Author Topic: What did you do this weekend? (Read 143401 times)

LowKey · « **Reply #400 on:** June 25, 2018, 01:46:51 am »

Quote from: booksmart on June 24, 2018, 07:15:30 pm

Don't get me started about whichever of them also removed the other steel support column that should have been under the beam supporting the kitchen and the rest of the house.

Ah...then I presume you're familiar with railroad/screw jacks and the "1/4 turn per day" protocol for raising a floor?

WeTheArmed.com

booksmart · « **Reply #401 on:** June 25, 2018, 09:54:02 am »

Quote

I think that the builder needs his fingers flattened. I really wanted to put a 42" front door in just to make appliance moves easier. Garages, basements, laundry rooms all NEED at least a 36" door.

I am about to pull an eight pound pork shoulder out of the smoker after eight hours at about 225, meat thermometer says it should be done. I am looking forward to some good eating this week.

I'd start with previous owners, and work my way backwards. The house is 31 years old, and before we bought it, the only *real* update was a granite vanity top in the halfbath on the first floor.

Builder wtfs:
There's not a cricket on the roof, to divert water around the chimney. The door to upstairs from the basement/garage opens to your left as your're coming up - putting the opened door between you and the kitchen (so you either have to then close the door, or loop through the dining room). The doors on the first floor are all solid wood (a plus), while all of the doors on the second floor are all hollow fiberboard (not so much). There's no attic access. Certain rooms could use more windows than they have. There's probably more, but that'll do for now...

Previous owners wtfs:
Most of the siding is the masonite stuff that had the lawsuit - never replaced. The aforementioned removal of the support column in the basement (for the rest of my life, I will never understand *why* someone would do that, and not build a wall to code to support the floor

). The top half of the chimney is not pointing in the same direction as the bottom half, and two sections of the (non-original) flue pipe were installed upside down. There's a hole in the fireplace I can see the framing through (my wife had the forethought to have the fireplace inspected before we used it the first winter, and the inspector found the flue pipe issues; I found the hole - we were advised *not* to use the fireplace). Most of the vanity cabinets (stain grade solid wood) were painted badly (in one case with black Rustoleum (we found the can)), and in the master bath they did not paint the toe kick. Visibly bad jobs of painting the ceiling in the master bedroom and the living room. A few doors were primed, but not painted (including the hinges, btw). Moulding/trim painted white throughout the house - until you get to one room, where for some inexplicable reason, it's brown (including the door). Last time they painted the upstairs bath, they didn't bother to take down the springloaded shower curtain rod, and painted around it (the bathroom is currently grey, previously, it was sky blue).

/rant

A lot of this will be easy to fix, but some of it will be expensive as hell (siding(!!). Luckily, a good chunk of it I have the skills to do myself (short of siding and cabinet-building (and I might embark on learning the second)).

The house has (mostly) good bones, it just hasn't had any love for 30 years. We'll fix that. *cracks knuckles*

The bbq sounds good - what'd you use for a rub? I need to get my smoker back in order... I haven't smoked since we moved in.

Plebian · « **Reply #402 on:** June 25, 2018, 10:26:58 am »

If you can make a wood box. Then you can make cabinets. This is especially true if you are only shooting for the modern level of acceptable. Since most modern cabinetry is pure crap with some veneer slapped on if you are lucky.

Doors are the part taking the most skill, and you can make great raised panel doors with only a table saw, some clamps and glue. Izzy Swan has a great channel on Youtube. He shows the old school way of laying a board at an angle on a table saw to cut raised panel doors without using routers or shapers. I learned it originally from my Grandfather and it works great.

booksmart · « **Reply #403 on:** June 25, 2018, 10:29:15 am »

Quote

Ah...then I presume you're familiar with railroad/screw jacks and the "1/4 turn per day" protocol for raising a floor?

Even better - I've got two columns in place - one fixed, on top of a hydraulic jack, getting a pump or two every 2-3 days, a screw-top post getting a half turn on the same schedule... plus the fixed column waiting to go back where the original was, between the two.

There'll be a few drywall cracks to deal with when all is said and done, but at least the floor'll be level.

And I'll have the hardware laying around to fix places where joists have sunken a little (there's a hump the length of the master bedroom floor, where the joists have sunk on either side of the beam - jack 'em up, strap 'em up, hammer 'em in - NO COMMENTS).

Doors... *waggles hand* I've got the tools to make my own, the hard part would be getting the same quality of pine we had just thirty years ago. The lumber we get nowadays is grown so fast, it's soft, and doesn't have the same grain structure. And I'm not feeling a burning need to put custom made oak doors in... there's a line where you get investments back on upgrades, and doors are juust one the other side of that line. Kitchens and bathrooms, you'll get a good chunk of it back. Doors... you'll get that back if the person cares.

Mikee5star · « **Reply #404 on:** June 25, 2018, 11:04:23 am »

Kitchens and bathrooms, you'll get a good chunk of it back. Doors... you'll get that back if the person cares.
Quoted from Booksmart

Very true. Trim and doors follow fashion, and it is still paint around here.

I just did salt pepper garlic onion and smokehouse maple grilling spice. I used mesquite for wood. It looked good, but needed to be cooked slower. Probably should have kept temp just under 200 instead of near 250. Also it needed more smoke, and maybe a brine to get some salt in to the center of the meat. Pork needs salt.

sqlbullet · « **Reply #405 on:** June 25, 2018, 11:26:40 am »

Langenator, That is a nice looking AR build.

I have build a couple of pistols on TN Arms lowers as well as a LR308 (358 Winchester).

While I don't favor them over aluminum at todays prices where I can get an Anderson for $30 if I watch the sales, I too have several in the safe from back when $30 aluminum lowers were unobtainium.

They are great for range/truck guns!

I wonder if some super glue would help hold those trigger pins in place? I have not had that issue, but if I did that would probably be the first thing I tried.

Plebian · « **Reply #406 on:** June 25, 2018, 01:26:01 pm »

Quote from: booksmart on June 25, 2018, 10:29:15 am

Doors... *waggles hand* I've got the tools to make my own, the hard part would be getting the same quality of pine we had just thirty years ago. The lumber we get nowadays is grown so fast, it's soft, and doesn't have the same grain structure. And I'm not feeling a burning need to put custom made oak doors in... there's a line where you get investments back on upgrades, and doors are juust one the other side of that line. Kitchens and bathrooms, you'll get a good chunk of it back. Doors... you'll get that back if the person cares.

Is there not a local mill? I get nice quality oak, cedar and pine for obscenely cheap prices here from the local mill. They just take in stuff from tree removal folks and mill it up. You also get hickory and pecan fairly often with walnut very rare here.

You might have to resaw and thickness plane it, but it is cheap enough to make up the difference.

I just assume if the tiny population of Oklahoma has local mills. Then most of the country must have local mills.

booksmart · « **Reply #407 on:** June 25, 2018, 02:09:47 pm »

There are a few local lumberyards - the closest one to me has some good stuff, but I haven't price checked among the ones around me (need to do that, but it shifts seasonally, I'm sure).

My table saw is a contractor grade, not cabinet grade... I'll update it when I have the cash to. In the meantime, I'll build a cab around it, and work with what I've got.

Other'n that, I've got a good bandsaw, floor stand drill press, 12x36" lathe+, thickness planer, 6" bench jointer, 6" floor stand jointer*, router table, free hand plunge router, and buttloads of odds and ends.

+ One of the first things I turned for a friend is a bat, from ash. He won't give it back for me to put a finish on it.

*I got it free off of freecycle - it might need a new motor or drive belt - previous owner said it chipped, even with new blades. Craftsman, cast iron stand, weighs a ton.

Plebian · « **Reply #408 on:** June 25, 2018, 03:03:56 pm »

Quote from: booksmart on June 25, 2018, 02:09:47 pm

There are a few local lumberyards - the closest one to me has some good stuff, but I haven't price checked among the ones around me (need to do that, but it shifts seasonally, I'm sure).

My table saw is a contractor grade, not cabinet grade... I'll update it when I have the cash to. In the meantime, I'll build a cab around it, and work with what I've got.

Other'n that, I've got a good bandsaw, floor stand drill press, 12x36" lathe+, thickness planer, 6" bench jointer, 6" floor stand jointer*, router table, free hand plunge router, and buttloads of odds and ends.

+ One of the first things I turned for a friend is a bat, from ash. He won't give it back for me to put a finish on it.

*I got it free off of freecycle - it might need a new motor or drive belt - previous owner said it chipped, even with new blades. Craftsman, cast iron stand, weighs a ton.

The closest true mill here doesn't advertise, and it is basically just a part-time family business that is not full time. They mill and dry as they get time/orders. It is really just a catch it when you can affair. They mostly mill red cedar as that is the predominant pest tree here people remove. The max I have ever paid was 2 bucks a board foot for 3"x6"x15' pine beams salvaged from an old barn.

Lumberyards are typically not much cheaper here than big box stores. It could be different in other regions. You might ask around and see if you can find an actual mill. In my experience it has always been worth the pain of locating them.

Plebian · « **Reply #409 on:** June 25, 2018, 03:30:52 pm »

Also if you got a bigger bandsaw + chainsaw. Then you can mill and dry yourself. Most of the post oak tree that took out my back fence is shelving, tables and drawers in the shop now.

You can also buy a bar and chain(meant to cut floor joists etc) for a wormgear circular saw. You then just need to fab up some runners to hold it steady to mill however big of stuff you want.

I only have a Bosch contractors saw in my shop. It is not the 1000 pound monster my dad has, but it does everything I need and more. It is just always hard for me to justify a full-on cabinet saw. The little extra noise and less power of my contractor saw is fine for everything I do. It is built into my work table so the table size is not an issue on the saw.

I also never picked up any jointers. I just made a jointer fence for my table saw, and it works for everything I need.

I want to pick up a lathe, but I just do not know if I will use it much. When I needed some tapered legs for a table the wife wanted made. I just built a sled + hand drill to turn the legs. Turning stuff is a ton of fun, but I just rarely find the need to do so. I can also just drive the 2 hours to my families shop to turn stuff if absolutely needed.

Buckeye Redneck · « **Reply #410 on:** July 21, 2018, 10:11:48 pm »

Can't believe it's been a year, but I ran the same warrior dash I posted about exactly a year ago. Getting old sucks.

booksmart · « **Reply #411 on:** July 22, 2018, 12:12:23 pm »

LowKey (and anyone else with building experience) - So, I'm at a critical juncture: I've got the beam jacked up to 8'9" - the height it's supposed to be. But the post I bought does not slide under. Laid it down to measure, and the *post* is 8'9", but the plates on each end are 1/4" - bringing my total height to 8'9.5". This will cause issues with doors closing properly two stories up (and indeed, already is).

Was it mis-cut at the factory? Should the pipe have been cut to 8'8.5", before adding the plates? My call to the company Thursday has not netted a reply call yet.

cpaspr · « **Reply #412 on:** July 22, 2018, 09:39:39 pm »

Just got home from running our club's monthly bowling pin shoot (with additional dueling trees and speed steel plate rack). Got to 90ish degrees by 2pm. I'm pooped. Still, a good shoot. Got a chance to try out a new load in the Blackhawk that on paper put all six in the 10 ring at 12 yards. Cleared all four pins from the table, then hit both steel plates at 40 yards. Definitely a keeper load.

Still trying to convince the board to add a Texas star to our steel inventory.

Mikee5star · « **Reply #413 on:** July 23, 2018, 09:43:14 am »

So, I'm at a critical juncture: I've got the beam jacked up to 8'9" - the height it's supposed to be. But the post I bought does not slide under. Laid it down to measure, and the *post* is 8'9", but the plates on each end are 1/4" - bringing my total height to 8'9.5". This will cause issues with doors closing properly two stories up (and indeed, already is).
Posted by: booksmart

Either get the post cut or return it and get a shorter one. Or notch the post top into the beam. If you are already having door issues...don't forget that the doors were most likely set and adjusted to work with the sag in the floor, so if you have taken out the sag the doors will need to be readjusted.

booksmart · « **Reply #414 on:** July 23, 2018, 10:17:47 am »

Actually, I misspoke - I'm at 8'9.25"... If I can get the post to 8'9" (in either manner), the doors should be fine.

Mississippi556 · « **Reply #415 on:** July 27, 2018, 04:43:10 pm »

This past weekend I sighted in a new scope.

Back story: I had a very nice older Leupold LPS 2.5-10x45 hunting scope. Bought it new many years ago. Used extensively. Taken a lot o deer. Very bright, well-made. Recently, it started to change point of impact when adjusting the "fast focus" ring. Upon inspection, I saw that some seal or other part internally had failed. This caused the fast focus ring (and actual ocular lens assembly) to "wobble" side to side, and up and down. When the eyepiece moved, it altered point of impact.

Fast forward: About 4 weeks ago I packed up the scope and sent it back to Leupold. Their policy on this and other "Gold Ring" scopes is to repair or replace free with comparable scope.

Well, I got a box back from Leupold. Apparently they no longer had repair parts for this legacy model. They substituted.

In the box was a VX6-HD 2-12x42 with Firedot Duplex reticle. Guys, that is a scope Leupold shows as $1,800 or so on their website and has a street price of about $1,400. I was elated!

I had a lot of fun sighting it in on the ,280 Rem bolt gun that previously wore the LPS.

This is an extremely bright scope, great resolving power of fine detail and has the always ready motion-activated Firedot reticle. Another feature my old scope lacked is the exposed elevation and windage turrets (in MOA) with zero stop (they call it zero lock). Once sighted in and the turrets turned to zero, you cannot accidently go past zero and lose your position. Maybe they've had this on hunting scopes, but I've seen this mostly on tactical or long range target scopes.

Leupold also provides a card in the box to send in with your chrono data and they will send you a custom elevation dial for you favorite load. I like to dial in for distance with either MOA or milrad and am used to that, so I don't know if I will even bother. But, hey, its' free. I do have a pet 140 grain handload (Barnes TTSX) at about 2950 fps, that I might send in the data on.

Shorter version: Sent in old broken scope, got new state of the art tricked out hunting scope for free except for cost of one way shipping. Happy customer.

MTK20 · « **Reply #416 on:** July 27, 2018, 04:59:13 pm »

Quote from: Mississippi556 on July 27, 2018, 04:43:10 pm

This past weekend I sighted in a new scope.

Back story: I had a very nice older Leupold LPS 2.5-10x45 hunting scope. Bought it new many years ago. Used extensively. Taken a lot o deer. Very bright, well-made. Recently, it started to change point of impact when adjusting the "fast focus" ring. Upon inspection, I saw that some seal or other part internally had failed. This caused the fast focus ring (and actual ocular lens assembly) to "wobble" side to side, and up and down. When the eyepiece moved, it altered point of impact.

Fast forward: About 4 weeks ago I packed up the scope and sent it back to Leupold. Their policy on this and other "Gold Ring" scopes is to repair or replace free with comparable scope.

Well, I got a box back from Leupold. Apparently they no longer had repair parts for this legacy model. They substituted.

In the box was a VX6-HD 2-12x42 with Firedot Duplex reticle. Guys, that is a scope Leupold shows as $1,800 or so on their website and has a street price of about $1,400. I was elated!

I had a lot of fun sighting it in on the ,280 Rem bolt gun that previously wore the LPS.

This is an extremely bright scope, great resolving power of fine detail and has the always ready motion-activated Firedot reticle. Another feature my old scope lacked is the exposed elevation and windage turrets (in MOA) with zero stop (they call it zero lock). Once sighted in and the turrets turned to zero, you cannot accidently go past zero and lose your position. Maybe they've had this on hunting scopes, but I've seen this mostly on tactical or long range target scopes.

Leupold also provides a card in the box to send in with your chrono data and they will send you a custom elevation dial for you favorite load. I like to dial in for distance with either MOA or milrad and am used to that, so I don't know if I will even bother. But, hey, its' free. I do have a pet 140 grain handload (Barnes TTSX) at about 2950 fps, that I might send in the data on.

Shorter version: Sent in old broken scope, got new state of the art tricked out hunting scope for free except for cost of one way shipping. Happy customer.

Well colour me envious

.

coelacanth · « **Reply #417 on:** July 27, 2018, 06:06:00 pm »

Yup. That seems above and beyond the call of duty for a customer service department. Duly noted.

Mississippi556 · « **Reply #418 on:** July 27, 2018, 06:08:13 pm »

Quote from: MTK20 on July 27, 2018, 04:59:13 pm

Well colour me envious .

This was my first time to every make a warranty claim with Leupold. I sent a different scope back to them one time for repairs that I actually damaged in a hard fall on horseback. Not their fault. That was maybe 20 years ago. But this time, the failure was not due to any thing I did wrong. I'll still not be the fanboy for any company. They did treat me far better than I expected.

Grognard · « **Reply #419 on:** July 28, 2018, 08:23:10 pm »

just keeping up with chores around the house.

needed to make a trip to the dump.

hurt my back trying to move the trailer sans the help of the TRUCK 6' away.

so now I'm taking it easy with an ice pack, Advil now; and a heat pack later.

hopefully, I can finish the chores tomorrow.

coelacanth · « **Reply #420 on:** July 28, 2018, 11:16:23 pm »

Tried to cover my ailing roof after a sizeable chunk of it blew off earlier today. Roofers are all enjoying their week-end so I'm up top doing it myself. It's not as bad as it sounds - mostly just shingle damage - but we're supposed to have rain tomorrow night into Monday so waiting for the pros is not an option.

ksuguy · « **Reply #421 on:** July 28, 2018, 11:20:02 pm »

Got back from another work trip to Canada yesterday. Slept about 16 hours.

Going to the final walkthrough on a house we are buying tomorrow.

booksmart · « **Reply #422 on:** July 29, 2018, 04:15:13 pm »

Treating my basement ceiling joists for white mold.

Next weekend will be sealing AC ducts and strapping up a few joists, to tighten up a few soft spots in the floor.

Progress!

sqlbullet · « **Reply #423 on:** July 29, 2018, 06:28:51 pm »

Yesterday...Sheetrock in the new garage. It sucked.

Last weekend, sheetrock in the new garage...And a little bit of driving the Kubota around Nukmed's yard.

Weekend before that was a bunch of driving the Kubota around Nukmed's yard.

booksmart · « **Reply #424 on:** July 29, 2018, 07:51:59 pm »

The husband of a friend of mine has a Kubota dealership... I have a feeling I'll be renting one next year, for probably the same reason you were driving it around Nukmed's yard... Landscaping? Fixing grading issues?