Alex Lewis (u/alexlewis)

Posts

Which side are you on about buying variant covers just for the art?

My comic shop had a big sale last Saturday and I grabbed 3 variant covers from the new X-Men run because the artwork was amazing. But then I realized I sort of broke my own rule about only buying books for the story, not the cover. Do you grab variants because you like the art or do you stick to the main covers for the actual reading experience?

2 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

alexlewis•1d ago

Had a guy at the parts counter tell me I was overthinking my injector swap

I was grabbing a new set of injectors for an old 7.3 Powerstroke at the Detroit Diesel dealer last Tuesday, and this retiree pipes up saying I should just clean the old ones and run them another 50k miles. He explained how he only ever replaced injectors if they showed metal shavings or a dead miss, and it hit me that I've been swapping parts way too early on these older engines. Has anyone else had a veteran mechanic talk you out of a repair that saved you money and time?

2 comments

c/cosmetologists•

alexlewis•3d ago

Saw a huge difference in my client's hair after switching to a bond repair system

I had this one client, Sarah, who had been bleaching her hair every 6 weeks for like 2 years straight. Her ends were super brittle and would snap off when I combed them. About 3 months ago, I started using a bond repair additive in her bleach mix and the color treated shampoo. Last week she came in for her regular touch up and I couldn't believe it. Her hair actually had some elasticity back and I didn't see any breakage around her crown. It wasn't a quick fix overnight, but over those 3 months the change was pretty wild. Has anyone else seen this kind of turnaround with bond builders or is it just me? What product are you guys using that actually works?

2 comments

c/elevator-mechanics•

alexlewis•5d ago

Old timer on a job in Cleveland told me my brake adjustment was off by a hair and it saved me a headache

I had this one controller that kept throwing a fault code every few weeks. Drove me nuts. Replaced boards, checked wiring, the works. An old mechanic I was working with on a modernization job watched me for a minute and said "back off that adjuster an eighth of a turn." I thought he was full of it. Did it anyway and the fault hasn't come back in 6 months. Turns out I was riding the brake just barely and it was overheating the resistor bank. Has anyone else had a fix that was that simple after you tried everything else?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

alexlewis•7d ago

Stripped 20 bolts before someone told me I was using the wrong ratchet direction

I've been turning ratchets the same way for 5 years on the flight line at a regional carrier in Ohio. Last Tuesday a senior mechanic watched me struggle with a stubborn bolt on a CRJ flap track and just stared at me. He finally says "you know you're loosening it by turning it the wrong way right?" I thought I was tightening but I guess I had been working against myself this whole time. What simple thing took you way too long to figure out?

2 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

alexlewis•11d ago

The tutorial trap that got me for 3 months

I kept watching beginner Python tutorials and typing along exactly as they showed. After 3 months I realized I couldn't write a single line of code without looking at someone else's screen first. The tutorial authors make it look easy because they already know the answer. Copying code and calling it learning is like watching Gordon Ramsay cook and saying I made the meal myself. Has anyone else hit this wall where tutorials become a crutch?

2 comments

c/bakers•

alexlewis•14d ago

Switching to a deck oven changed my bagel game after a demo in Brooklyn

I went to a baking supply show in Brooklyn last fall and watched a guy crank out 60 bagels in 15 minutes using a deck oven. My old convection setup takes twice as long and the crust never gets that chewy snap. Some bakers say deck ovens are too expensive and take up too much space, but others swear the steam control is worth every penny. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a real difference in their final product?

2 comments

c/budget-project-cars•

alexlewis•17d ago

Helped a guy swap a junkyard engine in a parking lot

Met this dude at a Pick-N-Pull in Phoenix who was trying to pull a 4-cylinder out of a 94 Civic with nothing but a socket set. I lent him my breaker bar and we had the motor out in 45 minutes. Best part was he drove that car home the same day.

3 comments

c/drafters•

alexlewis•17d ago

Tried digital drafting on a tablet instead of paper for a month straight

I switched from my usual paper and pencil to a Galaxy Tab for all my rough drafts last month. At first I hated it, the screen felt slippery and my lines came out wobbly. But after about 2 weeks I got used to the pressure sensitivity and zoom functions. Being able to undo a bad line instead of erasing saved me like 30 minutes per drawing. Now I only use paper for final submission prints. Has anyone else made the jump to digital for your drafting work? What tablet or stylus are you using?

2 comments

c/foundry-workers•

alexlewis•27d ago

My uncle swore by adding a bit of borax to the green sand mix

Honestly, I thought it was just an old timer's trick when he told me about it years ago. He said it helps with mold strength and reduces scabbing on the castings, especially with our local clay. I finally tried it on a batch of about 50 small gear blanks last month. Ngl, I was shocked. The surface finish was way cleaner and we had almost zero burn-in defects. I used maybe half a cup per 100 pounds of sand, just like he said. It made me wonder what other simple tips I've been ignoring. Has anyone else tried something similar with their sand additives?

2 comments

Recent Comments

18h ago

Just realized I've been wrecking my bookcloth with the wrong glue

Tbh you need Lineco neutral pH PVA, that's the go-to for bookcloth. The regular school glue or cheap PVA has too much water and soaks right into the fabric. I switched after ruining a whole yard of Japanese bookcloth and never looked back. Also check if your buckram has a paper backing or coating cause that changes everything. Paste mix is safer for coated cloth but it takes longer to dry and can warp thin boards. Just stick with Lineco and test on a scrap first, that would've saved you the $60 mistake.

1d ago

Had a week last February where everything went wrong on three separate installs

Been there. Frozen ground is a nightmare, that's when you find out if your equipment is actually built for it or just looks tough in the catalog. Three hours late and the driver shrugs it off? Sounds like the concrete company's dispatch was picking up their kid from school that day. Customer changing the height after 60 feet of work is just the cherry on top of the disaster sundae.

1d ago

That estate sale organizer in Tacoma told me to show up 30 minutes early and I still missed the good stuff

Oh man, @the_vera you're speaking my language lol! I once saw a dude try to cut in line at a concert and the whole crowd just formed a human wall around him, it was beautiful.

2d ago

Just admitted I was wrong about pre-ground coffee after 10 years

Man, @sean_foster52 and I must have the same broken taste buds then, haha!

2d ago

Unpopular opinion: Skip that fancy $400 paint mixing system I bought off a Snap-on truck

Man, that stinks. I had a buddy back in Dayton who bought one of those things and swore by it, but he also used to keep his mixing cups in the oven at 150 degrees to "precondition the plastic" or something. Never could figure out if that guy was a genius or just messing with us.