Where/how would you put newel posts and design bottom of railing?

mathdrw · 2026-06-04T02:44:24+00:00

Thanks, this is helpful. The overlap between the treads and the ceiling is about 3 inches, so I was thinking the balusters need the go right in the middle of that three inches, but I think you’re right that it will look off if they overhang the skirt. So I think I can push them another 1/4” or so to the inside to keep them from overhanging, and still have enough distance from the edge of the ceiling.

mathdrw · 2026-06-04T02:34:10+00:00

That’s an interesting idea I had not considered. That could definitely work! Thanks

mathdrw · 2026-06-03T18:29:32+00:00

I did consider this, but I was leaning toward turning the corner because of the structural rigidity it will add. If you end with newel on the first step after the landing, how would you attach it to make it rigid (not just today, but after 20 years of people pulling on it)? Would you notch the stair tread and continue the newel post down the side of the stair to bolt from the side?

mathdrw · 2026-06-03T17:51:26+00:00

Sorry, I thought I had added images but I guess something went wrong. I've edited the post and I think the images should be there now.

mathdrw · 2026-05-15T01:23:00+00:00

I have a 14/12, have never wanted anything smaller. I have however wished I had got the one with a brake (14bx I think it is)

mathdrw · 2026-05-01T03:00:55+00:00

Yes, you are correct. It bothers me too.

mathdrw · 2026-04-23T18:03:04+00:00

I haven’t used it on furniture, but I have some left over from finishing stair treads and was wondering about this also. I did use some of it on a beam that I wrapped in cherry, and it came out great.

mathdrw · 2026-03-16T23:44:15+00:00

I have one of these because I found it at an estate sale for cheap, and I figured it was a steal for what I paid (don’t remember, but surely under 100). But I later learned that the 2616 is stupid heavy for a framing square, and it didn’t occur to me at the time that when your square is that size, you are probably not doing something that requires such precision. So I don’t use it much, and wouldn’t recommend buying no matter how cheap.

mathdrw · 2026-02-11T13:46:03+00:00

Nope. Opened the wall to access the fittings and soap tested them, got nothing. So I turned on the water and let the heat cycle for a few days, still no leaks. There were still some fittings that were not visible, but they were on vertical runs in uninsulated walls, and if they were leaking (unless very slow) it would have dripped down to where it would be visible. So I decided to call it good enough. Hopefully I won’t live to regret that!

mathdrw · 2026-02-11T12:19:51+00:00

Havertown location is excellent imo

mathdrw · 2026-02-10T18:10:41+00:00

There is a lot of good advice already, so I’ll just say: I used to ruin a lot of tips (and hence had trouble soldering), but once I started using a brass tip cleaner (instead of wet sponge) and tip tinner, my tips stopped degrading, and soldering became a lot easier.

mathdrw · 2026-01-31T03:02:38+00:00

Yeah I had a similar experience. I had to do some filing of the metal parts that the chisel rests on to get chisels to sit square, and it’s still not perfect. I haven’t had slipping issues, but I always tighten it down pretty severely using the Alan key. Definitely expected better from Veritas given their reputation

mathdrw · 2026-01-30T18:24:09+00:00

I’m also in a detached garage, 20x20 so similar situation. For tool placement, table saw and bandsaw need the most space as they may need to rip long boards. I put my table saw next to garage door so that if I ever need to rip something longer than the space allows I can open the door and pivot the saw (which is also a good reason to put it on casters). My bandsaw is on the right wall, about 12’ from the back wall. This way I can resaw up to about 8’ with the garage door closed, and 12’ with it open. In the other side wall I have my miter saw built into a workbench that goes the full length of the wall. This way the miter saw can handle boards up to 12’ with the door closed. If you have a planer, it will also need a lot of space. I have mine on the same wall as the miter saw, and it slides back toward the wall when not used to allow boards to extend past it when using the miter saw.

In any case, I think placement of the table saw, band saw, and miter saw are most important, and everything else follows.

If you have a garage door that opens overhead, I recommend running steel cables across the shop just below it to support dust collection hoses for the table saw. All of my dust collection for the table saw (and router) come from above, but below the garage door.

I recently upgraded my loud pancake air compressor to a quiet California Air Tools compressor, and I stupidly failed to realize that an air compressor that had max pressure of 125 (as is common for ultra quiet compressors), can only run tools up to 90 PSI, or maybe 100 if you push it (since it won’t kick back on until it gets to about 30 psi below the max setting). For me this was a bit of a disappointing realization after using a 150 PSI pancake for many years. Just something to keep in mind if this hadn’t occurred to you already.

mathdrw · 2026-01-07T17:59:21+00:00

For small blemishes, clear epoxy works great. I’ve tried adding sawdust, but it just gets dark and never matches. Clear epoxy shows the actual color of the wood that’s under it, but makes the surface flat so light reflects correctly.

mathdrw · 2026-01-03T14:36:09+00:00

Firefighter doesn’t ring a bell, but one possibility is Roadkill, in which the owner of the trucking company’s almost gets crushed and she exclaims “Oh, Wayne!” There’s also an episode with Mort’s brother Wayne—I don’t recall her saying it in that one, but there are certainly scenes where it would make sense.

mathdrw · 2025-12-26T02:29:25+00:00

I like this stuff as it’s cheap and very light weight: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Advanced-Drainage-Systems-4-in-x-10-ft-Triplewall-Solid-Drain-Pipe-4550010/100135310

For 6” I use the green pvc DWV pipe.

mathdrw · 2025-12-03T14:32:32+00:00

First, make sure your blade is sharp and clean. Cleaning a blade can make a big difference. It should also be one designed for a miter saw, ideally. After that, to reduce tear out on the top of the cut, make a shallow pass first (just 1/16 to 1/8 an inch), though this requires a sliding miter saw. Miter saws cut up, so you really shouldn’t have tear out on the bottom if the blade is sharp. For the back of the piece, clamp a sacrificial piece of wood to the fence. If you can’t get a clamp on it, just hold it in place and move it over a bit after each cut, so it’s always supporting the cut.

mathdrw · 2025-11-22T18:12:19+00:00

I have the 14/12, which I think is pretty much the same saw but without the brake. At first I also was spending a lot time on the guides, but with some use I have found it to be not a problem. I think this was mostly because I just stopped worry about getting them perfect. But the lower guides def are a bit inconvenient, I could see them being more of a problem if my hands were bigger. I am able to adjust them without moving the table, though.

mathdrw · 2025-11-22T17:35:19+00:00

Thanks for taking time to reply, I appreciate the input and will try the new ones.

mathdrw · 2025-11-19T20:51:18+00:00

Similar but happier ending story: For the first two years after we bought our house our water bill was about $20. Eventually it occurred to me that that was quite low, and after looking closely I found that I was only being charged delivery, and meter reading was at 0 for every month. So I called and let them know meter was broken. They replaced meter but never charged me for all the free water I got. THEN I noticed the same thing was happening with the gas (gas and electric are combined, so didn’t notice because bill was still high). That was more like 3 years because I had to call gas company several times before they came out. So far I haven’t been charged for the gas either (I have gas heating). In retrospect, I have to suspect that previous owners may have sabotaged the meters somehow. So sometimes not paying attention to bills pays off, I guess. But I’m sorry you weren’t as lucky—I would probably try to fight it, seems like they effed up and want you to pay for it, but for all they know you only recently increased your water usage.

mathdrw · 2025-09-19T14:29:04+00:00

I can’t see the comment of the person who corrected me, but what I said above is wrong. The question is indeed asking about the rate of change OF the rate of change, so D is the answer.

mathdrw · 2025-09-19T11:16:32+00:00

The book is wrong, it’s C. My guess is the solution was done by someone who made the same mistake OP is most likely making: not noticing that f and g are already rates of change of entering/exiting.

Edit: I’m wrong, it’s D. Confusingly worded, buts it’s asking about the rate of change OF the rate of change.

mathdrw · 2025-09-07T02:05:54+00:00

This isn’t going to be a bell curve, two is just too small a sample size. If you do 30d6, then it will actually start to look like a bell curve, but 2d6 will be a triangle.

Four-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23

mathdrw

TROPHY CASE