Off Topic Discussions

[BigAl01]

Most of us have a life outside of computers, even if it's only for a few hours a day.  Am I right?  Yes, but I'm not counting our time sleeping.  Surely everyone works on things that are non-computer related.  That's what this topic is about.  

My latest project, which was successful I might ad, was to armorize my birthday present - a composite plastic suet feeder for big birds like a Pileated Woodpecker.  It was given to me near the end of January 2023, when I turned 64.  I know - an old fart.  But listen up guys, because you might learn something about squirrels.  Yes, squirrels.  They love bird feeders and things of this nature.  They chew on everything.  I bet that if I placed a computer case on our outside deck (filled with sunflower seeds or suet blocks), the squirrels will have chewed through the case within a few days.  They are are strong and that intelligent. 

So my new birthday present - the Pileated Woodpecker suet feeder - was placed outside on my birthday as a replacement for the previous wooden suet feeder that had been almost destroyed by the squirrels.   Within two weeks there was already serious damage to the new composite plastic suet feeder, mostly on the bottom area.  The squirrels know that the wire grid plates will drop out if the bottom and / or side structure of the feeder is chewed away.  They are born with that knowledge.  So yesterday, I spent 45 minutes fabricating an aluminum band around the bottom of my almost-new suet feeder.  Recent aluminum bar fabrication techniques acquired while building 'Talk 2 the Hand' helped immensely,  as I didn't need much more than the idea in my head and a vice in my workbench.  See the results below.  It's working so far.....

Squirrel damaged suet feeder made of composite plastic.I will build an aluminum band around the base.Bending aluminum bars with hand pressure and a vice.Test fitting as you go...Most of the bending is complete.Cutting the end with a hacksaw.Test fitting the complete band.Now I need to use existing screws to attach the aluminum band.Drilling and screwing it together.Project completed.

[BigAl01]

So this is the Pileated Woodpecker...on the previous suet feeder.

These are interesting birds - the Pileated Woodpecker.

[Axxemann]

My current projects are finding a new place to call home, and finding a new job. Got my lease renewal notice, and they're jumping my monthly rent $300. On the bright side, packing up this place will be a snap, since I didn't really unpack a whole lot when I moved in, and I still don't have living room furniture. Odds are good I'll be downsizing to a 1 bedroom, and setting up my desk and PC in the spot where a couch and TV would normally be. 

[BigAl01]

Good luck with the new place once you find it.  What's wrong with your current job?  Do you want to move to a different city?  I remember when we took a job transfer from Southern California to Northern Virginia, we found a home that seemed to be centrally located from various satellite offices of our company.  That paid off as we worked in several locations over the years until we retired, and we never had to move out of our house.  We've been living in the same place for 32 years.

[Axxemann]

Currently on disability, but I want (more need for my sanity) to go back to work. Worker's Compensation Board is helping with that at least, since after 20+ years of transport jobs and another 5 or so years of field service work where I still drove long hours to get to sites, my blown out back has forced  me behind a desk full time.

Not keen on relocating since the family wants to be reasonably close together. When my sister moved 3 hours away when she was in her 20s, it put my folks under a ton of stress.

[rtbh99]

i dont think i posted about it, but i modified the hell out of my keyboard a few months ago to alter the sound profile. looking into getting some new keycaps(maybe these ones) soon, because the current ones i have are rather cheap and thin.

heres a video of my using the keyboard after i finished all of the modifications, which i put on youtube because of a lack of other videos with the modifications i did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6UGvbSC6qc

other than that, i dont really have any projects going on aside from working at my job 😕

[BigAl01]

I learned to type 40 WPM with no errors in typing class on IBM selectric typewriters back in high school.  That 40 WPM went out the window after my right wrist was destroyed in a motorcycle accident in 1983, but I can still type reasonably well.  For some reason, modifying keyboards isn't my thing, but I like buying the sweet RGB boards, like the CoolerMaster SK-650.  I have around 6-8 of them, because I have many gaming computers.

[Vynski]

At least you still have all of your fingers. 😂

I replied on one discussion with a phot of my right hand after a table saw accident.  @BigAl01 commented on that one and definitely knows what I can no longer do, "type".

[johnnyenglish]

Right now, I'm trying to do a plumbers job while not understanding a bit about it. Other than... water runs through the pipes. LoL

Just got rid of the old shower cabin and base, scrubbed the silicon, bought a new base and support. Now I need a cabin. Almost there! I can smell it LOL 

And it stinks! No, just joking, I'm Lucky to have two bathrooms.

Also need new outlets on the house, paint the bedroom and change the baby Room. 

 

[Vynski]

I've always got some kind of woodworking project going on.  One of my nephew's home was destroyed by a fire a couple of years ago.  I wanted to do something for him since they they lost so much that can never be replaced.  I asked myself; "What would he most likely need that I could build him?".  The answer was a priceless office desk.  The trees were cut down on my sisters place ( she has since passed away), and some on my brothers place.  I sawed the lumber on my sawmill then cured and surfaced the stock.  I should have taken far more photos, but this is all I have of the process.

the desktopdrawer casecase without drawer faceready to assembleIn his office.

Drawer dividers

The desktop measures 36" x 60".  The desk is solid Maple with a Walnut inlay around the desktop.  The top drawers are 6" deep 12.5" wide and 34" long with 8 dividers.  The bottom drawers are 9.5" deep, 12.5" wide, and 34" long.  I spent every spare moment I had spring and summer working on it.  I delivered it shortly before Thanksgiving and got a terrific HUG.  

[johnnyenglish]

That (pause) is (pause) Amazing!!

He had a lot of skill with woodwork too. I mean, when I was young one of my closets became a kitchen furniture in no time. lol

[BigAl01]

Very impressive.  I've built a few furniture items from wood (with my dad's help back in the 1980's; he passed in 1990), like a stereo cabinet.  I was not very good working with wood and I was afraid of his table saw.  I still have the stereo cabinet but I just use it in my storage room to hold stuff like CPU boxes.  

Did you wet sand the finish and recoat it several times?  I never had the patience for that.

[Vynski]

Wet sanded with 1000 grit and Danish oil, as I do all of my finishes.  Then apply a couple of coats of MinWax finish wax.

As for your fear of the table, it is wise to have it.  The ring finger and index finger got the worst of it, but the thumb and pinky were also required surgery.  Guess which one never got a scratch! lol  This happened about 9-10 years ago.

[BigAl01]

Wow.  So now everyone thinks you are flipping them off.  My fear is justified I guess.  

When my dad passed, I got most of his tools and his tool chest / workbench, but I let someone else take that table saw.  He used to have me help him when ripping plywood sheets, and every so often the blade would get jammed.  Sometimes the 4' by 8' sheet would jump a bit.  I felt like it was more dangerous than being in combat.  Speaking of which, he served in WWII with the Royal Canadian Air Force.  He was a radar operator in Burma during the war.  He married my mother (war bride) coming back though the UK on the way to his home in Saskatoon, SASK.  He was Canadian.

[Vynski]

You got it.  I'm still in the process of trying to wave at someone with my left hand for that very reason.  I've also had to learn to write again because it alters the way you hold a pen.

[Vynski]

So your dad fought in the Burma Campaign.  I've read several books on that front and those men and I guess any women have my utmost respect.  What really irritates me now is the Chinese seem to have forgotten who rescued them from total annihilation.  I only recommend reading this to individuals by asking first if they have the stomach for it, "The Rape of Nanking".  It is an indication as to how much trouble China was in.  They simply have no respect.  My dad also fought in WWII, Navy.  The thing about the Burma Campaign is that more soldiers (total, both sides) died from heat exhaustion, disease, malnutrition than from battle.  Mountains and jungles, hot, high humidity, rain.  Only way they could get supplies was pack mule.  This is where the military rate DCM (Died Chasing Mules) got its name.

I have read between 30-35 books on WWII, most on the Pacific Campaign, but only 3 or 4 of which could be found on the Burma Campaign.  

I could talk for hours on all of it, various battles etc.  So I will bid you farewell for now.  Next time you visit your dad or his grave, please give him my regards.

[rdenmon]

I've read a lot on the same topics, which one book is best Re: Burma campaign. I have never read any regarding that topic ...fascinating 

[Vynski]

Sorry for such a late response.  Pacific War just touched briefly on it, but I found the Time  Life Series covered it pretty good.  As I stated, that is what irritates me so much.  It's as if they simply ignored it and you can only find bits and pieces about the Burma campaign.  If you look for campaigns where Greg "Pappy" Boyington participated in you can find something on it.  He served as a volunteer pilot with the Flying Tigers to help protect China.

[BigAl01]

Thank you.  His grave is in the backyard of my sisters former house in Corvallis, Oregon.  His ashes were buried under a Canadian Maple tree, as he was born in Canada.  She moved to another house in Corvallis, but I believe his grave marker is still there.  I might be able to visit it this coming fall if we make it out to visit my sisters and taste some wines in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

[rdenmon]

Dang! How do you type? Id say you are lucky to have the middle, you can still vent frustration!!

[Vynski]

As a junior in high school I could type 61 wpm on an old Underwood manual typewriter.  Today it is not hunt and peck Just peck.  Nothing works right with this right hand, other than that one finger.  Home keys are kind of hopeless.

[ajlueke]

I haven't lost a feeder to squirrels in over a decade.  Mostly I use Droll Yankee tube feeders.  One smaller tube has a baffle on top and a cage wrapped around.  It is filled with cracked sunflower hearts.  Only finches and birds of a similar size can pass through.

There is a second larger tube feeder as encased.  That containes a mix of sunflower, safflower, and other nuts.  This is frequented by chickadees, nuthatches and the like.

A third tube feeder has no cage and an large sitting stray at the bottom making it accessible to larger birds.  It is hung from a high tree branch with a skyhook and a baffle between the feeder and the hook.  The feeder is filled exclusively with safflower.  Due to the safflower birds like starlings and grackles will ignore it while cardinals, grosbeaks, and mourning doves will frequent the feeder.  

The suet feeder is a long wooden log filled with cylindrical suet plugs.  It is hug from a metal pole standing away from trees and with a large racoon baffle on it.

No issues with squirrels at all.

[BigAl01]

The squirrels don't get into our tube feeders, but they can shake them to get some sunflower seeds to fall out.  The reason we like the big suet feeder is that it attracts the Pileated Woodpecker.  You need a big feeder for that bird to hang onto it.  What I really want is one made entirely out of aluminum, but the squirrels would still hang from it and eat bits of the suet.  All these feeders need to be accessible to me, meaning they hang from plant holders off the railing around my deck.

[ajlueke]

What you can do is use a large log, and drill holes into it with a 1.5" spade bit.  You then fill the holes with suet plugs.  I have pileated woodpeckers on my feeder, and the logs tend to be a bit more crow resistant.

[Vynski]

Would they be able to hang onto an aluminum base?

That is one big bird.  From the looks of the feeder you probably need to replace it after a couple of years.

[BigAl01]

So far the Pileated Woodpeckers (we have two) are able to hang onto the feeder.  If I built one entirely out of aluminum, I would probably need a wooden section at the bottom for them to grab onto.  The squirrels are still attacking the sides, so I imagine that within a month I'll need to fabricate another aluminum bar across the top section.  I might have to drill some holes and put bolts through the grates too (at the corners) to hold them in place if the squirrels manage to chew enough away.  These are the challenges I face in retirement.  It could be worse.

[BigAl01]

Update:  That new feeder I received for my birthday was destroyed by the squirrels in two months.  I now have a new 'all metal cage' feeder and I modified it to hold the plastic wing of the previous feeder beneath it to support the Pileated Woodpecker.  Let's hope this version works a bit longer.

Old feeder that needs some modding.Dremel tool in work to remove rough edges.What was old is new again - wing from old feeder added to new 'all metal' feeder.

[Vynski]

Just finished this 2/18/23.  It is another hobby that I call "What to do with your BRASS that you can't use anymore".

From left to right, calibers are:

1. Winchester 30-30
2. Winchester 243
3. 5.56 NATO

I do these on request, mostly of friends or relatives.  When they offer to pay I just request the cost of new brass and bullets.  The cost of these materials, like computer components, has gone through the roof.

[BigAl01]

I can just imagine putting one of those into the security tray at the airport before you walk through the body scan.  I wonder what they would say?

By the way, I recently saw a pen constructed out of two brass cartridges that looked pretty nice too.

[Vynski]

Yeh, when the primer pocket is drilled out with a 1/4" bit to get the key chain down inside then either JB weld or the superglue baking soda mix you see on YouTube.  I give the bullets an extra hard crimp because I have had some come out in the past.  Just an empty casing with a bullet, but they sure look nice.

[Axxemann]

My cousin does this. I'm still waiting for my 10mm Auto fob.

[Vynski]

I prefer the rifle cartridges, they appear to be more impressive.  Actually the smallest cartridges I have are .223.  Made 1 or 2 WBY .340, but they won't fit in your pocket.  Ironic, but these were for a couple of women that carried them in their purse.  The 30-30 cartridge is about the largest caliber cartridge that will fit in the pocket.  Mine is the .243 mag.  The 9mm and 10mm cartridges are about the same size as the .357.  The .44 mag are nice too.  I have a policy to reload the magnum cartridges 3 times and then put them in a "spent" container.  Although I examine each case when they come out of the tumbler, for fractures or anything that doesn't look right.  Very meticulous in the case prep process.

[Axxemann]

I'm assuming you're a fellow handloader, too?

[Vynski]

I moved on from hand loading many, many years ago.  I have an RCBS press with RCBS dies for, I think 11 different calibers, and the cost of reloading a WBY .340 is reduced to 1/2 for the three times I will reuse that cartridge.  Just the brass alone is over $2 / rd.  IMR 4350 powder has performed best for me, but I am not a competition shooter.  Although I have destroyed an old cell phone from 3oo yds.  One new thing that I have learned over through this shortage of primers is that magnum large pistol and magnum large rifle primers are the same size and since I only have about 150 large magnum rifle primers on hand and haven't been able to get any for over 2 years now, I have been hesitant to shoot them.  However the only large magnum pistol I have is my Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 mag and I have over 900 of these primers.  Haven't tried them yet, but others have and say they see no difference in pressures or accuracy.

[Axxemann]

TBH, about the only ammo I still handload these days is 10mm. Only because getting the good, proper ammo is hard here in Canada. I can get the stuff that's loaded to .40Short&Weak pressures, but not the heavy 200gr Norma spec'd loads.

My AR and bolt gun both shoot the same ammo to within 1/8" at 100yds, and my Stag 10 will eat anything and shoot it accurately from 150gr up to 180s. I just have to be sure to adjust the scope accordingly. But of course, Canada being Canada, I can't take the AR to the range anymore, and I can't hunt deer with the Stag like I used to. 

[Vynski]

They are trying their darndest to do the same here.

[Axxemann]

I've been seeing the news... it's nuts.

[rdenmon]

Creative. 

[Vynski]

Well I've been off grid for the last couple of months and here is why.

It all takes time.  Design, surfacing the lumber, measure 5 times cut , most times once some twice, gluing, sanding (80 grit), sanding (220 grit), sanding (400 grit), rubbing with Danish oil (2 coats), wet sanding with the third coat of Danish oil (1000 grit). apply coat of Minwax paste wax.  A rough estimate of 200 hours.  

Solid Black Walnut.  I cut the tree and logs, sawed the lumber on my saw mill, air cured the lumber for over 2 years, surfaced the lumber, and cut the stock.

The end product is a sewing table my wife can use for quilting or anything her heart desires.  The design was her inspiration and over the shoulder guidance and assistance.

[BigAl01]

That's dedication to something your spouse can use.  I commend you.  Next project?