Torx is close to mathematically optimal. The only real down-side is that a) it's quite hard to distinguish the sizes by eye and b) it's quite easy to chew up a screw head by using an under-sized bit. It's perfect for manufacturing, but slightly annoying during servicing and repair.

I've probably had the least grief with internal hex, but it's not suitable for a lot of applications due to size constraints. External hex is still probably the best option for tough environments subject to abrasion or corrosion, but those buggers owe me a lot of knuckle skin.

"Cross-head" is an absolute shit-show, because there are so many almost-compatible standards.

Pentalobe can fuck off. Tri-point can fuck off, come back and then fuck off again.

My favourite is the Pitlock, which is the only removable security bolt I've used that is actually secure. Totally niche, but invaluable if you need it.

>>2827
Naruto really went too far with the whole Sharingan business

Internal hex for countersunk, external for when you really mean it. Though I think this is just an admission that I prefer bolts, but that's a whole other discussion.

I'll admit I've had limited strife with posidrive, I've rounded maybe two in the last decade, and I interact with them almost daily.

I think we can all agree slotted is a joke - I curse whatever backwards farmer built my house every time I find one.

>>2832

I should qualify that I accept that many other solutions may be technically better, but the availability of specialist bits is a huge letdown for me. You can't really bodge a torx like you can a posi/phillips or slotted, and fiddling with often fragile driver bits is a real turn off - ironically any sort of torque applied through a torx bit will snap the bit easily. Maybe I could just buy more expensive torx bits, but fuck you - I've never once snapped a Philips bit.

>>2832

>I think we can all agree slotted is a joke - I curse whatever backwards farmer built my house every time I find one.

They're fine if you drive them by hand and you use a proper hollow-ground screwdriver. In any other case they're absolutely fucking awful.

>I've never once snapped a Philips bit

Aye, but I bet you've rounded off plenty of the fuckers. There's a reason why they sell massive bulk boxes of PH2/PZ2 bits.

But what about the climate!.

>>2824
I hear you saying I should nick one from a pub to save on construction costs and to balance out one that would otherwise be running more often.

In my experience those gas fireplace things work best. You know, like your nan used to have with the three ceramic panels, but on wheels. They kick out more heat than leccy ones and they're not as bad for emissions as just burning wood.

I think they make portable camping ones, I've seen it on that YouTube channel where that madlad Canadian fella sleeps in the back of rental vans for a laugh.

>>2817

I have a chunky one, like you say, about a small drill - actually probably closer to a hot glue gun in size than anything else. The one I have is quite nice and is powerful enough to pull dodgy old screws out of hardwood and such, and it can take some bolts out too if they haven't been too torqued.

I like the idea of the ones you mention (I think I first saw them talked about here actually), but worry that it might struggle to deal with some of the more robust applications. If I spent all day doing electronics stuff I'd be all over the Wowstick, though.

Probably a bit basic but I really enjoy using the skillsaw. It makes big things into many smaller things. Bzzzt.

>>2818
>If I spent all day doing electronics stuff I'd be all over the Wowstick, though.

I do. You're right, I need one right now. Thank you!!

>>2819
>It makes big things into many smaller things. Bzzzt.

If we're getting into the territory of things fun to use then I can recommend a portable vacuum cleaner that is shaped like and sounds like a raygun. Probably only powerful enough for cleaning the keyboard but I had to put it away to stop myself from playing with it.

>>2820
Mate, I'm having one too. Only worry is if it will have enough torque for handling over-tight screws.
>>2817
Hope you enjoy your commission from BIG WOWSTICK

Most of it is in what?

If there's a large enough surface area you might try silicone; seems to work well enough on broken fish tanks.

Epoxy will bond to glass if the bonding surface is clean and degreased. Fast epoxy adhesives tend to be piss yellow, but you can find water-clear epoxies if you shop around.

Super glue (cyanoacrylate) will bond to glass, but the bond tends to be weak unless you use an acid etch pre-treatment.

Also, if we're discussing gluing glass I am legally obliged to reference Big Frank.

Fixing glass like this hardly ever works in my experience.

B&Q, Amazon or IKEA is your friend, I would just replace, it will be cheap for a shelf that small and easier than fucking about with different glues; I would forever be worrying about any fix breaking again while I was in the shower.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bathroom-Tempered-8MM-Thick-Triangular-BGS3100/dp/B00PEHM8M2/

It's irrelevant since it's now ILLEGAL to go to Costco, but I noticed they're cheaper than they used to be. They're also listed as sold out on the website - does this mean they've stopped making them? If so I'm definitely going to have to panic buy a set.

>>2800
I saw they were down to one set at my local one when I went yesterday, but the price was still the same.

I opened and closed all the drawers approvingly. It's a shame, the bottom half of the set would suit me down to the ground, a bit like that pictured in >>2799

>>2801

Machine Mart have got similar-ish cabinets at similar-ish prices.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/c/new-tool-chests-and-cabinets/

>>2800
I need to do a Costco run, but every time I've been past it recently they've been queueing for miles.

>>2803

My local one is still reasonable during the middle of a weekday, or at about 7pm just before closing. But I live in the northern tundra, so who knows.

Just spray some Febreeze on.

Can you pop off those chromed plastic covers? Jam screwdriver in and twist. Avert eyes, as there'll be a cloud of ancient rusty piss when they come free.

Thanks for the response. No, the big ones are on tight. The smaller ones came off without too much hassle, but as you can see, they weren't covering screws or anything obvious.

>>2754
Those are known as "top fix" seats. The seats typically click into place on the bolt. If push comes to shove, you may be able to just pull the thing off if you pull it vertically. This video shows an example of an entire fitting being changed. You'll see he literally just lifts the seat off, and uses a screwdriver to lever the caps off the fixing.

>>2746
You can get mains-powered ones.

>>2748
>>2749
I don't know why I didn't think of this.

>>2748
>I realise if my shed didn't have power, it might be a different story
You'll be sorry when you're building a new shed (or any other large construction). Extension cords draped all over the place are a dangerous hassle when you're working on anything bigger than will fit on your work table.

Well, I was going to get a DeWalt, after this thread sang its praises and because they are on offer at Screwfix, but after my carless self had trekked all the way down there they told me they were next-day collection only. So I thought fuck making two trips, went into the B&Q next door and bought the first reasonably cheap drill I saw, an Erbauer ECD18-Li-2. It came with free drill bits. I'm sure it will be fine, I'm not looking at becoming a professional joiner.

>>2751

>Extension cords draped all over the place are a dangerous hassle when you're working on anything bigger than will fit on your work table.

You're not wrong, but I can't imagine I'll be building a shed or anything particularly large with my dremel anytime soon.

Having a taller chair puts more strain on the seat post if you put your weight off centre, I believe there are also stricter product safety regulations on higher chairs.
Both of these lead to the point that this height of chair needs a more compact seat base and limited recline, hence no one is able to make a tall chair that deviates far from the style of the one linked in the OP.

Thanks but not to worry, lads. I'm still not sure of the chair in OP and reckon I'll just continue to work from my bed because I don't have the leftover motivation.

Work will pay for it but that fucking parcel-force bloke who came to pick up the old chair woke me up at 7 today and I'm sure the seller will find a reason to refuse the refund just to put the icing on the previous saga.

>>2732
I would never recommend buying them new, but Hermann Miller draughtsman's (as >>2733 points out) are almost unicorns. The flagship Aeron you can get at decent discounts from office dissolutions and bankrupticies but the "high chair" equivalents aren't anywhere near as popular in the start-up and small business market and thus not quite as common.

A further caveat is that these chairs have a lot of adjustabilty which is best done by an ergonomics trained person. If you're buying this for home use and don't have that expertise you're wasting money on micro-adjustments you'll likely use wrong so you are much better off not splurging in this instance.

>>2736
How does one get trained in ergonomics?

>>2737

I've done no research, but it certainly sounds like a three hour course Sandra from HR insists on going on to "enhance her skillset", and once she's done it you'll never be able to slouch again without her wagging her finger at you.

I'd rather have the twisted spine.

>>2725

The layer of compacted crumb is above that.

Just give it a quick rinse like you would with some pasta.

Tapwater tends to leave mineral residues that can cause short circuits. I'd suggest having a go at it with the crevice tool on your hoover first. You could sluice it out with isopropyl alcohol, but since COVID it'd be cheaper to buy a new toaster than a big bottle of IPA.

Blast it out with compressed air?

Sod these lot, OP. Just take it with you next time you bath and give it a good soak. Could even have toast while you're soaking.

>eBay has kits that come from China for about 120 quid. I know these will be quite bad, but how bad?

They're pretty toy-like. They'll make light cuts in wood and plastic, maybe engrave aluminium, but that's your lot - they just don't have the power or the rigidity for more serious work.

The essential question is what sort of parts you want to make. If you need to produce complex parts in metal that are beyond the capacity of a three-axis machine, you'll either need to order them from eMachineShop or get into lost PLA casting. If you're producing very thin metal parts, photochemical etching is cheaper, easier and will produce better results. If you're producing relatively simple parts, hand tools and a bit of practice might be more than sufficient.

If I could only have one machine tool, I'd take a lathe any day of the week - it's the only way of producing parts with accurate rotational symmetry and it's easily adaptable to basic three-axis milling. Something like a Unimat SL is really a universal tool for model engineering and the like. Others might choose an SLA printer or a laser cutter based on their particular needs.

It's also worth looking up your nearest hackspace - not many have CNC routers, but most have a decently powerful laser cutter and an assortment of basic manual machine tools.

>>2713
My particular unit has three of these clips, and they are so stiff I can't even manually push them up.

>>2715
My unit looks like a standard halogen type bulb, and as I say has three clips. I've been hunting too and found nothing yet.

>>2716

It's very odd, I've been completely unable to find anything with three clips. It must be ancient.

>>2716

I'm reasonably certain it's an older version of a Click FlameGuard housing, and in that case the bezel partially obscuring the bulb just needs to be unscrewed, but if it's been on there for a long time or subjected to heat (halogen bulb so it has) then it might be seized.

So you just need to unscrew it, or try to.

https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/changing-bulb-on-a-click-flameguard-gu495.409086/

I have these in my bathroom. I went into the attic to replace the bulbs. Those brackets that hold the bulbs are fiddly.

>>2719
Unfortunately as I live in a flat - no attic to do that with.

>>2718
That's an interesting link, the blue tape looks convincing. I'll squirt some WD40 onto the gap and leave it for a bit and see what happens, thanks.

>>2696

Made myself one of these as I couldn't afford to fork out for a proper track-saw at the time.
Absolutely brilliant. Made ripping boards so much easier and neater.

>>2696
Oh that is excellent.

>>2700 I really want one of these
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/tools/21143970/how-to-use-a-mobile-cnc-router

>>2701
Oooh so do I now you bastard where can we get three thousands dollars??

>>2702 I know, it's definitely on my to-covet list.
Manufacture videos always make stuff look easy, and miss out the shitwork, but damn, this looks like fun.
https://youtu.be/iEv2wcOukjQ

>>2650
If it's anywhere near as bad as that picture, you're fucked. The whole toilet needs to be moved an inch forwards and probably best to replace the elbow too as it likely wont reseal now that the rubber gasket is aged and worn.

If the toilet is aligned correctly and it's just started leaking recently, it could be that the seal has perished. You could probably get away with a short term bodge with some sort of sealant like plumbers mait but it's not ideal.

>>2651
Thanks, lad. It's more of a straight line than an elbow, with the middle pipe at a 10 degree angle rather than flush. I reckon it could do with being moved slightly forwards.

Commiserations, I bet that fucking stinks.

>>2653
It's only really smelled since I turned the stopcock and flushed all of the water out, then it ponged a bit of sewage but chucking a large cloth in there seems to have blocked most of it.