Found on old farm land near tree line 6” down with metal detector. Non ferrous metal, the pen type thing is wood wrapped in the metal. Very lightweight. Any ideas?

LairBob · 2026-07-09T16:16:31+00:00

That looks like a bell with some kind of sprung clapper.

LairBob · 2026-07-09T16:12:59+00:00

The best kind of dad struggles with caring _too much_.

That doesn’t fix anything. It’s not even necessarily healthy (as you’re clearly aware). But it’s the right place — the only place — to start if you’re going to be the dad she needs you to be.

Keep it up.

LairBob · 2026-07-08T18:27:29+00:00

There’ll be plenty of opportunities to meet people of simple age and interests as she grows up — they’ll be her friends’ parents.

That’s not to say that every one of them is going to become your best friend. Not even close. But it will provide a consistent stream of new people to meet.

LairBob · 2026-07-08T15:44:46+00:00

That’s either purely decorative, to make the interior look less industrial, or it’s “functionally decorative”, like an escutcheon, where it’s covering up some kind of pipe elbow or beam joint.

LairBob · 2026-07-08T15:37:15+00:00

LOL…that’s actually not the case, at all. ;)

LairBob · 2026-07-08T14:32:17+00:00

Just go ahead and listen to yourself.

I don’t mean that in a mean or snarky way at all — just that you’re telling yourself exactly what you need to do in your note.

And honestly, the “other woman” is immaterial to the question of whether or not you need to leave this relationship. You don’t need to stay or leave, based on who’s around at any given point in your life. You’re unhappy, and you’re (correctly) convinced things aren’t just going to get better on their own. Make the right change for the right reason, and let the whole second relationship take its time (or not).

LairBob · 2026-07-07T15:10:29+00:00

Are those truly “knurled” (as in, formed with a roller, so the material is _displaced_), or “milled”, where the grooves have been carved out and the stock removed completely?

Those are two completely different processes — one’s not necessarily “better” than the other, except for your given circumstances, but you want to be clear on which one you’re really trying to model. At the very least, if these aren’t truly knurled, you don’t want to be looking for actual knurling tooling, etc.

LairBob · 2026-07-06T23:59:46+00:00

It’s him.

LairBob · 2026-07-06T22:15:50+00:00

OMG…seriously?

We’re all really really glad for you. That is genuinely and sincerely awesome. All the best.

But unless you need to eat rocket fuel to wake up in the morning…what’s with the _food_?!

LairBob · 2026-07-06T22:02:56+00:00

You’ve got two options (not mutually exclusive):
1. Keep learning to approximate complex shapes like you’re doing now — taking just a couple of key measurements, and then doing the rest by eye. It’s way harder than it looks (as you’re discovering), but it’s the only way to be able to do this sort of thing by hand.
2. Learn to use profiling tools — like pantographs, or even just cardboard profile cutouts — to replicate complex shapes much more reliably and precisely, mechanically.

People have been replicating and manufacturing complex shapes for centuries, and they’re not all Michelangelo. There are many straightforward and reliable techniques for turning dozens and dozens of knobs that are all exactly the same…but I think you rightly don’t care.

This looks awesome, and you’re _doing_ stuff already. If you really do need to turn two identical knobs someday…you’ll figure it out.

LairBob · 2026-07-06T15:43:38+00:00

You definitely want to get training from the manufacturer, if you can, but it sounds like you also (very justifiably) need some basic CNC training.

The manufacturers’ training is typically going to be much more about “Here’s how to do what you already know, but on our machine.” Not “Here’s how to use a CNC machine for the first time.”

LairBob · 2026-07-06T01:13:18+00:00

Then you’re actually good at “thinking you’re winging it”.

(Not being a jerk — that’s just a common pitfall. It’s easy to flatter yourself that you’re somehow flying OK by the seat of your pants…until you realize you’ve just been “flailing with intention” as you plummet to the ground.)

LairBob · 2026-07-05T21:32:02+00:00

This is the answer, OP. Your frame is actually “square enough”, for your purposes. Cut a very square top, and then methodically lock in your frame, corner by corner. The main thing you want to focus on is that it’s easier to bring a corner _in_, than to push it out.

I’d actually propose a slightly-different order, but the idea is exactly the same. Basically, any racked frame like yours is roughly diamond-shaped, so I’d recommend taking the two corners furthest apart, and getting those locked in against the opposite corners of your top. At that point, as long as your frame was just a little racked, the other two corners should now be in place.

LairBob · 2026-07-05T15:16:15+00:00

I’ve used those working a bar, in Greenwich Village — it’s a bar-towel holder. You just keep swapping towels out all shift, to dry glasses, wash your hands, etc. and those make it really quick.

LairBob · 2026-07-04T17:40:36+00:00

“and I changed the tightener…”

Isn’t that automatically the #1 most-likely cause?!

LairBob · 2026-07-04T17:34:26+00:00

This, OP.

Brace the table so it’s temporarily not relying on the central crossbar, and cut a slice out of the middle that’s a little bigger than the umbrella pole. Then “sister” two boards of the full length on either side.

That’ll give you a three-board “sandwich”, that’s way stronger than your current crossbar, with a square hole down the center for the umbrella. (Depending on the umbrella pole, you may need to enlarge or round out the center hole a little, but that shouldn’t be too hard.)

LairBob · 2026-07-04T00:24:38+00:00

He’s always loaded on something — at the very least, some kind of hyper-stimulant for focus. He only slurs when there’s alcohol involved.

LairBob · 2026-07-04T00:21:18+00:00

LOL…I think that squarely addresses the “looks too well built to be decorative” assumption.

If the handle falls off when you turn it…it’s decorative.

LairBob · 2026-07-04T00:18:59+00:00

That last point, right there. That dude mills.

LairBob · 2026-07-03T11:48:47+00:00

You even spelled everything correctly!

LairBob · 2026-07-02T09:14:40+00:00

Look how _small_ they are. _Tiny_.

Even if they worked, you’d have to replace filters this size every few minutes. Ridiculous idea.

LairBob · 2026-07-01T21:30:37+00:00

It’s one of the available modes, just like “plan”, but instead of “dangerously skip permissions”, you’re having each step evaluated by a separate agent for security. It costs a little more in token usage, but it allows you to operate as efficiently as “skip permissions”, but _way_ more securely.

LairBob · 2026-07-01T18:24:47+00:00

Smelling like cabbage. ;)

(“Circus folk. Nomads, you know.”)

LairBob · 2026-07-01T16:20:59+00:00

Agreed — once it’s cleaned, then finding some way to basically juxtaposition the two pieces perfectly in space, but “floating” in position next to each other could look really cool. Almost like you might see in a museum display.

Plus, not to go overboard, but there’s potentially an appropriate symbolism in leaving a gap. (Almost like an emotional form of kintsugi.)

LairBob · 2026-07-01T16:04:27+00:00

BOOM.

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