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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

Tsy, congrats. They are quite useful. Big enough to crosscut lots of lumber. Small enough to cart around pretty easily.

lbE, it really is nice to go to Dad's basement, look around a bit, and find whatever you need for the next project.
 
Squirrels had done a number on dad's bird bath. It's all copper. They had bent the basin down so it wouldn't hold water, and finally cracked it where the basin connects to the post. A torch, some solder and it is holding water again, FTW!
 
I definitely got my use out of it this weekend. I built 5 separate shelves and converted the dresser our tv sat on into something like this, to house the satellite dish, gaming consoles etc in one unit.

dresser%2Btv%2Bstand.png


I opted for the smaller saw, 7 1/4" rather than the 10", mostly due to the price. I was able to cut anything up to a 2x10, so I was happy. Anything thicker than that I'll just use my circular saw.

I'd love to have a table saw, but like LBE, its nice having a dad who has pretty much every tool imaginable. Its even better when I live less than 500ft from his shop.

My next project is going to be wiring and restoring my grandfather's old Craftsman Buzz Box arc welder. Its what he taught me to weld on, and when he had a pacemaker implanted a few years back had to give up welding due to the current, so he gave it to me. The cables need to be rewrapped, but other than that it works great. I've love to take it apart, clean it up and use it for another 50 years. It looks similar to this one:
36093_6426927.jpg
 
Some good deals at Home Depot today. There is a Husky 230-piece mechanics tool set for $75, or something like that. Very nice set. I bought one and might actually buy a second set to keep at another location. While there, I also noticed that Rigid has a lifetime warranty on the 18 volt battery that comes with their drill (and on all other parts, too). So I am about done with Dewalt cordless products; hard to beat replacement batteries. (Bought a Rigid compound mitre saw this weekend, which seems like a quality product, so that got me looking at their other tools)

I was also in a Lowes earlier today. They also had some good deals on basic tools for anyone just getting started in putting a basic tool set together but the deals at HD seemed better.
 
In the middle of a bathroom renovation, and that has bled over into replacing light fixtures all over the house.

I've got a plastic junction box above the vanity with no ground wire coming out, just the white and black. Obviously a new light fixture is going to have a ground wire, so my question for you people who know more than me about this kind of thing (read: everyone) is this: am I risking anything ridiculous by simply wrapping the ground wire from the light fixture to the ground screw on the junction box bracket?

This is what I've done for 2 other light fixtures, but those were pretty tall and therefore wouldn't be a casual shock risk for anyone. I don't want to fry just because I happen to touch the light when I'm cleaning the bathroom.
 
that's so awesome that mrs tsy lets you keep the compressor inside like that! very stylish :)


tv cabinet looks great- nice work!
 
It fit in the corner nicely. We've got a couple squeaking places in our hardwoods, so when we walk across the floor and find one, I nail it down.
 
Demon09 said:
In the middle of a bathroom renovation, and that has bled over into replacing light fixtures all over the house.

I've got a plastic junction box above the vanity with no ground wire coming out, just the white and black. Obviously a new light fixture is going to have a ground wire, so my question for you people who know more than me about this kind of thing (read: everyone) is this: am I risking anything ridiculous by simply wrapping the ground wire from the light fixture to the ground screw on the junction box bracket?

This is what I've done for 2 other light fixtures, but those were pretty tall and therefore wouldn't be a casual shock risk for anyone. I don't want to fry just because I happen to touch the light when I'm cleaning the bathroom.
Click to expand...

Is there reason to believe that the junction box bracket is grounded? Is that where the ground wire in the power supply cable is attached? If so, no problem. If the bracket isn't grounded, it does no good to attach the ground wire to it, except maybe it will make you feel better.
 
I mentioned it in the Pit Pet thread, but this past weekend, I built some stairs for my pup to use to get on and off the bed (getting him to actually use them is going to be a different matter all together). I had enough scrap lumber from some other half-finished projects that it didn't take much to put them together. Final dimensions were 18" tall, 18" deep, 14" wide. Two steps, with each step being 9" deep and 9" tall.
 
yo, TSY, I want to build myself a basic workbench with a shelf on the bottom and maybe some drawers. Also, I'm planning to put some casters on it. I have miter saw, a circular saw and a few drills.

Any tips?
 
ImTheCaptain said:
yo, TSY, I want to build myself a basic workbench with a shelf on the bottom and maybe some drawers. Also, I'm planning to put some casters on it. I have miter saw, a circular saw and a few drills.

Any tips?
Click to expand...
When I first built my bench, it was about 6" too tall. I incorrectly gauged how high it should be, so base it off another bench or cabinet in your house if possible.

I picked up a lot of drafting skills as an archeologist, so I'm pretty anal with drawing everything out on drafting paper before I start cutting. If you aren't that particular, just always measure twice and cut once.

LK would be a great person for you to pick his brain. He's much better at woodworking than I am. I'm more versed in metalworking.
 
thanks, man

yo, Karma, I want to build myself a basic workbench with a shelf on the bottom and maybe some drawers. Also, I'm planning to put some casters on it. I have miter saw, a circular saw and a few drills.

Any tips?
 
Include space to permanently mount a vice to the side or front of the bench.
Also, mount a power strip along the back or one of the sides so that you always have plenty of outlets. And ideally have it located next to a 220 outlet with proper amp fuses so that you don't blow the circuit depending on what tools you are running.
 
wfudkn said:
I installed a Nest thermostat over the weekend. Anyone use it?
Click to expand...

My sister has one, and they love it. Got the Nest smoke detectors too. She got it on her wedding registry, and when I was looking for a programmable thermostat, I considered one, but just could not justify the price. I don't see how I'd save the $200+ difference in cost compared to the like $35 one I bought, which can program 5/1/1 days. However, I'm very diligent about setting mine "away" any time I leave the house outside of my normal schedule. Anyway, I hope you like yours and that it saves you money!
 
Made the mistake of buying a crappy air compressor at Walmart; figuring I wouldn't need it much and wanted to save money. By the second time I tried to use it, the gauges had already failed. Walmart took it back (glad I put the receipt in the box and didn't throw either of them away). So for only a few dollars more, I was able to buy one that is 1000x better from HD.

So the lessons are - don't buy crappy tools and equipment (learned and forgotten or ignored too many times), save your receipts from Walmart, and HD and Lowe's have very competitive pricing with Walmart. Maybe Costco could have been an option for a better deal, but for convenience I am happy with the HD purchase.
 
so we ripped everything out of the kitchen on NYE night and NY day. here' the disgusting mess left behind:

1AmUawG


the flooring peeps are coming in this week to rip out the old floor and put in new floors. then we'll get started on the kitchen and the rest of the house. i'll post some more before pics to track the progress next time i'm up there.
 
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