Brian Godfrey


California, USA

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  • 14 Comments
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  • "Single use glasses: using them creates poor coordination which will result in breakage.  Unless, of course, they are made from the famous Tesla bullet-proof glass..."
    on: Tesla Manages to Design World's Least Ergonomic Drinkware
  • "So we're going to re-plumb our houses and dig up our yards and streets so we can add a parallel pipe for urine so we can remove half of the problem?  You can put this in the "cool engineering but impractical" category."
    on: Is This Toilet the Future of Wastewater Management?
  • "In 1986 I flew a domestic flight in Japan in a 747.  It was completely full and doors closed in less than ten minutes.  Another poster mentioned that US carriers haven't a clue, but I think it's the US culture of pushiness and me-first (or "me-only") that is really at the root of the problem.  And I don't see that changing anytime soon.  If anything, I think it is getting worse."
    on: A Graphic Explanation of Why Boarding Airplane Passengers from Back to Front is Not the Fastest Method
  • "I think those are solid legs, not extended.  It should be no surprise to see the tapering and decorative groove (not sure that is a "reveal"?) on them.  This was a nice piece of kitchen furniture when & where it was made.The pasta cutting board is just stored down there.  It would be placed on the top when in use.  I'm not sure what that door is above the cutting board.  Maybe a place to store ravioli molds or something.  I agree with your curiosity about the hump in the apron.  Especially since it is so carefully rounded over on three sides.  My guess is that the marble top is not original and that the original top was either two-piece or had a trap door so that bread dough could be placed down into that bin to rise."
    on: A Variety of Marble-Topped Baker's Tables: Ugly, Attractive and Mysterious
  • "It's obviously not the first time he's done this.  :-)Actually, if you pay attention you will notice that he remains behind the pipe when it comes down.  That way he will not be crushed if the pipe does fall off to the side. "
    on: Guy Develops Clever Way to Unload Huge Concrete Pipes By Himself
  • "I'm starting to get the impression that maybe you've never actually worked in the practical sense of the word.  People who work are some of the most innovative at making their jobs easier.  I'm willing to bet that the wheel was not invented by a professor of physics."
    on: Workers Develop Clever Up-to-Down Brick Transportation Method
  • "I forgot number six:6. That paper is plastic lined.  Where does all that plastic go?  Seems like a lot of it will be around your yard for years as it comes loose or works out of the cracks."
    on: An Easy Way to Build Retaining Walls: Leave the Concrete in the Bag, Stack Like Legos, Wet With a Hose
  • "Why not to do this:1. Concrete will be very weak.  (Look at second to last photo.)2. This will be a seismic disaster.3. It is butt-ugly.4. It is very expensive to buy concrete by the bag.  That's fine for small projects - I do it - but not for huge ones like this.  You also might notice that they make these walls massive to counteract points 1 and 2.  That raises the price a lot more. Of course stack blocks are not cheap, either, but did you do the total cost analysis?  I bet a nice stack-block wall isn't that much more expensive, if any.5. It makes my back hurt just to think about moving and positioning all those bags of concrete.  Even those little 50 and 60 pound bags.  (And they are a lot more expensive per pound/ton than the 90 pound bags.)"
    on: An Easy Way to Build Retaining Walls: Leave the Concrete in the Bag, Stack Like Legos, Wet With a Hose
  • "I can imagine that the process hasn't changed "much" in 50 years.  Don't forget, 50 years ago we were already launching Apollo 6 and 7.  No CNC back then, but manufacturing of complex shapes was not invented in the third millenium.  3D pantograph routers could have done that cutting, just with more human intervention. But I share your chair envy.  They do look comfortable.  Hot, though."
    on: How the Eames Lounge Chair is Made
  • "Probably not a "handyman friend".  More likely some employee of the contractor who wasn't a sign guy and didn't care how they looked because 15 minutes after he left he'd be caulking a seam a mile away on another finish up job. "
    on: Today's Urban Design Observation: Is This Screw-Up the Designer's Fault or the Contractor's Fault?
  • "Some marketing cubicle rat at KKR is working above his abilities.  Corporate stupidity (at all levels) is inversely proportional to the unemployment rate.I have a number of Hitachi tools.  All are professional grade and have delivered exceptional service.  Even my old 18V lithium battery tools are superior to most others I've used or worked alongside - even if they do look like the Green Hornet's running shoes.  For some reason, most people don't know much about Hitachi.  But you're right that they know even less about Metabo.  I hope this isn't the end.  And I hope they don't start cheaping up the tools like DeWalt did some years back.  I don't have a DeWalt that hasn't been in the shop for repairs, even though I use the Hitachis and Milwaukees a lot more."
    on: Hitachi Power Tools is Changing Their Name to Metabo—But Metabo's Tools Will Still Be Different
  • "Not very practical. You can get a much cleaner, straighter rip cut with a straight-edge and a circular saw. (Read on if you want to hear a better idea than wasting money on a track saw.)But it would be a different story if you wanted to cut curves into that piece of sheet goods. Does kind of seem like it would vibrate a lot, though. Bob up and down like a sewing machine most likely.Here's my suggestion for cutting up sheet goods if you don't have a table saw (or the huge amount of floorspace it takes to use one.)Go to the metal store - the one where welders go to buy their materials. Buy a 20' section of aluminum 1/4"x2" bar stock. Have them cut it to the following lengths:9'5'3'2'And the "drop" will be around 11"These give you some very rugged straightedges for many different uses. The 9' or 5' size can be clamped with spring clamps right on to your sheet goods with enough overhang to guide the saw into and out of the cut. The other sizes are handy for cutting up the pieces. All sizes are handy for checking floors and walls for flatness, drawing and/or scoring straight lines, screeding small jobs (they clean up nicely). I've put masking tape on one side when cutting pre-finished materials. I've used them for guiding a wet saw when cutting granite or slate.If you drill a hole in the end of each piece, they will hang on a 16d finish nail in any out of the way place that's a couple of inches wide. Cost is minimal and value is high.Now you can cut up sheet goods resting on sawhorses (and usually something additional to keep from sagging.) No need for 200s.f. of space around your table saw.If you use a high quality circular saw (my older Porter Cables are good, as is the Skill Sidewinder - don't buy online so you can check blade runout before you buy) and measure accurately you can get as clean a cut as with a table saw and accuracy is as good as the care you take. This system is at least as accurate as a track saw, more versatile, and only slightly more time-consuming to use. My PC saws both have a precisely 5" offset with a narrow kerf blade on. That's pretty handy, but maybe the other manufacturers do the same."
    on: Man Hacks a Bandsaw to Rip 4x8 Sheets in Half!
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