Jenny Hernandez (u/jennyh55)

Posts

I finally changed my mind about using water as a quench for high carbon steel

Old timer named Ray at the local guild meeting told me I was wrecking my blades by quenching in water instead of oil. I blew him off for six months until I cracked three straight knives in a row. Has anyone else tried a medium speed oil like canola and seen better results?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

jennyh55•3d ago

Old Kirby Morgan vs the new Gralmarine... night and day difference

After 8 years diving an old KM 17, I picked up a Gralmarine GM-600 off eBay for $400 and tried it on a harbor inspection job in San Diego last month. The KM felt like I was wearing a bowling ball on my shoulders compared to the Gralmarine's lighter shell and better neck seal. Has anyone else made the switch and felt the same relief on long bottom times?

2 comments

c/butchers•

jennyh55•5d ago

Switched to dry-aging in a fridge after years of doing it in a bag

I was at a shop in Austin last spring, this guy named Carl showed me his setup with a $200 mini fridge and a humidity controller. He pulled out a ribeye that had been in there 45 days, the smell was like mushrooms and butter, nothing funky. I had always used those expensive bags because I thought it was safer, but after tasting his I went home and converted a spare fridge that weekend. Has anyone else tried a budget dry-aging rig and had good luck with it?

2 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

jennyh55•6d ago

Serious question, why does everyone push coworking spaces so hard?

I tried one in Medellin for 3 weeks and got way less work done than at a cafe because everyone wanted to network every 10 minutes lol. Did anyone else find them more distracting than helpful, or am I just antisocial?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

jennyh55•6d ago

My first drywall job in Austin totally changed how I finish corners

I was working on a little bathroom remodel down in Austin last month, and the before-and-after on the corners was wild. The old drywall had these awful, bulging tape joints that looked like someone put the mud on with a shovel. After I skimmed them flat and used a new metal corner bead instead of paper tape, the difference was night and day. It took me about 4 hours to redo all the corners, but the final result was so clean the homeowner actually asked if I put in new drywall. I switched to a different brand of premix too, a lightweight one that sands way easier. Has anyone else noticed a huge difference just by changing your corner bead setup?

2 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

jennyh55•8d ago

Am I the only one who hates using filler putty on aluminum bumpers?

Last week I took a job on a 2020 Ford F-150 with a dented rear aluminum bumper at my shop in Phoenix. The customer wanted a cheap fix, so I grabbed my standard polyester filler, slapped it on, and sanded it smooth. Three days later the bumper came back with cracks all along the filler line. I had to grind it all off and start over with a two-part epoxy filler meant for aluminum. That mistake cost me about 4 hours of rework and $35 in wasted materials. My old timer mentor told me years ago that aluminum flexes different than steel, but I thought he was just being picky. Has anyone else dealt with filler failing on aluminum, or is it just me learning the hard way?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

jennyh55•12d ago

Stumbled on a stat: 60% of burglars use the front door

Was reading a security report from the ALFAA last month. It said most break-ins happen between 10am and 3pm. And 60% of them just walk through an unlocked front door or a window. That totally changed how I pitch systems to homeowners. I focus on entry sensors and door alarms way more now. Anyone else see different numbers from their local PD?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

jennyh55•12d ago

I used to swear by torque wrenches for everything, but now I just use the beam style for most jobs

I used to think click-type torque wrenches were the only way to go, especially after I spent $150 on a fancy digital one. But after 6 months wrenching on engines at a small shop in Tucson, I kept having to recalibrate the click type because it kept losing accuracy. Then my buddy showed me his beam-style torque wrench, the old school one with the needle. He was tightening cylinder head bolts on a Lycoming engine and it held steady every time. I tried it on a set of wing bolts last Tuesday and it was way more consistent than my digital one on the low torque settings. Idk, maybe it's just me, but I think the beam style is simpler and less prone to messing up when you're in a tight spot. Has anyone else had issues with click-type wrenches drifting out of spec?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

jennyh55•12d ago

Saw a huge difference in my drawer slides after switching from side mount to undermount

I mean, I always just used the side mount slides because that's what my old boss taught me. Last month I finally swapped to undermount on a kitchen job in Denver and wow, the difference was night and day. The drawers just glide so smooth and you don't see any hardware at all. Has anyone else found it worth the extra cost for the soft close ones?

2 comments

c/bakers•

jennyh55•14d ago

Unpopular opinion: I've been over-mixing my pie crust for years because my grandma told me to work it until it 'felt right'.

Watching a baker in Austin fold butter into flour with just her fingertips for maybe 30 seconds made me see my tough, dense results were totally my fault, so what's your best tip for knowing when to stop?

2 comments

Recent Comments

1h ago

Warning: That wet coffee puck in the sink caused a clog nightmare

Lol that plumber must have thought you were trying to grow a coffee crop in your pipes. I did the same thing with espresso pucks and now I just let them dry out on a paper towel before tossing them. Never again will I treat my sink like a trash can lmao.

3d ago

I used to laugh at guys who spent big on mixing paint with a scale, now I'm the one weighing it

You ever mess up a pearl white and feel like you wasted three hours of your life? I did the same thing with a Subaru ice silver metallic, thought I had the ratio dialed in and ended up with something that looked like glittery primer. The scale is the only way to go, seriously. Once you start tracking your exact weights and writing them down, you notice how much humidity or temperature can throw off a mix too. Some guys at my local shop still think I'm being extra, but I'd rather spend two minutes weighing than two hours stripping.

4d ago

Can we talk about how much time I wasted on the wrong voltage drop numbers?

@owens.nancy I get where you're coming from but oversizing wire just in case isn't always the best move... voltage drop math is math, it's not a guessing game. If you run the numbers right and they come up with 4/0, then 250 MCM is just wasting money that could go somewhere else on the job. Plus bigger wire means harder pulls and more labor for no reason. It's not like you're cutting corners if you trust your calculations.

7d ago

TIL a fellow artist told me to stop blending so much and it fixed my portraits

Maybe it's just me but I feel like the whole "blending is bad" thing gets taken a little too extreme sometimes. Some soft blending on skin can look really nice if you keep the foundation solid underneath.

7d ago

Watching a big bridge repair crew in Pittsburgh made me think about our tool paths

Right? That manual cutter thing hits different. It's like the original CNC machine just with your hands.