My rice cooker broke right before dinner and I had to improvise

I was at home last Tuesday, about to make a big batch of beans and rice, when my cheap rice cooker just stopped heating. I had already soaked the beans overnight. I ended up boiling the rice in a regular pot with extra water, then drained it like pasta. It worked fine and saved the meal. Has anyone else had a kitchen gadget die and found a cheaper way to do the same thing?

Just dropped $450 on a proper post vise and it's already paid for itself

I was using a cheap bench vise for years and it would always twist and slip on heavy scroll work. Finally bit the bullet and got a solid 6-inch post vise from a local estate sale. Mounted it to a stump in my shop last week. The difference is night and day, I can hold a piece steady with one hand and hammer with the other without any wobble. Anyone have a good method for keeping the screw threads clean from scale and grit?

I used to think pocket hole jigs were just for quick fixes

I was helping my neighbor build a set of garage shelves over in Tacoma last weekend, and he pulled out his Kreg jig. I always saw those things as a shortcut for stuff that didn't need to last, like a quick face frame or a simple box. But he showed me a bench he built with it three years ago that's held up to his kids jumping all over it, and the joints are still tight as a drum. He said the trick is using the right length screws and glue in every hole, which I guess I never really did. I'd just crank in whatever screw was handy. Now I get that the system itself is solid if you follow the steps right. It's not just a hack, it's a legit joinery method for a lot of jobs. Anyone have a favorite project they built with pocket holes that surprised them with how strong it turned out?

PSA: The junkyard in Dayton had a ton of clean 4.0L Jeeps last Tuesday

Honestly, I was pulling a power steering pump for a buddy's Cherokee and noticed at least eight XJs with the 4.0 still in them. Most looked like they were there for body damage, so the motors are probably solid. If you need a cheap long block or just some sensors, it's worth a look before they get crushed. Anyone know a good way to test compression on a motor that's already sitting in a yard?

I used to think working from cafes was the best part of this life. Then I got stuck in Chiang Mai.

Got my stuff stolen from a table while I was in the bathroom. Only gone for two minutes. Lost a hard drive with a client's project files. Had to pay $500 out of pocket for data recovery. Everyone says cafes are safe if you're careful. That's just not true. Now I only work from my apartment or a co-working space with lockers. Anyone else had to change their whole routine after something like that?

I was at a small con in Omaha and saw a guy just give a kid his extra copy of a key issue for free.

Can we talk about using plumber's putty on sink drains

My kitchen sink started leaking under the cabinet last Tuesday, and I found the old plumber's putty had turned to dust. Everyone online says to just pack more putty in there, but I think that's a bad fix. I cleaned everything off and used a rubber gasket instead, the kind that comes with some new drains. It took maybe 20 minutes and cost $4 for the part. The putty always fails after a few years, especially with heat from the disposal. The rubber seal makes a tight fit without the mess and won't dry out. Has anyone else switched to gaskets and had it hold up long term?

Honestly, I welded a 4 inch schedule 80 pipe with a 6010 rod in a tight spot last month and the bead looked perfect, but it failed hydro in under a minute.

Found a weird trick for a stuck damper in an old Baltimore row house

The lever was totally frozen on a 1928 fireplace, so I sprayed a mix of 50/50 vinegar and water into the hinge and let it sit for 20 minutes. It broke free with just a few taps from my rubber mallet after that. Has anyone else used something besides commercial penetrant for this?

I thought the 'glacial erratic' in my town park was just a big rock someone dumped there.

For years I walked past this huge boulder in the park thinking it was leftover from some construction project. Then I went to a local geology talk at the library and the speaker used it as an example. He said it's granite, but the bedrock here is all shale, and it was carried over 200 miles by an ice sheet. Seeing the map of the ice flow path made it click. Anyone know of other good examples of erratics in the Midwest?