Derek Webb (u/derek99)

Posts

Appreciation post: How my car's interior changed after 2 years in the Texas sun

I never really believed the hype about parking in the shade mattering that much. But I've had my Hyundai in Austin for 2 years now. The dash has this weird sticky feel now when it gets hot. The fabric on the driver seat is faded compared to the passenger side. And the steering wheel has this gross tacky texture in the summer. My buddy parks his same year Civic in a garage every day. His interior still looks brand new. I'm talking zero wear on the rubber or plastic. So yeah, I get it now. Sun damage is real and it creeps up slow. Anyone else notice this after a couple years of street parking?

2 comments

c/cnc-operators•

derek99•6d ago

Had a talk with a retired mold maker that made me rethink my speeds and feeds

I was setting up a job last Tuesday and this old guy walks over and watches me for a minute. He asked why I was running my 1/2 endmill at 12,000 RPM with that material. I told him it's what the chart says and he just laughed. He showed me his way with way lower RPM and way faster feed that cut my cycle time by 40%. It hit me different because I've been trusting the recommended settings for 4 years without ever questioning them. Has anyone else had an old timer totally flip your setup around?

2 comments

c/barbers•

derek99•7d ago

That one Wednesday last fall where I did 18 hot towel shaves back to back

I had a day last October where every single customer wanted a full straight razor shave and by hour six my wrist was so cramped I could barely hold the razor, but the tips were insane and I made $340 in one shift, has anyone else had a day that just completely wiped you out but paid off huge?

3 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

derek99•9d ago

Unpopular opinion: My aunt's tip to add a tablespoon of vinegar to cheap ground beef actually makes it taste worse

She swore it tenderizes the meat and cuts the grease, but after trying it three times last month, I ended up with a weird sour flavor that ruined the taco meat, and now I'm back to just draining the fat and seasoning heavy, has anyone else had this backfire?

2 comments

c/drafters•

derek99•1mo ago

Debate: Should you aim for total square footage or perfect seams in a day? I hit 1,200 feet on a house in Phoenix but had to redo 3 ugly joints the next morning.

I always pushed for a high daily number because the foreman loves seeing those totals. But after hitting that 1,200 feet, those rushed seams cost me 4 hours of rework plus extra mud. My buddy says speed pays the bills, but my mentor says quality keeps the clients. Which side do you lean on when you're under the gun?

2 comments

c/daily-should-i-questions•

derek99•1mo ago

That $24 magnetic phone mount killed my phone's camera in two weeks

I figured a cheap mount from Amazon would be fine, but the magnet messed up the OIS in my Pixel 6 camera and now every photo is shaky. Has anyone else wrecked a phone with a magnetic mount before I go buy a new one?

2 comments

c/appliance-repairers•

derek99•1mo ago

Had a fridge compressor fail at 6pm on a Friday, then the backup one was wrong

I drove 45 minutes to a call about a Samsung fridge in Duncanville, finally got the compressor swapped and fired it up. But I didn't check the model number close enough and it was the wrong cap tube size, so it never got cold. Anyone else had parts shipped to them that were just barely off?

2 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

derek99•1mo ago

Warning: Took me 5 hours to find a bad ground on a Garmin GNS 430

Spent a whole afternoon chasing a flickering display issue that ended up being a corroded ground wire hidden behind the tray. Anyone else wasted a shift on something this simple?

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

derek99•1mo ago

Pro tip: that load chart on your crane might be lying to you

I was running a 50 ton Terex on a job in Columbus last spring, moving some pretty heavy steel beams. A senior operator from another crew walked over and pointed out I was reading the chart at 70 degrees instead of 65 for my radius. Turns out I had been misreading the angle column for almost 3 years. Has anyone else caught a mistake like that in their own setup routines?

2 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

derek99•1mo ago

Stripped a spoke nipple on a customer's touring bike in the middle of a tune-up

Was rebuilding a wheel for a guy heading to Alaska, and the spoke wrench slipped. Took me 20 minutes to drill it out and thread a new one without ruining the rim. Anybody got a trick for getting stubborn nipples out faster?

2 comments