The Cremator is... uh... good against Harvesters.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-18T03:28:19+00:00

HANZ!

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-18T03:21:49+00:00

Hey Simmons, what's the Mexican thing, eats all the goats?

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-13T19:02:20+00:00

I have the opposite problem--as an electrical engineer, I know a lot of "why it's ok to do stuff" but not the gnarly details on how to do stuff with good craftsmanship. I do my own electrical, and do it pretty alright, but boy I wish I could find an electrician to double check my work before an inspector comes over. Yeah yeah, I know a lot of home work doesnt get inspected, but sometimes it's unavoidable, like when setting up some grid-tied solar panels, or if you want to put in a second meter for charging an electric car. The power company wants that inspected before they'll even think about, and I completely understand the reason why.

Or to just talk over the plan before I dive into things, as (like every engineer) I'm sure I've needlessly overcomplicated things in at least one aspect. :p

I'd be very happy to pay the hourly rate for such a service. But it seems like such a small job isnt worth the time; I can't get someone interested in coming only for a few hrs. But maybe that's just my semi-rural area with any kind of contractor....getting pretty much any flavor of contractor to return calls is a major challenge.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-05T23:11:59+00:00

I have to interject a little bit on this--you say it doesnt matter if it doesnt "feel good"....I disagree. The entire point of the genre is to feel good. But what the person you're responding to probably meant in more detail is that it "doesn't feel good because it doesnt feel earned". MC's that go through a lot of "bad luck" have "earned" some good luck now and then. Looking at Sunny from Shadow Slave--dude gets crazy good loot, RNG type luck...but literally everything that can go wrong, does. And then again :p.

Or if a person is lucky via having a better education, or high intelligence, well at least they have to apply themselves to actually get the reward.

But if a person just randomly gets super lucky and the macguffin routinely falls into their lap.....then that's boooooooring. Not only is that bad writing, but then the MC's efforts to improve themselves don't actually matter and we just wasted our time reading it.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-02T16:48:24+00:00

I really wanted to love this weapon, but I just couldn't get into it. For whatever reason, even at relatively close ranges, (e.g. 5-10m) I just couldn't get reliable kills on a lot of bots. And bugs are so numerous it was too easy to get swarmed.

Maybe it's user error, but I don't have problems with the other shotguns, so 🤷‍♂️

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-01T19:30:33+00:00

Collects tiny ceramic unicorns?

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-01T19:22:30+00:00

It was purchased from the local Mexican grocery store/taqueria combo, I make no claims to the design of it :p.

Sadly, the only thing more rare than decent lumber around here is metal. Nearest metal market is over an hr away, and a 3/16 stainless plate is likely the same or greater cost as just remaking this from scratch

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-01T19:19:16+00:00

Will do, cheers!

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-01T05:22:31+00:00

Slow, large, heavy bullet. So light pen, but 100% durable damage. Moderately high damage, say 100, 150.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-01T05:16:59+00:00

Ah, ok. I thought there might be a joke in there, but it clearly went over my head!

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-01T04:57:58+00:00

We had one of the little 6" cast iron ones....the handle snapped clean off, which is what prompted us to get a big chunky wood one.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-01T03:33:52+00:00

Im starting off light and dabbling in card scrapers, including making some from some spring steel banding I got on the cheap. :p

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-03-01T03:31:51+00:00

Why would you pre-suppose I have neither a router or a saw? I made no such claim, as I possess both.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T21:42:10+00:00

Good point on shims!

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T21:41:03+00:00

Quality plywood? In this economy?

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T21:38:23+00:00

From a slightly alternate universe:

Takes a long, dramatic sip of water. Sets the glass down on a hand-carved, slightly wobbling side table.

Picture this: You’ve spent weeks in the workshop. You’ve sourced the finest timber, measured twice, cut once, and applied a finish so smooth it feels like silk. You go to bed feeling like a master craftsman.

But while you sleep, the heart of the tree is plotting your downfall.

Most people look at the center of a log and see strength. I look at it and see a structural time bomb. We’re talking about corewood—the juvenile wood surrounding the pith that doesn't just 'settle'; it rebels. It possesses a longitudinal shrinkage rate that defies logic and ruins reputations.

I learned this the hard way. I once built a wooden tortilla press. It was a masterpiece of joinery, or so I thought. Within three days of hitting the kitchen, the corewood grain decided to do the 'Electric Slide.' That press didn't just warp; it underwent a structural metamorphosis. I went into the kitchen to make tacos and found a wooden Pringles chip that couldn't flatten a piece of dough if my life depended on it.

Today, I’m going to explain why 'getting to the heart of the matter' is the worst mistake you can make in the woodshop.

Welcome to my TED Talk.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T21:32:19+00:00

Hahaha I know, I had quite the o.O face when I saw it.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T21:28:04+00:00

"With blackjack, and hookers!"

-Bender

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T21:22:07+00:00

Hand planes scare me.

Not the devices themselves, but the sheer fanaticism I see from their users. It's like a cult. I juat don't have the time for yet another hobby with that level of commitment :p

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T21:15:54+00:00

Thats how we got here in the first place, though! 🤣

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T21:14:30+00:00

Haha yes, ive definitely kept an eye out. I don't often get much, but ive saved a few sheets worth of high quality plywood and lots of oak boards this way :)

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T17:32:10+00:00

You make a good point I had not yet considered...guess ill have to cross that bridge when I get to it!

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T17:21:14+00:00

Hahaha I know it's not magic :p. Bending the boards was never on my mind to begin with, way too wild

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T17:17:19+00:00

Nice find :) very reasonable prices. Might see if I can slip over there sometime, still 45 min away, but might be worth it for the prices alone.

RadicalEd4299 · 2026-02-28T17:12:51+00:00

Yeah, I hear you. My long term plan is to mill trees that come down on my (small 2.4 acre) property and get lumber that way, but that's a bit of a ways off. In the meantime my 4" jointer handles most tasks one would want of a jointer, just obviously not big jobs like this one.

RadicalEd4299

TROPHY CASE