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Hey guys, I've got one of those Porter Cable combination 3X18 belt sander/8" disk sanders. I'm sure it was intended to sand wood (and I do that too), but tonight I was using it to sand some aluminum plate (preliminary to polishing it). It was doing OK, and then all the sudden there was a loud...

For Sale: 1495 grizzly wood lath I know it's only missing the 'e', but he's listed it every day for 3 months (at $625). After a week or so, I figured out that's just how he spells "lathe'. Anyone else see any good ones lately? Phil

This picture was taken following a gas explosion on a pool heater. The water dripping off of it is from the sprinkler system, which put the fire out. Significant structural damage to the building the pool heater was in but thankfully no one was hurt. At this time it is not certain if the...

I'm approaching 50, and I want to tell you...I remember HARDWARE STORES. To you kids that don't know better, I'm not talking about the 6-foot wide "Hardware Aisle" at your putzy Lowes or Home Depot. I'm talking about honest to God hardware stores. These were large, dark, crowded buildings...

Hey guys, I'm milling several pieces of 0.25" 6061 aluminum and need to get a "logic check" before I screw something up. The pieces will be roughed out to 5.00" X 5.00" square. Then, I need to round the corners to a 0.75"-radius. Here's my plan. Please poke holes in it, or point out an...

So...last night I was finishing up a project to make a decorative part out of aluminum for my car. It involved 4 10-24 threads in aluminum for 3/4" long screws. I drilled all 4 holes all the way through the aluminum 5/32" (that's about .007 oversized actually, as the tap said to use a smaller...

So, now that I"m in my upper 40's I find I can do without a torque wrench for some jobs. When tightening the lug nuts on my Mustang last night I figured out that my shoulder pops at exactly 75 foot pounds. Pretty handy huh? Thing hurts like hell today though. Guess that's the downside. Phil

Hey guys, My 17 year old is due to get a set of basic mechanic's tools for Christmas this year. What would you guys recommend in the $150ish price range? I'd like to stay away from Craftsman because I don't want to get them mixed up with my tools (about half are c-man) or his older brother's...

Hey guys, So yesterday, I started in on my old mustang changing the timing cover. To do this, the harmonic balancer has to come off the crank shaft. This is a high-reving stroker engine, so I've got one of those high-dollar SFI rated harmonic balancers that is press-fit on the end of the...

Hey guys, I was thinking this morning back to when I was a kid and we had to worry about getting the **** shocked out of you by old metal cased appliances or power tools. In particular, I remember hearing about a person who needed to drill a mounting hole on their truck, laid down under it...

I spotted this on the Bloomington, IN CL for $20. I might just have to go get it. I don't have one. I think that's awesome. Wonder what OSHA would say if they rolled up on you while you were using that? Phil

So, My 11 year-old is in 4H and this year is up to do the "Build an extension cord or a trouble light" project. For old time 4H dudes (like me) this is the same project we used to get as our second year 4H project (I still have my trouble light I built), but now it's done in year 3...

When I built my garage in 2006, one of the things I thought to do at the time was run a network cable into it. You may remember that in 2006, WiFi wasn't "all the rage" so, the original goal of the network cable was to hook a PC up to my network switch someday. Fast forward 6 years, I've never...

Saw this in the local CL. http://bloomington.craigslist.org/tls/3104373376.html Looks old and cool. But what is it used for? Phil

Hey guys, My 16-year old was looking for some odd jobs to augment his summer income (he also caddies for a local resort). So...hired him to seal the driveway. It was last sealed 5 years ago. Long story short, he's doing a good job, but it is slow! First issue I had was the first 2 buckets...

Hey guys, This is my new "letter opener". Actually a 3"-damascus blade, 7" Overall. The handle is mokum and spalted maple. The pins are nickle-silver. The knife block was made out of Honduran Rosewood and I initialed a scrap piece of mokum just for fun. It has a nice feel to it, although...

Hey guys, Fathers' Day is coming up! The wife already hit me up to see if I wanted a Bosch multi-tool. I'm holding out for a better idea. Right now I'm considering telling her I need a 3-axis DRO setup for my mill:drool: Any of you dads expecting tools this year? If so, what are you...

So...My wife has a standard answer to the question: What do you want for X? Where X= Your Birthday, Mother's Day, Chirstmas, Anniversery, etc. The answer is "Nothing." After 19 years of "wedded bliss", I'm way too smart to think "nothing" means "don't get me a present", though. What it...

So... My son (18) got this used Mazda. Yesterday, I went out there and looked at it with him so he'd know how to change a tire on it if he needed to. We got out the emergency tools in the trunk. The lug wrench is about 8-inches long. I'm 6'3, 260 and have lifted weights on and off for the...

Hey guys, I've officially outgrown my 2006 garage. The garage had 3 bays plus I have 2 garage bays in a detached outbuilding HOWEVER, 1 of those bays has terrible access and is only useful for my riding lawnmower...meaning I have 4 useful garage bays and 5 vehicles to park. :dunno: VOTE FOR...