Home DIY

You can get things like this which have a good reputation
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dusters-CompuCleaner-electronics-environmental-compucleaner/dp/B073F9NY1X

There's also lots of battery powered ones but reviews seem to suggest they don't have the same grunt.

These look awesome and for some reason I now want one. However, they seem to be ~30psi, so possibly a bit limited unless you are only dusting computers and air brushing.

Sufficient for what the OP wants to use it for though. They said he wanted something for "cleaning electronics and drying small parts like bearings", and didnt want anything with a big receiver constantly full of compressed air, which is why i suggested a desktop airbrush compressor.

I could have suggested an ABAC Screw compressor with 270L receiver that runs at 145psi with internal air dryer, which is the other compressor I use day to day, and would thoroughly recommend to anyone in the market for one, but it would probably be a touch overkill for what they’re after, not to mention they wouldn't get much change back from £8k.

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I thought they also wanted it for tyres. If not it does sound idea.

Can you whack massive reservoirs on airbrush guns? Like enough to spray a pair of handlebars?

I've used compressed air in a can before, and it was great! But wasteful in the long run. Aerosol cans are typically max 10bar at 20'C, and schwalbe's tubeless thingy can take 11 bars and doesnt look much smaller either. The idea came from

I really like the electronic dusters, but they sound single-purpose. Defo one for consideration, I'll look into them!

@hugo7 If I had a workshop When I'll have my workshop in 4 years time, it'll 100% have a compressor tucked away and plumped in so that I can use pneumatic tools and have unlimited air to dust stuff. Its "unfortunate" that we're a DIY inclined & creative household with 7 bikes, 2 3D printers, 2 sewing machines, patterns, fabrics...etc in a two-bed. The compressor has to wait :)

What I'm taking away from that is that the compressor can be self funded buy selling the excess sewing machine and 3d printer, and will actually give a net space gain.

Still racking my head for a use for one of those micro compressors as they look so neat!

If I sort my shed out I guess I could have one next to the pillar drill to clean it.

You'd think, but then when I want to print a wall-mount to hold the compressor head I'll have to buy a 3d printer again... vicious cycle!

Edit: I'd 100% buy a pillar drill before a compressor with the same footprint, that'd get way more use

If I sort my shed out I guess I could have one next to the pillar drill to clean it.

But you can just use one of those electric air dusters for that.

I enjoyed the pointless review video of some bloke just blowing his phone off the table
https://www.amazon.co.uk/vdp/1839a5e8d82546af9ba0b48d40c6d09b?product=B073F9NY1X&ref=cm_sw_em_r_ib_dt_KlX5IbW6NMpFp

I said sell one 3d printing, not both!

(I am also watching videos on 3d printing)

You really get the feeling he enjoyed doing that don't you 😊

Not quite home DIY but the electrician we had round to do the EICR today showed me the Quinetic switches.

We've got a couple of light switches we'd like to move (mostly as we've rehung some doors the other way round) and the Quinetic stuff looks like an awesome way of dealing with it without having to do any extra wiring. The deeper 25mm boxes will be behind the doors anyway so I don't care what they look like.

The fact you can have up to 10 switches paired with each receiver, and you can have a free floating one to move around the room with you is genius (see ~7:18 in this vid https://youtu.be/9wnGN4RetJk?t=438
) as that'll be perfect for my daughter's bedroom, she can have a free floating switch next to her bed or carry it over to her desk rather than having to go to the main light switch if she wants to adjust the lighting (the switches all do dimming too).

Which company makes these switches?

Quinetic, I think they're solely distributed by TLC.

I've used quite a few of these for clients. They have been working very well. Easy to set up. I'd probably fit more if they were a little bit cheaper.

Jokes aside they do look really cool.

they look good though my head hurts when I try and think what they offer over other wireless set-ups?

we have a long open hallway off the lounge with the switch down the wrong end and not near the door when you enter the living area just a switch to lounge and diner pendants.
we didn’t want to pay the high cost to make this switch a triple hall/lounge/dining one as that would involve lots of concrete chasing, am i right in thinking one of these switches placed over the lounge/dining switch which is in our hallway would then operate the hallway lights?

As it is we have an ikea dirigera thing and a remote left on the coffee table or for middle class dinner parties mood lighting we use the app but Quinetic could have been an option if I had known about it at the time.

Yes. That's exactly it.

I think box depth is one thing to consider/check based on that video.

Bedside lights seem like another great use case.

OH has painted a cheap laminated mdf top with a wall tester pot. I primed it first.

It's a sort of storage basket thing that has one of my kids Pj's so I think it will be picked up and put down etc. a fair bit.

Would a wax or a mat varnish protect it a bit more?

My first floor office floor is cold, it sits partially above an unheated entrance hall. Haven’t carpeted that room yet so I’m going to lift the boards and insulate underneath.

Should I put some kind of draught proofing membrane in as well? Beneath or above the insulation? Or will rockwool between the joists be sufficient to block the sort of draught I would get anyway? Floor will be carpeted.

I don’t know if this is correct, but when I did the same job I silver taped anywhere I thought air may get in. I didn’t seal the whole area with dpm as I was worried about the ceiling below getting damp as it wouldn’t wick. As I say I don’t know if that was right, but it was warmer and the ceiling didn’t go mouldy.

If you're concerned about airtightness and moisture, use a vapour-permeable airtightness membrane. There are many expensive ones out there; I used a much cheaper one called 'Barri-Air'.

Foil tape will initially work, but the adhesive will fail relatively quickly, after which it'll be doing nothing. Ideally you'd use an airtightness tape; these use adhesives designed to last. Any taping needs to be pressed down whilst applying with a card spatula tool to activate the adhesive.

Painting over plastered ceiling from posts a while back. Getting there.

Entire ceiling will need a coat (hopefully just one). Is there any reason I can't use this across the whole ceiling?

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Butt joints in 1/4” ply, with a butt block (strip). My initial thought was to make everything as tight as I can, but do I want to actually do the reverse and bevel the edges so that I can get loads of thickened epoxy into the joint, with normal epoxy to hold the butt block in place and bond on the fibreglass reinforcement tape?

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