Hints and Tips

Keep the faceplates from your motorcycle helmets. I tended to replace the faceplates as they got scratched. Now, I drill a 3/16" hole and mount them on a dial indicator holder. They make a really nice adjustable chip guard.
 
Not machine related but a good tip.

I had to replant one of my volleyball poles, the rains and frost heaves had loosened it up and it was no longer offering the tension I needed (they point outward so when you tension them they are vertical). I have sockets in the ground , they are 2 feet down.
Knowing I needed to dig a new hole I used a tool I made for watering roots (new trees planted) while we were in a long dry spell. Just a piece of copper 3/4 tubing with an elbow and a fitting soldered on so it could accept a hose nipple.

I stuck that in the ground yesterday and turned it on to wet the soil so it would not be hard down below and I could dig. Well, surprise , surprise (Gomer Pyle), in a few minutes of post hole digging I was down to 24 "... It even allowed the rocks to move easily. Yes it was heavy mud, but quite easily lifted out. Problem is, it's too wet to put the new socket in, so I'll wait until after the rains and see how long before it firms up a little. I need to undercut the hole at the bottom so it doesn't pull out.. That was the fastest I have ever dug a hole on my property. It's usually pretty hard.
 
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RJSakowski said:
For years, I have been looking for a solution to urethane varnish skinning over once the can is operned. I like to buy a gallon at a time as it is half the price per oz. compared to buying quarts. From what I have observed, the culprit is oxygen from the air space once the can is partially emptied. I have tried various solutions like replacing the used urethane with marbles or filling the space with argon, or propane but they don't seem to work over the long haul.

The solution that works well for me is this. When I open a fresh can, I decant part of the can into a 2 qt. mason jar, filling it nearly to the top and sealing it with a fresh lid. For the remainder of the urethane, I decant into appropriate smaller jars and seal, leaving just enough to complete the task at hand.

For short term intermittent use as in applying multiple coats, I wrap the brush tightly in polyethylene or Saran wrap and toss it in the freezer. I also place my jar of urethane in the freezer. The low temperature slows down the chemical reaction that causes the polimerization. To use, let them come up to room temperature and you're good to go.
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I have been putting the lid back on and momentarily inverting the can for a couple years now and it works great.

The issue is the can never fully reseals and hot/cool cycles let fresh air in, this prevents that.
woodchucker said:
Was about to throw away a bunch of old cotton socks.. I was thinking what can I do with them. Asking here was going to be a clown show...
But I finally figured out what to do with them.
These are black cotton socks, I used to wear at work, going out.. they are like athletic socks just black. The elastic dried out and they crack when you pull on them. I use white socks for polishing, and car detailing.

But black... hmmm... I can use them for filters for my surface grinder. I had to make my own coolant system. I use a baffle to keep the fluid clean. But now I can use the socks as well to capture most of the effluent before it even gets to the baffle. Just gotta build a way to tie them on. probably just use some pvc and put a connector in to act as a ledge to catch a zip tie or something.
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I built a two level static filtering system for our big grinder at work. The top level accepts the coolant and has a tube attached to the bottom that makes the coolant pool in this stage until it overflows the tube where it then goes into the tank with the pump to be recirculated.

The top section also has magnets stuck to the side that attracts the swarf for easy cleanup.

This setup took us from emptying and cleaning the skanky tank every two months to just scooping the swarf out of the top tank every now and then and having clean coolant all the time.

That smell is from anaerobic bacteria living in the grit/swarf. This system adds aeration and eliminates the amount of space for the bacteria to live.


ETA: Holy spellcheck errors.....
 
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Need to ship a small item? The bubble envelopes that Amazon, FedEx, and USPS use are likely packaging candidates. The printed logos can quickly and easily be removed with a bit of acetone on a piece of paper towel.
 
RJSakowski said:
Upset because you just knocked some teeth from your barely used band saw blade? It can live on....as hack saw blades.

I cut them into appropriate lengths with tin snips and drill a .156" hole in one end. Then I use a #6 screw and an old hack saw blade as a guide and drill the second hole. Round the ends if you wish or leave them square.
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I dress the teeth behind the missing teeth back at a shallow angle and continue using it.

Probably 6-8 teeth get dressed 1-2* to creat a ramp effect and keep those teeth from joining the ones already imbedded in my forehead.

Why do they always hit you right in the forehead?
 
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Double check the temp of the heat treat oven before putting your pizza in.



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Make a chip hook out of a scriber for clearing chips out of blind holes or other uses.

Anneal the tip of the scriber with a lighter and put it into the head of a cap screw, 1/4” or smaller depending on the hook size you want and tap it with a hammer until you get the shape you want. You can kinda see I've profiled the tip on the belt sander to get the "Tip" to stick out further than the adjacent shoulder area si the tip will scrape the wall of the hole.



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First, I want to say I hope nobody did that to their turkey.

The picture reminds me of a story (personal experience) that I hope will bring you a grin.
I got married very young. We moved into our first apartment and cleaned everything vigorously.
Within a few days, when I came home, I found my beautiful young wife in a state of despair.
I asked; Honey, Honey, what's the matter?
She said she had tried to bake a chocolate cake but it was badly burnt.
She had gone back to the store and got missing ingredients for another try.
The second one turned out the same way and that's about when I walked in.
It was an electric oven and the control knobs were two piece assemblies.
One piece was the metal disc with the temperature markings and the other part was the knob that actually adjusted the power control.
In our zest to clean very well, and lack of experience, we had inadvertently and unknowingly reoriented the disc.
When it indicated cake baking temperature setting (what ever that is), the oven was actually on broil.
I dried her tears, etc. etc.

Those were the days when $40 would get you a loaded shopping cart full of food (in case the cake story didn't bring a grin).
 
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