UsernameLost @ UsernameLost @lemmy.ml

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2 yr. ago

Damn, I completely forgot about Mao. You just unlocked a vague memory from 15 years ago. I remember being incredibly frustrated while learning this, followed by the hilarity of introducing more players to the game.

Doesn't help that it just looks like an off-brand Iron Man. I saw one trailer and had no desire to watch anything related to it

They're generally a great experience. It's way different than Lowe's/HD, and generally better selection for cheaper than places like Woodcraft or Rockler. There's typically a wide range in widths/thicknesses, so have a rough idea of what you need and be ready to mentally adapt your build if they don't have as many wide boards as you need. Some places will have a minimum purchase requirement, but the few I've gone to don't. Typically, I spend $200-400 for a trip, which covers a few projects for me.

Added bonus of going to a mill instead of a distributor, sometimes they'll have waste you can take for free/really cheap! Great for small projects or lathe stuff

The sunny days in summer in Alaska (all 3-6 weeks of them) are beautiful. The winter is really depressing though, but at least you have mountains and some really cool wildlife (up until you have a bear come back for your trash repeatedly, through more and more elaborate containment contraptions. Fucking trash pandas)

It's hard man. I was living in Alaska when I really got into woodworking, and I had one overpriced option for a really limited selection of hardwood. I managed to get some old maple flooring from a guy that was contracted to replace a basketball court, and got some old redwood from a water tower that was taken down, but otherwise I just used pine for everything for the first few years.

Best advice I can offer is to find a local mill. Facebook groups are good for finding local people that just do it on the side and/or don't have a website. Ideally, find someone with a kiln, or be prepared to wait for months to years for it to dry. You can also find some good deals at auctions and sometimes on FB marketplace

The only wood I buy at Woodcraft nowadays is for small lathe projects when they have blanks on sale

Woodworking can get crazy expensive, but like most hobbies, you can get into it gradually for relatively low cost. I started with a cordless drill and a circular saw, then gradually bought used tools and restored them. If I were to buy everything new in my shop, it would easily be $15-20k, but I've spent maybe $2k over 5 years. The most I've spent on any one tool was a $400 miter saw a few months ago on sale, almost everything else has been stuff that's older than me or inexpensive tools that work just as well as pricier options.

Good hardwood is fucking expensive though. I found a local mill where I can get cherry for $4/bdft or walnut for $5.50/bdft (bdft = board foot, volumetric measurement equivalent to 12"x12"x1"). Somewhere like Woodcraft charges $15-18/bdft for walnut, which is $60+ for a 6" wide, 8ft long, 1" thick board.

ETA: It does annoy me when every woodworking video comment section is bombarded with complaints about how expensive tools are. Yes, Sawstop and Powermatic are obscenely expensive. A DeWalt job site table saw is more than enough for most hobbyists starting out. So is a used saw you can get for $100 or less. It's very easy to blow through $20k outfitting a shop, but it's also very easy to outfit a shop with old, quality tools for a fraction of that price. This is what I've spent over five years

• 6" Jet jointer from 1973: $240
• 12" Parks planer from 1943-1986 (no idea on exact date): $200. Used a 13" Woodtek lunchbox planer for a few years before this. I got that for free because they don't make linkage gears for it anymore, and I was able to 3D print replacements.
• DeWalt job site table saw, new in 2018: $325
• Wen drill press, new in 2019: $70
• Wen scroll saw, new in 2019: $60
• harbor freight miter saw, used: $80 (fuck this thing, would never cut square no matter how much I tried to tune it)
• DeWalt compound sliding miter saw, new 2023: $400
• Harbor freight lathe, new 2020: $150-200 (don't remember exactly)
• shaper from 1978 + $2k in tooling: $40 at auction
• 7-10 various hand planes, all used from eBay or marketplace: $80
• knockoff 14" delta bandsaw from late 80s: $40
• harbor freight dust collector, new 2023 (gift): ~$250-300
• slow speed bench grinder, new 2021: $90
• various hand saws, 2016-2023: probably $100
• various chisels, new 2016-2023: ~$120

All in, $2,100 over 5 years. I sold ~$1,500 worth of random projects in that time, and gained a ton of enjoyment from it.

Even if you do go big and spend a lot of money on tools, as long as you have disposable income and you're not forgoing your/your family's basic needs, there's nothing wrong with spending money on things you enjoy. It's ok to enjoy things.

Fuuuuck the NE. Went to college there, and it ruined snow for me. Even Alaska was cheerier in winter than new england

My parents took us to one of their concerts in like 2008. They were surprisingly good live.

OP said irrationally disgust

Is it possible to upload multiple images? I can upload one image in a post, but can't embed images in the body or a comment without receiving an error ("Could not upload image.")

Your instance name disturbs me

Stupid people searching for clickbait

Text goes perfectly to Photograph

This is right up there with conservatives banning books they don't like, i.e. fucking stupid.

I second this. BS Mechanical Engineering at a military college better part of a decade ago. Having a checklist removes the mental load of sitting down and going "fuck what do I have to do?" and then remembering something two hours in that's due in 20 minutes.

"reeee, everyone should live in cities and walk everywhere!!!1! What do you mean people live in rural areas miles away from everything and need to be able to haul shit themselves and be self-sufficient because no one in my cities actually gives a fuck about anyone outside of our tiny geographic region that we view as the center of the fucking universe?!"

Makes perfect sense. We were fortunate enough to be able to live well below our means at my last duty station and save a lot of money. Glad you're doing well!

Mainly put some down to lower the monthly payment/total amount of interest on the loan

Let's be honest, Twitter has always been a cesspool if you read below the top tweet.