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I'd scrub them (not sand them) real hard with a soapy rag, then wipe clean with a damp rag. Lots of household furnishings were cleaned that way, back in the day.

Then I'd rub some paste wax onto...

A better way to service your mobilized machinery is to have a belt of outlets around the walls of the shop, so that there's generally one nearby. My logic is that it's often easier to step over a...

They all have about the same calcium, which is good for your bones. I suppose the protein's around the same, too, and that's good for muscles and such.

Your brain, on the other hand... well, that...

A bunch of years ago, Dad picked out my 16th birthday present. It was a t-shirt that said "I'M NOT REAL SMART, BUT I CAN LIFT HEAVY THINGS."

That has a logic structurally similar to my answer to...

Hi, all.

Haven't been on the Creek for a while, due to events o' life (parents passed, renovating Mom's cabin during probate, granddaughter growing, moving mother-in-law out of AZ, supporting...

If you want to have rubber mats upstairs for some reason -- occasional use of specialty tools up there, or what-have-you -- I'd recommend horse stall mats. They're firm, and you can roll even small...

I've always been a "Goodwill radio on a shelf" guy for shop tunes, but my still-unfinished new shop is pleasantly assailed by enabling friends. I ran "future-proofing" 16-ga. zipcord up into the new...

This entry is from last summer, mid-pandemic, pre-vaccination, post-prime...

Mom, referenced in this meditation, is struggling pretty hard right now. I learned a new word yesterday; "cachexia,"...

This is my solution, also. Note that you can buy the rubbery, woven-look, beige-colored kitchen drawer liner material by the roll for noticeably less money than "pro quality" mechanic's drawer liners...

I received a rollaway from my dad 25 years ago. It was a Costco special; I've no idea who built it, but I'm sure it's an import. Has a bottom cabinet and a full-sized top chest.

Dad passed away...

When it was brand spankin' new, I foolishly loaned my LN #7 to an earnest young woman who was bent on building furniture with hand tools. It came back with not one but FOUR deep gouges in the sole.
...

A 20-amp outlet is usually supplied with 12-ga. NM through the wall. If that's the case, a 12-ga. extension cord isn't going to heat up, or induce resistance-based voltage drop, any more than the...

It's a stupor-simple mount. I looped the top of a scrounged Kellems grip around a 2x4 bridging two trusses, not far from the outlet box. Then I screwed a large hook onto another truss and coiled the...

Yes, I plan to do that. I think this gas passer will prove a very useful support to my shenanigans.

Just finished (knock on wood) wiring my shop. I set the bottoms of my 120V boxes at 50" AFF, and ringed the shop with those (plus a couple in the ceiling).

My 240V/30A outlets are hammer height...

I've decided to go ahead and pull the trigger. Worst case scenario is a 60-gal., single-stage, 5 hp, splash-lubricated Ingersoll Rand compressor with a cast iron pump. I think that's safely worth 400...

Yeah, I'm gonna go for it. Thanks for the perspective!

I'm all in, I've decided, and I'm taking pot luck.

I've agreed to his price, and we'll make it happen whenever we can both move well enough to consider it. "Bart" (not his real name) has a...

Coincidentally, Ken, I've wired the "just in case" compressor circuit quite close to where I'm planning to site my lathe. :D

Is your shed going to be powered and lit? Could be good for various power tool operations if so; you could reserve it for hand tool ops if not. You might also want to "store noise" in there -- a...

How about a bench?

You can stow a half-height drill press under it. Every once in a while, when the spirit moves you, perform one repetition of dead lifting it onto your bench, and bore a few...

Decision point for me: I have an unexpected opportunity to buy a large compressor for a fair, used price.

I trust the guy selling it -- Bart's a fellow motorcyclist, a generally good dude, and...

Was an avid motorcyclist for 40+ years, but "retired" due to substantial injuries incurred on one bad day.

Sometimes (more rarely than previously), I write things. Both of the above pursuits...

I feel ya, Perry.

For 30 years or so, Mom's been telling me stories about a bequest for a property in the state where she lives (south of my state). It's a small cabin/house/actually a former real...

I hate tearing things out to re-do what I should have done in the first place.

My shop is still in progress, due to me being slo-ow. I'm not gonna get any faster with age and I don't want to...