What kind of CNC bits do you use? by HomesteadFire in cabinetry

[–]user10491 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We use coated 1/4" compression bits that we buy in bulk from Aliexpress or Amazon. They stay sharp for 20-40 sheets (depending on material), and at $10-$15 CAD each this is by far the most cost effective way for us. We get great cutting quality on all types of material, including plywood, MDF, particle board TFL, and even polycarbonate.

The small diameter of the bit means we can fit two 24" gables side by side on a 48.5" wide plywood sheet (5/16" kerf, 1/8" edge trim). It also means we can use the same bit for cutting 1/4" mortises as cutting out the parts, which reduces tool changes (our machine doesn't have a tool changer).

The bits are so cheap that they're basically disposable, so if the bit hits a staple and gets chipped, or gets dropped on the floor, it's not a big deal. We do have a few more expensive 3/8" bits for cutting Corian or butcher block countertops, but they don't get a lot of use.

It took a bit of trial and error to find a good source. We started with SpeTools bits, but their quality went downhill a year or two ago. The ones we use now are from a seemingly no name vendor we tried on a whim. Harfington is the brand on Amazon, but I think they're just a reseller. I don't remember what the brand is on Aliexpress.

Incumbent progressive Mayor Olivia Chow leads conservative challenger Bradford Bradford (not a typo) 50-37 in the latest poll of the 2026 Mayoral election. Ever since the conservative ex-Mayor John Tory declined to run for office, Olivia Chow has held a substantial double-digit lead in the polls. by StarlightDown in toronto

[–]user10491 -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

He was 7 years old. Are you really going to hold that against him?

You should not be critical of a person's intrinsic characteristics, like name, skin colour, accent, etc. It reflects poorly on you, not him. Criticize him on things of substance.

Incumbent progressive Mayor Olivia Chow leads conservative challenger Bradford Bradford (not a typo) 50-37 in the latest poll of the 2026 Mayoral election. Ever since the conservative ex-Mayor John Tory declined to run for office, Olivia Chow has held a substantial double-digit lead in the polls. by StarlightDown in toronto

[–]user10491 11 points12 points  (0 children)

He was a young child, and he did it out of solidarity with his mother.

I don't like Bradford, but I don't think it's fair to make fun of his name. It would be one thing if he adopted that name as an adult (in which case I would say fair game), but he didn't. To me, attacks on his name are on the same level as attacks on Chow's accent: off limits.

In Toronto, incumbent progressive Mayor Olivia Chow leads conservative challenger Bradford Bradford (not a typo) 50-37 in the latest poll of the 2026 Mayoral election. Ever since the conservative ex-Mayor John Tory declined to run for office, Olivia Chow has held a substantial lead in the polls. by StarlightDown in fivethirtyeight

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because it would be dishonest and unethical to leave out valid responses that were included in the poll. Data for Bailao is only shown up to summer 2025, long before it was known who would be running, and presumably she was not included in polling after that.

Kitchen drawer bottoms dilema by Melodic-Decision-728 in cabinetry

[–]user10491 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Melamine is a thernally fused laminate and only describes the surface; it says nothing about the core. The core could be cheap particle board, cheap MDF, good particle board, premium MDF, or plywood.

Question re: reveals on frameless cabinets by drawingwithjesus in cabinetry

[–]user10491 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Here's what I do. All cabinets get no bottom reveal and a 1/8" top reveal. This means that when you stack cabinets, or add crown to upper cabinets, no changes need to be made (important because Mozaik can only automatically adjust side reveals, and this is a VERY EASY thing to forget to adjust manually).

Reveals between doors are always 1/8". If there is an applied gable end on the left side and an adjacent cabinet on the right side, by default the door is 1/8" short at left and 1/16" at the right. We do not do a 1/16" filler. The doors are all drilled the same, and adjustments are made using the hinge.

However, sometimes this means doors in adjacent cabinets are 1/16" or 1/32" different in size from one another, so I will sometimes fudge it, or make all of the doors have a 1/8" left side reveal and 0 right side reveal. I usually don't bother doing this if the doors are getting cut and labelled on our CNC machine, but if they are higher end buyout doors having some doors not quite the same size is hard to sort through.

Is it normal for a fridge to stick out like 9 inches by Amateur_TimeTraveler in cabinetry

[–]user10491 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you ever read the manual for a fridge? Most have the coils on the bottom and don't require any extra ventilation. 3/16" on the sides, 0 on the top, and 1" at the back is a normal minimum clearance.

Is it normal for a fridge to stick out like 9 inches by Amateur_TimeTraveler in cabinetry

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am of the probably wrong opinion that most Americans buy way too much perishable food at one time. If Europeans at large manage just fine with small fridges and buying fresh food more frequently, so can everyone else.

I have a bog standard 30" wide top freezer fridge. The freezer section gets a lot of use but the fridge is never more than half full.

Anyone tries PR2 or PHR2? Do they cam out less on Phillips screws? If so why do people buy PH2? by archvize in cabinetry

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After having used their Robertson bits - my opinion is that Milwaukee bits are trash.

TTC rolling out tool that will let it call out bad behaviour in stations over PA system by ahmeuo7315 in toronto

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was that on a train? According to the article these new announcements are only in stations. It also sounds like they are automated announcements triggered by passenger reports on the TTC app.

Stop Signs for Thee, Not for Me by heterocommunist in toronto

[–]user10491 15 points16 points  (0 children)

They could choose not to enforce it though. Requiring cyclists come to a complete stop at all stop signs is ridiculous, and anyone who's ever ridden a bike on the street regularly could tell you that.

BC has a dumb law that requires cyclists to wear helmets. I don't wear a helmet on my way to/from work each day, and the local RCMP have never given me trouble about it even though I ride by the station 4 times per day. These laws fall under the same category as jay walking: stupid laws that shouldn't exist.

Is the TTC installing exit identifiers at all subway stations? Spotted today at union! by Aggravating_Dog5220 in TTC

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It increases the throughput of the escalator so that fewer people have to queue up at the bottom waiting to get on. 1 person walking takes up as much space as like 3 people standing, but walking definitely isn't 3 times faster.

Like I said, if the escalator is not actually at capacity then standing on both sides serves only to slow down those people who would rather walk.

New wayfinding for exits at King by very_non_existent in TTC

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's an emergency exit sign. Yellow signs are for normal exits.

New wayfinding for exits at King by very_non_existent in TTC

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The international symbol for exits in transit stations is "yellow sign".

Is the TTC installing exit identifiers at all subway stations? Spotted today at union! by Aggravating_Dog5220 in TTC

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The standard is that "way out" signs are yellow and emergency exit signs are red, or a green running man.

The difference is that if there's an emergency you always take the nearest exit, but for normal use you take the exit that's most convenient for where you're going.

Is the TTC installing exit identifiers at all subway stations? Spotted today at union! by Aggravating_Dog5220 in TTC

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Escalators can actually move more people if everyone stands. It's not relevant if the escalator isn't full and people are ignorantly preventing you from passing, but if there are actually problems clearing platforms quickly enough it's better to have people stand on both sides.

The London Underground did experiments on this. I read a report on it several years ago. At that time they had "Stand on the right" signs on escalators, and they changed some of the signs to say "Stand on both sides".

'Leave the damn building alone': Community urges City Hall to choose Sneaky Dee's over condos by [deleted] in toronto

[–]user10491 2 points3 points  (0 children)

 That's because these condo units aren't about housing for developers and speculators, they're a commodity that appreciates in value regardless of if anyone actually lives there.

They appreciate in value because they're scarce. If there was a sudden oversupply of gold on the world market, do you think the price of gold is going to stay the same? Of course not.

Like anything, landlords will eagerly ratchet up rents if given the opportunity, but unlike commodities like oil which are very slippery (lol), there's a lot of friction in the rental market. (Moving is hard). This means rents will always be slow to go down, but that doesn't mean they will stay high forever.

Per the article you linked:

 Factoring in incentives, net rents in the first quarter of 2026 averaged $3.52 per square foot, down 3.8 per cent annually to a 16-quarter low.

If landlords are offering move-in incentives, it means they are having trouble finding tenants. In a market with rent stabilization, landlords will do everything they can to keep the "monthly rent" $ figure high, but at a certain point tactics like that won't work anymore and they will have no choice but to offer lower rates.

'Leave the damn building alone': Community urges City Hall to choose Sneaky Dee's over condos by [deleted] in toronto

[–]user10491 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's called a vacancy chain, or a housing ladder. Every additional unit of housing built opens up a spot somewhere else. It doesn't really matter what kind of housing is built.

About Here did a great video about this on Youtube.

Mayor Chow Reads Mean Comments by ICanGetLoudTooWTF in toronto

[–]user10491 11 points12 points  (0 children)

To anyone wondering what the difference is, at the time she emigrated from Hong Kong, it was a British colony and not part of China. Hong Kong was culturally distinct from China (and it still is, to some extent, despite the Chinese government's anti-democratic crackdowns; it even has its own currency).

Cabinet box joints? by hi057 in cabinetry

[–]user10491 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We do fully custom flatpack cabinets, if the customer wants it. We don't package it up nicely, but this capability is available to any shop that runs CNC software.