What did you do today?

[legenddc]

Picked up 2 maple boards today to make the pullout cabinet sides from a cabinet shop that just added hardwoods. They don’t have a massive inventory and it’s about $.50 more than where I usually go but it’s 39 minutes away instead of 90. 

[Tom King]

I wish I had something half that good close to me.  I have nowhere to buy any hardwood without driving 85 miles in any direction.

Just cleaned house today.  With people coming to start picking up puppies this week Pam decided she wanted to do a deep cleaning of our house. 

I spent half a day cleaning and redoing the TV and cabinet it sits on.  We've been using it for probably close to 40 years, and it needed a Lot of work.  I think there were at least five generations of different kinds of cables that have been used over those years that had just been left in a snarl when I added another one.  It's very simple now with very few wires.  The router sits on it too, so there were all the old cables for that too.  I think those were the last phone lines in this house and haven't been used for I forget how many years.

I also found a Blu Ray player that we forgot we had and a whole stack of every kind of aerobics, Zumba, dance for exercise, Yoga, and probably something else I'm not remembering from Pam teaching all of those for over 45 years now.  I told her to look through the stack and throw away what she didn't want to keep.  At first, she threw them all away, but later got the bag back out of the outside trash can and decided she'd take part of her fiber room for reviewing some of the old routines.  At least she didn't want to put them back in the TV cabinet, so it's completely clean and pretty bare now.

I brought the Shop Vac in the house and used it on all the high stuff, so hopefully that will be good for some number of years again.

Hopefully back on that bathroom tomorrow.

[legenddc]

I'm trying to help the owner promote it on social media so it has a better chance of sticking around. He gave my dad, daughter and I a brief tour. Showed us a pneumatic clamping table with a bunch of dog holes so you can move the clamps wherever you need them. Also gave us a demo of their pneumatic Blum cabinet hinge drilling tool. It was pretty cool and my daughter seemed interested the whole time we were there.

After putting my son to bed tonight I picked up my phone and saw a $390 charge to JetBlue. AMEX has been alerted and my new credit card will be here soon. It must have gotten skimmed at the grocery store I've never been to until today or Home Depot.

[gee-dub]

Lee Valley sent an email about a sale.  I use the Beall Tilt Box and they had them for $28.  I figured that was cheap insurance in case my years-old one ever goes out.  Since I was spending a Christmas gift card I also picked up the Accu-Burr scraper burnisher.

I have a few old handles that I believe grandpa turned for his jewelry files.  They are irregular enough to be obviously one-offed.  I use different handles for those files now but still have a few of grandpa's around. 

I plugged the holes with hardwood toothpicks and epoxy and re-drilled them.

There is a pretty good friction fit. 

If required I will add a bit of adhesive.  I'll report back after I have a chance to try this thing out. It is always a treat to have a bit of dad or grandpa around the shop.

[gee-dub]

OK, I took a scraper out of the rack and removed the current edges in the usual way.

I then used the Accu-Burr on one long side as per the instructions; sans pulling the edge out. I gave the freshly milled edge two passes with the 5 degree notch and then one pass with the 10 degree notch. The results were fine.

I pulled the edge out (which is my usual method) prior to doing the same 5 degree and 10 degree passes on the opposite long edge. My results were better.

YMMV. I am just posting to share my experience.

[Mark J]

On 1/31/2023 at 9:57 PM, Coop said:

For those that are considering an appropriate extinguisher,,there are several choices.

TYPES OF FIRES

1. Class  A, wood, paper, trash, anything that leaves an ash ….. 2.5 gallon pressurized water extinguisher. Cannot be used on electrical or flammable liquids. Nothing more than a portable water hose, limited to 2.5 gallons of water. 

2. Class B -  flammable liquids. BC dry chemical but not effective on class A. Also includes CO2 extinguishers. 

 

3. Class BC - Flammable liquids and electrically generated fires. ABC dry chemical, BC dry chemical, CO2 and smaller Hallatron. Again, without the A rating, not effective on class A fires.

4. Class ABC. ABC rated dry chemical extinguishers and larger halon or Halatron units. The chemical extinguishers definitely leave a residue but are more effective than the halongonated extinguishers. IMO, better to clean up the mess than the ashes. 
 

Myself, I have ABC dry chemical in my shop and house with a small halatron extinguisher in my kitchen for small grease fires. 
 

Make sure the extinguisher has a gauge and metal valve and not manufactured by Kidde. My two bits! 

 

On 2/1/2023 at 11:18 AM, Mark J said:

Great info, @Coop.  Any manufacturers you particularly like?

 

On 2/1/2023 at 12:28 PM, Coop said:

Amerex, Badger and Ansul Sentry are all good extinguishers.

These posts are from about a year ago, but I'm finally getting around to replacing our fire extinguishers.  @Coop I have found that Amerex extinguishers are available from Home Depot on line (and I have a gift card).  I am looking at getting one dry powder for the basement workshop and another dry powder for the house.  But I'm wondering about the size?  I was looking at the units rated "10 pounds", but these actually weigh about 20 lbs.  I'm thinking that's about as heavy as my wife is going to be able lift, so I'm wondering about a 5 pound rated extinguisher (that actually weighs 10 lbs).  What are your thoughts?

[Coop]

Mark, taking total weight into consideration is important as if it’s too heavy to use, then it’s worthless. 
There are different types of dry chemical and the most common and effective one is the “ABC”. In addition to capacity, an extinguisher also comes with a rating. For example, 4A80 BC. This means that when being used by the average person, it will put out 4 cubic feet of class A fire and 80 square ft of flammable liquids and can be used on an electrically charged fire. The classes are described in your question above. 
Since you are inquiring about the Amerex extinguishers, the ratings for theirs is:

1) Model B500, 5 lb ABC - 2A:10BC

2) Model B402, 5 lb ABC - 3A:40BC

3) Models B456 & B441, 10 lb ABC - 4A80BC

The difference in # 1 and 2 is a different formulation in the chemical. 
Having said that, in answer to your question, I would buy a 10# for your shop and a 5# for the house. Not only are extinguishers good for putting out small fires but they also give you an added means of escape if the fire is too large to extinguish. 
Hope that helps. 

[Immortan D]

I framed a large puzzle for my daughter.

 

 

[Chestnut]

@Coop I'd love to hear your thoughts on storage in the kitchen?

I get a lot of comments from visitors because i store mine on top of my fridge in plain sight. I appreciate the comments and point out "Hey you now know exactly where my extinguisher is located".

[legenddc]

What's a typical shelf life of a fire extinguisher? Thinking the Kiddie one I bought around June 2012 when we moved in might be due for a replacement.

I keep ours in the coat closet that's pretty close to the kitchen. I should probably put it lower in case my wife has to grab it in an emergency.

[Coop]

My expertise is mainly with commercial customers where they are required to locate their extinguishers in plain sight with a locator sign posted above it. We always get negative feedback from customers that have fancy showrooms when we mount red fire extinguishers next to expensive sofas, fancy jewelry show cases or 4 star hotel lobbies but if you can’t see the extinguisher in plain view, it will  be impossible to find in an emergency. 
Personally, I have one in the cabinet below the kitchen sink ( next to the stove). We also have one in the laundry room, several feet away. In case of a stove fire, my wife knows to go to the laundry room and vise versa. She also knows how to use them. I think on top of the fridge is a great idea. 

[Coop]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:33 AM, legenddc said:

What's a typical shelf life of a fire extinguisher? Thinking the Kiddie one I bought around June 2012 when we moved in might be due for a replacement.

Tuff subject. For a business that is required to have extinguishers, there are three required maintenance periods, the last of which is a 12 year hydro-test on the cylinder itself, not unlike any other DOT pressurized vessel. Again, think commercial use where an extinguisher will be rattling around in a truck or in a plant where it will be exposed to a rough environment. I’m not saying don’t have this done to an extinguisher that is in a clothes closet or on top of a fridge but, ……. 
The cost for the hydro-test and recharge of a home sized unit is about the same as a replacement so 12 years might be considered a shelf life. 

You mentioned that yours is a Kidde brand. Just make sure that the discharge valve and handle are not plastic as Kidde has recalled millions of these units. I don’t trust these straight out of the box. Amerex is the industry standard and relatively inexpensive. 
 

On 2/16/2024 at 9:33 AM, legenddc said:

I keep ours in the coat closet that's pretty close to the kitchen. I should probably put it lower in case my wife has to grab it in an emergency.

Yeah, it needs to be un-obstructed and within reach. 

[legenddc]

Thanks Coop. I'll have to get an Amerex one here soon. Certainly more expensive than a Kiddie but way less than our insurance deductible.

 

[Mark J]

On 2/14/2024 at 7:01 PM, Coop said:

Mark, taking total weight into consideration is important as if it’s too heavy to use, then it’s worthless. 
There are different types of dry chemical and the most common and effective one is the “ABC”. In addition to capacity, an extinguisher also comes with a rating. For example, 4A80 BC. This means that when being used by the average person, it will put out 4 cubic feet of class A fire and 80 square ft of flammable liquids and can be used on an electrically charged fire. The classes are described in your question above. 
Since you are inquiring about the Amerex extinguishers, the ratings for theirs is:

1) Model B500, 5 lb ABC - 2A:10BC

2) Model B402, 5 lb ABC - 3A:40BC

3) Models B456 & B441, 10 lb ABC - 4A80BC

The difference in # 1 and 2 is a different formulation in the chemical. 
Having said that, in answer to your question, I would buy a 10# for your shop and a 5# for the house. Not only are extinguishers good for putting out small fires but they also give you an added means of escape if the fire is too large to extinguish. 
Hope that helps. 

HD doesn't carry the B441 model, but they do have the B456.  Here is what Home Depot carries in Amrex:

https://www.homedepot.com/b/AMEREX/Class-ABC-Multiple-Use/N-5yc1vZu55Z1z1pbdu/Ntk-elastic/Ntt-fire%2Bextinguisher?NCNI-5&sortby=price&sortorder=asc

and the B441 at Amrex site:  https://amerexfireextinguishers.com/products/amerex-10lb-abc-b441?variant=29047979985

Might be of interest to others, as well.  Nice thing with HD is you can get free in store delivery/return. 

I'm thinking I will order one 10# (B456) from HD, first, see if my wife can heft it, then order the second extinguisher accordingly.  But what's the difference between the B441 and the B456?

[Coop]

The 441 has an aluminum valve and the 456 has a brass valve. Both good extinguishers. 

[BillyJack]

Trying to straighten up and clean. Endless…

[legenddc]

How's the cleaning go?

We had made some good progress but the 50+ cases of Girl Scout cookies picked up on Friday has my office feeling pretty messy. Thankfully all of the girls picked up their cookies. Just need my daughter to drop off all of hers and we'll be in better shape.

[Coop]

I have my purple Martin houses on a winch system so that I can lower them and raise them to keep out the unwonted birds, I.e. starlings and sparrows. I’ve had them lowered since September and needed to clean them from last season. The starlings and sparrows pack the compartments with weeds and grass and the martins build a simple twig type nest so it’s easy to tell the difference. There was a box/nest that was completely full of nest material and I reached in to remove it. A fox squirrel dashed out, onto my arm and down my leg and disappeared. I’m on a 6’ ladder with no time to react. Upon further investigation, I find this little fellow. I’m leaving the bird house down in hopes that mom will return. 

[Mark J]

I know little about different birds.  What makes the purple martins special?

[Tpt life]

54 minutes ago, Mark J said:

I know little about different birds.  What makes the purple martins special?

They were hunted to near extinction, then preserved in human made houses. I don’t know of any still nesting in natural cavities. All populations are dependent on the human made homes. They are voracious bug eaters, and desired around farms. 

[Coop]

Martins are also supposed to return to the same nesting boxes year after year. I would like to band a few to see if that’s true but you have to be licensed to do so. I like to care for them as it’s a sign that spring is right around the corner when they arrive. I had 3 males show three days ago. And, they are a pleasure to listen to in the evening when 30-35 show up and are nesting. 

[Mark J]

I'm curious what they would have been hunted for?

@Coop, in addition to lowering the boxes in the off season, have you considered closing off the entrance holes?

[Tpt life]

The color of the feathers led to some hunting. The introduction of of Starlings and House Sparrows (both invasive cavity dwellers) led to habitat loss. Pesticide use has selectively limited lots of different bugs they used to eat. Hunted in my first post might have been a bit too narrow. 

[pkinneb]

Returned from our Caribbean cruise thought you might enjoy these pics of a horse carving progression they had set by the carousel. It appears the legs and tail are applied at the end. I thought it was pretty cool.

Oh and a nice sunset photo as well 

[Coop]

Wow, that IS cool!