DURING Quarantine - anything going on?

[willienillie]

Sorted out my coffee machine.

I finally fixed my (only) shower, after about seven months of needless suffering.  If you have one of the one-knobbers that only puts out hot (or cold) water, it's a part called a Pressure Balancing Unit.  For the Kohler, the part is $52 at Lowe's, but I found one on Ebay for $20 shipped.  During the simple swap-out, I must've disturbed some crumbling seals in the mixer cap, which created a small leak when the water was running, a leak that sent water into the wall.  Well Kohler doesn't sell those seals separately, so I had to replace the entire mixer cap, and since I needed it the same day, there goes $42 at Lowe's.  But all good now, no more scalding hot showers, and I surely came in under the cost of hiring a plumber.

how come the Italians are still making Jensens when Celestions are now made in China?

Well, Jensens used to be made in Chicago, so...

^awesome drumming man..love it...

True, but imagine what he could do with a chinchilla tail:

[aron]

Pressure Balancing Unit. 

Yep! Been there. Taking out the pressure balancing kit was tough and the "new" redesigned part was a tight fit going back in! They redesigned the part a couple of times for mine.
Good job!

[iainpunk]

Just snagged and salvaged a dead microwave yesterday. Thinking now about what to do with the transformer. Also, spending an inordinate amount of time wondering what happened to the Tayda discount.

i used a microwave transformer in a class A power amp, using a DTS410 in a common emitter amplifier.
i put a 10H choke on the HV side for more inductance thus more efficient output.

cheers,
Iain

[stallik]

Had a fret lift. I could use a hammer to tap it back down but would prefer to clamp it. Trouble is, clamps cost money and take time to arrive. So I made my own.

[davent]

Neat idea, you can generate enough force with that type of clamp to seat the fret no problem?

Never seen a reverse pistol squeeze clamp before.
dave

[Kipper4]

I've seen a butchered mole grip clamp before but not one like Kevin's.
Sweet.

[stallik]

I hope there'll be enough pressure but of not, I can reuse the cauls in onto her jig. The clamp was from the cheap isle in Aldi's. Probably the best I've ever had

[Kipper4]

Glad you said that. I'll invest in a couple when I'm in the cheap isle.
Got some wood projects lined up. Bird nesting box, flower pot display stand, drain covers.
Thanks for the heads up.

[willienillie]

Pressure Balancing Unit. 

Yep! Been there. Taking out the pressure balancing kit was tough and the "new" redesigned part was a tight fit going back in! They redesigned the part a couple of times for mine.
Good job!

Mine was a newer design also (GP800820).  There are generics on Ebay of the older design for $10, but I didn't know how well those work, so I bought the new Kohler part.  From what I saw online, some brands' PBUs require a special tool, but the Kohler just pulls out by hand.

[stallik]

My clamp worked perfectly

Admission time. I wear false nails. Well, I play with my nails not a pick, they're very thin and they break easily. When they do, I'll stick all kinds of things over them, flood with superglue and keep playing.

So, a new guitar fitted with pickups carefully chosen from my parts bin was tearing my nails to pieces. Sharp edges to the pole pieces. Decided to file of the edges. Masked, filed then more tape applied and rubbed down hard to capture the filings. Works nicely - I ended up with a little more bevel than this pic shows

[davent]

My clamp worked perfectly

Admission time. I wear false nails. Well, I play with my nails not a pick, they're very thin and they break easily. When they do, I'll stick all kinds of things over them, flood with superglue and keep playing.

Ping pong ball, manicure scissors and super glue. Took classical guitar for years and my job was working with hands all day long so nails were always a struggle. You get long stares from patrons when you're in the salon getting a manicure.
dave

[Kevin Mitchell]

I've been self isolating for years. Making the most of my time as business has been slow. Weekday hikes are best now since everybody and their cousin are "outdoors" people on weekends during the advisory.





Other than more mountains, I've been picking at the breadboard and sipping on jack and cola while roaming the west (RDR2). Yeah, I'm fancy.

-KM

[anotherjim]

I meant to mention those Aldi clamps. They do a set of 2 large & 2 small. I found them especially useful to clamp a guide fence on the drill press table so I can chain drill long slots for slide pots.
Though, they are "special buys" so might not be stocked in stores currently.

[PRR]

> Anyone doing anything during quarantine??? Live performances

I went to WalMart. Here, limit 100 customers in the store so most of the day there is a waiting line, perhaps 10-30 minutes. It's real boring. And it will be followed by the really insipid muzak in the ceiling.

If a mellow singing guitarist set up near (>6 feet) the line, they might collect a few dollars and a few smiles.

Obviously Walmart can't pay you (the local manager has no authority). It may even be illegal (in the next town, 3 amplified instruments must have a license). Laws about "begging". Keep it mellow, low-key. Be ready to quit and split without attitude.

[vigilante397]

Not a bad idea Paul. I know all our stores are limiting customers, but the only time I've had to stand in line and wait was home depot. Everyone in town seems to have time at home and now has their stimulus check, time to renovate the house/yard apparently.

[Phend]

Watch the video below, try to control the "earworm"
"Have you ever woken up in the morning and realized that you have a song stuck in your head? Usually they're annoying—the sorts of songs you don't want stuck in your head; the sorts of songs that, if you begin to sing them aloud, will garner you numerous nasty looks from the people around you. Because now they, too, have that dumb song stuck in their heads."
"Those songs are called earworms. The name for the catchy tune is apt: the word itself sounds wriggly and unappealing. This particular earworm is an English translation of the German name for the tunes—Ohrwurm. Those Germans, you think. They have the best words."

[Phend]

[duck_arse]

near the garage door, the bromeliads have bloomed, or flowered, at least.



in the Illawarra Flame tree over the same garage, in the gloom, is the last Brush Turkey, the rest of the family moved out this week.



and, inside the garage, I've been buzzing wood w/ the router, for boxes. honestly, I make this shit up as I go along, I have no idea what will be the end look, and it rarely matches my original "vision". see here:



top left shows Lagarostrobos franklinii, Huon Pine [note - not a eucalypt], two side panels and the end pieces with channels cut for the noise panel I'm building. the top right w/ finger joints is for the carcass of same, is Tasmanian Oak, [one of] Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash), Eucalyptus obliqua (stringybark or messmate) or Eucalyptus delegatensis (alpine ash or woollybutt). we use that for door frames and picture rails.

bottom left shows two cut, near ready [note the bands from the double stick tape] panels of Bottlebrush,
Callistemon citrinus 'Endeavour' [note - not a eucalypt] - which was grown in our yard. very very sleek and satin smooth finish - well, it will be when polished properly. the grubby yellow mess lower left is what I used to think was bleached Jarrah, but now think is Eucalyptus robusta, swamp mahogany or swamp messmate. that is to be side panels for an overdrive.

I've made a few cuts in the huon pine since taking the pics this arvo, and am somewhat happier with the way that is shaping, even if the finished proportions will be way off what I wanted.

[amptramp]

I am busily lazily at work on an amplifier that should be unique.  I won't give details yet as it is not all that likely to work, but it does occupy my time.

[Mark Hammer]

You have leaves? Pure luxury!!

The crocuses have come and gone, the hyacinths are withering and the daffodils are finally out, but we're waiting for leaves, here.  The annual tulip festival was cancelled.  We had snow flurries this morning.  May the 8th and we have snow.  It didn't remain on the ground, but the very notion that it was cold enough for a drizzle to transform into flakes is deeply offensive.  The irony is that the province declared yesterday that garden centers could open up today.  Uh-huh.  "Could I possibly see what bedding plants you have there under those sheets?"