Alex Flores (u/alex_flores24)

Posts

Update: A simple panel swap in a 1980s house turned into a 3 day job

Had to replace an old Ademco panel in a brick house last week. The main power feed was fine, but the old 4-wire run to the keypad was totally shot inside the wall. Spent a full day just fishing new wire through that plaster and lath. Ended up having to open up a small section of the ceiling in the next room to get a clean path. Anyone else run into these hidden wire fails in old construction?

3 comments

c/geology-rocks•

alex_flores24•2mo ago

I used to think the Grand Canyon was just a big hole in the ground

I was on a trip to Arizona last fall and met this older guy, a retired park ranger, at a lookout point. I made some dumb joke about it just being a really big ditch, and he just smiled and pointed to a specific layer of red rock way down the wall. He said, 'See that stripe? That's the Supai Group. That's over 300 million years old, and it used to be a coastal swamp full of giant ferns before the dinosaurs even showed up.' He didn't lecture me, he just told one simple fact. It totally flipped a switch in my head. Now I can't look at any rock face without wondering what story it's telling. What's a cool fact you've heard that made a place come alive for you?

3 comments

c/bike-commuter-tips•

alex_flores24•2mo ago

Bought a cheap bike lock from a gas station in Denver and lost my whole setup

Honestly, I thought saving $40 on a no-name lock was smart, but someone cut through it in under a minute outside my job. They took my bike, my pannier with my work laptop, and my helmet, which was about $1,200 total. Ngl, I'm still paying that off. What's a good, tough lock you all actually trust for a daily commuter?

3 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

alex_flores24•3mo ago

PSA: The 'repair shop' in the back of that antique mall in Branson is something else

Honestly, I stopped by this place last weekend looking for some old tube radio parts. The guy running it had a sign that said 'Fixes All Electronics' but his whole bench was just a pile of old toasters and a single soldering iron from like 1985. The wild part was his 'test equipment' - he was using a potato to check if 9-volt batteries were still good. I'm not joking, he had wires stuck in a spud. He told me, 'If it lights up the tater, it's got the juice.' I just stood there for a minute trying to figure out if he was a genius or if I needed to call someone. Ngl, it was the most absurd field-expedient diagnostic I've ever seen. Has anyone else run into a shop using, let's say, 'unconventional' tools?

3 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

alex_flores24•3mo ago

Tried a $40 hammock tent for a season and went back to my old ground setup

Everyone online made it sound like hammock camping was the best thing ever, but I gave it a full summer in the Adirondacks. The constant fiddling with straps and the cold backside on a 50 degree night were a real pain. My simple two-person dome tent from five years ago is up in two minutes and keeps me warm. Has anyone else tried to make the switch and just found it wasn't worth the hassle?

3 comments

c/blacksmiths•

alex_flores24•3mo ago

Found a weird trick for getting a clean weld on old wrought iron

I was fixing a 100 year old gate for a client last month, and the wrought iron was full of slag pockets. Every time I tried to weld a patch, it would bubble and spit. After three failed attempts, I remembered my grandpa talking about using borax. I mixed a tiny bit of powdered borax with water into a paste and brushed it on the joint area before heating. The difference was night and day, it flowed smooth and sealed the pits. I've been doing this for 15 years and never tried that old school method before. Anyone else have a go-to trick for welding on antique metal?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

alex_flores24•3mo ago

Seriously, the grind culture in digital art is doing more harm than good

I mean, everyone acts like you have to work yourself to the bone to make good art, but that just isn't true for me. Setting a timer to walk away from the screen for a bit each hour totally changed how my pieces turn out.

3 comments

c/gunsmiths•

alex_flores24•3mo ago

A customer's superglue fix turned into a full barrel replacement

I had a guy come in last week with a shotgun that wouldn't close. He said he fixed a loose sight with superglue, and now the action was stuck. I spent two hours trying to dissolve the glue without damaging the bluing. The customer kept insisting it was a quick fix because he saw it online. In the end, I had to replace the whole barrel assembly because the glue seeped into the mechanism. It's crazy how some people think household adhesives are okay for firearms. I guess I should start offering a class on basic gun care.

3 comments