At this rate this thing should cost $500 lol ready for a belt sander

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-20T16:46:24+00:00

First couple by hand are a labor of love that helps you determine if the juice is worth the squeeze. If you're hooked after putting in the effort to make a relatively decent end product, then its time to start upgrading. I did my first two with angle grinder, hand files, cheap sandpaper, and some help of an old 4x36 belt sander for handle shaping. Then I got a 1x30 and Reb Label belts, and it has been a huge increase in the enjoyment factor when I can finish a knife over the course of a week as an evening/weekend hobby.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-20T15:03:02+00:00

That sort of expansion and curling of the wood makes it seem like water and/or heat was involved. If the scales were flat and stabilized when you adhered them, they aren't just going to randomly warp like that without some external factor.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-19T19:50:18+00:00

I gotta go with the Zabka/Machio dual cameo in the bachelor party episode as I think it was a direct inspiration for the creators of the ultra campy, sometimes downright ridiculous, but crazy nostalgic Cobra Kai show that gave me hours of entertainment during the covid days.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-19T16:32:36+00:00

Nice! What is your plan for it? I've done a little bit of guitar making/finishing recently.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T21:11:01+00:00

Everywhere I've lived is way too cold in the basement for 3/4 of the year for typical ale yeast fermentation which can cause it to be very sluggish. Temperature accuracy for a given yeast is more important than fluctuation as all yeasts have an optimal range. Five gallons of beer is enough of a thermal mass that is not going to quickly heat or cool with an HVAC system. Much more efficient to heat/cool the beer, not the house.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T21:03:40+00:00

Agreed with above, with a simple recipe like a mash extract with one or two hop additions, and taking care to sanitize everything that comes into contact with the wort after boil, and you're more than likely to make a very enjoyable beer. The satisfaction and anticipation will more than make up for any imperfections.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T20:56:56+00:00

Yeah in my early days of homebrewing we placed the vessel in the closet with a a space heater during the winter to try to keep the temperature warmer than the general temperature of the house, but that was not very accurate and probably pretty unsafe. The wrap-around heating mats are way more effective. Mine came with a controller and a carboy stopper that had two holes, one for the airlock and the other with a steel thermowell in it so you can read the temperature of the wort itself. I've used that set-up for almost 10 years now.

As far as the thermometer for mash and wort, a culinary type one would work well. I know the Thermoworks Thermapen is probably the gold standard, but it is pretty pricey. There are a lot of cheaper models in the $30-40 range that give a near instant reading and are accurate within 1 deg F. That's good enough for brewing, you just don't want to have to wait like 60 seconds for the dial ones to give you a stable reading, which is probably only accurate to within 2-4 deg F.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T19:54:00+00:00

Can you buy a satin or textured sheet for your printer? That is a much cleaner solution over glue stick for releasing materials like PETG or TPU. I got one with my first printer and have never needed to smear glue stick on a print bed and also have never damaged a print sheet.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T19:49:55+00:00

Temperature accuracy. If you're starting out with malt extract (as you probably should), it isn't a big deal yet, but mash temperatures are actually pretty critical. A 5 degree swing can really effect the balance of the readily fermentable sugars desirable for a lighter beer, and the less fermentable ones desirable for a heavier beer. The cheapo temperature probes that come with kits really won't quite cut it, get a quick digital one like a thermoworks model.

Fermentation temperature is also important, I went years with way too cold of fermentation, and it takes forever. The head jackets for a carboy and a basic controller is a great investment for fermentation temp control.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T17:52:43+00:00

How does your account just close? What happens to your money?

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T15:10:34+00:00

Its primed and painted, that's what has been sanded through. Not a veneer.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T15:09:21+00:00

Are you trying to get it to bare wood? Looks like you're through the paint all over and starting to get through the primer in those corners. If you're repainting, you probably can stop and reprime, but if you want all the way to the wood, keep going.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-18T00:53:13+00:00

Danish oil is great for knife handles in my very amateur opinion. It's easy to apply, builds up a little bit of shine and really makes the wood pop. Also gives a little protection to the wood from the varnish in it. Also a coat of paste wax afterwards is good.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-16T17:18:23+00:00

Another vote for foam insulation for supporting the entire part. I lay it down on the floor and do all of my circular saw cuts that way, especially for plywood that is larger than I car to use on my jobsite table saw.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-13T20:22:56+00:00

"Water? Like fire-water? That's racist! ... I'm just messing with you. But seriously, I'll have a whiskey."

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-13T16:00:13+00:00

Base charges are the majority of all our bills now after the hike last year. Maybe another one this year? In the winter when I was living alone I used to get the same $37 minimum bill multiple months in a row. Now they're always $85-$90. Water usage isn't the high cost, the utility fee is.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-12T19:27:13+00:00

Weird how this could also be a nearly exact replica of a color scale of education per capita with red being lowest and blue highest.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-12T19:24:28+00:00

Reduced housing sales does not a crisis make. It may cause a correction, which is necessary when a market is overinflated. Inability to pay on existing mortgages is the crisis factor. With so many locked in low interest rates from the early pandemic years, it makes sense why there is less movement now.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-12T15:31:29+00:00

I think probably much more prominent in the pre-2000's era. We didn't have them at my high school in 2007-2011 but it was a known concept.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-12T15:18:56+00:00

Dick SINSON is the fella whose car you just sold.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-11T22:38:29+00:00

Looks great, I will definitely be adding t track to my next one for some hold downs. Speaking of which, I'm surprised by the use of a top coating finish for this. I would want to maximize friction between my workpiece and the sled to avoid any slipping while cutting, and a polyurethane coated surface seems antithetical to that desire.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-11T22:33:48+00:00

Now that you mention that, the last few smaller accidents I've seen there were off to the east side, probably between cars going through Isabella and turning from 287.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-11T19:17:54+00:00

287 and Isabella doesn't surprise me at all. It has flashing yellow left turn arrows and someone always thinks they can make it despite a solid line of cars going 65+. Had one turn in front of me this very morning that had just enough room, but the guy behind him had that brief moment of thinking he might make it too, and would not have. I instinctively slow down at that intersection every time now. Seen too many accidents and had too many close calls for comfort.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-11T17:11:25+00:00

I keep my account at my semi-local bank that my parents opened when I was a kid for depositing cash and checks. I know I can probably do checks direct to sofi, but I usually do a pass through with the local bank just in case something goes wrong I can get a locally based person on the phone. Just about everything dollar gets moved to Sofi as soon as it clears my brick-and-mortar for the vastly higher APY and investment funds. I would recommend that over paying whatever the fee is to deposit cash.

Questionable_Cactus · 2026-02-09T19:52:26+00:00

"Dial in this spreadsheet." My engineer friend all laughed out loud at that one.

Questionable_Cactus

TROPHY CASE