Thanks WWWP ! I'm glad I could make you smile.

Very interesting photos, Plankton, plus your carefully worked out sketch. Of course, there's no way all those clean alignments could've happened without all the details being worked out first.
Some professional-quality woodworking going on in your garage! For some reason there is something especially satisfying in the way you split and notched the (blue) mid-rail to receive the white rails. - and of course your now-famous endcaps!!

I'm nearly a complete novice when it comes to carpentry, woodworking and the like. I have some small projects behind me, like a shelf, built a carport with my dad (he drew it, I just sawed and lifted and put screws in things), made a ramp for the lawnmower, etc.

A couple of years ago, I bought a proper saw so I could make a shelf for my daughter's room. The room has a sloped ceiling so it's hard to fit furniture and making some means lots of angular cuts, hence the saw. I wanted a double sided bookshelf walling in a bed so that it's easy to reach books from the bed and you could place a lamp in it etc.

Here's a during and after.

https://i.imgur.com/2bJ99ydl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/opzNngIl.jpg

I drew it myself and it's not fancy and even a little crooked, but all in all it's turned out to be a very useful piece of furniture that adds a lot to the room imo (and good luck to the next owners if they want to get rid of it).

The cross-cutting saw (I think you call it) which I bought for this is amazing. I can't quite understand how I got by without one for so many years. I definitely should have had it for the carport.

Best deals in town!

lol

Thank you my friend.

Thats an outstanding build GB! I love the flooring too and how it accents the angles and paint with some contrast.

Miter Saws are a great tool to have handy.

That's a piece of shelving to be proud of GB! I like the way your end-panel is inset just a little with a frame around it - also, the way your top shelf comes at just the right height to line up with the roof slope and the vertical support. You've got full-depth and half-depth shelves going on too. That's very neatly making the most of the space.
- and yeah, I have always found it very difficult to saw accurately at any angle other than 90°. Well done!

Thanks, guys! Miter saw was just the word I was looking for :)

They're not in the picture, but I built the bottom full space area so that it could hold these relatively big IKEA containers. She has one with costumes and another with plush toys.

^ I love the molding too. Frames it out nicely.

Here's one that was more paint than anything else. It started out as a potato bin, falling apart at the bottom from not having any 'feet' and resting on it's wooden frame. I reattached the bin portion, added some rubber feet and new hardware and painted it to match my lady friends other piece of furniture:

https://i.imgur.com/215bNTS.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/eABTkhB.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/sITb1zc.jpg?2

https://i.imgur.com/xggq10l.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/UqxP8rB.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/mEswK2j.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/DACKGPj.jpg?2

I started out brush painting it, but after one coat and some seriously bad and noticeable brush lines I decided to sand it all down and spray it.

Now I'm just waiting on getting a new home so I can tackle my next project.

I hope these examples fuel the fire for Fletcher and anyone else looking to do some furniture restorations.

They are amazing, a serious well done to you both!!

This is my new favourite thread :)

I am inspired! My dining room is currently full of random furniture that I refuse to bin (all good condition just need some love :)). I have 2 side tables, 2 bedside tables and a tv unit :o:

Nice, Plankton! Such a cool and creative build :)

Lately, I've been wondering about getting some outboard mic preamps and a lot of these units are made for racks. I don't have a rack and they're often weirdly expensive, so I might build one myself.

It would be sweet if I could find an old piece of furniture similar to your garage disposal with a roughly 19''' width. Might have to rummage through some thrift stores :pimp:

Dad,

All motor oil is pretty much the same right? I can grab whatever from the gas station?

Kinda but not really.

You're typically dealing with either conventional motor oil or synthetic motor oil.

The latter costs more, but it has advantages - it lasts longer and resists oil breakdown more efficiently, it's better at extreme temperatures of both ends, reducing engine wear, and it's less like to build up sludge - older engines were more prone to this issue.

In addition, synthetic oil is better for the environment since it lasts longer and used motor oil is pretty harmful to the environment.

But in terms of practicality, as long as your owner's manual doesn't specify that synthetic oil needs to be used, you can get by perfectly fine with regular old motor oil.

^that

Use what it says in your owners manual.

Even across brands, the additives can be different so use the same brand. Some mfg'ers will even specify.

Ok, follow up question - I have a slow oil leak, and usually go to a drive through oil change place. They always ask if I want the **** that seals the leak or whatever - is that legit? Or am I right to turn down all extra fluids?

I'm not a mechanic, but in my experience I'd say stay far away from those - stop leak, no leak, whatever brand it is. They might "fix" your leak, but they do so by swelling seals, and it will more than likely cause you problems down the line, turning the seals to gooey gunk junk. I view it as snake oil.

I'd recommend taking it to an automotive mechanic you trust and maybe getting a quote for how much it would cost to properly fix the leak if you actually want to fix it right.

Stop Leak or whatever is like snorting cocaine to fix your sleepiness problem

It's most likely a head gasket. No. Don't do that. lol If it's a beater, then that'd be a quick short term fix and everything SGR said^ but if you plan on keeping it for a while then get it fixed properly. A good garage mech could do it cheap if you know someone.

I had an oil leak and had it fixed by a trusted mechanic for less than $200. It probably is the way to go.

Head gaskets are fairly straight forward and a cheap part, but it does depend on the make and model. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting to it that can be a bitch. Engineers are like **** it, not my problem. lol

It not quite a beater but it is Frank’s “spare” car lol. It’s already paid off and not really worth putting money into I don’t think, but I always wondered about that. Thanks Dads.

Just be mindful of where you park it. I hate oil stains.

Call your mother. She worries you know.

Thankfully it doesn’t leave a slick behind, it’s just enough of a leak to notice.

I have a standing lunch date with my mom every Saturday and she only lives like 2.5 miles away from me lol. I love my mama.

Ride a bike.

Charles don’t act like you don’t leak grease pedaling down those hills

Doesn't do you much good if you live in the middle of bum**** nowhere

I leak mad grease ****ing your dad.

Dad,

Tell me about changing spark plugs

Vehicle make/model/mileage will determine if you'd need it done by an experienced mech. Some vehicles are engineering nightmares and with high mileage sometimes the plugs are seized and a bitch to turn loose without busting the stem off.

Good to know - it's a 2012 Kia Soul, around 160 I think (it's my partner's I would never choose something so hideous)

If those are original plugs I'd definitely take it to a mech, but if you're feeling ambitious and don't mind buying some new tools and grease then it seems like a fairly straight forward process:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAKW_pnVoA4

You and elph.

lmao not a Kia Soul, that takes me way back to this good old bit of cringe

I've changed sparkplugs before. It's one of the more straightforward things to change in a car these days.

I’ve ordered the correct spark plugs, and now only need a few tools to complete the job. I found out AutoZone will let you borrow tools so I will update on Saturday once I get in there.

Is it weird that this will still randomly pop into my head even tho I haven't seen it for probably 10 years lmao

"there's nowhere in my car to plug my iPod in..."

I feel that same struggle, but now it's with new vehicles thanks to bluetooth becoming the be all/end all to music device interfacing. When I bought my Mercedes a couple years ago, whether it had a way to plug my iPod classic in was a determining factor for me (and it did).

I still run my iPod when I'm listening to music in the car, a much smoother and less distracting experience. The only thing worse than not having a way to plug my iPod in is having to use a god-awful touchscreen, the bane of modern vehicle media centers. IT HAS NO HAPTIC FEEDBACK, HOW CAN I USE IT WHEN IM DRIVING?!?

Thankfully, most manufacturers are coming to their senses - Mazda has eseentially axed any touchscreens for future models. They're waking up....slowly.

tell me about it. in my neck of the woods there's actually been proposed a ban on any new cars with touchscreens (because of traffic safety concerns)

Things are going well - I've removed all of the bolts and cylinders and have all the right bits and pieces.

On the third cylinder, the bolt is broken off in the thing that it gets threaded into (see image below). My question at this juncture is whether or not I can proceed with changing out the spark plugs and dealing with extracting that broken bolt piece later? Perhaps zip tying down the cylinder in the meantime so it can't jostle loose?

https://i.ibb.co/3W2ZmCd/index.png

Zip tie the cylinder? What?

No. DO NOT ZIP TIE ANYTHING.

Are you saying a piece of the mounting bolt fell down into the motor? If so, and you can see it, get a magnetic extractor tool, otherwise you'll need to remove the head cover. Thats another entire can of worms.

If you leave that piece of metal in there, you'll destroy the motor.

No, nothing fell in. The bolt that fastens the cylindrical piece that sits over the spark plug broke off when I was trying to remove it. There are no unaccounted for pieces, I’m just wondering how important it is that the plastic cylinder be fastened by bolt in the short term.

I bring up zip ties because that’s what I found when I opened the hood!