I’m in the middle of a livingroom remodel. This weekend, the plan is to fix the leak in the roof, rebuild thr staircase to match modern codes, and install the new hvac ducts. If time permits, I’d like to start hanging drywall, but I know thats a stretch. I want to get the room done by the 4th, and I’m not sure if I’ll make it.

I think I get where you are coming from here, though I question the certainty in it. There is too much nuance to humanity to never trust or always ignore.

If you never anticipate good in others, you must be very lonely - never trusting, always defensive, waiting for the next attack. We all have different levels of trust shaped by our own experiences. Personally, I try to anticipate good until a person proves otherwise. I’d rather be disappointed occasionally than miss a possible connection to someone because I never anticipated goodness.

As far as receiving advice, take it from anyone and everyone. We constantly do this, even if we don’t notice. We take in the world around us. We decided if it was good, bad, or somewhere in between. If I see someone hit their thumb with a hammer, I learn not to hold the nail in the way way did. It’s non-verbal, yet in its own way, is advice. Verbal advice works similarly. Take it in, listen to it, accept or reject it. Ether way, it is part of you. You will adapt it to your own view. If someone says that jumping of a bridge is the best thing ever, you can ignore them or you can do it. Ignoring them shapes a picture of that person as irresponsible or dangerous while shaping you to be more conscious and risk-averse. Doing it shapes that person in your mind as someone to listen to in order to do something fun. I suppose what I’m getting at is a simple question, can you really ignore advice?

I’m probably just thinking more into it than you intended.

Good luck to you. Post the results when you finish. I’m sure more than just me would like to see it

Shellac is not the same as oil based. Oil based is made from, well, oil. Shelllac is made by crushing the shells of the lac bug. It is an insect that is cultivated specifically for the purpose. Shellac is typically used as a final coat for protection. Shellac primer is basically that mixed with a white pigment. It is great for sealing. Fairly pricy though.

I will echo the Bondo route that others suggested. The big box hardware stores sell quart cans of general purpose Bondo in the paint aisle.

Cut out the vaneer over the bad area with a razor blade or box cutter.

Sand with 80 or 120 grit to remove any loose bits of the board. The particle board will crumble a little, but it will be fine. Just dont go overboard. Vacuum it to remove most dust.

Using a flexible putty knife, get one to two globs of Bondo on a clean piece of cardboard. Don’t do too much as you will have about 5 minutes of working time once the hardener is added. Follow the instructions on how much hardener to add, you wont need much. Fold the hardener into the Bondo with the putty knife until it is a uniform color.

Spread the bondo over the area you cut out. Try to get it smooth, but dont overwork it. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Using 60 or 80 grit paper, sand it as it starts to dry. If it is gumming up the paper, it is still too wet to sand, give it another minute or two and try again. You are shaping it with this step. If you let it completely dry, it is hard as a rock and more difficult to sand.

Once it is in a good shape, switch to the next step up for sanding and repeat (60 to 80 to 120 to 180 to 220). Do not skip gits or you will just make work for yourself. You can probably stop at 180, but since it is next to vaneer, i’d go to 220. Again, if it is gumming the paper, wait a few minutes. Once you are at 220, use it to sand the entire cabinet to rough up the surface and accept primer better.

Once sanded, wipe the entire cabinet down with a tac cloth. I also recommend wiping the cabinets with a wax and greese remover so everything will stick better.

Now it is time for primer and paint. For a smooth finish, use a good quality foam mini-roller and foam brush for tighter areas.

Prime the cabinet using any water-based primer; killz is pretty good. They make an oil based that would be better, but will smell up your whole house, so I don’t recommend it unless you have excellent ventilation.

Lightly sand the peimer once it is fully dried with 220. If any spot is too light, do a second coat. Wipe up the dust.

Paint with an alkyd paint. Do at least 2 coats.

Not necessary, but if you want extra protection, you could use a foam brush (not a roller here) and do 3 to 4 coats of a water-based polyurethane on top of the paint. It might be overkill for what you want though.

This might seem like a lot, but you will have a great finish when done. Also, fair warning, Bondo has a strong smell. Open a window.

In general, If I need to cut off more than its capacity, I’m using a circular saw with a track or straight edge.

As for the price, I wasn’t aware it was so high. I paid $350 for it. I think it was a holiday sale or something like that.

It wasn’t $500 when I got it. I think it was $350 at the time. Although it might have just been on sale.

amzn.com/dp/B0BN1XB7LK

This is the one I have. I take the batteries out of it after each use, otherwise it drains it. That’s my only complaint with it.

I inherited an old Delta table saw from the 80’s. The fence on it was in horrible shape when I got it. After a ton of research, I ended up getting the Shop Fox W2005 Classic Fence with Standard Rails.

The fence itself is great. Slides easy. Locks in place and stays there. Easy to adjust.

It took a little time to get aligned properly. After messing with it for a day or so, I bought guage to ensure it is 1/128" off square from the miter slot. Once it was set, I’ve had no issues.

Overall, I highly recommend it, if it is in your budget.

Fear and caution are not the same thing.

Do you really think the US has any real concern about being attacked? There is plenty to say about US policies, both good and bad. Part of that is the nearly $1T per year spent on the military. I don’t think you’ll find many credible people who think attacking the US will be good for whoever does it.

Attacking the US has been, historically, one thing that tends to unite the country. We - Americans - like building shit and we like fighting people. We never stop building new weapons. But when there is no-one to fight, we fight each other. There is a huge social divide in the US right now. You want to fix that, attack us.

*Edit: spelling

There isn’t enough in the picture to be 100% certain. In no particular order, these are the three things that I would check first:

1. The cable could be too short on that side
2. The track could be slightly too high on that side
3. The floor is angled and has a natural gap

My misunderstanding. I thought you meant from the heater to the floor.

To fix the gap you were talking about, you could do some acrylic caulking. You could do high heat silicone if you were worried about the heat, but the acrylic should be fine. Check the tube for the allowed heat range. The silicone will do vetter against the expansion and contraction, but you’d never be able to paint it. The acrylic would be paintable. But had a high chance of cracking.

You need the gap. Baseboard heaters work by heating the air around it, causing it to rise. This rising air is replaced by the cool air being displaced. By having a gap under the heater, the cool air has a place to go and be heated. This causes a draft that allows the full room to be heated, not just the area around the baseboards. In essence, the gap allows the heater to be more efficient.

If you insist on covering it, use a sheet of decorative metal that is at least partially open to allow airflow through it. Even that will reduce efficiency, but it wont be as bad as blocking it.

I played a ton of 3d movie maker back in the day. I’m with you; I wish there were games like that today. It might be a niche, but you can’t tell me there isn’t a market for it.

AC as refrigerant, not coolant. Although that might be semantics.

AC is a type of heat pump. You are moving heat from inside to outside. The physics behind a heat pump, is fairly simple. There are three principles to work with.

1. Take a gas, compress it, and it gets super hot.
2. Take a compressed gas, let it rapidly expand, and it gets super cold
3. Different temperature gases move from hot to cold

Let’s focus on AC since most folks are used to that concept. In an AC, you have a closed loop of refrigerant. Outside, there is a compressor that compresses the gas, which makes it very hot. The gas is pushed through a radiator with a fan pulling air through it. Since hot moves to cold, the heat trapped in the gas moves to the outside air, and the gas is slightly cooled. (As long as the gas is hotter than outside).

Inside, there is an expansion valve that lets the gas rapdly expand, making it super cold. It is pumped through a radiator that has inside air blowing over it with a fan. Since hot moves to cold, the heat in the inside air moves to the cold gas, cooling the inside air. (As long as the gas is cooler than the inside temperature). It is then pumped outside to start the loop again.

So, inside gets cooler while the heat is moved outside. The physics also establishes the limits of the heat exchange. You will only grab heat from inside if the expansion makes the gas colder than the air inside. Typically it expands to around 0 degrees. Likewise, it will dump the heat outside if the gas is hotter than outside air. The compressor typically makes it 130 to 140 degrees (temps vary depending on many factors).

To use a heat pump for heating rather than cooling, reverse the process. Pick up the heat from outside and dump it inside. This will work as long as outside is warmer than the expanded gas (0 degrees or so). Although you can get some that go to around -20.

I’ll echo what others said about the aluminum tape. Make sure it is a good one, not a cheap one. You might want to take a damp rag to the area first. Any dust will stop it from sticking. Make sure to let it dry too.

Mastic could work as well. Get a tub of it and a chip brush or two… and don’t forget gloves. It sticks to everything and is rubberized, so it holds up very well. The only downside is that it makes a mess very easily.

Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

-Samuel Beckett