Fiona Hall (u/the_fiona)

Posts

Coal vs gas forge debate: which one actually produces better steel? I got roasted for saying gas

I've been forging for about 8 years now, started on a hand-me-down coal forge my uncle gave me, then switched to a gas forge maybe 5 years ago because I got tired of dealing with clinkers and smoke. Lately I've been hearing old timers say coal forges give you way better control over the steel's carbon content, and that gas forges are just for hobbyists who don't know real blacksmithing. But in my experience, my gas forge has been way more consistent for heat treating knives and tools, I can dial in the temp way better. I've had a few sessions where the coal forge left hot spots that ruined a blade, costing me like $40 in steel each time. On the other hand, I see guys on YouTube getting amazing results with coal and saying gas makes steel brittle. So what do you all think, is coal actually superior or is it just nostalgia? Has anyone here tested both side by side on the same project?

2 comments

c/climate-action•

the_fiona•4d ago

I finally stopped composting after that rat problem at the community plot

At the Maplewood garden last summer, someone's open pile attracted a whole family of rats that chewed through our tomato roots. Now I just put my veggie scraps in the trash pickup instead of pretending it's helping the soil. Has anyone else given up on home composting after a pest disaster?

2 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

the_fiona•6d ago

Unpopular opinion: budget hostels are not always the cheapest option

Everyone raves about hostels saving money, but I got burned twice on them in Barcelona last spring. First one charged 4 euros extra for a towel and 2 euros for locker rental, adding up to 22 euros a night. I found a basic guesthouse on a side street for 20 euros flat with no hidden fees. Has anyone else found cheaper alternatives that aren't hostels or hotels?

2 comments

c/fermentation-station•

the_fiona•21d ago

Got a SCOBY that sat in the fridge for 6 weeks and tried to revive it anyway

I had this pellicle from a friend in Austin that I left in a jar of starter tea way too long. After 6 weeks in the back of my fridge I figured it was dead but I thought hey let me try a batch with some fresh sweet tea anyway. It took a full 14 days before I saw any new growth on top and I was checking it every morning like a weirdo. The vinegar smell was super strong the whole time which had me worried but it finally pulled through. Has anyone else managed to bring back a SCOBY that looked like it was done for good?

2 comments

c/elevator-mechanics•

the_fiona•22d ago

PSA: Check your limit switch magnets before assuming it's a board issue

Spent three hours troubleshooting an intermittent door reopening problem at a 12-story apartment building in Austin last Tuesday. Turns out a weak magnet on the car door limit switch was the culprit, not the controller. Has anyone else wasted a day chasing ghosts like this?

2 comments

c/custom-keyboard-builders•

the_fiona•22d ago

Passed 1,200 hours on my soldering iron this month and realized I've been over-lubing stabilizers the whole time

A guy at the Austin meetup let me try his board with bone-dry stabs and the difference was so massive I had to redo four of my builds; has anyone else found that less lube actually sounds better on screw-in stabilizers?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

the_fiona•23d ago

Had a chat with a customer that made me rethink my heat treat process

So this guy comes in last week with a busted hammer he wanted me to fix, and he starts asking about my normalizing steps. I told him I usually just do two cycles, and he looked at me like I had three heads. He said he works with a guy up in Flagstaff who does three full cycles plus a stress relief after every major weld, even on small tools. I kinda blew it off at first, but then I thought about it later that night. I tried three cycles on a damaged farrier rasp I was turning into a knife, and the grain structure looked way more uniform on the break test. Now I'm wondering if I've been leaving toughness on the table for years with all my repair jobs. Any of you guys do extra normalizing cycles on stuff that's been banged up hard?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

the_fiona•25d ago

Tried parging a foundation wall with a sprayer instead of by hand

Got a cheap hopper gun from Home Depot and figured it would save me hours on an old stone foundation up in New Hampshire. Ended up with half the mix sliding off in chunks and spent longer cleaning the nozzle than I would have just troweling it. Anybody else ever try to shortcut a wet parge job and regret it?

2 comments

c/backyard-birding-tips•

the_fiona•27d ago

Was totally against heated bird baths until our first hard freeze

We had that cold snap last January here in Ohio, temps dropped to 9 degrees. I always thought heated bird baths were an unnecessary expense, like why not just put out fresh water every morning? But my neighbor kept hers going and I watched chickadees and cardinals lining up at her place while mine was a solid block of ice for 3 days straight. Broke down and got a thermostatically controlled one from Tractor Supply for about 40 bucks. Now I feel bad for all those winters the birds had to deal with frozen water. Anyone else change their mind on a birding product after seeing it work in person?

2 comments

c/cable-installers•

the_fiona•28d ago

Update: That Tuesday where I fought a wasp nest in a junction box for 3 hours

I was all set to just spray and run, but the homeowner stood there watching and said 'you're not done yet, are you?' so I had to suit up and take the whole thing apart, which turned a 20 minute job into a nightmare but honestly I learned more about routing through old boxes in that one afternoon than in the last 6 months of normal runs - has anyone else had a job spiral like that from one weird comment?

2 comments

Recent Comments

3h ago

Just realized my grandma was right about using river stones instead of aquarium gravel

Old school wisdom wins again, doesn't it? The shape of the substrate makes a huge difference for how they turn around and find food. What kind of river stones did she recommend, and did she mention anything about the size range? Smooth stones with some variation in size is what my local crew seems to prefer. I've seen way more breeding since switching to a mix, but I'm still tweaking the moisture levels to get it just right.

3d ago

Tried manual drafting vs digital for a basement remodel and digital won by a mile

Right? "Took me 3 tries on paper" is basically my entire life before I switched. I did a kitchen remodel with this weird bumped out wall, and I swear I redrew the elevation like five times trying to get the cabinets to line up. Finally loaded up a basic free CAD app, and it snapped everything into place in under an hour. I was mad at myself for not doing it sooner, honestly. That afternoon I deleted like half my drafting table clutter.

3d ago

That old timer who told me to stop using hammer-on connectors was 100% right

Did I buy a crimper today or just order another round of hammer-ons to test my bad luck?

4d ago

Just wasted $230 on a cursed solar filter adapter ring

Glued strips of felt to mine with rubber cement to make it fit snug...

5d ago

Caught myself buying $80 of fresh herbs every month for 2 years

Ha! Yeah I gotta be honest with you @wright.drew, I'm with @gavine41 on this one. That whole setup sounds like a full-time job with benefits. My neighbor had the worm bin phase and then she had to explain to the apartment manager why there were little red wigglers making a break for it under the fridge. I mean sure, saving on lettuce is nice but you're basically running a tiny farm with employee morale issues. And the neighbors noticing the tub with holes... that's gonna be a whole conversation every time someone comes over. Plus what happens when you go on vacation? Nobody wants to wormsit.