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Sycamore67

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Everything posted by Sycamore67

  1. Sycamore67
    Yesterday we were going to smoke ribs and I got out my electric water smoker. I got everything ready and turned it on and the heater was dead. I have had it quite awhile so we went out and bought a new MasterBuilt. I am hearing it up to drive off any smells and will put on ribs and a pork tenderloin in a bit. It is too clean now but smoke will be coming out. I am hungry. Anyone else smoke ribs?
  2. Sycamore67
    Looks like a great idea.
  3. Sycamore67
    Unless you are into selling projects speed is of no concern. Scrolling for me is a hobby and the main objective is to enjoy it. Why hurry? I have a very bad back but have a great tall office chair that provides excellent support. It was not cheap but worth every penny. Your chair, tilt of saw, height of saw and others will make it a bit easier on your back. Also taking breaks is important.
  4. Sycamore67
    This is an update to my Monarch post. We have now captured 16 caterpillars and they are busy munching on Milkweed. They are truly the hungry, hungry caterpillars. When they reach full size, they attach themselves to a high place with a fine silk that you can see in the first picture. They hang in a "J" and transform from a caterpillar to a chrysalis. I carefully peel the chrys off and attach them using thread to a stick in a cage. They are green to start with but eventually they turn dark and somewhat transparent. You can see the butterfly wing thru the chrysalis at this point. They will emerge very shortly after this. I am certain that some will ask why I remove them from outside. The reason is that maybe 10% survive outside. If I raise them inside, more than 95% make it to butterflies.
  5. Sycamore67
    I place my pieces on a 1/2" mesh that sits on top of an oil filled heater in my shop. It dries in a day or two with very little odor. I usually top coat with shellac or lacquer rattle can. I use Watco.
  6. Sycamore67
    I found this information.. "The group living east of the Rocky Mountains migrates south to spend the winter in Mexico. Those living west of the Rockies migrate to the coast of central and southern California." I now have about 14 Monarch caterpillars. Four of them formed their chrysalis yesterday and the rest are very busy eating milkweed leaves. I am wondering if my Monarchs are the Super ones that start the migration south. I watch the progress of migration on the Journey North website.
  7. Sycamore67
    I think sending biological waste thru the mail might not be avoid idea. I think you should just return it to Amazon. I have had very good luck buying wood online. Ocooch Hardwood is excellent as well as Bell Forest.
  8. Sycamore67
    I use a FD Polar.#5 on 3/4" thick puzzles. On 3/8" or 1/4" I will drop to a #3. I finish mine by dipping in Danish Oil. The finish will effect the gap between pieces. Like Rolf mentions, do not push sideways when cutting. Also, frequently Che k that your blade is 90 degrees. Cutting with a dull blade can also cause issues where yo are pushing too hard. I do not cut pine for puzzles as it is difficult to get the edges smooth. I like Poplar, cherry, quartersawn sycamore, and even maple.
  9. Sycamore67
    My Festool is HEPA rated so fine dust not escaping. The important point for me is to get the dust pickups in the best position to capture the dust. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on the dust collector/extractor and not enough on the dust pickups. For me, it is capture dust as close to the source as possible . Rolf and I along with others are using 3/4" Loc-Line to help do this.
  10. Sycamore67
    Every year we search for Monarch Caterpillars. Last year, we did not find any and were discouraged. I ave a two acre yard and we have several areas of milkweed which is what Monarchs eat. We had not found any this year until yesterday and now have 7 caterpillars. We have cages set up for them and feed them milkweed leaves. I think the hot weather is not good for them and they like it 60-90 F. It has been cooler the last several day and they are very active. One caterpillar has attached itself to the top of the cage in a "J" and will form a chrysalis soon.
  11. Sycamore67
    I have a Festool Dust extractor and use it on my Hegner and works very well. I also muse it with my sanders.
  12. Sycamore67
    Big difference between skip and ultra reverse.
  13. Sycamore67
    Why do you cut such woods with a small blade? I think you are asking for problems. it is not the quick clamp that is the problem
  14. Sycamore67
    I am very surprised at a #1 on 1/2" hardwoods. I would expect you would break blades. I would use a FD Polar #3 or #5. Besides being very thin in a tough wood, A small reverse type blade does not clear the sawdust well. I do not think it is the clamp but rather the type of blade.
  15. Sycamore67
    Certainly, I use a smaller blade with thinner woods or sharper corners. With time, one becomes comfortable with which blades work in certain situations.
  16. Sycamore67
    I never count the number of blades and change when they get dull and not cutting well. I will change blade type if needed to match the material I am cutting. I do Intarsia so I cut many types and thickness of wood which means different blades.
  17. Sycamore67
    The mask issue is an important one. But first, do you have any conditions that make you more at risk? If so, I would find a mask you can wear and really good ones can be expensive. I am opposed to using a fan to blow away the dust as it just keeps it in the air to breath. I believe the best approach is good dust collection on your saw. Several folks have built very good dust collection on their saws. That is what I use. I also have an air filter running in my shop.
  18. Sycamore67
    You could use a propane torch and watch the color. You can look up steel color temperatures. It will be a reddish orange. You will need to move the flame back and forth to avoid overheating Yes, let it cool between temper treatments. I think that you will end up with several trials until one works. If it is still too brittle after tempering, you can raise the tempting temperature. CAUTION...THE OIL WILL FLAME WHEN YOU PUT THE STEEL IN IT. DO THIS OUTSIDE AND PROTECT YOURSELF ESPECIALLY EYES AND SKIN. Or after all this, find a blade smith who can heat treat.
  19. Sycamore67
    This is a pretty common steel used in knife making. Recommended heat treatment Heat to 1625-1650 F do not soak Oil quench in warm oil Temper twice for one hour at 325-400 F Should give you a hardness of about 55 Rc. You do not want to water quench!!
  20. Sycamore67
    It is difficult to know for certain without knowing what grade of steel it is. It could be 1090, 5160 or several others. If you know, please post it. I do not think there is any reason to anneal. Heat up to red hot and quench. You can try water but it is a very fast quench and can cause cracks. Many springs are quenched using oil followed by tempering. As a first guess, try tempering in the oven at 400 F for an hour and then slow cool. If it breaks, increase the temperature. If not springy enough, decrease the tempering temperature. If we knew the exact steel grade would be much easier to recommend a heat treatment. Yes, I am a metalllurgist.
  21. Sycamore67
    The picture is not good enough to really tell. However, no matter how old, you can get parts. You should see it run to make certain motor and speed control are ok. They are expensive. Also, how many blade chucks it has as they are not cheap. If it looks good, I would maybe go to $100-150 max.
  22. Sycamore67
    That is a real pain ! For sites I do not really trust, I use Paypal. That way my credit card is not exposed to company I do not trust.
  23. Sycamore67
    Thank you !
  24. Sycamore67
    I am very pleased with my Ego battery tools. I have the chainsaw, string trimmer and blower. They are really about the weight of gas powered ones. I have three batteries..A smaller one(2.5 amps) and two bigger ones(5.0 amps). I use the smaller one mostly as it is lighter. However for any bigger jobs, I will use the heavier ones.
  25. Sycamore67
    The pull cord on my pressure washer with a Honda GC160 was not easy and now gone. The switch on my electric SunJoe is very easy.
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