Simon Lee (u/the_simon)

Posts

Rant: That injector stupid copper washer took me 3 hours yesterday

I was swapping injectors on a 6.7 Cummins yesterday afternoon in Modesto and everything was going smooth until I got to cylinder 5. That stupid copper washer got stuck in the bore and I didn't see it at first. Spent over 3 hours trying to fish it out with picks and magnets before I finally pulled the whole injector tube. Has anyone else had these washers weld themselves in there or am I just unlucky?

2 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

the_simon•2d ago

Switched from hand troweling to power troweling on a big slab and I'm never going back

For like 5 years I was dead set on hand finishing everything. Thought power trowels were for lazy guys who didn't care about quality. But last month I had a 4,000 square foot warehouse floor in Denver and I was looking at 14 hours of hand work by myself. My buddy loaned me his ride-on trowel and told me to just try it on a test patch. Man, after one pass I could see the finish was actually better. Way more consistent and I finished the whole job in 6 hours instead of 14. My knees didn't scream at me for three days either. Has anyone else fought against using a tool for years then finally caved?

2 comments

c/bothell-wa-locals•

the_simon•7d ago

I finally gave up on the popular Thai place near Country Village

For the longest time I thought Siam Thai on Bothell Way was the best around here, you know? But last Thursday I ordered their pad see ew and it came out soggy with way too much sauce, like a pool of it at the bottom of the container. I always defended them to my wife when she said the quality dropped off after the new owners took over about 2 years ago. Then I tried that little spot called Baan Thai up by the QFC on 185th and the noodles had that perfect char and chew. The portion was bigger too for only $13. So I guess I was just stuck in my ways with the old place. Has anyone else found a better Thai spot hiding in the area that I should check out next?

2 comments

c/backpacking-routes•

the_simon•28d ago

Hiked the AT section near Roan Mountain and got caught in a storm that changed my gear setup

I was about 6 miles from Carvers Gap last October when the weather went from clear to pounding hail in about 15 minutes. My cheap poncho tore right down the middle and I ended up soaked to the bone, shivering under a rock for an hour. After that trip I ditched the poncho for a proper rain jacket and started checking NOAA radar before every hike. Has anyone else had a piece of gear fail at the worst possible time?

2 comments

c/arborists•

the_simon•1mo ago

I finally figured out why my climbing line kept getting stuck in my friction knot

Had a weird issue for about 3 months where my Blake's hitch would lock up too tight on my climb line. Could barely get it to release after a big limb walk. Last week I was swapping out some old rope on a job near Portland and noticed the sheath on my line was almost smooth in spots from wear. That smooth section was letting the hitch grab too hard. New line came in on Tuesday, problem gone. Anyone else run into this with older climb lines?

2 comments

c/florists•

the_simon•1mo ago

PSA: Dollar store spray bottles ruin eucalyptus in 2 days flat

I grabbed a $1.25 spray bottle from Family Dollar last week to mist my greenery and it killed half my eucalyptus stock by Wednesday because the nozzle spits out uneven clumps. Anyone else have a go-to cheap mister that actually works right?

2 comments

c/camera-repairers•

the_simon•1mo ago

That customer who taught me about shutter capping on a Pentax 6x7

Had a guy come into the bar last month, saw me reading a repair manual during my break. Turns out he was a retired camera tech from the 70s and 80s. He noticed I was working on a Pentax 6x7 and said "you gotta check shutter capping before you do anything else." Walked me through how to test it with just a strobe and a piece of cardboard. Saved me three hours of chasing a mirror issue that wasn't even there. Has anyone else run into old timers who just drop knowledge like that?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

the_simon•1mo ago

Finally got back into bullet journaling after years away

I used to keep a super detailed bullet journal back in 2016. Every day had a full spread with trackers for water, sleep, mood, the whole deal. But somewhere around 2019 I just stopped doing it. It felt like too much work keeping up with all those boxes. Last month I started again but way simpler. Now I just do a daily log with 3 tasks max and a small note section. No fancy trackers or color coding. My old journal had 12 different pens and now I just use one black Pilot G2. Funny how I went from wanting it perfect to just needing it to work. Has anyone else found that doing less makes them stick with it longer?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

the_simon•1mo ago

Old timer at the hangar told me to stop using WD-40 on actuator linkages

Guy named Hal who's been doing this since the 70s saw me spraying it on a Cessna 172 flap actuator. He said that stuff just attracts dirt and dries out the seals. Told me to use LPS-1 instead. I thought he was just being old school. Fast forward 6 months and I had to replace two actuators that were binding up. There was this gummy residue all over them. Switched to the LPS stuff and no issues since. Anybody else get burned by using the wrong lube?

3 comments

c/cnc-operators•

the_simon•1mo ago

Had a coolant line burst right over the main control cabinet on a Tuesday morning

It was a real mess... coolant sprayed everywhere before I could hit the e-stop. The machine was a 2018 Haas VF-2, and the line just gave out near a worn clamp. We spent the next six hours pulling panels, drying boards, and cleaning every connector with isopropyl alcohol. The shop smelled like a weird mix of coolant and electronics cleaner for days. The boss was not happy about the $1,200 in parts and lost production time. Looking back, I should have caught the small leak that had been dripping for a week. Has anyone else had a coolant disaster that took out a machine's brain? What did you do to fix it?

2 comments

Posts

Rant: That injector stupid copper washer took me 3 hours yesterday

Switched from hand troweling to power troweling on a big slab and I'm never going back

I finally gave up on the popular Thai place near Country Village

Hiked the AT section near Roan Mountain and got caught in a storm that changed my gear setup

I finally figured out why my climbing line kept getting stuck in my friction knot

PSA: Dollar store spray bottles ruin eucalyptus in 2 days flat

That customer who taught me about shutter capping on a Pentax 6x7

Finally got back into bullet journaling after years away

Old timer at the hangar told me to stop using WD-40 on actuator linkages

Had a coolant line burst right over the main control cabinet on a Tuesday morning

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