TIL the hard way why you dont loan out a torque wrench to just anyone

Can we talk about buying bulk rice from the asian market?

I dropped $25 on a 25-pound bag of jasmine rice at the H Mart near me, and it's lasted me like 4 months already. Way cheaper than those little boxes at the regular grocery store, and I just portion it into jars to keep it fresh. Anyone else swear by a specific bulk buy that saves you cash?

Remember when we used to do everything by hand?

Last week I was setting up a job on a new Haas and it hit me how much has changed since I started 15 years ago. Back then at my first shop in Akron we had to manually calculate every feed and speed with a pocket calculator and a worn out Machinery's Handbook. Now the machine does half the thinking and I just sit there watching it run. Still feels wrong not double checking it though. Anybody else feel like the old way made you a better operator?

Shoutout to the guy at REI who told me I was over-torquing my thru-axles

He watched me wrenching down my rear wheel outside the Denver store and said 'you're gonna strip that frame if you keep cranking like that.' So now I'm torn between using a torque wrench every time or just going by feel like I always have. Any of you actually use a torque wrench on your bike or is that just for shop guys?

That time 3 years ago my shed roof collapsed on a Tuesday afternoon

I was building a 10x12 shed in my backyard in Ohio, and I thought I had the roof framed fine. Three years ago last July, I was up there nailing the last piece of plywood when the whole middle section gave out and I fell through. Landed on my workbench, broke two of my best saw horses, and scared my neighbor's dog so bad it jumped the fence. Has anyone else had a roof frame just buckle on them like that mid-build?

Cowhide vs. book cloth on a restoration job - huge mistake

I tried using a scrap of cowhide to reback a 1890s ledger last week and it was way too stiff, cracked right down the spine after 3 days. Switched to a proper book cloth with a starch fill and it bent perfectly with the old text block. Anyone else found that leather on old books only works if it's actual goatskin or calf?

TIL a bakery owner named Patty taught me why my sourdough was flat

So I was at this tiny bakery in Portland last summer, just grabbing a morning croissant, and the owner Patty came out to restock the display. I mentioned I’d been struggling with my sourdough loaves always coming out dense and flat. She didn’t brush me off, she just looked at my hands and asked if I wash my mixing bowl with hot soapy water. I said yeah, obviously. Then she laughed and said that’s your problem, you’re killing the wild yeast with the heat. She told me to just rinse with cool water and wipe dry, no soap or heat. That one tip fixed my whole bread game in about a week. Has anyone else gotten a super simple bakery tip like that that totally flipped how you bake?

Spent 6 hours on a leaky faucet that should have taken 45 minutes

Ngl everyone online makes replacing a bathroom faucet look like a 30 minute job. I had a single handle Moen that started dripping last Saturday morning and figured I'd knock it out before lunch. Turns out the supply lines were corroded onto the shutoff valves and I couldn't get them loose with a regular wrench. Had to run to the hardware store twice once for penetrating oil and then for a basin wrench after I stripped one of the nuts. By the time I got everything swapped and tested I was covered in water and it was almost dinner time. Has anyone else dealt with those impossible stuck nuts on old plumbing?

I'm sticking with manual can openers after 3 electric ones failed in a year

My last electric opener died mid-can on a Tuesday, so I grabbed a $5 manual one and it's still going strong after 6 months. Has anyone else ditched electric for manual after getting burned by broken motors?

Took me forever to decide between spray foam and rigid board for my attic in Buffalo

I was closing up my attic ceiling last month and had to pick between spray foam insulation and rigid foam boards, and I went with the spray foam because I read it seals gaps better. It cost me about $600 more than the boards would have, but the attic feels way more even temperature-wise now. Anyone else make this choice and regret or love what they picked?