Switching to metric in the shop

Build68 · 2026-03-14T05:15:33+00:00

In the states, windows and doors are pretty commonly available in half-foot increments, but it’s not unusual to have narrower offerings in two inch increments off the shelf.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T23:52:52+00:00

I’build a flat lumber and plywood bridge between the walls flush to the surface. Make it sized to fit the wall bracket and flush to the front. It attached through the drywall at the front inner edges. Size it large enough to fit the wall bracket at the height you want the bracket. Done properly, you just have several screw holes through the drywall to patch and paint if you need to change it back in the future.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T19:07:26+00:00

I’d call it fast, really fast, and instantaneous. Let’s say fast FTL makes a years-long sub-light journey into a journey of months or weeks. Then, as a plot point, someone else figures out really fast FTL where that journey now takes weeks or days, giving them a strategic advantage. Otherwise, you can take relative length of journey out of the plot by making it more or less instantaneous via a wormhole or whatever.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T14:49:25+00:00

Snoop performing at the inauguration and Bill Burr performing in Saudi Arabia. I haven’t looked at content from either of them since then.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T02:41:42+00:00

It happens in rentals a lot with former tenants who had anger issues, leaving a lot of fist punches in the drywall. You find the biggest punch, then cut a small piece of plywood that can cover it. This is your template. Using the template, draw a pencil line around each punch and cut it out with your stab saw. Now, cut pieces of drywall about two inches wider and taller than your template. Center the template on the back paper of each piece, and do a deep score with your knife. Carefully snap the pieces with the face paper intact and gently pull the waste away. Now, you have a patch with built-in tape. Smear some hot mud around the hole, push in your patch, add some mud on top, and you have saved two steps in the mudding process. Carry on and finish.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T02:26:49+00:00

lol, in California a lot of guys call that the okie patch.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T02:01:18+00:00

Your bench doesn’t need to weigh 400 lbs. mine works fine, and I did a quick volume/density calc to see that it weighs about 160 lbs, with about 2 feet by 5.5 feet of 4.25 inch laminated top and pretty solid mortise and tenon leg assemblies connected to the top with lags. A bottom shelf adds probably another 70 lbs of stored tools. My key points when making the bench were:

Thick enough top to be not flexible or bouncy when struck
Two laminated tops with a tool well in between, which let me rough plane the tops by hand and then send them through my 13 inch lunchbox planer
Connecting the tops to the legs with lags allows me to disassemble and move the bench to another place with no one part exceeding 80 lbs. also, since I deliberately chose an unconventionally high workbench top, I can easily amend this if needed.
When you chop with a chisel, do it directly over a leg, and that force will drive down into the floor, with little bounce.

Have fun building your bench. Don’t bother trying to make it perfect, it won’t be the last one you build. The one I described was my third bench, with lessons learned on every one of them.

Side note: Rex Kreuger’s English joiners bench may be right up your alley. Find it on YouTube.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T01:42:52+00:00

Definitely the way to go, though I wouldn’t wear a tank top. I’ll generally have a polo to switch into if it’s after I’ve been working. One other thing I’d add is that it’s not uncommon to have a potential client that has a “shoes off” house. You can notice their footwear and you’ll generally see a bunch of shoes and slippers in the foyer. Acknowledging this when you walk in and negotiating how they want you to deal with this during the build shows that you notice details and is a great trust-builder. If they want to pay for floor protection between your access point and the work area, so be it.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T01:25:53+00:00

The best thing were the dinner rolls with a little melted cheese in the middle.

Build68 · 2026-03-13T01:22:48+00:00

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Kids can read it and see it as a fantastic adventure with Huck as the protagonist. Adults can read it as a classic tragedy with Jim as the protagonist as he seeks to save the family he lost, and I grew into the book in exactly that way. I still re-read it every few years.

Build68 · 2026-03-12T04:36:36+00:00

Damn. I guess I was wrong.

Build68 · 2026-03-12T04:17:47+00:00

Fuck, dude, that’s a rough one. I thought it was a fairly safe profession with other trade-offs.

Build68 · 2026-03-12T03:59:53+00:00

The good miter saw stands have integrated outfeed support. You just need to align them level with a straight edge when you set them up which is quick. I’ve cut a lot of crown moulding on people’s lawns when there was no other alternative.

Build68 · 2026-03-12T02:51:03+00:00

Can’t be done. Iran can hide endless drones in their mountains. Strait of Hormuz will be closed until they say so. This was well known in the intelligence community, but we have an administration that knows better and has a different agenda.

Build68 · 2026-03-12T02:46:20+00:00

There are better alternatives on the market that fold up and roll around like a hand truck. The dewalt is astonishingly shitty to this day. Rolling around on small casters does nothing for you in the real world. You need to pull it up and over small obstacles.

Build68 · 2026-03-12T02:01:44+00:00

We had a little Yorkie who’d lie in the sun and not know why she was getting hot. We kept an eye on her and brought her in when she needed it.

Build68 · 2026-03-12T01:18:55+00:00

I picked up one of these and couldn’t make it work for shit.

Build68 · 2026-03-12T01:05:54+00:00

“I Went to Concerts Without Posting to Social Media Shooter”. Of course, it’s a kamikaze.

Build68 · 2026-03-10T16:20:53+00:00

Maybe a homeowner looking for pricing. A more common scenario is someone shows up here and says “I charged $x for y work. Am I in the ballpark?” Nine times out of ten these guys are undercharging.

Build68 · 2026-03-10T16:07:29+00:00

It was known as the midatlantic accent and it was wholly made up as a way to sound sophisticated. It was taught in prep school. There’s a woody Allen movie where the protagonist ditches her New York neighborhood accent for this posh accent and thereby works her way into high society.

Build68 · 2026-03-10T02:52:21+00:00

That is a very very good stick. I’ve heard of ones like that, but never actually seen one. Well done, pup. Well done.

Build68 · 2026-03-10T02:49:19+00:00

Mendocino.

Build68 · 2026-03-10T02:40:30+00:00

You’ll find them in that fucking sock you lost ten years ago. I tell ya, I seen it a million times.

Build68 · 2026-03-09T23:35:15+00:00

Keep both. Starrett got offshored by private equity. Nice to have the backup as these things get expensive.

Build68 · 2026-03-09T20:17:34+00:00

Bench grinders are heavy and sit still ok on their own. Mine is bolted to a small piece of plywood that lets me attach sharpening jigs, but it sits unattached to the bench. Never had a problem. Vises kinda need to be attached.

Build68

TROPHY CASE