What did you do today?

[zannej]

Stuff from HF is hit or miss. Some of it can be OK and other stuff is complete garbage that falls apart. The drill bits I got there were worse than garbage.

Right now I'm trying to type with cats licking my hands. I have 7 kitties in the room with me right now. The dog has burrowed under the covers next to me. I plan to do some more cleaning once it warms up a bit and the kitties get off me.

 

[Tom Picciani]

I got it. It's a Hercules 12 inch professional saw. Comes with an 80 tooth blade.

Did some testing. Before plugging in I checked for square against the fence and vertically. Looks right on.

Plugged it in and pushed the button. It has a lot of torque and you have to be prepared for it. Wants to lift when you start it.

Has a drop shadow system which shows you exactly where the blade lands. Did 2 tests on a 2x6. Right on the line. Did a 45 cut and that appeared to be dead on out of the box.

It's heavy though. 54 lbs. Was able to lift it onto the table myself but it's a beast. Will get a rolling stand for it. Found a coupon online to get it for $299. Comes with a 1 year Hercules warranty. HF offers a 14 month in store replacement guarantee for $50. Since I was unsure of how good the quality was I paid that. But the saw is regularly priced 'on sale' for $350 anyway.

BTW, the HF other brands do have problems. Admiral and Chicago Electric both have play in the swing arm. This one has none. Rock solid.

I might buy a Diablo blade at some point. Got a few months before I need it. Have to paint first and that can't happen till Spring.

Here are some pictures.

Tom P.

 

[zannej]

I'm glad it worked out for you, Tom. I need to see if the circular saw out in the car port still works. I wonder if I can lift it or if it's too heavy.

I ordered the flooring for the laundry room reno while it is still on sale and available. It will give me time to go over the boards and make sure there aren't any broken or damaged pieces before it's time to do the reno. I also linked the military ID with the MyLowes account online so I can get 10% discounts for online orders. I signed up for spam from HD to get $5 in store credit on my next purchase.

I finally got around to shutting down my programs and putting in my new RAM. I was going to put in the new hard drive, but I took a look at the insides and decided I'll let my friend who has better coordination and vision take a look. I couldn't seem to locate the SATA connectors & the Cyberpower people bound some of the wires up tight & I didn't want to pull on anything. I've broken wires inside computers before bc I'm clumsy.

I didn't listen to my gut when I went to put the RAM in (I remembered the parity issue where they are suppose to be installed as sets, but I doubted myself bc I saw that the clips to secure the RAM were color-coded & that the 2 existing chips were installed apart (in the matching colored slots). At first I thought I only had 2 slots but when I leaned in I realized they had just staggered them. I vaguely recall the manual mentioning that was the way to do it when installing only 2 chips. Anyway, I goofed and just popped the new RAM in the other slots. Turned on PC- no signal from video card to monitor. Checked connections, tried again. No good. Took it apart again & cleaned more dust off of video card. Still no go. I swapped out the RAM chips entirely, putting the old ones in the box the new ones came in. Computer booted up and signal went to screen. Turned it off & tried with the old chips in the open slots. No go. Realized my first instinct was right and moved the new ones to the first 2 slots and the old ones to slots 3 and 4. It's now working. Yay! I'll be sure to remember that when I upgrade RAM in Mom's computer.

On a side note, anyone know of any vacuums that are safe to use inside computers? The compressed air would just blow stuff around. I have vents on the top of my case so the cats have been climbing on top and fur & dirt has dropped down. I did my best to clean out most of the fur, but it was horrible when I opened it up.

Note to self: dust & vacuum more often. I know it's not on an anti-static work surface, but with the humidity around here, static electricity is rarely a problem.

I tethered the cords from the back of the computer together with a rubberband (loosely) so I wouldn't lose any of them.

 

[Nick]

The wand on your Vacuum..

 

[zannej]

The wand on your Vacuum..

I wonder if I can use an extension thing on a dustbuster. I'm worried the regular vacuum would have too much suction force. Which reminds me that I need to vacuum the AC vents again. I think I'm going to take a 15 minute nap before I start making dinner. I'm thinking beef stroganoff would be good.

 

[Nick]

Just hold it a few inches away from the boards .. Devil hates a coward ..

 

[highup]

I don't think you will find a 38 lb 12 inch cross slide Tom. I've never been in a HF store. I met a guy who said they are known for low quality but do have some more expensive and good quality stuff, but it costs more and not sure if the lifetime warranty is included. I think you bought something that you don't need to worry about. A $9 half inch drill I'd worry about.

 

[highup]

zannej........ what did you name your new cat?

 

[Tom Picciani]

I don't think you will find a 38 lb 12 inch cross slide Tom. I've never been in a HF store. I met a guy who said they are known for low quality but do have some more expensive and good quality stuff, but it costs more and not sure if the lifetime warranty is included. I think you bought something that you don't need to worry about. A $9 half inch drill I'd worry about.

This cuts 14 inches. Only reason I need that big is for stair treads. They will be 11.5inches wide. I still have my Craftsman 7 1/4 inch sliding miter with a diablo laminate blade.

I grabbed 2 30 inch dollies for moving the couch later.

Probably will start the painting after the Spring thaw. March or April.

 

[Floorist]

zannej........ what did you name your new cat?

 

[Tom Picciani]

Oh,Eagles fan here. Your phrase of the day is Double DOINK!

 

[highup]

This cuts 14 inches. Only reason I need that big is for stair treads. They will be 11.5inches wide. I still have my Craftsman 7 1/4 inch sliding miter with a diablo laminate blade.

I grabbed 2 30 inch dollies for moving the couch later.

Probably will start the painting after the Spring thaw. March or April.

I've only installed 3/4" solid wood stair treads once. a few of the skirt boards had slight curves so I did those with a jig saw. I used my door cutting guide to cut the straight ones, even tho they had slight (microscopic) angles. I made patterns for each one.
The saw guide is clamped to the stair tread, then you use a circular saw to make the cut. New blade of course. It's easy to make the guide.

 

[Tom Picciani]

The stairs have carpet on them and obviously have an overhang. That wii have to come off. Materials are roughly $50/step for tread and riser. Don’t know what I’ll find under carpet though. Imagine a lot of crap

 

[highup]

Two - 2x6's or one 2x12 used to be common here in the 70's to 90's. Worst scenario might be the stringers aren't parallel with each other.

 

[Nick]

I use the flooring for the steps ..Seems to look nicer to me then full treads , and cheaper .. Cut the end joints on a 2 degree angle .. Set it up on your chop saw ..

 

[Tom Picciani]

I use the flooring for the steps ..Seems to look nicer to me then full treads , and cheaper .. Cut the end joints on a 2 degree angle .. Set it up on your chop saw ..

I have a philosophy that if you're doing something that will be used for many years, to not take the cheaper route. I think I want hardwood. There are all sorts of places that sell stair retreads including 5/8 inch treads made from solid wood (possibly glued planks). Even LL sells the retreads for $40-50/pair. I'm also looking at a few lumber mills in Lancaster. Lots of them run by Amish that have good prices. Might be able to work something out with them and glue up my own stair parts. I got time to look around.

 

[Floorist]

I have a philosophy that if you're doing something that will be used for many years, to not take the cheaper route. I think I want hardwood. There are all sorts of places that sell stair retreads including 5/8 inch treads made from solid wood (possibly glued planks). Even LL sells the retreads for $40-50/pair. I'm also looking at a few lumber mills in Lancaster. Lots of them run by Amish that have good prices. Might be able to work something out with them and glue up my own stair parts. I got time to look around.

No, not LL.

 

[Tom Picciani]

I just used LL as an example. Not going to use big box stores or LL. Probably will use stair-treads.com. $25 for the tread and $18 for the riser. Unfinished.

 

[Ernesto]

Note to self: dust & vacuum more often. I know it's not on an anti-static work surface, but with the humidity around here, static electricity is rarely a problem.
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I tethered the cords from the back of the computer together with a rubberband (loosely) so I wouldn't lose any of them.

I used a vacuum around a pc once and it blew my video card! Now I just use the Dust-Off can of compressed air.

 

[zannej]

Yeah, computer parts can be very persnickety. At least they are easier to install these days. I remember installing new RAM in an older computer and really having to push hard to get it to lock in. Since they weren't designed for owners to take apart, they weren't easy to get into and I cut my hand on the chassis. Fortunately I didn't bleed on the parts. Changing out the CMOS battery was a pain as well. That's something I only ever had to do once on a computer.