2015 POTD Thread Archive

[brino]

Started making a lathe depth stop in order to to make a pot chuck, to make an accurate washer, to use in a slitting saw holder to make decent clamps for dti and dial gauge to check tramming on mill to ensure accuracy of final finish current rotary jig which will initially be used to make a sharpening jig so that I can better control angles to sharpen tools on the grinding wheel.

A project to make a tool to make a tool for another tool for another project?
Yep, I've been there....it seems my shop is full of those.
-brino

 

[John Hasler]

So you are making a tool to make a tool to make a tool to make a tool to make a tool...

Me too. Someday I'll make something that isn't a tool. Fortunately making tools is fun.

 

[ogberi]

I have a wasp nest somewhere around the door of my shop. Haven't found it yet, but it's those big orange buggers with black wings. Aggressive as heck, territorial, and just plain useless. I get stung at least once a week, usually in the back or arms. I usually knock down the nests at night, but i can' find this one. Might be either under the concrete step in front of the doors, or under the shop itself. Brake cleaner is my go-to weapon of wasp destruction. Melts the wings right off 'em, melts their eyes, gotta burn like crazy. Makes me smile to see 'em drop like little rocks.

Just don't get me started on the crows....

 

[Franko]

When my carport was an open carport, I used to get big wasp nests in the joists. I remember one that got quite large and was positioned so it was difficult to reach with spray.

I made a torch with conduit and rag tied on with bailing wire. Soaked in mineral spirits thinner. Old school. I lit it and held it under the nest. It did the job very nicely. They fell just like small stones and none escaped. Once on the ground, I dispatched them with flying insect spray as I don't delight in seeing even my worst enemies suffer.

The wasps made a distinct sound as the fell to the ground. Zooooop, Zoooop, Zoooop. I guess it was them trying to flap wings that were burned off. They sounded just like a ziltch.

For those who do not remember their hippy days, or just didn't participate, a ziltch was a plastic dry cleaner's bag tied in a bunch of knots and hung from a tree branch with a coat hanger wire hook. You lit the bottom of it and it burned fairly slowly, melting the plastic which dripped in decorative and entertaining fashion — making a distinctive "Zoooop"sound.

We would put a pan of water to catch the drips. The more adventuresome of us would lay, facing up, on the ground beside the catch pan for best effect, but not too close.

 

[catskinner]

Wasp and hornet spray is my weapon of choice as it shoots up to 20' and it is a thick stream that you can hit them on the wing easily. And for those of you who think that killing these is harmful to the ecosystem, the only one of these insects that is native to the new world is the Bald faced Hornet. Yellow jackets and wasps came here aboard ships in the early days after the discovery of the "New World" by Europeans.

 

[catskinner]

Any one see one of these wasps, they are found in the dryer parts of the country. They have the most powerful sting of any wasp in the world, my wife stepped on one in our yard last year, went into anaphylactic shock and nearly died, she spent 3 days in ICU.

 

[chevydyl]

Wasps and hornets get no mercy from me, I opened a door at work in a connex, walked in,and did my business, then I saw them, they had a nest built around a paint can by the door near the floor, so when I opened the door it ripped the nest in half, lol I was stuck in the connex for several minutes narrowly escaping. We had no wasp spray so I soaked em with brakleen, I've had them make nests in my wood furnace too.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Any one see one of these wasps, they are found in the dryer parts of the country. They have the most powerful sting of any wasp in the world, my wife stepped on one in our yard last year, went into anaphylactic shock and nearly died, she spent 3 days in ICU.

That's a tarantula hawk wasp and as big as a tarantula and somewhat immune to the spiders bite and venom. It can take down a tarantula!!! You tube it, actually quite fascinating. It paralyzes the tarantula, drags it into a hole it dug in the ground, lays its eggs on it and closes the hole. The larvae hatch and feed on the paralyzed spider. Gruesome.

 

[Firestopper]

Had to fix a rear axel seal leak on my daily driver (82 Fj40). The recently compleated work bench made it a pleasure to efficiently complete the required work.Turned out a seal installation tool for both the rear and front inner axel seal.

 

[autonoz]

So jealous