AMD Epyc workstation build The H11DSi motherboard I had, which was damaged in shipping so I got for free, wouldn't post, probably because it was damaged. The ebay seller I bought two Epyc 7302's from sent me a 7302 and a 7662...the latter is a lot more expensive, but I need two of the same for the dual socket H11DSi. Installed one in socket 1 of the motherboard to test it. The motherboard powered on, but the BMC LED didn't come on like it was supposed to and it never posted.   These problems coupled with the price of 7302's and epyc motherboards increasing for some unknown reason, and ..read more

Can't believe it's been over a year since I posted anything...nevermind, I can, cause most of 2022 and 2023 sucked. Amid a plethora of life crises, I found out in September that my comps were expiring in December, which meant it was do or die for my PhD. That and all the other terrible things that happened made these the worst few years of my life. But this isn't a life blog; I'll spare you the depressing details, so fun things only:   PhD First, and finally, after over 7 years as a PhD student and over 10 as a grad student, I'm a Dr. Since I work with launch vehicles, do related research ..read more

 I finally got around to replacing the crappy mesh wifi system with a "real" wifi network. This was my first time running and terminating ethernet cables. I bought some tools to practice with: klein tools cutter, stripper, and male pass-thru crimper, a monoprice impact punch-down tool, and a cable tester. I made a short patch cable for practice, and it came out good on the first try. Making patch cables is silly since 2 good quality connectors cost more than a pre-made patch cable, so I bought the others I'll need. I bought a partial spool of CAT6 cable off craigslist a year or so ago, a ..read more

Our Whirlpool Duet Dryer stopped working. Lights would light up, but pressing the start button would cause a "F01" error code. Turns out the dryer comes with a troubleshooting manual, which was in a pocket attached to the inside of the lower front panel.  Very thorough The recommendation for the F01 error code was replacing the main board, which is expensive. I followed some of the other troubleshooting steps, particularly for the motor, since that wasn't starting. The control board is accessible by removing 3 screws in the back and sliding the top of the dryer towards to back an ..read more

I've been slowly working on the table saw. I showed most of the disassembly in the last post. I bought snap ring pliers to disassemble the arbor. I bought new, good quality bearings (Koyo and Nachi) off ebay for the arbor and motor. I also bought a snap ring kit from harbor freight, and a new woodruff key from Ace.   Rust Removal I used evaporust for the small parts. Just soak the parts in it, and it magically strips the rust off. It even gets rust out of small holes and screw threads. I then wash and dry the parts off and immediately coat them in CRC 3-36 rust and corrosion i ..read more

 Made some more progress disassembling the table saw. Bought a set of 3-jaw external pullers from Walmart.com for $17...even cheaper than Harbor Freight, but the reviews were good, and they worked great. Pulling the broken pulley off, super easy with the right tool Pulling the motor pulley off Both pulley keys were rusty, but in good shape, so I probably won't need new keys. Removing the lift pivot I can't pull the arbor shaft out until I get some snap ring pliers, and I won't be able to pull the arbor bearings without an internal bearing puller. Next, I unb ..read more

Another workbench progress update. I installed most of the 2x4 horizontal beams. I couldn't install three because one of the bandsaw bearing pivots must be installed first, but I did dry fit them.  Dry fit stack up Rear bandsaw stop notch block. Lots of pocket holes. Corner glue up before mounting. I also haven't installed the horizontal beams that need to be cut lengthwise because cutting those will require a table saw, and I'm refurbishing mine.  ..read more

I bought a 113 series Craftsman table saw off FB marketplace/craigslist a few months ago. It worked, but it was pretty rusty, so I wanted to refurbish it. It's also way too heavy for me to lift onto the workbench, so I'd have to disassemble it anyways. I took lots of pictures during this process, and put fasteners in labeled backs, so I'd be able to put it back together.  before disassembly So much rust First step: remove the belt Then removed the motor + motor mount. The two pins slide out, so the whole assembly comes off.     &nbs ..read more

Workbench progress. Pocket hole screwing + gluing the table saw box on. Those are Wen 4" pocket hole clamps. They just barely fit 2x4 pocket holes edge on like that. They help keep the 2x4s aligned while driving in the pocket hole screws.  Adding edge banding to the shelves. Tiny $12 palm-sized iron works perfectly. Needed some edge band trimmers, so printing those while I put the edge banding on The edge band trimmers use M3 melt in inserts Also did some of the M3 melt in inserts for CubeXY. Yes, that's still going to be a thing...eventually. Got ..read more

 Made a lot of progress on the workbench.  I need to notch one of the long side 2x4's for the bandsaw to be able to rotate down. The only way to avoid this would have been to make the workbench surface height taller, but I already designed it to be as tall as I wanted to be. So...notch it is, and I decided to try to use the reciprocating saw for this. What a mess...super uneven, too The beam is too long to make the notch on a table saw with a dado blade, and it was already installed anyways.  You can also make notches with a circular saw by making a comb, then using a ..read more