Home DIY

Stuck in a recursive loop where I need a workbench to build a workbench!

Step 1: Use the kitchen table as a makeshift workbench to build the new workbench.

Step 2: Then you can use the workbench you've just built to build a new kitchen table to replace the one you ruined in step 1.

I'm a hug fan of build-it-yourself youtube tutorials, where they make things like router tables, table saw benches, planers & jointers.

Obviating the fact that they have tens of thousands of pounds worth of specialised heavy machinery already.

I always wondered how you make a straight edge unless you have a straight edge already.

You could do it by flattening the edges of three lengths of wood to both of the other edges, much as you would to make a flat surface.

I need a workbench to build the first kitchen table. :( And a kitchen big enough for a table :( :(

As I've got plenty of room under the board's I'll be putting a duct in and leaving enough to run under the front path and kitchen floor once I pull that up. It'll mean all a plumber has to do is connect into the utilities up front and the same at the back (the stop cock) I would imagine under a grand.

I think for peace of mind you're better off replacing the whole lot.

And @hugo7, see that's just what normatives would say : )
I built the existing bed with 4 adjustable legs and it works perfectly fine. I'm making an identical one now and was thinking outside the box/inside the triangle.

Just got a Viessmann Vitodens 100 installed. The (Bulgarian) engineer that installed it was raving about the Deutsche Manufaktur. It is keeping us toasty today.

Well that was a waste of a day. After reading so much conflicting advice online think I shouldn't have sealed the dusty garage floor with PVA if I want to ever paint/epoxy it.

At least it should be better for the winter but definitely not looking forward to scrubbing it all off when the time comes.

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Swapped a fuse. Neon light came back but nothing on the display and no change to heating. PCB or some other mechanical fault I guess. Can't get a plumber for a week. Joy.

Do you have a toolstation or screwfix near you? They stock zinsser - since @Airhead recommended it, it's all I've used

Yep both, was just being lazy (it will be my fourth visit in the past week) as they're a bit more distant and I'll be passing by Homebase. Think I'll just go to screwfix rather than regret it after.

"But if you don't have access to these tools you can use hand tools instead."

Don't usually comment on YT but I did get into a discussion/whinge underneath a "$100 workbench". My main gripe was that at that price point it's targeting amateurs and there were a couple of design elements that a) would only have been feasible without expensive machine tools if you had a vast amount of experience, and b) could have been done differently so that someone without those tools could have done it. But then it would have been more like $114 and no one wants to watch that.

How come? Does it inhibit adhesion?

In time normal use will probably put enough wear on it.

From what I've read because it's glue, whenever you get it wet, or use a water based paint it will soften. I thought using a 2K paint or epoxy would get around this issue but doesn't seem the case. Having said that the garage is already much less dusty already.

We fit baxi stuff and have for about 20 years, the duo tec the previous version of the new upgrade boiler was great.

Honestly depends how long a warranty yiu want.

Either get a main 30(5 year), 600 7 year or a 800 10 year. You’re paying for the warranty at the end of the day and every engineer will have there own preference.

They are easy to work on and fault find, they are full of brass parts and honestly we can’t fail them.

Like all boilers stuff fails. I’d personally avoid Worcester boiler. Live on the name, pay the premium for imo a sub standard product

Draught exclusion. There's obviously gaps around my doorframe. Is that foam tape stuff sti the best solution?

Foam tape sides and top and a rubber or brush seal at the bottom has always worked for me.

Cool. Just wanted to make sure I hadn't been left behind in draught exclusion tech.

If you want the other extreme, I have the 1921 edition of 'Things to Make' by Archibald Williams.
I looked at his design then altered the sizes to use the builders off-cuts I rescued from being burned, and made a temporary bench in the new garage. Twenty two years later I haven't yet made the 'proper' one. It also appears to be part of Project Gutenberg...
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14664
The bench is the second design, the first being a sawing trestle, presumably to convert locally felled timber into usable boards.

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Would a couple of saw horses /kitchen chairs do

https://youtu.be/V9W9xQS-EdQ

Kitchen plinths: mine are nominally 80mm high (Ikea) but in some places the floor is uneven and so the height is larger - I've wound out the height adjusters on the cabinet legs to accommodate.

How to deal with this for the plinths? I'm using solid timber. Option 1: use 80mm timber, leave a gap at the top in some places. Option 2, gap at the bottom. Option 3, cut a taller piece of timber to suit.

I am strongly leaning towards option 1. Is this the "normal" way of things?

It depends if the floor is flat but sloping.
If so, you could get away with option 1. fitting the plinth to floor height and ignore the gap above or pack with something appropriate to your skill /ocd.

If the floor is noticeably lumpy (or a better option from above) scribing the bottom edge to suit would be best. Option 3