I love Jerry, but I feel this bit could have been done a lot better by Tim Allen. It's true, though. At least, if the men in the neighborhood are friends, acquaintances, or merely friendly people, they generally want to be involved in any technical activity, even if that involvement is drinking a beer and shooting the shit.

And we learn things from the activity, too. Just like /u/cornerzcan pointed out. Those conversations happen. Fifteen years ago I was sitting in my driveway working on replacing the brake pads on my Nissan. I was struggling to compress the pistons on the rear disc brakes when a guy I had never met from a few houses down comes walking up the driveway carrying one of these. Super nice guy, said he had noticed me struggling and realized I was in the same exact situation he was just a year or two prior.

Without his friendly assistance, I might have destroyed those pistons. At the very least, he made the brake job a lot easier.

Lame story time.

Was using a drift once. It wasn't even all that bad.

I give it a good wail, hammer in right hand, drift in left. Clean hit, but I felt a cold shock in the top of my left hand. The kind a little piezo crystal gives you.

About a third of the way from my index finger knuckle to my wrist is a little red flap... huh, it must have gotten me... upon closer inspection I see a little steel glint under the blood that's appearing at the flap.

Sigh and dig in with these. Pull out a curl and was ok. Over then next few days it turned into a nice purple bruise. That thing must have been flying realllly good.

This could happen to anyone at any time. I wasn't worried about my hand. I took it as don't fuck around with eye protection and chisels. If it were a well developed curl and hit anywhere it could have been far worse. If it hit an eye it would have been a loss.

Oh well! Just be safe guys.

A benchtop mill that isn't a rebranded Sieg? Well color me amazed.

Too heavy for my taste, I need something that I can move somewhat easily when needed. But if you can deal with a 350+ lb machine you'll probably be happier than I will be with the 100 lb one I'm buying next spring.

Make sure you get a good vise. (I can tell from the picture that the one on Amazon is going to be crap. https://www.amazon.com/350017-JMD-15-Milling-Drilling-Machine/dp/B0009H5TA0) Little Machine Shop is a good source, though you can probably go larger.

You'll need some R8 collets to match the end mills. (The end mill set from Harbor Freight is great for newbies like me. https://www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-titanium-nitrade-coated-end-mill-set-5947.html) Don't bother trying to mill anything using the drill chuck.

You can probably skip the clamping kit at first, other than a couple of T-nuts to hold down the vise.

You MUST get a dial indicator so you can align the vise. A test indicator is useful too, so maybe get a set that has both.

I have a few more questions about it now

if I input my yellow 12V18A yellow line what is the max output I can hope for with that converter?

using the math I apparently didn't forget in highschool that would allow me 36V at 6A output I think. or 40V at 5.4A if I go the other way.

I'm assuming that it will actually be a little less than that because of lost heat and stuff.

that appears to me like an almost exact fit for my PSU 12V line but in the interest of always making it bigger and better is there not too much more expensive way to get higher output? I know the -12V line is out of the question but would it be possible to just gang up all the outputs, and get a bigger/better boost converter? every one Ive seen is still around the same 3-60V range, I'm just wondering if there's a search term that will find be beefier ones

EDIT

could I use this in combination with the first one i linked to achieve the most output? I dont mean in series, just as a second standalone output for when I want all of the electricities

Yes, this. Do not put a cutting wheel on a drill press directly. The spindle is not configured for side loads and could pop right out, and you will not have a good time. In this case, there is a heavy-duty arbor supporting the cut-off wheel from below (under the tarp), and the drill is only providing the torque from above, with a double-U joint to compensate for misalignments.

Mostly I do lapidary work, not metal. I don't have the space to set up a flat lap machine, so I put a lot of effort into adding that function to my drill press. Sturdy base, strong motor, already taking up space. Got Covington Engineering to make me a custom arbor by assembling one of their standard ones upside down, so the wheel mounting flange is on the same side as the housing support flange. Pressed a sleeve bushing onto the housing to raise the diameter slightly, and I can swap it out with the table on my drill press with a secure fit. Couples to the drill with a Lovejoy DD3 double U-joint. (The bottom of it was drilled and tapped to fit the arbor, the top gets chucked into the drill.) Typically used for grinding, sanding, and polishing stone, inside a tub with a constant water spray. I took that apart to jury-rig the saw. Only new thing I bought here was the tarp.

Its not very involved.

I bought a 20Lbs cylinder of CO2 from a brewery supply company, you can get them from most places. Welding gas companies will sell them, and they should be food safe, as its just gas.

I then purchased a regulator for beer kegs, this one, although there are cheaper ones. I like the dual-gauge ones because then you can see how much CO2 you have left. I keep it set to around 50psi, which seems to create the best bubbles.

I finally purchased a screw cap fitting that connects to a barb lock fit, which you can get from any vendor you like (MoreBeer sells a nice metal one). This screw-cap slots onto any standard US 2L soda bottle, and other sizes as well.

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To actually make seltzer, or any other type of soda really, all you need is an empty soda bottle, and the above device. You put about a half-cup of water in the bottle, close it up, and freeze it.

When the water in it has frozen, bang the edge of the bottle on the edge of the sink or counter to dislodge the ice, and fill with water up to about the point the top starts to slope in. You want a bit of head-space.

Once its full, screw the screw-top I mentioned earlier half on, then squeeze the bottle to eliminate the head space. I like to squeeze to the point a bit of water comes out. Screw the screw-top down all the way, and ensure its firmly seated. The bottle should look a little crushed at this point. Shake the bottle a few times to ensure the water is chilled well by the ice inside. You need to have the water as cold to freezing as you can get it for proper carbonation to occur.

Take your gas tank, and open the line. No gas should be escaping, because the barb-lock fitting on the end isn't opened until the bottle is attached. Press it down firmly onto the screw-top of the bottle, and ensure it latches. The gas should begin to flow and inflate the bottle. The bottle should be quite hard. Give the bottle a very aggressive shaking for about 10-20 seconds. You may hear a noise from the regulator and note that the pressure seems to vary a bit. This is because you're dissolving CO2 into the water, carbonating it.

When you're done shaking, detach the barb-lock, and then turn off the gas. I like to turn off the gas after I disconnect it, so it blows any moisture out of the line as the barb-lock backs up. If you don't remember to turn off your gas, you may lose all your pressure as it leeches out around the seals in the barb-lock.

Now you've got soda. Carefully remove the screw-top fitting, being ready to screw it back down should the bottle start to overflow. I usually take it off and put the regular top back on. Keep it in your fridge, because warm soda goes flat almost instantly.

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Disclaimer: I'm not liable if you do this and blow up your house, your apartment, RV, or anything else really. I'm not liable if you get inflation injuries or anything else that goes wrong. Caveat emptor, do this at your own risk.

That being said, I've had such a system for a couple years now with no issues.

I have a little different take on this. What you want is a Bosch 12V combo kit. It has both a drill/driver as well as an impact driver. They share batteries and a charger:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GT0IWK/ref=psdc_552734_t1_B0046ZRYPE

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0046ZRYPE/ref=psdc_552734_t1_B005GT0IWK

These are perfect for around the house. I use them almost exclusively for work, too. Incredibly powerful for their size, and I can't stress enough how useful an impact driver is.

CV will drop the current to keep the voltage at your set point (4.2V). CC is also known as "bulk charging". The CV phase is essentially topping it off. It's usually about the last 20% or so of the capacity.

So basically, you need a dedicated CC/CV charger (like a hobby charger or an 18650 charger), or a variable bench power supply -- very handy to have around. Or a good stable power source, a large variety of resistors, a good, solid handle on Ohm's Law, and a lot of time on your hands. I personally like a charger like the Nitecore i4 for my LiIon batteries.

The main advantage of acetylene torch is the ability to get a very localized area hot very quickly. You can still get it hot with the yellow bottle torches (called Mapp still) or propane or butane (this is the one I was referring to Blazer GT8000 Big Shot Butane Torch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NCZU0A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_gQAXAbRB3QEDA) it just takes longer and so conduction has more chance to take effect and you end up heating a very large area.

I don't know about the bronze alloy. The silver solder I was using flowed at around 1200 F. I used the white paste flux which you also have to be careful with to not burn before you get a good flow. The color of the glow was one of my best indicators of temperature in the moment.

my personal favorite is the Ampad Gold Fibre Retro writing pad. 5"X8" Medium rule. It's just what I need for portability, "speed of draw", and ruggedness, but scaled for quick personal notes rather than scientific documentation. I've become quite fond of the short-edge wire bound style, which is very compatible my general use of one side of each sheet. Paired with the classic Pentel QE517 Japan 6A Twist-Erase 0.7mm mechanical pencil. Such a great pencil design!

I think it would be much easier to buy either single sided or double sided copper plated FR4 boards to start with. I use this sugar based laser toner transfer paper. It's nice because you use a laminator to put it on and then when you dip it in water, it just dissolves and the paper backing falls off.

I think the paper is backed with plastic so I peel the back off of the paper too. Otherwise it gets dark like it's only getting wet from water soaking in around the edges.

https://www.amazon.com/Printers-TONER-TRANSFER-PAPER-SHEETS/dp/B00HKHZ1GO/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=transfer+paper+pcb&qid=1558071449&s=gateway&sr=8-6

After that etch as usual. I made .5mm pitch traces and spacing between and had about 50/50 success rates on a 25x50mm (1x2 inch) board. Make the traces as wide as you can make them at first. Even if you have to make footprints smaller than the traces themselves. That shit will work for sure. Then you can work on getting the traces thinner by not over etching and other variables like that.

Inexpensive carpet shampooer brushes, like this one https://www.amazon.com/Hoover-Brush-Block-Bristle-Extractor/dp/B00Y33VRAC are also nice. I wish I could find one like it that's a bit more robust.

Does anybody have any recommendations on an acceptable quality 10 hp vfd that costs less than $450?

Is this one any good? https://www.amazon.com/Variable-Frequency-Inverter-Spindle-Control/dp/B010CJBVOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511929845&sr=8-1&keywords=10+hp+vfd

Protip: You can trim down the links from Amazon to get rid of all the extra garbage, just delete everything after the section after "dp". So for your second link above, you'd have "/dp/B06XXNP6M8" and leave it there.

You can actually eliminate everything before the /dp/ as well...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XXNP6M8/

Apparenly Amazon also has its own link shortener, so if you need it even more slim, you can drop down to this:

https://amzn.com/B06XXNP6M8/

But ironically, when they expand that URL, they add garbage to the end of it 🤣

(These are all the same product as your second link.)

If the pallets are relatively uniform I'd go with building a jig and using a hammer




But for least setup, the "catspaw" others mentioned is the right tools (technically not sure if this is a catspaw, but it's what you want)

(Crescent 56 Home Hand Tools Nail Pullers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002N7SD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5EW2CbZ0SVAKC)

I have this product that some doofus designed with a crappy cable exit solution and need recommendations to fix it.

​

- This is a moving part, so the cable will be pulled on every day, outdoors, and it needs to last ~10 years.

- The existing cable is crappy. 20 AWG PVC coated. UV and bending will certainly kill it, so I'm replacing it with an SOOW #14/4 curly cord.

- The cable exit seen here is pretty weird, and there is nothing actually supporting the cable, so it ends up tugging on the connector at the top of the mast. Terrible design.

​

What I need is a real strain relief connector. I'm going to need to splice my curly cord inside the tube, so I don't want my connections under strain. I need something to support the weight of the cable and the forces acting on it. I'm thinking either a typical cord-grip with a spiral spring-type strain relief mechanism (something like this http://img.howtoaddlikebutton.com/nimg/9f/15/c6f4c09bb86eb96e4789a863af7b-300x300-0/cnpj_ip68_ul_certificate_bend_proof_short_thread_strain_relief_cable_gland_cord.jpg), or a similar rubber one (https://www.amazon.com/26x10-5x7mm-Rubber-Strain-Relief-Protector/dp/B00XBG19OG).

​

Big challenge is that the cable I'm putting in is 0.575". The existing fitting seen in the photo is 3/4" OD, so the flange there is just a few mm bigger than that, and obviously, it's round.

Cord grips that fit my cable's OD are all 3/4" NPT. I can probably fit that, but it will look silly on a round flange like that. And I can't weld a nut on there because its plastic. So wtf can be done here?

​

Appreciate any inputs!

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https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541

If you want to get a good overview of AC and DC beyond wiring circuit breakers and light switches.

The Uline link above is Canadian as well. I was wondering why they were charging 40 bucks a box when you can get em for $22 US on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Honeywell-Visibility-Disposable/dp/B0007XJOLG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1538083636&sr=8-3&keywords=laser+lite+earplugs&dpID=31EwvYZzuSL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I have this one and I really like it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J7UPHIS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

you can still get something like this on amazon -

Crescent 56 Nail Puller

https://www.amazon.com/Crescent-56-Nail-Puller/dp/B00002N7SD/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549564377&sr=8-2&keywords=slide+hammer+nail+puller

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This is what OP bought

If you want to get fancy, you can get these