Recent content by Astro14

I sure hope it doesn’t. People in the southern tier of the US states have no idea why we have daylight savings time. But up in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, it’s dark a lot more of the year than it is down south. Making daylight savings time permanent would mean my kids are going to school...

We are 100% electric for outdoor power equipment. 20" mower, leaf blower, leaf vacuum, string trimmer, hedge trimmer, extended reach hedge trimmer. All Makita. One battery system. Love it! Never a problem starting. No gas to buy or store. No maintenance. Just pull the trigger and go...

The wrist watch became common because of aviation. In the unheated cockpits of the very early 1900s, pilots could not pull out a pocket watch for timing because of their heavy gloves. So, Cartier, most famously, made a wristwatch at the request of an early aviator. They became essential...

Since my bookshelf project was about 10 years ago, I’m not familiar with that particular product from general finishes. Mine was just a regular spray polyurethane. But it looks easy to apply. Decades ago, I was a big fan of Bartley* finishes. They might still be around. They might not. But...

I used General Finishes - both the stain and the clear. Spray on for both. Bought at a local Woodcraft. The spray on stain helps ensure even coverage. Poplar can absorb unevenly, so, if you don’t spray, I would recommend a stain conditioner

If you’re going to paint, birch or poplar plywood is nice and smooth. Poplar trim takes paint well, too. Just be certain to sand it well - start with 120, then 150, finish up to 180 or 220 for paint.

Close up of the poplar shelves - showing the nosing. Again, a 3/4 by 1 1/2” poplar board adds great stiffness to the plywood shelf, and with a decorative edge, it looks attractive.

Every single one of my cars (except the Packard) has this kind of filter. Not one of them has ever been crushed in over a hundred oil changes. Not one. I use genuine Mercedes, genuine Volvo, or Mahle. That’s it. Check out FCP Euro for good filters for your car - I think this is a filter...

I don’t think YouTube ever had a mind or morality in the first place…

Now, if you want to do this inside your house, and you want it to look nice, that is a different matter. I would skip the big box stores. I would find a local lumber yard. Straight grained Fir is an inexpensive choice with good strength. Anything else gets very costly very quickly. Poplar is...

In general, the big box stores have terrible wood selection, pricing, and availability. What you’re seeing there is suitable for framing a house, but not building the kind of cabinetry that you’re talking about. Now, if you carefully select some kiln dried, two by fours that are straight, no...

Not a chance that the JB weld would hold up in those circumstances. A new Nissens compressor runs about 200 bucks. You’ll need to pull the front bumper to get at the receiver/dryer, then replace the compressor, replace the receiver/dryer, vacuum it down, fill it by weight. Not a hard job, and...

That’s a good boss. I was fortunate to have many good leadership examples in my early years in the US Navy.

Nicely equipped Tahoes are closer to $80K. We shopped the Tahoe/Suburban when we were looking for a car last year. Really nice. Driving experience was excellent - quiet, smooth ride. Nicely appointed inside. Tons of features. But, and I mean this sincerely, they are a LOT of truck. The...

The folks are wrong - run it if you like. Worst case - it costs you a bit of fuel economy from unnecessary drag. So what? That bit is going to be statistically insignificant for your case. The fact that GM is recommending it for the larger engine has my attention as well. So do what helps...