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Mojo Hand

By Mojo Hand
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Antidean
Antidean

My son searches river and creek beds for arrowheads, he's found several hundred. He's quite good at finding them. Built this for him to store and show off some of his better ones. Made it wi

Antidean
Antidean

Needed a table for our foyer.  Built this from soft maple.  

heso
heso

This is my first go at anything more substantial than cutting boards and construction lumber garage shelves. Simple storage for tools / miscellanea for the basement. The top 4 drawers have the div

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Anastasis

Anastasis 23699

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I assume that it is original ca 2005 build. I will note that it is the only receptacle that I have come across where they used the push ins instead of the screws. 

I've replaced all of the kitchen receptacles when we moved in and did some remodel work (with the exception of the ones on the bar/island thing that have now been all replaced).  About to replace all the LR, and will spend next weekend replacing the rest throughout the house.  Finding that smoked plug freaked me out. 

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

Posted
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17 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

I assume that it is original ca 2005 build. I will note that it is the only receptacle that I have come across where they used the push ins instead of the screws. 

I've replaced all of the kitchen receptacles when we moved in and did some remodel work (with the exception of the ones on the bar/island thing that have now been all replaced).  About to replace all the LR, and will spend next weekend replacing the rest throughout the house.  Finding that smoked plug freaked me out. 

We have the push in type throughout our house. Nothing wrong with them IMO.

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Incredulity

Incredulity 11861

Posted
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15 hours ago, Anastasis said:

I assume that it is original ca 2005 build. I will note that it is the only receptacle that I have come across where they used the push ins instead of the screws. 

I've replaced all of the kitchen receptacles when we moved in and did some remodel work (with the exception of the ones on the bar/island thing that have now been all replaced).  About to replace all the LR, and will spend next weekend replacing the rest throughout the house.  Finding that smoked plug freaked me out. 

Proactively replacing every plug in the house has risk in it as well.  

Not to be flippant, but the situation you uncovered is part of why the electrical code has boxes for switch and plug connections.  The system did its job.

 

I haven't run into anyone using stabs and screw connections on the same plug.  That it is very odd.

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EE2B

EE2B 1569

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Just out of curiosity, was the breaker still on for that circuit or had it tripped? As others have stated, I would wire nut everything together with a single wire for each back to the outlet. You seem pretty knowledgeable, but don’t be afraid to bring an electrician in to double check that circuit before you put it back in service.

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Anastasis

Anastasis 23699

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1 hour ago, EE2B said:

Just out of curiosity, was the breaker still on for that circuit or had it tripped? As others have stated, I would wire nut everything together with a single wire for each back to the outlet. You seem pretty knowledgeable, but don’t be afraid to bring an electrician in to double check that circuit before you put it back in service.

I've been thinking about this a bit. I have no idea when that outlet went out, it was non functional when we moved in, and I had kinda put it out of mind to inspect further myself.  Not sure why the pre-purchase inspector didn't catch two fucked up outlets. It's possible that it blew while the crews were doing the tile removal, floors and other remodel work.  They could have very well plugged something that was pulling a pretty good load when that work was getting done and toasted it then.

Here is the really fucked up part. Three cables into the box: 1) hot 2) branch to above fireplace 3) branch to power the breakfast area lights and all the fucking cans in the kitchen.  So the outlet over fireplace was dead, but the kitchen lights were never impacted. There was still juice going through that roasted outlet powering 4 cans and a ceiling light. Yeah.

I pigtailed them each under a big red wire nut and ran a line back to the receptacle. I am comfortable working with wiring, but I have a few electrical to dos that will require an electrician soon, and I probably will just have them look it over for peace of mind. 

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Spur08

Spur08 383

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I need to jump on the electrician advice. Last year, I installed an outdoor lighting kit. Whenever it would rain, the gfci would trip so I assumed that the connections were loose/got water in them. I finally decided to take a look at it today and repair the splices and use shrink housing to cover them.

I've attached a rough drawing of the diagram. At splice 3 (green X), I notice that the rubber housing looked slightly melted whenever I took off the electrical tape. The odd thing is that the copper wires do not look melted. Is that normal? Could this be due to the water getting in the circuit or did I make a wiring mistake?

My handwriting blows. The lights are path lighting, wall wash/spot, and uplight spot.

9c6700ccfcb3750a59ef648b2ccf788d.jpg31e8de5a1948a229ab5b03285006cde7.jpg

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Spur08

Spur08 383

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Posted
47 minutes ago, Updawg said:

Not sure about the melted part but I bet you are getting water in there. Get some outdoor wire nuts (they have grease in them) and wrap well with tape. That's what I did.

I have those on the double splice, but the triple splice was too big for the outdoor nuts.

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EE2B

EE2B 1569

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Everywhere you have a line coming off to a light, is that a splice point also? Also, that looks like a lot of lights. What size transformer do you have and have you calculated the total wattage for the lights?

 

Edited to add: you may try breaking the splice and using marine grade shrink wrap instead of tape. That would give you more protection from water. I think you can pickup a box of difference sizes from amazon for $10-$15.

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Spur08

Spur08 383

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9 minutes ago, EE2B said:

Everywhere you have a line coming off to a light, is that a splice point also? Also, that looks like a lot of lights. What size transformer do you have and have you calculated the total wattage for the lights?

 

Edited to add: you may try breaking the splice and using marine grade shrink wrap instead of tape. That would give you more protection from water. I think you can pickup a box of difference sizes from amazon for $10-$15.

Sorry -- I meant to specify that all the lights are LED, ranging from 20-50W equivalent.  I forget what the transformer capacity is but the total lights on the line are significantly below max b/c I wanted room for expansion at a later date.  And, yes, everywhere there is a line coming off there is a splice point.  

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AUinHsv

AUinHsv 583

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You might check the math on the transformer and wire. IIRC When I did mine in 2006 I found I needed a much heavier gauge line because of the number of lights (around 15 or so). I had some on line calculators that showed a transformer could not generate the required output over a longer distance with the lights I had.  I looked at my 2006  bookmark file and had something called Lowvolt forum but is now in oriental characters so I can't look anything up there.

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Spur08

Spur08 383

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I use these junction boxes to run a single line from the transformer to each zone and then branch off of that to the lights. Mine is all low voltage with LED bulbs though so not drawing a whole lot of watts.

https://www.voltlighting.com/low-voltage-landscape-lighting-pro-junction-hub/p/VAC-HUB3-PBK#tab-1
Are these available at big box stores?
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MAGS®

MAGS® 400

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Lets see if I can figure this picture thing out.  Recently started a built in bunk bed project.   The room was previously an office, which in hindsight, should have taken picture of it beforehand so you could gather an idea of what space was.  The location of this house being a "getaway" house, I didn't exactly need an office but could use some additional sleeping quarters since we tend to have a lot of bodies come down on the weekends.  This is the room stripped of cabinets and built in desk, so you can envision the size.

20190211-211837.jpg

 

Next we removed the flooring.  True build in because the room is on 75 1/2" wide and a twin mattress is 75" long.   Not a lot of extra room.

20190212-141815.jpg

I went ahead and took the time to run the electrical up the walls so the kids/whoever would have easy access to charging ports for phones and ipads.  You'll see the outlets on the right hand in the picture above and below.  Next up paint.  

20190215-204834.jpg

 

Room is now prepped, time to start construction of bunk beds.  Used MDO and poplar for ease of painting.  Did most of the work at my shop and mostly assembled on site.  Minor cuts for fitting were done on location.  Here is the cut pile.

20190210-110358.jpg 

 

Wanted some drawers for some storage in the room.  Built those next.  

20190210-144318.jpg

 

Built the ladder at home also.  

 

20190210-151646.jpg

 

Now that the basic build is done, time for install at location.

 

20190216-174229.jpg

 

Ladder installed.

20190216-205248.jpg

 

Here is as far as I got last weekend.  One coat of paint.

 

20190217-110400.jpg

 

I got a few trim pieces left to install, and a railing, but the end is near on this one.   Will post final pictures once I get that done. 

 

Cheers.  

Edited by MAGS®
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Irwin F Fletcher

Irwin F Fletcher 3555

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In regards to distressing and staining the pieces I use a combination of techniques. If the wood already has a good patina on it I'll just lightly sand and set aside. To maximize the grain or to create a darker base I'll use a torch to either lightly burn or char completely then sand down. This is a Japanese technique that creates a pretty interesting effect. Next I'll paint, in this case the red, white and blue. I'll sand those pieces then go over them with a darker stain. On this piece I did combinations of a water based red, white and blue along with a darker walnut stain for the red and blue pieces. At that point the pieces were mounted to the base then sealed with a polyurethane. I have various pieces that show some of these techniques on my Instagram @brianbrown93 5b483df549683ecb3fe2a908c4e4834d.jpgc2210f0e10ea2af792ec7e81b71051b4.jpg4557ebbbc7bacf62c98d69e05b494dd2.jpgacb4d7881a913492dc8bf765ca7591fd.jpg

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MAGS®

MAGS® 400

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More progress this weekend, not as much as I wanted however, since I left the damn top rail at home...  I wasn't going back to get it, so it wont be finished till then.

bunk.jpg

 

Bout to wrap this project up, which means I have to move forward with the project that I'm not exactly looking forward to.  

 

20190215-180337.jpg

 

Several weeks ago, I noticed the wainscoting starting to bubble to the right of the speaker on the right.  The laundry room is directly behind that area and I ended up finding a leak in the hose bibb box.   Its kind of hard to see in the picture, but it did enough damage, that I'm going to have to replace flooring in the entire area and also the wainscoting along that wall.  Since its going to be next to impossible to find that exact wainscoting, I've decided (should actually read, what my wife wants) to go full bore stupid and change out the entire wall to shiplap.  Damn you Joanna Gains!  So...  That means sourcing lumber, which fortunately for me isn't an issue.  Friend of mine has a lumber yard and I like to go there and dig through old forgotten inventory.  I spotted this find a while back and got him to give me a price I couldn't refuse.  

20190222-160921-Copy.jpg

 

This is true 1 x 6 doug fir that has been sitting at least 15 years buried in a lumber barn.  Hard as a rock for softwood, and really nice and straight for the most part.  

20190222-170509.jpg

 

Here it is, stacked and cleaned of 15 years of dust.  My 2nd kid managed to catch whatever crap my first kid gave him, so I get the day to play and mill some of this lumber.   Will report back with the milling process later.  

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 26176

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On 10/21/2018 at 8:29 PM, Jkwellborn said:

I’ve been looking at getting a graco x5 but can make myself do it. I don’t have a ton of need for it, but it would be nice to have when I have to treat fence or something of that nature.

 

On 10/22/2018 at 9:16 AM, drt said:

If you do go airless, X5 would be my rec.  I have one of the handheld graco that has the paint cup, and cleaning is a fucking pain.  So much so that basically everything that isn't a big job I just roll or brush.  But the big jobs require refilling the cup constantly.  Go big or go home.

I've owned good airless sprayers before, when I contracted for a living.   Nowadays, I rarely need one, so I bought the Harbor Freight $169 model for a single-use, and it was fantastic.  Really surprising.  I've loaned it out/used it several times since, and it works really well. 

On 1/13/2019 at 8:02 PM, Jkwellborn said:


They get loose over time. It’s what lazy people use.

Yeah, and the contact surface is tiny to start with.   I don't know any "good" electricians that will do the push in thing. 

On 1/14/2019 at 9:13 PM, Anastasis said:

I've been thinking about this a bit. I have no idea when that outlet went out, it was non functional when we moved in, and I had kinda put it out of mind to inspect further myself.  Not sure why the pre-purchase inspector didn't catch two fucked up outlets. It's possible that it blew while the crews were doing the tile removal, floors and other remodel work.  They could have very well plugged something that was pulling a pretty good load when that work was getting done and toasted it then.

Here is the really fucked up part. Three cables into the box: 1) hot 2) branch to above fireplace 3) branch to power the breakfast area lights and all the fucking cans in the kitchen.  So the outlet over fireplace was dead, but the kitchen lights were never impacted. There was still juice going through that roasted outlet powering 4 cans and a ceiling light. Yeah.

I pigtailed them each under a big red wire nut and ran a line back to the receptacle. I am comfortable working with wiring, but I have a few electrical to dos that will require an electrician soon, and I probably will just have them look it over for peace of mind. 

I'd put a GFCI breaker on that circuit. 

Edited by Gil Bang
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Anastasis

Anastasis 23699

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Posted (edited)
23 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

just a suggestion.  

 

That burned outlet is GFCI protected?  WTF if true. 

No, the string of outlets that that particular outlet is on comes from all "dry" areas and are not on a GFCI. I meant that all of the receptacles in the kitchen where the lights are are on a GFCI. 

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 26176

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28 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

No, the string of outlets that that particular outlet is on comes from all "dry" areas and are not on a GFCI. I meant that all of the receptacles in the kitchen where the lights are are on a GFCI. 

GFCI's are required in kitchens, baths, laundry rooms and outdoors (including garages).  That doesn't mean that they are not a good idea everywhere.

Given that you've already had a problem, a GFCI could be a $20 lifesaver.  

 

Actually a breaker would probably cost $50 or $75

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davidg

davidg 4057

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Anybody sawing any lumber themselves?    I am mesmerized by the operation of some of these machines and have a strong urge to cut some of my own lumber.  We have a ton of eastern red ceder on our place with a probably 20-30 dead trees in one area that are up to  24-28" OD.

 

 

 

 

 

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Mrtrt

Mrtrt 18

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Anybody sawing any lumber themselves?    I am mesmerized by the operation of some of these machines and have a strong urge to cut some of my own lumber.  We have a ton of eastern red ceder on our place with a probably 20-30 dead trees in one area that are up to  24-28" OD.
 
 
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There’s a lady in central Texas that’s building a mill. Wilkerdos? Or something like that. She’s big on you tube and Instagram. I’m pretty curious about this too.


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davidg

davidg 4057

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Just now, Mrtrt said:


There’s a lady in central Texas that’s building a mill. Wilkerdos? Or something like that. She’s big on you tube and Instagram. I’m pretty curious about this too.


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Yeah that's April Wilkerson building a version of Matt Cremona's huge 76" cut width slabbing mill.  Matt has some fantastic tree to fine furniture builds and April has almost a million subscribers doing a variety of metal and wood builds aimed at the novice wood/metal worker.  

 

 

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Todd Gack

Todd Gack 448

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14 hours ago, davidg said:

Yeah that's April Wilkerson building a version of Matt Cremona's huge 76" cut width slabbing mill.  Matt has some fantastic tree to fine furniture builds and April has almost a million subscribers doing a variety of metal and wood builds aimed at the novice wood/metal worker.  

 

 

I'm always amazed that such a skinny dude is able to get those massive logs onto his flatbed and mill.  Definitely learned a lot about leverage watching his milling videos.  And crotch.

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Spur08

Spur08 383

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16 hours ago, davidg said:

Yeah that's April Wilkerson building a version of Matt Cremona's huge 76" cut width slabbing mill.  Matt has some fantastic tree to fine furniture builds and April has almost a million subscribers doing a variety of metal and wood builds aimed at the novice wood/metal worker.  

 

 

I follow her on youtube....wood endorse

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Mrtrt

Mrtrt 18

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Posted
" userid="772"] Looks like he used either a scroll saw or jig saw to cut out originally from the ply, then stacked the reclaimed wood over the top and used a top bearing straight bit to cut it out from there.


Spot on. I two plied the ply, because I wanted it thick. Then used a mortise bit for the longhorn.


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