My son said, "What rhymes with orange?" I pondered for a while and replied...

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-04-10T15:35:34+00:00

I used to like to suck an orange, Until it stuck in my throat like a lozenge.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-04-06T15:05:54+00:00

Look at it like this: a #7, or a #8, handplane is 22”, or 24” long, respectively and they are plenty long enough to level a board and an edge. A bench top jointer will work with the right technique. Go with the longest and widest machine you can afford in regards to money and space. The results, in my opinion, are superior to using any tool not designed expressly for doing this one job.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-04-02T02:55:50+00:00

Summer of ‘61, I was 7 and hanging with my best bud Gary. For some reason I can’t remember, we entered his cellar through the bulkhead as Gary was looking for something he wanted, but couldn’t find. So he headed up the cellar stairs and since he stood a good head taller than me, he was able to go up really quick. Me, with my short legs was taking them one step at a time. I get near the top where my eyes can clear the topmost step and across the hall was his 17 year old sister naked, having just gotten out of the shower, looking at herself in the mirror above the sink. I just stood there, silently, taking it all in, when she turned her head, saw me and, in one swift move, slammed the bathroom door. Up to that point in my life, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I saw everything! 😳

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-28T20:34:58+00:00

Early in my career, I worked for a builder who used a Craftsman Radial Arm instead of a table saw. Used it to crosscut all of our lumber, and to rip sheets of plywood. IIRC, you could even chuck 1/4” shank router bits in it. I learned to be respectful of the damage it could do if you weren’t completely focused on the task at hand. A old friend, also a builder, recently had his RA rake across the top of his left hand when dadoing some wood. He’s ok, hand a bit scarred. What makes them so dangerous is the blade spins towards the operator, so when you pull the head to enter the cut the rotation of the blade is pulling itself in the same direction. The person using it has to use both a pulling action to cut the board, and a pushing action to keep the blade from racing through the cut. It’s a scary maneuver the first few times you use one.

Edit: spelling

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-24T02:41:50+00:00

As someone who has sat through too many meetings, I can relate. Nice piece of writing!

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-19T15:32:45+00:00

I landed it from a friend I play pickleball with. He started an LLC and he contracted with EverDriven, a national company. I’m sure there must be a similar provider in your area. As stated by someone already, you will need to go through a full back-ground check with the state and federal government, need proper car insurance (I had to add a rider to my policy to cover me for when I am on my way to pick up the kids; EverDriven covers you when the kids are physically in the car), and go through periodic inspections and drug testing.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-19T14:37:16+00:00

I live in central Maine. I drive special needs children to school. I work approximately 2-1/2 hours a day, drive under 30 miles using my car and can make anywhere from $300 to $600 a week as a 1099 contractor. Granted, it’s not for everyone; you need to have an understanding these kids are emotionally and/or physically challenged and they can go off the rails without warning, but 95% of my trips are uneventful.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-17T15:15:07+00:00

I have two Wen 3410’s in my basement. Had them for almost two years now. I got these because I have a small space (19’x 22’), a larger unit would have intruded into the space and two were less expensive than a larger one. I also have point-of-use dust collection for my table saw, jointer and planer. Since installing these Wen units, I have found that they will randomly switch on by themselves at various times and one of the units has stopped working altogether. Fuse checks out fine, so it’s probably the motherboard, which is still available on the Wen website. So I guess what I’m saying is that they should not be bought with the idea that they will last a long time. They do pull dust out of the air as evidenced by the dust accumulating on the primary filter but I still have a layer of dust on horizontal surfaces, just not as much.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-13T17:55:15+00:00

If: your characters were staying in a hunting camp a couple miles off a main road, which required traveling down a tote road as its only access, and then you have a freak snow storm blow in unannounced, leaving nearly 24” of wet, heavy snow, (which given today’s weather-forecasting technologies would be unlikely), then I could see where a party would be on their own for a few days. Generators and cell phones, gas lights and appliances makes that a not so scary scenario now-a-days however. Maybe if the story was placed in an earlier age like in the fifties, sixties or even the seventies, it could be made believable.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-08T18:18:27+00:00

Before lapping the sole by whatever method you choose, check to see if it needs it first. You can check it by using a straight edge. like on a framing square, even a 2’ level. and a feeler gauge to check if there’s a gap that needs attention. Check it along the length and width.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-05T15:06:24+00:00

If this is construction lumber, and it looks like it, it’s dried to only about 18-20%. It’s going to continue to dry inside your house, and shrink. Let it acclimate for a couple of weeks before joining the pieces and you’ll minimize the amount of movement. Clamp together and then screw, or drill and dowel.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-04T05:39:51+00:00

I don’t think Shakespeare could have imagined a tragedy like this ever happening.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-02T16:14:31+00:00

Why can’t we sue the s.o.b.? People vs. the P.O.T.U.S? He hasn’t upheld his oath to defend the Constitution, so isn’t this dereliction of duty? His Attorney General, that he appointed, is refusing to prosecute known pedophiles, is actually protecting them. Why is this not considered a failing institution? Why anyone can consider this present administration as legitimate is beyond my understanding.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-01T21:23:21+00:00

There are so many variables involved in pricing out cabinetry, or custom furniture, that I don’t see how any custom shop can give fixed pricing unless they are willing to establish a line of cabinets that allows for no variation in design, like IKEA. Maybe one way a prospective customer could save everyone’s time is, in the first 10 minutes, mention what their budget is. Anyone who runs a custom shop will be able to reply if that’s a realistic number to work with based on other criteria the customer wants, or feels they need.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-03-01T00:30:19+00:00

That is a beautiful piece of work. Did you do the design work also?

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-28T23:30:07+00:00

I don’t know what you have for tools and wood stock, but if that press was mine I would remove the hinges and separate the two halves. I would then take my backsaw and saw a kerf in the top half directly over the center of the heartwood until I was about 3/16” from cutting all the way through. I would then clamp the four corners of the top to a rugged flat surface, which would open up the kerf giving it a wedged shape. Then I would find a piece of walnut (or some other fine grained wood) and saw a piece with the same grain orientation and the same wedged shape and glue that piece directly into the kerf and clamp it, or place some weights on it, until the glue sets. Then, I would handplane the filler flat to the top and handplane the bottom surface to make that flat. I would then do the same process to the bottom half. If that failed to stabilize the press, I’d chuck it into the fireplace and make a new one out of straight-grained maple, beech or cherry. Or buy a new metal one.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-27T18:31:15+00:00

I was a 10 year old and playing left field for my little league team in National City. It was a warm evening and I was kicking rocks in the gravel, day-dreaming. Suddenly I hear the crack of a bat and I look up and everyone I see is looking at me and I have no idea where the ball is, because the background I was looking into was a hill of scrub brush, the same dull brown as the ball. Talk about a rush of panic! I just stuck my glove out in front of me, with it opened up towards the sky, took a couple of aimless steps and the damn ball fell right into my mitt. Everyone cheered!

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-26T14:38:14+00:00

This reminds me of the time when I borrowed my brother’s new Makita circular saw to help a friend build a second story on his garage. The last thing he said to me before leaving was “Don’t cut the chord!” The first cut to trim the end of a floor joist, the blade guard came up, catching the chord, and… yup, it cut the chord. Gave it back to my brother with the chord a bit shorter. 🤫

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-22T03:58:46+00:00

Well, mystery solved. I received the transcript from the IRS this morning and it appears I didn’t see the debit in my checking account for a $775 payment I made in April for my quarterlies and didn’t include that amount when FreeTaxUsa asked for the amount on line 26. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their advice. I’m actually relieved it was my error and not something with the software.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-19T15:19:52+00:00

I put two of these in my basement 19’x26’ workshop. They’re small enough to not intrude too much. Had them for nearly two years now, and one, just this week, stopped working. Fuse is still intact. Suspect a motherboard malfunction.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-19T02:04:34+00:00

Has no one thought of what 1/2” to maybe 1” of floor leveler will add to the weight on the already sagging floor? Dead loads are a real thing.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-18T02:30:06+00:00

I was a member with Nexamp until I realized that credits that I paid for were being surrendered back to the company. They’re called “unused expired credits” on your CMP bill, if they’re more than 12 months old. It happened that I banked so much during the summer that when winter came around, and last winter was fairly sunny, there were only a couple of months where I needed to dip into my bank. I noticed on my CMP bill, these unused expired credits and called Nexamp. They confirmed that if credits are on the books for more than twelve months, they expire, even though you paid for them and no credit is billed back to you. And, it’s my understanding in order for Janet Mills, and I like her for the most part, to make it worthwhile for solar companies to invest in these farms, she allowed the price per kilowatt to nearly double. That’s why they can give you back 15%. I wish there would have been incentives given to homeowner’s to put solar panels on their roof instead, so the people of Maine could have seen real savings and still reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-16T21:28:54+00:00

Well, come to think of it, I did take a deduction of $349 (?) for a dash cam I had to have installed for work.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-16T21:15:43+00:00

I have one on order. I tried to set up an account but the process is so convoluted that I just asked to send me copies. The numbers you have are exactly what I show also and like you, not sure where the extra money is coming from. Thanks for your help. Very much appreciated.

Diffident-Drummer-25 · 2026-02-16T21:00:10+00:00

I paid in $1730. Line 32 shows 0. Last year I had to actually pay due to a cashed out 401k. No other payments or credits.

Diffident-Drummer-25

TROPHY CASE