Elliot Burns (u/elliotburns)

Posts

Recalled my old bookbinding teacher's advice about glue and finally see the point

Back in 2019, my teacher in Portland told me never to use PVA glue for book spines because it dries too brittle and cracks over time. I thought she was just being old school and stuck to my cheap white glue for two years. Then last month I opened a journal I made in 2020 and the spine had a hairline crack running down the middle. I switched to a high-quality PVA that she recommended, the pH neutral kind from Lineco, and glued up a test book six weeks ago. So far no issues, and the flexibility is way better. Has anyone else had a teacher's tip turn out to be right after you brushed it off?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

elliotburns•3mo ago

Can we talk about those expensive pellet grills?

Bought a top brand pellet smoker for $1,200 last spring and used it maybe 10 times before the auger jammed and the controller died. Customer service told me to wait 3 weeks for parts and then offered a 10% discount on a new one. Anyone else ditch the pellet route after a bad experience?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

elliotburns•3mo ago

Found a game changer for squaring up cabinets on site

I used to just rely on my speed square and eyeballing it for box assembly, but after 5 kitchen jobs I noticed I was fighting doors that wouldn't close right. Switched to using a simple 1/2 inch plywood squaring jig I knocked together in 20 minutes, and it cut my adjustment time by about 45 minutes per job. The difference was night and day after the first 3 cabinets I clamped it onto. Anyone else got a homemade jig that saved their back and their sanity?

3 comments

c/css-battle-tactics•

elliotburns•4mo ago

A 3 month CSS grid refactor that cut my layout code in half

I was working on a client dashboard last fall with 12 different card layouts. Original version used flexbox with float fallbacks, about 400 lines of CSS per page. After sitting down for a weekend and rebuilding everything with CSS Grid and named template areas, the same layouts now take around 180 lines total. The trick was mapping out the grid areas in a way that reused the same template for similar card sizes. Has anyone else had a big before/after moment like this with a specific CSS technique?

2 comments

c/camera-repairers•

elliotburns•4mo ago

Overheard a young guy at the shop say digital cameras killed the need for repair techs

Was at a camera swap meet last Saturday and this kid, maybe 22, was telling his friend that camera repair is a dying trade because everything's digital now and people just toss their gear when it breaks. I didn't say anything but it got me thinking. I've got a customer who still brings in his Nikon F2 from the 70s every 6 months for a CLA and another who shoots a Hasselblad from the 60s. Meanwhile I've had three digital cameras this month with mirror box failures where the repair cost is more than a used replacement. The old mechanical stuff is what keeps me busy honestly. Anyone else seeing more film cameras on your bench than digital these days?

3 comments

c/cable-installers•

elliotburns•4mo ago

That time I fixed a flickering modem by checking the ground bond

Last week I spent 2 hours chasing a signal issue in a house built in the 70s, turned out the ground bond was loose at the meter base... has anyone else run into weird stuff with older homes throwing off your readings?

2 comments

c/camera-repairers•

elliotburns•4mo ago

Second time trying a CLA on a Yashica Electro 35 in my garage...

I had this Yashica Electro 35 sitting on my shelf for like 8 months. The first time I tried to do a CLA on it I got frustrated after 20 minutes and put all the screws in a bag. Last weekend I finally sat down with a fresh cup of coffee and a youtube video from a guy in Ohio. It took me about 2 hours but when I got the shutter firing again at the right speeds I actually felt proud. The trick was not using a cheap screwdriver set and borrowing a proper JIS one from my buddy. Anybody else find that using the wrong tool makes them want to throw the whole camera in the trash?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

elliotburns•4mo ago

Tried to save money on drywall mud and regretted it instantly

Picked up a bucket of the cheap premixed stuff from a big box store last weekend. Figured mud is mud, right? Wrong. That stuff was watery and full of clumps right out of the bucket. First coat went on like paste, took forever to smooth out. Sanded it the next day and it crumbled like old cheese. Had to scrape half of it off and redo the whole section with the name brand stuff. Learned my lesson about cutting corners on joint compound. Anyone else get burned by bargain drywall supplies?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

elliotburns•4mo ago

Debate: Hand taping vs using a bazooka for flat work on a 5000 square foot house

I did a big new build outside Dallas last month and argued with my partner for an hour about whether to use the automatic taper or just hand tape the whole thing. He swore the bazooka would save time but I've had too many jobs where the mud gets thin in the pan and you end up with bubbles. I ended up hand taping the whole 5000 footer and it took me 18 hours but I got zero callbacks. Has anyone else found the auto taper causes more problems than it fixes?

3 comments

c/electricians•

elliotburns•4mo ago

Found a weird way to pull wire through a tight spot in an old house

I was working on a rewire in a 1920s house in Tacoma last week, and the path from the attic to the first floor was a real mess of old plaster and blocked stud bays. After fighting with fish tape for an hour, I grabbed a shop vac and a plastic grocery bag. I taped the bag over the hole downstairs, poked a small hole in it, and used the vac to suck a light pull string up from below. It worked on the second try. Anyone else ever use a vacuum trick like that?

3 comments