Morgan Lewis (u/morgan_lewis18)

Posts

Used to think digital torque wrenches were a gimmick til my lead mechanic proved me wrong

Old school guy named Dave always swore by his click-click wrenches and I bought into it hard. Last month we had a job on a 737 flap track and he handed me his old CDI 3/8 drive to use. I snuck my new digital Snap-On in my box anyway but after 3 actuators his torque values were spot on every time. Now I keep that CDI as my go-to and the digital is just backup, anyone else switch sides on a tool brand after seeing it work?.

1 comments

c/computer-technicians•

morgan_lewis18•19h ago

PSA: That $20 generic PSU from Amazon nearly took out my whole bench

Picked up a no-name 650 watt unit for a quick test rig build. Fired it up and smoke came out the back within 30 seconds. Lucky I caught it before it fried the motherboard I had connected. Anyone else stick to name brand power supplies after a bad experience?

2 comments

c/ask-a-librarian•

morgan_lewis18•1d ago

That $7 cookbook my aunt insisted on actually ruined my chili recipe

My aunt Martha swore by this 1970s community cookbook from Omaha, said it had the best chili ever. I finally dug it out last month and followed the recipe exactly, and it tasted like tomato soup with dust. Has anyone else had a supposed 'classic' recipe book let you down hard?

3 comments

c/book-club-debates•

morgan_lewis18•2d ago

Dropped $40 on that fancy book light everyone raves about. Total garbage.

Bought the Luminoodle clip light for our book club meeting. Thought it would help me read in bed without waking my wife. Battery died after 45 minutes on the first night. The clip broke off the second time I used it. Anyone else get burned by those amazon "top rated" reading lights?

2 comments

c/diy-book-mods•

morgan_lewis18•4d ago

Doubted painted edges until I saw a friend's copy of Dune

I always thought painting the page edges was just a way to make books look pretty on Instagram. Then my buddy Dave showed me his copy of Dune with a deep orange desert gradient that matched the cover. The color actually made the book feel more immersive when I was reading, like the whole object was part of the story. Has anyone else changed their mind on a mod after seeing it in person?

2 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

morgan_lewis18•9d ago

Unpopular take: we don't need to seal every residential driveway

I was on a job last summer in Phoenix where the homeowner insisted we seal his 2 year old driveway because 'everyone does it.' I told him it wasn't necessary yet, but he pushed back hard. He said his neighbor down the street had cracks after two winters without sealing, and he didn't want that. I explained the concrete was still curing and sealing too early can trap moisture, but he wouldn't budge. So I sealed it, charged him $450, and six months later he called to complain about white spots from efflorescence. Has anyone else dealt with homeowners who won't trust your advice on timing?

2 comments

c/ai-innovations•

morgan_lewis18•18d ago

TIL you can trick an AI image generator into making consistent characters

Been messing with Midjourney for months. The problem was every prompt gave me a different looking person. Then I found this seed number trick. You copy the seed from one image and add it to your next prompt. Now I get the same guy in different poses every time. Anyone else use seeds for consistency or is there a better way?

2 comments

c/cleveland-westshore-living•

morgan_lewis18•19d ago

PSA: The Bay Village library parking lot is not a race track

Some lady in a minivan nearly took out my kid crossing to the library last Tuesday because she was speeding through like she was late for an appointment. I called her out and she just waved and said 'I'm in a hurry!' as if that justifies almost hitting a 6 year old. Anyone else notice the drivers getting worse around the Westlake and Bay shopping centers?

2 comments

c/commercial-real-estate•

morgan_lewis18•20d ago

HVAC unit died in my retail space on a Friday at 4pm

Had a 12-year old rooftop unit give out last Friday at our strip mall in Akron. Tenants were calling me nonstop about the heat and of course nobody could get out to look at it until Monday. Ended up dropping $4,200 on an emergency replacement after begging a local contractor to come in on a Saturday. Has anyone else had luck with extended warranties on commercial HVAC gear or is that just throwing money away?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

morgan_lewis18•1mo ago

Can we talk about people who don't bother to normalize their steel before heat treat?

I swear I see way too many beginners skipping the normalization step and wondering why their blades crack or warp. Normalizing is just heating the steel up to critical temp and letting it cool in still air, it takes maybe 15 minutes extra. I had a guy bring me a knife last month that he'd heat treated three times and it still had a huge curve in it. He was just going straight from forging to quench without any prep. I showed him how to do three normalization cycles on a fresh piece of 1084 and the difference was night and day. The blade came out straight and held an edge way better. It doesn't matter if you're using a gas forge or a coal forge, that step saves so much headache later. Has anyone else noticed this getting worse or is it just my shop?

2 comments

Posts

Used to think digital torque wrenches were a gimmick til my lead mechanic proved me wrong

PSA: That $20 generic PSU from Amazon nearly took out my whole bench

That $7 cookbook my aunt insisted on actually ruined my chili recipe

Dropped $40 on that fancy book light everyone raves about. Total garbage.

Doubted painted edges until I saw a friend's copy of Dune

Unpopular take: we don't need to seal every residential driveway

TIL you can trick an AI image generator into making consistent characters

PSA: The Bay Village library parking lot is not a race track

HVAC unit died in my retail space on a Friday at 4pm

Can we talk about people who don't bother to normalize their steel before heat treat?

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