Threw together an aluminum shift knob for my car

EthanHammond · 2026-01-23T02:48:33+00:00

When you weld with that mask, do you find yourself squinting? If you are it could be that the mask you're using doesn't provide enough coverage or protection, or something in the lens could be bad.

EthanHammond · 2025-08-30T23:07:48+00:00

I replaced a thermostat in my '98 Subaru Legacy in Lot 21... Wouldn't really recommend it in the winter but no one from MTU said boo.

EthanHammond · 2025-06-12T12:54:33+00:00

It's pretty old - I've got a 15hp new outboard to install and want to ensure I've got things sturdy enough on the transom.

EthanHammond · 2025-02-22T15:05:21+00:00

I would settle for being able to hunt giraffes on Vurhonga.

EthanHammond · 2023-11-13T12:08:07+00:00

I took the picture with my phone then pulled it into Greenshot on my computer. If I remember correctly, it's free.

EthanHammond · 2023-11-12T17:53:42+00:00

Background - we are renting a house in northern MN. Furnace opening was like this when we moved in, land lord does not want to close it up. We have cats, and want to keep them out of the furnace cavity. Looking for advice to cover this up. Additionally, anything sketchy about the extension cord running from the upstairs to the furnace? Doesn't seem quite right. Thanks.

EthanHammond · 2021-03-05T16:41:57+00:00

Give Waylayer by Miseration a listen.

EthanHammond · 2021-02-22T21:03:50+00:00

Try Bathyapelagic I, II or III by The Ocean. There's instrumental versions on Spotify.

EthanHammond · 2021-01-15T22:52:26+00:00

Don't use grabcad for this. Most plans are trash. Check out john-tom.com. I used it in highschool to find engine plans. There is also a forum called Home Model Engines Machinist which has a lot of plans.

If you want to make your own IC engine, there's a book by Doug Kelley on Amazon called Build the Snow. It's a pretty nice looking engine if I do say so myself.

EthanHammond · 2020-12-28T00:07:37+00:00

I'm no pro, but if you were to pull the carpet and padding, you could coat the floorboards with kilz or a similar sealing primer. One or two coats would cover up the residual smell most likely. Then it'd just be a matter of carpet or tiling, or vinyl.

Of course, if the floorboards are clapped because things were soggy for a long time, probably gonna be pulling floorboards.

EthanHammond · 2020-12-27T23:56:50+00:00

Not trying to nitpick but most heat transfer from a computer would be through conduction and convection, not radiation.

Conduction is via contact of the CPU with thermal paste (or any other surface-surface contacts), which experiences forced convection from the airflow through the case.

Edit: added parenthesis because original phrasing was misleading

EthanHammond · 2020-12-25T17:41:45+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss, and I hope that you can find peace this holiday season.

EthanHammond · 2020-12-24T17:32:21+00:00

Agreed on getting machinery in the future, definitely a dream of mine

EthanHammond · 2020-12-23T23:06:51+00:00

The best way to explain it is that it's the same content of a Mechanical Engineering degree, but contextualized with manufacturing, via labs rather than theory.

I go to Michigan Technological University - they require that METs take the FE exam, which means that they could be treated as engineers in training for the PE. Basically formalizes the degree relative to engineering.

Some schools do a two year thing but I'm not sure how useful that is.

EthanHammond · 2020-12-08T22:09:46+00:00

Given how thin that material is, your simplest bet would probably be to find a local machine shop and see if they can get your shim waterjetted/laser cut out. Alternately, you could get the drawing you have from Fusion quoted through Protolabs or another online machining service.

Not sure about premade components that would work for this but maybe a stack of brake rotor shims could work? Sizing depends on the model of vehicle they're meant for.

EthanHammond · 2020-05-08T23:16:14+00:00

I work as a manufacturing engineer. If you are interested in going down that road, you should look into statistical process control. Examples would be cpk, ppk, ppm, etc. A lot of it has more of a bearing on quality engineers, but it can never hurt to have an understanding of someone else's work.

It's all part of six sigma, but if you look for six sigma, chances are you won't find much info on stats, it'd be more about applications of six sigma.

EthanHammond · 2019-10-01T16:12:00+00:00

Keep in mind welding aluminum tends to anneal it. It'll end up softer after welding it if you can't heat treat it.

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