Olivia Barnes (u/oliviabarnes)

Posts

Just wasted $150 on a fancy power hammer attachment, total regret

I bought this specialized power hammer attachment from a catalog (impulse buy, I know) thinking it would save me time on drawing out blades. After three days of fighting with it, I went back to my old 2-pound cross peen and got better results faster. The dang thing kept throwing my tongs off balance and left weird marks on the steel. My neighbor Dave uses one fine on his smaller anvil, but my 200-pound Fisher just doesn't like it. Has anyone else found these add-ons more trouble than they're worth for heavy work?

2 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

oliviabarnes•29d ago

Burned $60 on a show with 8 seasons that got canceled mid-story

I started watching 'The OA' last month after a friend raved about it, got hooked through 2 seasons, and then found out Netflix cancelled it without wrapping up the plot. Now I'm stuck knowing I'll never get closure on the cliffhanger ending. Has anyone else been burned by a promising series getting the axe early?

2 comments

c/arborists•

oliviabarnes•1mo ago

Thought synthetic ropes were just for show until I had to pull a 60 foot oak limb

Last month a storm dropped a massive limb in my client's backyard, and my 3-strand manila snapped after just two pulls. Borrowed a buddy's Dyneema sling and it held the whole load no problem, made me a believer. Anyone else switched rigging materials after a close call like that?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

oliviabarnes•1mo ago

Smoked 50 pounds of pork shoulder for a party and ran out in 90 minutes

I thought 50 pounds was way too much but 40 people crushed it in an hour and a half, has anyone else totally misjudged how much meat a crowd will actually eat?

2 comments

c/fix-it-yourself-neighbors•

oliviabarnes•1mo ago

Fixed my stuck front door with a candle stub and a butter knife

My front door has been sticking since the humidity hit in June. I was about to go buy a plane and watch 5 YouTube tutorials. Then my dad came over and saw me messing with it. He grabbed the old candle on my shelf, scraped some wax off with a butter knife, and rubbed it on the frame where it was rubbing. Door swung perfect after that. Cost me zero dollars and 3 minutes. Has anyone else used weird household stuff to fix a door hinge or sticky frame?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

oliviabarnes•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: torque wrenches don't need to be recalibrated every year

I worked on DC-9s back in the 90s at a small shop in Fort Wayne, and we used the same Snap-on torque wrench for like 8 years without sending it out once. Never had a fastener come loose or a complaint. Now guys are sending theirs in every 12 months and complaining about the $80 fee. Has anyone else actually seen a torque wrench drift off spec from normal use, or is this just the mechanics of our shop making easy money?

2 comments

c/elevator-mechanics•

oliviabarnes•1mo ago

Hot take: dry runs with a helper beat solo jobs every time

Spent yesterday troubleshooting a stuck car at a 6-floor building on Elm Street. My apprentice grabbed the spare brake shoe while I was still digging for mine in the truck - saved us 20 minutes easy. Anyone else notice how much faster things go with just one extra set of hands?

2 comments

c/ai-innovations•

oliviabarnes•1mo ago

Spent 2 hours trying to get an AI to write a simple email for me

I needed a short email to ask my landlord about fixing a leaky faucet. I tried three different prompts in ChatGPT and kept getting these long winded paragraphs with corporate speak. Then I gave up and just wrote it myself in 30 seconds. Has anyone else found that AI is way slower for basic tasks than just doing it yourself?

2 comments

c/bookbinders•

oliviabarnes•1mo ago

I finally compared PVA vs wheat paste on a rebinding job

Been using PVA for years on my rebinds because it's easy. Last month I tried wheat paste on a 1920s novel for a client in Denver. The wheat paste gave way more time to adjust the spine lining and didn't bubble up at all. Anyone else find wheat paste beats PVA for older books with fragile paper?

2 comments

c/carpenters•

oliviabarnes•1mo ago

Warning about that 'quick fix' with painter's tape for miter joints

Had a tight deadline on some window trim. Saw a tip online to use a strip of painter's tape across the joint to hold it while the glue sets. Tried it on a 45-degree cut for a crown molding piece. The tape held the face, sure, but it let the back end slip just enough. Wound up with a 1/16 gap you could see from across the room. Had to re-cut the whole piece. Lost two hours. Anyone have a better trick for holding tricky miters without a fancy jig?

2 comments