meta user
network profile
| bio | website | |
|---|---|---|
| location | New York, NY | |
| age | 57 | |
| visits | member for | 2 years, 9 months |
| seen | 15 hours ago | |
| stats | profile views | 261 |
In no special order, bridge, woodworking/woodturning, applied mathematics and numerical analysis and mathematical modeling.
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Apr 26 |
comment |
Is my kitchen cabinet door beyond repair? Expanding anchors won't work in particle board at all well. Worse, they are not designed to go into a thin board, which that island wall is. |
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Apr 24 |
awarded | Nice Answer |
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Mar 27 |
answered | Can I store unused hardwood floor and base trim in a shed (or garage)? |
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Mar 19 |
awarded | wood |
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Mar 18 |
answered | How do I sharpen wood lathe tools? |
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Mar 17 |
answered | How can I fix a small slightly damp area in my basement wall? |
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Mar 3 |
comment |
When I turn down the dimmer switch on my lights, do I actually use less electricity? @JayBazuzi - I just remembered that Random832 did write out the math. Read his response, which agrees with my statement (in principle) though I won't claim to work out exactly what happens with a 1000 watt bulb. |
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Mar 3 |
comment |
When I turn down the dimmer switch on my lights, do I actually use less electricity? @JayBazuzi - the fact is, the LOWER you set a dimmer switch the more energy is pushed through the resistors inside that dimmer, thereby generating heat. What I have not seen is an actual statement that says the relation is an EXACTLY as you state it. And a dimmer switch will not go down all the way to zero anyway. But I have tested my claim. Drop the setting on a dimmer, and it heats up dramatically. This ONLY applies to the old style dimmers that use this scheme. |
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Feb 19 |
comment |
Is a built-in oven easier to maintain than a standalone one? @JeremyStein - sadly, no. It was an old GE unit, and really it was the controls for those burners that were the problem. They were difficult to obtain. We did it once at a cost of hundreds of dollars, and they died again quickly. And of course, those controls were built into the fan unit that was also built into the upper cabinets. Replacing the cooktop meant finding one that would fit into that old hole in the counter, or replacing the counter. It also meant redoing the cabinets above to tear out the vent/controls above. In the end, it would have been a complete kitchen redo. Sold the house. |
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Feb 19 |
comment |
Is a built-in oven easier to maintain than a standalone one? We once had a built-in cooktop that died. It looked nice, but when it needed replacing, we found out that we would be forced to redo major parts of our kitchen, at a cost of many thousands of dollars. So we lived with a cooktop that had only one burner working (out of 4) for years. |
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Feb 5 |
comment |
What are the most common electrical distribution systems around the world? Actually, the last time I checked, America was not a continent. |
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Feb 4 |
comment |
How do I repair a garage door with a rusty bottom? I'll echo what Sean has said about rusty metal primers. Get the rust off, but then these primers will do a splendid job of inhibiting further rust. I'd be tempted to use the primer, and only then fill any holes with a body repair compound, so no further rust will set in. |
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Feb 3 |
comment |
How can I cut regularly spaced 45 degree grooves in a piece of wood? Exactly - a dado blade can give flat bottoms. However, a CHEAP wobble dado blade can give a bottom that has a bit of a curve to it, so this might even be best for your goal. |
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Feb 3 |
comment |
How can I cut regularly spaced 45 degree grooves in a piece of wood? In any case, a backer board is necessary to prevent tear out as the bit/blade comes through the back of the wood. |
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Feb 3 |
comment |
How can I cut regularly spaced 45 degree grooves in a piece of wood? +1 A router table will do this nicely, or a tablesaw would do as well using a similar setup. If the slot is wider than the width of a blade, a dado blade would help there. |
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Feb 1 |
awarded | Nice Answer |
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Jan 22 |
comment |
What is the cheapest way to stiffen a tube/pipe? @MichaelKaras - yeah, I was going to add that point about being able to bend the tubing at all, and I agree that adding foam is of little value. I was merely saying that it would help a little. Not much though. |
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Jan 22 |
comment |
What is the cheapest way to stiffen a tube/pipe? @MichaelKaras is probably correct here. However, the foam WOULD serve SOME purpose, by reducing the tendency of the tubing to flatten under load, which would greatly reduce its load carrying capacity. This trick is how one can bend copper tubing (without causing the tube to flatten) by filling it with ice. |
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Jan 7 |
answered | Do home radiators waste water? |
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Jan 7 |
revised |
What kind of drill bit would I use to grind down the end of a protruding screw? added 18 characters in body |
