DIY Wins

[bsommers]

I created this thread for people to post their DIY success stories.

Not sure if this a general trend in Biden's America or my bad fortune, but a couple examples just from this year:

1. Plumber responds to my aerobic septic system, screws up the power wiring, and I install a new pump and adjust the height of the floats myself. Watched some YouTube videos.

2. Verizon installer doesn't realize the power box is not wired to the wall panel. I rewired it myself with a few cheap parts from Home Depot.

 

[Short-bus]

When I moved from the city to my current location, the place had a detached 2 car garage that was the perfect size for a shop for my company. The interior was just the frame, and luckily it had 100amp service running to it, and a large breaker panel installed already. I wired all my inlets, lights, switches, had some help framing the paint booth, but hung all the drywall, the ceiling I did plywood but hung it all myself, all in all, I finished the interior of my shop so I could work in it, 95% myself. Took me 3 weeks to get it all done, and I did it in the evenings. I would go to the old house and work during the day. Leave there, drive to the new house, and then work late into the night building out the shop. It's one of my proudest moments. It's not super great to look at, but it works for me, and whoever buys the house after me isn't going to give a shit other than the fact they'll have a garage with heat and ac for their cars, or whatever they decide to do with it. I learned everything I did through either figuring shit out by trying it out, or watching youtube videos.

I also remodeled my daughters bathroom. The toilet was a little wobbly, so it was on my list of things to fix that next weekend. My father in law came over, and in his infinite wisdom, he said "you just gotta really crank down on the nuts on the side of the toilet. Started cranking, and POP...broke the flange. So guess who had to remove the broken flange, and install a new flange on the pipe, so I could get a new wax ring, and install the toilet, solidly, the 2nd time around. This guy. My father in law has done a bunch of work in his own house, and his tile work drives me nuts. There isn't a straight tile in the whole bathroom. I refuse to have him help me tile my main bathroom when I get around to it sometime in the next 5 to 10 years.

Branden

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Too many to list... Check out the Vintage Section... Cannons, gatling guns, shotguns, cases... clocks... if it can be tinkered back to life... I'm there.

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[The D]

Doing all the work to our cars

Replaced the fan and blower motor in our furnace a few years ago

 

[Jgunner]

Well everything is diy in my world. Taking care of the farm, full time work, working on my project vehicles. The only thing I really get help with is reloading, my buddy does most of that for me at my house. Luckily for him, I rarely get to shoot so it a once a year or two task. Sigh.

 

[akmike47]

You know a little of this a little of that always fucking around with something. It may not always look 100% professional, but if you don’t like it come redo it yourself.

 

[MK20]

Well went dry in 8 deg F weather in January. Spent a week in a hole in the ground working on it.

Finally hooked the track loader to the well head, ripped it out and drove a new one in.

That was harder than hell week.

Mainly because I was recovering from a month of Covid hell at the time. It was only that bad because work kept me out on MG ranges in the rain in the SE for 2 weeks when it was 40 degrees and raining outside.

If we went in the classroom that only we used we might "contaminate" it. All of us had Covid anyway.

Fucking morons.

 

[Moe Ron]

I masturbate a lot

 

[akmike47]

Keep it up! Figure out how to fix broken things, because that’s what guys do right?
Basic dude stuff.
Been fixing stuff for a few years. I might have broken a lot of stuff also.

I figured out years ago if you fuck enough shit up eventually you figure it out. My specialty is doing something and making it look pretty good then “just a little more.....FUCK!”

 

[akmike47]

I masturbate a lot

The original DIY.

 

[dustingaunder]

I needed 3 phase power for my mill so I gutted the controls and DIYed a VFD for the spindle and for the table power feed. And new variable speed controls for both on the head. With an E-Stop.

 

[GUN NUT in IA]

I have 10s of thousands of dollars worth of tools ranging from plumbing, electrical, woodworking, construction, automotive repair, tiling, etc - - - and I know how to use all of them.

The only time I hire somebody to do something for me is when the government requires me to do so or it is too much work for one guy to do by myself.

I am not a licensed electrician so the government would not let me wire my new building.

I hired the installation of the 38' trusses and metal roof because that is a bunch of work for one guy to do by himself and it was a long ways up there and a bunch of roof.

Concrete work is hard by yourself and 100 yards is a bunch of concrete.

In the morning when I get out of bed, I am reminded of my age. About mid-morning, I forget . . . so I do "things" and feel good about it. It repeats the next day.

 

[hollowoutadime]

I wanted a home shooting range for my suppressed .22 and started with a heavy wooden backstop and some disposable wear layers of plywood.
Of course it's wet/muddy in the winter, so I poured a small concrete pad, probably 4'x15'

Decided I wanted to shoot my 9mm and 45, possible a subgun and the DIY got unleashed. My kids are so tired of mixing concrete.
Only thing left is to grind surface of concrete flat to expose the aggregate, seal it, and install lighting.

3/8" tiltable AR-500 plate.

Cleaning station:

 

[ZiaHunter]

Received a SK socket set (still have it) as a gift when I was around 8 and have been buying and using tools since that time and now 67. Live in a rural area and do most of the work around the house myself. Shop behind the house contains a full woodworking shop and multiple welders including TIG, MIG, stick and plasma.. Build things for myself and others. Friends bring stuff by and ask if I can fix this or weld that and take care of it for them. Still work full time as a construction PM but will be in the shop on weekends and evenings working on something. Few of the things I built recently. Mobile base for horizontal bandsaw and cutting table.

 

[stemikel]

This guy?

Any structural engineers around?

One is actually a 10" X 8" wide flange I-Beam. The other is I-Beam 10" X 5" 24 pound. North side will be on land 8'. South side will be on land 4'. 40' long beams. So 28 feet free span. I trussed one so far. That is 2 7/8" O.D. (2 1/2" pipe 3/16" wall) The beams will be spaced 6' apart, because...

www.snipershide.com

 

[Fig]

Pretty proud of this trailer resto from last weekend!

Bed off, 1/2 Gal of Rustoleum Rust Reformer, 12 rattlecans of Rust Reformer paint, 2 cans of hammered metal paint, 8 2"X12"X16' and a shit load of elbow grease for about 12 hours...

From this:

to this:

Between buying it and restoring it I have less than $2K in it.

 

[hollowoutadime]

Dual axle! Nice work! plus you get a bonfire out of it.
Edit: Nice trees on your property.

 

[db2000]

Saved $3
Heated a flat head driver and smashed the attachment post down to hold the alligator clip.

 

[fpgt72]

My current DIY projects.

Wire in a 220 50A for my new plasma cutter....that will likely get done this weekend.

I just installed a sink and have a rain collection system on my shop so I can wash my hands out there. I am not doing the gutters, ladders are hard on my, and I don't like heights. All the rest I have done and it is so nice to just wash your hands.

Brake parts came in for the 850 Fiat so hopefully that will leave my lift and I can start on my bug.

There are very few things I will not do, most of them center around climbing up on a ladder, I just have a rough time with that anymore.

I remember when we wired up my shop, had everything done out to the transformer and was waiting for the "power guy" to set is up. He is out there and I asked him does he need to look at the shop. Nope I just hook up the power, the rest is on you. Well ok then.

 

[fpgt72]

Dual axle! Nice work! plus you get a bonfire out of it.
Edit: Nice trees on your property.

If the wood is CCA, make sure you are down wind. Learn what the CCA stands for.

As it is a trailer and an older one chances are it is CCA.

 

[Fig]

 

[ZiaHunter]

My current DIY projects.

Wire in a 220 50A for my new plasma cutter....that will likely get done this weekend.

I just installed a sink and have a rain collection system on my shop so I can wash my hands out there. I am not doing the gutters, ladders are hard on my, and I don't like heights. All the rest I have done and it is so nice to just wash your hands.

Brake parts came in for the 850 Fiat so hopefully that will leave my lift and I can start on my bug.

There are very few things I will not do, most of them center around climbing up on a ladder, I just have a rough time with that anymore.

I remember when we wired up my shop, had everything done out to the transformer and was waiting for the "power guy" to set is up. He is out there and I asked him does he need to look at the shop. Nope I just hook up the power, the rest is on you. Well ok then.

Feel the same about ladders at this point in my life. Did the wiring for the welders in the shop myself as well.

 

[MrSmith]

I wanted a home shooting range for my suppressed .22 and started with a heavy wooden backstop and some disposable wear layers of plywood.
Of course it's wet/muddy in the winter, so I poured a small concrete pad, probably 4'x15'

Decided I wanted to shoot my 9mm and 45, possible a subgun and the DIY got unleashed. My kids are so tired of mixing concrete.
Only thing left is to grind surface of concrete flat to expose the aggregate, seal it, and install lighting.

3/8" tiltable AR-500 plate.

View attachment 7946673
Cleaning station:
View attachment 7946674

Too late for this project but you will have another. For a simple exposed aggregate (pebble grain type) surface, place and finish as usual. About 90 to 120 minutes after batch gently brush the surface with a soft bristle broom while letting water from the hose slowly flow over the surface. You will figure out wait time, broom pressure and water flow rate quickly. To make the surface really pop buy "pretty" rocks (no silica) and throw those over the surface after you screed. Finish them in as you finish the slab. Then wait and do the water thing. Use sealant after cure.

Also works for exposing aggregate to place the next pour against in a commercial job. Easier than the sandblasting many specs call out and most engineers will approve the change.

Nice range.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[168BTHPM]

Earlier this year before I retired. This is now my daily driver. I bought it from a customer that didn't have insurance or the money to fix it. The hit was so bad it broke the rack & pinion in half and pulled the right axle out of the front differential. The lower control arm was broken and the knuckle was split through where the hub mounts. It broke the circuit board in the valve body and shorted out the tranfer case shift motor. There was a big buckle in the frame right behind the lower control arm mount that took about 20 hours to fix. When I cleaned the truck out there was 108 empty small Fireball bottles and every square inch of the interior had Fireball splattered on it. On the right rear floor under a pile of shit was a fifth bottle of Fireball that leaked out into the carpets and filled the right rocker panel. The carpets on that side still have a slight pink tint to them, even after shampooing three times.

 

[Maggot]

My 85 year old neighbor and I built a 300 ft/sq addition on my home. He's an electrician so that was covered. We did everything ourselves from footer to shingles except for the plumbing (good friend did that) and the HVAC. Got it finished just before COVID hit and prices skyrocketed. Finished it and a sweet deck for $21,000 or so. Fromewhat Ive seen it would cost near double that now, if a contractor did it a LOT more.

 

[buffalowinter]

before after

before after

before after

 

[TimC in KY]

I used to restore old Cub Cadet garden tractors. Had a lot of parts left over so I built one for myself. It is an old narrow frame powered by a CI 16 one cylinder Kohler but to more like 25 hp. Hydrostatic drive, turning brakes, hydraulic lift. 3pt hitch and power steering.

 

[MrSmith]

Smoker. Fire resistant file cabinet, 1.5" insulation all round. Traeger firebox, feeder and controls. Like a giant Traeger Big Green Egg. $100 in parts. Add build and scrounging time.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[hollowoutadime]

That's pretty ingenious.

 

[acpchuck]

Built two Parker Hale M85 rifles from raw receivers, https://www.snipershide.com/shootin...85-87-and-c3-c3a1.6262536/page-4#post-9253079

New front porch with ramp (for my wife):


Drift boat I built back in the late 80's. It is a ribless design:

 

[varano14]

I am of the younger generation that is generally assumed to be incapable of doing anything themselves. I have a good job and could probably afford paying for this to be done but 1) I like knowing how to do stuff and 2) if I do it I know its done the way I want it.

Last summer was a 24x24 multi tiered composite deck complete with build in lighting. Cost me about 6-7k in material but I pale to think what someone would have charged to build it for me.

This summer I ripped out the entire kitchen and moved a door over about 6 feet to add more cabinets. Had a bit of help with the tile from a contractor buddy and had the pros put in the granite other wise I did it all. Patching drywall and leveling cabinets for the first time in an old house where everything has settled/bulged sure was an exercise in patience. Still have paint and back splash go but the design department has been dragging their feet.

Next summer I may gut the second floor of our small cape cod to add a bathroom and make the upstairs a master suite of sorts as its currently an awkward landing area and then a rather large bedroom. I planned to hire this out as it seemed like more then I could handle but the success with the kitchen has me considering it as I know it will not be cheap.

 

[MrSmith]

I know this doesn't look like much but I'm rather proud of it. A good friend, at about 45 years old, got ravaged by arthritis, his hands just didn't work any more. He gave me this and asked if I could make it open when squeezed rather than close. That way he could grab something then use both hands to bring it to him. It's not pretty but it worked for Jim for about 4 years.

At his funeral, his brother gave it back to me with a smile and a nod. I'll keep it.

Thank you,
MrSmith