Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT The **** Shack

[bdbecker]

Tying up some loose ends from where we left off a few weeks ago…

Shop cleanup: I’ve got a few areas that need some more attention, but the majority of the heavy lifting is done, and I am very happy with how things are sitting right now. I went through every single tote I have on my shelves and got rid of a good amount of stuff. I also went through my material storage rack. The result is that everything is now on a shelf and organized so that I can access it. I’ve still got a pile of stuff to donate, sell, or trash sitting on the floor, but man it feels good to have my space back again.

Freezer: We caught a sale on an upright freezer, well, two actually. The model we picked out works as either a freezer or a refrigerator, depending on which mode you put it in. There are two reasons we went this route. One, it’ll be really nice to have some extra fridge space for food/bulk items when hosting people at the house. That watermelon or giant bowl of potato salad no longer requires a complete reorganization of the fridge in the kitchen. The other reason is as a backup. If the main freezer goes out for whatever reason, we can pull whatever is in the fridge and put it into freezer mode. I’m not going to touch the pantry room construction project that we dreamed up as a result of this purchase, suffice it to say I need to learn to keep my big dumb mouth shut and to stop creating all this extra work for myself.

Vise Handle: I replaced the plumbing pipe handle on the wood vise with a wooden one. I ended up pushing the ‘Easy’ button and made it out of off-the-shelf components. I found a 7/8” oak dowel at Menards and some pre-made candle stick holder cups at The Woodsmith Shop. For less than $10 and a few minutes of work, I’ve now got a fancy new handle on the vise. I even used the decorative brass inserts… not really sure why other than it makes me happy.

Onto this past weekend’s project – a pair of trellises for our watermelon plants. Apologies in advance, I had full intentions of doing a step-by-step build detail on this, but I got into a groove and forgot to stop and take pics. Also, it needs to be stated upfront, this is totally an experiment and I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ll post an update this fall as to how everything worked (or didn’t). Amends and disclaimer complete, onto the project…

The ‘hot’ trend in the gardening world is to grow watermelons using a trellis system instead of on the ground. This makes the footprint much more compact and allows for watermelons to be grown in a raised garden bed. The watermelons are supported on the vine using hammocks that are tied to the trellis. Wife wanted to make sure the watermelon plants were going to actually grow before I spent any time building something. Well, the plants have taken off over the last few weeks and it was time to knock this project out.

I wanted something that would not only be functional, but also look good. Wife gave me a few pictures of designs she liked and dimensions to work off of and left the rest to me. The design is to make a frame out of cedar 2x4’s with black metal cross bars made out of ½” EMT conduit. The conduit is held in place by holes bored into the sides of the 2x4’s. I chose conduit because its pretty darn strong for its weight, and I had a bunch of odd pieces stashed in inventory from when I updated my lighting a few years ago. The conduit was cut to length, small drainage holes were drilled in the middle to let rain pass through, and then painted black.

The cedar frame is nothing crazy, just a simple rectangle. I used glue and pocket screws to tie the pieces together. I know pocket holes aren’t the strongest joint, and that glue on end grain is not especially strong either. The weight is supported by the conduit cross bars, which are in holes on the vertical 2x4’s, which is very strong. The purpose of the wood cross pieces is really to just hold the vertical boards together and shouldn’t really bear much of the load at all, so I think I’ll be okay. If not, I can always slap some corner brackets on later if it becomes an issue. For the finish, I used the same Penofin deck oil as I did on my deck.

(Yes, I know I need to replace that first course of siding…)

To hold the trellises in place, I made stakes out of some channel iron I had on hand and bolted them to the vertical boards using three carriage bolts on each side. These are super beefy and probably weigh almost as much as the frames themselves. Finally, I made some tie rods out of the same ½” conduit to connect the two frames together for added stability. The paint wasn’t quite dry on the tie rods to get them installed last night but should only take a few minutes to knock out this afternoon.

And here they are, ready for watermelons…

Like I said, this is all an experiment. I have no idea if this will even work, but hey, I had a lot of fun making them, and they came out looking pretty cool in my opinion. The best part is, other than the carriage bolts and cedar 2x4’s, I had everything else on hand. The total project cost was a significant savings over the pre-made trellises that Wife had her eye on, with the bonus being that they are exactly the right size for our planter box.

I’m not exactly sure what will be next… I have a shop project idea that I’ve been tossing around for a few years. It’s currently stuck in the ‘paralysis by analysis’ phase. It’s actually a very simple project that I could knock out in a day or two if I stuck to the basic version I originally was planning on. Me being me, I keep coming up with ideas of how to make it unique, which complicates things and leads me down rabbit holes of research. I’m kind of getting sick of thinking about it so I might just have to force myself to start working on it and just get it done.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[nicholam77]

They look great! Really like the way that Penofin oil looks.

I used glue and pocket screws to tie the pieces together. I know pocket holes aren’t the strongest joint, and that glue on end grain is not especially strong either.

Maybe not the strongest *ever*, but a pocket-screwed-and-glued **** joint is not coming apart without some serious lateral force on the joint. You've got nothing to worry about. Another option would have been some long GRK's through the top and sides, but don't lose any sleep over it.

I’m not exactly sure what will be next…

Time to start that hybrid / MFT bench??

 

[bdbecker]

Maybe not the strongest *ever*, but a pocket-screwed-and-glued **** joint is not coming apart without some serious lateral force on the joint. You've got nothing to worry about. Another option would have been some long GRK's through the top and sides, but don't lose any sleep over it.

The original idea was to just run screws through the sides, but I thought hidden fasteners would look nicer. Like you said, it should be just fine for this application.

Time to start that hybrid / MFT bench??

Not yet... I still need to do more thinking on what I want to include and how to integrate it together.

After thinking about it a little more, there's no point in teasing the project I mentioned in my last post as I might get some good ideas from the group that I haven't considered yet. The project I'm considering next is coming up with a way to cover my storage shelves. While I've got them organized, they still are a bit of an eye sore. Covering them with some sort of door would make for a lot cleaner look to my space while also keeping dust off the items. The current plan is to run two tracks of strut channel along the ceiling and hang four panels on trolleys (two panels per channel) to allow access to each one of the shelf sections. Basically, giant sliding closet doors that run almost all the way to the floor.

Where I start getting into the weeds is how to approach the sliding doors. Option A is to get some nice veneer plywood or baltic birch, edge band, and finish. Simple, clean, easy. The downside is that this sort of plywood isn't exactly cheap, so I'd be spending a little more on the front end. But even then, the risk is low because if I end up not liking the doors in the future, I've still got four sheets of plywood that I could easily repurpose on different project. This is the option I'm currently leaning towards.

But then I got to thinking about ways I could have a little fun with the project. Option B would be to paint the panels like a large Piet Mondrian squares painting using subdued vintage machine colors like blue, green, light gray, etc. Kind of a blend between art and industry. I nearly pursued art as a career instead of engineering, so it would have some personal meaning to me. This option would allow me to go with a less expensive panel material, but would require a lot more time painting/finishing. I don't mind that necessarily, but my fear is that if I get the proportions wrong on the squares and the panels end up too busy, I'm right back at square one.

Option C is to paint each one of the panels a solid color, with each panel being a different color. Again, subdued blue, green, gray, and maybe a pop of Gulf Orange or something like that. Option C is a close second to Option A because it allows me to use a less expensive panel material without adding a ton of extra work and gives the panels a bit of visual interest without being busy.

Options D through V all involve some sort of over-complicated door system and/or translucent plastic and LEDs to create some sort of backlit effect. Anything from the white bat cave ceiling panels from The Dark Knight Rises to some sort of cyber punk Blade Runner vibe. Like I said, I've been over-thinking this for way too long and just need to make it happen.

So I guess after typing this out, I'm really down to either a nice veneer plywood or paint - I just need to choose one. The strut channel trolley system for sliding the doors should do the trick, unless anyone knows of a ceiling mounted alternative.

 

[pat9198]

Nice trellises for the watermelons! We planted a couple watermelon plants this year, and they're quickly running out of room in the boxed beds I made. I may have to look into this.

 

[nicholam77]

Option C reminds me of this (and other) Four Eyes furniture builds:

Not Mondrian per se, but he's done a quite few projects with brightly colored panels, including shop furniture.

I actually remember a garage build on GJ where someone painted the interior with Mondrian squares. I can't find it, though.

I like the idea of using subdued machinist colors. MDF is probably a decent option if you're painting.

I am always a fan of natural plywood, but agree it would be less "fun".

 

[zanyad]

Option C reminds me of this (and other) Four Eyes furniture builds:

I had to laugh at what he said at the end, right before the credits:

I guess when you think about it, humans and stuff in a workshop aren't so different after all: whether it's in a garage or in the world, we're all just kind of looking for a place. And a lot of us are tools.

 

[zanyad]

I actually remember a garage build on GJ where someone painted the interior with Mondrian squares. I can't find it, though.

This one? (linky)

NOW I have something to show for the last 6 days' effort. It makes the place much more interesting visually. Bonus points for those who find the inspiration.

Next step, starting tomorrow morning, cleaning up and hanging the door and its frame on the garage end of the tunnel.

 

[nicholam77]

This one? (linky)

Yep, that was the one!

 

[bdbecker]

Thanks for those links guys! Those are some great, well executed examples. I saw that Four Eyes video years ago and wonder if that might be what inspired me on a subconscious level to consider that idea for the doors.

Sitting in my garage last night mulling over my options, I'm now leaning strongly towards the solid painted panels. This feels a lot like the decision to paint my ceiling black in that my gut told me to take a chance and go for it, but my brain kept getting in the way. I've never regretted that decision and I don't think I will this one either. Heck, even if I do, its just a couple of gallons of paint if I want a more neutral look. I also like that the doors will be significantly lighter. The trolleys I'm looking at would carry either load without issue, but the lighter weight will help with controlling the momentum of the doors when moving them around. It would also reduce the load on my trusses.

Oh boy... now I'm getting excited!

 

[burger]

Hey Brad,

I was thinking about you today during a project. After work, girlfriend and I built a quick trellis for our raised bed. It was totally the opposite of yours- built in an hour from scrap lumber and eyeball accurate. The cucumbers keep growing and we needed something quick to send them vertical without choking out the rest.


Ed

 

[bdbecker]

That looks pretty darn good for supposedly being a slapdash job Ed... nice work! I'm pretty sure the plants won't care if its a touch out of square or if the spacing between the bars is a little off.

-----

Wife started training the vines onto the trellis. It never ceases to amaze me at just how fast they grow. On Monday, the vines only reached to the third or fourth bar up, by Wednesday afternoon they've started reaching the top bar - that's nearly a foot of growth in two days.

 

[burger]

Wife started training the vines onto the trellis. It never ceases to amaze me at just how fast they grow. On Monday, the vines only reached to the third or fourth bar up, by Wednesday afternoon they've started reaching the top bar - that's nearly a foot of growth in two days.

How are you holding the vines to the trellis?

 

[bdbecker]

How are you holding the vines to the trellis?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005755YSQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[burger]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005755YSQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Brilliant! Ordered and on the way to the house!

 

[bdbecker]

Not long after my bulk purchase of axe heads, I decided it was time to upgrade my electrolysis tank power supply. I’ll save you the nerd-out on how to make an electrolysis rig, not because I don’t like talking about it, but mainly because it’s all very well documented on this website:

https://www.metaldetectingworld.com/electrolysis_rust_removal.shtml

Up until now, I’ve been using a 3A, 12VDC power supply that I bought second hand off Marketplace for $20. It worked well enough, but I’ve never liked using it for this application. It’s actually intended for amateur radio use, so it’s way nicer than it needs to be for this application (original price is something like $80-$100 IIRC). At the same time, it is a bit undersized being only 3A and has to work pretty hard and takes a good 3-5 days to get an axe head clean, depending on the condition of the axe. A bit of an odd paradox in that its way overbuilt for this application but undersized. The other thing I didn’t like about my original setup is that I didn’t have a good way to monitor the progress of the process other than just looking at how many bubbles the setup was producing.

With all that in mind, I did some shopping on Amazon and purchased the necessary components - a 15A fused rocker switch for my 120V input, a LCD current and voltage monitor/display, and a 10A, 12V DC power supply. Everything else I had on hand. Other than verifying that I received everything, I ended up shelving this project for a while to clean up the shop. Life and watermelon trellises also got in the way, but I found time to dig into the project despite the heat last week.

The time it took to get everything together was maybe 30 minutes. The number of times I was interrupted borders on comedy, but also makes me wonder if this project isn’t cursed. The first night I tried to work on it, Smasher wanted to watch. That was going well, but then Sis wanted to watch too. I only have one tall chair in the shop that I’d already given to Smasher, so she grabbed a bucket to stand on. That bucket happened to be the bucket I store my pool vac in so it doesn’t make a mess as it’s drying out. Pool vac and related components are now strewn over the floor. Maggie then wanders in and decides to turn the filter sock into a chew toy. This is about the time the kids start arguing about who gets to be next to me. That’s it… we’re done. Everyone out!

The next day I try to work on it, I no more than make up one wire and my folks show up an hour earlier than originally planned (Mom had to fly out the next day for work so they stayed with us). That pattern proceeded throughout the week – I’d think I have some time to work on it, but then I’d immediately get pulled away for something else (Sis asking if we can go out to eat tonight, neighbor has an engine code and wonders if I can scan it, Wife asks if I can run to the store to grab some ingredient we ran out of, and so on). It’s just how life goes sometimes. While frustrating in the moment, I have to remind myself that this is just a hobby and there is no point getting upset about it. I finally got everything put together and temporarily mounted the components on a board for testing.

I wanted to get my anodes cleaned up. After scraping all the big chunks off, I thought why not use electrolysis to clean up the anodes a little more? This would both save me some time and allow me to give the setup a good test run. I reversed the polarity of my connections to turn my anodes into cathodes and dropped a sacrificial piece in the tank where I’d normally hang the part I wanted to clean. I’m happy to report that it worked like a charm! I ran the tank for about an hour on each of my (normally) anodes and got them cleaned well enough. Nothing got hot, which was one of my concerns. The power supply was warm to the touch, but not warm enough to burn me. I was getting right around 5-6A out of the power supply, which is what I was targeting from the start – faster than my previous setup without being overly aggressive. Even though the power supply is rated at 10A continuous, I’m sure it will be happier running at roughly half-load.

All in, I’ve got about $50 into the setup. I still need to get everything moved into a project box but held off on buying one until I had a chance to size everything up. I purposely cut my wires long so I can play around with the configuration and will tidy everything up once I sort out how everything will fit together. Hopefully I can get that buttoned up this week, provided I don’t get interrupted too many times...

 

[burger]

Hey Brad,

Thanks for sending me down a rabbit hole with that electrolysis link! Just spent the last hour chewing through and learning the basics.

On your new setup, is there any way to vary the voltage or amps?

What do you use for anodes?

Do you keep your tank in the garage or outside?

Do you use soda ash, baking soda, or some other sort of electrolyte? (Side note, every time I read electrolytes, I couldn’t help but think “But Brawndo has what plants crave! It has electrolytes!”)

 

[jake28]

@bdbecker
Exactly one thought based on your watermelon build, and propensity for rabbit holes and exploration:

A real cheap trick I used all the time in grad school for quick projects was to rip ~1/16” off each side of a 2x4 to get rid of the rounded over edges. It’s purely aesthetic, but makes the lumber look intentional and high end vs. something quickly plucked from the dunnage pile. I’m not for a moment suggesting this trick applies to your watermelon rack which looks great with dimensional lumber and matching the beds, but it’s a trick to add to your bag.

 

[bdbecker]

@burger

On your new setup, is there any way to vary the voltage or amps?
Not really. Voltage is fixed at 12V, amperage depends on several factors.

How To Control Voltage/Current

Detailed Tutorial on Electrolytic Rust Removal: How To Control Voltage/Current, Hydrogen Embrittlement, Energy Wasted as Heat p23

www.metaldetectingworld.com

If I see that my amperage starts to drop (or on my old setup, no bubbles are forming), I can troubleshoot the six factors detailed in the link above. Whenever I've encountered an issue in the past, 95% of the time I just needed to clean my anodes. The other 5% of the time my solution was just filthy and needed to be changed out. I've got a good ratio of anode to cathode surface area with my setup, at least for what I've run through the tank (mostly axe heads, but some also some similar sized hand tools). I'd like to say this was me being smart, but it really was just dumb luck that I got it pretty close to correct the first time.

If you wanted more control, I'd recommend getting a bench top power supply like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B8S6CH3H/?tag=atomicindus08-20

In all honesty, I probably should have gone that route. The cost is basically the same, but you get more control, and you don't have to fuss around with building anything. But I also like tinkering. The decision to build my own setup just really comes down to wanting to have some fun with the project.


What do you use for anodes?
I'm using four pieces of 3" channel iron that are about 12" long. I've got them spaced equal distance around the inside of a 5 gallon bucket. I then suspend whatever I want to clean up in the center of the bucket and have a line of sight path in all directions. I'll take some pics and get them posted when I have a chance.


Do you keep your tank in the garage or outside?
No comment... operate it in a well ventilated area as suggested.

Do you use soda ash, baking soda, or some other sort of electrolyte?
I use soda ash (sodium carbonate), specifically Arm & Hammer washing soda. Not a product endorsement, its just what I found on the shelf at a store.

Side note, every time I read electrolytes, I couldn’t help but think “But Brawndo has what plants crave! It has electrolytes!”
What else would you use? Water? Like from the toilet?

-----

...A real cheap trick I used all the time in grad school for quick projects was to rip ~1/16” off each side of a 2x4 to get rid of the rounded over edges. It’s purely aesthetic, but makes the lumber look intentional and high end vs. something quickly plucked from the dunnage pile. I’m not for a moment suggesting this trick applies to your watermelon rack which looks great with dimensional lumber and matching the beds, but it’s a trick to add to your bag.

That is a good tip. I've done that on a number of occasions as well. It's funny how something so small and simple can completely change the look of a project.

 

[bdbecker]

I ran into an interesting situation with the electrolysis setup, which has been both a bit humbling, and a good reminder of how much I’ve forgotten about DC electronics over the last 20 years (pretty much everything, apparently). During my test run, you may remember that I used my setup to clean my anodes, and everything was hunky-dory. When I dropped an axe head into the tank to see how well it would run, it didn’t. I just got a blinking LED on the power supply and nothing else.

Since my Amazon power supply came with no documentation, I had to hunt through the reviews and questions section to try and figure out why it wasn’t working. I learned that I was overloading the power supply. I started by disconnecting one of the four anodes I have in the tank. This was enough to get the power supply to turn back on, but according to my meter, I was pulling over 9A. Not good. Disconnecting another anode, I got it to settle down to run around 7A.

While I’m happy that I was able to get it up and running, it is apparent that this is not going to work like I want it to. I have a constant voltage, variable current power supply. All well and good for providing 12V of power, but no provisions for controlling the current. Basically, it’ll give the circuit as many amps as it wants until it hits the max and shuts down. I don’t need or want it to run at 10A, but without modifying my setup, I have no way of controlling it. I can work around it by running just two anodes, but that is really more of a band-aide than anything else. I’m sure I could keep digging and figure out how to make this work, but my frustration is starting to cloud my ability to focus, and I’m getting to that point where I need to walk away before I do something dumb.

So where does that leave me? I am going to keep playing around with the setup using just two anodes for now, but closely supervised. I may do some additional digging to see if I can sort out a fix, but I also need to be realistic about how much more time I want to sink into this project. This was supposed to be fun little aside to help me clean axe heads. I’m now several weeks into this and have yet to fully clean one. Like I said in my previous post, this project felt cursed from the start. I know it’s not really cursed, more so just bad timing on my part by trying to push this through with how busy we’ve been lately.

That being said, I’m leaning heavily towards just getting a bench top power supply like I was inclined to do at the start. This will allow me to supply a constant voltage and keep the current in check without overloading the supply. A part of me doesn’t like the bench top power supply option because it feels too much like giving up, however, I’m just trying to be practical at this point. If I ask myself how much more time I really want to invest into this project, the answer is “not much”.

Anyway… a longwinded post that basically says if you want to setup an electrolysis tank, don’t do what I did, just get a benchtop power supply and be done with it.

 

[Uofime]

I think you just said it wrong, but Bench power supplies have a constant current mode and in that mode they alter the voltage to maintain the current limit you set. They also of course have a constant voltage mode like your current set up has.

 

[bdbecker]

I think you just said it wrong, but Bench power supplies have a constant current mode and in that mode they alter the voltage to maintain the current limit you set. They also of course have a constant voltage mode like your current set up has.

Yeah, I'm beginning to question everything I thought I knew to be true about this whole process... I think the reason 12V pops up so much is because a lot of people are using old car battery chargers. The more I research this, voltage seems to be less important than the current. A CC supply (or one that can switch between CC and CV modes) is probably the route I need to take.

 

[Trapps]

PM3 12V Series - PowerMax Converters in 12, 24 & 48 Volts

AC to DC Power Converters can be used for RV Converters, Car Audio Power Supplies and Battery Charging for 12, 24 & 48V - Lithium Compatible

powermaxconverters.com

They may have a unit to fit your specs.

I am using a PM3 45LK. It hasn't missed a beat in near daily use driving a couple of hungry power amps since February of 2022.

 

[burger]

Yeah, I'm beginning to question everything I thought I knew to be true about this whole process... I think the reason 12V pops up so much is because a lot of people are using old car battery chargers. The more I research this, voltage seems to be less important than the current. A CC supply (or one that can switch between CC and CV modes) is probably the route I need to take.

There’s a reason I switched from electrical engineering to mechanical freshman year….

 

[Uofime]

Yeah, I'm beginning to question everything I thought I knew to be true about this whole process... I think the reason 12V pops up so much is because a lot of people are using old car battery chargers. The more I research this, voltage seems to be less important than the current. A CC supply (or one that can switch between CC and CV modes) is probably the route I need to take.

Yeah the electro chemistry definitely doesn’t require more than a couple volts (could look up the potentials) but more voltage will “overcome” the resistance in the cell from the electrolyte and allow more current which will drive up the reaction rate.

You can’t beat ohms law, V=IR. In this case you have to consider multiple cases in your circuit, you have the cell voltage and the voltage drop across electrolyte as well as other minor contributors( connections, wires, ect))
Thats basically Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL)

 

[bdbecker]

I stumbled upon an unanticipated project on Sunday afternoon. On my way home from Menards, I noticed a Ryobi 40V mower on the curb with a sign that said “Free – Doesn’t work”. Because I’ve got the 40V platform for my trimmer and leaf blower, I couldn’t help but stop to investigate. I peaked under the cover and sure enough, the 6ah battery and charger were in there. That was all I needed to see to want to take it home with me. As I was fiddling around with handle to fold it up so I could put it in my car, the homeowner saw me and came out to talk. He said it was working great, but then when he went to mow his yard one day, the blade just wouldn’t turn on no matter what he tried. He figured the battery had went bad and bought a replacement mower from a different brand. I told him that I had a few 40V batteries at home and that I’d tinker around with it to see if I could get it to work, thanked him, and headed for home. When I got home, Wife was on the back deck painting. I told her to not get mad at me, but that I got a new mower. She was a little annoyed, but when she saw the “Free” sign taped to it, she just rolled her eyes in a here-we-go-again fashion. I then showed her the reason I snagged it – the 6ah battery. Then she was on board.

The battery was fully charged, so I put it on my trimmer, and it seemed to be working just fine. A win for me! But now I was curious. If the battery was good, why wasn’t the mower working? I put the 6ah battery back in the mower and could get the self-propel drive to work, but I couldn’t get the blade to turn on. Same story with one of my 4ah batteries. Onto the workbench for a little poking around...

I started in the most logical place I could think of – the switch on the handle. I took it apart, only to have a small explosion of plastic, screws, and a spring fall onto the bench. I didn’t see any loose connections and the switches seemed to be working as expected, so I fumbled the pieces back together and buttoned it back up. I then took the cover off the mower deck itself. Again, nothing seemed out of place. All the wires and terminals seemed to be where they should be. I then noticed two wires snaking to the top corner of the cover that led to a small magnetic proximity sensor. I flipped over the cover and saw this warning label…

I thought to myself “No way it’s that simple…” But having no other ideas on what could be wrong, I buttoned everything back up and improvised a solution.

Yep, it was that simple. The blade spun right up as soon as I pushed the button. It wasn’t all rainbows and lollipops though. When I put the handle housing back together, I didn’t get something quite right and the self-propel levers were no longer working. I was kind of annoyed with myself for breaking the part of the mower that was initially working. I was out of time on Sunday to do anything else with it, but after fiddling around with it for a few minutes Monday and Tuesday afternoon, I finally figured out what I was doing wrong and bingo, I now had a fully operational lawn mower. Initially I was only going to take a couple of test passes to see how it worked and ended up mowing the entire yard last night.

I was honestly surprised at how well it did. It touts the ability to mow a half an acre, but that comes with an asterisk. My lot is a touch over a third of an acre, WAG is that I have just shy of a quarter of an acre of lawn to mow once you consider the house, shop, landscaping, and driveway. The battery was down to its last bar by the time I finished up, and on the last few passes, it felt like it was slowing down a little. I don’t think it’d do a half-acre, but it does have the ability to mow my entire yard without a battery swap. The cut quality seemed to be pretty good despite the blade feeling pretty dull to the touch. Not sure if it needs to be sharpened, or if that is just how it’s designed. The blade itself seemed to be in great condition and still has the factory paint on it. Given the condition of the blade and the mower itself, I suspect that it was purchased this spring and hasn’t yet seen a full season of mowing. I also liked both how quiet it was, and how little vibration came through the handle.

On the downside, the deck is narrower than my gas mower, which was noticeable. The strip between my sidewalk and the street can usually be covered in four passes with my gas mower but took five with the Ryobi. The weight of the mower is a bit of a double-edged sword in my opinion. It is incredibly light compared to my gas mower, which makes it really easy to maneuver. At the same time, my yard isn’t the smoothest and it seemed like the mower bounced off track a little too easily, requiring more correction to achieve straight runs. The wheelbase is a bit longer as well, which leaves more grass to trim later in the corners. The biggest negative is the build quality.

I know Ryobi is intended to be an affordable option when it comes to electric mowers, but after having it apart, it seems like they might have cut a few too many corners in its design. Everything is light duty. The self-propelled wheels are driven by a sintered metal gear, which isn’t bad, but the wheels are made of plastic and have the tooth profile molded into them. I don’t believe that those plastic teeth will hold up for more than a few seasons worth of mowing. The handles for the self-propel feature are also very lightweight and flexible. The mechanism that ties the two handles together has no bushings or bearings of any sort, just a glob of clear grease to reduce friction between the small plastic pins and the slots they ride in. This is also a weak point that will not hold up over time. Finally, the wiring seems more like an afterthought than an intentional design in that it is just sort of strewn all around under the cover. If I had paid full retail price for this mower, I would have been very disappointed.

So now what to do with this mower? I’ve been wrestling with this since the moment I picked it up off the curb. My gas mower is only a few years old, and I really like it. The main reason for grabbing the free one was for the 6ah battery. Looking around at Marketplace, these mowers seem to be listed around the $50 price point without a battery. Not having the chute/bag/mulch plug pieces means it’ll be tough to sell for even that amount. I thought about buying a chute attachment (~$30) and listing it for around $200-250 with the battery. That’d be cash in my pocket to put towards the next project, but also would leave me without the spare battery that I’ve wanted. Buying a new battery with the cash from the sale would probably end up around the break even point, so that is an option. I also thought about donating it to the ReStore, but again, not having the chute or battery means it’s not exactly functional, and I don’t like putting that burden on charitable organizations that rely on a lot of volunteer work to operate.

My answer to this conundrum was resolved pretty quickly when I was making my test passes. Sis came outside and was blown away at how quiet the mower was. She also thought it looked pretty cool. I let her drive it around using the self-propel function with the blade off, which resulted in her begging me to let her mow the yard. I wouldn’t let her because I don’t have a chute on there, but if I had one, this would be the perfect mower for her to learn on (under close supervision and instruction, of course). It’s lightweight, intuitive to operate, and if you let the bar go, shuts down almost instantly. The handle, in its lower setting, is a perfect height for her as well. She’s already referring to it as her mower anyway, so now I guess I have to keep it. Thankfully it folds up for storage and fits under the handle of my gas mower, so it really doesn’t take up any additional space in the shop. I also like the idea of having it around in case Wife needs to mow (should I be out of town for some reason). She really struggles getting the gas mower started, so having this option would make it a breeze for her.

Looking around, it looks like a mulching plug or side chute will set me back around $20-30. The free mower is going to end up costing me a little bit of money, but I’ll still get that third battery I’ve wanted, have a backup mower should something go wrong with one of them, and I’ll be able to cut down on my mowing time once Sis is up to speed and able to operate it safely. If it ends up breaking after a season or two, no big deal, I've already gotten my money out of it.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Awesome score on the mower! Sounds like it was meant to be. Stories like yours pointing out the simple problem that lead to the mower being put to the curb and a new unit purchased are kind of sad, even though you obviously benefitted. It's sad that our culture has grown into the throw away, consumerism mentality, but also that their problem solving skills are so lacking... With that being said, I'm glad that they decided to put it at the curb instead of tossing it in the dump, and I'm glad that you have a good use for it.

A few weeks ago I picked up a new looking generator off the curb, completely expecting it to at least need a carb clean and perhaps more. When I got it home I followed the standard start up procedure (zero expectations it would start) and it fired up on the first pull! I can't understand why they gave it away, but I scored a practically new $500+ generator for free...

 

[burger]

Thumbs up for the troubleshooting. Good job!

 

[burger]

Awesome score on the mower! Sounds like it was meant to be. Stories like yours pointing out the simple problem that lead to the mower being put to the curb and a new unit purchased are kind of sad, even though you obviously benefitted. It's sad that our culture has grown into the throw away, consumerism mentality, but also that their problem solving skills are so lacking... With that being said, I'm glad that they decided to put it at the curb instead of tossing it in the dump, and I'm glad that you have a good use for it.

A few weeks ago I picked up a new looking generator off the curb, completely expecting it to at least need a carb clean and perhaps more. When I got it home I followed the standard start up procedure (zero expectations it would start) and it fired up on the first pull! I can't understand why they gave it away, but I scored a practically new $500+ generator for free...

Cool beans on the free generator.

Most people are dumber than a post when it comes to fixing things. They're equally dumb about faucet valve o-rings as they are wifi routers. I don't think it's a new or old tech thing, seems most people just don't understand how things work.

 

[bdbecker]

Quick update on the Ryobi mower... I purchased a mulching plug for it ($27 after shipping) and ran it around the yard again over the weekend. It's way less sketchy not having visible spinning blades shooting grass and twigs at my legs. It cut well with the plug in place and I had no issues with bogging down in the thicker grass. I'm getting more comfortable with the mower's nuances after the second mow, but it also re-affirmed the decision to keep my gas mower.

Nothing to report on the shop/projects front. Wife is out of town for work, so not much in the way of free time the last several days. Besides, even though my shop is staying in the low/mid-80's with the dehumidifier running, it's not all that fun spending time out there with this heat. This weekend looks like it'll offer a bit of reprieve, which I'm looking forward to.

 

[bdbecker]

The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind for me.Wife had a weeklong work trip out of town that happened to fall on the same week that both kids started school. Between the orientation meetings and the juggling of new schedules, I’m honestly amazed I didn’t screw something up that week. What has been really nice is that we finally get to appreciate one of the selling features of our house in that we only have to walk a couple of blocks to school now. Previously, preschool was not offered at the school near our house. Then, they tore down the old building to replace it, so we still had to drive to a different location in town. The new school is finally open, and both kids are now just a five minute walk away. Trust me when I say, I will not miss spending 45+ minutes every day driving all over town during rush hour to pick up the kids.

Last week I celebrated a milestone birthday. I’m a firm believer in the ‘you are only as old as you feel’ mentality and prefer not to make a big deal out of my birthday. Wife wouldn’t let that slide and told me I had to take the day off work. She knocked it out of the park to find things to do that I would like. We started off at the State Historical Museum of Iowa. I’m pretty sure I visited as a kid when I was in grade school but had totally forgotten that it existed. We didn’t have nearly enough time to get through everything, so I will be visiting again soon. After that, we went axe throwing. I’d never done it before, but what a hoot! Once I found my groove, I was actually pretty decent. I could totally see myself joining one of the leagues once the kids are a little older. After that, we went to Smokey D’s BBQ for lunch. If you ever find yourself in the Des Moines area and consider yourself barbeque enthusiast, you need to eat there (https://smokeydsbbq.com/pages/about-us). Because Wife knows me so well, the rest of the day was quiet time at home. Mom and Dad were coming down for a birthday dinner, and Wife knew that I’d appreciate a few hours to myself to relax. Dad grilled steaks for dinner, I got some pretty cool gifts from the kids (mostly tools, I’ll show those off in a follow up post), and just when I thought everything had wrapped up for the day, Wife pulled out a final gift for me… a MoonSwatch Jupiter!

For watch guys, no explanation is needed. For non-watch guys, I’ll give you a quick rundown. The MoonSwatch is a collaboration between Swatch and Omega, two well known Swiss watch manufacturers (both are a part of the same parent company Swatch Group). Swatch is best known for selling unique (often quirky), but affordable everyday wear watches (think Timex). Omega is a premium watch manufacturer, often competing with the likes of Rolex. Two opposite ends of the watch spectrum for sure. The watch itself is based off the legendary Omega Speedmaster Professional, a watch that I hope to someday have in my collection. The MoonSwatch is a more affordable version of the Speedmaster – very similar case dimensions and face layout. It has a quartz movement instead of an automatic. The case is made of a bioceramic material instead of stainless steel. There are 11 watches in the MoonSwatch collection with various color combinations inspired by our solar system (full rundown of the collection can be seen here: https://www.swatch.com/en-us/bioceramic-moonswatch.html).

The watches have been a hit since they were released, which makes getting your hands on one very difficult unless you are willing to pay 2x-3x the price from a reseller. Buying from a reseller can be a risk because there are a lot of difficult to spot fakes now floating around. In order to buy a MoonSwatch directly from Swatch, you can’t order online, you have to go to a brick-and-mortar retailer, of which there is only one in the Midwest (Minneapolis). If you go to the store, there is no guarantee that there will actually be one in stock to purchase. If they were in stock, customers were only allowed to buy two watches, but then they restricted that down to one watch per customer. I had expressed interest to Wife in getting one when they were first released last year but gave up pretty quickly when I saw how difficult it was to get one. I figured it’d be easier to wait a few years and I’d eventually pick one up once the hype died down. Wife took this as a personal challenge and has been trying to get one for me since (which I didn’t know).

As fate would have it, Wife was staying 10 miles away from the Houston Swatch store during her work trip. There was only one evening during that trip that wasn’t booked with some sort of group activity, and that happened to be the same day the Swatch store was expecting a shipment of four watches to arrive. The person she spoke to on the phone would not tell her which models were coming and would not hold one for her even when she offered to pay over the phone. Once her meetings wrapped up for the day, she went directly to the store during rush hour traffic. When she got to the store, all four watches were still available, but three out of the four were ones she was certain I would not wear (Sun - yellow, Venus - pink, Uranus – baby blue). She knew I wanted a Mercury or Moon but was pretty sure I’d like the Jupiter and bought it. Full disclosure (and I did tell Wife this), Jupiter wouldn’t be high on the list if I could pick one out of the lineup, but after seeing it in person I fell in love with it. Pictures don’t really do it justice. It definitely does not fit my typical theme when it comes to watches (black face, stainless case), but I like that it takes me out of my comfort zone a little bit. I might have to bring a little more color into the collection. Anyway, a great birthday, a thoughtful gift, and a good story to go with it.

That brings us up to this past weekend. I had big plans for some QST, but that got derailed when our microwave decided to start acting up. It would turn on, but would only cook for a few seconds before tripping the breaker. Doing a little digging, I found a YT video that showed exactly the same issue I was seeing on the same microwave that we have. The cause was a faulty microswitch for the door interlock. When I took our microwave apart, sure enough, one of the switches was sticking. I was able to track down the OEM switches and luckily could get them overnighted through Amazon. New switches in place, I was able to reheat a cup of coffee without issue. That fixed it, or so I thought. 20 minutes later, I got out of the shower and saw a text from Wife that the microwave was no longer working. Sure enough, the breaker was tripped again. I reset the breaker and tried again, only to see a bright burst of light from inside the control panel, which ended up being the fuse for the control panel. The most annoying thing about this is that I had to go to three different stores to track down a new fuse because the first two places were out of stock. New fuse installed, microwave buttoned back up, pop goes the fuse again. After consulting with the GJ counsel in a separate thread, the consensus was that the microwave was done and needed to be replaced. This was the direction I was leaning when I posted my question and was glad that notion was confirmed.

The next few weeks are going to be busy, so I wanted to get the microwave swapped out right away. Thankfully I caught a good sale at a local appliance store. We’d previously had a 1.9 cubic foot microwave, but the store only had the 2.1 cubic foot version of the one we wanted in stock. Double-checking the dimensions, it would be a touch larger, but should fit in the space without issue. Nope. I forgot about the tile backsplash and needed to cut away about a half of an inch from the tiles to get the new microwave bracket in the right spot. Staring at the task at hand trying to figure out a solution, I said to Wife “you know, there is a tool that I’ve been meaning to get that would make this job really easy…” and her response was “go buy it…” So now I finally have an oscillating multi tool (Makita 18v) and it did make quick work of the tile. Once that was done, I got the microwave installed without issue. By that point, I figured I should call it quits for the weekend and enjoy at least a couple of hours of downtime.

Sorry-not-sorry for the wall of text… to make up for it, here’s a random picture of one of the five watermelons growing on the trellis I built awhile back.

I’ll get some pics of the new birthday tools posted soon as well. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[XJSuperman]

I second the mention of Smokey D's. Always great food. We get it when the fam comes to visit, and for some events at work.
Sounds like I need to put the Museum on my list for a rainy day.

 

[nicholam77]

Pretty cool on the 40V mower. Thanks for the review, I've been intrigued, but don't fully trust battery powered machines like that yet (whether it's rational or not). But for the price of free... why not!

What has been really nice is that we finally get to appreciate one of the selling features of our house in that we only have to walk a couple of blocks to school now. Previously, preschool was not offered at the school near our house. Then, they tore down the old building to replace it, so we still had to drive to a different location in town. The new school is finally open, and both kids are now just a five minute walk away. Trust me when I say, I will not miss spending 45+ minutes every day driving all over town during rush hour to pick up the kids.

That's amazing. We have an elementary close by, too, although my oldest is still in daycare for another year.

Dad grilled steaks for dinner, I got some pretty cool gifts from the kids (mostly tools, I’ll show those off in a follow up post), and just when I thought everything had wrapped up for the day, Wife pulled out a final gift for me… a MoonSwatch Jupiter!

Sweet! I like it! Kind of silly you need to buy it in a store, but it led to a fun story behind the watch and the fact that Wife took the time to procure it and surprise you makes it more special in a way.

I assume the Swatch store is at MOA? If you're ever up there, check out the Watches of Switzerland store. They mostly sell mid-to-high end luxury mechanicals, so it's uncomfortably ritzy like a jewelry store (makes me feel out of place, anyways), but they have a great selection if you like to window shop. I was even surprised they had stuff like Grand Seiko, etc, and some used/"vintage" Rolex. Fun to look at.

I actually think the Jupiter colorway is great. Moon and Mercury are attractive, but they more closely resemble the real Speedy. Which for some reason strikes me as odd considering the rather odd collaboration you pointed out between Swatch and Omega (other than being under the same umbrella). I think some of the other more playful colors are less "homage" and more "Swatch". But the Jupiter is muted enough and strikes a nice balance between look-a-like and colorful toy. The orange hands are nice, too.

 

[bdbecker]

I second the mention of Smokey D's. Always great food. We get it when the fam comes to visit, and for some events at work.
Sounds like I need to put the Museum on my list for a rainy day.

The museum is worth a visit. I think you could get through it at a leisurely pace in 3-4 hours. If you really dig into the exhibits, you could probably spend closer to 6 hours there. Everything from prehistoric times, the civil war, industry, and even Iowa's role in the film industry. Interestingly enough, agriculture doesn't get as much attention as you would expect, but I think that's on purpose because it could easily overwhelm the rest of the exhibits.

-----

Pretty cool on the 40V mower. Thanks for the review, I've been intrigued, but don't fully trust battery powered machines like that yet (whether it's rational or not). But for the price of free... why not!...

Generally speaking, I don't take too much issue with battery powered mowers and yard tools. I think they have their place and are a great option for people who have smaller yards and/or don't want to deal with the maintenance gas powered equipment requires. If someone is interested in getting a battery powered mower, I think its worth spending a little more upfront to get an Ego instead of a budget brand like Ryobi or Kobalt.

When I visited by brother this past spring, I got bored while he was at work and mowed his yard with his Ego self-propelled. I was pleasantly surprised by it - almost no vibration through the handle, quiet, easy to maneuver, seemed well made, etc. That being said, I'm hoping that by the next time I need to buy a mower, it'll be a robot.

...I assume the Swatch store is at MOA? If you're ever up there, check out the Watches of Switzerland store. They mostly sell mid-to-high end luxury mechanicals, so it's uncomfortably ritzy like a jewelry store (makes me feel out of place, anyways), but they have a great selection if you like to window shop. I was even surprised they had stuff like Grand Seiko, etc, and some used/"vintage" Rolex. Fun to look at...

Yep, the Swatch store is in the MOA. I stopped there the last time I was at the mall, maybe 4-5 years ago. If you were thinking about making a trip over there this weekend just for fun, it would be prudent to avoid it. It looks like they are dropping another collaboration line on the 9th, this time with Blancpain. Rumors are that it'll be based on the Fifty Fathoms model and will more than likely have an automatic movement. I'm not sure if they will be in stores right away, but if they are, and if they catch even a fraction of the buzz as the MoonSwatch, it might very well be a bit of a madhouse.

I'll have to make sure to stop by the Watches of Switzerland store the next time I'm there. Being a hick from the sticks, I hear you on how places like that can make one feel intimidated and out of place. However, there are two things to remember when it comes to shopping in 'fancy' mall stores...

First, most of the staff are likely working for an hourly wage, possibly supplemented by a commission on whatever they sell. They are regular people like you and me just trying to make ends meet. They could just as easily be slinging lotion and soap at Bath and Body Works, they just happen to work at a jewelry store instead.

Second, truly wealthy people who can buy high end watches and jewelry are not going to a mall to do so. The store obviously makes enough to stay in business, but I'd bet the majority of the revenue is coming from selling watches made by Tissot or Hamilton, not Rolex or Omega. Having a those higher end watches on display makes the customer feel like they're a part of the the cool kids club because they are shopping there.

It's all just a game. The majority of people who pass through those stores are not much different than you or I. The next time you are at that store, just enjoy yourself and ogle over the watches for as long as you want.

...I actually think the Jupiter colorway is great. Moon and Mercury are attractive, but they more closely resemble the real Speedy. Which for some reason strikes me as odd considering the rather odd collaboration you pointed out between Swatch and Omega (other than being under the same umbrella). I think some of the other more playful colors are less "homage" and more "Swatch". But the Jupiter is muted enough and strikes a nice balance between look-a-like and colorful toy. The orange hands are nice, too...

That's exactly the conclusion I've come to... its subtle like a traditional Speedmaster while being obviously not one, but its not garish like a lot of Swatches tend to be.

 

[bdbecker]

Back from Fabtech… still processing the bombardment of information and technology I saw over the past few days. For those who are not familiar, Fabtech is the largest convention in North America that focuses on metal fabrication. Welding, robots/automation, fabrication, forming, finishing… if it has to do with making things out of metal, you’ll see it at Fabtech. To say that I feel like a kid in a candy store when I walk into the exhibition center is an understatement – it takes all my willpower to contain my giddiness and maintain a professional appearance, at least for the first hour or so.

I spent Monday and most of Tuesday at the show. Most of my time was spent in the welding and fabrication area, but I did take a loop through the forming and finishing exhibit halls. Cobots and laser welding seem to be the hot trend this year. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed in regard to the innovation side of things outside of those two areas. But then again, I probably set my expectations too high as I try to stay on top of these sorts things in general. I did find a few things I need to investigate further, and I was able to make some contacts with some new companies that I haven’t worked with yet, so it was a productive trip.

On the fun side of things, getting there right away on Monday morning had its perks. I got to talk with Jason Marburger (Fireball Tool) for a bit and got hands-on with the massive hardtail vise he developed. It is a beast of a unit and worth every cent of its $1800 price tag. When an archaeologist digs one of these up in a couple hundred years, I wouldn’t be surprised if it still worked. On the opposite end of the spectrum size-wise, the forged vise he sells for $130-160 is a very nice vise for the money - certainly consider this option if you are on the market. It’s very impressive to see how much he’s grown his company over the last four years. He went from a little folding table display tucked into the back corner when I first met him, to a much larger one in the main room. Ian Johnson (Xtreme 4x4) was in the ESAB booth, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. Finally, I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to see @MadeByMiller ‘s display he designed for Overkill Racing, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

Pics or it didn’t happen…

Oh yeah, getting there and back was a treat as well… when the VP says take the jet, you don’t say no.

 

[MadeByMiller]

I've got to make it out to that show some day, definitely looks like the ultimate amusement park for guys like us! Jason's booth would have been one of my highest priority stops too, tons of respect for him and what he's building with Fireball. I'm bummed that you didn't get to see the displays too, but there's always next year! We will have more time to prepare for it and get things organized. The private jet sure doesn't look like it sucked...

 

[Finallygotit]

Oh yeah, getting there and back was a treat as well… when the VP says take the jet, you don’t say no.

Well hell, someone has to take one for the team.

 

[burger]

B-rad, show sounds awesome. Sometimes things like that push you on to new ideas.

 

[bdbecker]

I've got to make it out to that show some day, definitely looks like the ultimate amusement park for guys like us!...

It is absolutely worth it. We typically only send people to the Chicago show, and while I've been lucky enough to be on the list for the last few trips, I doubt I'll be on the roster the next time around given my new role at work. That being said, I really want to take Dad to it sometime. If I'm not picked, I'll just take a few days off work and do the trip on my own dime. That, or I might take him to Las Vegas the next time its there. Flights are usually pretty affordable and the monorail makes it easy to get to/from the convention center from pretty much any hotel on the strip, which gives you a lot more options when it comes to hotels.

Well hell, someone has to take one for the team.

Paying for it yesterday/today... I don't think I've mentioned it, but part of the reason things have been so crazy this summer is because I took a new role at work. They still haven't found the right person to take over my previous role, so I've been doing both jobs for the last six months or so. It wasn't a big deal for the first few months, but now that the new job is getting busier, I'm stretched thin. With two area managers at the show, I'm covering them as well. Basically trying to do four jobs at once. Yesterday was wild, but things are going smoothly so far today.

...Sometimes things like that push you on to new ideas.

Exactly...

 

[bdbecker]

This past Saturday, we celebrated Sis’s 8th birthday by having a handful of her friends over for pizza, cupcake decorating, and an outdoor movie. Having done exactly nothing to prepare the backyard for hosting kids/possibly parents and fearing that I’d be judged by other suburban dads at my lack of yard maintenance, I was out the door a little after 8am to get busy. Other than a quick break around lunch to grab a bite, I worked up until 4:40pm before hopping in the shower to get cleaned up for the party that started at 5pm. Most of the morning was spent trimming, mowing, leaf blowing, removing cobwebs from the house, washing the deck, and converting our pergola area into a home outdoor movie theater.

The movie theater conversion required whipping up a bracket out of some scrap 2x4 and plywood to hang off the pergola for the projector and sound bar, along with adding some additional blackout curtains around the sides and a tarp across the top shade sail to block out as much light as possible. All those hours of work resulted in exactly zero parents hanging out during the party and ultimately having to watch the movie inside on the TV because there was just too much ambient light to see the screen very well. It wasn’t all for naught though, we still enjoyed some Tom and Jerry on the big screen after the girls left for the evening, I figured out a slick way to setup the projector outside (needs a little refinement, but the concept is solid), all the yardwork was done for the week, and I knocked out some odds and ends I’d been meaning to get to anyway. Most important of all, Sis and her friends had a great time celebrating her birthday. We got messages from several parents afterwards saying that their kids had a blast. When I asked Sis what her favorite part was, she replied “All of it!”.

Sunday, I loaded up Dad with as many pallets as he could haul on his trailer. Backstory… years ago, he poured a nice pad off the end of his shop and built a covered kennel area to house the **** dogs (black and tans if anyone is wondering). Once my brother and I were out of the house, he decided that he wasn’t going to run dogs anymore. Besides not wanting to hunt alone and fur prices being in the tank, getting access to property around him is tough anymore. Everyone’s second cousin’s nephew think they are trophy buck bowhunters and don’t want dogs running around at night because they think it messes up the deer’s movement patterns. Whatever you say city boys… it’s not like the rut doesn’t have any effect on their movement patterns either. I digress… back to the kennel.

Dad has removed all fence panels and wants to enclose the space to use as dry storage. At work, we get a fairly steady stream of heavy duty pallets made out of 2x6 lumber, the top boards being over 9’ long. The pallets are pretty clean – they get built by a pallet company and sent to the supplier, who in turn, sends the parts to us on them. The supplier doesn’t want the pallets back (the parts they send us are too expensive to risk having a pallet break) and my company has to pay to have them disposed of, so this pile of pallets is free for the taking. Since Dad used 6x6 posts for the kennel, they’ll work perfectly to frame out the space. The only downside to all the free lumber is that he has to tear them apart. We did the math on it - even if it takes 30 minutes break down one pallet, he’s getting over $60 worth of material per hour. Knowing him, he’ll have it down to a science in short order and will be much quicker.

Once I got Dad loaded and on the road, I crashed. I really wanted to log some QST, but Wife needed to do the weekly grocery run, and Smasher has been fighting naps ever since he started school and I couldn’t trust him to stay in his room while he was supposed to be falling asleep. Instead of heading out to the shop, I just caught up on YouTube and did some laundry. I needed the rest anyway. I think this weekend is supposed to be quiet, so hopefully I can actually enjoy some time in my happy place.

 

[XJSuperman]

Everyone’s second cousin’s nephew think they are trophy buck bowhunters and don’t want dogs running around at night because they think it messes up the deer’s movement patterns. Whatever you say city boys… it’s not like the rut doesn’t have any effect on their movement patterns either. I digress… back to the kennel.

This was too funny. I listen to a pair of guys at work every single day going on about the thousands they spend on camo and other **** that I can stumble out into the woods and shoot the same deer without. Myself and the only older guy in the office have a good time giving them **** about it and deciding which of our plaid shirts we'll be wearing when we hunt .

You'll have to post an update on the kennels as your dad makes progress.