Anyone here fix watches? I asked on /fa/ then realized I probably should just have asked here. I want to start fixing my own, any advice? I'm mostly trying to figure out where the best starter kits for tools are and if there's a cleaner worth having for around $100. Any advice is appreciated.
What kind of watches are you wanting to fix and what are you wanting to do with them? Most quartz watches are very easy to work with (although they're easy to destroy too). Mechanical is a completely different ball game.
We do some stuff with quartz watches at work, if you had any questions. And I think there's a watchmaker anon that posts here too if you're lucky.
>>1098740
I have an old Pobeda that I think has a busted mainspring. I figured if I could fix a mechanical, I'd probably be alright working on automatic movements. I also have two Lucerne jump watches that need to be dialed in; one's gaining about 10 minutes every day, the other one's getting 5. And of course, I've got a few lots I'm watching on eBay that have some nice pieces in them if I could get them to run.
Also why is it so goddamn hard to find a decent Bund band at a decent price?
Oh, another question: Is a movement worth fixing when there's visible rust on the gears? Lots of the watch lots I see from Ukraine and Russia have a few rusty watches in them, and I'm 90% sure this means the watch can't be made to work right again.
>tfw need some way to make perfect 24mm holes and 30mm holes
I don't know what to do
>>1098637
What sort of response do you really expect from us?
You didnt tell us what you are making, what you are making it out of, and what tools you have and dont have.
>24 and 30mm holes
Since you left us in the dark, let me guess. Joystick control panel?
>>1098641
Yeah Yeah Yeah
>>1098637
a drillbit? a reamer if you want more perfect?
How do I into this? I've watched a few videos and want to give it a try. Does anyone here do it? I've made a list of things needed:
screens/frames
squeegee
photo emulsion
bright light (got a 250W HPS - will that do?)
glass pane
ability to print on projector acetate
printing ink
photo emulsion remover
Anything I'm missing? As I'm in the UK, are there any suppliers I should go for?
>>1098526
A buttload of masking tape, boards or shirt boards, some aerosol fabric adhesive. A lot of people find it more economical to rescreen rather than clean screens. You can get a hell of a lot of designs on one screen though, hence the virtue of a buttload of masking tape.
>>1098563
Thanks. What pitch for the screen should I start with? I've seen it range between 32T and 120T (not sure what the T means) - what does that translate to? Strands per inch?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/271808026254?lpid=122&chn=ps&adgroupid=41088503464&rlsatarget=pla-259290720462&adtype=pla&poi=&googleloc=9045652&device=c&campaignid=672297739&crdt=0
Is it worth trying to makeshift some of the equipment? Like the squeegee for instance - a 10cm one costs about £12. Can't I just make one?
Is there any way to make this press at home? I live in Brazil and this product is not sold here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRe8CGrtyAM
Do you need to make the button's parts too?
>>1098471
Not sure but holy fuck I found the emperor king of button machines op. I may actually invest in this. Starting a thread in /biz if you wanna wade through the shitcoiners and stock fans. Maybe someone there can help. Doubtful tho sadly. https://sixcentpress.com/products/do-it-yourself
>>1098567
No, only the press.
What are some cost effective sources of dense mass? Dirt costs basically nothing, but is not very dense, relatively speaking. Steel is five to ten times denser, but buying bolts just for ballast is probably wasteful. Bulky scrap metal is out of the question as I have nothing to cut it up with. Suggestions? I need about a bucketful in total.
>>1098445
concrete
>>1098445
Tungsten, lead etc
Milk jug full of water
Hey /diy/ if a poorfag were to buy an angle grinder to fuck around once in a while what would you recommend?
t. poorfag
>>1098381
Craigslist.
>>1098381
>>1098381
Ryobi cordless was $35 for me, but craigslist for anything cheaper. I
used it once, realized I had the wrong tool for the job, and haven't touched it in months.
It's usually a good idea to go corded with your power tools unless mobility/portability is a must.
>mfw battery powered miter saw
>>1098381
Craigslist or harbor freight. I have a harbor freight angle grinder and it works fine. I think it was like 20 bucks when I bought it, but that was almost a decade ago.
So my grandfather passed away and left me one of his houses. As I'm cleaning this house I'm trying to figure out what changes to make to it. So far I'm going to make a penny floor, hide a room with a bookshelf door, and turn a room into a home theatre(trying to find used cinema seats). The house has 3 bedrooms/2 bath/ 2 living rooms/ 1 dining room. Basically I want to turn the house into a giant man cave. What DIY stuff can I add to it?
A garage with tools.
>>1098120
It already has a garage, ive put my own tools in there already
Rather than adding extras i would first do all basic stuff, depending on what condition the house is
after that some can think of gimmicks to add
>>1098120
sid, a nice workshop
What do you want to do in the hidden room?
I want to build a CNC machine, any tips?
I downloaded this book called Build Your Own CNC Machine and I think it's fine for the most part but the design uses the parallel port of a computer.
I'm thinking using Arduino instead and using the serial port of my laptop.
Any advice in general about this project?
Have you done something like this?
Am I gonna be able to machine aluminum?
buy industrial surplus from ebay, shit is off the hook and most of the time better than any chinese shit
but some chinese stuff will be fine
>>1097965
Here, check this out: https://github.com/grbl/grbl . This should use the usb of the arduino, but pay close attention to the wiki
And the materials you want to be able to machine will mostly depend on how good the milling tool is and the torque of the steeper motors. If the tool you are going to install is just a shity dremel ripoff that looses sharpness quickly, you might as well consider using high torque steeper motors. I'd recommend before installing the milling tool on the cnc testing it your self on different materials to feel how much resistance the material gives.
>>1097965
Inspiration
Are there ANY smoke detectors that aren't absolute throwaway-tier shit?
>>1097960
Just get one that is UL and NFPA certified. They will be adequate for your purposes. Seeing as how I don't think a big box store would even carry unlisted shit (unlike buying through Amazon), you shouldn't have any trouble finding what you need.
Get AC powered units and link them together for better reliability and alarm coverage.
Why anybody throw away a smoke detector?
>>1097960
The 120v hardwired models are higher quality I'd imagine. Then you don't have to track down where the annoying ass low batter beep is coming from as much.
Guys i need some help. I was retarded and loaded linux before i loaded windows, now i cant get windows 7 to boot - presumably because linux bootloader is still on there. is there any way i can hard format my SSD?
Using an Windows install device like a bootable USB stick with Windows on it or a hard disk
i loaded windows 7 from a usb but it said the "drivers could not be found"
>>1097842
gentoo
Hey /diy/,
I'm having a problem with a lot of static on my phone lines and my DSL resetting itself (usually to a lower speed) after turning on electronics in a room.
After a few years of telling AT&T there's an issue and them saying nothing's wrong on either end, I decided to go into the attic to see what was going on and pic related is what I found.
The phone line wrapped around the power line in that room. I tried wrapping black insulation around the phone line (2nd pic) and it did literally nothing.
Without splicing wires, the only way I see untangling the two is to rerun the phone line.
I considered a Faraday cage, but I don't see an easy way to ground it.
So my question is, how do "fix" this? Is there an easy way to ground a Faraday Cage around the phone line? Or an easy way to electromagnetically shield the phone line? Or is just rerunning the phone line so it's not wrapped around the power line the easiest solution?
>>1097792
Pic 2/2, this is with the insulation on the phone line.
Why not cut the line and resplice it away from the power...
>>1097796
>Without splicing wires
Trying to avoid that. Mostly because I'd have to run the extension cord about 45 feet across the attic to get my soldering iron over there, but it's looking like either that or unhook it from the wall in that room, untangle it, then run it back down.
It's CAT3 line, but that really doesn't make much of a difference at the moment.
I got this vice today, its a bit rusty but nevertheless works.
What is the best method for cleaning it up, apple cider vinegar steel wool and then some WD40?
Also curious about the vice itself its made in Japan by ETC industries a company that doesn't seem to exist anymore. Only thing found on google were some ebay listings for hand tools.
Cheers
Its pretty small as well, is it likely to be a jewelers vise?
japs make good stuff, as for the rust, electrolysis or something fuck I dunno.
On rusted parts, I'll first wire wheel it to get the crumbly and easy stuff off.
Then I use naval jelly until I start seeing bare metal, then I'll use the wire wheel again to get it completely clean.
I've never tried apple cider vinegar, but I've seen videos of it and it seems like it works good too. Use whatver you have access to.
If you don't have a drill and a wire wheel, you can use a heavy duty stainless streel brush too. I have one that's really abrasive and it's great.
Complete new fag looking into making ale or meed(that's how much I don't know) just wondering if I could get some help doing small scale brewing.
>>1097591
Get sugary flavor liquid add yeast block air from getting in but let CO2 out wait until ferment ends siphon off lees and drink.
>>1097598
Let's say I want to start from scrath. How would I do so.
>>1097628
Buy a 1 gallon apple juice from the grocery store. Dump bread yeast in it. Put a balloon where the cap goes. Put a small hole in the balloon. Wait until it stops bubbling. Try to get the clear liquid out without disturbing the crap at the bottom. Drink clear liquid. If you have any significant amount of bottom-bottle crap in the liquid, you will shit yourself for days.
Doing pic related next weekend, and I have a few questions.
First, I'm going to extend a shopvac into the attic to suck up as much mouse shit as I can/pine needles from old bird nest by vent, and generally patch the place up.
1. Should I flag electrical lines/lights with something before I blow insulation in over them?
2. How much of the mouse shit do I need to get out? I have a feeling that it's down in under all of the rolled stuff, too. If that's the case, I'd have to remove the rolled and reinstall or remove it.
3. Should I just go ahead and take out all of the shitty rolled batting, and then reinstall 100% blown insulation?
4. Any special precautions that I need to take around the heat pump in the attic?
5. I have a few empty or near-empty walls. Should I use rolled pieces to fill them in, then blow over them? Alternative is to board up the top of the hole, leave them empty, and then lay insulation over the new cover.
6. I'm in an old country home, so the wires/duct work/pipes in the attic are a complete clusterfuck. Any good way of determining what everything is and labeling it all before I snowblow the insulation?
7. How should I lay the insulation next to the attic stairs (fold-down), since I'm not supposed to compress the insulation? Right now there are big ply-wood sheets down over some of the rolled stuff for floor space. Remove these completely?
Really appreciate the help.
>>1097534
>1. Should I flag electrical lines/lights with something before I blow insulation in over them?
If there are junction boxes in the attic they must not be covered. Lights should only be covered if they are IC (insulation contact) or in a junction box accessible from below.
>2. How much of the mouse shit do I need to get out? I have a feeling that it's down in under all of the rolled stuff, too. If that's the case, I'd have to remove the rolled and reinstall or remove it.
You should try to remove all of it, it may affect indoor air quality
>3. Should I just go ahead and take out all of the shitty rolled batting, and then reinstall 100% blown insulation?
Its just going to compress anyway, I would take it out, but again, it's going to compress, so do what you will
>4. Any special precautions that I need to take around the heat pump in the attic?
There should be clearances listed on the unit,if there aren't you probably don't need to worry about it.
>5. I have a few empty or near-empty walls. Should I use rolled pieces to fill them in, then blow over them? Alternative is to board up the top of the hole, leave them empty, and then lay insulation over the new cover.
Why don't you blow cellulose down the walls and dense pack them.
>6. I'm in an old country home, so the wires/duct work/pipes in the attic are a complete clusterfuck. Any good way of determining what everything is and labeling it all before I snowblow the insulation?
Why? Whats it matter, if theres a problem you aren't going to remember, and the tradesperson won't believe you anyway.
>7. How should I lay the insulation next to the attic stairs (fold-down), since I'm not supposed to compress the insulation? Right now there are big ply-wood sheets down over some of the rolled stuff for floor space. Remove these completely?
Most places have a plywood box around the attic access to keep the insulation from falling out. you can just cover the ply, its not going to hurt anything.
>>1097554
Thank you so much, that is incredibly helpful. You seems to really know what you're talking about.
My only follow-up is regarding the lights. Right now, I can basically see then entire back end of several of the fixtures when I'm in the attic. If I get closer, I can peer through the holes in the back to see the light and into the house.
What should I do to cover these?
>>1097576
Also make sure you don't cover your eave vents.
They do make styrofoam covers for can lights so you can insulate over the top of em.
Hey /diy/, some friends (4 or 5 of us) and I were thinking about buying a school bus and driving around the country in it this summer. It's been done before, but I want to know what's the cheapest and easiest way to go about it. Basically, I don't care about how the interior looks, as long as it's decent. I just want to be able to sleep in the bus for a month.
In terms of the bus itself, what should I look for? Pretty much all big buses are diesel, but are some engines better than others? What transmissions should I look for? Any big mods I should do?
Any and all input is welcome.
Also feel free to discus your RVs, campers, etc.
>cheapest and easiest way
Do all the work yourself, I hope you or your friends can fix diesel engines, and have some diy skills. School busses are generally maintained well, but when they're sold at auction, its because they're on their last legs and too costly for the school district to repair.
Remove the seats, install prison cots, put some furniture in it, and wire up a couple 12v/120v converters to power stuff. They already come with a radio, lights, speakers, and heat, but no AC.
Totally doable. I am converting a cargo trailer into a stealth camper now.
Going to tell you right now, take whatever number in your head that you're thinking it will cost, and triple it.
If you want water/shower/toilet which you may need to get it classified as an RV in your state, Wastewater tanks are expensive.
Electrical is a pretty big cost, depending on how you do it. I'm going battery bank, solar, and shore power. May add a gennie too. Cheapest way up front is the gennie. cheapest long term assuming you can get decent panels is solar.
Also, INSULATION. you are going to bake in there if you dont get decent insulation and possibly reflective paint/panels for the roof.
>>1097533
How could I get A/C? Put one of those rooftop units on and run it off the battery?
>>1097535
I'm not trying to do anything extravagant, just want to drive it for the summer and sell it. So maybe a sink and shower hose (for outside), but that's it.
Could I just get a bunch of batteries and charge them when I get to a a/c hookup?
By insulation do you mean foam/fiberglass in the panels? I assume most heat comes from a greenhouse effect, so curtains would help.