Stupid Questions That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread, round #69
I have a shelf with built in mounting stuff at 24 inches apart. Wall studs are 16 inches.
What is the most secure way to hang on a sheetrock wall? Toggle bolts? Sheetrock anchors? maybe some way to screw to one stud and maybe wire the shelf to a fastener on the other stud? I would like the shelf to be able to carry some weight so fastening into the drywall seems risky to me.
All stupid and newbie questions welcomed in this thread.
pic related. First pic, sorry if too small or sideways
Stud probably #1 way, toggle bolt #2. But sometimes stud isn’t worth it if the shelf is in a shitty spot.
I was doing some floating shelves recently and couldn’t get good results with the typical plug anchors or those big plastic screw anchors and pic related worked really well for me. They’re way stronger than the other anchors too.
thanx for the help anon. never saw these before. Package says up to 143 pounds, so going a quarter of that to account for advertising <lies> I am guessing 30 pounds. That should be good enough for my wife's boyfriend's collectibles.
I told her to tell him that while I know he wants to proudly display his collection of various hotel "Do Not Disturb" placards (he is a chad and has LOTS of those - lol. lmao even) he told her to tell me that I could dust them as needed.
So anyway, cool. I can hang that shelf for him and not worry about it falling off.
Much appreciated.
Yea those weight ratings are sort of bullshit. All I’ll say is the “50+ lb” rated anchors just were not cutting it in the drywalll and I didn’t want to leave a bunch of painted ceramics on the shelf, but those toggles grabbed way better. They expand and grab onto the back of the drywall like other toggles but there’s no super long bolt and the holes end up cleaner than the metal toggles IMO.
I used to try the old school plug anchors on everything, but the past few months I have been using the plastic toggle guys in that pic on everything more than a pound or two.
Follow up - I did get these and like them. Stronger than I would have thought. I could almost use those shelves as part of a climbing wall.
Thx Bepis van dam
Noice.
Those little plastic pop toggle things are nice, they’re easy to use compared to long ass toggles and shit and they definitely hold with more confidence than a lot of the other anchors.
If I can get them for the same price, should I buy a steel gate valve with a 2,000psi load rating or a brass valve with a 200psi load rating?
How do steel valve bodies last?
I'll be running water through it indoors and off of the floor.
If its just for cold potable water then there's pretty much no difference other than steel being the more expensive option. But if you running high temperatures better with steel.
I need to fix my toilet, and from what I can find, it looks like I need to replace the fill valve. How standard are these? Is there any chance I could end up buying the wrong size or type?
I'd like to think I have a pretty normal North American toilet. The inside of my toilet tank looks pretty close to pic related.
Almost universal fit unless it’s some crazy Kohler design or other goofy shit. Even if the tubes look a little different, it’s most likely the same fittment.
The only thing is like if you’re only trying to change one small part, like maybe you just want the flapper, the flapper in the kit may not fit the old assembly, so most times it’s easiest to get the ~$20-$25 kit that comes with everything and you will be able to replace the whole assembly instead.
walmart sells the kit, get the premium one and replace all the parts while you are in there, rather than doing just the filler then having the flapper start leaking 3 months later
makue sure to use a wire brush to clean minerals off the areas where the fill valve goes against the tank bottom and where the flapper closes if you have hard water
Why does my flashlight only work if I smack it? I bought a good one this time ($3 instead of $1) so I expected it to not be shit.
There is mild corrosion/residue build-up on the electrical components, and by smacking it, you're loosening the debris on the metal, thus improving conductivity.
Best way to sound proof AND rust proof wheel arches?
Its already greased up but not sound proofed.
I was thinking degrease it, spray fluid film over existing rust, then spray bitchumen undercoat over everything.
no i will not sand and paint it and have it rust out from inside out
Remove the interior panels and cover with sound deadening sheets?
Hard to stick because its also greased from the inside.
>want to get into PrepHole hobbies
>want to build a go kart for first big project
>want to buy a junk golf cart and repurpose the frame/steering/suspension
>dad says it's too hard and I should make something easier
Is he right? There's a lot to learn but plenty of guides online, the biggest hurdle would be teaching myself to weld.
If you're just getting into diy then start small. Then increase the size and technicality of your projects. Maybe start by restoring a bicycle or something.
Start welding and metal working.
I made soapbox cars with help from the family when I was a kid. Simple solutions for steering and design were really effective. They had years of Popular Mechanics and hobby background.
One of the biggest hurdles most people face starting out is money.
Do you own all the tools yet, or will you have to buy them?
That project is pretty hard, not only in terms of skill, but in terms of scope. Thats a big project thats going to take a LOT of time and its going to cost a LOT more money than you think.
Skillwise, you arent just learning to weld, you are also learning to cut, shape, and otherwise fabricate metal. Tons of things you will learn but dont realize yet.
You are going to have a MUCH easier time learning to fabricate and manipulate metal if you have a small project with detailed plans on nice clean metal.
I think everyone should have lofty plans, I think everyone should start with a project that seems big. But I think this is too much.
I think you should 100% do it, just not as a starting project.
If you see a cheap golf cart, sure buy it and sit on it.
Starting out, in the same vein, id personally say build yourself a minibike frame from scratch.
There are countless amounts of blueprints and guides on how to do it.
It will teach you all sorts of skills, and in the end you get something pretty fucking cool.
You've convinced me, that does seem a lot more realistic. Thanks anon.
Maybe not the best place to ask, but seemed fitting. I am in need of a portable, or stationary tire inflator/delfator like the one pictured.
Problem is, Google nor any reviews can answer my question. I need it to fill something (not a car tire) via a schrader valve. No issue, problem is, the one pictured, and the many others touted, also do not deflate through the schrader valve, which is what I need it to be capable of.
Does anyone who have experience with these things know of such an inflator/deflator that can do what I require? Or am I stuck pulling the core out each time I want to deflate this item?
why can't you just tell us what you're inflating/deflating all the time? It's a sex doll isn't it.
you could get a screw on adapter like pic related, and then plumb a tee with a valve on it to quickly deflate it, and attach the pump with another valve on the other branch for inflating
Sex doll no, but large latex ball. The manufacturer only glues schrader valves on. Other items such as pillows I have bought as well have the same valve. But deflating I've always used a car key and pushed in the stem to let the air out. Ain't gonna happen with a ball over 1 meter wide.
This looks similar to the Staun Tire deflators I have. I tried using those but there isn't enough PSI in the pillow or other items to deflate on it's own. I see what you mean though. What would that particular adapter be called when searching for it? I'd have to figure out how to adapt that to the larger plastic hose on one of these pumps. Though I reckon it would be one hell of a moron-rigged adaptor.
Just want it to inflate fast and deflate just as fast when desired. But via the Schrader valve as there is no rapid deflation port like you get on say a giant pool slide or what have you.
This is what I've considered, but figured a pump might go faster. But if all else is too much work, I'll just go this route.
The core remover is fast. The air just bursts out.
Alright thanks. Though it would be prolly a max of 5 psi, it'll do.
You arent being specific enough, what exactly do you want it to do.
Inflate and then immediately deflate at a certain PSI?
Inflate and then hold air, then automatically deflate?
There are all sorts of systems or valves or other things you can use depending on the exact use case.
This is for deflating.
Can I just bleed the acetylene out of a tank until it's empty?
I have a really really old tank I don't care to use or get rid of and I would rather not worry about it
You could attach your torch and light it and just let a pure acetylene flame out of the torch, then it'd be safe. No potential explosive gas floating around
Does that matter if I do it outside?
>Does that matter if I do it outside?
It won't matter unless it does. If it does matter, then the forthcoming event could be pretty impressive.
t. doneitonpurposeforfun
Trane heat pump with crawlspace air handler (circa 2010) with robershaw t-stat. Have everything switched to off and fan set to "auto" (as opposed to "on") but air handler fan will not ever go off.
If i switch fan to on, the air handle fan speeds up a lot and blows hard, but switch back to auto, it slows back down a lot but never goes off and it is blowing air out all the vents.
One place i read says disconnect red wire to tstat (which i will try tomorrow) and if fan goes off, tstat bad. But wondering about that because it speeds up a lot when i go from auto to on. Is the fan supposed to have 2 different speeds, and why wont it go off all the way?
My mate found a table on the side of the road and I've stripped all the lacquer and sanded it back. I have a small pot of Teak oil and Polyurethane. Both aren't completely full and I don't know if there is enough to get a full coat. Can I combine the two? I've used a combination Stain/Varnish before and it gave a really nice finish
Secondly, the Teak oil hasn't been opened in years and is glued shut. I don't have a heat gun to melt what's bonding the thread. Will standing it upside down in boiling water suffice?
Pic related.
>combination stain-&-varnish nice finish
Tinting the clear is last ditch effort. Or it's first ditch "I want to just do this fast." One benefit of the combo is it can cover blotchy woods that would be a scattered mess with a standard stain application. This is basically covering the piece with layers of tint vs having a great looking piece and bringing that out with the clear coat. A great finisher can get away with a lot but it's best to not have to. That being said, I'd paint this. Maybe run two colors. Sand off all the orange peel with a very fine grit.
You shouldn't have a problem mixing those products. Test them on the underside if the results are to your liking.
Yeah nah yeah sweet as.
Here's how it turned out.
i would give that a coat of amber shellac
So this is a crude draft in the pic, but basically. I have a car port I am converting to a screened in porch. The previous owner of my home was a steelworker. The vertical supports are red iron C beams. The entire awning is steel, as well as the garage.
I mostly just want to explain this and see if any anons have any better ideas:
The C beams are, for lack of better detail, facing outward. There is white aluminum flashing over it. I am going to cut the flashing out and cut/slide in my 2x10 into the C beam. The board will rest on concrete block. The angled supports are 45.5 degrees. I guess the only way to do this proper would be to cut out the vertical 2x4 to fit over the support beam(L shaped) and then use self tappers under the beam with a 2x4 going along the beam. Or maybe a thinner piece of wood to go into it, drill in and go from the top? Once I get that part figured out I can be finally done with this project.
I currently have an offer on the table for a PLC job at a company that makes automation machines for various clients. I would have to walk away from my current job as a project manager in a completely unrelated field, take a $25k paycut, and stop working from home. I am interested in the the space, but wondering if this is a smart move? I am really torn.
>25k paycut
>stop working from home
So more like a 35k paycut. Only way I'd walk from a job like that is if I hated it.
Its project management for a marketing company. I really don't love the actual work. The benefits of working from home are great, but the actual career suck. And I'm not leveling up. Other than a great paycheck and flexibility (which are great reasons) it sucks. Do you work in automation? If so, do you like it? Is there the option to grow/move around within different eng. rolls?
you're the only person that can answer these questions.
does working in your field make up for the lost pay? does your current job actually suck that bad? does 25k extra income counteract how much that sucks?
as far as "levelling up" goes you could try spending that 25k on buying your own equipment and starting a side business instead of taking a pay cut to do what you like for someone else.
I need a proxxon/dremel but for the time being I'm going to have to make do with hand tools
I have a plastic sheet about 3mm thick with 2mm diameter holes through the sheet
What I want to do is thin the sheet on one side so that looking through the 2mm hole on the other side, the plastic sheet looks thinner than it is
I don't want the integrity of the 2mm hole to be affected, I want it to look at perfectly round as possible
Pic related is a rough diagram
Is there a tool I can use to do this?
>plastic
sander or grinding wheel maybe
or, like you said, router with a shape and angle guide.
No I'm only asking for hand tools
When I get a dremel I plan to use a ball sanding bit
It's for scale models so I need the illusion to work, it's not functional
Needs to look like a thin sheet of metal at 1/350 scale, it's for portholes
A counterbore leaves a square and flat edge, hence why you use it for boltheads. Gives a nice space to bolt down on
The countersink gives you the traingular cut, for if you are using countersunk screws.
at 2mm, I think both would do the illusion perfectly fine
The countersink tool might even work better, if the holes are pretty close to each other.
The tool you want is called a counterbore
The tip is a pilot, it does no cutting and will just spin around in the 2mm hole, while boring out with the cutting edge.
Its how you cut holes to recess a bolt head into metal.
Just find a counterbore with a 2mm pilot.
Also if you just cant find one, second best option would be to buy a countersink
They sell them pretty cheap with handles
It wouldnt do the illusion as well, but it would still work.
There's a really cheap plot of land in an annual flood zone near me, and I'm in that stage of wondering, "how hard can it really be to build a house that could handle this?" Do any of you know of good resources for this? Is this just a stupid idea? There are homes nearby, so people do it, but maybe they're all as stupid as me and didn't have PrepHole to save them
Build it on pilings, If you make it tall enough you can park under it.
What is a good resource to get the gist on solar panel installation? I'm only wanting to read about it so I'm better equipped when I hire a company out here to do it. Also since thats not really DIY enough, whats a good starter youtube channel and/or books about carpentry. I purchased some land and wanted to build a cabin on it so I can start working on the soil there and prep a market garden. Thanks for your time.As another side note I already checked the deed and city ordinance I can build a cabin on it in case thats important.
will my weight bench kill me?
>built with Ridgid, the only power tool brand that stands behind their product with a Lifetime Service Agreement
Nah, you should be fine.
thanks Fred Pond
With the amount of weight you likely lift, you'll be fine
🙁
He means your house is very well built.
People always taking internet comments the wrong way, smdh. The internet is friendly and full of compliments, especially on PrepHole, but they don’t always translate so well in text.
What is this plastic dryer piece called?
?t=89
I lost mine and need it to keep the dryer in place.
Drill down to the diagram on the ereplacementparts website and find it there. Order from wherever you like.
checked my model and other similar ones, none of them list the part. But thank you I didn't know that site existed.
Mah bro. Spreading the word!
…and another convert.
I had to order off a different place yesterday. Ereplacementparts didn’t have much for my GE washing machine, but I eventually found the part # and went on Amazon and ordered one of the first OEM versions that looked correct from some third party seller.
I ordered it yesterday morning, was supposed to be like 3-4 days, and shit was at my house around noon today. It wasn’t even Prime, but I found out the third party seller is like a 30min drive away from here. I’m definitely going through them if they have the part next time.
What do you do when you need to get in your tool cart but there’s some fat ass pussy in the way?
I hide your post and then move my laptop off my toolcart
Ahhh so you were watching porn on your laptop. I get it.
Get the laser pointer. Aim it at the floor. Turn it on and wiggle it. Keep wiggling until pussy is busy entertaining itself. Or be a real man and help that pussy get off! Either one should free up your tool cart. Cats, man. Cats.
I have pic related and drive the fatass crazy with it sometimes
are you supposed to like the smell of lime
It reminds me of mexican restaurants, so I like it
I want to install a kitchen faucet in my bathroom so I can enjoy a nice long spout length. My sink is huge and a 4 inch spout is not enough room to comfortably wash my hands. I can't find a bathroom faucet with a spout longer than 4 inches.
What should I look for in a faucet? Can I use a wider base than the one I have now?
>Current faucet/sink setup
3 holes, only 2 being used
6 inch base
4 inch spout (I want a 6-8 inch!)
Deck mount, ceramic sink
>Faucets I am considering
Kingston Brass KB272 Magellan
Kingston Brass KB751 Magellan
Pic related: one of the faucets I am considering, without the sprayer of course.
Whore. Is 4 inches not enough for you?
Is that slight gap on the right side a problem?
that's for stripping wire insulation
It's visegrips
No its not a problem for visegrips, you are going to rip the teeth to pieces anyways.
They arent riveted pliers with precision ground teeth, it looks like when they were hand grinding the faces they went a bit too far
Should I buy a standard socket set and impacts only as I need them or just bite the bullet and get a set of impact sockets? This is for regular house and auto diy work.
if you have the money just get a set. having to go out and get the one socket you need mid project can be really annoying
3/8ths at least for what I'm working on at the moment. Fitment may be tight (spark plugs) so I'll opt for a regular set with some deep sockets I think. Thanks much.
Yea for 3/8” drive, go regular for sure. Even if you had a 3/8” impact wrench or were using them with an impact driver and adapter, I would say go chrome for DIYer work. Plus a lot of chrome 3/8” drive socket sets come with one or two spark plug sockets.
What size impact sockets?
You don’t really need impact sockets for 1/4” and 3/8” drive. I have a set of 3/8” impact sockets and barely use them, never had an issue running chrome sockets on my stubby 3/8” gun.
Impact sockets are normally thicker and don’t always fit in tight spots. For 1/2” drive sockets, if you own a 1/2” impact wrench, you could probably get away with impact only and use them on hand tools, but I recommend getting a slightly better set. Like at least Gearwrench. The super cheap impact sockets are overly thick.
>impact sockets
I'd go for craftsman impacts. They're just as small as chrome, but stronger. Especially if you're using air or electric tools. I've broken chrome when just using a regular breaker bar. And I don't think they're too much more expensive.
Buy tools as you need them. Just get a standard socket set and be done.
You literally arent going to use them. Outside of lug nuts and heavy suspension work, you cant even use the impact on your vehicle, and you will never need them for home.
Spend your money wisely
i have the same question but for pipe die
i only need 3/8 and won't need the rest
Always buy tap and dies in singles.
what about the goddam thing that holds it
What about it?
They sell die stocks by themselves too anon.
a whole set with 3 dies seems cheaper
i don't wanna buy it though
no, buy the set then replace them as you use them/fuck them up
the organized case is worth it and for thwe sizes you use like once ever it's not worth paying allah cart
>buys large cheap shitty tap set
>will use maybe 2-3 of the most popular size in your lifetime
>pays the equivalent of like 17 cents a tap but is surprised when it breaks and damages or even scraps the part you were making
You sure will be glad you have all those other taps like the 7/16-20" sitting around as you suddenly have to deal with a broken tap, which is hardened steel embedded in your unhardened project.
Walmart impact sockets high end wrench
is there anything that you can think of that i might be able to salvage 2" OD 1/8" wall aluminum tube from? Looking to get about 8 inches of it.
When you are salveding and scrapping for material, you build your project around what you can find. Not finding a specific size
What is it asking me to do here? To melt the plastic so that it creates a ball or T shape on the 'rod' preventing the hatch from being to removed from the chasis?
building m48a2 patton tank, if it matters
sounds like that, yes
something like a soldering iron might be a good tool for it, just poke the middle so the pin flares out
just do it quickly, once it starts to melt take the heat away right away - you don't want the pin to melt, you just want it to soften and flare out a bit
you can always go back and add more heat if you need to, but it should be pretty quick
whats the difference between socket wrenches and tubular wrenches?
Socket wrench usually refers to a ratcheting wrench
Tubular wrenches are stationary, not that you couldn't rig up a ratchet to work with tubular wrenches
In general
A "socket wrench" consists of a "Ratchet" with removable "sockets".
As opposed to a regular "wrench" which is your normal stationary combination wrench.
When I hear of tubular wrenches, what comes to my head are steel tubes that are stamped into a hexagon and rotated with a little bar.
Popular for plumbing, and comes with small engines to remove sparkplugs
can you work on a car and motorcycle with a set of this
or better to just buy a auto specific socket wrench set
The one anon posted a pic of? That 5pc set? No. Those are specific plumbing sizes and aren’t going to be used for anything on a car. You want a real socket set with ratchets and preferably a few different ratchet drive sizes and metric + sae if you want a “do it all” set
more of a 9 set 6mm to 22mm
You can get a socket set or general tool set at any auto store or big box hardware store for $30. I have one in the trunck for emergencies. The good tools stay at home - but if you're just getting started, you're who they're aimed at.
Fucking plastic lid got knocked loose or something in the dishwasher, fell on the element and burned there. Made the kitchen smell like toxic smoke. Aired out the apartment. I don't see anything on the element, what should I do? Can I just keep using it? Do I have to scrub it with something?
How do I thread twine through bamboo consistently? Managed it once out of pure luck and have to repeat it five more times before I can make wind chimes. I've been cutting the ends into sharp lines, wetting it and tying it to various things but either I only get one thread through or it never makes it through the bamboo at all, this is fucking bullshit
Take a thin piece of wire and bend it in half, stick the loop through the hole. Put your twine in the loop and pull it through with the wire.
I want to make a hidden door for my weapon room in pic related, with bookshelves in front. (The type shown is just for illustration, I'll make my own)
But, how do I hide it when the door goes outwards as in pic related? The angle of the outgoing shelf/door combo would fuck with the bookshelf next to it, making it too obvious.
I can't change it to go inwards since the room is tiny enough from before. I've seen tons of hidden rooms behind bookshelves, but those usually have been recessed and go inwards into the room.
The door used is a steel door with a certification "NS 3170 class 3" if that is somehow necessary information.
it would be easier to just use 1 bookshelf that you could push out of the way. put a carpet under it so people can't see the marks on the floor from the shelf being moved. honestly a pretty bad idea though because if (for example) someone breaks into your house you'd want a simple gun cabinet with a lock instead of a fucking hidden gun dungeon.
> If someone breaks into your house you'd want a simple gun cabinet with a lock instead of a fucking hidden gun dungeon.
> mfw
Aha, that's where the charm is my friend! I ain't American, so if someone breaks in, you STILL aren't allowed to use guns to remove them from your property. You have a ""duty"" to get yourself removed from the situation i.e. break-in before even attempting to fight back.
> That's retarded
Yeah but that's how it is here (Norway).
But thanks for the idea, was too railroaded on the idea so didn't think there was any other option, cheers.
Put hinges on top of bookcase instead. Opens like the trunk/boot of a car. Gas struts to keep it open for access to doorway. Also chamfer bottom back legs of bookcase to give you the proper clearance to open in that fashion
Make the moveable book case first hiding all hardware
Then copy it for the others. You might need to elevate them, you might need to add some trim at the bottom that overlaps the stationary shelves and has an insert magnet. Just build the moving one first and you'll be able to figure the rest out
I am trying to come up with a way of mounting several thin client PCs together. Preferably without a big noticable contraption.
The PCs have a 100mm x 100mm vesa mount on both sides each. I think it should be possible to connect them by using something like a double ended m4 screw which has an actual screw on one side and some sort of m4 sized friction fit or plastic clip on the other side.
That way I could screw 4 of those into one of the PCs and just clip the next one to it.
My problem is, I have no idea if something like that exists and if it does, what I would google to find it.
Does anybody here have any idea what I could use? If you know of any type of "screwless m4 clip" please let me know.
I would like to avoid things like double sided tape.
Thank you!
Is this what you are looking for?
Keyhole standoffs with keyhole mounts?
Idk. I need to take a look at how they work.
I've looked it up. I think that could work but if possible I would like something that clips on and doesn't rely on gravity to stay in place.
I've been thinking of gluing something like pic related to the head of a normal m4 screw but I can't find anything in the right size.
You are trying to put a few thin client PCs into one PC case, correct? If so, why not try using hard drive mounting brackets or something like that: https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=hard+drive+mounting+bracket
Either way, I wouldn't clip them to each other. This puts stress on the PCs. The more PCs you stick together, the more stress it creates. You can break your PCs from it.
I want to attach the thin clients to each other to avoid needing a case/bracket/rack.
I am not concerned about putting stress on the screw holes. The holes are meant to mount the PCs in between a monitor stand and the monitor and look very sturdy.
Hard drive mounting brackets would be way too small for these thin clients.
I've seen screwless hard drive brackets before that utilise a metal pin that friction mounts into the hard drive's screw holes and feels very sturdy, but the screw holes on the thin clients are slightly bigger.
Threaded rods and nuts and washers/plates
But how do I screw the rods into one PC if the same movement screws it out of the other one?
I have come up with a somewhat janky solution now. I'm gonna try screwing little 90° wood connectors to the screw holes of the PCs.
That way I can screw the wood connectors together with nuts from the side without the PCs getting in the way.
If that ends up being wobbly, I will screw some metal brackets between 2 of them each so they can't rotate.
I want to cool soda cans quickly. I keep them in the fridge, but 2 degrees isn't cold enough, I like them at the point where ice is just starting to form in the drink.
I've been putting them in the freezer for about 25 minutes which works, but it's too slow. Ideally I'd want some kind of metal vessel I keep in the freezer that's as cold as shit, with maybe some alcohol in it that's at -20C, and then I just put the can inside and wait 5-10 minutes for the alcohol to sap all the heat out of it.
Any other ideas?
Get some dry ice and a foam cooler like everyone else does.
keep it in the fridge, and then when it's time to drink wrap it in a paper towel, wet it under the sink, shake off excess water, and put it in the freezer. It will cool down much quicker.
If you drink from a glass and not the can directly then also keep spare glasses in the freezer.
You can use compressed air upside down into a Tupperware to quick cool but why wouldn't you just turn the fridge temp all the way down???
You can supercool cans very quickly by submerging them in very icy water then dumping a couple cups of salt in the ice water and mixing a bit. Takes less than 5 minutes if I recall correctly. Mythbusters did a whole bit on it.
There's this (what other people may call) white trash neighborhood of my city where I've noticed that some of the houses on some streets are literally trailerhomes that seem to have had high quality skirting, usually vinyl or brick, placed around them, and I believe they've somehow been registered as actual houses.
How can I go about doing this too? I'd much rather buy a plot of land in this neighborhood and pay the money for a quality trailer home moved onto it and hooked to gas, electric and sewer. How much can I expect to pay for all this to be done? Where do I go about asking which streets I can and can't do this?
>Wait for property to come for sale with unlivable house/trailer on it
>Wait for trailer to come for sale that's adequate
>Have old house leveled or removed with utilities left in tact
>Put new home onto old utilities
>??????
Profit
If there are trailers in the area, its probably fine anywhere
Waiting for the land to come up for sale will be the big thing
The trailer will cost about the same regardless
Whether this is legal is entirely dependent on the specific municipality you live in. Some it's legal, others it's only legal temporarily with building permits, others it's illegal but unenforced, and others its just illegal and enforced.
Please contact someone to check on these laws before going through with the purchases. You don't want to get all set up and all of a sudden a new mayor gets voted in and cracks down on trailer homes.
I have a room I need to put new flooring in. Currently it has a floor made out of some kind weird wide wood boards(not hardwood, it's like pine or something) that used to have vinyl flooring on them.
Will be putting carpet over it. Are there additional layers that are normally put under the carpet in your experience? Fully carpeted rooms aren't super common in my country, and the only thing I see available in regular stores for carpet is basically thin textile insulation layer, but maybe I'm not looking correctly.
I can also get these large carpet tiles that are meant for commercial buildings, that are much thicker and have also a rubber(?) layer, I like the idea of having something thicker but the floor isn't super even so the edges of the tiles would probably stick up in places and look like shit(on an even floor these tiles look like one continuous surface).
The one carpet floor I have watched people remove was just one thin layer.
whats the best lubricant for a door lock and how do you lubricate it
WD40
Just spray it
wd40 is a meme but is entirely sufficient for a creaky door (and your hinge is probably full of dust and grit and shit anyway, which is the actual non-meme use case for wd40)
talking about lock anon when they run dry of lubricant they don't disengage the latch completely and keep it locked shut
Silicon spray, or lithium grease. Apply it by reading the instructions on the packaging. Neither are expensive, and you should have a tube or bottle around for general purposes.
this thing easily seep in through narrow spaces?
The only correct answer is powdered graphite.
What could I do with refrigerator water filters that I find at thrift stores for a few dollars? They're unused for $5 a pair and seem like a great deal considering the filters for a modern fridge are like $50 each.
I'd like to hook them up under my kitchen sink and have a small faucet of filtered water. The only issue is that the filters I find will have different fittings so I would need to adapt them.
Anybody know where I can look for fitting on these things?
>where to look for fittings?
My samsung fridge is goofy o-ring twist lock filters. Doen’t look like a common connector. Rip apart an old fridge or find cheap aftermarket components from ebay if you really want the connection.
Also the fridge filters are only overpriced at Home Depot and such. I got AmazonBasics filters on sale for a fraction of the price of even the cheaper HDX brand at Home Depot.
Damn, you got a lot of answers that aren’t really correct.
If you have a stuck lock you need to free up, WD and such can help. But you’re supposed to use a dry lubricant like graphite for locks. Typical oils will attract dust and dirt and gum up lock mechanisms.
Nah, the lithium grease in tubes is pretty thick. But there’s spray lithium if you want it.
So I've got to remove some material from a muzzle brake on a rifle to fit a bayonet.
>removing the brake is out of the question as it's been welded on and there's no threads on the barrel to install a correct flash hider
(rifle was made before the Assault Weapons Ban ended in 2004)
>pulling the barrel off and turning it to remove a uniform amount around the brake is out of the question
(HK rifle, barrel is not coming out easily like an AR or even FAL)
What's my best course of action for doing this with hand tools? Tracing on the brake in pencil the diameter of the opening on the bayonet's muzzle ring, then sanding by hand until it fits? I'd hate to get a lopsided circle around the end when I'm all said and done
>pic related
it's really close, just not entirely there, so I'm pretty sure some light filing and heavier grit sandpaper is gonna get the job done, next time I have the rifle and bayonet with me I'll take some measurements to figure out exactly how much needs to come off
>painted rifle actually holds the bayonet fine, black one is the problem child
Can the nozzle on a kerosene heater be fucked up without looking worn out? Mine looks great but sprays unevenly; it sprays away from the spark plug so it doesn't ignite well. A new nozzle is like $30. I've verified that the pump pressure is in spec and changed the spark plug and air filter. Getting sick of wasting my time on this old POS reddy heater.
Nevermind. The nozzle O-ring's probably fucked. But I'm still going for broke and throwing $50 in parts at this fucker one last time to try and get it going again.
Watch this video. Very informative.
Yeah love that guy. Literal voice of experience. Seen the video but for surs it's worth a re watch.
I would have run some seafoam through it
I got some sooty mold tree fungus in my eye. Anybody know if that's a big deal? I only noticed after it was a little irritated, and I got it out. It doesn't hurt or anything, but I did pull some goo out.
I would use cheap alcohol based eyedrops like Visine and ignore it.
Okay, thanks buddy. 🙂
What are some good hand tools brands I can get in the EU?
Trying to get socket/torque wrenches and stuff like that
So I bought these silicone liners for my air fryer, and they're pretty good, but they droop in the middle. Any idea for something I can use to clip them to the walls? Bear in mind the top surface gets pretty close to the heating element, and I don't want to put anything across the span of the pan because it'll get in the way. It also has to be removable quickly so I can take them out for washing.
Shipping container
Binder clips? They're all metal. Just keep an eye on if the chinese paint starts coming off.
Steel or aluminum u-channel cut to 2" long or whatever
Also, they sell plywood clips by the hurricane ties that might also work
Guys how can I make ecstasy at home?
Hi. Mr Fed. We totally didn't notice you glowing.
Am not a fed moron, I just want to get high and make some money
xD
Find a woman who will love you right
Love her back
Build a stable career
Start a family
Raise them to be good people
See them grow up and start families of their own
???????????
Profit
too bad i live in thirdworld shithole, if you don't know the right people you have to hustle in any way you can, or be lucky (i have master degree in socio and data bases) and it sucks ass, i work as a cashier at super market, even this i struggled to get it, sorry for venting
we don't have any of that here
we don't have meth in this bitch we have hashish, alchool, extacy and pregabalin(other shitty pills). thats all
////
give me the fourmla niggz, i wana know if i can make it at home or not
Its 2023
You just press meth and fent into a pill can call it X
SAD!
better to make shake and bake meth in a gatoraid bottle
how do I cut a 15mm glass sheet? can I use one of this?
I must add that I just want to trash the glass. It just doesn't fit in the elevator.
why not just bash it with your big stupid fucking head?
wtf it worked
https://webmshare.com/play/8KqEe (sound on)
Washer now making this noise while it agitates/oscillates (but it spins fine) for no reason when I got up this AM. Hasn't been used in a few days, but it was fine then.
I wash most of my stuff by hand, so just gonna keep using it until it dies, but thought someone might recognize the weirdass noise as some specific bad bearing or whatever.
Open it up and see where it’s coming from. Your chud clip won’t load on my phone anyway. I just had some gay shit happen to my washing machine last weekend, wife’s panties were wrapped around the motor. Once you open up those appliances, it’s pretty easy to take a look at stuff.
Coming from the front-right side about halfway up. Popped the agitator and stuff out already to look, but it doesn't make any noise when I just turn or jog it with my hands. Can't run it with the panel off (or get the door open) so there's no way to look while it's happening, only when it's stationary. I did look for coins and linens and shit but couldn't see anything
Got no idea about the problem with webm at that URL though. WOMM and has sound. I can try another host when I get back to my desk
I need to replace an electrical socket and I don't have a voltage tester. What's the safest way to test the wires before I touch them?
Touching them won't hurt you (at least in the US 120v range) it's just a slight tingle. Simply touch both with the same hand, without them touching each other.
Or get a plug in nite-lite, etc and touch its plug leads onto the two wires without touching them together. It will light up (check both ways) if they're OK
What options do I have for affordable workbenches <$200AUD that won't collapse or slide all over the floor? Would getting a plastic workbench be a moronic idea given I'm planning on using an angle grinder to cut out steel blanks?
Build one with wood?
Plastic sounds horrible. Not even the sparks from grinding, but you get a hot end of something you just cut or a hot drill bit, even some hot screws after an impact driver ripped them out could fuck that up.
Depends on the kind of plastic as well, but workbenches are supposed to be wood so you can sacrafice them when needed and replace the top, or some thicker stainless steel which will be out of your price range.
I like what other anon said. If you touch the two wires together real quick, they will trip the breaker if you didn’t flip off the right one.
But honestly, NCV is like $10 or more like $5 at Harbor Freight, and tons of affordable multimeters have them built in. It’s worth the investment if you’re going to be messing with electrical stuff
>Build one with wood?
There are about a million and one guides for how to do this online and most seem to use power tools to cut up planks, plus hardwood timber is extremely expensive in Australia, so I was looking at getting a pre built and then bracing it with something - though going pre built on a budget means either plastic (very easy to melt) or cheap plywood (short lifespan). I may try to scavenge a table from somewhere as another anon suggested
Do 2x4’s and cheap plywood. That’s what I have, especially because pandemic plywood got so expensive, I have OSB. But the workbench surface is going to be fucked up in time anyway, so if you build a basic 1/2 sheet of pluwood bench, you can rip the top off and throw a new one down when you accidentally send too many drill bits through it.
Drive around and look for someone throwing out a dining room table - Stop and pick it up.
Pre-made workbench - May need to reinforce the legs depending on the construction material.
sawhorses and a thicc sheet of plywood or an old door
For reasons I live in a room like in the parasite movie, I'm trying to figure how to prep for when the rain season comes and water comes to my room, water will rise up to 2ft.
Sump pump at the lowest point and sand bags across the side the water comes from
I have a washer that drains into a laundry tub that drains into the sump pump that drains into the sewer. My house wasn't built with a space for a washer or dryer. The only idea I have is putting a washer where my dishwasher is, draining into the disposal, and just hang drying my shit.
How do I unfuckulate this.
I need a file to sand down 1-2mm nubs on the edge of sheets of brass and stainless steel about 0.1-0.2 mm thick
Do I go metal or diamond?
I'm thinking maybe diamond would be better at sanding them down without deforming the rest?
You never need diamond unless you are filing hard tempered steel or carbide.
Alright cheers for that
be honest PrepHole if the draft on your woodstove suddenly went fucky and stopped working properly would you have any idea how to fix it?
I would google it, because its 2023 and you can google literally anything.
Nobody was born with innate woodstove knowledge
it's literally just fire in a metal box lol
any gardeners here?
are raised beds worth it?
Even using cheap materials, to cultivate my tiny back yard completely would cost thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, my soil is shitty clay with few nutrients, so in-ground will probably not go too well. What do? Cover crop for years before growing?
Raised beds don't have to be expensive, I turned the wooden box for a cabinet on its side and am using it to grow watermelons
I am against raised beds
I do see that some people could like them but I plan to never use one
I think it would just be an inconvenience anytime I was doing any gardening
put large amounts of wood chips deep into your dirt
You're overhtinking it. Sand or crushed glass (aka "recycled sand") fixes drainage. Wood chips retains moisture. Use softwood from non-evergreens people want to throw away. Wood ash and composted food scraps can fix minerals and nutrients. Keep it simple. You don't need a million pre mixed chemical "answers" when nature has everything already there.
Start with a smaller plot and work your way out. You don't need to do the entire yard at once. Dig the clay up, mix in your fixi'ns, then put it back. A foot or two is as deep as you really need for basically anything that isn't a tree to grow. Also, don't over-water. Water only when needed.
Is it worth it starting my own mobile tyre fitting business in my town since there is only a few around?
i just cut myself deep
bleeding stopped already, but the wound doesnt stay closed by itself
is ordinary superglue legit to keep the flesh alígned?
Sure, itll trap whatever trash you have deep down in your wound.
Flush with water, soak with alcohol, seal with butterfly bandages and cover with gauze
used this bandage to tension both end together.
it was clean cut from a clean piece of steel
>clean piece of steel
Well thats pretty convenient, pulling steel right out of the autoclave before cutting yourself with it.
If the area becomes red, warm, or swollen go to a doctor asap.
People in the US live for centuries in hurricane hazard areas. Yet their cardboard houses get destroyed every single time when hurricane comes.
Why don't they build one properly on piles (if area is flooding) and out of better materials? I can never understand by myself as a EU citizen.
What are you talking about?
Florida is all reinforced concrete block houses
The big puzzler is the people in Oklahoma that get their shit rekt by tornadoes every other year and rebuild the the same every time
Yeah hurricane prone areas don’t build like that. Pic related, my hurricane zone house is cinder block and concrete and shit.
Also when a hurricane or tornado hits, the new choppers love to fly over mobile home parks. That’s what gets rekt during a bad storm. South Florida has a handful of mobile home parks, but half of them are 55+ where Canadians come for the winter and the other half are trashy people, so nobody really cares. And it’s like 1% or less of properties in developed areas.
>casually flaunts his ryobi tools and douchey kids bike
So jelly
Here’s another pic of the brick wall
As someone who grew up in Iowa, it doesn't matter what you build your house out of, if it's above grade, a tornado will tear it apart. I've seen banks and gov't buildings built out of "Proper Brick" like you gay yuros seem to fuck their ass to get wrecked by E3s, and "Stick and paper" houses have an E5 just barely miss them and the worst damage is some siding and shingles.
Brick buildings are stupid expensive and they're gonna get fucked up anyways if they get hit, so why spend the money?
This is bullshit, no wind can destroy properly built stone wall. It can be destroyed by a flying car, but it's a rare occasion. You just lie to yourself my bro.
You gay yuros/coasties drastically underestimate the damage a tornado does. The winds on even a cat 5 hurricane pale compared to most tornadoes, the only difference is the scale. Hurricanes have a storm front tens of miles across, but relatively minor winds. A tornado is a scalpel of doom weaving across the landscape like a beveraged driver through a free range kindergarten class.
The odds of getting hit directly enough to tear your house off it's foundation is low enough that it's not worth spending 10x as much for a brick house that *might* survive better. Key word, *might*, because I literally saw a bank, built from fucking dolomite blocks in 1892, get flattened by a tornado.
>built from fucking dolomite blocks in 1892
That is why you use modern materials according to modern building codes my friend. It's written there how the bricks have to be reinforced, how the corners of the walls have to be reinforced, and how the top of a brick wall has to be belted down. All the destruction photos you may find on the internet will be because some of reinforcement is missing.
Every nation builds their houses according to their local needs. Even in fucking Sahara desert. It seems it's not the case in some of the places in the US though. And it is odd.
Often the best way to adapt to local needs is to accept that houses are not permanent fixtures. Have you seen Japan's turnover rate?
>hurr durr acktually you gotta do it *this* way bro
>no bro, I'm not moving goalposts, *you're* moving goal posts. Shut up
TRAMPOLINE
I have a big trampoline in the yard left here by the previous homeowners. Any serious ideas what can I do with it?
I mean as parts. like, the safety netting, the metal framework, the bouncing surface
any ideas what i could do with these various parts and materials?
I had one that I could barely give away.
I am almost a hoarder and even I couldn't justify keeping or repurposing anything.
Could be more creative folks on here, but when it came to that frame and springs, nothing came to me.
inb4 make it into a house
inb4 store crab meat under it
inb4 put it in that hole you are digging to china
inb4 3d print crap (enjoy your figurines)
inb4 shot of black
inb4 battery or corded
inb4 cnc machining (like you have one in your shed)
inb4 tradie vs burger flipper
inb4 arduino, raspberry pi, and microcontollers
Somebody get me an aspirin
I thought I could use the safety netting to catch wild animals,
i could use the trampoline surface fabric to make a batman cape or some other type of article of clothing, or a tent or a gear bag
If it's in good condition, play on it. Trampolines are great exercise. If not...
> Safety Netting
Fence netting. Also can be used as safety netting on scaffolding or other places where you don't want to lose things or fall.
> Supports/steel
Slag it, weld it, make things out of it. It's metal.
>springs
Can be used in upholstry (the space under the cushions is springs covered in fabrics). Or just slag it with the frame.
>Jumping surface
This thing is tough and stretchy. It makes a great tarp for strapping things down. It's more durable and stretchy than most anything else on the market so metal and sticks probably won't poke through! It's not really waterproof, so cover the "tarp" with a waterproof outer layer if you leave it outside.
If you drill a hole in the insulation it won't be vacuum sealed any more. You are destroying half the insulation by doing this. And anything when it freezes will change in volume, which means putting alcohol inside and freezing it can wreck your container. Just use freezer itself for rapid cooling.
Use basic casting techniques (tinker's dam should be fine here). Or find a similar sized key blank and use that key as a template. Trace old key onto new one, cut to size.
>You are destroying half the insulation by doing this. And anything when it freezes will change in volume, which means putting alcohol inside and freezing it can wreck your container.
I don't need the insulation. I'm converting it to a supercooler.
As for freezing, that's the whole point of using alcohol. 99% won't freeze until it hits -100C, and my freezer doesn't get colder than -20. So no expansion, no explosion.
The problem with this is that it's a lot of hassle. If I was cooling a lot of cans at once, sure. But I just want to cool a single can in under 10 minutes from an already chilled state to the point at which ice is just starting to form inside.
>basic casting techniques (tinker's dam should be fine here
What's that?
>Or find a similar sized key blank
If I did I can bring it to the nearest locksmith.
Most of the locks are old, so it should click without much.
>what's that
https://www.google.com
>Use basic casting techniques
Can I use something like play dough as a mold and electrical solder as a cast?
>Can I use something like play dough as a mold and electrical solder as a cast?
Two problems with this. Anything with a low enough melting point to be able to be cast with play dough won't be strong enough to be used as a key. And anything strong enough to actually be used as a key has a melting point high enough to burn play dough.
Just get some casting sand, a small box, a crucible, blow torch, and tongs. Also welding gloves and a mask, just to be safe, because melted metal on skin will eat through your flesh. This will have a start up cost of at least $100, but once you have the parts they are all reusable. You can make ANYTHING from there on out!
>How to cast metal, normal people style
Collect drink cans
Put the cans on a cinder block.
Go outside. Gear up.
Hit the cans with your blow torch until glowing hot. This destroys paint and linings.
Rinse the cans and let them dry.
While the cans are drying, get a small box. I like old baking pans for small casts. A steel muffin or tart tin should be enough to cast a key.
Fill the box with casting sand. Wet the sand.
Use something like a spoon or a small mallet to smack the sand flat to kill any air bubbles.
Add more wet sand if needed.
Take your key. Press it firmly into the wet sand.
Carefully remove the key.
Break your dry food cans into pieces.
Put the pieces into the crucible.
Gear up.
Put the crucible on your cinder block
Hit it with the blow torch until the metal melts.
Add more cans until you have more than enough metal to make a key.
Pour the top of the metal off either onto the ground or into a metal box you don't care about. It's "slag" containing charred paint bits and other debris.
Pour the clean metal underneath into your mold.
Pour any remaining metal into either a hole in the dirt to make a quick ingot or a second sand box prepared to make ingots.
Wait a day for the key to cool.
Take the key out of the box. Cut away any bits that don't belong. Polish if desired.
Done!
Almost forgot: do your research on melting points when picking your metals and materials. You can pour lower melt point metals into higher melt/flash point molds. But pouring anything high melt point into low melt point will destroy the mold. Some items have flash points, not melt points. Flash point = this thing is now on FIRE. Never go near the flash point during casting. Sometimes flash points are ballparks like on silicon molds. A burned mold is a nasty surprise.
I suggested drink cans for the key because drink cans are aluminum. Aluminum is durable and has a melt point of about 1220F. Steel pans have a melting point of 2600F or higher. You can safely pour melted aluminum into steel. Steel pans are easy to find secondhand and very cheap. They can be a little dented or rusty and still work great!
Anything with a low enough melting point to be able to be cast with play dough won't be strong enough to be used as a key
But It can be used as something to make the pins fall in their slots, and use something stronger for turning, no?
Not necessarily. You could damage the lock if part of it breaks off in the process. The lock is old: do you really want to risk jamming it? Also, if you are already lifting pins and using a turner, just pick the lock. You're half way there already.
If smelting and casting is too hard, just use the "trace and cut" method I mentioned before. Buy a modern key blank, trade your old key onto it, then cut and sand the key blank into a new key. It's how lock smiths used to make keys before machines were a thing. If the key blank is too thick, sand the key blank down. A decent Dremel should be able to cut a key blank. Again, a small upfront cost for a tool that you can use forever. Don't use cheap Chinese crap as it won't have the power to cut the key. Drop the $100 and get something real. Or borrow it from someone else.
this pipe nipple is rotted and needs to be replaced. it goes to a galvanized t joint. it's not threaded on this side. i don't have pliers to test, but is it threaded on the other end? i would rather replace this one bit than all of it right now.
I have this hamster glass box thing. I got it for free since it has a small crack on the side. Is there a way to repair this? Does the glue in those chinese videos work?
Also, I want to glue some aluminum 90° profiles to the corners to make it sturdier. What glue should I use?
You want a window repair liquid/gel like the one RainX sells for cars for the crack
Corners you want an epoxy, not a glue. one-part epoxy is probably fine (don't need a super strong 2-part because the rest would break first)
I'd like to build a suit of armor (stupid, I know) and was wondering which would be better for distributing blunt trauma: a hard outer layer with a gradient of increasingly softer inner layers, or multiple alternating layers of soft and rigid materials.
Traditionally, with ballistic armor at least, you've got a hard layer to break up projectiles and a ballistic weave behind to catch the fragments/spalling
Yeah, that's the typical way of doing things, but I'm thinking more about blunt force trauma, rather than penetration.
Look at both hardhats and modern military helmets. Both use a a rigid outer layer that "floats" off the head using straps. When something heavy hits the hat, there's room for the hat to dent inwards without caving in your skull (worse case scenario) but also room for the straps to act as springs and absorb some of the impact. I believe football shoulder pads work in a similar away if you want an example of bodyarmor using this approach.
Hard outer layers have proven ideal throughout history since it protects all the soft absorption materials inside from damage. The thinner your outer layer of material the more gap you want between it and you for when it dents inwards. The only time I can think of using alternating layers is when knights would wear heavy plate armor but then also a layer of chainmail underneath to protect joints.
Right, but that's only working with 2 layers., where the outer layer is not supposed to deform at all due to impact and the inner layer is supposed to compress and distribute the force of the impact over a larger surface area. But what I'm asking is what would be better if 4 or 5 layers were used instead of just 2. Would it be best to put more intermediate layers between the outer and inner layers, or make essentially just put another helmet around the first one?
I was reading that using robots as brick layers is pretty shit, mostly because mortar is a non newtonian fluid, so it makes it hard for a robot. I'm wondering why they don't just make bricks that slot onto each other with holes for the mortar. Does shooting out mortar like it's cream filling just not work, or is it that nobody wants to make custom bricks?
who needs a brick layer bot when this thing will hit the market soon.
seen it in action, more accurate than a Pole doing the formwork
It's pretty limited by the fact that you can't do steel reinforcement without a ton of extra effort, and sharp corners aren't really feasible. Inflatable formwork using dropstitched shapes does a better job of dealing with the second problem, but is less capable of adapting to a variety of building requirements. Automating construction is hard.
no
steel reinforcement gets placed every 5 layers
walls are straight and sharp, unlike the other carthesian systems. They have perfected the printing. wish i had taken some photos, seems to still hold a tight lip
I hear squirrels in my attic. I can't figure out where they're coming in from. Can I just set a trap to get rid of them? I figure it's probably a couple that know where the entry is and if I get rid of them it's unlikely or will be a while before any others figure it out
>I can't figure out where they're coming in from.
Cut back all the branches so they can't get on your roof.
Anyone have plans for a co-axial or lever escapement? Want to try my hand at making clocks, but need a good set of plans to start from for the escapement
I've been considering the best way to cool a can.
They sell these double wall can holders that are meant to insulate your drink because they're double wall vacuum insulated. I've got the idea to buy one, ideally one of the bigger ones, and then drill a hole near the top I can put a rubber stopper in or something, then fill the thing with rubbing alcohol and put it in the freezer, making a can shaped ice pack with high thermal efficiency.
The steel "insulator" should then get down to be essentially -20C, and then I can drop a can inside and get it to chill my drink fairly well, although I'm unsure as to how well. I estimate one of these vacuum chambers to hold maybe 50ml at best, and the can is 330ml. I only need it to get to -1C or so as fast as possible, so maybe it'll work out.
Any ideas for what to fill the hole with, and what is the best of these can holders in terms of dimensions for extra alcohol?
How to make a copy of this model of key?
No locksmith has the same key.
Most of the locks are old, but still functioning.
>No locksmith has the same key.
Maybe not the ASSA branded ones, no. But there should be several brands that have keys with the same profile, just different branding. If it's an obscure profile, ask on locksmith forums for identification and available equivalents
You can buy blank ASSA's on Amazon. Just bring it to whoever is gonna cut it.
i brought some cheap tools but once opened the package Ive notice that the rubber/soft plastic handles stink of a weird chemical stain, I've had them air out for two days and while the most of the stink has gone away there is still some left on the tools (also, the smell "sticks" for a while to the hands when holding them).
What would be the best way to remove the smell?
>What would be the best way to remove the smell?
Time. Barring that, put them in a vacuum chamber.
What are the limitations of CNC?
Lets say I wanted to start a business carving little 1-3 inch figures out of wood, is there a CNC machine out there that could get as much detail possible out of the wood?
If I have to machine a metal part what are the factors that go into deciding whether I CNC it or machine it manually? Is CNCing as simple as making a design in some design software and then putting it on the CNC machine?
I was recently watching a documentary about a recorder making factory and the guy was talking about his in-house made metal reamers, he had drawers full of them
Could he have just made them himself in CNC assuming he had access?
Only real limitation is cost. We use machines that are dead simple to program whatever you want, but they cost $150k. That's only wood and plastic, though, if you want to do metal or glass you're going even higher. I'm not familiar with what a consumer grade option would look like
Home CNC tends to be 3 Axis stuff. You won't be able to do under-cuts very easily. Detail resolution will also depend on machine accuracy and tool size.
How do you think the metal rim pieces in pic related were made? It looks the same on the back side. If they were straight I could just bend some sheet metal, but they are curved around the circumference.
hello mod, less important request but can you change this sticky links
https://sites.google.com/site/diyelmo/
I can't log in without a google account, even after logging in I found the website deleted
can you change it or maybe have the archive?
why does my sparkplug wont spark if batteries are dead? I thought ignition coil gets its power from stator not batteries.
are you jump starting it or what?
What's the best way to fix a slow leak? Preferably some kind of sealant?
I recently installed a bidet, and there's an extremely slow drip of water where the water splitter thing attaches to the cistern. I used ALL of the included plumber's tape, and it hasn't ceased. Due to positioning and whatnot, unscrewing and rescrewing that attachment is an absolute pain in the ass and I'm sick of doing it; I don't want to buy yet more plumber's tape and go through all that hassle again just to see if it MIGHT fix it.
Surely there must be some kind of paste or sealant designed for filling cracks and stopping an active leak in a permanent fashion? The caulk I have available wants the surface to be completely dry for over 18 hours, which would mean shutting off the water to that toilet for over eighteen hours, which would mean being unable to use that toilet for an entire day, which would suck, as it's the one we use the most often.
I'm okay with a sealant that could only be removed destructively. This is going to be a permanent fixture.
Sticky's google link doesn't work, am i just retarded or something?
what is the best way to reliable waterproof sinkholes such as this one? Can clay be used or is concrete needed?
is that a sinkhole or a fuckin caldera?
sinkhole. They're extremely common in Croatia
OK, my DIY repair project is done, but I'm having a bit of a problem now.
My grandmother dropped the an ornate 30x20" frame that housed an oil painting my great grandfather made, and I'm trying to ship it back to her instead of drive 6 hours each way. The local post office quoted me $219 as the cheapest option though!! I see people selling and shipping similarly sized items on Etsy for well under $100, sometimes under $50.
If anyone has shipped larger items they've made, is there some sort of secret I'm missing or is my local post office just screwing me? (USPS is the only thing in my town, it's a 45 minute drive to a UPS/FedEx location)
take a weekend, drive to your grandmothers, and spend the whole time asking her about her life and childhood.
If I thought my car would make the trip, I would love to. She just moved in January and used to be just down the street from me so I saw her every day. That said I have enough trouble getting to work 15 miles away right now. I'm pretty sure I have it narrowed down to my fuel pump, but I can't swing $300 to throw at that right now either.
I'm just looking for shipping advice, man
Instead of buying this overpriced thing, can I just take a random 12v output adapter and solder on a micro usb cable?
Yes
I have a TV mount that needs to go into 1/2 inch thick plywood but the lag bolts that come with the kit are 2.5 inches long. If I used five 1/2 inch lag bolts on the mount would it be able to support the same load?
You need the bolts to be longer than the wood. 3/4 inch or better for 1/2 inch wood. I'd use an inch or longer to be safe. If you don't have bolts longer than the wood, the weight of the TV can pull the bolts out of the wall. Longer is better in this case as it's more room in case a bolt comes loose over time. Also use toggle bolts for extra support.
I want to hang up a curtain rod + curtains in my apt. The current curtain rod is one of the extending ones that stay in place with pressure. The problem is that this falls down sometimes, and more problematic is that there is a radiator below the window. I don't want to risk a fire as the radiator gets quite hot.
The thing is I don't know how to safely screw in curtain rod supports to the wall. I don't know anything about the walls in my apartment, how to find studs (if there are studs), etc. Its a very old and small apt building with 6 apartments in it. I think someone once mentioned its mostly concrete (?).
How can I find out how I to safely install curtain rods?
Just use command strips if you don't have a stud finder.
Learn about framing friend. You can get a pretty good idea for where to estimate where studs will be by knowing the basics. For example, chances are there’s a stud along the sides of windows and door frames. Also at 16” increments from the corner of the room is a good estimate for where there might be one.
Could I lift heavy/work at a desk in a shed like this for ~6-9 hours per day or would it fall apart pretty quickly? Would it get too cold in the winter even with a heater/too hot in the summer even with an ac unit?
to add on to this. if I wanted to eventually learn metallurgy what sort of structure would be best for a workshop within this sort of remote lift/work structure. may just design one and have a buddy help build it or just buy pre built not sure.
It's got no insulation, but other than that it's not significantly different from any normal building
Insulate it. If you insulate it, then it won't be too terrible to heat/cool and it will retain temperature. While you're at it, remember to also add in a toilet. If you're feeling brave, make it a Korean Style bathroom: toilet, floor drain, tiling on the walls and floor, and a shower head that doubles as your faucet. Wash your hands over the back of the toilet (no tank top).
Lots of people live and work in sheds like this. And around the time you need to take a leak in the middle of winter you'll be glad that bathroom is there. No running across the back yard while sweaty, either.
Which ones did you use? Also, have you tried a heat gun to melt the glue? Or perhaps an iron with the steam setting ON to try to moisten and get the glue to release?
Spent the morning sharpening a couple brand new axes and a mattock. Out of curiosity I grabbed a magnet and filtered the dust under the work space. Got a surprising amount of powdered metal. Is there anything I can use this for? Maybe for plant soil or I dunno, melting it into a ball or something?
Fireworks? I think steel burns gold.
any tips on removing those adhesive kitchen shelf lining? I tried some wallpaper remover, but that was useless. Even the ones I put on resently were nearly impossible to remove. I would never have used them had i known this.
Acetone (nail polish remover) or GooGone. Or heat, get a hair dryer and a scraper.
How do I find my motivation again. I just don't want to anymore anon. But it needs to get done
I want to buy planks of wood and have pic related cut into them
I do not have a workshop with the tools required and I'm going to need maybe 2-3 a year
Could I pay a store to do it for me?
Just buy a handheld router?
What's a good way to put in heat set inserts so they're lined up well with the hole? Thread a screw in and heat that instead?
Transfer screws. Center punch on the indent from the transfer screw. Can easily hit a couple thou repeatedly. If the parent material isn't threaded then transfer punch one hole, set insert, screw down, line up, repeat somewhere else and then you have basically made a jig to transfer punch the other insert hole locations.
I am using a fat tire electric bike to do my deliveries.
I had to replace the tires twice.
I need a way to protect these tires from popping and heard about slime sealnt, but I am not sure if this will be enough for me to drive through inner city and reach my customers without popping a tire every two weeks or so and be out of commission, out of money.
At least I need it to work until I have saved up enough money and paid off of my debt before I continue going full time into software development.
Pic related and a link to one of these bikes I am using, in case you need an idea what product I am using:
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005004509205685.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.21.7ad34bb6BpeYlr&algo_pvid=e7899558-ded7-4503-b593-e65547441c7d&algo_exp_id=e7899558-ded7-4503-b593-e65547441c7d-10&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000029697603903%22%7D&pdp_npi=3%40dis%21EUR%21976.0%21415.04%21%21%21%21%21%402100b88516782889357642356d06c2%2112000029697603903%21sea%21DE%210&curPageLogUid=LXSbY8YFwBGD
Do what the Asians do and cut up a hydraulic hose or high pressure air hose and line the inside of the tire with the hose. Then line the inside of the hose with leather or burlap to prevent chaffing the tube. Slime works in very specific situations and often punctures bigger than 2mm or ones that aren't perfectly round won't seal with slime.
Airless tires exist.
You ever try them? Curious what that rotating mass would feel like on a bicycle, especially with thise fat tires.
They are heavy, don't give the same way as a tire with air, and cost a lot more than a regular tire. Slime sealant sucks. I had a tire pop because of the slime! Instead you want tire protectors that go inside your wheels between the tire and inner tube. Those exist and tend to work pretty well. Or invest in pop-resistant tires, which are also a thing. Talk to people at a cycling shop for details. If the tires are fat enough, try a motorcycle shop instead of a bike shop.
If I paint my wood porch and then install patio carpet over that, that should mean I'll have to paint the porch less often right?
Carpet on porches is a terrible idea and you should feel bad about it. Ok, joking aside: it really is a bad idea.
>Carpet holds water
Water makes paint bubble, rots wood, encourages molding....
>Carpet holds dirt
Further damage to your wood and paint there. Also, it's harder to clean than sweeping your porch and some folks say it can never be 100% cleaned!
>Carpet can rub if not tacked down perfectly
Rubbing damages the wood and paint which makes everything above even worse.
>Carpet can mold and rot, too
You will need to replace the carpet more often than you think. It's a lot more expensive than paint.
Instead, pressure clean your porch to strip the old paint and all dirt. Paint the porch. Then add a sealant. Double coat the sealant just to be safe. This lasts a lot longer, protects the wood, and is easier to clean (just sweep it).
Patio carpet doesn't hold water. It's a different material designed for outdoors
what do i put in my drill press to put a 1/2 inch hole into a grade 8 bolt
how do i tap a 1/2 hole in a grade 8 bolt
>put a 1/2 inch hole into a grade 8 bolt
lmao. You anneal it first.
>how do i tap a 1/2 hole in a grade 8 bolt
With a hydraulic tapping/rolling machine or medium/large lathe w/ big inset tool made of ruby or diamond.
okay, same question but the worst grade 1 chinese bolt i can find
1/2inch carbide drillbit, and a carbide tap at whatever thread % and pitch you need.
probably some other smaller bits to work your way up
safety glasses
I want to call this bait, but its too fucking stupid to be bait.
aside from the fact you dont need to anneal medium carbon steel to drill, why would you anneal it in the first place if you had carbide. carbide is meant to drill through hardened high carbon steels in the first place so annealing would be redundant
Nta but you go ahead and try drilling 1/2 bore in hardened alloy steel with plain carbide, and see how far it gets before you need to sharpen it (or it shatters.). There is only one grade of steel bolt above 8, and frankly both are virtually-never worth the added cost. Even with a pilothole, that is a big surface area being chipped all at once, on a material with so much martensite inclusions it's basically metal with gemstone grit in it. Yeah carbide is harder as a bulk property, doesn't mean you can't destroy it with bulk-softer sandpaper...
t. shipboard machinist
>can't thread it and a 1/2 bolt will go through
We have these things called Tap Drill Chart... They used to be printed out on posters and hung on every shop wall, but now they're just our smartphone wallpapers instead. As I'm sure you're aware a "1/2 [inch?] bolt" isn't 1/2in diameter either (or even fixed) because the thread% could be anything from 10 to 90 (most commonly 30-70ish)
Annealing and then rehardening something the size of a bolt, on the other hand, can be done with a makeshift backyard forge and 5 gallon water bucket. It's done at ren faires all the time by neandertals with no machine tools at all
steel can be annealed, hardened, and even melted in a properly stoked campfire tbh, even the forge is unnecessary
>on a material with so much martensite inclusions
>t. shipboard machinist
Oh, now it makes sense.
You heard "grade 8" and not only assumed he had stainless bolts, but that it was REAL stainless, and the rarest and most expensive of the stainless groups, the martensitic stainless grades.
I like that. Sounds like youve got the critical thinking skills required to excel in this trade anon.
On I side note, I do find it hilarious you think standard tap and drill charts show any thread calculations other than 75% for cutting and 65% for form taps. Thats kind of their whole point, showing the NF and NC standards at their standard thread depths.
Hey anon, are you buying $28 bolts from a specialty Boat fastener store?
Or are you buying them at literally any other store?
We need to get to the bottom of this.
If you buy one at 99% of stores, you can drill it with any regular drill bit.
If you steal one from the coast guard, you may struggle
>tap and drill charts show any thread calculations other than 75% for cutting and 65% for form taps.
nta but they *absolutely* do. I've never dealt with stainless anything but I know you're not gonna put "75% for cutting" threads in (even mild) hard steel, and expect it to do anything but permanently seize once mated. I personally use 50% for steel but I know 65% is more common.
Threads can be rolled (btw, not 'form') OR cut to any % depending on design. Not only does it vary coarse v. fine, but also between materials. Some MechE decides how deep/high they need to be, then you look up that %column on the table for which drill to use. And if not, you use your brain and pick one based on the pitch and hardness.
>You heard "grade 8
grade 8 is grade 8, it doesn't spec composition but rather overall mechanical characteristics. Yeah, anything with that kind of tensile strength rating is gonna have plenty of martensite grit, stainless or no. If that's really like cutting butter with carbide, they'd be hardened first when manufactured (rather than cut then hardened), so the dimensional tolerance changes during tempering wouldn't be an issue.
BTW stainless carbon steel isn't sourced anymore in nautical applications b/c galvo with sacrificial anodes is way more cost effective and maintainable. Maybe that's not true everywhere. But if there's any stainless in a modern RN vessel it's only in the powertrain, not the hull or fasteners.
>nta but they *absolutely* do
Anon... you DO understand that NF and NC standards are built upon a 75% thread depth right?
When a drill and tap chart gives you a drill number, its to get you a 75% thread, as per the standard they were built off. Because thats the standard by which the cutting taps you bought are using too.
Thats literally the purpose of a standard tap and drill chart is
>Threads can be rolled (btw, not 'form')
This so called "machinist" has never heard of form tools, and doesnt know what thread forming taps are?
Color me surprised.
>they'd be hardened first when manufactured (rather than cut then hardened)
Thats not uncommon, it wholly depends on the application. Companies deal with dimensional changes because it doesnt matter and will save on tool life in the long run.
>Yeah, anything with that kind of tensile strength rating is gonna have plenty of martensite grit,
Only stainless alloys containing chromium after hardening have an appreciable amount of "martensite" grit when heat treated. Some stainless have up to 12% chromium, which is a large component of Carbide, which is why its hard on it.
Thats not normal, its not standard, and the fact you even brought it up shows how out of touch you are.
Nobody in a machine shop talks about "martensite" because its irrelevant outside of exotic steels.
A standard grade 8 bolt is medium carbon, doesnt contain chromium, and per the SAE J429 "grade 8" standard is 33-39HRC.
You know what else is a medium carbon steel thats ~33HRC?
4140 prehard/annealed
Yep, one of the most ubiquitous and commonly used metals in the machine shop is similar composition to a bog strandard grade 8 bolt, but when its ANNEALED, its the same exactly hardness.
You can drill 4140 with regular HSS when HARDENED to ~50HRC
Ive had a lot of stupid conversations before, but the level of dumb LARP in this one has been astounding.
I get it, you didnt think real machinists are on here.
Grade 8 bolts arent all that hard, you dont anneal them.
You can drill them with regular decent quality HSS drill bits, and you can tap them with regular high carbon taps.
You need to tell us exactly what you are doing.
I cant help you set it up if I dont even know what part of the bolt you are drilling.
And for instance, if you drill a 1/2" hole, you cant thread it and a 1/2" bolt will go through. If you want 1/2 threads, you need to drill a 27/64 drill bit.
I've been trying to figure out how to use cold to create light. There's no way to cool something until it emits light, the way there is to heat something until it glows, so I've settled for trying to use the temperature difference between a really cold surface and room temperature to run a thermoelectric cell that'll power LEDs.
Is there a way I can simplify the process to cut-out the middleman, and just use the temperature difference to generate visible light without generating electricity first?
No.
Just place a heat magnet on the reverse side
The LEDs will go on the hot side instead of on a heatsink. I don't know what magnets have to do with anything.
I have this electric bike that stayed a while outside under the rain with the battery still attached to it. I tried to charge it today but it doesn't even turn on anymore to show how much energy is left there. It's a big ass battery and I was wondering if there's even a chance to save it/fix it?
sorry guys i wont drill a hole in the bolt
stop fighting
Ive personally drilled and tapped a lot of grade 8 bolts, its not hard to do.
I have an old style fuse box with the screw in plug type fuses. There are three mystery fuses that are not labeled. I noticed some time ago that my electricity bill had jumped and that was because usage was up 2-3x (nothing in my apt in terms of appliances changed). Lets call the mystery fuses 1, 2 and 5. I know what 3, 4 and 6 do.
To try and diagnose what was happening I first removed all fuses, checked to see if the meter was increasing (it was not). Then I put in 1 and 2 for a couple of hours. Meter started increasing noticeably right away. Also noticed that they were very slightly warm to the touch which I think confirmed they were in use.
I then disconnected 1 and 2 and then connected the other stuff, and I will monitor to see what the deal is. I have some questions
>I am extremely paranoid and a retard and I think I notice I'm getting slight static shocks with random stuff (light switches, faucet) a bit more, at least I never noticed them before. They are barely perceptible and don't happen every time. Any change this is related to leaving fuses d/cd?
> Is it possible there are some major things connected to the 1 and 2 fuses that could result in a dangerous situation if they are left disconnected?
>Can I get some kind of device to *block* the screw in sockets for the fuse? Leaving them open to the air seems dangerous, one slip and a finger could slip in the socket and I guess that's game over. I guess I am basically just looking for a fuse that's already blown and cannot pass any electricity at all, but I cannot find such a thing to buy. There are screw-in mini-breakers available but none of them let you manually flip them, you can only reset them, and the will only break when they trip.
Hello friends, I am looking into doing my own raised garden bed, but I have never done any gardening nor had any plants my entire life. I am researching a lot but figured it'd be worth asking any advice from some of you as well. I'm in zone 6 Coeur d'alene ID. Was going to go with a galvanized metal 5" bed.
>I have never done any gardening nor had any plants my entire life
Start small. Get a flower pot. Keep it on your porch. Grow something simple like some scented geraniums. If you can keep those alive, then you can move on to an actual garden. It's better to try it out to see if you like it than the burn hundreds of bucks and find out you hate it.
Raised beds are only really needful for bad soil, by the way, and even bad soil can be fixed with a little effort. See this reply to some other guy who also wanted a raised bed...
Use a routing bit or an engraving bit to remove small bits in a small space.
Anyone know the name of these things in a UPVC door? It’s for the multipoint lock I want to get adjustable ones to make it close tighter
Interior driver side door handle stopped working in my 09 Nissan Versa. Popped open the door, and it looks like one of the cables running from the handle to the actuator has snapped. A quick google search indicates that this is a common problem. Unfortunately, Nissan only sells the full handle assembly for $250+ a pop, and there’s no fucking way I’m paying that for a part that failed as quickly as it did (very low mileage…assuming the handle hasn’t seen much use either).
Question is, how easy / feasible is it to replace the cable with one purchased aftermarket? They are significantly cheaper (by a factor of 10) then the assembly.
I have pic related European style central heating/water heater. Came with the house. Sticker says last serviced 2014.
Today it gave me an error code (04 flame detection error) and stopped working. I reset it, started up again, but now it gives ‘tiny gas explosions’ (like an audible but not very loud bang and then the cover vibrates a bit) whenever the heating goes on or when I run the hot water.
I’m kinda machine-savvy but never opened one of these before. Apparently there’s a spark plug that needs replacement every x year and I think that’s the problem. So now I wonder
- Is it likely the spark plug? Or could it be some other part that commonly wears out. Is there a straightforward way to diagnose it before I take it apart and order a spark plug?
- Any major difficulties I could have? I can change the spark plugs on a motorcycle, work on industrial machines for a living and did most of the plumbing for the house, but I never did anything that involves gas lines or home appliances before. Is it as easy as the manual makes it look?
how does one chemically strip the passivation layer left by evaporust without causing the steel to just corrode again?
>without causing the steel to just corrode again?
This is precisely what flux is for.
did you even read the post?
I need to repetitively cut a rut in a very tiny space,. Do they make Dremel wheels at 1/4 diameter?
Any other solutions for grinding out that notch on countless replicas?
my 70's caravan, which is up on blocks, is leaky as fuck
it's never going back on the road
if I put a tarp over the top and cover the tarp in bitumen paint will that keep my caravan dry?
Seems to me you'd be better off with bitumen straight on the roof. Tarps don't last long out in the sun.
Why not repair the roof? https://www.outdoorsy.com/blog/diy-rv-roof-repair
You can also just replace the roof.
As I understand it, door frames typically have doubled-up studs, so even if there's an electrical switch next to the door I'm always safe to drill within 3" of the inside of the frame and will not hit any wires, correct?
>door frames typically have doubled-up studs
No.
>I'm always safe to drill
Also, no.
Forgot to mention it's an exterior door. Is pic related not typical?
How old is your house? Do you trust the builder? I've often seen a bit of space between the studs (king and jack in your diagram.) And again, locate the wire from your switch. Don't just guess and pray.
Ahh, that makes sense, will do. Thanks for the sanity check
I'm building a small electronics project that will live in a car. Not permanently wired to the battery, but still inside. Normally I'd hot glue all the shit in a project box, but cars get hot in the sun and will melt the glue. I could use epoxy, but that would prevent any repairs or changes.
What glue or something can I use to seal any input/output holes and to keep the board in place?
> What glue or something can I use to seal any input/output holes and to keep the board in place?
Cable glands, you won’t regret it
Massive overkill for this project.
And it turns out that silicone sealant doesn't melt. Imma test that.
hi PrepHole
I have a small hole (2-3mm) at the bottom of my bath tub spout. The spout is metal. Is there a non-tape solution I can use to repair it? There's an additional problem: The faucet is leaky so it continually drips water. I can't fix this immediately, needs a plumber etc which will take awhile.
Is there something I can use that will work to seal the hole while it will get a bit wet?
I had a "expensive" universal laptop charger die because it had a loose screw inside, it blew the fuse and i replaced it, while doing so i noticed it damaged the coil and the bridge rectifier looks like this, what are the odds something else is fucked?
Forgot pics.
And it works after fixing the broken coil cable... but it makes a buzzing noise when i plug it on for a second.
It should be safe to ignore right?
(You)
Also this is a "15-20v" charger yet it works on a 19v laptop even when the output is only 15v, why is that and how bad is that?
Just replace it. Why risk toasting your laptop? Generic chargers aren't that expensive. I know this is PrepHole but who knows what else is fucked in there? What is the power output is bad / not smooth and it fucks your laptops battery or hurts some components?
I did some research and sent a message to the company that sells them... surprisingly they replied with a real answer and not "Buy a new one".
Turns out the coil whine comes out from inductor because i removed the white glue it had.
And the charger outputs 15v by design and the replaceable tips it uses increases it from 15v to 15-20v based in the laptop model, when it failed it killed whatever is inside the tip.
So now its 100% cheaper for me to buy a new charger than buying a single tip.
I had a buzzing sound on a cheap chink PSU on start, and some cool flashing lights, it worked for another couple of days and then died outright.
Just buy a new one. Ideally, buy a legitimate PSU secondhand off ebay, I've never had one fail. Okay, I had the cord fail on one once, but that was because the guy using it was a retard. It's usually cheaper to get a second hand real PSU than a clone pile of junk.
I picked up an old GP Medium tent. It has the shell and poles but no rope or stakes. I figured I could just get some half inch rebar and bend it into a J-shape for stakes. I know jack shit about rope though.
It seems it originally used 5/16th manila rope with 'dog bone' rope tensioners. I can local purchase some rope and eBay has the tensioners. Should I just get that or is there better/cheaper options available? As far as I can tell, it needs 18 ropes that are about 13 feet long.
You need 26 lines total. 24 lines are the smaller ones. Then you need two 50 foot lines that go to the ridge poles. They have a metal eyelet in the middle of each line. See this diagram for the proper layout.
That is if you are fully deploying it. You can easily get by without doubling the lines if there isn't going to be much wind, rain, or snow.
How many dozen people does it take to set that up?
Two people can do it without too much trouble. The hardest part is the two large upright poles have a ridge pole that goes between them that is 17 feet long to support the 'spine' of the tent. They have to be raised together. Its not fun. You don't 'need' the ridge pole unless there is going to be strong weather though.
If you know what you are doing one person can do it without the ridge pole. Its quite easy, just takes time. You basically lay the tent out flat, put a corner pole in, attach two lines to it, and then move to the next adjacent pole, and the next, and so on, all the way around the outside. The weight of the canvas helps hold the poles up and you basically just need them in place, not actually supporting much, when starting. Once all the exterior poles are up you put the two middle poles in, which is easy without the ridge pole. You then snug up all the lines and make sure all the poles are vertical. If you do it right it should look like the left tent in the photo.
While neither tent was put up to standard the left tent is a much better job. The right tent was put up by a moron. Not enough lines or stakes (don't double up lines on a single stake), stakes too far out (lines should be a 45 degree angle), stakes were put in at an angle (this makes them easier to pull out from wind or line shrinkage from moisture), everything is sagging (this causes water/snow to pool), and the ridge lines aren't attached to stakes (which are important if there is wind). Last thing you want is it to be 3 AM during a rainstorm and your tent comes down on you because PFC Fucknut doesn't know how to drive a stake into the ground.
Is this condenser core too far gone?
The AC still blows cold, but I don't want to go the effort of setting it up in my shed if it's going to die in a year or two.
Is there anything I can do to prevent it rotting any further?
What caused the fins to get like that? They are generally aluminum. The pipes are often copper. Generally, you will just lose efficiency not have the unit completely die if the fins rot out.
Looks like it's been sitting in a puddle for a while.
Once it corrodes like that there's nothing to stop it short of tearing out the corroded bits and replacing them with new ones: something you can't do on a condenser. Just get a new one.