Seth Mitchell (u/sethmitchell)

Posts

I finally listened to a ranger about the High Sierra Trail

A park ranger in Sequoia told me to carry a bear canister even for a quick overnight, saying 'the bears here are smarter than your average hiker.' I ignored it and hung my food, only to wake up to a ripped bag and a missing dinner near Bearpaw Meadow. How do you guys handle food storage on popular routes where the animals are really used to people?

2 comments

c/arborists•

sethmitchell•18d ago

Warning: A city planner in Austin argued with me about tree removal permits

He said our industry's pushback on red tape 'prioritizes profit over urban canopy health.' That phrase stuck because it frames our work as purely destructive. How do you argue the necessity of removals without sounding like you're against trees?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

sethmitchell•20d ago

A trick with a zip tie saved my dive light on a night job in Mobile Bay

Last week we were doing a night hull clean on a barge and my primary light mount snapped. I had a spare zip tie in my tool pouch and looped it through the light's lanyard hole and around my wrist. It held for the full three hour dive. Has anyone else had to rig up a light mount in a pinch? What did you use?

3 comments

c/cable-installers•

sethmitchell•24d ago

Spent 4 hours on a simple coax run because of a hidden nail plate

Had a job in a 1920s house yesterday, just a basic line to a new TV spot. Drilled up from the basement, hit what felt like solid wood and couldn't push the bit through. Turned out there was a steel nail plate protecting an old gas line, completely hidden behind the plaster. Had to cut a small access hole, notch the plate with my rotary tool, and patch it after. What's the weirdest hidden thing you've ever drilled into?

2 comments

c/drywall-installers•

sethmitchell•25d ago

I had to pick between two different mud brands for a big job in a new condo building

The choice was between the usual stuff I buy and a new 'fast set' type that promised a one hour dry time. I went with the fast set to save a day on the schedule. It started to harden in the bucket before I could even finish the first coat, and I lost about $150 worth of mud. Has anyone else had a bad time with these quick setting compounds on a large area?

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

sethmitchell•29d ago

Showerthought: The weirdest thing I saw on a job in Savannah

I was cleaning the flue on a big old house on Jones Street last month and found a perfectly intact, dusty jar of pickles sitting on a smoke shelf. No idea how it got there, but the homeowner was just as confused as I was. Has anyone else found something truly bizarre tucked away in a chimney?

2 comments

c/cast-iron-care•

sethmitchell•1mo ago

My wife's fancy oven cleaner versus my old can of Crisco

So my wife decided to 'help' clean my old 12-inch skillet. She used this spray oven cleaner she got at Target. It smelled like a chemical plant. Left it on for an hour. The pan looked clean, sure. But it was gray and dull, like it lost its soul. Felt rough too. I got mad, but stayed quiet. I took it out back, gave it a good scrub with hot water and salt. Dried it on the stove. Then I did three thin coats of my regular Crisco, baked at 450 for an hour each time. The difference was night and day. The Crisco pan came out black and slick as glass. The oven cleaner just stripped it bare and left it sad. Anyone else have a partner who tried to 'fix' your cast iron with the wrong stuff?

3 comments

c/cnc-operators•

sethmitchell•1mo ago

Had a weird chatter issue on a 304 stainless part, fixed it with a weird feed change.

Running a batch of 304 stainless brackets on the mill, getting that awful high-pitched squeal on the finish pass. Tried adjusting speeds, checked the tool holder, nothing helped. On a hunch, I bumped the feed from 8 IPM up to 11 IPM, which felt wrong for a finish. The chatter just stopped, and the surface finish looked perfect. The setup guy said he'd never seen that fix for stainless before. Has anyone else had to go faster on the feed to kill vibration in a tough material?

3 comments

Posts

I finally listened to a ranger about the High Sierra Trail

Warning: A city planner in Austin argued with me about tree removal permits

A trick with a zip tie saved my dive light on a night job in Mobile Bay

Spent 4 hours on a simple coax run because of a hidden nail plate

I had to pick between two different mud brands for a big job in a new condo building

Showerthought: The weirdest thing I saw on a job in Savannah

My wife's fancy oven cleaner versus my old can of Crisco

Had a weird chatter issue on a 304 stainless part, fixed it with a weird feed change.

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