Charlie Foster (u/the_charlie)

Posts

Warning: Spent $300 on a power hammer attachment and it was a total disaster

So I bought this thing that's supposed to turn my anvil into a mini power hammer. It was like a spring-loaded arm with a die on the end, cost me $300 from a guy in Ohio. First 10 swings worked great for drawing out some 1 inch round. Then the spring snapped and the arm flew off, almost took my leg out. Lucky I was wearing my apron. On the flip side, my buddy spent $250 on a hand-cranked fly press from a farm auction and that thing has been a beast for bending and punching. Anyone else had luck with cheap power hammer setups or is it just not worth it?

2 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

the_charlie•9h ago

That Monday where everything that could break did break

Last Monday started with a guy bringing in a 2015 Cummins that was shaking like a washing machine. I figured it was a simple injector issue, but after pulling the valve cover I found a rocker arm that had snapped clean in half. Then the parts delivery showed up with the wrong oil filter for the next job, a Peterbilt 389 I had waiting. I had to send my helper across town to the Freightliner dealer in Spokane to grab the right one, which ate up an hour. While he was gone, I dropped a 15mm socket down into the intake manifold of the Cummins and had to fish it out with a magnetic stick. By 3 PM I was soaked in diesel and still hadn't even broken even for the day. Has anyone else had one of those days where you wonder if the truck is trying to tell you something?

2 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

the_charlie•4d ago

Unpopular opinion: not every dent needs filler. I see guys slapping bondo on quarter panels that could be pulled out in 20 minutes.

Was at a shop in Phoenix last month helping a buddy catch up on his backlog. Guy next to me spent 2 hours sanding filler on a door dent that I could have popped out with a stud welder and a slide hammer in 15 minutes. I get that filler is faster if you don't have the tools or the practice, but it seems like half the cars I see coming through now have thick layers of filler where metalwork would've been fine. Costs the customer more later when it cracks or rusts. Anyone else notice this getting worse?

3 comments

c/appliance-repairers•

the_charlie•8d ago

Had to pick between a $40 capacitor tester and a free multimeter reading

I spent 20 minutes trying to diagnose a dead fridge compressor with just my multimeter before I caved and bought the dedicated tester from the supply house. Which one of you guys actually trusts the multimeter for capacitance readings on those big run caps?

3 comments

c/celebrity-social-fails•

the_charlie•11d ago

The time Jason Momoa accidentally posted his phone number in an Instagram story

So about 2 years ago Jason Momoa posted a screenshot of his phone contacts on his Instagram story (you know, to promote something about water conservation I think) and he didn't blur out his actual phone number. Within like 20 minutes fans had already called and texted him before he took it down. Does anyone remember what happened with that or did he just ignore all the calls?

4 comments

c/deleted-scene-hype•

the_charlie•11d ago

That one week last summer when every deleted scene I found was better than the actual movie

I was scrolling through YouTube around 2 AM a few weeks back and stumbled on a whole playlist of deleted scenes from a 90s action film I love. Normally I skip these cause they're usually just extended jokes or flat out boring. But this one had a subplot about the main character's brother that explained why he was so reckless. They cut it for time and it made the whole movie feel shallow in comparison. Then the next day I found another deleted scene from a comedy where the villain actually had a sad backstory that made you feel bad for them. It was like a whole week of gold, every clip adding layers the studio just ditched. Made me wonder how many movies we've watched are missing the best parts. Has anyone else hit a streak like that where the deleted stuff was way more interesting?

3 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

the_charlie•14d ago

Overheard someone say 'eating out is just paying for dishes' and it hit me

I was grabbing coffee last week and this guy at the next table said restaurants charge you $18 for a pasta dish because you're really paying for their labor, rent, and dishwashing. Looked back at my budget and realized I dropped $340 on takeout in February alone, that's like 4 weeks of groceries for me. Has anyone else had that moment where you just stop and calculate what a habit actually costs?

3 comments

c/backyard-diy•

the_charlie•17d ago

I built a $40 drip irrigation system that works better than my old $200 kit

Finally got tired of dragging hoses around last May so I pieced together a setup from Home Depot using 1/2 inch poly tubing, some 1/4 inch drip lines, and a timer off Amazon. My old Rain Bird kit always clogged at the emitters after two months. This cheap rig has been running since June with zero clogs. Anyone else had better luck with the DIY route over the pre-packaged kits?

4 comments

c/fashion-design-ideas•

the_charlie•18d ago

Just heard a tailor say 'fit over fabric' and it stuck with me

I was at a thrift store in Portland yesterday and this older tailor was talking to his friend about how people spend $200 on fancy fabric but skip getting it hemmed properly. Made me realize I've been wasting good materials by not paying for basic adjustments. Anyone else ever ruin a nice piece by skipping the tailor?

3 comments

c/farriers•

the_charlie•1mo ago

Wasted $400 on those fancy resin hoof casts last spring

I fell for the hype from that big equine supply catalog and bought a whole kit of those pre-formed resin hoof casts for laminitis cases. First horse I tried them on, the cast cracked within 48 hours because I didn't prep the hoof wall right. I should have just stuck with my regular 2-part acrylic and fiberglass mesh that cost me $60 total. Has anyone else had better luck with those resin casts or am I not the only one who got burned?

3 comments