Cutting the Cord: PART 1

Let's face it, cable sucks! At least the price does. I have (had) something over 400 channels available to me through my cable provider, of which I maybe watched ten to fifteen of them on any regular basis.  The option to watch so many different things isn't bad, except when you have to pay for all of them when you watch only a few. Doubling up on this conundrum the few channels I watch are only included in the higher packages, forcing me to pay full toll. I tolerated this until last December when my "offers" expired and my bill sky-rocketed from $115 to $172, a gain of 49%!!! When I was told new offers would not be available until the first part of the year I cut my services down to the basics with DVR and cough up something like $85 a month for local channels, or actually less than half my local channels since cable doesn't include the extended HD channels available in my area, just major networks. The first part of the year is here and the offers are lousy. Why pay so much for so little??? The fix for my dilemma, I hope, is to cut cable all together. 

Installing Security Cameras

Sadly today not everyone can be trusted and security is a must.  I have started on the venture of increasing security at my home in several ways, first off cameras. Luckily it is rather easy to install security cameras but there are a few things to keep in mind.  I give this a difficulty factor of 2 on a 5 point scale.  if you can work a drill and a screwdriver, you can do this.

How To Make a Wooden Tap Hammer

If you work with wood you know that from time to time things must be lovingly "tapped" into place, sometimes a place a bit smaller than the thing you are tapping.  Luckily wood is a flexible material and can be coerced but tapping with a metal hammer can mar or dent the surface because of the higher density of metal. A wooden hammer doesn't mar or at least not as much and luckily making a hammer out of wood is simple and quick.

Sound Damping Panels

Sound is an issue with any workshop, power tools are cool but make lots of noise.  My workshop has the added benefits of being in a garage, close to neighbors and harboring a CNC table. My primary concerns are the air compressor, shop vacuum and the CNC router table since it will run patterns that could easily run 30 minutes, an hour or more. Luckily, I am designing a cabinet to hold the vacuum, compressor and most importantly the CNC table for both dust and sound control.  The empty pockets created in my 2x4 frame design will create great places for sound damping panels.