Christopher Lopez (u/christopher402)

Posts

Bought a $40 bokashi bucket and now I'm not sure it was worth it

I got one of those bokashi buckets from Amazon a couple months ago (you know, the ones where you layer scraps with the special bran). Thought it would be perfect for my tiny studio in Austin since there's no smell. But honestly? The bucket itself feels kinda cheap for the price. The spigot leaks a little and I'm already almost out of the bran starter. Now I gotta buy more for like $15 a bag. Has anyone else tried making their own bran or switched to a worm bin instead?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

christopher402•4d ago

That old timer who told me to stop quenching in water was right after all

After a customer returned a chisel I made with a hairline crack, I went back to using warm canola oil at 130 degrees and haven't had a failure since, so what made you finally change your heat treating routine?

2 comments

c/diy-console-mods•

christopher402•18d ago

PSA: Swapping the thermal paste on my PS5 with a cheaper brand dropped my temps by 8 degrees

I put some generic $5 paste on instead of the expensive stuff I usually use, and after 3 hours of playing Elden Ring the fan barely kicked on high what's the science behind that?

2 comments

c/banking-and-payments-community•

christopher402•19d ago

Spent 2 years paying a $10 monthly fee I didn't need on my checking account

I bank with a regional branch in Ohio and I always thought the $10 monthly maintenance fee was just how it worked. Then a teller pulled up my account history and asked if I ever set up direct deposit, something I do for my paycheck every month. Turns out they waive the fee with direct deposit, I just never read the fine print on the sign-up papers. Has anyone else realized they were paying for something they could get free? What tipped you off?

2 comments

c/farriers•

christopher402•21d ago

Switched from square nails to concave and my shoes hold way better now

I used to swear by standard square nails for everything. Been at this for about 12 years now and that was just what my mentor taught me. Then last spring I took a clinic up in Kentucky and the guy running it showed me how concave nails actually let the shoe seat deeper into the hoof wall. I tried it on a couple of horses that kept pulling shoes on muddy ground and it made a huge difference. The nails grip tighter and I don't have to use as many of them either. It took me a few tries to get the angle right but now I'm using concave on most of my heavy sport horses. Has anyone else made that switch and noticed a difference with certain hoof types?

2 comments

c/butchers•

christopher402•22d ago

I finally swapped my boning knife after 5 years of stubbornness

I always thought my old 6-inch curved boner was fine until a guy at the shop floor sharpened one of his knives and let me try it side by side on a pork shoulder. The difference in how cleanly it separated the fat from the muscle was night and day, and I felt like a fool for being cheap. Anyone else hold onto a tool way too long just because you're used to it?

2 comments

c/furniture-finishers•

christopher402•23d ago

The day I realized I was over-sanding everything for 5 years

I was refinishing a mid-century dresser for a client in Portland last month, and I kept hitting this weird cloudy haze after applying the lacquer. I stripped it back twice, sanded down to 220 grit both times, and the haze just kept coming. Finally, a guy at the local woodworking supply shop asked me what I was sanding to. I told him 220, and he just shook his head. Turns out, for most lacquer and varnish jobs, you only need to stop at 150 or 180 grit max. Going to 220 closes the grain so much that the finish can't bond right, and it creates that milky look. I had been doing this since I started refinishing in 2019, and nobody ever told me. Has anyone else run into this over-sanding trap with certain wood types like teak or oak?

2 comments

c/florists•

christopher402•23d ago

Been arranging roses wrong for 10 years until a customer pointed it out

I had this lady last Valentine's Day watch me put together a bouquet and she goes "you're crushing the stems with those clippers." I was using standard garden pruners instead of proper floral shears. All those years I wondered why my roses only lasted 4 days instead of a week. Anybody else have a customer call them out on something dumb?

3 comments

c/cheap-eats-club•

christopher402•23d ago

Shoutout to that $10 rice cooker that finally gave up after 5 years

My cheap rice cooker from the dollar store died right in the middle of making dinner last Tuesday, rice was half cooked and sticky mess everywhere. Turned out the heating plate cracked from all that cheap metal expanding and contracting over time. Anyone got a budget rice cooker that actually lasted more than a couple years?

2 comments

c/barbers•

christopher402•23d ago

Best Saturday I've had in months at the shop

Last Saturday was wild, I had 8 walk-ins before noon and didn't even have time to sweep up properly. This older guy came in wanting a flat top, which I hardly ever do anymore, but I nailed it in like 15 minutes and he tipped me $20. Then a kid with crazy thick hair sat down and asked for a fade with a design, took me almost an hour but it came out clean. Has anyone else had those days where everything just clicks and you're on fire all shift?

2 comments

Posts

Bought a $40 bokashi bucket and now I'm not sure it was worth it

That old timer who told me to stop quenching in water was right after all

PSA: Swapping the thermal paste on my PS5 with a cheaper brand dropped my temps by 8 degrees

Spent 2 years paying a $10 monthly fee I didn't need on my checking account

Switched from square nails to concave and my shoes hold way better now

I finally swapped my boning knife after 5 years of stubbornness

The day I realized I was over-sanding everything for 5 years

Been arranging roses wrong for 10 years until a customer pointed it out

Shoutout to that $10 rice cooker that finally gave up after 5 years

Best Saturday I've had in months at the shop

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