Enough of COVID...what are you doing to the house? | Page 26 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Enough of COVID...what are you doing to the house?

check out the "paulk workbench" if you're looking to build something wood/general house duties specific. Lots of different variations out there if you want to integrate a table, mitre, etc. saw into it. I have mine on a 2x4 frame w/ casters and it tucks under my other wall mounted bench. "Jays custom creations" on youtube has a good variation of it if its just going to live in your garage / doesn't need to be jobsite mobile.

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mimico_polak said:
And another project just showed up! I decided to toss out the workbench the previous owner build as it was too small (for my needs).

Please share work bench designs / ideas as I'm going to be building one shortly. Possibly a movable one with casters.
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For a general purpose workbench top, lately I have been using two layers of 3/4" MDF (laminated with glue) topped with a 1/8" layer of hardboard. The hardboard is sacrificial and you throw it out and replace when it gets too beat up. That gives you a cheap, stiff, smooth, dead surface to use for whatever. Support depends on the rest of your build, but cutting a 1 5/8"x1/2" rabbet into a vertical 2x4 works for any span you are likely to build.

If you have access to an old fire door those can work well too, I don't have any so I built something else.

@Clutt-225 posted a photo of his storage cart under the cobra. That's not a bad starting point for a mobile workbench. I like table saw caster sets for this. You flip a lever and it raises a wheel so two legs are solidly on the floor. I never have any luck with lockable casters. Even when locked, they are wobbly as hell if you are reefing on something.
table-saw-mobile-base.jpg
 
mimico_polak said:
Might be an opportunity to rent a small bobcat or something similar to just yank them out?

I've seen the car jack method on youtube but didn't know if it's that easy.

@GreyGhost Judging by the previous owner's work around the house...they should come out easy. I should actually check whether they're even in concrete considering his work.
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I was on my own and rented a jack hammer from HD and posts came out easily without all the concrete attached. Still got a good workout too .


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Got the pool open and everything was going great until this morning...heater wouldn’t kick in. Checked and no power on the heater display. Time to do some troubleshooting.
Didn’t take long to discover the power control board burnt. It’s either a short or faulty transformer.

The fun begins. Sourcing parts from the local pool store has historically been a nightmare. They never stock the parts that I need and take almost a day to get back to you (if they remember) and typically it’s 3 to 4 weeks to get the part(s) in. With covid, I can only imagine it’s even worse.
So I go straight to online pool supply companies and no one in Canada has the parts in stock...2 to 3 weeks for delivery.
Ended up buying from a US company. Order placed so lets see if expedited shipping will get it here quickly.
Really frustrating I can’t keep the $$$ in Canada.


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Robbo said:
Got the pool open and everything was going great until this morning...heater wouldn’t kick in. Checked and no power on the heater display. Time to do some troubleshooting.
Didn’t take long to discover the power control board burnt. It’s either a short or faulty transformer.

The fun begins. Sourcing parts from the local pool store has historically been a nightmare. They never stock the parts that I need and take almost a day to get back to you (if they remember) and typically it’s 3 to 4 weeks to get the part(s) in. With covid, I can only imagine it’s even worse.
So I go straight to online pool supply companies and no one in Canada has the parts in stock...2 to 3 weeks for delivery.
Ended up buying from a US company. Order placed so lets see if expedited shipping will get it here quickly.
Really frustrating I can’t keep the $$$ in Canada.


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Click to expand...
It annoys me greatly how all heaters/furnaces use proprietary boards just to turn the screws to you when it inevitably fails. There is very little reason that almost any gas burning appliance could be equipped with a handful of generic boards (input of call for heat (or an integral thermostat) and flame sensor, output to ignitor and gas solenoid). Done. $20 bucks and any supply house gets you going again. Bastards.
 
GreyGhost said:
It annoys me greatly how all heaters/furnaces use proprietary boards just to turn the screws to you when it inevitably fails. There is very little reason that almost any gas burning appliance could be equipped with a handful of generic boards (input of call for heat (or an integral thermostat) and flame sensor, output to ignitor and gas solenoid). Done. $20 bucks and any supply house gets you going again. Bastards.
Click to expand...

Oh I know...huge markups and poor customer service to boot .

I do all my openings and closings...and my own repair work so at least I save some time and money there.


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Trials said:
What kind of fence do you want? Is it a privacy fence or just a pretty split rail fence to mark out your property lines?
Post spikes are cheap and easy if you have a yard of clean compacted soil, in rock they are not good.
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Privacy fence all the way around. It's what we have now, but it's got to be 10-15 years old and is wobbling a lot more than I'd like.
 
GreyGhost said:
On the upside, most people do a crap job concreting in posts. I have done some where you cut out the panels and then a few people feeling strong can rock the post to make some room and then pull the whole mess out in one shot. If they used more concrete, drive a wedge between the post and concrete to break the concrete away and into smaller pieces that can be pulled out. If you can get a machine near the fence, a bobcat and a strap makes quick work of almost every post.
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Always have done the wedge between post and concrete. Easy peasy.
 
Bench construction, bench.jpg This 1890's bench sits in my dining room as a bar, the vises are handy for opening beers, cast legs weigh about 125lbs ea so it doesnt wobble much
 
the mortar is for muddling herbs and stuff for cocktails , the shelf on the back used to hold a collection of vintage hand planes , but somebody levered the cap off a beer with an $800 Norris brass smoother , and somebody else tried to plane a big block of parmessan, and they all went back in a box , LOL
I need better friends.
 
crankcall said:
the mortar is for muddling herbs and stuff for cocktails , the shelf on the back used to hold a collection of vintage hand planes , but somebody levered the cap off a beer with an $800 Norris brass smoother , and somebody else tried to plane a big block of parmessan, and they all went back in a box , LOL
I need better friends.
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Nice. My wife got me a nielsen block plane for xmas. Much nicer to use than the vintage crap Stanley. Probably not the best choice for cheese though.
 
I've built about a dozen benches for a variety of spaces, my favorite thing now is 4x4 plywood 'box' legs from 3/4 baltic birch, I make the beams just smaller and leave an opening in the legs so the beams slide into the hole 'mortise style' , position the pockets at a hieght to make a shelf so you can put a tool, clamps, off the top while working but not out of reach . Also adds to the stabilty. For a top I like 1 1/4 , 1 1/2 mdf, you can pound nails and it wont bounce. I've done tops with 1" (25mm) baltic birch which is much lighter . I do sacrificial hardboard sheets and stick it down with carpet two sided tape so it wont slide around but pops off when you want to change.
I'll also keep a spare top of something, so if its motor or greasy work it can go on that sheet, nothing worse than grease on a woodworking bench
 
mimico_polak said:
What kind of solar lights? Any recommendation? That's a thought as well but not sure if there are models you can turn on/off or just go on when the sun goes down.
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Most solar light gives off a very dimm light. They do turn on automatically and turn off. One my parents have are just to light up the posts of their fence and only last till about 1 am.

I would consider these thing disposable, something that you would replace every year or two.
 
Nice. My wife got me a nielsen block plane for xmas. Much nicer to use than the vintage crap Stanley. Probably not the best choice for cheese though.
[/QUOTE]


I'm a huge fan of vintage stanley crap, but they had many product 'lines' and they sure aren't all equal. I like the Bailey line and most made before 1940 had a better feel. The lee nielson products are really nice but geez the US dollar has made that no fun. There was a guy repping his line (Nielson) in new brunswick? named Rob Crossman that has created a line of saws and planes that pretty much knocks off nielson, but he was smart enough to price it close to the US stuff.

I love handtool work, but nobody will pay you for handtool work....
 
crankcall said:
I've built about a dozen benches for a variety of spaces, my favorite thing now is 4x4 plywood 'box' legs from 3/4 baltic birch, I make the beams just smaller and leave an opening in the legs so the beams slide into the hole 'mortise style' , position the pockets at a hieght to make a shelf so you can put a tool, clamps, off the top while working but not out of reach . Also adds to the stabilty. For a top I like 1 1/4 , 1 1/2 mdf, you can pound nails and it wont bounce. I've done tops with 1" (25mm) baltic birch which is much lighter . I do sacrificial hardboard sheets and stick it down with carpet two sided tape so it wont slide around but pops off when you want to change.
I'll also keep a spare top of something, so if its motor or greasy work it can go on that sheet, nothing worse than grease on a woodworking bench
Click to expand...
You got any pics for this?

@oioioi Ya you're right. Will need to see how I can prepare the deck for lighting in the future. Probably put in some holes in the joists. How the hell do people get wiring up the posts if needed? I've seen guys split the post in half, put in a space in the middle and then glue it back together. Or cut out a channel and put in decorative pieces to hide the wire.
 
mimico_polak said:
You got any pics for this?

@oioioi Ya you're right. Will need to see how I can prepare the deck for lighting in the future. Probably put in some holes in the joists. How the hell do people get wiring up the posts if needed? I've seen guys split the post in half, put in a space in the middle and then glue it back together. Or cut out a channel and put in decorative pieces to hide the wire.
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You only need low voltage wiring for these types of lights. 18/2 is sufficient
All fed from a transformer.
Most landscape transformers have a build in timer or photocell. Also have a build in GFCI protection.
18/2 is not that thick. About the thickness of a pencil.

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Or you can get one of these fancy lights.
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crankcall said:
Nice. My wife got me a nielsen block plane for xmas. Much nicer to use than the vintage crap Stanley. Probably not the best choice for cheese though.
Click to expand...


I'm a huge fan of vintage stanley crap, but they had many product 'lines' and they sure aren't all equal. I like the Bailey line and most made before 1940 had a better feel. The lee nielson products are really nice but geez the US dollar has made that no fun. There was a guy repping his line (Nielson) in new brunswick? named Rob Crossman that has created a line of saws and planes that pretty much knocks off nielson, but he was smart enough to price it close to the US stuff.

I love handtool work, but nobody will pay you for handtool work....
[/QUOTE]
Stanley made some nice stuff. What I had was not that. Think 1970 canadian tire Stanley. Cheap and cheerful.
 
mimico_polak said:
You got any pics for this?

@oioioi Ya you're right. Will need to see how I can prepare the deck for lighting in the future. Probably put in some holes in the joists. How the hell do people get wiring up the posts if needed? I've seen guys split the post in half, put in a space in the middle and then glue it back together. Or cut out a channel and put in decorative pieces to hide the wire.
Click to expand...
For the last deck, I contemplated drilling the posts for for a variety of reasons I axed that. To hide wires, I ended up with a dadi in a 2x2 to hide the wire held to the post with stainless finishing nails. It matched the Stiles but went all the way to the deck. Most people wouldnt notice it.
 
Robbo said:
Oh I know...huge markups and poor customer service to boot .

I do all my openings and closings...and my own repair work so at least I save some time and money there.


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Click to expand...
I'm lucky -- I used to do them myself but now I have a trusty pool mechanic who opens and closes for a case of beer. My kid got a job building pools in high school, he did it thru college and became a pretty good pool mechanic. The only down side is his taste in beers got expensive after university.
 
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