Daily Improvements

Today I decided to improve upon yesterday’s techniques by adding a few extra steps. Not sure if they will stand the test of tomorrow but here they are at this present moment.

# 1 > Seam Edge Helmet: to protect the edge during delivery.

# 2 > Cutting Machine Sucker: to keep the work space and truck a little bit cleaner.

Photo # 3 > I’m paying KUDOS to the Mohawk factory working who made this crops seam…… What cross seam ? Exactly … The one directly in line with the cutting groove.

Had to glue up some tiles the other day. That’s a sticky mess so I made a jig to set the tile in before I rolled it with adhesive. Worked out real nice. The jig held the tile in place and kept the edges from getting gooped up with adhesive boogers while I speedily did my job.

Sometimes we don’t improve … I gave my helper the stair measurement in feet/ inches ( 3’ 3.50” ) and he cut them 33.50” …. Next time I’ll give him a coffee break and improve by cutting them myself

MSLI said:

Sometimes we don’t improve … I gave my helper the stair measurement in feet/ inches ( 3’ 3.50” ) and he cut them 33.50” …. Next time I’ll give him a coffee break and improve by cutting them myself

Click to expand...

I have done that and I was the guy doing the measuring. Easy mistake, all the numbers are the same.

MSLI said:

Sometimes we don’t improve … I gave my helper the stair measurement in feet/ inches ( 3’ 3.50” ) and he cut them 33.50” …. Next time I’ll give him a coffee break and improve by cutting them myself

Click to expand...

Was that 4’3” or 43”? Classic.

Have you ever heard of the FIS system? Feet, inches, sixteenths. You would call out, or write down, 10, 5, 4. That would be 10 feet, 5 inches and 4 sixteenths. Yes 4/16 is 1/4 but that’s not how the system works and now you’re adding confusion to the mix, just stick to the system! You always use the same method of F,I,S, and if everybody is on the same page, it helps to prevent stupid mistakes.

C.J. said:

Was that 4’3” or 43”? Classic.

Have you ever heard of the FIS system? Feet, inches, sixteenths. You would call out, or write down, 10, 5, 4. That would be 10 feet, 5 inches and 4 sixteenths. Yes 4/16 is 1/4 but that’s not how the system works and now you’re adding confusion to the mix, just stick to the system! You always use the same method of F,I,S, and if everybody is on the same page, it helps to prevent stupid mistakes.

Click to expand...

NICE IMPROVEMENT C. J, thanks for sharing.

My Kreg jig is screwed down so it stays put. I’ve had the dust collection hooked up for some time but the hose has always been wherever, in the way. I drilled a hole, ran the hose through and zip tied it up underneath the table, out of the way. Been thinking of doing that for way too long That’s my improvement for the day.

MSLI said:

Today I decided to improve upon yesterday’s techniques by adding a few extra steps. Not sure if they will stand the test of tomorrow but here they are at this present moment.

# 1 > Seam Edge Helmet: to protect the edge during delivery.

# 2 > Cutting Machine Sucker: to keep the work space and truck a little bit cleaner.

Photo # 3 > I’m paying KUDOS to the Mohawk factory working who made this crops seam…… What cross seam ? Exactly … The one directly in line with the cutting groove.

Click to expand...

Sorry I'm late to the party.
That protective hat for the carpet....
You may need a big piece of cardboard, but here's an idea. Make a cardboard cylinder and draw a line part way down, say 8 inches. Be fairly exact.
Make cuts every 2 or 3 inches all the way around, then fold them inward and tape them... Or hot glue.
Before putting on the hat, cut a piece or two of 1/2 inch pad about the diameter of the carpet roll.
Maybe a crappy picture is worth a thousand words.

Do you ever feel like just making tools or improvements instead of performing actual work?

highup said:

Do you ever feel like just making tools or improvements instead of performing actual work?

Click to expand...

Yes, but In a world that promotes ‘ cheep and fast ‘ there isn’t much demand for improvements

They removed the ‘ Cutting Machine Sucker ‘ ( Suck her up Now ) probably because the improvement needed improvement The bosses son is 6’6”

MSLI said:

Yes, but In a world that promotes ‘ cheep and fast ‘ there isn’t much demand for improvements

They removed the ‘ Cutting Machine Sucker ‘ ( Suck her up Now ) probably because the improvement needed improvement The bosses son is 6’6”

Click to expand...

There’s always room for improvements! I’m always thinking about how I can do something different. Faster? Maybe slower but cleaner or eliminates a step later?

I only had a couple cuts. Wasn’t worth digging out and setting up the wet saw for so this is my work around. Quick, easy and I got a clean, straight cut.

MSLI said:

Yes, but In a world that promotes ‘ cheep and fast ‘ there isn’t much demand for improvements

They removed the ‘ Cutting Machine Sucker ‘ ( Suck her up Now ) probably because the improvement needed improvement The bosses son is 6’6”

Click to expand...

That's a man I would very look up to.
I'm 6' 3

C.J. said:

There’s always room for improvements! I’m always thinking about how I can do something different. Faster? Maybe slower but cleaner or eliminates a step later?

I only had a couple cuts. Wasn’t worth digging out and setting up the wet saw for so this is my work around. Quick, easy and I got a clean, straight cut.

View attachment 19515

Click to expand...

Absolutely worth it. I don't worry about minutes and seconds. The result is simply better. That's my only concern. IE: someone is living with your work possibly for decades. It's only yours for a moment in time.

Is it worth experimenting to wrap and heat form metal with LVP skin? (Wear layer)
Yes and no...
The knife edge or long side of the metal both loose it's knife edge and the metal thickness doubles after wrapping, from .062" to .0120"
After wrapping tightly to the metal, the knife edge is rather thick...... But it looks 100x better that aluminum or gold metal.
Super 77 is soooo much nicer to use than the tape I was using on my first experiments.

Nice Highup …. This is what I came up with today. After 46 years of rug dogging I never thought to do this, however if you’re not careful it could slip off and chop off some toes So maybe not an improvement after all.

Number two : I ran out of the long aluminum drives, but had the stubby ones and 120’ of concrete tackles to install and reinforce. I just assumed they were too small and I always used them for just metal installation. I drilled the hole as usual but they didn’t hold tight enough Then using my newly sporadic problem solving awareness ( Sometimes my mind sets up impassable road blocks ) I thought “ small nails only need a small, in depth, hole …. Bob’s your Uncle !

Could we be doing something similar in our lives that wards off improvements ?

Nice.

I have a track saw with all the fancy accessories but when it comes to speed and ease of use you can’t beat my homemade poor man’s track saw. That’s my daily improvement. I put it where I want and nail it to the bench with a couple 18ga Brad nails. It stays put and is so much quicker than fiddling with clamps. Pulling the nails takes 2 seconds, reposition and you’re off again. Down side is no dust containment so it’s not a one size fits all improvement.

I've made my own tracks for years, in different sizes. I saw it done on a commercial job I was on years ago and stole the idea. Works great. But also have a boughten one.

DarisMulkin said:

I've made my own tracks for years, in different sizes. I saw it done on a commercial job I was on years ago and stole the idea. Works great. But also have a boughten one.

Click to expand...

Maintenance guys at the apt complex install peel and stick 1x1 tiles, and he jumped the square the other day …. Darris, does the track allow you to cut with more safety from the knife ?

MSLI said:

Maintenance guys at the apt complex install peel and stick 1x1 tiles, and he jumped the square the other day …. Darris, does the track allow you to cut with more safety from the knife ?

Click to expand...

Knife?? These are for skill saws.

MSLI said:

Maintenance guys at the apt complex install peel and stick 1x1 tiles, and he jumped the square the other day …. Darris, does the track allow you to cut with more safety from the knife ?

Click to expand...

I’ve got that same 12’ straight edge but I don’t use it for cutting carpet on top of carpet, such as you are by cutting on the roll. I’ve accidentally scored the layer underneath by doing it that way so now I put a tick on each side and chalk line my cut. You can lift up the carpet off of the next layer of carpet and cut it while still following a straight line.