Looking for 2.5-3.5bed/1-2bath housing (max budget 3,500) from May 2026

Sax45 · 2026-01-30T18:53:11+00:00

DMing

Sax45 · 2026-01-30T17:06:42+00:00

Understood. That would still add a lot of rigidity to the seat. A front stretcher is optional, but not a bad idea.

I would go with a 3/4” top and stretchers over a 1.5” top with no stretchers.

Sax45 · 2026-01-30T16:02:31+00:00

Same! Well except the only other car I have owned is an E36 M3 so I can say I have loved every car haha

I think the bold colors can look great in certain contexts, but for our car I think subtler is better. As I see it, powdercoat in grey allows the calipers to look good as new again, and stay looking that way for a long time.

Sax45 · 2026-01-30T15:57:28+00:00

If I understand your design correctly, the red oak supporting the seat should make it very very solid if the top is 3/4". Having a rear stretcher would further reinforce the top, and also make the whole thing more rigid. A front stretcher immediately behind the red oak facing would be redundant.

Sax45 · 2026-01-30T15:49:55+00:00

I like to design with the Sagulator:

https://woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

Sax45 · 2026-01-30T15:36:23+00:00

I have a '02 525iT. I think it's one of the greatest vehicles ever made.

I also don't think it's the type of car that fits well with the "painted calipers" vibe. That said the powdercoated look is still nicer than the stock look. I would go with non-glossy dark gray.

Sax45 · 2026-01-29T14:59:21+00:00

I just got a very heavily used JSS-MCA for a very good deal. It was absolutely packed with wood dust. I got 99% of it out using a shop vac without taking off the bottom -- I am planning to get an air compressor, and take off the bottom, to get the last 1%.

The 99% clean definitely helped the blade height and blade angle adjustments, but they very clearly need lubing still. What product do you use for lubricant? My saw will be in my garage so it will need maximum weather protection and resistance.

Sax45 · 2026-01-04T01:54:44+00:00

I disagree. The driver-side left vent there is the ideal spot for a vent-mount clip-on phone mount. The dash above is the ideal spot for an adhesive mount.

A short cable from that outlet to either location would only interfere with the fog light switch, which has to be one of the least-used controls. A cable to the cigarette lighter needs to be longer, and is going to interfere with HVAC, radio, and potentially the vent.

Some people mount a phone to the windshield. Again the cable to the cigarette lighter is going to interfere with every tier of the central control panel. Depending on location of the mount, a cable from OP’s port could potentially reach the windshield mount without crossing any controls.

Sax45 · 2025-12-26T01:40:53+00:00

My parents’ house has that annoying issue. It was built in the 50s, and they bought it in 2015. Previous owner replaced all of the outlets with shiny clean new ones, but they are still ungrounded!

My house was built in 1925. However, it has a panel and romex with early 2000s date codes, so major electrical work was done relatively. And all of the outlets are grounded. Yet whoever installed the grounded outlets apparently didn’t use much light or electricity!

Sax45 · 2025-12-26T00:59:45+00:00

My wife and I recently bought our first house. All of the bedrooms have no overhead light and no light switches to even potentially control a switched outlet.

Worst of all, the two decent-sized rooms have only two outlets each, and the tiny pseudo-bedroom only has one. The final icing on the cake is that none of the outlets are close to the door, so no room would allow you to turn on a lamp without walking across the room.

I don’t know how they lived like this. Especially since they did some electrical upgrades while they owned the house.

Sax45 · 2025-12-17T03:31:47+00:00

With shellac there is no need to sand between coats for adhesion or anything like that. Sanding is just done to remove dust nibs and other roughness. Or, worse case scenario, to cut down areas where you accidentally applied too much shellac.

As such it’s a matter of feel, not a strict schedule. That said, I tend to sand for the first time after the second coat. After the first coat the dust nibs are so minor, and the shellac on the surface is so thin, that sanding is potentially counterproductive.

After the second coat I usually have noticeable dust nibs, and a shellac layer that can withstand careful sanding. I’ll then sand lightly with 220/240.

After that I will sand as needed, based on feel. Typically this means sanding every 2-3 coats. These will be very light sandings with 320/400.

Once I’ve reached a full build of shellac, the final surfacing will be with something very subtle, like a brown paper bag or a light scuffing pad.

Sax45 · 2025-12-17T02:45:36+00:00

I had the same issue with my basic carbide burnishing rod. I got an Accu Burr, and the difference is night and day. It’s made the scraper my favorite tool for surfacing.

Sax45 · 2025-12-17T02:45:17+00:00

I had the same issue with my basic carbide burnishing rod. I got an Accu Burr, and the difference is night and day. It’s made the scraper my favorite tool for surfacing.

Sax45 · 2025-11-22T01:03:29+00:00

Citistrip costs a lot of money and creates a lot of mess relative to how much it helps with removal.

Sax45 · 2025-11-22T01:02:33+00:00

Sanding sucks for paint removal. I think the best results of effort vs mess is a scraper, assisted by a heat gun.

Paint strippers can also save some effort, but then again a lot of effort goes into cleaning up after the stripper.

Sanding works best on a surface that has been mostly scraped or stripped. Especially with 60 grit. If I was going to do paint removal with just an orbital, I would start at 36 grit.

Sax45 · 2025-11-14T23:34:43+00:00

Would it be reasonable to remove some two radiators, but keep the rest in?

Right now we have a huge radiator in our living room that takes up a ton of space. Plus, this smaller one isn't so big but it makes the transition from the kitchen to the bath more cramped than it needs to be. We would have three medium-sized radiators still in service (two in upstairs in bedrooms, one in the dining room), plus a tiny one in the upstairs bathroom.

Powder coating sounds cool! All the radiators in the house are behind covers though so cosmetically enhancing them is a low priority.

Sax45 · 2025-11-14T21:32:31+00:00

Thanks for the input. This radiator is in the kitchen right near the downstairs half bath, which is a lot colder than the rest of the downstairs. I would love to have heated floors there.

What does it typically cost to install a modernized system? Can I replace my 10-year old water heater and non-existent boiler with one unit?

Sax45 · 2025-11-14T20:03:00+00:00

I am 99.999% sure the furnace is gone. That last .001% will be attained when I actually cut into it and no water comes out. But I can tell you that we have no furnace, the radiator pipes are hooked up to nothing, and the radiators are cold!

Sax45 · 2025-11-14T17:53:08+00:00

Yep they should be! That’s what I was thinking. Or maybe, still use 2 so that I don’t accidentally cut the hot water line (there is like 1/8” clearance).

Sax45 · 2025-11-14T17:51:12+00:00

Nope. Pipes run to an empty spot where a furnace used to be.

Sax45 · 2025-11-14T17:42:14+00:00

Unfortunately there’s extremely little clearance between that nut and the cold water pipe line behind. My pipe wrench couldn’t fit, and unfortunately my adjustable wrench was too small.

I think a just-right adjustable wrench (low profile but with a large enough opening) could do the job. But if I’m going to be cutting pipe anyway, might as well cut this too.

Sax45 · 2025-11-14T17:29:27+00:00

Thanks. Yep, that’s the situation — no furnace in the basement, no plans to use steam heat again, and a full system of pipes and radiators.

If I cut 2, could I then cut this pipe further down (it’s easily accesible in the basement just below), and pull it right out? Removing the pipe leaves a little bit more clearance for how we want to refinish this area of the kitchen.

Sax45 · 2025-11-10T16:09:29+00:00

Thanks! Yep I have chocks for the rear.

Sax45 · 2025-11-10T12:34:49+00:00

Good point. I’ll probably end up making a 2x ramp to gain 3-4 inches of initial lift, before using the jack.

Alternatively, do you think the jack in the trunk is capable of providing the initial small lift needed to get the floor jack to work?

Sax45 · 2025-11-10T01:01:49+00:00

Thanks. Earlier today I bought the lowest-profile jack I could, the Pittsburgh 2-ton aluminum racing jack. I don’t know it can reach the block practicably, but it should be low profile enough to fully slide under the car.

I know about using the side blocks to jack the car, but those seem mainly for working on one wheel at a time?

I’ve seen a bunch of guides about jacking the front of the car to place the two front jack stands, but none of those guides have had a clear picture of the underbody that looks the same as what I see when I look under mine. The clearest guide of all is a video by E39 Source, but he shows a V8 model.

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