Favorite team:LSU 
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Number of Posts:3995
Registered on:11/7/2012
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re: Blue Bloods ...

Posted by ChEgrad on 10/5/26 at 1:24 pm to
Year....Team........Score...……. Location
2019….LSU........38-45 (L).….. Austin
It is the “dominate” people when they mean “dominant”.

re: Best refrigerator

Posted by ChEgrad on 10/4/26 at 12:00 pm to
All I know is if you read reviews long enough you would just buy an ice chest and call it a day.

I bought a KitchenAid with an ice maker in the refrigerator door despite all the warnings not to. Been mostly good for five years now, except for the occasional problem with the LED lights inside (who would design a refrigerator where one bad lights causes problems with all the lights?).

I would guess my Amana from 1989 that I now keep in the wood shop will outlast it though.
I love the G/W/G and the G/P/G looks really good - close second. The only other occasional uniform should be the all white. It does look good. I dislike any uniform with purple helmets, purple pants, or gold jerseys.

re: staining advice

Posted by ChEgrad on 9/29/26 at 6:02 pm to
quote:

My go-to for conditioning wood prior to staining is to mix 1 part clear shellac with 2 parts denatured alcohol and brush on a coat


I just did this when I made a drawer out of cypress for my kitchen and needed to match the existing color. Conditioned with diluted amber shellac, stained with cherry stain, stained again, another coat of shellac to get a bit more amber and then one more coat of stain then polyurethane. Matched perfectly. The stain definitely needed a conditioner - was a bit blotchy on unconditioned wood.

As for cedar, I don’t know. Gel stains go on more uniformly on unconditioned wood than liquid stains and you can get away with skipping conditioning.
quote:

quote: Although Bill looks like a jew, he's actually born and raised catholic

his mother was jewish that's the historical criterion for deciding if someone is jewish per Mel Brooks this is because: "We KNOW who the mother is..."


He has stated he was raised Catholic (at least for some period of his childhood) and found out about his Jewish heritage later.
May be psychological. I swear I read that someone did a blind test (must have poured into tasting cups) and no one could tell whether the source container was glass or a can. Could perhaps be misremembering, but that is what I remember.
I’ve tried all sorts and the oil in a can is just the easiest. May not last as long, but easiest to reapply - pull plane across and keep going. And it makes it easy to oil the plane for storage.
quote:

I also have a Veritas shooting plane. It's awesome and pretty m7ch every board gets tried and squared at my shooting board.

My favorite though is my Veritas router plane. There's nothing better at cleaning tenon cheeks and for fine tuning depths of things like dadoes or whatever.


I have both and love them.
Did a bit of hand planing today with a Sargent 414 (No 5 equivalent) I restored to clean up the edges of some boards ripped on my table saw. Used the face vise on my Nicholson bench with some dogs on the bench apron for additional support. Rag in a can Sellers style to ease the friction. I love the feel and sound of a good hand plane taking a shaving. Very enjoyable afternoon.

I do really enjoy the Nicholson bench built with yellow pine. Cheap, relatively easy build. Functions great.

re: Auto Repair Shop in BR

Posted by ChEgrad on 9/24/26 at 11:45 am to
quote:

Are any of these places open on a Saturday by any chance?


Not Gordon and Sandifer. 7:30-5:00 (?) Mon-Fri

re: Induction stovetops

Posted by ChEgrad on 9/23/26 at 8:47 pm to
I’ve only ever used them at rentals that had them. Didn’t care for them much - seemed finicky. And they had glass tops. I tend to bang pans around a bit and the glass tops scare me. One had a big chip in it, so I’m not the only one a bit rough on stoves.

re: Auto Repair Shop in BR

Posted by ChEgrad on 9/23/26 at 3:30 pm to
quote:

Gordon & Sandifer


Walking distance from me and they have always been honest and prices were never too much higher to make it worth going anywhere else less convenient. I heartily recommend them.
quote:

Key Measures and Their Weights Measure Weight (%)
Graduation and Retention Rates 35 Undergraduate Academic Reputation 20
Faculty Resources 20
Student Selectivity 10
Financial Resources 10
Alumni Giving Rate 5


We hired an engineer from a truly tiny school not really known for engineering. His “chemical engineering” class was probably 3-4 people and they had about that many faculty in the whole department. I put “chemical engineering” in quotes because they probably offered an engineering degree with an emphasis in chemical engineering, not an actual BS in Chem E. That school couldn’t even sniff a 500 rating, let alone a 200, but I will say this - he was better prepared and educated than the students coming out of the big engineering schools like Ga Tech, Purdue, and sadly, the recent LSU.
quote:

Undergraduate Academic Reputation (20%): This is based on surveys of academic peers, where university administrators rate the academic quality of other institutions.


Grading by peers is least important - petty rivalries amongst universities shouldn’t determine who is best. A grade by employers on how well prepared the graduates are would be better, but much more difficult to conduct.
I’ve bought the Albertson’s briskets on sale before ($1.67/lb was awesome) and they have always turned out great. Although most have been good (I’ve done Costco/Sam’s prime and Alberston’s choice), the best one of the bunch was an Albertson’s choice.

Thanks to this thread I went and picked one up and got the sale price plus $10 off.

re: Cat dental issues

Posted by ChEgrad on 9/21/26 at 5:02 pm to
I’ve got a 17 year old cat with rotten molars. Doesn’t seem to bother him usually, although we thought he was going to leave us twice last year when he stopped eating for a week.

Only solution vet offered was a dentist pulling the teeth and likely costing $5000 or so. And maybe he wouldn’t make it through anesthesia. Didn’t do anything and he is fine. For now.

re: 2026 Fall Garden Thread

Posted by ChEgrad on 9/18/26 at 9:33 am to
quote:

This will improve over time as your soil ages but you can help it along by adding as much organic material as you can, and amend the top 6” or so with peat moss or coco coir.


I added a couple of inches of homemade compost last winter/spring and it seemed better at first. Will add more organic matter and it will come around.
They got it half right - wedding during an away game. You can attend the wedding and skip the reception and barely miss any of the game. And it is no crime to watch on your phone during the reception. The bride won’t even know or care. The groom will completely understand.

re: 2026 Fall Garden Thread

Posted by ChEgrad on 9/17/26 at 11:13 am to
Second year for my 3 raised beds. Back in June I threw the rinds and seeds in the garden from a Tuscan style melon purchased from Costco. Kept only two plants that sprouted and just harvested the first melon. It was quite good. Have four more I’m waiting on. First melons I’ve grown. Will do it again.

Sadly, the cantaloupe was maybe the most successful plant in my garden this year. Travelled a good bit and garden was neglected for weeks at a time. Got a few bell peppers and lots of banana peppers. Might attempt to overwinter the peppers. Asian chili peppers didn’t do as well as last year. Yellow squash were ok in May. Eggplants didn’t do much after being my most successful last year. Tomatoes seem to time their harvest for when I’m on vacation, but didn’t really produce the numbers from last year (which wasn’t that high, but good enough).

Prepping a bit for fall, but main goal is to try to improve my soil for the spring. Doesn’t hold moisture well enough - drains great though.