New England B.S. Thread

I’m glad I took advantage of Cabelas sale, two weeks ago. Should be all set.

 

I'm always flabbergasted by how many people my age (or younger) who can't handle something as simple as replacing a light fixture/switch/plug or repairing a copper water line. Forget about routing & installing something new, I'm talking about just replacing/repairing what's already there. Probably half of the people I work with couldn't do an oil & filter change on their own car if their life depended on it.
A guy I know just bought a house and didn't even know how to change the damn locks, and when I went to show him how it turned out that he'd bought 3 different lock/key combinations because he didn't know that you match the codes on the packages to get them keyed-alike. He thought that it would just magically remember what the key was shaped like the first time he locked and unlocked each set, like a smartphone.

Live without electricity? Forget it.

 

Sent 100 rounds 50 feet down range.

 

M&P 2.0?

 

Yes. Sweet shooter.

 

Love me an M&P.

 

I have the one in black. I love mine. I have it paired with a CAA Micro Conversion Kit.

 

gunmagwarehouse.com is where I get my mags

 

There are locks that will do that now, but I think some got pulled from the market because they had a tendency to fail randomly and not accept any key. I ended up pinning my own just so I knew how to do it and took the bitting to a locksmith to have a key cut to work. It's a useful skill--I plan to put up a small shed soon and I can buy a padlock that matches my house keyway and pin it to match. Plus, I did a sort of wacky high low bitting just because I could and you don't tend to see that on store bought locks.

I would love one of those handheld key punches so I could code cut keys and do everything myself, but they are way too expensive to justify for the rare occasion I would use it.

 

If I'm being honest, 5 years ago or more I would have frozen at the thought of doing anything more complicated than mowing my lawn. I've had to put a lot of time and effort in to just getting a basic understanding of a lot of how things work, let alone figure out how to repair them. I remember a few years ago a light had an issue and my dad took apart the bulb holder quickly and fixed something on it...I didn't even know it could come apart! Well I probably knew but didn't even think that route. Our generations have been programed to just replace anything sorta broken, the products are even designed that way now.

When we built this house I took a lot more time to understand all the systems and how to do all the quick fixes for most of it. It's a good feeling knowing how things work and having the ability to fix them yourself. I think most people would benefit from it. They need to bring shop and classes like that back to our schools ASAP.

 

I learned a lot when I bought my house too. It's so much cheaper for me to change a ball valve or add an electrical outlet myself than hire an electrician or plumber. I find my weakness is carpentry.

 

I can't match an angle to save my life.

 

I tried to use 45 degree angles for the trim on a door. Measured to what should have been the long edge, cut it at 45° on the chop saw, and it was significantly off. No idea why, but I didn't keep trying.

 

That is a nice score on the firewood. I would jump on that if I were closer...

 

I get the laws of transporting over State lines and obey them. Often times I wonder if the people who deliver it do. If the tree was healthy when felled, then they probably feel it’s safe...

 

The measure or the angle? Sometimes the guides can be out of square. Where you set the wood against before the cut

 

yeah I mean the state lines stuff is kind of silly. I live right on the border in eastern ri and southeast mass. I should be fine to go into seekink/rehoboth area without the ash borers carrying over. But I can go to the other side of RI where they’re actually present and still be fine to go bring firewood. Kind of silly. But whatever.

 

be careful with what needs inspection and what doesn’t.

I used to think electrical was the devil, don’t touch it. Plumbing was fine. Then we bought the house. Plumbing as long as I can do it with pex is okay. If you screw up electrical, the breaker trips and let’s you know. If you screw up plumbing, you can flood your kitchen as the indicator. So. I have a new found respect for plumbing and have become more comfortable with electrical, if that makes sense.

 

Yeah, but they're not a $20 set at Lowes or Home Depot

 

I had my pellet insert install inspected since that is the only thing I have heard of coming up as part of a sale.

I fear plumbing a little more too, because if I mess it up and can't figure out how to fix it, I have no water. Electrical is mostly making the right connections, sizing wire correctly, etc. You can do things that will be dangerous and not trip a breaker, but simple things like replacing a light fixture or switch, maybe adding another outlet on a circuit, is just a matter of wiring it correctly and making sure connections are secure so they can't arc.