The Home Board

We have had a haze in the sky the past couple days. There was a slight smoke odor this morning, but no more than if a neighbor is using a wood stove. Talked to a friend this morning that has COPD and he said it hasn't bothered him yet. It's a mixed bag: it's hazy, but the haze is keeping the temps f...

I guess that times have changed, but not for the better as far as the borrower is concerned. I once applied for and was approved for a $50,000 HELOC over the phone , while sitting in my office at work. Took about 15 minutes. No fees, no appraisals. Got it through Schwab from the company that is now ...

We have had several Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) over the years. Couple times to buy vehicles, another time to finance college for the youngest. I don't remember having that many fees to pay for any of them. Something doesn't sound right. Of course, it's been some years ago now, and we used a...

I didn't realize that you lived so close to the beach. You could run over for a dip purt near anytime you want.

Of course, being as you are so close to the Arctic Circle, it might be a tad nipply certain times of the year.

Thanks for the invite Jim, but even with as much air travel as I did over the years, I don't see any in my future. I love flying, but I hate airports and the bullshit they make us go through. I have some family connections to the Philippines. My grandfather spent quite a lot of time in the PI's when...

Anything I know I learned over many years watching and talking to real welders. We had some really good welders at the Hydro plant where I spent most of my life and then when I was working for the construction company, they employed Union Millwrights that made welds that looked like art, and did it ...

My understanding of things is that the 6011 has deeper penetration than 7018, but it spatters a LOT more and looks ugly. My experience is that at least the greater spatter is true, can't speak to the penetration angle. I use a needle gun on welds to get them clean of the slag. Also, in my personal e...

I second the motion for 7018 rods. I think you will be pleased with how much smoother your welds will be with 7018 vs 6011.

I know I was.

It would take some work, but could you grind around it to clean it up enough to weld a fish plate over the hole? But since you aren't going to put it on the road, and only driving it at slow speeds to plow, it might be good enough. If you are having thoughts of driving it on the road, forget what I ...

I've found that the stick seems to get a coating on the end of the rod that has to be knocked off to strike the arc. It must be non-conductive. So, my workaround is to lay a brick next to me when I'm welding. I scrape the end of the rod across the brick just before I go to strike an arc. Seems to he...