Casey Smith (u/caseys30)

Posts

Swapped to microfiber rags for cleaning rails and it was a disaster

I got tired of leaving lint all over the guide rails from my old cotton rags, so I bought a 50 pack of microfiber cloths from the home store. Figured they'd be better for the job since they pick up everything. First two cars I cleaned with them worked fine, but on the third one the microfiber caught on a tiny burr I missed and shredded into a hundred little fibers inside the rail. Took me almost 3 hours to pick all that crap out with tweezers and compressed air. Never again. Learned to stick with tack cloths or at least check every inch of the rail before wiping. Has anyone else had microfiber fail on a job like this or am I the only unlucky one?

2 comments

c/conspiracy-debates•

caseys30•16d ago

The debate: 3 hours of drywall repair vs 6 hours of frustration trying to skip it

I was patching a ceiling in a Reno in Austin and decided to skip the mesh tape on a small crack because it looked minor. 3 hours later I had mud falling out and a bigger hole than I started with. Ended up tearing out a 2x2 section and redoing it proper, which took another 4 hours on top of that. The conspiracy angle here is whether shortcuts ever actually save time or if they're just a trap we all fall for. I hear guys swear by quick fix techniques but my experience says prep work always wins. What's your ratio of shortcut time to redo time? Has anyone actually gotten away with skipping a step and had it hold up?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

caseys30•21d ago

Serious question, did anyone else spend years using the wrong bailout on their Kirby Morgan?

I been diving for about 5 years now. Last month during a job in Port Arthur I had this old timer look at my setup and just start laughing. He said I been routing my bailout hose wrong the whole time. I always ran it under my arm and clipped it on my left side. He showed me the manual and apparently it should go over the shoulder. Felt like an idiot but honestly nobody ever corrected me before. Made me wonder how many little things like that I'm just doing wrong cause nobody told me different. Anyone else have a basic skill they did backwards for years?

2 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

caseys30•25d ago

Overheard a guy at the coffee shop say his fantasy novel has zero dialogue, and now I'm wondering if I overuse talking heads.

It was just a throwaway line about a 200 page manuscript where nobody speaks, but it made me realize my own WIP has like 10 pages of back-and-forth in the first chapter alone, has anyone else tried stripping out dialogue to see if it changes the pacing?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

caseys30•26d ago

Overheard a guy at a competition say pellet grills aren't real BBQ

I was at a small local comp in Texas last Saturday and this older pitmaster was going off about how anyone using a pellet grill is just cheating, not real BBQ. It got me thinking, is it the tool or the technique that matters more? Like, sure, a stick burner takes more skill to manage temps, but if the final brisket comes out perfect on a pellet smoker, does it still count as pitmaster work? Curious where y'all land on this debate.

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

caseys30•27d ago

My luckiest day on the job in 3 years

Had a customer call me last Tuesday to say their motion detector caught a package thief red-handed at 2 AM. Their Ring doorbell had been down for a week but that old hardwired system (from 2014, believe it or not) still did the job. Has anyone else had a cheap older system save the day like that?

3 comments

c/backpacking-routes•

caseys30•29d ago

Last week I finally got why people love the Long Trail

I always thought hiking the Long Trail in Vermont was overhyped compared to the AT. Then I did a 15 mile stretch near Killington last Thursday and the ridge views completely changed my mind. Anyone else have a route they dismissed until they actually walked it?

3 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

caseys30•1mo ago

Found a weird trick for getting frozen fries crispy

I read a post on the Serious Eats website that said to spray frozen fries with a tiny bit of water before air frying. The science is that the steam helps the outside crisp up faster. I tried it on a bag of store brand crinkle cuts and it actually worked way better than just oil. Anyone else have a weird pre-cook step that makes a difference?

2 comments

c/diy-renovations•

caseys30•1mo ago

I was sure I could tile a shower floor without a leveling system

I was working on my bathroom in my old house in Boise, laying penny tile on the shower floor. About halfway through, I noticed a serious dip in the corner that would hold water. I had to pull up all the wet tiles, clean the thinset, and start over using a clip system. It added a full day to the project but the floor is perfectly flat now. Has anyone else had a tile job go sideways like that?

4 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

caseys30•1mo ago

I used to swear by the old school method for setting valve lash on a 12-valve Cummins

For years, I'd set them cold with a feeler gauge, fire it up, and adjust again hot. It worked, but it was messy and took forever. About six months ago, a guy at a shop in Boise showed me his method: set them all cold to the tight end of the spec, then just run it. I was sure it would be noisy, but on my personal truck, the valves have been quiet and perfect for 5,000 miles now. Anyone else skip the hot adjustment and just go with a tight cold setting?

3 comments