Spent $600 on a used injector puller from eBay, turned out to be a lifesaver on a 6.0L Powerstroke job last month

I was fighting with a seized injector on a 2004 F-350 for two days. Tried heat, penetrating oil, the whole nine yards. Finally broke down and snagged a cheap OTC puller off eBay for 600 bucks. Worked like a charm on the first try. Anyone else have good luck with used specialty tools or do you always go new?

That $200 espresso machine I thought was a steal

Bought a refurbished espresso machine off eBay for $200 that looked perfect in the photos. After 3 months the pump died and the seller vanished. Anyone else get burned by refurbished gear that wasn't actually tested?

Overheard a guy at the supply yard say he never cleans his mixer drum

I was picking up a pallet of red commons yesterday at ABC Supply in Denver, and this older bricklayer was telling the counter guy he hasn't washed out his mixer in 15 years. Just lets the mortar harden and chips it out when he needs to use it again. I thought that was insane, especially since I spend 20 minutes after every batch scrubbing mine out. Has anyone else tried going that long without cleaning, or am I just wasting my water bill?

I used to try and sketch every constellation I saw, but now I just take a picture with my phone and label it later.

Tried to air fry a whole russet potato for 45 minutes and the outside was like leather while the inside was still hard.

I learned you have to poke it with a fork a bunch of times first, so now I'm wondering if soaking it in water for 20 minutes before cooking would work even better.

Watched a friend's kitchen towel catch fire from a hot pan in Portland

It was just sitting on the stove handle, and now I keep all cloth at least three feet away from any burner. Anyone have a better spot to hang towels while cooking?

I finally looked up how many plant species are in my own state

Found out Ohio has over 1,800 native plants, which is wild considering how much is farmland. Anyone else shocked by the biodiversity in their own backyard?

A weird thing I saw at the county fair last year made me change how I handle old gear

I was at the Clark County Fair and saw a guy trying to fix a 90s boombox right there at his food stand. He had the board out on a greasy napkin and was using a butter knife to poke at a capacitor. I mean, I get being desperate, but that's a sure way to wreck the traces. It hit me that a lot of people still have no clue where to even start. Ever since then, I keep a few of my old business cards in my tool bag, the ones with my email and 'basic diagnostics free' on the back. I hand them out when I see someone struggling with a repair in public. Has anyone else found a good way to point folks toward help without sounding like you're just fishing for work?

I used to buy my dad the same ugly tie every Christmas

Honestly, for like 5 years straight I'd just grab a random tie from the mall. Tbh, it changed after his birthday last year when he finally said, 'Cameron, I have enough fabric to reupholster the couch.' Ngl, that hit hard. Now I get him a gift card to his favorite fishing spot in Clearwater. Anyone else have a gift they kept giving that was clearly a dud?

Question about using a heat gun to stretch vinyl plank ends

My boss in Phoenix told me to never use a heat gun on the ends of rigid core planks, but after a tricky hallway job last week where the last row had a 1/4 inch gap, I tried it carefully and it closed up perfectly, so now I'm wondering if his rule is too strict or if I just got lucky.