Wren Brown (u/wren_brown)

Posts

My bokashi bin lid cracked after 3 months and leaked all over the kitchen floor

I thought buying a cheap bokashi bin off Facebook Marketplace was a good idea but the plastic lid split last Tuesday while I was at work. Came home to a puddle of pickled food waste smell on my linoleum and had to toss the whole batch. Anyone tried repairing a cracked bin lid with epoxy tape or should I just buy a proper one from a garden center?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

wren_brown•1d ago

Forgewelded a billet and the whole thing delaminated on the anvil

I was at my shop outside Austin last Thursday, working on a san mai billet I'd been building up all week. Got it to welding heat, fluxed it right, and gave it a solid set of hammer blows. First hit on the anvil, I heard that hollow ring and saw a crack run right down the middle. Turns out I didn't clean the scale off one of the core pieces good enough. Spent the next two hours grinding the mess apart and starting over with fresh steel. That was 20 bucks of 1095 and 15Ni20 down the drain. Anyone else had a billet go sideways on them from a dumb prep mistake?

2 comments

c/cosmetologists•

wren_brown•3d ago

This one Tuesday was my best day in the chair all year

Had a client come in for a simple root touch up but she ended up wanting a full balayage and a cut. Took me 4 hours but she tipped me $80 on top of the $250 service. Made my whole week honestly. Anyone else ever have a random walk-in turn into your best paying day?

2 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

wren_brown•6d ago

Why does nobody talk about how much air matters in hydraulic brakes?

Spent 2 years chasing a soft lever on my F-150, replacing calipers and master cylinders, until a buddy at a shop told me to bench bleed the ABS module separately. Has anyone else discovered a basic step they skipped for way too long?

2 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

wren_brown•9d ago

My sister told me my cookies tasted like soap - she was right about the baking soda

I was making my go-to chocolate chip recipe for a family thing last month, and my sister took one bite and said they had a weird chemical taste. I brushed it off at first, but then I tried one myself and yeah, she was right. Turns out I'd been scooping baking soda straight from the box without leveling it off, so I was using way too much. Now I spoon it into the measuring spoon and level it with a knife, and my cookies actually taste like butter and sugar instead of a science experiment. Has anyone else had a family member call them out on a bad batch like that?

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

wren_brown•9d ago

Wasted $300 on a rigging course that taught me nothing new

Signed up for this weekend class about load calculations and hand signals. Figured it'd be good to brush up. Guy running it spent the first two hours talking about his fishing trips. Then he handed out a photocopied sheet from the 90s. I learned more from a YouTube video last Tuesday. Anyone else get burned by a training that was just a cash grab?

2 comments

c/everyday-tool-hacks•

wren_brown•12d ago

That day I switched from using my work boot as a hammer to an actual hammer

For like 2 years straight I used the heel of my old steel-toe Red Wings to tap in nails when I was fixing fence boards out back. Worked fine until I hit a nail funny and it ricocheted into my shin - left a bruise the size of a golf ball for a week. Then last summer my neighbor Mark watched me do it and just handed me his Estwing hammer without saying a word. Now I keep that hammer hooked on the shed wall and it saves me so much hassle. Has anyone else got a dumb habit they finally broke because something small went wrong?

2 comments

c/fix-my-curb-appeal•

wren_brown•1mo ago

Appreciation post: the old brick walkway my grandma had since the 60s

I keep seeing people rip out their original brick paths and pour concrete slabs instead. My grandma's house in St. Paul still has that herringbone pattern bricks from 1964, and they look great with just a little sand swept in every spring. Why spend $800 on stamped concrete when the old stuff just needs some attention?

2 comments

c/electricians•

wren_brown•1mo ago

Wasted $150 on a fancy toner that did nothing for me

I bought this expensive toner and probe set from a big brand last month because I was chasing a tricky short in a commercial job. Spent an hour hooking it up and tracing lines, but it kept giving me false readings on the conduit. Turned out the short was in a junction box I could have found with my old multimeter and a wiggy in 10 minutes. Anyone else fall for a tool that looked better on paper than it worked on site?

2 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

wren_brown•1mo ago

Picked a coworking space in Chiang Mai over a coffee shop setup, and my productivity tanked for a week straight

Honestly, I went with the communal desk for 150 bucks a month thinking it would be quieter than the noisy cafe near Nimman, but turns out the fast wifi and free coffee weren't worth the constant small talk and people asking to share my outlet, has anyone else regretted a paid spot over just buying a cheap iced latte?

2 comments