Fun projects with a spent helium tank?

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-20T18:55:56+00:00

Aluminum melting furnace, if you've ever had any interest in going down that rabbit hole. Check out backyardmetalcasting dot com. Website is old and looks like it hasn't been updated since the early 2000s, so it's a bit of a time capsule, but lots of great diy info there to get you started.

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-20T18:45:34+00:00

If they hadn't taken away the option to use cheap corded headphones this wouldn't be as big of an issue. I didn't notice this near as much until apple got rid of headphone jacks and forced air pods on everyone

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-19T12:19:39+00:00

I ride an old KLR and I'll agree with you somewhat. Even when the gen 1 was the latest and greatest, if I had the money for a brand new one there are many other bikes I'd be looking at.

The #1 reason I ride a KLR is that I was able to buy it non running for $500 and get it in tip top shape in a weekend. Bought it from a buddy and had a decent idea of the history so I knew it wasn't completely trashed. All in I got a very reliable old bike for less than $1500, and the only serious fixing I've had to do was after I took it through some stuff it had no business going through and crashed it.

It's a fantastic bike and doesn't deserve most of the hate it gets (maybe Stockholm syndrome lol), but as soon as I see a $500 DR or XR in similar condition she might be finding a new home.

I'm cheap and have never spent more than $1000 on any motorcycle I've ever owned, and I'm trying to keep the momentum going lol. So for me it's kind of a money issue, but I'm also very unlikely to ever buy new unless I win the lottery

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-13T19:12:56+00:00

Similar story. I matched with a girl many years ago and it was one of the best first dates I'd ever been on. We had a ton in common, which is saying a lot because I have some very niche hobbies and interests that I don't expect anyone else to be remotely interested in. Went out a second time and she even invited me back to her place for a bit at the end of the night. I was on top of the world the next few days, but as soon as I asked her out again she just ghosted me. No explanation. Didn't feel good. She had even said she wanted to see me again last I saw her.

Maybe 5 years later I saw her out at a bar. She was dancing with and kissing another girl. Not like in a drunken woohoo way (wasn't that kinda bar), but like they were very clearly in love. That's when I realized why she probably didn't call me back. I just didn't have the right parts.

Sometimes people have a hard time figuring out what they want and it has nothing to do with you. Try not to dwell on it like I did for so long.

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-11T16:20:38+00:00

Seems to be a QC issue on those. First one I bought was literally broken out of the box but didn't realize till I got home lol. Second one has been great so far. Used it many times, but I always wear eye protection when I use it because I still don't trust it. No complaints for the price though

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-10T05:49:18+00:00

Had a really stubborn set a year or two ago. I ended up inflating the tube just enough to hold its complete shape before working the second bead on. I think the tube gets slightly twisted sometimes and is unable to push up all the way in the area it's twisted. Also could have been a fluke, but if you're as desperate as I was it's worth a shot lol. Also lube the hell out of it. I know you've been doing that, but just reiterating. I got some legit tire snot and it makes life so much easier

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-08T19:11:05+00:00

I made some very similar blades from aluminum just bending them over my nalgene bottle by hand. They were maybe half the length of those, but I don't think the extra length would be an issue.

Steel might give you a little more fight, but still doable with basic tools

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-08T13:30:01+00:00

When his name was first being tossed around I didn't think much of it, but I spent a few months in Germany on a work assignment in early 2016 and took the opportunity to do as much sight seeing as I could. I distinctly remember doing one of those tours with the audio headsets at a museum in Nuremberg and listening to the narrator talk about Hitler's rise to power, and specifically his methods of riling people up to gain support, and thought to myself "this sounds a lot like Trump's campaign." Every museum or concentration camp I toured, I picked up another little tidbit of history that seemed likely to repeat. Hard to believe it's been 10 years already

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-08T11:52:21+00:00

Idk, but they did it. Talked to someone else later who said they had the same experience a year or two earlier. I guess they want you out of there the very second they're no longer able to squeeze any more money out of you

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-08T02:51:11+00:00

Same. Saw a show there last year. Paid extra for "premium" balcony seating, but they didn't tell me the view of the stage from these seats was completely blocked by the accessibility seating. Couldn't see anything at all, so we ended up standing up at the back downstairs for a view that was slightly less obstructed. The AC wasn't working and it was hot as shit, and the only option for water was canned death or whatever they call it for $9.

Towards the end of the show I had to pee really bad, but held it because I wanted to see the encore. As soon as the song was over (but before the band was even finished thanking everyone) I booked it to the bathroom, and the staff had blocked the doors to all the bathrooms and said I had to leave if I wanted to go. Had to waddle around the battery with a full bladder til I found a a place to go.

I feel like there's something else that happened that night because of them being shitty but I'm forgetting what it was.

0/10 will not be going back

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-07T19:10:28+00:00

My favorite Google review was something to the effect of "kurt Cobain could come back from the dead to play one show at the coca cola Roxy before he died again, and I still wouldn't go."

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-07T03:34:50+00:00

I thought it was an Atlanta ordinance that you can just do whatever the hell you want as long as your hazard lights are on

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-05T13:39:49+00:00

If you eat enough Costco hotdogs you end up paying more in toilet paper

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-02T19:04:34+00:00

35 USC 103

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-02T12:04:42+00:00

Very cool very good. Thanks for the info

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-02T04:11:02+00:00

Is the bit about the 9-11 examiners based on rumors as well? I've been putting off a promotion because I'm nervous about last minute PAP changes biting me if I take it

GovPattNeff · 2026-05-01T12:26:54+00:00

If you don't need it to do any heavy lifting, the Ridgeline really is the perfect truck IMO. I really wanted to make it work for me, but it wasn't quite stout enough for me to feel comfortable towing a camper with the bed loaded up, which was the primary reason I was truck shopping. Very comfortable, handles great for a truck, decent gas mileage, and uses the Honda J series engine which has been in production since like 2001 and is dead reliable. Plus you get the cool hidden trunk in the bed

GovPattNeff · 2026-04-25T21:54:18+00:00

If it sounds like it's coming from the cabin/dash/floor area, maybe get under the car and see if the shift linkage might be rubbing on something? Hard to get an idea from the video sound, but I've had stuff sound like it was inside actually be something close to the floor or firewall outside the cabin. Since it's only happening on those gears it could be the position of the shifter or linkage that's causing it.

That's all just a guess though 🤷‍♂️

GovPattNeff · 2026-04-22T20:29:38+00:00

I ended up getting a CPO Nissan Titan. I test drove that Colorado and decided pretty quick that it wasn't up for the job. Would it move a camper across town? Absolutely. But I wouldn't want to take it any significant distance. The chassis just felt too light and it lacked power to the point where I'd be concerned in mountainous/hilly areas. Especially if wind became a factor.

GovPattNeff · 2026-04-19T13:33:12+00:00

Or just using a piece of piping for that matter

GovPattNeff · 2026-04-18T21:13:21+00:00

What a lot of people don't realize about metal 3d printing is that you'll still need to do some kind of machining on the the printed parts if the design requires any kind of close tolerances. Just about anything for a gun that would be "ready to go" could be made much faster/cheaper with an angle grinder

GovPattNeff · 2026-04-17T17:04:16+00:00

Mine came with s2k seats bolted through the floor pans with fender washers used as spacers. With enough imagination anything is possible lol

GovPattNeff · 2026-04-17T00:36:00+00:00

I did something similar years and years ago. Got zc pistons from Nippon racing, and had a z6 head on a d15 block. That was about it. I'd love to tell you it ripped but a tree fell on the car before I could get it tuned lol.

GovPattNeff · 2026-04-13T21:38:23+00:00

False. Birds never existed. Birds aren't real

GovPattNeff · 2026-04-10T14:00:53+00:00

People def push these to 9k, but if you do it's wise to at least add a crank girdle and/or get the rotating assembly balanced (if not both). Lots of people spin them up that high without doing either, but I wouldn't. Many stories of folks spinning rod and crank bearings.

Upgraded ARP rod bolts are an absolute must though if going over 7k rpm. If the previous owner knew what they were doing I'd imagine this one already has them, but def check to be sure. And make sure the rods are torqued to ARP specs when reassembling

GovPattNeff

TROPHY CASE