Lily Roberts (u/lily57)

Posts

lily57•4d ago

Old timer told me to soak my bricks before laying them. I laughed it off.

Last summer on a job in Phoenix, this 70 year old mason watched me struggle with dry suction on a 100 degree day and just handed me the hose. Has anyone else noticed that the old school tricks actually save time in the heat?

3 comments

c/archaeology-discoveries•

lily57•5d ago

That old pottery kiln I found behind a shed near Santa Fe

Last month I was helping a friend clear out a property outside Santa Fe and stumbled on this beat up old wood fired kiln just sitting in the weeds. It was Three years ago that I started messing around with local archaeology groups, and this find felt like a real link to the past. The kiln had a date carved into the brick that read 1892, and there were still fragments of unglazed pots inside. I asked around and a retired potter told me it was probably used by early Spanish settlers. Has anyone else ever found something like that just sitting out in the open?

3 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

lily57•8d ago

The day I realized Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns was actually good after hating it for 15 years

I finally got why people call it a masterpiece after my buddy made me read it alongside the actual 80s political cartoons it was responding to, and now I feel like an idiot for all those years of eye rolling - anyone else have a comic they flipped on after hating it forever?

3 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

lily57•10d ago

Can we talk about dry beans vs canned beans for budget meals?

I used to swear by canned beans because they're so convenient, but last month I did a cost breakdown. A 1-pound bag of dry pinto beans costs about $1.50 at my local Aldi and makes the same amount as 3 cans at $1 each. That's $3 vs $1.50, so dry beans save half the money, but you gotta soak and cook them for hours. Which side do you land on - time savings or money savings?

3 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

lily57•10d ago

Dovetail jig pivot pin gave out on a big kitchen job

I was cutting tails for a set of 12 drawers last Thursday when the pivot pin on my Leigh jig snapped clean in two. It happened right in the middle of a sequence, so the last four drawers had half-cut tails and no way to finish them. I had to stop everything, drive 45 minutes to the nearest Rockler in Portland, and grab a replacement part. Has anyone else had a jig break on them during a big order? I'm thinking about keeping a spare pivot pin in my truck from now on.

3 comments

c/boilermakers•

lily57•11d ago

My brand new flange cracked before lunch on a job in Newark

Honestly, I splurged on what I thought was a heavy duty stainless flange from a big box store. Tbh, that thing cracked right at the weld seam after maybe three hours of work. Ngl, I had to grind it down and rig a temporary fix with a plate I had in the truck. Has anyone else had luck with those welded flanges from suppliers like McMaster instead?

3 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

lily57•14d ago

Used to think cash stuffing was dumb but my bank proved me wrong

I was all about credit card rewards until my bank charged me $35 for going $2 over my checking limit. Started cash stuffing for groceries and gas last month, saved $60 just by not buying random snacks at checkout. Anyone else find a weird way that actually made budgeting click for them?

3 comments

c/digital-free-speech-battles•

lily57•1mo ago

Gave up on full moderation and went to a blocklist system instead

I ran a small forum for 3 years where I tried to manually approve every post. It took 2 hours a day and people complained about delays constantly. Last month I switched to a community blocklist approach where users flag content. Did it work for anyone else or did you stick with human moderators?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

lily57•1mo ago

That foreman who said to wet my bricks twice taught me a lesson

Guy named Dave on a job in Denver kept yelling at me to soak the bricks before laying and I thought he was crazy for wasting time. Found out after a week that my mortar was cracking because the dry bricks sucked up all the moisture before it could set. Any of you guys run into a situation where you ignored advice and had to tear out a wall?

3 comments

c/barbers•

lily57•1mo ago

That time a customer asked me to fix a home haircut disaster in 10 minutes

I had a guy walk into my chair last Thursday in Detroit, said his wife tried to fade his sides with kitchen scissors. He was late for a job interview and begged me to fix it fast. I looked at the mess and told him straight up, I can't perform miracles in 10 minutes. He got pissed, said he'd watched a YouTube video and knew it was easy. I spent 35 minutes blending jagged lines and evening out a half-inch gap near his ear. He paid $40 and complained the whole time, then left without even saying thanks. Has anyone else had clients blame you for their own botched home cuts?

3 comments