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.

Riding Mower - White Smoke from Engine

https://youtu.be/Zss0xqpOl1s

The most common problem with lawn mowers and riding mowers have to do with the carburetor.  They cause the engine to stall or sometimes blow white smoke.  I had that problem with my used riding mower i bought.  I engaged the blades and a ton of white smoke billowed out of the exhaust.

The problem was that too much gas was getting in the engine, through the carburetor.  Either the float getting stuck or the needle not closing.  Gas got into the engine and mixed with the oil - not good.

The fix is to open the carb, spray cleaner, make sure it's working properly.  Then install a fuel filter and shut off.  It could have been from old gas, but with the filter it shouldn't happen again.  Because the float and needle were in good condition i was able to just reassemble everything.

The mower was a Murray riding mower, but this fix is the same for many older mowers.

Prior to fixing the brakes i had to deal with a carburetor that was spewing gas out of the air filter.  Also tons of white smoke.

Also the solenoid was bad and had to be replaced.

The wiring was a little confusing at first.  There are lots of safety switches that have to be pressed for it to start.

Also routine maintenance like adding a fuel filter.

Also adding a fuel shut-off is a good idea so the carb doesn't get flooded.

Pic of the murray mower

Another view of the mower.

Here's the carb float and needle. This was actually pretty clean.

This is the 16Hp motor.

And this is the new solenoid i installed.

Riding Mower - Fix Brakes

https://youtu.be/wcdkxUALKjY

I bought a used riding mower.  I got it to run and move, but it wouldn't stop.  So this is how i fixed the disc break.

To fix the brake all you have to do is clean the gunk from around the disc.  I used a screwdriver as a scraper to remove the dirt and grass.  Then you need to tighten the 1 nut on the outside of the disc.  Tighten the nut just up until the point when the brake pads start to rub.  That's it.  It's a mechanical connection and it just needs to be tight.

The mower was a Murray riding mower, but this fix is the same for many older mowers.

Prior to fixing the brakes i had to deal with a carburetor that was spewing gas out of the air filter.  Also tons of white smoke.

Also the solenoid was bad and had to be replaced.

The wiring was a little confusing at first.  There are lots of safety switches that have to be pressed for it to start.

Also routine maintenance like adding a fuel filter.

Also adding a fuel shut-off is a good idea so the carb doesn't get flooded.

Pic of the murray mower

Another view of the mower.

Here's the carb float and needle. This was actually pretty clean.

This is the 16Hp motor.

And this is the new solenoid i installed.

Fix Gap in Sagging Garage Door

https://youtu.be/UiOfMvB5_Ks

We had a garage door that was solid wood and was starting to sag.  You can see on the left that there was about a 3" gap at the top when the door was shut.

I thought the best solution was to just add a "weather stripping" to the top.

The material i used was felt carpet pad.  This was free and had some structure to it.  Also it could hold up to any rain that it might come in contact with.

You can see here that the door was sagging a lot, because it was heavy wood.

The typical fix for a sagging door was to add a metal strut.  Kind of like an I-beam to provide support.  This door already had struts on it, but they were bent too.

As you can see, there was no "fixing" the door.  So adding a few strips of felt were the best solution to keep the garage air-tight.