Beyond Blue Home Improvement Thread

[geoff]

Hi everyone. I'm Geoff and have been a dedicated Volunteer on the forums for 13 years. I am proud to have stopped some of the stigmas that are associated with mental health as well as doing my best to help others too

Before my health went south I was a builder in all aspects of home construction and renovation. If you don't have a handyman around I hope I can offer you some tips that may be of help. I have had many years of experience in home renovation and will do my best to help you out if you are stuck and need some advice

I hope my experience may be of help to the people on Beyond Blue and make their life a little bit better. Even if you need help with the most basic painting job or putting up a shelf I can help there too with some tips

I will do my best to get back to anyone that has a question when I can as this is social yet important thread

Geoff

[geoff]

hi Mathy, it's been years since I used it but pleased you can still get it, my paint shop just added it in for nothing as I bought paint weekly and used to be a good customer until the black dog hit me, thanks for letting us know. Geoff.

[Guest_1584]

Gday Geoff and all.

Geoff , wondering why my circular saw is kicking back like a mule lately.

Saws not very old but the blades getting pretty blunt now , would that be it ?

[white knight]

Hi Random x

Blunt blade doesnt help but if your blade is adjusyed too deep i.e it extends too far below the wood it can jerk. Also if the wood that falls away isnt supported, van put pressure on the blade.

when purchasing a blade the less blade tips the better imo. I.e 20 tips or teeth is beyyer than 40 unless you ate doing fine woodworking stuff.

Tony WK

[geoff]

hi Randomx, I'm sorry and thanks to Tony for your reply which is very true, however what you can also do is turn off saw from the wall or pull it out, make sure the blade is clean and sharp, but put some lubricate on the blade, remember the blade will keep getting sticky with sap and allow the cut off piece to fall freely away.
My best Geoff.

[Guest_1584]

Thanks for that guys.

Funny you should mention that blade tony because l was thinking of trying the fine tooth blades because l mainly cut thin ply and mbf for work, sotat size tooth is probably a bit savage for what l mainly do tony. l also a bit of heavier stuff too mainly in renovating though so not as often or an everyday thing.

What do you guys think of the finer tooth blades for what l mainly do , l've never tried one.?

[stevexr]

hello to all. I am a small engines mechanic so if you are having problems with your machine please post them up for me and I will do my best to help solve your problem. keep in mind that I need as much info as you can give ie. make, model, and symptoms. it is interesting trying to diagnose a problem machine with out being able to go over it so please bare with me. I will do my best. im sorry if you have posted on this before I have just been made aware of this thread.

Geoff is a good bloke!!

I will do my best to reply to your questions as soon as I can, and will do my best to explain problems and technique to fix them. I am very happy to help if I can so please don't feel worried about asking.

until then stay safe and well.....hello

[geoff]

hi Randonxr, and thanks Steve will come back to you, but when you have to cut laminate turn the blade around otherwise you will rip the laminate unless you have a machine that cuts everything.
To cut mbf then a fine tooth is better and remember the underside will come out with no chipping marks if you cut it with an electric saw, but try turning the blade around when cutting the ply.


hi Steve, your knowledge will come in to be very handy and thanks for joining this thread, and you are also a good bloke, so many thanks. Geoff.

[Guest_1584]

tHAnks geoff , but when you say turn the blade around , what do you mean , undo it and put it on backwards ?

Gday Steve , nice of you to offer mate.

l'm happy to say l got my first full cut in a long time out of my old rover and actually drove it back around the corner and back into the shed and all , last week. Wound up pushing it back 3 or 4 times in a row before , so it was a nice treat.

lt's been giving me grief for 6mths now but l think l've got him right again. First the spark went then the pull cord fell apart and the bolts holding it on were stripped in the hole , then cutting belts broke ,then a blade flew off, let me think ,l know there's more haha.

Anyway ,fingers crossed for next mow.

[stevexr]

hello, wow it sounds like the old girl could use some tlc. I would be very carful with blades flying off, if it hit some one you would be liable. if you have any problems that have you stumped please let me know and il help you the best I can. though it sounds like you have it going for now. good o. I hope it stays that way for you... hello

[white knight]

hi Stevexr

Great to see you on here. Glad you got your avatar sorted. Mods posted a reply to you about that.

Done a lot of engine work myself over the years, rebuilt zephyr engines, Subaru etc even added my own supercharger to my Subaru engine. Too old for that now.

Good advice Geoff on turning the blade around for laminate.

Random, I owned a 40 blade electric saw blade once and for general use it was pathetic. But in your case to own one is an asset for some finer cutting.

Tip: when buying an electric drill take note of the lowest revs it will go. My latest purchase has its lowest setting for revolutions at 2000rpm. It means that it burns the drill tip and it isn't low enough.

Welding- just a comment. I have arc welded for 25 years, self taught. A friend advised me when building my caravan to go MIG welding. I didn't want to use gas so bought a no gas MIG on ebay. The van has held up well with its square tubed steel frame but am not happy with the quality of the weld. IMO I doesn't create enough heat to mix all the steel. I'll be using the arc welder next van.

I'm hoping to sell the caravan I built very soon, so I can build our bigger one.

Tony WK