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Interesting concept. As I've transitioned from my military career into private retail, I've often thought of getting a more stable post-retirement job. I get my 40 hours, but the schedule might find me working any of the seven days between 7 AM and 10 PM. The Gregorian calendar is somewhat flawed, but it's what many of us grew up with. Having a more symmetric calendar, with common sense weeks and particularly work schedules would be nice. I also like the concept of having a designated holiday period at the end of the year, when many Westerners celebrate their religious holiday (Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, etc.) and the New Year. Having my background, though, I will say that the work schedule would only work for white-collar and maybe some blue-collar jobs. As a former mechanic, I would be on call one week a month to work at Philip Morris in case of an equipment issue. Being a road tech, with a take-home vehicle, the company had substantial investment in me, and would be unable to afford to hire two three-day employees and outfit us with the necessary equipment. Monday through Friday, 0730-1600, was typical for our fleet of some 15 trucks, so we'd either have to share trucks or the company would have to double the fleet. Later, in the military, and especially as a Drill Sergeant, I learned that 168 hours in a week is not enough. Early in each cycle, I'd find myself working 0300-2200 daily, before grabbing some plain McDoubles for me and the Lab and getting a few hours of rest. Some weeks I'd average 17 hours a day for seven days straight. Twenty-four-hour duty was a break of sorts, as we'd do our 24 hours, then go home and get 18-21 hours off. I'll definitely keep monitoring this and provide feedback and input. I think it would be difficult to establish a new calendar, but if it garners enough support, your Altanic calendar has a lot of good concepts that could make life easier for many of us.

More updates The riding mower supposedly has a 4th slot for a big battery under the seat. I can't confirm nor deny this claim. I think the kit comes with 2 of the big batteries. Ego wants the price to work with the user. Some users don't need all 4 batteries and therefore Ego has a more affordable option. Ego claimed built in batteries are more expensive because you have to pay for the max runtime regardless of if you need it or not. I also like removable batteries in riding mowers because you can swap in a fresh set if you need to keep mowing versus a built in solution you would have to wait for the machine to charge. The battery slot for a regular battery is to use the mower as a charger for regular batteries. The 20 inch chainsaw has a screen on it (never thought I would see a chainsaw with a screen on it). You can also set the rate of flow for the oil system for the chain. the new 22inch commercial walk behind mower has height adjust in the front separate from the back. This will allow for adjusting the rake of the mower. It also has lights standard like many other Ego tools. I forgot to mention the deck is aluminum and the motor fits 2 batteries. There is also a similar metal deck residential model coming but it fits only one battery. The new 22 inch mowers will have the ability to run at a blade tip speed of 19,000 feet per minute. This is the legal max speed limit for mower blades. The residential model kit will cost roughly the same as the commercial model bare tool. All the initial gen 2 commercial products announced last year except the backpack blower were considered prototypes. About a year later and all of them are now available to purchase at some places. The chargers and big batteries are not available yet. I don't know when those will become available. Sounds like every tool will have some kind of bluetooth features. I am not sure what all the bluetooth features will include but I know it will be able to track charge cycles of batteries and other important information. It will even know when batteries are ready to be replaced.

Great find and I would buy that in a second if it's just the handle that is broken. Yes, nice to have good neighbors, especially if they are in the trades.

Thought this was funny: https://youtu.be/jODoK2zmPXg

Agree, yes a jig saw metal blade would work with that and 1/8 steel.

Just got done a Master Bath remodel. Gutted everything to the studs. There was 3 floors all built on each other that had to be broken out. Installed a new window. Built in a bench in the shower. Insulated everything. Re-did all the electric, added outlets, lighting. Had to repair some rotted wood. Install new electric baseboard heater. Moved plumbing from one side of existing shower to the other side. Tiled the entire bathroom. Full tile in shower and half wall outside of shower. Still waiting for frameless doors to come in. New toilet, vanities, sink. And I would say I lost roughly a week between the plumber doing his work and the drywall guys doing their work. My wonder is how long it normally would take to do this job completely. I did it by myself 75% of the time and the rest of the time I had a helper to do some things that didn't require any skill. It took me exactly 4 weeks. Bathroom is roughly 11' deep and about 6 foot wide with the first 3 feet of it only 3 foot wide (basically a little walkway into the room). Is that way too long or am I on pace. If that's way too long, what can I do scheduling wise to make the next one go faster.

I figured it out !

ITS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! https://www.ihlcanada.com/outdoors/snow-and-ice-removal/snow-blowers/dewalt-dcsnp2142y2-ca-60v-single-stage-snow-blower-34959?returnurl=%2fsearch%3fq%3ddewalt%26count%3d27

I’m finishing an overseas tour in S. Korea where manufacturing is common and cheap. There’s a bag manufacturer here that has agreed to produce a carry bag for the 102” tracksaw guide rail at $110 per bag. I should have the initial prototype in 2-3 weeks. It’s designed to hold one rail on each side with a soft padded fabric on the inside. DeWalt logo embroidered on the outside, or anything else as desired. Extra pocket on the outside for clamps and a loose piece of fabric in the center to separate the rails from rubbing. Anyone interested in padded protection for their long guide rails? I don’t think that I’ll make this a business, but I could do a limited production run based on interest.

Also the same product but under 100 different names issue is quite bad too. I don't want gkjhg drill or astwre drill or [fill in the blank no name brand] drill. I want a DeWALT or a Milwaukee or a [fill in the blank name brand] drill.

The two KREK2440 clamp kits I ordered came the other day I also got the Ultra Shear bit in. To my surprise it came with a RackBit base included. I might have to try out the full RackBit system priced a bit high though.

OK makes moire sense with the spray paint and caulk. Personally, I would save the money and just throw them in the bin. It's a cool idea and sure a lot of people will jump on that one if the price is right. However, I do like the drill and impact holder.

There is almost no such thing as US agents for customer service. Amazon, internet providers, and other companies purposely hire foreign agents from Philippines and India who are willing to work for peanuts. Americans wouldn't work for the amount of money they get paid. Early on Amazon looked like the world’s best company, (taking a loss in profits) to kill off all competition. Now that Amazon has captured market share, shipping, delivery, customer service has gotten worse.

Same here, Craftsman is something that we don't see in the United Queendom, oh sorry United Kingdom recently! Yes, Stanley Fatmax old batteries were same as Porter Cable batteries, but they switched to Craftsman in the last two-three years I think. They made an adapter for old batteries also which would allow you to use Porter Cable batteries with Craftsman tools or Craftsman batteries with Porter Cable tools. Bostitch had a 12V tool using DeWALT batteries, cardbord stapler I think!

Agree 100% on they are tools by many. Wish I had a 1/10 o the knowledge you have but eventually, I will get there.

Usually tools get released at unknown dates and I like knowing that a tool is coming today. I might not know what tool but I know one is coming

I see eye to eye with you on gun ownership. I don't always have a lot of feedback when you post hear but only because I am such a novice and need to learn a ton more, but time is tight. One day I will have the time to get more into guns as it's going to be a passion. Always happy when you post to this thread.

I have done over two dozen uses with the new batteries and the larger ahr. batteries are proving to be an improvement over the original 75 ahr. units. The lowered DOD is showing up. The cost per hour is also dropping. It used to cost $0.10-$0.11 to mow my lawn and now it costs $0.07-$0.08. I know it's a small difference, but it will add up.

20 hours was first attempt at using epoxy and first attempt attempt at making a cutting board/serving tray. It is no surprise it took so long. Cutting the time down should be easy. Using a deep pour epoxy should drop it down at least 4 hours alone. In terms of price a figure I saw for lawn mowing (my main occupation) is I should be charging a minimum of $60 an hour. I thought maybe it would be a similar rate for woodworking. 20 hours on a board would be $1200 usd. I don't expect anyone would spend that much on an 18 inch x 10 inch x 1-1/2 inch serving tray when you can buy epoxy cutting boards or charcuterie boards off etsy for a tenth the price that are listed as customizable. Sure those are using live edge boards where I am making my own boards with narrow strips of wood. I am also cutting a custom "river" into them for the epoxy instead of using a live edge as the "river". Also I will be cutting a letter of the customers choosing and cutting a border around the letter which also adds time. 10 hours is $600 and that still is a lot. That does not include material cost which is about $90 per board. I can't do mass scale production of boards to get cost down, but I do have 4 forms I can use to pour the epoxy meaning I could in theory make 4 boards at once. This could save some time. I want to save time without sacrificing quality. I included a picture of what I plan to build more of. The green "river" is what takes a lot of time. with it being 1-1/2 inch thick and only being able to cut maybe a 1/4 inch depth at a time it takes 6 passes plus an additional finish pass. I am hoping to cut that time down. Cutting the green river was a bit sketchy because the router was max depth with the bit slid down the collet a bit more than it should have been to reach the full depth of the board. I think the new method I am going to try will be much better overall regardless of if it saves time or not. Cutting out the part with the black epoxy is not something I think I can optimize much if any. I could speed up the board making process if I used live edge wood but then I wouldn't get the look of it being pieced together with narrow strips of wood.

No new guns...I'm taking a brief hiatus from gun buying to afford the 64-gun Cabelas by Liberty safe. One of the perks of my job is a 50% discount, so with tax and delivery it should come in under $2k. In the next year I'll probably add a couple of smaller 33 or 48 gun safes. I learned from my first gun safe that they are mostly useful as deterrents and for fire protection. The electronic lock failed, and it took about 15 minutes with a breaker bar, pry bar, and 4lb hammer to get into the approximately 550lb 36-gun safe. I recently joined both Gun Owners of America and the Firearms Policy Coalition. I know that some of the TIA Crew probably doesn't see eye-to-eye with me on firearms ownership, especially those from outside of the States, but I'm of the firm opinion that guns in the hands of trained, knowledgeable, and law-abiding Americans are the answer to increasing crime and are key to protecting our loved ones and ourselves. Anyway, just an update, hope everyone is doing well!

I ordered two 4 packs of bessey kre clamps on sale for $193 per pack. Not a bad price for bessey clamps. Hopefully they come to the right address this time. I double and triple checked to make sure it was sold by Amazon and not some no name seller. I also decided on the router bit I wanted to order. I decided to go with the Ultra Shear from Woodpeckers compression 2+2 flute spiral router bit with the half inch shank.

Yes, that is a killer deal. I would take that all day long. Good luck with the ceiling fans. I have one I need to hang but can't get the motivation to hang it. I don't know why, I always struggle with them and trying to figure out the directions.

I haven't bought any tools today, but I've advantage of Ryobi Days thrice, so far this year. I got the two-piece Verse clamp speakers and a fan with the 2-pack of 4Ah batteries and charger a few weeks ago, then went back and got the One+ HP starter kit with 2,4, and 6Ah batteries, opting for the pet vacuum. I like the Verse speakers more than the Score speakers I already owned. I guess their clamp fan design was a prototype for a whole lineup of clamping accessories, as the speakers use a very similar design, and there is also a clamp light now. The Score speakers relied on a primary unit and SKAA technology, allowing up to four hub speakers to be connected to the primary. The Verse speakers are Bluetooth and each can be programmed as a primary, with 100+ (according to Ryobi) being connected at once.

You have to start a new thread for your cooking. Just knowing and hearing what you have cooked over the years at your cookouts, sounds amazing, and would like to learn those technics and recipes. I have a Blackstone griddle and just got a Weber griddle. I know a lot of people swear by the Blackstone, but I love my Weber griddle. For the price you paid, that's awesome. My Blackstone had a warped cast iron top and they told me it was normal and would lay flat after about 7 cooking time. Never did for me. I can't wait to see what you smoke either. I have a pellet grill and just got an Oklahoma Joe. Trying to get into smoking more meats, nothing like it. The Oklahoma is amazing but it's one of those grills you have to work and check on, so you need to be around for the day as you cook. With the pellet grill, it's nice because you can set and forget. Nice if you are out for the day and then you can come home and the food is ready.

Packout sales would be my guess. I don't own any Milwaukee nailers, but the DeWalt finish nailer came in a hard case, while the Ryobi pin and brad nailers didn't even come with a bag. Then again, I bought the DeWalt kit and the Ryobi bare tools. I've noticed fewer and fewer tools coming in blow-molded cases. It'd be nice if they tossed in a brand-specific box like ToughSystem, Packout, or whatever Ryobi's toolbox system is called, even if they charged a little extra.

That is awesome insight and agree. I want one of those for my wall. Can't tell you how many times that would have come in handy.

Here is a PDF file of their stainless steel range. Beta Stainless Steel.pdf

Bathrooms are next on my list. I have two bathrooms: the master bath has a vanity in the bedroom itself, and the main bath has a long (84" or so) counter with one sink. Each has a separate tiny toilet/tub area. There is enough room to stand and if you move your legs you can even shut or open the door if on the toilet. I don't mind the small spaces for the toilets and tubs; I'm thinking about getting showers installed, which should open them up a little, but I honestly don't need a whole lot of space there. I'll probably go with dual sinks for both bathrooms, tile flooring, and redo the walls. Once I confirm my tax exemption is permanent, I plan to add a bathroom in what is now the garage. I have built-in double and single garages, so about 600 s.f. of living space can be added, which will increase the assessed value and would raise my property taxes if Ihave to pay them (not a big deal, but if my VA rating exempts me, I'm not offering more of my money to the government). That bathroom will probably be a bit larger than the two I have now.

With drought conditions here in Western Wisconsin my yard has become pretty dry and dormant as cool season grasses do. We’ve had less than 1” of rain so far this month. So for the time being the mower has been stored in the shed & plugged in. We’re supposed to start getting rain this weekend then on & off over the next week or so. We had a lot of snow this past winter which helped us get out of last year’s drought conditions but now we’re right back in it. Even neighbors that run their sprinklers twice a day aren’t getting anywhere with the lack of rain. I ended up giving away my 4 original batteries to a coworker, who in turn gave them to his nephews to use at their off-grid cabin. Good to know someone can still get some good use out of them.

I feel your pain. I feel like service all around is bad for most companies. I could go on and on about some of the stuff that has happened to me and crappy service but my fingers will get tired. Bottomline, if you pay for a service or product, there is expectations and these companies need to meet them.

The latest remodel project for me and my daughter requires a SDS-Max hammer tool. I selected the Bosch RH540M and decided on the rebuilt tool available from CPO Outlets on Amazon for the huge cost savings. That selection was a great decision. The tool arrived quickly. The tool has a new enclosure, cord, case, manual and grease tube. The operation feels like a new tool. The tool includes a one year repair warranty. Here is the manual. The tool has a collar sleeve that is pulled back to the handle to insert or remove the SDS-Max bit. The bit splines are keyed to only insert at one orientation. There is a large paddle switch for on/off, easy to operate even wearing gloves. The auxiliary handle is easy to position at any 360° orientation, twist to loosen / tighten. There is a variable speed numeric speed dial control. The large selector lever permits changing the mode, from hammer drilling to hammer, also permitting the rotation of the bit to be selected prior to hammer, 12 positions available. The tool has a clutch for hammer operation, requiring the bit to be pushed into the surface to start the hammer. The first operation was bathroom floor tile removal. That went fine, with the biggest butt pain being waste removal. Tool operation should include protection for hearing, eyes and skin.

Cool find. I will have to check this out for my truck

It's that time of the year again, and despite inflation and so on, Ryobi seems to have the usual Ryobi Days deal: 2-4Ah starter kit with choice of free tool. The charger is basic but functional. Years ago, they had a better charger included, but whether you are looking to get into the nearly 30-year-old One+ platform, need some fresh batteries, or want to add a tool or two to the collection, this is probably the best time. I first took advantage of Ryobi Days in 2017 or so, when I needed to trim some trees on a property. That year they had the newly released 3Ah HP batteries combined with the 30-minute charger, and the pole saw ($79 at the time, $129 now) was included in the free tools. Since then, I've skipped only a year or two, usually shelling out the money to add a couple more batteries and another tool. I'll probably be stopping by HD on Friday to see what I can get. Anyone else plan to add some Green to their tool assortment this year?

I don't have one. I have been wanting on but just haven't. When it comes to Angle Finders, good call. Not sure who is known in the industry for quality and accuracy. I will see what I can dig up.

Electric tools require a different perspective than gas platforms. When I started with cordless tools, I learned that multiple batteries and chargers are a necessity. In the nineties, I had two chargers and six batteries. Now with lithium, I'm down to five batteries and a single rapid charger. My OPE is 40 volts and I have seven batteries (3-4 ahr., 2-6 ahr. & 2-7.5 ahr.) and two fan cooled rapid chargers. With that arrangement, I can run things non-stop. It costs $0.02 to charge a 7.5 ahr. battery and two of them will run the snowblower for an hour and half. The rapid chargers charge at the rate of an ahr. every 10 minutes, so you need to plan pack usage if you want to run non- stop. My first 18 volt lithium pack lasted 13 years in regular usage with the other packs.

Had a good operational cost comparison yesterday. Neighbor behind me has a 42" Toro Timecutter 0turn and the neighbor next door has a Gravely 34" 0turn. All of our lawns are 10,000 sq.ft. and we all spend about a half hour mowing. The V-twin ICE engines in the Toro & Gravely burn a gallon of gas an hour when mowing. 87E10 here is $3.69/ga., so the neighbors spend a $1.85 to mow their lawns. $1.85 likely isn't a big expense to mow your lawn and folks likely don't look at what it costs to run a lawn mower. My RM480 costs $0.06 @ my electric rate to mow the same sized lawn. Add in the cost of maintenance for an ICE mower that the RM480 doesn't have, and it's easy to see why my RM480 saved enough in 54 months to pay for a new set of 100 ahr. batteries. Oh yeah, the Toro cost $3,400 new and the Gravely cost $7,995 new. I paid $2,499 for my RM480e new.

Smart about coating the threads. It can be such a pain to try and remove down the road if you don't have a coating.

That is an awesome idea. Never seen that with a built-in scale.

The four Mighty Max ML100-12 batteries arrived on 05/11/2023. I checked the voltages on all. They varied between 12.63 and 12.73 volts. I ran two charge cycles on each, one on deep cycle and one on normal automatic. Then I installed them. Charged voltages were all within a tenth of a volt. It took about 3 1/2 hours, start to finish. No issues, nor modifications to the tray. I did add some additional foam padding between the batteries and between the battery ends and the adjustable stops. The performance is better than the 75 ahr. batteries and the cost per hour is dropping, as is the DOD. In hindsight, I wish I had spent the extra $200 for a RM480ex when I bought the mower five years ago. The first mow was heavy cutting and lasted an hour, no bars, 100% left on the meter, 1.9 volts used, and 1860 watts used to recharge. My neighbor is friends with some ham radio operators and one of them is taking the old Leoch LPC12-75 batteries to use as a battery backup setup with his solar array for his radio.

2nd mow in two weeks, each time meter dropped one bar. Grass has been dry and I’m leaving the cut at the highest level possible on the deck, 4”. Since I don’t have an irrigation system in the yard I keep it cut high and let nature take its course.

Yea, quite old company and I don't know why is not known in UK. I have not seen any other company making 11/64" and 9/32" of hexagonal tip in 2" length not even in 1" length, and they are USA made.

I have seen a lot of rounded-corner walls in old British houses, but it is not common these days. I love to have everything rounded in the house. It is time consuming to have the edges rounded but it is safer. The problem is the skirting boards. I have seen some photos of skirting boards to be rounded as well (rarely). I wonder if rounded corner-skirting boards are being sold already or they are custom made.

I forgot all about Mayhew. I think that Home Depot used to carry their stuff in store but I haven't seen them in any store recently, though they are available on the HD site, including a couple of socket bit sets. According to their info page, Mayhew was founded in 1856 and is the oldest punch and chisel manufacturer here in the States.

57 months, 229 mows, 152 hours, 2,083 charge cycles and the gas & maintenance savings have paid for a new set of 100 ahr. batteries.

My 57 month old, 75 ahr. mower has 228 uses, 152 hours, 2,083 charge cycles, and a lifetime routine Depth Of Discharge of 10.23%. My last mow only made it 32 minutes to deck motor shutdown. I haven't tested the original batteries yet, but I'll bet one is beginning to be unable to hold a charge under load. I used it today to haul 7 cu.ft. carts full of old mulch a mile away for dumping and the six trips only used .2 of a volt and no bars or percentage on the meter. 260 watts to recharge to 53 volts. Monday, I'm going to order four Mighty Max ML100-12 batteries as the mower has now saved enough in gas and maintenance to pay for them.

LO, I never heard of Stine. However, when I went to the website, the colors, the products, etc all look very similar. Crazy, I wonder if there is a connection or just a coincident. Stine looks like a great store.

I live in Chicagoland suburbs, and Lowes has the best quality, HD second and Menards is the cheapest in price but product quality is in question. Wood, Menards has the largest variety but the hardest time finding pieces that are not garbage. Fm2176 what you will find though is Menards sell way more non- home improvement store items than the other 2 combined. You name it dog food, deodorant, clothes, furniture, groceries, etc.

I live in the Midwest and we have Menards by us. This video is dead on and thanks for sharing. I am a fan of Menards and like going there because you never know what you will find, what hidden gem. As long as you know they don't have top quality for everything. For power tools, they have Bosch and their house brand, Masterforce. For the money, Masterforce is good for the money. My favorite thing about Menards besides price and huge variety, is their wood. Lowes and Home Depot can't even come close to the variety of lumber. Even when you look at common lumber, the quality of lumber at Menards is much better. Let digging through crap wood at Menards. Thanks for sharingf, that is awesome.

I just replaced my (75Ah) batteries with the Mighty Max 100Ah batteries a few weeks ago (mower had about 95 hours on it and the useable capacity was no longer sufficient). For me, I had to adjust the bolts on either end of the tray, practically all of the way out, to get the new batteries to fit. There may be a small amount of additional gapping between the batteries, longways, but it wasn’t enough to make me have great concern. I also left the rope handles on and was able to maneuver them over the battery covers and towards the outside edges of the frame that rests on top of the battery pack. The most drastic change I made was to trim the vertical lip off of one edge of the battery covers, as they would otherwise overhang on one side of the batteries, and be sitting up on top of the other side. Side note: The meter showed about a 50% charge level from being stuck at what it had showed before it was last charged (as they sometimes do). When I tried plugging in the charger, disconnecting it, and turning the key back on, as I’ve had to do several times in the past, it wouldn’t reset to 100%. I went ahead and replaced the batteries, fully topped them off individually, before reconnecting them in series, and then the first use or two of the mower on the new batteries resulted in zero movement on the battery meter (stayed at 50%, even after charging). It wasn’t until I used it longer and brought the meter down further that it finally reset after a charging cycle.