Wesley Henderson (u/henderson.wesley)

Posts

My grad school dig in Turkey three years ago turned up a truly ancient snack

We were working a site near Antalya, carefully brushing away dirt from what looked like a storage jar. Last week, I was cleaning finds in the lab and found a single, perfectly preserved chickpea inside it. My professor just stared at it and said, 'That's a 3,000-year-old legume. Do not eat it.' I had to label it and everything. Has anyone else ever cataloged something that was basically just old food?

2 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

henderson.wesley•1d ago

My $15 lentil soup experiment turned into a week of dinners

Last week, I had a bag of brown lentils in my cupboard that I bought for $2.50 at the local market. I threw them in a pot with a chopped onion, three carrots, some garlic, and a can of diced tomatoes I had on hand. After letting it simmer for about an hour, I ended up with a huge pot of soup that tasted way better than I thought it would. What other cheap, filling soups do you guys make when you need to stretch your food budget?

2 comments

c/furniture-finishers•

henderson.wesley•3d ago

That time a shellac finish went cloudy on me in the middle of a job

I was finishing a maple dresser in my old shop, maybe 15 years back. I brushed on a fresh coat of dewaxed shellac, and the whole surface turned milky white before my eyes. The room was way too humid. I grabbed a clean rag with some denatured alcohol and wiped the whole thing down fast before it set. It took the cloudiness right off and I let the piece dry for a full day before trying again with a dehumidifier running. Anyone else have a finish freak out because of the weather?

3 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

henderson.wesley•5d ago

Spent 8 hours chasing a ghost in a Garmin G1000 at our hangar in Boise

The autopilot kept pitching down intermittently, and I was sure it was a servo or a bad ADAHRS. Turns out a mouse had chewed through a single wire in the static line bundle, but only when the airframe flexed on the jacks would it lose contact. My lead just laughed and said 'check the simple stuff first, Henderson.' Anyone else ever lose a whole day to rodent damage?

3 comments

c/elevator-mechanics•

henderson.wesley•9d ago

Had a 20-year-old Otis selector fail on me last Tuesday in the middle of a call.

The tape just shredded, so I had to manually floor the car and then explain to the building manager why we needed a full tape replacement, not just a splice. Anyone have a good source for those older tapes besides the OEM?

2 comments

c/flooring-installers•

henderson.wesley•10d ago

Back in the day I bought a cheap laminate cutter for a big job in a new subdivision, thinking I'd save a few bucks.

That thing jammed and ruined about $400 worth of planks before I gave up and rented a proper one. Anyone still using those old manual cutters, or have you all moved on too?

3 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

henderson.wesley•11d ago

Got stuck for hours on a weird honeycomb patch in a basement slab

I was doing a pour for a basement floor in Springfield last week, maybe 400 square feet. We had this one corner where the mix just wouldn't flow right and left a nasty honeycomb patch about 2 feet wide. I mean, I thought I could just trowel some grout in and be done in 20 minutes. It ended up taking me and my helper almost 3 hours to chip it out clean, re-set the forms, and get a proper patch mixed and finished so it wouldn't show. Has anyone else had a small patch job blow up like that? What's your go-to fix for bad honeycombing?

3 comments

c/career-advice•

henderson.wesley•13d ago

Just read a report saying 60% of managers feel their team meetings are a waste of time.

Found this in a Harvard Business Review article my boss sent out. It was a survey of over 1,000 managers. Everyone at work says meetings are key for teamwork. But the data shows most leaders think they're pointless. Makes you wonder why we still have three a week. Has your company tried cutting meetings to see if work gets better?

3 comments

-1

c/auto-mechanics•

henderson.wesley•15d ago

I was wrong about using a heat gun on stuck brake rotors

For years, I'd just hammer and pry on rusted rotors, figuring heat was overkill or risky. On a 2012 Silverado last Tuesday, I finally tried a heat gun on the hub area for about two minutes, not even getting it red hot. The rotor popped off with two light taps from a dead blow, saving me at least thirty minutes of fighting and swearing. I learned that a little controlled heat breaks the rust bond way better than brute force alone. Has anyone else found a specific temp or time that works best without hurting the bearing grease?

3 comments

c/boilermakers•

henderson.wesley•16d ago

Old timer told me to always heat the gasket before installing on a high pressure steam line

I was working a shutdown at the plant in Gary last year, replacing a main steam valve. This guy, been doing it for 40 years, told me to warm the new spiral wound gasket with a torch for about 30 seconds before putting it in. He said it makes it seat better. I tried it on that job and it worked great, no leaks. But my current foreman says that's junk advice and can damage the filler material, making it fail faster. He wants it installed clean and cold. Now I'm stuck between two guys I respect. Has anyone else heard this or have a solid opinion on the right way?

3 comments

Posts

My grad school dig in Turkey three years ago turned up a truly ancient snack

My $15 lentil soup experiment turned into a week of dinners

That time a shellac finish went cloudy on me in the middle of a job

Spent 8 hours chasing a ghost in a Garmin G1000 at our hangar in Boise

Had a 20-year-old Otis selector fail on me last Tuesday in the middle of a call.

Back in the day I bought a cheap laminate cutter for a big job in a new subdivision, thinking I'd save a few bucks.

Got stuck for hours on a weird honeycomb patch in a basement slab

Just read a report saying 60% of managers feel their team meetings are a waste of time.

I was wrong about using a heat gun on stuck brake rotors

Old timer told me to always heat the gasket before installing on a high pressure steam line

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