DIY Projects?

Curious as to what DIY projects other monkeys on the forum have worked on? Growing up, I always did woodworking projects with my dad such as bookshelves, tables, frames, racks, etc. I try to keep up with it but gets difficult not having ample time or proper space to get projects completed.

So WSO, what have you made over the years and do you still keep up with it?

 

I try to shape/glass at least one surfboard a year, mowing foam with a hand planer is about as therapeutic as it gets and at the end of the day (several days actually) I have something that I can use to further aid in personal relaxation.

My brother (who is an engineer) and I try to go and help my dad with any projects that need to get done around the house, last year we helped him build a shed and redo his fence. Probably a great example of too many people of German decent getting together, as it usually just ends up with us yelling at each other, drinking a ton of beer, and attempting to over-engineer even those simple projects, but it's a good way to get the male contingent of my family together.

 

I built a bar in my parents side garage back in high school because I used to throw parties in there. It wasn't great and my parents were pissed but the ROI was through the roof. Awesome times. When I buy a house I may have to relive the glory days and do it again.

 

I have some years on me, so I've done pretty much everything at one time or another. I used to maintain our automobiles (oil change, tire rotation, replace filters, replace brake pads, rotors, calipers, etc. and few moderately more difficult projects such as rebuilding a carburetor back in the 80s), but these days, I've earned the right to NOT do anymore mechanic work.

I've owned my home for ~ 20 years. As such, I've replaced toilets, tiled our bathrooms, painted, replaced doors, replaced interior trim, and many more projects. I had the good fortune of working as a residential construction/renovation carpenter when I was a kid during the summers and then the first year or two out of HS. Point being, I gained experience through work, which I used to save many thousands over the years.

I'm getting to the age and financial position to where I pick and choose what projects I choose to take on myself. Had considered replacing my back porch myself, but I just can't justify the time, potential for injuring myself, and the fact that a crew who knows what they're doing can get it done in literally a fraction of the time it would take me.

Believe everyone should know at least the very basics for auto repair, home repair, emergency medical care (CPR, Heimlich, etc.), essentially how to be self-sufficient.

 

Good on you for learning this.

They say by ~2050 the DIY person will be completed phased out and people will have not idea how to make basic repairs.

I remember my grandfather grew up in the depression, and could/would fix anything that broke. When I was 2 I pulled the spigot off the tub, and my mom wanted my grandfather to just replace it. She came home couple of hours later and he was hot soldering it back to the tub.

 

ironman,

Unfortunately, home repair, auto repair and every other type of service is literally becoming such a cheap commodity relative to the time it takes an individual to learn the process that unless one has a burning desire to know how to make these repairs, it often makes sense to just pay to get it done. I had the good fortune of growing up near my grandfather, who also could and did repair anything and everything. We installed underground sprinkler systems during the summer, built grandfather clocks during the winter, as well as other woodworking items people wanted back then (cutting boards, napkin holders, etc.). Both my father and grandfather taught me a great deal. I think that has been lost in most of America, which is quite sad.

 

Yeah it is. It's actually 7 bookshelves side by side and then that smaller piece on top of each one. So 14 pieces all together. The hinges are kind of a bitch on that one. Pretty shitty quality but looks decent. If you get this, use your own wall anchors. The shit they provide isn't even drywall-deep. No clue what they were thinking.

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

Dude I bought an inversion table on Amazon and it looked like it had been returned before. So this box sat in my living room for a full year while I walked around terrified I'd get 2 hours into assembling it and realize there's a missing screw.

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

I own a home so I do some things here and there, but hire out most big projects (I am not yet yuppy enough to hire out mowing my lawn, unlike my neighbors).

Right now I am doing a reasonable sized project though. When you come into our house from the garage there's a smaller laundry/mud room that isn't as functional as it should be for our family. So, I've taken everything out of the closet and essentially building bench storage, some shelving, etc... The project is almost done, should finish up some paint and trim this weekend. I think it looks ok (a few cuts could have been better), but the wife is very happy so that works for me.

twitter: @CorpFin_Guy
 

Made my own cornhole once.

Got the wood at home depot, guy cutting it for me told me he was a master carpenter and also called me a bitch (actually a sissy) for wanting to play cornhole and said I should play a real mans sport...like washers.

Got home, guy cut the wood incorrectly (literally he just had to cut a piece of plywood in half using a machine in the store.) Had to recut it myself and modify plans on the fly.

Also tried to make my own kegerator from an old min fridge from college. Once I figured out it needed CO2, I gave it the old Randy Jackson

 

this post is low key one of the funniest things I've read in a while, that guy must not be right in the head, fucking Italian horseshoes is so much lower on the totem pole than corn hole, hell I would even rather play ladder ball than washers.

Just to be clear, the ole Randy Jackson is sizing something up and being like, "naw dawg, I'm just not feelin it" and moving on? if so I'm immediately adding that to my verbal lexicon.

 

I used to follow youtube tutorials as a child and made mini EMPS and gadgets because I had a fetish for that stuff. I just learned now that they're illegal to own or make. Wonderful learning experience, though. I wish those carefree learning days would come back.

 

I have painted 2 large rooms and 1 small room after removing a ton of wallpaper and glue. I still have quite a few rooms to go. I replaced half the light switches dimmers and converted a 3 way switch to a 1 pole. I really enjoy doing electrical work.

When I bought my house the first thing I did was cut down almost every over grown shrub and tree that didn't hang over my house.

I only do the basics with plumbing because everything is connected to natural gas in my house and I am not bold enough to mess with it.

I refurbished a vintage 1960s lamp recently and I also refurbished two Lightolier 1960s chrome sputnik chandeliers which took forever but the ROI on that work is amazing. Turned out looking great.

I might try to repoint some of the brick on my house, I have to plant grass seed on my entire lawn and replant the entire front yard. Also power wash the deck and house and put wood hardner, wood filler and then stain the deck.

I wish I was more skilled when it comes to working on bathroom and kitchens but maybe one day.

 

I've grown pretty handy these past few years from being involved with rehabs and property management, but I was not at all handy when I bought my house. I bought it from a rehabber so it still needed shelving and shit like that. I set out on this massive fucking polar expedition of a project to install shelving in our walk-in bedroom closet. Shit took me like 4 hours. I was super proud that I learned how wall anchors work. I come home from a long day of work one day and open the closet and my wife's side, which she had absolutely smothered in her stupid little outfits, was laying on the floor. The entire shelf with hanger bar had torn the screws and anchors right out of the drywall and the shelf put a hole in the opposite wall on the way down. So next I learned how to patch walls and how studs work.

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

I like carpentry. Wood is such a great medium.

Also, I get called to my parent's house for every DIY thing possible from fixing computers, attaching files, installing ceiling fans, fixing lights, plumbing, electricity, and I can do most of it, but really sometimes would prefer if my Dad would just call the handyman or IT guy.

I feel bad though as sometimes if I can't fix it in an hour and leave, he calls someone and literally gets screwed. I want to hunt some of these people down sometimes and find out their Mom's number and then you know do the worst... take her out to a real nice dinner and then never call her again. That'll show 'em!!!

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Not related to carpentry but I was really into amateur rocketry growing up. I made rocket fuel using Potassium nitrate, Sugar and Iron oxide. I would use copper tubes for the body. I had a friend who knew how to weld and he would help me build small nozzles. The rockets never flew very straight as I didn't put much work into the design or engineering but the rocket fuel was always great to watch burn

Carl Van Loon Van Loon & Associates
 

Oh man, I did similar builds when I was a kid but we used paper tubes and bought solid fuel motors. A lot of them flew straight, but you never knew if you were gonna have to turn tail and run lol. We made a rocket car out of an erector set one time. It ended up wedging itself into the back of a car tire after about 50 yds. Fun stuff.

To OP, I'm a car guy like others have posted - currently rebuilding a beat up '04 Z06. I was far more into working on cars when I was younger, though. The process of shaping a surfboard that someone mentioned above sounds fun.

Array
 

Done a bunch of automotive work, but more related to modifications versus maintenance. Installed front lips, vinyl parts, swapped out engine related performance parts, taken off bumpers, swapped spark plugs, and next up for me is doing brakes/oil changes. Starting to do more home-reno work too. I've resprayed my bathroom vanity countertop, changed out the sink, replaced shower heads, installed track lighting, and just recently ran wires through the wall. Small stuff for now, but my motto is "if I can pay somebody to do it, with the right tools, why can't I just do it myself?"

 

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