Posts

13

c/bookbinders•miles_roberts22•13h ago

Rant: Sewing signatures on a sewing frame is overrated for small books

I tried gluing the signatures directly to the spine for a 90 page notebook last week and the book opens way flatter than any sewn one I've ever made, so why do we all act like thread is the only professional option for anything under 150 pages?

1 comments

Share

12

c/carpet-installers•miles_roberts22•3d ago

Still think pre-stretching is a waste of time? I changed my mind last Wednesday.

Been installing carpet for 12 years and always skipped pre-stretching the backing before seaming on big commercial jobs. Last Wednesday in Austin I had a 40-foot seam open up on me after the customer ran the AC overnight. Anyone else seen this happen or am I the only one who learned this the hard way?

2 comments

Share

13

c/aircraft-mechanics•miles_roberts22•9d ago

Borrowed a borescope vs buying one for a cylinder inspection

I needed to check some cylinder walls on a Continental IO-520 last week. My buddy let me borrow his cheap USB borescope from Amazon, the $40 one. The picture was so fuzzy I couldn't tell carbon buildup from a crack. Ended up driving 45 minutes to borrow a Snap-on one from another guy at the hangar and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else found a decent mid-range borescope that actually works for cylinder work?

2 comments

Share

20

c/bad-logo-fix-club•miles_roberts22•13d ago

Coffee shop logo in Portland made me see things differently

I was grabbing a latte at a place near Powell's Books last week and noticed their logo was just a badly drawn coffee cup that looked more like a soup bowl. The barista said their cousin designed it for free and they've been too scared to change it for 4 years. Has anyone here had to convince a friend their DIY logo needed professional help?

2 comments

Share

2

c/bold-color-clashes•miles_roberts22•14d ago

My neon green and hot pink living room got called a 'warning sign' by my mom

She said it looked like a highlighter exploded, but I think it makes the space feel alive - has anyone else had family hate their color choices even though you love the combo?

2 comments

Share

2

c/baking-fails-and-wins•miles_roberts22•24d ago

My visit to that tiny bakery in Pittsburgh changed how I look at sourdough

I stopped into this place called BreadWorks in the Strip District last Tuesday and noticed they keep their starter in a plain deli container with just a piece of masking tape on it. No fancy jars, no cloth covers, no hygrometer or anything like that. It got me thinking how overcomplicated I've made my own process at home with all the gadgets and tracking. Anyone else ever walk into a pro shop and realize they're doing way too much?

2 comments

Share

11

c/design-system-stories•miles_roberts22•25d ago

Got told my spacing was 'too tight' by a senior designer in Chicago last month

I was working on a dashboard for a logistics client and thought I had nailed the layout. Then a senior designer looked at my mockup and said 'your padding is suffocating the content.' I went back and doubled all my gaps and margins, and suddenly the whole thing breathed. Has anyone else had to unlearn tight spacing habits from early in their career?

2 comments

Share

8

c/bookbinders•miles_roberts22•26d ago

$150 on a laying press from Etsy was a complete dud

I bought a wooden laying press off Etsy a few months back for $150, thinking it would be a nice upgrade for my home binding projects. The thing arrived with the press screws misaligned, so the plates wouldn't close evenly no matter how I adjusted them. I tried sanding down the edges and even adding felt pads, but it just never gripped the text block right. Has anyone else had bad luck with budget bookbinding tools from small shops online?

2 comments

Share

5

c/designers-who-use-figma•miles_roberts22•1mo ago

Spent 45 minutes on a variable font slider that nobody will ever touch

I just watched a dev convert my perfect font axis slider into a basic dropdown because "users don't notice" the difference. Why are we spending hours on micro-interactions in design files when the final product strips them out anyway? Has anyone else had their nuanced typography work flattened into a select menu?

3 comments

Share

5

c/auto-mechanics•miles_roberts22•1mo ago

Found a trick to pop seized brake bleeder screws with a torch last Tuesday

I was fighting a lower bleeder on a rusty 2008 F-150 in my driveway for an hour until I hit it with a propane torch for 30 seconds and it came right out. Has anyone else had luck with heat on stubborn brake parts or do you just replace the whole caliper?

3 comments

Share