New Toys, watchu gots??

[hawkeye54]

I can really use gloves such as that - on one occasion, I was holding a single-edge razor blade carefully in my right hand, away from my body, and 'somehow' managed to get a cut from it - on the back of the left hand ! still have not figured out what happened )

[jpatrick]

I can attest that some can cut their hand despite gloves being at the ready. Yesterday I didn't need a mandolin, or any knife, to mashup my palm. I was struggling to remove some caulk from a house gutter when the tool slipped and my hand jabbed onto a sharp part of the gutter. The result needed a couple of butterflys to close with a couple more flat bandaids to cover and protect. Dumb dumb dumb.

A pair of those fancy ss gloves would have not helped if they'd been lying nearby with the heavy leather ones I'd brought to the roof edge for just this purpose. How many ways can I spell dumb?

Jeff

[Katherine]

Dude! We recently got one, too. I never knew we needed one until I made cucumber salad with it. Can’t wait for cole slaw season, now…

We also happen to have a VERY nice food processor that does the same things, but it can be cumbersome to use when it's just two people.

[Figment]

The new dishwasher arrived yesterday afternoon, ending an 8-month wait.
Old one out, new one installed, just a touch under 4 hours including a break for Sunday Family Dinner. No drips, and I only let the smoke out of the wires for a second or two.

Old unit was loud and getting louder. For the past year we've only run it in the middle of the night, and for the past month it's been waking me up from 3 rooms away.
New unit is a whisper-quiet Bosch that shines a light on the floor so you know it's actually running.

Wifey's so happy that I might even go get me some new steak knives.

[Flying Orca]

This. They even came with my mandoline.

[Flying Orca]

The new dishwasher arrived yesterday afternoon, ending an 8-month wait.

That's kinda brutal. My dishwasher went through chemo recently, so I had to fill in on occasion... But speaking of appliances, we just had to replace our fridge, and it was a real eye-opener. Next to nothing available for anything less than $2000, and supply sketchy higher than that, too. We ended up paying a lot more than we wanted to for an open-box item that we wouldn't even have known about if it weren't for a keener sales guy at Lowe's.

[LeeG]

It’s good to have spares

[Larks]

833E5831-839F-4CE5-95BB-0F30AB3A7CDE.jpg

[Figment]

Good call.

This must be 15 years ago now but I still remember installing my tillerpilot (complete with connection to the wind instruments so it could steer a course relative to AWA) and absolutely kicking myself for not doing it years earlier.

[hawkeye54]

That's kinda brutal. My dishwasher went through chemo recently, so I had to fill in on occasion... But speaking of appliances, we just had to replace our fridge, and it was a real eye-opener. Next to nothing available for anything less than $2000, and supply sketchy higher than that, too. We ended up paying a lot more than we wanted to for an open-box item that we wouldn't even have known about if it weren't for a keener sales guy at Lowe's.

We just had to replace our 14 year old Whirlpool front loading washing machine. It would not start a cycle, or fill with water. The local big-box store had a 30 day lead time to even obtain a new Whirlpool machine. ( Could not do without clean clothes that long ) That store got us a new Samsung front loading washer delivered THE NEXT DAY. Impressive Customer Satisfaction skills ! ! ! Now I simply have to adapt the Whirlpool pedestal to fit the Samsung .



Rick

[JayInOz]

I was going to grab a small washing machine from the tip to convert into a chicken plucker- there have always been lots of them out there, mostly with one minor defect, enough to justify getting a new one. But there's a local feller who has taken to collecting them and completely stripping them for scrap, so I shall have to come up with another cunning plan. JayInOz

[John B]

I was going to grab a small washing machine from the tip to convert into a chicken plucker- there have always been lots of them out there, mostly with one minor defect, enough to justify getting a new one. But there's a local feller who has taken to collecting them and completely stripping them for scrap, so I shall have to come up with another cunning plan. JayInOz

and I saw a pheasant today too..

[RFNK]

Plucked it or left it up to dear ol' dad?

[pipefitter]

Still at the RC stuff. Why? It cures my gearhead itch. Ever since cell phone drivers, overpopulation and advanced law enforcement tech, I have lost interest in hot rods. Add to that, crate motor/bolt on HP and CNC everything, which further drives a nail in that coffin for me, personally. Then all for what? If I don't compete professionally, I get to spend $10-100k for a hobby that can't have much more than a museum of potential in parts, reduced to low gear hot rodding and it's possibilities.

This way, I get to wrench for pennies on the dollar and reduce the overall lifetime scale as well. I added/blended fender flares into this truck with paint in two days, most of which was waiting for putty and paint to dry.

If I wait to get to all my life-sized dreams, I end up missing out on most due to cost and time constraints alone. These little projects, I can see a functional outcome, regardless of the diminished scale. When it performs as well or better than expected (never mind the static display potential), there is still a great sense of completion.







So now, instead if $1000 for each part or stage of a hotrod build, and 3-10 years, it's under $100 and days, instead. I am gradually expanding the trail in the back yard with manmade rocks and other obstacles. The little tech marvels like axial motors and such, a lesson of technology that folks like me that have been around awhile can get next to without much complication.

Made the rails at home with a jig and router table. Welded the crossmembers at work. Smallest aluminum welds I have ever made.

[bluedog225]

Way cool.

[George Jung]

That is pretty cool. And the advantage (as I see it) - when the stuff hits the fan, you're not in the cab!

[Hugh MacD]

When the concrete guys blew the pour on my house and it ended up an inch and a half out of level I decided I needed something to reasonably accurately document the problems so I got myself a decent laser level.
20220917_123242[1].jpg
20220917_123242[1].jpg
You can see the line better here...and it has a "plum line" that I figure I can use, too.
20220917_123323[1].jpg

[JayInOz]

and I saw a pheasant today too..

Update on the chicken plucker I had a spare electric pottery wheel- the wheel itself was twelve inch diameter- so I cut a bigger circle from a heavy aluminium discarded road sign and put some half inch spacers under it. Cut the bottom and a drainage slot out of a small galvanised drum, did all the drilling and fitting to make it fit together nicely. Everything turned out really well, just waiting on the rubber fingers. Latest tracking update was "departed country of origin" which only took eleven days. Waiting. The latest score though- there isn't room in our fridge for the milk the Jersey is producing- averaging fifteen litres per day- so I told the missus I would try to find a second hand one on line for a reasonable price. First local site I looked at, big Fisher and Paykel fridge freezer, as new condition - free! Picked it up yesterday. Young engineer brought it here in a move from the city three months ago, but now he's moving to Queensland so getting rid of everything as it would be a big, very expensive hassle to take it with him. Will post of piccie of the fowl denuder when it's a goer. JayInOz

[Larks]

These - rated 6 Ton each, swivel tops, cost AUD57.00 each - amazing.......

[IMG]IMG_4096 by Greg Larkin, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]IMG_4097 by Greg Larkin, on Flickr[/IMG]

[mike9199]

Screen Shot 2022-10-12 at 22.37.22.jpg
Ordered this buddy here after a long conversation with the masterbuit customer service (here you can read more about them).
The reviews about this product is very different but mostly positive, so I decided to trust my intuition.
Should be delivered at the beginning of next week.

[Hugh MacD]

I finally broke down and retired my old Milwaukie 12v cordless set and bought new 18V Makita goodies. Doing the remodel I decided I was tired of dragging cords around, so I got almost everything I'll need...drill, impact trim saw, recip, router...even a battery chainsaw (uses 2 18V Batts). Ended up with six batteries and 2 chargers and I've used every one of them so far. The old Milwaukie will get re-homed to the boat.
20221115_104537[1].jpg

[GregH]

I think the Makita is a great brand. In addition to several corded Makita tools , I've had a 9.6 volt drill/driver for over 20 years, and it still works like new! (It's on it's 4th or 5th set of batteries - luckily, they are still available via Amazon!)

[McMike]

I'm a Makita fanboy. I have batteries that get used every weekend that I've had for over 12 years.

[Hugh MacD]

Encouraging words Thanks! I hope to pass all this stuff down to my daughter.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Screenshot_20221126-131848.jpg

Colour photographs?

[David G]

Encouraging words Thanks! I hope to pass all this stuff down to my daughter.

Great choice. Izza nice set, and Makita is the pioneer, and still one the top brands.

[McMike]

Great choice. Izza nice set, and Makita is the pioneer, and still one the top brands.

I have their lawn mower that uses the same batteries as my other tools, it mows up to a half acre with a battery change, very nicely.

[JayInOz]

I have their lawn mower that uses the same batteries as my other tools, it mows up to a half acre with a battery change, very nicely.

I mentioned to our next door neighbour the other day that our old ride on mower was falling apart. She said she'd just bought a new zero turn mower as the steering wheel on the old one was hard on her shoulders- she's in her seventies. Offered me the old one really cheap. I bought it. It's like new. Aussie made, really heavy duty, 42 inch cut, twenty five horse power twin cylinder motor pushing twin blades. Way more power than anything I've used before, but it blows so much stuff around that it's like driving a hover craft. Actually put some fun back into mowing JayInOz

[John B]

I finally broke down and retired my old Milwaukie 12v cordless set and bought new 18V Makita goodies. Doing the remodel I decided I was tired of dragging cords around, so I got almost everything I'll need...drill, impact trim saw, recip, router...even a battery chainsaw (uses 2 18V Batts). Ended up with six batteries and 2 chargers and I've used every one of them so far. The old Milwaukie will get re-homed to the boat.
20221115_104537[1].jpg

I've a few of those but missing a few too. I do have the tyre inflator( how did i get by before) and a nibbler. And the multi purpose cutting and sharpening and grinding thing.
But what pray has happened to the vacuum... it looks like its been on fire?

[StevenBauer]

I’ve been going Makita lately, too. My favorite is the 36V (2x18V) 10” sliding compound mitersaw.

[Hugh MacD]

I've a few of those but missing a few too. I do have the tyre inflator( how did i get by before) and a nibbler. And the multi purpose cutting and sharpening and grinding thing.
But what pray has happened to the vacuum... it looks like its been on fire?

No fire...just lots of use, already It's full or wood chips from drilling for wiring.

[Chip-skiff]

Probably posted this before. Oh well.

In 2021, I bought a battery-powered snowblower. The old Husqvarna was a beast, but hard to start in the cold and mechanically cranky: frayed cables and busted shear pins.

The Snow Joe is way easier to start: just pop the batteries in and go. Since we have a long stretch of access road, I got an extra set.




It doesn't have quite the power of the Husky, but it's easier to wrestle and turn. A set of batteries lasts about 20 minutes on medium power. Today, I made it to the end of our lane at the highway and halfway back before swapping batteries.



It's also a lot quieter: no more earplugs. No oil changes or grease jobs. I also don't miss breathing exhaust fumes.

Since our solar PV system generates all our home power with a surplus, I'm clearing snow with the energy of the sun.

[bluedog225]

Sweet. Do you have to charge the batteries in a warm place?

[pkrone]

Got a nice new carbon steel chef's knife. And promptly stabbed myself in the finger while slicing a rack of lamb...

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[ron ll]

Don’t chefs knives have to be christened by blood like a samurai sword?