Below 265 SQ/FT TwoBytes Stuff

[oldironfarmer]

Great pictures!

It's a little warmer and your passenger is a little larger?

 

[drivesitfar]

TB: sounds like the honeymoon, anniversary or just rest stop was maybe as fun with the little ones as just going for the weekend alone with your bride. or not, but more DAD OF THE YEAR POINTS for you that is for certain.

thanks for the pictures of a very cool spot in your part of the world and if my bride and i ever get down that way we'll have to put it on the list. just curious cause from the movies and Animal planet there seems to be crocodiles or sharks in every body of water so are their any crocs in that river?

that little bike seat is soooooooo COOL. i've never ever seen one like that. for even a nicer upgrade maybe somebody could invent pedals even if they don't totally work anything just to give the little ones the feeling of helping. BTW does your SUPERVISOR point where he wants to go while sitting there or is he happy just to see where dad goes?

cheers

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks Andy,

A lot warmer (it's been over 39c (102f) here this week), and yeah, that passenger is a lot bigger. His little sister had a good go too and she's quite a bit smaller than he was in that photo.

No crocs or sharks up that high Drives, I don't think they'd like the cold! I've been to Darwin and seen the crocs up close though, scary stuff!
http://www.adelaiderivercruises.com.au/tour/jumping-crocodile-cruise/

I've also dived with sharks in Fiji in 2008, which was an incredible experience.
http://fijisharkdive.com/

The Mac-Ride bike seat is really amazing, highly recommended. The passengers don't just point where they want to go, they both try to steer themselves, which is a little unnerving! Thankfully they don't have much leverage.

 

[TwoBytes]

BBQ trolley update...

I got some oil on it...
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And casters, sorry Drives, it seems that hex head screws can be clocked!
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Looks like casters can be clocked too...
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Here it is (the top needs a sand and some oil)...
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With BBQ (still need to do something about that fence)...
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In situ...
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Unfortunately, a combination of bad luck and poor planning means that the BBQ is now a bit too high!

It's OK for me, but it's about chest height for my wife.

So I've had to do this (see if you can spot the difference)...
View media item 67990
The BBQ is now on the old mitre saw trolley (which now has the bigger casters so I can move it a bit easier).

Bit of a shame, but the Singer sewing machine stand makes a very nice pot plant holder.

 

[Lyndon]

BBQ trolley update...
.
.
.
.
.
sorry Drives, it seems that hex head screws can be clocked!
View media item 67985

Oooooh that's going to get back!!!!!

Unfortunately, a combination of bad luck and poor planning means that the BBQ is now a bit too high!

It's OK for me, but it's about chest height for my wife.

So I've had to do this (see if you can spot the difference)...
. . . . . but the Singer sewing machine stand makes a very nice pot plant holder.

Mat - Um, like it Centurion, like it.

But you're right - always do what the other half wants. . . . . .

Lyndon
Yep - I saw what you did there.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Mat, consider you clocked hex heads a winner..

Just awesome and a top job on the trolley as well..

Regards

 

[drivesitfar]

TB: so clocking those CASTERS now that is the real challenge and best of luck with that. i see what the problem is your hex screws have 6 sides hence the need to clock them. i'll have to ship you a box of Torque headed screws which might be the only way we can eliminate CLOCKING.

i know it might not be the way you wanted it, but nice swap on the tables!

your fence's patina is actually growing on me and probably not as bad as you think until you maybe have time and funds to replace it in a few years. it looks sturdy and i bet if you buy a few big pots and put in some small fruit trees, flowers or plants and call it an ANNIVERSARY PRESENT for your bride i bet she'll love it and problem solved.

now where is my free shipping coupons i need to ship torque screws to my AUSSIE MATES.

NEVERMIND we're SCREWED cause even my torque screws have 6 sides that can be CLOCKED!!

cheers

 

[ajohno]

Great job on the trolley Mat.

 

[TwoBytes]

Oooooh that's going to get back!!!!!
Mat - Um, like it Centurion, like it.
But you're right - always do what the other half wants. . . . . .

Thanks Lyndon, you bet!!

Mat, consider you clocked hex heads a winner..
Just awesome and a top job on the trolley as well..

Thanks Steve!

TB:
i know it might not be the way you wanted it, but nice swap on the tables!

your fence's patina is actually growing on me and probably not as bad as you think until you maybe have time and funds to replace it in a few years. it looks sturdy and i bet if you buy a few big pots and put in some small fruit trees, flowers or plants and call it an ANNIVERSARY PRESENT for your bride i bet she'll love it and problem solved.

now where is my free shipping coupons i need to ship torque screws to my AUSSIE MATES.

NEVERMIND we're SCREWED cause even my torque screws have 6 sides that can be CLOCKED!!

cheers

Cheers Drives.

I guess you can "clock" anything if you try hard enough hey! At least with a hex head, it's only a 6th of a turn at the most. With a Phillips head, it's a quarter, and with a slot head it's up to a full half turn.

You might notice in that photo though, that I actually clocked the writing in the middle of the head, making it up to a full turn to get it lined up!



I like the idea of a few plants in front of the fence, but I'm still thinking a pressure wash and a bit of paint might be best.

Great job on the trolley Mat.

Thanks Aaron!

 

[TwoBytes]

Spent as little time as possible outside yesterday, as it was over 41 degrees (106F) here.

Today was a lot nicer, and I took my daughter out for a ride on the front of my mountain bike this morning. Went out for dinner and a movie with my wife last night though, so I was feeling a little worse for wear.

Did get a bit of quality shed time (QST) though.

I've mentioned my son's garbage truck obsession before.

Well this one had a little plastic tab snap off, so the back doesn't clip on any more...
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He asked if we could fix it.

Long story short, we smoothed out an area on the side...
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Made up a patch from a scrap of MDF, and glued it on...
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It worked out OK, but it was still a bit loose, so we padded it out with some masking tape.
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It's ugly as hell, but it works...
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It was fun, and he's happy, which is the main thing!

 

[oldironfarmer]

The garbage truck is an industrial tool. It had to be fixed or the man could not have made his route and taken care of his customers. Very imaginative repair and I'm sure the customer is delighted.

You saved the day by getting him back in service, which is what is important to most good workers.

Great job and may it see many more hours of productive service.

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks Andy, great response!

The little yellow garbage truck is an important member of the rapidly growing fleet. He's glad to have it back in service.

 

[TwoBytes]

Not much QST (quality shed time) lately, but I've got a few updates...

Had a visitor in the yard...

View media item 69194
It's a blue tongue lizard, but the kids thought it was a snake. My son ran inside screaming, bravely leaving his little sister to fend for herself... "well I had to come and get you guys"... fair enough I guess.

 

[TwoBytes]

More (very) unwelcome visitors - an army of ants found our bins...
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Plastics bags were no match for the attack...
View media item 69196
Shoveled the rubbish into same heavy duty bags and hit both bins with the pressure washer. Soaked them in barrier spray, and added some foam around the top to improve the seal a bit...
View media item 69201
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So far so good. No ants for a few weeks now.

 

[TwoBytes]

Finishing up those little bits leftover from the pergola job.

Eventually got around to cutting the paver to fit around the new post...

View media item 69202
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[HOTFR8]

Interesting to see your Blue Tongues are a little lighter in color than ours here. As for the Ants Baby Powder sprinkled over the lid of the bin will soon make them go away or if you can find where they are coming from sprinkle it so they have to walk through it.

 

[TwoBytes]

Cubby house...

3 coats of stain on all the deck boards in between rain and babysitting duties...
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Makeshift rain cover to help the stain dry...
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[TwoBytes]

Drilling guide...

Using the vice brake with maximum force...
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Perfect!
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Ghetto milling machine...
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Gets the job done with accuracy that's "good enough"...
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That should do it!
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[TwoBytes]

Screwing some boards down (with Aussie safety boots in the foreground)...
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The first 3 are trimmed to length because I thought the clearance to the post might make them difficult to get to afterwards. I'll trim rest off once they're all screwed down.
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"Clocked", obviously...
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No idea why this is taking me so long.

 

[drivesitfar]

TB: good to have you back among our GJ living so to speak. nice work on the playhouse and the pergola was always nothing short of awesome and nice finishes.

we've had moisture or sugar ant issues around our house for almost a year and maybe cause i have rotted wood outside in a couple planting areas i need to redo. in any case when they come in the house it's a nightmare and my wife is RAMBO ANT KILLER and a good one.

we found that TERRO is a sort of sugar based product that attracts them and then after they eat their fill they go back to the nest and die. then the other ants and hopefully the queen eat those ants and die and end of story. we also spread out a powder called i think diatomaceous earth that we sprinkle around that won't harm cats or dogs and kills the ants so we put that around foundation and other areas where they might be coming in the house.

ok your ants look a little bigger so these solutions might not work, but if you think you had a lot of ants in that picture imagine finding their nest with millions of the little guys. good luck

cute story about the slippery visitor in your yard and hopefully the kids are ok. also just saw your next post of all the vises and your supervisor actually working. WELL DONE!!

cheers and glad to have you back!!

 

[ajohno]

Looks like a good size Blue tongue lizard.

Ants we are getting plenty here at the moment with all the rain. So hard to get rid off them. I buy the big 240 litre garbage bags from Bunnings. I hate having a dirty and smelly bin.

Good to see some more progress on the cubby house.

Good to see your son is helping you in the shed as well.

Thanks for the update.

 

[TwoBytes]

Interesting to see your Blue Tongues are a little lighter in color than ours here. As for the Ants Baby Powder sprinkled over the lid of the bin will soon make them go away or if you can find where they are coming from sprinkle it so they have to walk through it.

Thanks for checking in HOTFR8.

Interesting that yours are darker, you're not that far away (maybe 5 hours?).

The baby powder is an interesting idea, don't think I've heard that one before. Certainly a lot cheaper than the ant poison from the big green shed. I'll give it a go if they come back.

I know where they come from... there's a massive nest about 100m from our place (like 5 metres across, teaming with millions of ants). Maybe I'll take some baby powder over there and see if has any impact (a flame thrower might be better!).

I'm thinking something like this might be fun...

 

[TwoBytes]

TB: good to have you back among our GJ living so to speak. nice work on the playhouse and the pergola was always nothing short of awesome and nice finishes.

---
ok your ants look a little bigger so these solutions might not work, but if you think you had a lot of ants in that picture imagine finding their nest with millions of the little guys. good luck
---
cute story about the slippery visitor in your yard and hopefully the kids are ok. also just saw your next post of all the vises and your supervisor actually working. WELL DONE!!

cheers and glad to have you back!!

Thanks Drives. I've been (only just) keeping up with reading most of my favourite threads, but haven't found much time to post lately.

As I mentioned above, I know where their nest is, and it's pretty crazy. I'll get a picture when I walk past there next.

Check out the YouTube video I linked to above... pouring molten aluminum into an ants nest to make some pretty cool looking art (seems a little cruel, but they are a menace).

Looks like a good size Blue tongue lizard.

Ants we are getting plenty here at the moment with all the rain. So hard to get rid off them. I buy the big 240 litre garbage bags from Bunnings. I hate having a dirty and smelly bin.

Good to see some more progress on the cubby house.

Good to see your son is helping you in the shed as well.

Thanks for the update.

Thanks Aaron. Big bags in the wheelie bins is a good call, I think I'll start doing that.

I love having both kids in the shed, and they love it too, but it does slow progress to a crawl... totally worth it though.

I spent a few hours servicing my mountain bike last weekend (including pulling the tubeless tyres off to put in some fresh sealant, and replacing the crappy Avid Elixir brakes with some shiny new Shimano XT calipers and Servo wave levers)... my son helped me for the whole job, and he was great! He actually helped, rather than his usual "helping" which involves running off with things and breaking stuff

This is more typical of his particular brand of "helping"...
View media item 69221

 

[HOTFR8]

Thanks for checking in HOTFR8.

Interesting that yours are darker, you're not that far away (maybe 5 hours?).

They do vary in color due to location. The further north the lighter the colors.

The baby powder is an interesting idea, don't think I've heard that one before. Certainly a lot cheaper than the ant poison from the big green shed. I'll give it a go if they come back.

I know where they come from... there's a massive nest about 100m from our place (like 5 metres across, teaming with millions of ants). Maybe I'll take some baby powder over there and see if has any impact (a flame thrower might be better!).

I worked in Hardware and Baby Powder is technically Ant Powder and much cheaper than the Ant Powder you can buy. If they have a path they walk on a regular basis spread it so they walk through it as they do not like in on the feet. I would not spread it on the nest unless the nest is close to something like the door of the house or your garage.

As for checking in I like to see progress.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Mat, absolutely fantastic and thank you for the update..



Nice to see you are adhering to tradition and clocking the square drives.

GJ members take note..

 

[bj383ss]

I love the stain you put on the deck boards it is beautiful.

Kudos on the fixing the plastic toy.

And more ways to clock hex head bolts I think I might lose a whole day's time out in the shop now looking at "unclocked hex head bolts in so many places.

Great idea on the foam on the top of the trash cans I am stealing that one.

Bret

 

[oldironfarmer]

Your helpers will be more help as the years go by then about the time they're really good help, they're gone!

Enjoy the time!

 

[TwoBytes]

They do vary in color due to location. The further north the lighter the colors.

I worked in Hardware and Baby Powder is technically Ant Powder and much cheaper than the Ant Powder you can buy. If they have a path they walk on a regular basis spread it so they walk through it as they do not like in on the feet. I would not spread it on the nest unless the nest is close to something like the door of the house or your garage.

As for checking in I like to see progress.

Righto, got it, baby powder is a deterrent, I won't bother attacking the nest then.

Thanks mate.

Mat, absolutely fantastic and thank you for the update..



Nice to see you are adhering to tradition and clocking the square drives.

GJ members take note..

Thanks Steve,

I've always preferred to clock my screws, but GJ has made it an obsession!

I love the stain you put on the deck boards it is beautiful.

Kudos on the fixing the plastic toy.

And more ways to clock hex head bolts I think I might lose a whole day's time out in the shop now looking at "unclocked hex head bolts in so many places.

Great idea on the foam on the top of the trash cans I am stealing that one.

Bret

Thanks Bret!

Your helpers will be more help as the years go by then about the time they're really good help, they're gone!

Enjoy the time!

Haha Andy, fair enough (and a bit sad)

 

[Terrick down Under]

T, i would not worry about the powder this week, it will just get washed away

 

[HOTFR8]

T, i would not worry about the powder this week, it will just get washed away

Oh so true.

 

[TwoBytes]

Yeah, I don't think I'll worry about going outside this week either, I might get washed away!

 

[dlcwent]

Mat, just stopping by to get caught up. That's a bit of a ant issue you have. I'm sure you'll find the solution to it.

Nice job with the "singer" bbq. It looks great. I wouldn't have thought of that.

Glad to see your still getting a lot of help from the "future garbage truck owner". Enjoy every minute of it cause time goes by way to fast.

 

[drivesitfar]

TB: did you put the YOUNG SUPERVISORS in charge of eliminating the ants now that you got the big critters to leave the property? maybe giving them a big magnifying glass? how often do you see lizards, snakes or critters in your yard?

how's the playhouse coming along or has the weather slowed down the progress?

cheers

 

[TwoBytes]

Hey Dan and Drives, thanks for stopping by.

The ants haven't really made a comeback since the big bin pressure wash thankfully. It's starting to get cold here, and very wet, so that might be helping to keep them away.

We don't get too many critters in the yard, the blue tongue lizard was a first. We get mice, possums, and lots of different birds (cockatoos are nice to look at but they sound terrible!)... no snakes in the yard yet, but we do get them around here; and we get a lot of spiders. Red backs are the nastiest, but they are pretty timid thankfully. We've had some big buggers around lately, the kids aren't as scared as they should be, but they know not to get too close.

Weather has definitely slowed things down on the cubby house, and I've been diverted to some time consuming home maintenance stuff, but we have been making some progress.

I went out to screw some more boards down a couple of weeks ago and the 3mm gaps I'd left between previous boards had all shrunk down to less than 1mm, so I've been leaving it covered up to stop the rain soaking in. I was worried that if I screwed the boards down while they were swollen from the humidity, they might split when they dry out...
View media item 69794
Super-boss impressed me by helping to untangle the stringline that he'd wrapped around the cubby house posts, and then he wound the whole lot back on the reel. I thought I was going to have to cut it off and put it in the bin, so I was pretty pleased with that result.
View media item 69791
I managed to get a few more down after a few dry days last weekend...
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And I've got the final coats of stain on the last few, so the end is in sight (if the rain will stop)...
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And there's a bonus wide angle view of the garage.

There's room for one car in the double garage (my wife's... mine lives on the driveway, because I've filled my side of the garage with bikes and tools).

 

[oldironfarmer]

Super Boss is precious!

Watch out for him! He apparently has patience and determination at a young age. And maybe a desire to outdo Dad! That can bring great things!!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking great Mat..

Regards

 

[HOTFR8]

If he has the patience to untangle that string line you are going to have a keen willing to learn little worker.

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks Andy, Steve and Simon,

He's getting better at focusing on a job as he gets older, which is great to see. Like I said, I was impressed (and more than a bit surprised!)

 

[drivesitfar]

TB: great story and picture of the SUPERVISOR supervising!! did you happen to see what he took pictures of when you handed him your old cell phone?

take care and of course you've got your hands full with little ones that age so enjoy the good times, tough times and the ride cause it's always interesting and rarely boring.

cheers

 

[TwoBytes]

Drives, he took lots of extreme closeups of things, nothing worth sharing, but he had fun.

I'll suggest he give it another go soon and see if his photography is improving over time.



You're right that being a Dad is rarely boring! I'm enjoying the ride (most of the time) and wouldn't swap it for anything.