Tried using a 4-foot level on a 50-foot vinyl fence run in Charlotte last week, got a surprise.

Am I the only one who used a cheap pickle jar as a makeshift color frit holder?

Ran out of my usual containers mid-session and grabbed an empty one from the recycling, it worked perfectly for keeping my frits separate and dry. Anyone have other weird household items they've repurposed in the studio?

Update: I keep seeing people replace the main board first on a Samsung washer with an LE error

Had a call yesterday for a WF45R6100AP that just showed LE. Everyone online says to swap the main control board, but I checked the stator first. Found a burnt spot on one of the coils, a clear short. The customer in Tempe said two other guys told her it was the board, which would have been 300 dollars. It was the stator, 80 bucks and an hour. Why does the forum advice always jump to the most expensive part? Anyone else find the stator is the real culprit most of the time?

A neighbor said my birdbath was too deep and now I'm not sure

I was filling my concrete birdbath in my yard in Tacoma last week when my neighbor, Mr. Jenkins, came over. He's been watching birds for 40 years. He pointed at the water and said, 'That's over two inches deep, the little ones can drown.' I always thought more water was better, but he said shallow, rough stones are safer. I've seen robins and jays use it for years with no issue. But now I'm wondering if I should change it. Has anyone else had this debate about birdbath depth?

Shoutout to the new baker at the cafe who said my croissants were too buttery

She told me, 'In Paris, they aim for a lighter, flakier bite, not just pure richness,' and after trying her method with 30% less butter in the lamination, I'm starting to think she's onto something, so what's your take on butter content in laminated doughs?

Pro tip: I finally organized the guest lounge supply cabinet after 3 years of chaos.

Found a box of unopened tea from 2021 in the back. Anyone have a good system for checking expiration dates on stuff like that?

PSA: I've been over-torquing lug nuts for years without knowing

A customer came back with a cracked wheel stud and I realized my old torque wrench was off by almost 30 foot-pounds. Anyone else had a tool calibration wake-up call?

I just saw a bookbinder in Seattle using a kitchen pasta roller to flatten signatures

They were cranking folded sections through it before sewing, saying it made the spines super tight. But doesn't that risk damaging the paper grain over time? Has anyone else tried this kind of tool hack?

Unpopular opinion: I stopped using aerosol cleaners on my mill and the shop guys act like I broke a sacred rule, but the air is WAY cleaner now.

After a raccoon family moved into my work zone, I see tree cavities differently.

In my experience, I always filled small holes right away. But seeing a mom raccoon use one to keep her kits safe had me rethinking quick fixes. Your mileage may vary, but now I check for wildlife first.