David L. Farquhar, computer security professional, train hobbyist, and landlord
Frequently you’ll find Ridgid tools sold in the same stores as Ryobi tools. They’re pricier than Ryobi, but cheaper than tools like DeWalt and Milwaukee. Is Ridgid better than Ryobi? Is Ridgid as good as DeWalt? Let’s dig in.
You won’t find it printed anywhere on the box, but Ryobi, Ridgid, and Milwaukee tools are all made by the same company. Ridgid tools are higher quality than Ryobi, with more power and durability, but a grade below brands like Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Makita.
The price and selection of Ryobi tools available at your local big-box store certainly is tempting. But is Ryobi a good brand? Let’s dig in.
Ryobi tools are made by Techtronic Industries (TTI), an OEM for many other brands. Its tools are aimed at consumers, and designed to be equivalent in quality to Black and Decker.
The bolt that holds one side of the upper handle of my push lawnmower fell out this morning. Here’s how I scrounged an upper handle bolt for a lawn mower to fix it without a trip to the hardware store.
Someone asked me last week if condensation on light bulbs is dangerous. While it’s not an electrocution risk, it is a sign of other problems, and I recommend dealing with it.
How long should you let spray paint dry? It varies depending on the paint, and you should always read the can to get specific advice for the paint you’re using, since my favorite brand might be different from yours. But generally speaking, an hour is the absolute minimum.
A more realistic minimum safe drying time for spray paint is about 8 hours. Some hobbyists let their paint sit and cure for a full week before they assemble the item and put it into service, and they’ve had excellent results with this practice. Your can is your guide, because dry times can and do vary. So always, always check the instructions on your can. But here are some general guidelines.
I’ve discussed rust removal before, but some people swear by removing rust with vinegar. I never had much luck with it, but I’ve learned the secret.
The secret to rust removal with vinegar is to rinse the part thoroughly with hot water, immediately. If you don’t rinse it fast enough, or with hot enough water, the part will flash rust. But if you rinse correctly, vinegar is a cheap and effective way to remove rust from toys, old tools, and anything else made of iron or steel. I mostly use it on toy train parts but anyone who deals with anything old needs this trick.
A reader asked me how to leave an expansion gap when installing laminate floor or any other type of floating fllor. That’s an important question. With the right tools it’s really easy. Without the right tools, it’s incredibly frustrating.
The trick to leaving an expansion gap is to place some type of spacer of uniform thickness between your flooring and the wall on all four sides of the room. You can either use commercially produced spacers or make some yourself from thin plywood or other scrap wood.
Some nasty mineral deposits can build up in toilets over time, which leads some people to replace them. But you don’t have to. Here’s how to refurbish a toilet with vinegar.
Ugly mineral deposits in a toilet can be a turnoff. Fortunately you can fix them with less than $2 worth of vinegar and a little time, by pouring a cup of vinegar into the toilet and letting it sit.
Sometimes you’ll hear someone refer to the common wire when discussing electrical wiring. Not everyone is born knowing this stuff, but no one wants to sound dumb, either. So what is the common wire in electrical wiring, and what does it mean?
The common wire is normally the white wire, at least in the United States, and is often called the neutral wire. It’s also called common because all circuits in the house typically have the white wires tied together, which means every circuit has that wire in common.
I had an interesting question the other day. What should you do if a ground wire comes off your light fixture while you’re installing it? You have several options.
If you can’t return the fixture, you can reattach the wire a couple of different ways. Or you can ground the fixture without that wire. But if all that fails, the ground wire is a safety feature and the light fixture will work properly without it.