The DIY thread

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

I'm glad that worked w/o any problems.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Evidently these bone fragments are very common, especially after multiple extractions. (Like for people who are getting dentures and such, which, thankfully I'm not at that point yet.) There's pictures on the webs of people who have tons of these spicules, looks like they would just be miserable. (And they are.)

I've read that some dentists don't bother with removing the splinters, technically the body is either supposed to reabsorb them, or they just come out on their own eventually. Well, I wasn't about to wait that long - like a thorn it's just something you want to remove.

But yeah, I'm glad it worked out too... if I have more spicules in the future I won't freak out, I'll just know what to do. (Evidently some people use pantyhose to rub over the area - not sure what that's supposed to do, but it's a DIY tip I wouldn't have thought of.)

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Btw., seeing as I'm halfway expecting more spicules in the near future (being my extractions were rather complicated and messy) I ordered these serrated and curved tweezers that lock into place- just want to make sure I've got the right tool for the job.

I'm almost excited about these future spicules - if the tweezers don't do as described by Amazon I will absolutely return them! (I realize they're meant for microchip work, but all I ask is they grab the spicule right the first time around so that I can then pull it out.)

New and proper tools - they can make any job seem so much more funner!

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Right, on to a more fun (and ridiculous) DIY project now... have to color an artificial egg that used to be pink pink again.The backstory...

My 93yr. old client lives in a senior community where someone had planted a couple of those super tacky plastic pink flamingos in the garden, so last year we had decided these flamingos needed some pinks eggs. So we had procured a plastic pink egg, but due to various weather elements it is no longer pink.

My client thought we should just toss it, but then I'm thinking - no way! We can still save this egg!

Am waiting for the egg to dry (it was wet from all the rain), but once it's dry I'm gonna hit it with some pink spray paint. (Cause the paint would probably have been cheaper than buying a whole new plastic egg!)

Anyhoo, and eh, even us "older" folk need to have some fun sometime.

 

[JayKosta]

Re:

...
someone had planted a couple of those super tacky plastic pink flamingos in the garden, so last year we had decided these flamingos needed some pinks eggs,
...

---
Those flamingos aren't tacky - they're 'whimsical', and the pink eggs are an inspired addition.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re: Re:

Those flamingos aren't tacky - they're 'whimsical', and the pink eggs are an inspired addition.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

lol... I suppose that's a nice way of looking at it. Maybe I should get one myself so I can horrify the neighborhood. (For some reason they're selling the flamingos everywhere right now.)

Okay, here's my latest masterpiece... not sure what the damn egg is made of, but I kinda mushed it in one spot. But at least it's more pink now, and I'm kinda hoping it won't melt in the rain.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

A couple of updates (cause I know you guys have just been dying for them)...

#1 We've had a lot of rain here recently, I've discovered no flooding in my Bug. So the Flex Seal and paint job I did last summer on the roof seems to be working. (Not sure I'd want to use Flex Seal on a pool, aquarium, or anything that puts heavy water pressure on, but if it's in an area where the water is simply running off it should be okay to use.)

#2 Went to my annual dental exam today, told my dentist about the bone splinter (spicule) from my recent tooth extractions. She said it was totally okay to remove the spicules yourself, as long as it doesn't hurt too much. (If they're too big and too deep I'm gathering that is when it would hurt too much. So then, of course, you would want to see your dentist.)

Anyhoo, that's the latest on my DIYs, I'll see what kind of other trouble I can look for (and try to fix) next.

PS - Jay Kosta, I've been trying to PM you, but not sure my PM went through. (Might need a tip on how to do that.)

 

[JayKosta]

Re:

[quote=".
...
PS - Jay Kosta, I've been trying to PM you, but not sure my PM went through. (Might need a tip on how to do that.)[/quote]
--------------------
My browser doesn't highlight the 'new messages' thingy, and I didn't notice that there was one.
Yes it seems to work, but looks like you have since deleted it.
I'll try to watch more carefully.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[Unchained]

Problem.. bizarre amounts of rain in SCalifornia..water got under the house and weeks after heavy rain it is still pretty wet underneath. There is a crawl space and some entry hatches but they are 2ft sq or less..
Any ideas on how to dry it out?

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

Problem.. bizarre amounts of rain in SCalifornia..water got under the house and weeks after heavy rain it is still pretty wet underneath. There is a crawl space and some entry hatches but they are 2ft sq or less..
Any ideas on how to dry it out?

Do you have one of those wet/dry Shop Vacs, by any chance?

(Not that I've ever had to do this, but this is probably the first thing I would try. I'm sure there are much better and more expensive water pumps out there, though.)

Are you expecting more rain? Cause if you are I would start digging some trenches around the house.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re: Re:

My browser doesn't highlight the 'new messages' thingy, and I didn't notice that there was one.
Yes it seems to work, but looks like you have since deleted it.
I'll try to watch more carefully.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Oooops, I'll try again then.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

Problem.. bizarre amounts of rain in SCalifornia..water got under the house and weeks after heavy rain it is still pretty wet underneath. There is a crawl space and some entry hatches but they are 2ft sq or less..
Any ideas on how to dry it out?

Btw., I'm not a house builder (nor contractor), and a house is a huge investment in more ways than one. So if you're not sure what you're doing it might be for the best you just bite the bullet and hire an actual pro for this.

Cause for all I know the whole foundation of your house may have been compromised by the rain water. (Not trying to scare you or anything, but it's just the reality of things.)

 

[JayKosta]

If there is standing water or puddles, then you should pump or vacuum them out.
For 'wet ground' get several fans for as much ventilation as possible.
Maybe call 'disaster recovery' businesses and ask what type of service they can provide - they might have large heaters that would help.

When the ground has dried, try to find a way to avoid future problems.
Having adequate drainage away from the foundation is key. If water accumulates around the foundation then perhaps some simple shallow trenches would be enough to make it drain better.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[Tricycle Rider]

We're venturing into the dangerous territory of super nerd-dom now, but just last night I broke a part of the temple of my fave pair of reading glasses. (I fell asleep while reading, usually I just clumsily sit on and break my other glasses while decidedly not reading.)

Seeing as these are my fave I will try to fix them, will let you know how it goes.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Ta-daa!

Seeing as the temple joint wasn't broken there was still a way to save these (in one form or another, obviously you can't bend that temple anymore), there's nothing that a piece of foam and some duct tape can't fix!

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I've been mulling over this all weekend, thought of a better way to fix my reading glasses. A hot glue gun instead of foam! (I wanted something cushiny, but not so cushiny that the temple will bend in ways I don't want it to. And at the same time I didn't want crazy glue, because then the temple won't bend at all.)

So a blob of hot glue seems to be doing it... technically I probably won't need the duct tape anymore. But just for cosmetic reasons I'll give it a layer of color-coordinated duct tape.

Ta-daa! (Take 2)

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Okay, today's DIY projects involves my mom's '86 Honda CRX, parts of the body are starting to fall apart. This is in the hood area, you can see a big old crack running down the side of the body in my picture.

The old parts that originally came with the bolt are all cracked and useless, so besides duct tape I really like to use rubber wine corks as a fix. (I'm partial to Barefoot wines, your mileage may vary.)

Obviously the car will never be the same again, but for now the cork stops any further movement and further cracking. And if I come up with something better I'll let ya'll know. Or maybe Jay Kosta can come up with something, he's pretty knowledgeable, too.

 

[JayKosta]

It's difficult to tell from the photo - is the plate that the bolt goes thru also cracked?
Using the cork as a large washer will increase the grip area of the the bolt, and hopefully that will be enough.
If the plate that the bolt goes thru IS cracked, then I'd be looking for some type of 'mending plate' that would span across the crack and be securely attached on both sides - either with screws, or maybe JB-Weld epoxy.
You might also try putting a large metal washer between the top of the cork and bottom of the bolts's flange to make the 'squeezed area' larger.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

It's difficult to tell from the photo - is the plate that the bolt goes thru also cracked?
Using the cork as a large washer will increase the grip area of the the bolt, and hopefully that will be enough.
If the plate that the bolt goes thru IS cracked, then I'd be looking for some type of 'mending plate' that would span across the crack and be securely attached on both sides - either with screws, or maybe JB-Weld epoxy.
You might also try putting a large metal washer between the top of the cork and bottom of the bolts's flange to make the 'squeezed area' larger.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

My mom barely drives anymore, so as long as the Honda stays still in the garage the cork fix should work. :lol: But seriously...

I know it's really hard to describe, I do have one of those jaggedy nuts under the cork (the cork is acting as a sort of a plate) to fill the area where the original (broken) part used to be. And on the top of the cork I have a regular nut. So it seems to be holding things together fairly well.

I did use some crazy glue on the crack itself, but like you said, I probably should have used some heavy duty epoxy for a better hold. (I can do that next time once my fix comes apart.)

Thanks for the tip, Jay!

EDIT - if I knew my hardware vocabulary better things would go so much smoother... by jaggedy nut I actually was talking about a serrated lock washer, and by regular nut I meant a smooth washer. (Had to to look that up on the interwebs.) The cork is still acting as a connecting plate, though, I'm a bit limited with the plates seeing as nearly the whole damn Honda body is made of plastic. So can't really drill into anything because things are bound to crack.

I have to think about this some more... luckily the Honda is still sitting in the garage, so no harm done. Yet.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Honda project - Part Deux

I totally understand what Jay was saying, and because I wasn't happy with my initial fix I took it apart again and this time took some pics. So here's what I'm working with.

I added some more of those serrated lock washers to the bolt (had to replace the original bolt with one I had handy because it wouldn't have been long enough), so now I have a whole constellation of washers on a bolt. The wine cork stays as a plate, though.

Ta-daa! Here's the final outcome. (I left my tool and extra parts in the pic because, well, who doesn't want to show off their tools and extra hardware parts?)

Well anyway, we'll see for how long this will hold.

 

[JayKosta]

It looks like all those washers UNDER the cork might prevent the cork from being compressed tightly against the broken fender flange. I'd would just only enough washers under the cork to compensate for the missing section of the fender - so the surface is flat across.

The way I'd do it is sand the fender flange on both sides of the broken section so that epoxy has a good bonding surface. Get a flat metal 'mending plate' about 1 inch wide & 3 inches long with a hole in the center to accept the bolt. Place 1 washer on top of the female threaded clip (to make the surface flat across). The surface needs to be flat across so when you tighten the bolt, the mending plate presses down evenly on both sides and so the plate is not bent into a V shape by the bolt pulling the center section lower than the sides.
Then use JB-Weld epoxy to attach the mending plate on both ends so it spans across the break, and use 1 serrated 'lock washer' under the bolt head.

Jay

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

It looks like all those washers UNDER the cork might prevent the cork from being compressed tightly against the broken fender flange. I'd would just only enough washers under the cork to compensate for the missing section of the fender - so the surface is flat across.

The way I'd do it is sand the fender flange on both sides of the broken section so that epoxy has a good bonding surface. Get a flat metal 'mending plate' about 1 inch wide & 3 inches long with a hole in the center to accept the bolt. Place 1 washer on top of the female threaded clip (to make the surface flat across). The surface needs to be flat across so when you tighten the bolt, the mending plate presses down evenly on both sides and so the plate is not bent into a V shape by the bolt pulling the center section lower than the sides.
Then use JB-Weld epoxy to attach the mending plate on both ends so it spans across the break, and use 1 serrated 'lock washer' under the bolt head.

Jay

I see what you're saying. Here's what I did, and I don't know why this didn't occur to me before (sometimes I'm a bit slow)...

I took a piccy of the other flange (or is it flare? Have to look everything up on the interwebs), the one that is still in one piece. The diameter of the washers is small enough to where the cork presses down on the broken "flange", though. And the reason there are so many washers under the cork is so they mimic the width of the broken part that used to sit under the broken "flange".

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Have a question for you gardeners out there - are Lily of the Valleys poisonous to wild frogs? (By "wild" frogs I mean ones that are not held in captivity in some kind of a tank, they just kinda roam around in the wild world out there.)

Reason I'm asking is because I have a hanging basket I just re-planted my Lily of the Valleys into, this particular hanging basket tiny little frogs sometimes climb into in the summer because it's the Hilton hotel of all frog hotels. (It has a water receptacle at the bottom, so it serves as kinda like a pool the frogs like to rest in when it gets hot and dry.)

Don't know if frogs actually eat Lily of the Valleys (I know this plant is toxic to other wildlife that does), so that's why I'm asking.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Back by popular demand in this thread - it's gardening time!

Right, bought some gorgeous tomato plants that were on sale recently (two Early Girls and one cherry tomato)... the tomato bed has been prepped with basic plant soil and some peet moss, and this year I'll try a new fertilizer. So yeah...

My tomatoes will never be as big, delicious, and succulent looking as krebs', but hey, I'm still trying.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

A bit inspired, the potatoes went into the ground today.....
Parsley too.
Good luck TR.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

A bit inspired, the potatoes went into the ground today.....
Parsley too.
Good luck TR.

That's awesome, DC, one of these days I'd like to be able to grow my own potatoes as well. What kind of sun do they need? (They're cheap to buy in the store, but there's nothing as rewarding as being able to grow your own food! )

In the meantime, till I'm able to grown my own potatoes, I've bought these gladiolus bulbs that were on sale - have had very poor results trying to grow them in the local soil (plus added other types of soil) in the past, so will try to grow them in pots instead. It's supposed to be easy... we shall see.