real talk, that professor gets it. I learned more from debugging a broken calculator app at 2am than from any "perfect" tutorial project. half the time the bug was just me being stupid but that's how you actually start seeing patterns in the code instead of just the words.

Hard disagree on this one. You got lucky with a single test piece, but wait until that adhesive fails down the road from steam and moisture. PL Premium isn't meant for wet areas long term, especially behind tile where you can't see it rotting. Screws give you instant mechanical hold that doesn't depend on perfect surface prep or cure time. I've seen too many shower pan jobs where someone tried adhesives only to have the whole thing delaminate after a year because the backer board wasn't perfectly clean and dry. Stick with the standard method for anything that'll be behind tile.

Honestly, I gotta disagree with both of you. Ash handles are fine for things like splitting wood, but for forging and shop work, hickory has proven itself for a reason. @nathan_foster60 says ash has more flex, but that flex means the handle will bend and wear out faster under the repeated high-force hits you get at an anvil. I'd rather have a handle that's stiff enough to transfer all that energy into the work and snaps clean than one that's going to start feeling mushy after a few months and then let go at some random moment. Ngl, I've had hickory handles last me years in heavy use as long as I keep a tight wedge in them and I'm not torquing the head sideways.

Yeah @ryan_carr59, I switched to inflatable for the same reason and it fixed my back pain totally.

@sage_perry those plastic shims split on me too, switched to wood ones and never looked back.