Nancy Sanchez (u/nancy_sanchez)

Posts

Spent $400 on a new suction hose strainer basket and it was worth every penny

We were working a small channel job down in the bayou last month, pulling up a lot of soft mud and old plant junk. The old strainer on our 8-inch cutterhead dredge was just a basic cage, and it kept clogging with roots and plastic bags every other hour. I was sick of shutting down to clear it, so I bit the bullet and ordered this heavy-duty basket with a finer, tapered mesh. It ran me about $400 after shipping. The difference was night and day. It let the slurry through but caught almost all the trash before it could jam the pump. We ran for two full shifts without a single clog-related stop. Has anyone else found a specific piece of gear that cut down on your downtime this much? I'm curious about other fixes.

3 comments

c/cable-installers•

nancy_sanchez•2mo ago

TIL I had to pick between a Klein crimper and a cheap generic one for a big apartment complex job in Tempe.

I went with the Klein, and it held up through 40 units without a single bad connection, so what's your go-to crimper brand for heavy use?

3 comments

c/butchers•

nancy_sanchez•2mo ago

Question about sharpening stones versus those electric pull-through sharpeners

Honestly, I used a cheap electric sharpener for my boning knives for about a year because it was fast. Ngl, it worked okay but the edge never lasted more than a week of heavy use. Last month, I finally bought a 1000/6000 grit whetstone for $45 and spent a Saturday learning the angle. The difference is crazy. My main knife stayed sharp for a full three weeks of breaking down beef rounds. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed their knives just hold up better?

3 comments

c/dredge-operators•

nancy_sanchez•2mo ago

Serious question, why does everyone swear by the 8-inch cutter head for river silt?

We ran a 6-inch head on the Ohio River last Tuesday and cleared 50% more material than the crew using the bigger one, because we weren't fighting the drag and could actually maintain suction.

3 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

nancy_sanchez•2mo ago

Had a real mess with a 2020 F-150's aluminum bed side in the shop today

We were doing a repair on a dent near the wheel arch, and the weld-through primer we used reacted badly with the aluminum. It created this weird, bubbly residue that ruined the surface prep. Had to stop everything, strip it back down with 80 grit, and start over with a different brand of adhesive promoter. Anyone else run into compatibility issues with aluminum-specific products lately?

3 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

nancy_sanchez•2mo ago

Pro tip: Wired alarm setups beat wireless for reliability in my side projects

Most guys in this forum push wireless systems as the only way to go now. I have to push back on that, based on my hobby of fixing up and building alarm systems from spare parts. When I work on my own projects at home, like blending old sounders with new brains, wired links never fail me. One time I set up a full copper run for a buddy's garage, and it survived a power surge that knocked out his wifi. Yeah, wireless is quick to install, but batteries die and signals get messy with other gadgets. From my experience piecing these things together, a good wired base is rock solid. That extra effort during setup pays off big time down the road.

3 comments