fix it weeks or months down the road. Just curious.

Looks like a great little basement workspace to me! I wish I had a dedicated area like that. Would be nice in winter. Sort of use my office at times but it's not really hobby focused.

The axe collection is sweet.
 
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jonshonda

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Jul 17, 2017
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Wisconsin
Looks great! Do you leave your filaments loaded in the AMS? I always have a problem (PLA) where if I don't cut the filament and extract what's loaded from the PTFE tubes, the filament will become very brittle and shatter within the tubes. Then it gets stuck in the extruder and I have to take it apart or try to clean the pieces out of the tubes. So I always just 'rewind' the filaments after a print job. End up losing a few feet of filament each time doing this, but it's better than having to fix it weeks or months down the road. Just curious.

Looks like a great little basement workspace to me! I wish I had a dedicated area like that. Would be nice in winter. Sort of use my office at times but it's not really hobby focused.

The axe collection is sweet.

Regarding filaments becoming brittle, PLA becomes brittle when it absorbs moisture. With that being said I do leave my most used filaments in the AMS, but need to remember to dry them on occasion. I use the Sunlu unit shown in the bottom right the pic. Once dried to the correct level they are no longer brittle.

The basement space is very nice. I don't do many things that result in a lot of fumes or dust. Mostly work on the mountain bikes, 3d printing, some wood working..etc. I try to do the most dirty work on my outdoor bench, then tolerable levels of filth come into the garage, and the least amount in the basement.

It all started with my mom giving me my grandpa's splitting maul, which I dated back to the early 1900's and still use often. It's been all down hill from there. haha
 
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jonshonda

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Jul 17, 2017
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Wisconsin
Well the Thanksgiving break is done...came and went too fast like usual.

Deer hunting was a success. My son got a decent doe at 7:03 opening morning from out stand, and I got one Sunday during a drive. We saw a total of 14 deer, which was really fun as we hunt public land so it's sometimes rare to even see ONE. Guns are cleaned up and put away until next season, and the meat is at the butcher destine to be snack sticks. We invested in a ladder stand, and doing more scouting with the help of knowledgeable friends, and it paid off. I think next year we will looking into bow hunting though, as that's when the big boys are out to play

I was responsible for providing the Thanksgiving birds, and feel as though I executed well. Cooked one on the Weber Smokey Mountain, and the other on the offset stick burner. Both were edible...which is good.

I don't think many people appreciate the various aspects of BBQ'ing, from prepping the meat in advance to having dried and appropriately sized wood for smoking and cooking. Then comes the day of the actual cook, getting the fires going, frequently tending a fire and monitoring temps hours in advance of the actual scheduled cook time.

It was a cold and windy Thanksgiving day, which presents many challenges for cooking with charcoal or wood. You can just go turn a knob and have instant results. You also can't fire everything up 30 minutes before game time and expect it to be ready. I don't knock the pellet or propane crowd, but know I wouldn't have the same satisfaction as I do with my WSM and stick burner.
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loganb

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Dec 29, 2011
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Omaha, NE
3d printing station is coming along ...I badly need to improve my home office organization and update it now that it's not my work from home space as well.

From the pellet smoking crowd....you do you! Lol. I very much enjoy the pretty set and forget nature of the pellet smoker. Watch the temp probes from the phone...0 anxiety tossing an overnight cook on and sleeping as peacefully as the kids will allow. Others did our big meal this year but I did a ham and turkey on separate meals after Thanksgiving and both came out well and with minimal effort once they were in the smoker
 
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jonshonda

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Wisconsin
Had family in town this weekend so not a lot got done and we stayed up late so I actually slept in ( I like to hammer out tasks in the morning before most wake up). I did wash, claybar and wax the Lexus, and used my new to me floor drying fan to dry the floor.

I honestly think my body's subconscious natural reaction to impending changes in weather is to wash a vehicle, as we are supposed to get 4-6" of snow starting tonight.

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jonshonda

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Went to the range Wednesday with the Walther PDP PRO. I haven't had much time to just take the time to slow down and really get a feel for the shooting experience. I'm new to pistol shooting and new I was trying to go too fast too soon, and my performance was suffering. Smooth is fast, fast is smooth.

It was good for me to just take it easy and concentrate on my technique. But what I have found is that I think my hands are just too big for the Walther. There just doesn't seem to be enough real estate for my support hand, and I find that my thumb constantly rests on top of the slide lock which results in the slide NOT locking back after the last round.

My son has always loved the feel of the Walthers so I think we will make the Walther his primary, and I will start looking at pistols that offer more grip real estate. I've been eying the CZ TS2 orange as it's a big and heavy pistol with gas pedal and a safety that is wide enough to be used as a gas pedal as well. I'm looking at the TS2 blue, but by the time I add the wider safety and gas pedal I will withing a few hundred of the Orange.....it's only money right.

Both my son and I really have been liking the Vortex Defender XL, and being a Wisconsin based company that has been very generous to my son and their shooting team, we stocked up on a few more red dots while Scheels has them 50% off. There are a fair amount of reports of higher failure rates, so we might end up keeping one in the range bag at all times as a spare.

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jonshonda

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Got the Honda Fit pressure washed and undercoated using Woolwax black and their pro series gun with wands. The 360* wand really is great to get into all the cavities and areas that are impossible to reach with any other methods.

Having a heated garage really has extended the "car repair season" for me, and allows me to work on projects like this any time of the year. I drive the Fit on the interstate daily, so it will be interesting to see how long the coating lasts in the high wind areas. I won't have to pull plugs and get into cavities again, but I will have to hit the exposed area again in 2-3 years based on how the undercoating on the Lexus is holding up.

I enlisted the help of my 14yo son to put the wheels and wheel covers back on. On my way to work this morning I was turning onto the interstate on ramp when I heard a sound that very much resembled a wheel cover rolling across pavement. There was a large box truck ahead of me, and I thought it was just my head playing tricks and figured it was a sound "very similar to" the wheel cover. Nope.....my son owes me a wheel cover. haha At least I know what I am doing after work today.
 
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jonshonda

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Started my xmas vacation off with an overwhelming desire to get stuff done.

Walther got his xmas gifts early. He's been getting a bit fat eating 124gr, so we are gonna try 115gr for a while to see if he can trim down a bit.
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Wife noted a need for a new brush roller for the Dyson. Ask and see shall receive
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Last year whilst detailing the Honda Fit engine my, my ham fisted attempt resulted in a broken engine oil dipstick. Something special about OEM Honda parts.
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My son shot a nice doe opening morning, butcher called this morning and we picked it up.
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After all that, plus a fair amount of undocumented activities I needed a drink or 6.
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jonshonda

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Wisconsin
-25 here overnight. Saturday morning I jumped into the shower with the wife for some adult time, and right when things got serious out went the lights and the exhaust fan went silent, so we knew it was only a matter of time before the hot water went away. Within 30 seconds the kids were knocking on the *locked bedroom door* to report the issue. Adult time postponed.

I immediately went from that mindset to "now wtf is gotta happen". Looked around at the neighbors and saw no exhaust coming from the vents, so I knew we weren't alone. Check our breaker just to make sure and all seemed well. Luckily I had the gas fireplace running already in an effort to give the furnace some help, so at least we had some heat. Nothing I could really do at the time, so we busted out a puzzle and killed some time.

Lucky for us the power was back on 30 min later, and XCEL had sent some guys out and were looking at the power pole and transformer in our neighbors back yard. With the power back on it was time for round 2 with the wife...and I hear *bang bang bang* ON THE BACK PATIO DOOR. Kids were once again knocking on the *locked bedroom door* reporting that the power guys needed to talk. For phucks sake.
 

shade

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May 5, 2010
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342
Location
Phoenix, AZ
-25 here overnight. Saturday morning I jumped into the shower with the wife for some adult time, and right when things got serious out went the lights and the exhaust fan went silent, so we knew it was only a matter of time before the hot water went away. Within 30 seconds the kids were knocking on the *locked bedroom door* to report the issue. Adult time postponed.

I immediately went from that mindset to "now wtf is gotta happen". Looked around at the neighbors and saw no exhaust coming from the vents, so I knew we weren't alone. Check our breaker just to make sure and all seemed well. Luckily I had the gas fireplace running already in an effort to give the furnace some help, so at least we had some heat. Nothing I could really do at the time, so we busted out a puzzle and killed some time.

Lucky for us the power was back on 30 min later, and XCEL had sent some guys out and were looking at the power pole and transformer in our neighbors back yard. With the power back on it was time for round 2 with the wife...and I hear *bang bang bang* ON THE BACK PATIO DOOR. Kids were once again knocking on the *locked bedroom door* reporting that the power guys needed to talk. For phucks sake.
No friend, not phuck sake at that moment.
 
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jonshonda

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Jul 17, 2017
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4,735
Location
Wisconsin
In typical ADD fashion I lost interest in posting to this thread or posting much in general. Been very busy with spring thaw and all things related to outdoor activities now that its warm enough. My son and I have already shot 4-5 PCSL competitions, his youth steel challenge is coming on strong, and the daughter is doing both competition dance and volleyball.

Pulled the toys out of winter storage a month ago or so and I have been getting them ready for summer duty. Last year we used the camper for a 24hr mountain bike race, and while my cousins were "helping me" tear down the camper for transport, the fresh water drain valve "just snapped". I finally remembered it needed to be replaced, and made it much easier to drain when needed, as the original valve was located directly on the bottom of the tank.

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The Miata didn't leak a single drop of anything all winter, and twice now it's left a little puddle on the ground. The picture is from the autocross last weekend, where I finished first in my class but got it handed too me with PAX times. I'm pretty sure it's the rear main seal that is leaking, which is something I'm not sure I want to tackle on my own on the garage floor.

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