What did you do today

[twisted lines]

I believe I have that exact same battery charger. Mine has 2 switches- either 6 or 12 VDC and either 2 or 10 amps. I've had it for around 30 years.

& 50 Amp for Jump start. been a good one, the timer is a little in question sometimes it works; sometimes Na.

 

[twisted lines]

these are the last pictures I have taken,
it shows how rusty the anode or sacrificial piece turn's
have seasoned it but not finished.

 

[Tom&Shelly]

We have this folding portable grill

which works great when you leave the legs folded and prop it on rocks. I mean, it's 11 inches tall! Who tries to cook food that far from a fire? And it's not a new problem either. I have a book on camp cooking from the mid-1950's and the author said he cut the legs off and used rocks. So this product defect has been around for 70+ years! So time to stop carping about it (that was how the hep cats said that back in the mid-1950s) and do something.

Admittedly, the "prop it on rocks" solution works great when you have rocks. Problem is we occasionally camp in some pretty civilized places where they evidently trucked away all the natural born local rocks and replaced them with concrete. So I took some scrap angle iron and made this

We'll see how it works. I hope the bolts stay tight with repeated heating. Welding would have been better, and if this works out, Mark II might be one of my first attempts as I learn (after buying the equipment).

Tom

 

[bdosborn-SMB]

Welding would have been better, and if this works out, Mark II might be one of my first attempts as I learn (after buying the equipment).

It's tradition that the first thing you make with your new welder is a cart for your new welder.
Bruce

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Welding would have been better, and if this works out, Mark II might be one of my first attempts as I learn (after buying the equipment).

It's tradition that the first thing you make with your new welder is a cart for your new welder.
Bruce

Even better! The grill can be Project 2.

Tom

 

[TimC-TNT]

With our weird weather I've been busy this winter getting Eastern Bluebird and Saw Whet Owl nest boxes built. Today I finished installing two Saw Whet nest boxes next to the Menominee River (WI/MI border). IT was two trips of a little more than a mile one way carrying the nest boxes and then a ladder and tools to get them at least three meters up a tree trunk. I installed a trail camera at each and hope to check back once a week to see if there are any takers.

The Northern Saw Whet Owl is the second smallest owl species in North America and has been on the decline due to habitat destruction. While there is a wide swath of the northern US and southern Canada where the Saw Whet breeds they do migrate to the central US in the winter.

In addition, I built 14 "Gilbertson PVC" nest boxes to add to my Bluebird trails I started last year. In 2023 I had 21 "Gilwood" nest boxes up at several trails. I had 9 pairs producing eggs (two pair produced a second brood). Total of 49 eggs, 46 hatchlings and 46 fledglings. That's in addition to two Tree Swallow pairs and one House Wren pair producing broods. A successful first year. I hope to double that production in '24 now that I have some experience with nest box locations. I'm also hoping to get some help monitoring these boxes. 21 boxes last year kept me very busy.

Gilertson nest boxes are named for a Minnesota Bluebird "Citizen Scientist" who developed his designs after many years of trial and error. The Gilwood is a standard wooden box made of pine or cedar. The PVC version was developed to combat invasive species like the European Starling and the House Sparrow which like to kill bluebirds in their nest and then take over the box. The PVC design has proven to help as the Starlings won't fit and the Sparrow does not like the design for some reason.

 

[Tony Latham]

I finished installing two Saw Whet nest boxes...

I'm jealous. I've had a screech owl box on our place for three years with no activity. Obviously, it's in the wrong spot.

Tony

 

[Tom&Shelly]

The PVC design has proven to help as the Starlings won't fit and the Sparrow does not like the design for some reason.

Sparrow's instincts tell them to "go sit in the corner"?

Tom

 

[TimC-TNT]

The PVC design has proven to help as the Starlings won't fit and the Sparrow does not like the design for some reason.

Sparrow's instincts tell them to "go sit in the corner"?
Tom

Ha ha! You might be on to something!

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Actually started this project in December, but life got in the way for a few months. Anyway, I decided to give the utility sink area of our shop a make-over

Before

After

Paid nothing for it. Two of the shelves are from the crates our teardrop doors were shipped in, the deeper one across the top was a scrap board a neighbor was giving away. The under-counter LED light over the sink was from a lot of returns I'd bought a few years ago from a surplus place in Albuquerque for another project, at 10 cents on the dollar. Don't remember where the shelf brackets came from, but they were taking up room with the rest of the miscellaneous hardware in the shop.

Still have to re-hang the first aid kit. Hope I can drill into the concrete without needing the first aid kit! I'll probably move the outlet as well. It was getting expensive using the blue shop towels for everything, so made a holder for regular paper towels for times when lint isn't an issue. Oh! Shelly tells me paper towels are now becoming so popular some companies are actually making holders for them, and so you don't need to make them out of scrap wood. For those of you who are made of money!

Tom

 

[twisted lines]

We have this folding portable grill


We'll see how it works. I hope the bolts stay tight with repeated heating. Welding would have been better, and if this works out, Mark II might be one of my first attempts as I learn (after buying the equipment).

Tom

If you wear it out & we cross paths;
I have a rat hole of Laser welded Stainless
I bend the ends and give them away instead of washing

 

[twisted lines]

Northern lights !
I am on the southern end but in the zone; last night was the 1st I have seen them Will be out again tonight

 

[SparkyDog]

Sadly- no northern lights for us in Florida.
It took me 3 weeks on and off to install this floating screen radio in my 2003 Durango - I now know why auto-sound radio shops do not want to install the wires and backup camera - a royal PITA for a 74 yr old guy- it all worked - only took me 3 weeks on and off to do this - the local shop wanted $300 to do this - but not camera - so I did it myself - Walmart had been clearancing this discontinued radio model out, I bought mine on eBay for $119. The heat index was 101 degrees in SW FL this afternoon . It’s a BOSS BCPA8 radio AND the Apple CarPlay SiriusXM iPhone app works fine - I am now a safe driver in the parking lots with a backup camera !

,

y

 

[pchast]

verrrry nice.

 

[Modstock]

Last year I bought some new 15x8 wheels . The set came with a matching spare wheel in a 15x7 same backspacing though.
I finally mounted a tire and getting rid of the stocker , which would have been really close to my airbags.
While im in there I can upgrade the tiny rear speakers with bigger [emoji344].

Sent from my SM-A115AP using Tapatalk

 

[pchast]

completed the first of 4 stool cane backs.

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Today I built an extension cord with a switch. When the switch is one way, one outlet of the duplex is energized and when the switch is the other way, the other outlet is energized.

Now I know what you're thinking: "Who would do THAT? That's crazy."

And I'd answer: "HAH, CRAZY! I'm crazy? They called George Westinghouse crazy."

At which point you might say: "No one called George Westinghouse crazy."

And I'd say: "Well, they would if he tried to sell an extension cord like this!" And I'd be right.

Actually, I made it for our utility room, so that it turns on either the task light over the washer and dryer, or the LED strobe light we found at a thrift store a few weeks ago.

This all part of a program to try and deter rodents from entering our home. Turns out, the only thing that seems to repel (most of) them here in the East Mountains are flashing lights. So I have strobes in our basement, battery/solar powered operated Christmas lights in our (off-grid) garage, and flashing LED lights in the engine compartments and people compartements of our trucks.

Turns out Shelly also doesn't like the strobes, so we needed a way to ensure they could be turned off when we were in the rooms, but would come back on when we left. Since we had only single switches for the lights in the basement, I simply replaced those with three-way switches and wired in extra outlets that turn on when the lights are out. (Let the next owners figure that one out!) But since the overhead light in the utility room already had a pair of three-way switches, I couldn't do that. Experimented with a light sensing timer, but wasn't happy with the results, so I did this instead.

Tom

 

[MickinOz]

Haven't done anything yet today, except lay in bed and listen to the rain.
We have had just over one inch of rain for the entirety of 2024.
The farmers were looking down the barrel.
But most went dry sowing in the last week or two, it was a case of put her in and pray for rain or abandon all hope of a crop this year.
Many millions of dollars of fuel, seed, herbicides, pesticides and fertiliser gambled on the weather.
But here it is, drizzling rain for hours now. he season break is here, 5 weeks late. The rain radars show there's more to come.
For me, it means I can finally go camping and have a camp fire with no fear of setting the countryside ablaze.
If you look really carefully you may just discern a small puddle under the ute.

 

[twisted lines]

Sure not raining here it's Hot!

 

[Indiana Rambler]

Camping in Hadley’s Point Campground in Bar Harbor Maine this week. First stop of the trip we stayed at a Koa campground near Niagara Falls, then down the road a few hours to Shodack Island, then the next day to Bar Harbor. This is the reason for a teardrop or smal RV. In and out and enjoying the adventures! Tomorrow morning Cadillac mountain! We finished building this camper two years ago and it’s been out 26 different parks/trips. So if anyone wants to know if TD camping is worth it, I say absolutely. 

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