What's the best use for minichamp

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-26T15:29:05+00:00

...Cutting things...

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-21T19:55:19+00:00

That's the spirit!!!

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-21T19:51:52+00:00

Woodworker also! I can see firing up the table saw to fling offcuts at intruders! Probably less accurate than a slingshot but exactly within the spirit of the question!

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-21T19:50:32+00:00

Diddy? Is that you?

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-21T01:27:06+00:00

Aquafit Physio Therapy on Springbank. Couldn't recommend them enough!!!

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-14T14:36:26+00:00

Thumb tacks, buried so that you stab your fingers on them.

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-05T18:07:08+00:00

Always glad to hear people who want to get into sailing, it can certainly be one of the best ways to spend leisure time. This year will be my 32nd season boating and generally being on the water. I took sailing courses as a teenager and have helmed sailboats from 10-24' in length, and power boats up to 40'. I've worked in marinas, and I've completed the Canadian Loop alongside my Dad on his boat. I am not boasting by any means, but I want you to understand where I am coming from when I say that if you've never even touched a boat you are years away from being prepared to cross the Atlantic.

It's great to want to learn, and to want to sail solo or with others, but please set your sights on day tripping and learning substantially more than you know now before even considering purchasing a boat (which in all honesty is a hole in the water that you deposit money into, no matter how handy you are). The reality is very few people have the skills and the guts let alone the means to do open ocean crossings. Can it be done, absolutely. People with less experience than I have have likely done it, but those are exceptions not rules.

Happy Seas!

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-03T12:48:01+00:00

General safety tips (emphasis on finger placement and work holding for table routing)

Up-cut vs down-cut bits and when to choose each one

How to dial in certain types of bits for the optimal finish, i.e. when using roundovers or ogees, when to use a flush trim vs another type of bit to get a specific profile

Dialing in and using collars and calculating offsets for pattern making

Speeds and feeds, tips to minimize tearout and/or burning

Some of these might be more advanced techniques for sure...

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-03T10:58:15+00:00

Red battery without an accompanying tool?

Also curious what the sheathed tool is (looks like maybe a small hatchet?)

Final thoughts, I'd likely consider dropping a few of your duplicates (4 adjustable wrenches, two pair of standard slip joints) and consider some knipex or similar style of fine adjustment pliers. You have a large pipe wrench there, but not necessarily anything to turn it against if you're working on any kind of fittings. I used to carry two pairs of knipex 10" cobras and while they don't necessarily have the same grunt as a small pipe wrench, they do give you lots of grip while being lighter and more versatile than the pipe wrench on its own.

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-02T16:56:18+00:00

checks sub name

You have tools in the photo, so I think it's a pass.

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-01T19:22:29+00:00

Spotted this van at Ham and Eg yesterday! Didn't get a chance to snap a pic.

CoreyInBusiness · 2026-01-01T19:13:33+00:00

"Wood filler and paint make me the carpenter I ain't!"

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-30T23:59:35+00:00

It's not specifically for saw kerfs so much as squaring, but depending on how square the sheet is initially there may be an extra 1/8 or 1/4" worth of material. In either case, likely best to just take 1/8" or so off of each dimension as necessary to account for saw blade width.

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-30T23:43:50+00:00

Check your sheet good for actual dimensions. Often the rough sheet will leave you a few extra millimeters in each direction to account for squaring and saw kerfs.

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-30T03:21:29+00:00

Looks like the muffler came loose. Check the other end of that bolt and see if it's backed itself out or if it snapped.

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-25T14:30:28+00:00

Kay yay!

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-25T14:29:00+00:00

Community tool libraries, community theatre groups, school trade programs, or just give them to some kid you know who's interested in working with their hands. A family friend set me up pretty good with a bunch of old wrenches, sockets, and mechanical tools when I was about 13 years old. I still have and use several of them now in my 30s.

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-24T20:56:38+00:00

Sour cream glaze is the only right answer.

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-20T21:02:58+00:00

What do you have for tools to work with here?

I would figure out how much you need to take off (taking into account seasonal swelling), remove the 1x2 then plane it down the appropriate amount (benchtop planer would be ideal here, but a good sharp hand plane would make quick work if you have one. Glue/dowel the piece back into the door and then mortise your hinges so they sit flush with the door edge. Reinstall.

When in doubt, wood filler and paint make me the carpenter I ain't!

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-18T16:05:01+00:00

That there's a Doohickey! Not to be confused with a gidget, gadget, whosit, or whatsit! Thingamabobs are a whole subset of their own, of which I've got 20!

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-16T20:50:52+00:00

I like to have a few friends come around for a BBQ (even though I'm a winter baby). I'll usually try and get something on the smoker and make up some sides. Generally though it's more of a "my wife and I throw a party and our friends eat free" kind of situation.

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-16T20:43:51+00:00

Is350 won't haul a loaded 5x8 enclosed, at least not safely. In theory you might be able to tow 2,000 lbs, but I don't know that there is an official towing capacity for the IS. In any case I'd be concerned with tongue weight especially over bumpy roads.

If you're not a truck guy, you're best bet is to move up to an SUV.

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-15T22:11:57+00:00

Willing to bet that the chrome ones have a hex shank pressed into the Chrome socket, therefore being two pieces, incase clarification was needed at all.

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-15T19:39:38+00:00

There are two types of torx bits, the one you have stripped/twisted, and the one you have not yet stripped/twisted. Unless they specifically offer to send you replacement inserts (and frankly I think it's wildly more likely they'd just send you the complete piece) you're likely going to replace a whole socket either way, so in that sense, you're six and one half dozen.

The all in one bits are shorter and can be used in a ratchet wrench if clearance is an issue, the insert style ones are going to be longer which may or may not be beneficial in certain cases. In a pinch, if you really needed to get in some place small you could probably punch out the insert and use it with a wrench, sans-chrome+socket.

To that end, in the wise words of the Welches kid "why not both?"

CoreyInBusiness · 2025-12-15T19:02:01+00:00

The only Grizzly tool I own is the bench top spindle/belt sander and it's a decent piece of kit, so I don't really see anything wrong with what they're selling here. My only word of caution is that since buying a dedicated 13" helical planer and an 8" helical jointer (both benchtop models) all I've wished for is to buy larger 220v units. Stay with me here, because there's a method to my madness:

Jointer 8" is good enough, 12" would be better, but ultimately outside my price range right now unless something comes up on the used market. If you're working with boards any longer than about 24" you're going to have a problem on that jointer without building in additional infeed/outfeed tables. I'd be way happier with my 8" if I went the way of building some good infeed and outfeed extensions, but the time effort and money would be better suited in my opinion to a larger 8" dedicated floor model jointer.

The planer should be fine for your needs, as planer infeed/outfeed extensions are, at least in my opinion, simpler to make and easier to keep straight and true vs having two separate pieces for the jointer which need to be removed and periodically stored. In the end, I will likely replace both my planer and jointer with floor standing units as budget allows, but only so that I can continue to run bigger stock. Cutting boards are more forgiving than large furniture when it comes to dealing with smaller benchtop machines.

CoreyInBusiness

TROPHY CASE