Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Tinkering Tony's Workshop

[B3D3G1]

I've had an x304 for many years with a few hundred hours on it. It's been a great mower for us.

The LEDs will be a nice addition to your backyard. When I was working on my set for the house, I built and tested everything on the ground to make sure it was all going to work well with the power injection points I was planning on. Didn't want to do any of that work on a ladder.

Maybe some tracks like this to mount them on the bottom of the 2x6's? The covers would do a good job of evenly dispersing the lights.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072VZSQ3P/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Thanks. The x350 has been great. Almost mows the lawn too fast. My dad has a X300 and he had the wrong oil filter in his maintenance kit. I had a Kawasaki Versys 650 at the time and the filter was a perfect match, maybe even a little extra capacity. I believe it's still the same engine in mine but I haven't confirmed.

For LED mounting, I'm definitely going to put them in an aluminum channel and I've been diving deep into quinLED.info on all the setup details. I'm most worried about making the 90 degree turns at each corner and keeping it somewhat outdoor resistant. I went with only the IP65 rating hoping it would be a little more flexible and I can do the folding method in the channel and just miter cut 2 channels together to get the 90 degree turn. There are also various 90 degree or flexible adapters but I haven't really decided what I want to do yet. It's a little daunting thinking about getting all the injection wires in the channel and I'm thinking about going with a profile like this to get the extra channel behind the main channel.

 

[B3D3G1]

One thing I bought a few months ago that I really like is the Bucket Boss. I have been finishing up some bathroom remodel loose ends between infant naps and on the weekends. That means a lot of start and stop and picking up after myself before the tasks are done. This 5 gallon bucket based tool holder has been great to load up in the workshop all the tools and hardware I need for a task and carry it all in at once. I always end up needing to go grab a few more tools and there's always been room to chuck it in the bucket when cleaning up. I have some old metal standard tool boxes but they don't work so great for larger items like drills and hammers, and throwing a bunch of stuff back into it when I'm cleaning up in a hurry is a lot easier. I had started using a flip top tote to move in and out all my tools and supplies, but I could never find the small items at the bottom. Just thought I'd share something that has made my workshop adjacent life a little easier.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

I have a Bucket Boss tool roll with zippered compartments that I really like. Looks like the same materials. Mine rides around in my truck and has held up really well.

 

[jb3]

Great thread, i love how the shop turned out!

 

[jbrentd]

Just found something I never knew I needed. That bucket boss would come in handy for all sorts of jobs around the house and in the yard.

 

[B3D3G1]

I finally finished the 2 bathroom refreshes I've been working on since at least November. Many interruptions along the way mostly centered around our newborn son and I'm so happy to be done with this project. I learned a lot about drywall, plumbing, and electrical. They aren't perfect but a heck of a lot better than what was here before and quite a bit more funds in the bank than if we had hired a contractor.


My next project is to get the patio squared away from spring and summer usage. We are thinking about patio furniture right now and will probably pick out something from Costco. Probably a 6 person table set and maybe even a smaller table with a propane fire feature.
I've got some bistro lights and perimeter LEDs to add to the shade structure I built in the fall. I'm currently trying to figure out my electrical work to permanently power these lights.

I have 1 foot of concrete I need to traverse for the electrical Conduit once it comes up out of the ground. There is plenty of information out there on running power underground and I have a breaker box about 10 feet from the post which seems to be the easiest point to tap into. I can't figure out a good clean way to make the 90 degree turns coming up from the rocks/dirt onto the concrete and from the concrete up the post. My first instinct is to use 2 LB bodies to make the 90 deg turns but I don't know if that is a good idea in this configuration exposed to the Colorado elements. They would also be either partially buried in rocks or totally exposed to the the elements. It's probably ok if I find the right outdoor rated ones but I'm looking for a better solution for this area. I think the premade 90 deg conduit elbows in the store would look ugly sticking way out from the corners and create a tripping hazard. I'm open to any suggestions if anyone is reading this and has some experience with this kind of a run.

 

[teamextreme]

They make PVC LB's that would eliminate your corrosion concerns and also play well with the PVC you should be using for underground anyway. Alternatively, depending on the length of offset you're dealing with and conduit routing configuration, you could bend the PVC using heat and create an offset bend, possibly avoiding the LB's altogether.

 

[Trapps]

If forced the bridge with the aforementioned tripping hazard, you could camouflage it. Build some sort of structure (table, shelf, chair, etc.) off of the column…

Rent a core drill?

 

[B3D3G1]

They make PVC LB's that would eliminate your corrosion concerns and also play well with the PVC you should be using for underground anyway. Alternatively, depending on the length of offset you're dealing with and conduit routing configuration, you could bend the PVC using heat and create an offset bend, possibly avoiding the LB's altogether.

Another YouTube rabbit hole to go down. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[B3D3G1]

Someone else recommended drilling through the concrete at the base of the post and running the conduit up through the hole. That seems like an elegant solution and shouldn't be too bad to to dig out a narrow path under the concrete. I hate digging but I'll have to do it anyways so what's 1 more foot

 

[nicholam77]

Nice job with the bathrooms!

 

[jb3]

Nice job with the bathrooms!

Yeah no kidding, they turned out great!

Lots of credit to the OP for completing the jobs with a newborn around. The more typical result is the renovation started in a pregnancy gets finished for the child's 6th birthday.

I personally didn't even meet that generous timetable

 

[B3D3G1]

I haven't been on here much recently but probably because I haven't been super productive in the workshop.

I did mostly finish up the patio (is any project ever done?). Bought some patio furniture from Costco and set that up. I feel like breaking down cardboard boxes is a past time at this point and I've got a 2 month supply to feed into the recycling bin. What does everyone else do with everything being shipped these days?


I also got the bistro lights up and added the electrical outlet to the patio. I had to add a few reinforcement cables to support the sail so I could get the lights to hang where I want them. Now the sail just barely sags with the rain in 4 spots instead of all in the center. The bistro lights were from PartyLights.com and seem like really good quality. I'm planning to leave them up indefinitely so I wanted commercial grade.
My electrical setup is a plug at the base of a post with a switch above that leading to another plug up high for the lights. I was trying to get fancy with a shelly relay that fits in behind the switch and use a full weatherproof switch cover but the lights were too bright. I replaced the relay with a Shelly dimmer 2 but it would become unresponsive after a few hours so I gave up and but a normal smart dimmer/switch with a water proof cover over it. I wanted anyone to be able to turn off or on the lights without having to walk in and yell at Alexa or ask me to do it on my phone.

I also bought a cheap 3D printer. I've been spending most of my time making all the little improvements to make it better but I'm starting to transition to actual functional prints. The first off-printer part was a mount for my Harmony Hub that sits in my basement network closet. It was just sitting on top of the AV receiver but now it's got a permanent home on the wall.


I have been getting sick of the 20 different apps for all my smart home devices so I started down the Home Assistant path on a Raspberry Pi. I have everything mostly connected to Home Assistant now but I want to get it permanently mounted in my closet before I start moving all the automation over to it. I'm working on printing a wall mount for the Raspberry Pi and hard drive instead of my velcro command strip mount you can see in the above picture.

 

[nicholam77]

I haven't been on here much recently but probably because I haven't been super productive in the workshop.

A baby will do that to ya!

The patio is looking lovely, I'm jealous of your view.

Shelly's, Home Assistant, Harmony Hubs? Now you're talking my language!

I wanted anyone to be able to turn off or on the lights without having to walk in and yell at Alexa or ask me to do it on my phone.

This is key to living with other's who could care less about smart homes, or having guests. With lighting in particular I'm a big believer that every fixture should be able to be controlled physically, without internet, and without complex instructions.

Curious what Pi your Home Assistant install is running on? Is it their official kit or your own install?

I ran Home Assistant for a few months on a virtual machine when I was contemplating switching from SmartThings. But I ended up locking myself out of my Home Assistant install and going with Hubitat instead. But... I really liked the customizability of the Home Assistant mobile app dashboards, the speed, and the massive amount of cool integrations available. I've been thinking about running a new installation as a "front end" for Hubitat (they can be linked), and also to use devices Hubitat doesn't support.

I **** at virtual machines and was merely following a tutorial, but it seemed to be using a lot of memory on my main computer (Mac Mini). If I do it again I think I want some dedicated hardware, and seeing as how Pi's are unobtanium I'm trying to figure out what that will be.

If you're not following @Denwood thread, he often posts about smart home automation and has a lot of really cool projects. I went over my Hubitat setup a bit in my thread, too, around post #2000, if you're interested.

+1 for the 3d printer, too!

P.S. I was going back through your thread and I essentially made the same drill press cart as you

 

[jb3]

I feel like breaking down cardboard boxes is a past time at this point and I've got a 2 month supply to feed into the recycling bin. What does everyone else do with everything being shipped these days?

I pay for a second recycling bin in addition to the free one as part of trash and recycling services. Costs me about 100 bucks a year and well worth it to be able to get rid of all those boxes every week

 

[B3D3G1]

I was fighting an issue where the Shelly dimmer would become unresponsive so I switched to a Leviton smart dimmer switch with waterproof cover. Well we got several inches of rain and I discovered a major design flaw in the "waterproof" cover. Water was basically being funneled in the top screw access hole down onto the switch.

The switch was destroyed due to water intrusion so I went back to the Shelly dimmer and set it up from scratch again. There was a firmware update I didn't notice before so I'm hopefully the 4 days of continuous functionality are a good sign the install will keep working.

Shelly's, Home Assistant, Harmony Hubs? Now you're talking my language!

This is key to living with other's who could care less about smart homes, or having guests. With lighting in particular I'm a big believer that every fixture should be able to be controlled physically, without internet, and without complex instructions.

Curious what Pi your Home Assistant install is running on? Is it their official kit or your own install?

I'm running a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 8gb. It's nice to just stick it in my closet and not have to deal with anything else. I'm waiting for a heat insert tool to finish my 3D printed mount with a slot for a SSD. Once that is mounted on the wall. I start moving my automation over.

It's not too complicated to get 1 from adafruit but getting a 2nd is impossible without waiting for several months. Setup an account with all your payment info, shipping, and 2 FA and then wait for them to drop a small inventory almost daily just after 11 AM eastern time. If you are quick enough with the page refresh and the checkout process, you can get one after a few attempts. This is what I did. This guy has some helpful insight about buying one, but by the time he posts about something in stock, it's already too late.

 

[nicholam77]

Bummer about the Leviton switch getting toasted, but unless there's a connectivity issue (poor WiFi signal?), I have hope that the Shelly relay should work out for you. Seems like a lot of people use them so I'm guessing they are a decent / reliable product overall.

Thanks for the tip on the Pi, to be honest I hadn't checked recently, I sort of assumed they weren't even making them anymore. I think the Pi 4 B 8gb is what I'd go for, too. I've also been looking mini PC's / thin clients, but I think that's more techy of an install than I want to get with it. Pi would be simpler.

 

[B3D3G1]

The shelly dimmer has been going strong now for a few months. I think the firmware update fixed my issue.

I have kind of dropped the Home Assistant topic. It was becoming a lot of work and I was getting some weird symptoms on some devices and I decided there wasn't a huge problem I was trying to solve with it. I would still be reliant on the internet connection for many of my devices and I don't feel like changing them out for devices that are controlled locally over my home network. Maybe I'll revisit when it is time to change some hardware for a different reason or something really starts frustrating me.

I have been keeping my 3D printer busy with mostly with organizational items. I finally got around to consolidating most of my random hardware in the harbor freight storage containers I had built into my work bench. I also finally spent the time to scrape all the labels off the bins.

My label maker labels started curling up on the handles after a few days so I switched to good old painters tape and sharpie.

I printed some divided and multi-layer bins for inside these boxes for some of the smaller hardware.


And I have started the Gridfinity build up of the top drawers in my cabinets. I'm in the early stages here but I did it to my bathroom drawers and I really like it. Everything is fit to what I need and I know exactly where it is. Easy to move around to a different orientation or pick up and take with you. The clear plastic trays were sliding all over the place and seemed to take up a lot of room relative to their contents. I'm planning to build this drawer out and consolidate other items here before I start spreading to other drawers. This drawer should be mainly consumable items. I might tackle a few of the took box drawers later on.


I should probably start playing around with print speeds as these bins are taking a while to print. I have several print files queued up that are over 12 hours for a printer bed's worth of bins. I think I need little tasks like this with bigger goals to keep my brain occupied so it probably doesn't really matter if it takes a few weeks to finish.

 

[nicholam77]

I would still be reliant on the internet connection for many of my devices and I don't feel like changing them out for devices that are controlled locally over my home network.

Yeah, local control and privacy are big themes of Home Assistant. My experience has been similar — the basics work GREAT, but any time I take a deeper dive and get in over my head, things just get way too complicated and sometimes don't work correctly. I admire all the people out there with the time and skills to essentially write their own code, but I can't spend a 2nd full time job on this stuff.

I ended up getting a Lenovo thin client for $50 to run HAOS on and it's worked really well. I have a different primary home automation hub (Hubitat Elevation), so Home Assistant for me just fills a few gaps, because Home Assistant has some neat integrations you can't really find elsewhere.

At the end of the day, though, with home automation, keeping things as simple as possible is a good rule of thumb. More reliability, less headache.

And I have started the Gridfinity build up of the top drawers in my cabinets.

That is cool. I've been interested in those organizer systems... like you said the print time is a commitment.