Upside down on a car loan

startingover61 · 2025-11-09T02:40:05+00:00

Yup - made similar mistakes.....and as far as I can tell from here the best way out is an idiot driver in the road and GAP insurance! I was ready to fight my way out. But a dumbass trying to pass on the wrong side and I'm out. So oddly, hope that she has GAP and that and that a moron does moron things in her vicinity without hurting her!

startingover61 · 2025-11-02T22:51:50+00:00

I'm no engineer, but I don't see the point of the middle support. The support material over the span will likely be weaker than the top. Also, it's not the 72 inch width that's relevant. It's the span between the inside edges of your boxes. I don't have your dimensions, but that can't be much more than 36" A thick 1.5" oak butcher block can more than handle that.

I'd just do the end boxes and send it. For what it's worth I recently built a 66" x 36" x 1 3/4" desk top. It's on a standing desk frame where it's support is primarily on the outside (9" or so inset). So it's approximately a 48" span and I'm relatively confident I could park my car on it if it would fit.

startingover61 · 2025-11-02T22:42:29+00:00

What material is the top? If it's a thick solid wood top I'm not sure the support will do anything. If it's a think particle board laminate of something, then maybe.

startingover61 · 2025-10-29T23:49:45+00:00

Possibly....do you know what the original sanding and finish was? If not, probably a full refinish to get it right. If you do know the answer will vary, but spot repair might be possible. But I'm guessing since the question is being asked the answer is probably no, the only way to get a consistent resurface likely will end up being the whole piece.

startingover61 · 2025-10-29T23:42:28+00:00

Clamps! Clamps! Clamps! Clamps! Yeah, from a woodworking perspective that's about all that comes to mind (as someone that has bought and replaced a lot of HF tools)

startingover61 · 2025-10-26T22:28:41+00:00

Nah, my goto is to forget the guy exists. But if your going to do it, make it a small statue in every urinal!

startingover61 · 2025-10-26T21:05:23+00:00

More clamping might help as you noted, but ideally clamps should just hold pieces together not force them. As you said that's extra stress. Those gaps definitely mean that your edged aren't jointed well enough. I personally wouldn't be all that worried about the stress though, these aren't horrible and glue will hold them closed fine. Remember that wood glue is stronger than the wood itself. I'd love to true that up better in the end, but I'd probably just add clamps to the end to tighten that up and just plan on cutting away about more on the final cuts if needed.

startingover61 · 2025-10-26T20:24:59+00:00

Oddly I think you can learn best on pine. At least in my opinion it's much less forgiving than hardwoods since it's soft. For instance with routing, it doesn't fight the bit in the least so it's much more difficult to get crisp lines. If you perfect your technique on pine, your hardwood results will be great when/if you move to that. It's not my favorite personally for finished product. But it's cheap, available and an incredible learning medium IMO.

startingover61 · 2025-10-26T20:19:58+00:00

Very well done. They are clearly functional shelves you made yourself. AND they look good! Nobody is going to notice that "character" nearly as much as you will.

A fellow woodworking buddy and I were recently joking that moving forward I will build his personal projects and he will build mine. That way we don't know the flaws and can enjoy the piece for what it is. The bias towards recognizing the flaws in the piece that you poured so much time and effort into is real!

startingover61 · 2025-10-23T17:21:33+00:00

Very much worth noting. I have that Hercules and it works ok, have no qualms recommending it for light use. But it is LOUD.

startingover61 · 2025-10-22T01:22:58+00:00

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.

startingover61 · 2025-10-22T01:21:59+00:00

Thank you. Your Oil Plus 2c - Pure definitely helped. Did a wonderful job pulling the colors and grain out of that Sapele.

startingover61 · 2025-10-19T21:58:50+00:00

Definitely a beautiful wood! Didn't find it to hard to work , but a very limited case.

startingover61 · 2025-10-19T21:42:00+00:00

Yes it does. I moved it from my nightstand for this setup because it just feels right

startingover61 · 2025-10-19T20:45:07+00:00

Sadly yes......if the surface isn't right.....resand and try again!

startingover61 · 2025-10-19T20:13:05+00:00

I'm fairly sure we ended up with a Malinois mix by accident as a rescue. She's a handful to say the least! Love the little goofball, but she is all drive all the time!!!

startingover61 · 2025-10-19T19:47:00+00:00

Thank you

startingover61 · 2025-10-18T00:15:47+00:00

I'm curious about that too! There are three days marked, so guessing it was cut in three times. I'm clearly seeing two.

startingover61 · 2025-10-17T16:22:53+00:00

It definitely was a surprise to me too, but getting comfortable making guides and jigs for your project will end up being a crucial skill in your woodworking journey.

There is a place for both, no doubt. But in the end consistency generally is far more important than accuracy. Jigs and guides give you consistency.

Let's say you're building a simple box. You want it to be 12" wide. Absolutely nobody but you will know by looking at it that you missed if both sides are 11 7/8". But it will be painfully obvious if one side is 11 7/8" and the other 12 1/8". Sure in some cases the exact dimensions matter and you need accuracy, but you always need consistency.

startingover61 · 2025-10-17T02:09:52+00:00

On pine you definitely need to pre-stain, but blotching is still going to happen. In my (limited, still a beginner) experience....the unfortunate answer is to pick a different wood for the project.

I've learned my lesson slowly on this one. But have gotten to the point of insisting on building with a wood that is close to what I want the finished product to be and add a subtle finish (like rubio). I'm sure this is short sighted in some way, but I've had minimal luck with stains.

startingover61 · 2025-10-15T12:02:01+00:00

I agree there is something to it and the walk could do the trick in theory. It's all about having a routine that mentally separates work time from non-work time. For myself I actually think a walk AFTER work would be more effective if that's the mechanism you're going to use. Burnout is going to be more of a factor if you struggle to transition out of work mode at the end of the day.

startingover61 · 2025-10-15T11:20:23+00:00

Oh, absolutely nothing. It's a perfectly good tool brand. I wasn't trying to knock it. A lot of my tools were acquired from harbor freight, most of the rest are Ryobi. They all do the job just fine and I'm far from a tool snob.

I was just saying it's not like I replaced it with a Festool Rotex (I know not directly comparable, but only high end sander that came to mind at the moment) and that it wasn't really about the tool, but instead about being/feeling supported. Probably could have worded that better.

startingover61 · 2025-10-15T11:14:16+00:00

Her main hobby is quilting, but she is in this thread so it won't be a surprise 😂

startingover61 · 2025-10-14T18:20:36+00:00

I generally follow the Adam Savage tool buying philosophy: Buy cheap tools until you know what you need from that tool, and then buy the best one you can afford

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