Riding Mower - Fix Flat Tire

How to Refill Riding Lawn Mower Tire That Fell Off Rim

https://youtu.be/RDvtTRtWJ3g

A common problem with riding law mowers is flat tires.  The PSI in lawn mower tires is actually pretty low, just around 15 PSI on average.

Also when you get a flat, it's common for the tire to come off the rim.  So when you try to fill it up with air, it just leaks out the side and the tire doesn't fill up.

The fix is to try and apply even outward pressure and seal the bead between the tire and the rim.  That can be done with a ratchet strap or a rope and pipe.

First, jack up the mower.  Second wrap the rope around the tire, then the pipe.  Then continue wrapping around a second time.  

You will then twist the pipe, which will tighten the rope.  This will push the middle of the tire in and the edge of the tire out.

Do this all at the same time and then try adding air to the tire.  Hopefully you get a good seal with the tire bead and it will inflate.

It takes a lot of force.  Also this is common when you get a brand new tire.  In my case it was with an old worn out tire that got a flat.

Wine from Wild Grapes

Homemade Wine From Wild Grapes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7PJXEv5zOM

This was my first time making wine.  Here was the process i took.

Early in the year, these were the grapes that grew in my yard.

They were classified as wild riverbank grapes.  Here they are after ripening.  Not that big.

Animals and birds started eating the grapes and i figured that it's time to start picking them.

This was their size.  Not huge.  It took a lot of picking to get 1.5 gallons.

Here was the amount of grapes i got.  About 3 gallons of grapes.

This was the stems and unripe grapes that i separated.

I got 2 totes and some other stuff together for the tools.

1 bucket for grapes, 1 bucket for the destemmed grapes, 1 bucket for the stems.

After all the stems were removed i added 0.5 liters of water and started crushing the grapes.

I bought this Yeast on amazon, heated up some water in the microwave, added the whole packet and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Then i added the yeast, added about 3 pounds of sugar, and let it sit for 7 days.  This was primary fermentation.  I didn't have a hydrometer to measure any sugar/alcohol levels.

After 7 days i was ready to transfer to jugs.  Cleaned with soap and water first.

Scoop the grapes and liquid, strain through colander, and pour into the gallon jugs through a funnel.

It was a messy job, definitely something to do in the garage.

I only ended up with a gallon and a half.  But i put the 1 way stoppers on top and will let these ferment for about a year.  Racking every 3 months to separate the wine from the sediment at the bottom.

Propagation of Tree Branches - Grow Tree from Cuttings

Grow Trees from Branch Cuttings - Propagation for Free Screen Wall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOdW-JtFPsA

We wanted a cheap or FREE screen wall by our back fence.  Turns out that willow trees via Propagation are the best answer.

Here are some willow branches that have been soaking in water for 1 week.  Buds already starting to form.

Here they are after about a month.  Roots and new branches.

Here are some other willow branches.  You can see the amount of roots that will grow in just a bucket of water.

I also tried other trees.  These are white pines.  They didn't grow.

Here are cottonwood branches.  These tried to grow roots but not as well.

This was another tree branch that i tried propagation.  Nothing.

After planted, they grew very well.  The willow here was planted only 1 week to this point.

I also transplanted bamboo to the fence.  This loves as much water as you can give it.

Here's another willow that's been transplanted.

Close-up of the willow buds after a week in water.  The willow tree has natural enzymes that facilitate propagation on it's own.

Miter Saw LED Light

https://youtu.be/Hd_V4RQwKQw

I always wanted a laser line marking guide on my miter saw.  I was about to buy an add-on laser line, but didn't like the fact that it had to be spinning to turn on.

This is what the laser line add-on looked like.  Not bad For $20.

This Milwaukee saw is one of the first ones that has an LED light on the tip of the blade.  It shins down and the shadow is visible on the board.

It's pretty simple, a switch, 9v battery, resistor and LED light bulb.  That and all the wires.

I used a hot glue gun to secure everything.  That way nothing was permanent and i could peel it all off and wouldn't leave a mark.

This is the most critical part, where the LED light mounts on the end of the blade guard.

Here's the LED bulb on the end of the metal mount.

And here's the original switch i wanted to use.  It's mounted on the handle so that the button can be pressed, the shadow line shows up, and then you make the cut.

Here's some of the parts.  Especially the 220 ohm resistor.  That's needed because the LED bulb only can handle 5v not the full 9v battery.

Here's how the switch was mounted.

It turns out that the red button switch was always ON.  Pushing the button turned it OFF.  So i had to find a new switch.  This one's from an old arcade button.

So this one had to be replaced.

This is what the shadow looks like.  Great for knowing exactly where the edge of your blade is.

Oven Doesn't Heat - Replace Ignitor

https://youtu.be/77W2pK2sHI8

We had the problem one day where we preheated the oven, came back and the oven wasn't hot at all.  

The next day it did eventually heat, the flame caught, but it took a long time to light the gas.

The problem with the gas oven was with the igniter.  It controls the gas flow and lighting of the flame.

This is the old igniter.  You have to remove it from the frame and get to the 2 wires.

This is the new igniter.  Not too expensive and not that difficult to change out.

I bought it on Amazon for $27.

Comparing the old and the new igniter.  You can see that they match, but almost any generic igniter will work.

The hard part was to remove the sheet metal side walls, expose the wires and make the new connection.  Then just bolt the new part on.

Overall it was pretty easy though.  And the new igniter worked great.  The flames lit in under 1 minute, vs 5 minutes or not at all.