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Cake day: July 10th, 2024

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  • The metal portion should not be radiating heat. Implies there’s something not quite right with the vacuum seal. If it’s new, you might try returning it & asking for a replacement. If it’s only mildly warm, that might be normal - have you considered getting a knit hat to place over that area to further insulate it (yes, I’m too cheap sometimes).

    FWIW, I’ve had great luck with my Stanley thermos for doing exactly what you’re doing, keeping coffee hot for hours. I also like Zojrushi’s products - I have a smaller one I use to keep my creamer cold.





  • I think you already have your answer, but let me elaborate a bit.

    The places in the middle where the filament is missing - those places are either dirty or too high.

    The area in the back where the filament is sticking, but isn’t filling the area correctly, those areas are too low.

    Most likely cause for both is the build plate on an Ender just isn’t perfectly flat. You can try to adjust it to get it closer to being level. But I’ve always found I’ll have sections that just aren’t right. And so, I just don’t print on those sections. Find the areas that do print well, and locate your prints there.

    Last note - try putting down a layer of painter’s tape. I find that helps tremendously with both of the points you’re fighting.


  • Probably doesn’t count as I didn’t buy it, so I’m technically not dealing with it. But let’s talk about electric riding lawnmowers. Last year I was looking to replace my 20+ year old riding lawnmower with an electric one. Could not find a single manufacturer who would also provide the parts lists. Digging deeper, seems like they simply do not sell parts, like at all. The mowers just aren’t repairable - straight up, if it breaks, buy a new one. That’s irresponsible when talking about an electric drill, but a full riding mower? WTF?

    To be fair, this might be a chicken & egg problem. Low adoption rates means there’s a very small market for parts, so there’s no aftermarket support. And that aftermarket is where I get parts for my current mower. So maybe it’s not fair to blame the manufacturer? But I think that’s a stretch. From where I’m standing, it sure looks like intentional planned obsolescence.


  • For a unique answer, I’m going to say my model trains from the 1940s & 50s (Lionel, O gauge). They were designed to be taken apart & serviced, and it shows. And they have enough common parts that even though they’re now 75+ years old, you can still get parts.

    I’ll also throw my 1997 Ford F-150 into the mix as a more common answer. Ford made literal millions of these, so not only are parts still available, they will be for decades still to come. Heck, I replaced the motor last year, and was able to get most of the bolt on parts I wanted straight from the dealership. Not bad for 25+ years old.


  • Couple years ago, I finally got off my ass & started making time to actually fix the stuff I said I would fix. It’s been transformational. This year, I made time for the ‘good’ car. I replaced the transmission along with a lot of other little bits that had been bothering me. Took close to 5 months in total, but I’m at the point now where both the good car & the beater truck are both reliable runners. It’s a good feeling.









  • For me, what has sort of worked it pointing out that both sides of the news are getting basic facts wrong - things where there shouldn’t even be a debate. If the news was true, you could watch any channel - it would all be the same. Instead, we get things like one side claiming murders are up and the other claiming murders are down. Our current journalism is a failure of a system designed to drive engagement/viewership/clicks rather than convey knowledge.

    I also find it helps to remind them that we’re Americans first, party second. The other side isn’t stupid, they’re just getting a completely different set of ‘news’.


  • FWIW, I bought a new Ender3 as a kit not too long ago, it was $150 IIRC. And by being forced to assemble it, I learned a good bit too. It might be worthwhile to watch their store & see if they put it up for sale again.

    The only upgrade I’ve done that I really felt made a difference was buying an enclosure for it. Nothing fancy, it’s a fireproof bag over an aluminum frame. Even more than controlling the temperature, it also keeps it dust free when not in use - that’s probably the biggest win for me.

    As for buying the used one - these things do wear down. Start by checking the feed gear & the PTFE tube. If the filament feeds well, then also check the belts, rollers, & nozzle. Those are really the common wear items imo. Perhaps obvious, but make sure the seller gives you a copy of the slicing software (should be free on their webpage) and also the little USB-A to Sim card doo-hickey that you need to move files back & forth.


  • ptc075@lemmy.ziptoAsklemmy@lemmy.mlHow do you learn about auto work?
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    7 months ago

    As others have said, search YouTube for brake pad changes on your make/model of car. If that still leaves you with questions, you can also find a self help book specific to your car (Chilton or Haynes).

    Good news, based on how you’re describing your own technical level, I think you’re going to find this is pretty easy actually. Only concern is if you live where they salt the roads, then some of these things will be rusted together. So, good to watch the video again & see how it’s supposed to come apart.

    Once the calipers are off, you need to support them somehow so they don’t hang on the brake lines. I usually just slide a cinder block underneath them, but others like using bungie cords / zip ties & tying them to spring/strut. (Depending on the car, you may not even need to fully remove the caliper - many of them pivot upwards).

    Probably worth mentioning, the pads themselves are cheap, but you should also resurface or replace the rotors. One of the important steps to making sure they last is having a clean & smooth surface when they’re new, so that they will mate together smoothly. There’s a lot of neat stuff going on with the transfer of pad material to the rotor itself, I can’t pretend to cover it all, but “bedding” the pad material to the rotor properly ensures long life. And the short-short answer is that to accomplish that, you need new rotors or you need to have the rotors machined smooth when you replace the pads. I find it’s usually more cost effective to just buy cheap rotors from Rock Auto online.

    Lastly, you may want to watch a video on brake bleeding (getting the air out of the brake lines). In theory you might not need to even open the brake lines, but often you need to do so in order to get the caliper pistons to retract far enough for the new brake pads. (I like to bleed the brakes on every pad change just to have fresh fluid in there). I mention this because brake bleeding is usually a 2 person job. There are special tools to work around that, but you need to know in advance if you’re going to need them.