I wonder if they know how to use a small saw? You can't push stuff through as fast as you do on a 10" saw. PVC is brittle and hard on saw blades, and it slows down the blade on my full sized table saw. I've talked to a couple other customers in the store who had one and they liked it, so wo knows?
-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
I carefully squeeze them in a big vise/vice to distort the case near the seam and crack the ultrasonic or solvent weld (shift the case in the jaws to propogate the crack around the outside). You can very easily re-glue them afterward. I've probably done half a dozen and have not killed a wall wart yet. Very clean and straightforward.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
-- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
Dunno. It would be telling to know how many (remaining) digits they have on each hand! :> There's also some question as to how accurately (and truthfully) they write their reviews. (i.e., the "balsa wood" review was misleading.
I tend to be leary of HF. Looked at a drywall lift, there, and asked myself: "Do I *really* want to be standing under a 100# sheet of drywall supported by *this*?"
In ~30 years that I've been buying from them, I've only bought a couple tools that were bad.
100 pounds? That must be over an inch thick. If one had failed, there would have been a lawsuit and it wouldn't be for sale. You do know that the manuals for their tools are online, in PDF format?-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
For most such cuts a miter gauge is a better idea (safer).
If your table saw has sloppy bearings, fix it or junk it. If there is any play, it's a useless, and dangerous, tool.
AlwaysWrong still holds his perfect record.
4'x8'x12' @ 5/8" thick is ~85 pounds. And you have all that metal hanging over your head, as well (maybe you'll be lucky and *only* the drywall will bop you on the head -- not the metal cross members holding it up! :> )
We did a lot of research on lifts. Just reading the comments of other buyers indicates that lifts fail with some regularity. The best lifts seem to be made by PanelLift (sp?). They are signifanctly heavier constuction: e.g., the upright is 3" instead of 1.5 - 2", heavier gauge steel, better quality welds, larger casters, larger cable, etc.
But, they are 3x-4x the price of the chinese imports! :<
Not to detract from the HF item (there are lots of other "chinese" offerings in that market, as well. They all look oddly similar with the exception of PAINT color! :> ) but we figured it wasn't enough of a guaranteed improvement (i.e., labor+risk reduction) to justify the expense.
You could print up, and stick on, plastic labels for a fraction of a cent each. We stick labels on our purchased warts, because it helps our customers.
-- John Larkin, President Highland Technology, Inc jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com http://www.highlandtechnology.com Precision electronic instrumentation Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators Custom laser controllers Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
Are they being used properly, or have they been overloaded?
I hung a lot of 12 foot sheets on ceilings. Three step ladders, three workers and three hammers with plenty of drywall nails. The screws weren't availible back then. We did a bunch of 12' * 12' rooms in under 10 minutes each. I've put up 4' * 12' sheets on walls, run horizontal by myself. Back then, people used jomemade Tees to hold it against a ceiling, if they couldn't find enough people to do it like we did.
-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
IIRC, all "claimed" to handle at least 150 pounds. All claimed to be able to handle a 12' sheet.
So, if you assume 1/2" wallboard, that's at least 80 pounds. Step up to 5/8" for another ~25% and you're at 105 pounds. Make the *leap* to "fireboard" would add *another* 25% (130#)
I can't imagine anyone hanging anything thicker/denser than that and needing a lift! (Maybe backerboard but you wouldn't even be able to get a lift *in* the sorts of places you'd use that!) In fact, the sorts of "DIY'ers" who would opt for such a product would probably be stuck at the 8-12' 1/2" end of the range -- so, 50-80 pounds on the lift, max.
(*two* sheets, STACKED??? :-/ )
The problems I recall were related to welds breaking, the brake not holding and flimsy construction, in general. A common complaint was "the box arrived "all beat up" and possibly "missing pieces" (which could have just fallen out).
Invariably, the customer KEPT the purchase as the cost of return freight was exorbitant!
I opted for the old "T" deadman and strategically placed (temporary) supports fastened to the (unfinished) walls (Think: lip to hold one end of wallboard in place). But, I only had ~500sq ft of ceiling to deal with (I will rethink this if I opt to so the rest of the house).
I hung the walls vertically. Most of ours are taller than 8'. So, easier to just stand the sheets upright, side by side. This also eliminates the need for any butt joints. Slightly more taping but it's an *easier* taping job!
Yes, a "deadman". See above.
Unfortunately, most of my friends have (conveniently?) bad backs. I should learn to develop a similar malady when *they* come looking for help! ;-) (unfortunately, that's not in my nature :< )
In that case they should have refused the shipment and let the carrier fight it out with the shipper. What I was thinking was the way some bozos treat their tools. Toss them into the back of a truck and let it bounce around, bang them into walls and use them for seats or worktables. That would weaken then to the point of failed welds.
I now have a bad knee, wich means it's going to be a real pain to drywall a couple bedrooms by myself. At leat all I have to do is the walls, since I'm going to use 2' *4' celing tiles.
-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
I got the impression that these folks tended to be "weekend DIY'ers". I.e., buying for *a* particular job -- and worrying about how they'd get rid of the thing, later.
As I said, I visited HF, looked at stuff available on-line, and checked out a couple of the traditional tool rental places. The latter had, by far, more "substantial" devices. The (initial) appeal of purchasing was anticipation of other parts of the house that I wanted to tackle (higher ceilings, etc.).
But, ~$700 for the "nice" lift seemed ridiculous -- given that I had no plans of going into that *business*! :>
(I will probably opt to rent the nicer lift when I tackle some of the higher ceilings -- and just get myself very organized so it's a 1-2 day event)
Bummer. Note that my "suspicious" comment above (re: friends' bad backs) is intended tongue in cheek. I don't doubt that they *do* have back problems (apparently pretty common). It's just, er, "disappointing" not to be able to call on them for this kind of assistance...
That makes sense, if you don't have any help. The rent should be less than a cheap model.
I have open wounds on my legs that I've had for over two years, with makes most projects difficult but they haven't stopped me. :)
-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
Hi Michael,
Rent *is* cheaper -- if you are quick about it (i.e., have a period of uninterrupted time that you can devote to the job) *and* have a small job! E.g., each room you tackle has to have its furniture "rearranged" if not *removed*. Doing that for several rooms at a time can be a real mess! :<
I am waiting for the "consequences" of earlier abuses to catch up with me. E.g., I used to regularly move pinball machines by crawling under them and lifting them onto my back. (Hint: they are not lightweight!) Thankfully, I've learned to stop doing that sort of thing... (but pinball lifts are not worth the space they require)
In the '70s I did TV repair. Zenith made a TV with an 8' slate top. They said not to move it without seven people or a lift. An older tech and I would load & unload them by ourselves. I got mad one time & picked up a Pontiac 389 short block. That scared the crap out of me, when I realized what I'd done.
-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
But, I imagine it wasn't inhabited at the time? (at least not the rooms in question).
I find drywall to be, without a doubt, the *messiest* thing to work with! (mud splatters, sanding, etc.) I think you can re-tar a roof and stand a better chance of NOT making a mess (e.g., tracking tar into the house) than drywalling a room. Plastic "curtains" are a HUGE win!
Yikes! Are you sure it wasn't a billiards table??
I buggered an elbow by mistakenly assuming I could just "slide, with prejudice", a 4'x8' picture window across the carpet one day. Window stayed put. Along with one half of my arm. But, the other half didn't. So, my elbow (and, to a lesser extent, shoulder) made up the difference :<
Amazing how stupid we can be when we *try*! :-/
No one was living there, but what had been salvaged, and all the building materials were inside, and often in the way. It was my girlfriend's family's home. The natural gas furnace failed while they were all gone to a Christmas party and it did a lot of damage. it took us about seven months to do all the work.
No, it was heavier and could receive all 82 channels. :)
I was rebuilding that engine for my '66 GTO. It was ready to put on the oil pan and drop into the GTO. I got home from work to find that a relative had taken the chain hoist and left it sitting in the dirt instead of on the large wood blocks I had made for a stand. I got so mad that I picked it up and put it on the blocks, before I thought about it.
-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
(Without understanding the nature of the damage, ...) I assume there was a heavy smoke odor? And, that it permeates everything? (dunno, never been inside a fire/smoke damaged edifice. Only know of one "fire incident" and that place burned to the ground so there wasn't much left to *retain* an odor!)
If so, how do you eliminate it? And, how *successful* is that effort?
E.g., I assume replacing the wallboard physically removes much of the odor. And, removing furnishings, etc. as well. But, does the odor persist in the framing, etc.? Or, is it masked once vapor barriers and new drywall are back in place? (ceilings? imperfect seals around electrical fixtures, etc.?)
I don';t think I'm keen on learning that empirically... :-/
All the drywall had to be removed, because of water damage, along with some of the subfloor. The floor joists were undamaged, but some of the roof trusses had to be replaced. All of the wiring and fixtures were stripped, and the windows were left open for about a month to air out the framing. There was still a faint odor for several years, during high winds but it wasn't strong enough to notice. That work was done in '68&'69. The last time I was there was in '87 and didn't notice anything. There are commercial odor removal products that do a great job to remove smoke odor. It even works on burnt bakelite.
-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
As 'Doc Campbell' used to say on 'Hee Haw', 'Stay out of those places!' Too bad someone didn't hit you with a rubber chicken and stop you from messing up your back. :(
-- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.
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