After making coasters to go with my desk, I had the idea to make some as gifts for my Automattic team members, since we had a meetup coming up. Brandi also wanted to make a couple for a gift, so she helped a lot. Unfortunately I didn’t take many pictures during the process.
Not many places in Europe sell Mountain Dew and when you find some, it’s usually without sugar. After a week in Ireland I finally found some good stuff.
This is called Citrus Blast and tastes close to the Mountain Dew sold in the US, but not as sweet. I ran the numbers and found it contains less than half as much sugar!
I’m going to give it a 8.5, especially since it’s kind of outrageous how much sugar a 20oz in the states has.
I’ve been wanting to try box joints for years and had saved several plans to build a jig. A couple of months ago I saw Katz Moses Tools was releasing a box joint jig and I jumped on it because their video made it look so good. It was still a pre-order at the time and the web site said it could take 3-4 weeks, but mine was delivered in a week. Assembling the jig was a piece of cake.
I was very impressed by how snug the runner fit in my table saw’s miter slot. After a few pushes back and forth it wore in and then I added paste wax to make it slide like butta! I grab some scraps and my dado stack for a quick test.
The jig is easy to use and with some quick adjustments I’ll be able to dial in a better fit. My next project will be a monitor riser for my desk so I’m looking forward to doing some walnut box joints.
The iPhone really did not like me putting the dark glasses over the selfie lens, but it worked. Taken in Saginaw, MI at 3:14pm.
With our new house having a big walk-in closet we won’t need dressers, so we’ll be selling our bedroom set, which meant it was a good time for new nightstands. Here’s a photo dump of the build.
These will be floating on the wall in the new house, with about five inches of space under them. I did a lot of things in this build I’ve never tried before, so I learned a lot. I love how the decorative grooves turned out on the drawer fronts, which was inspired by something Michael Alm did on his kitchen cupboards. The oak handles were made with inspiration from a couple we liked on Etsy (1 & 2).
I can’t wait to get moved in this summer and mount these on the wall!
This Baja is really good and one of the best Mountain Dew flavors I’ve had in awhile. It has a little fruity kick to it. Solid 8.5 out of 10.
I had high hopes for this one since I like mango and love lemonade. It’s pretty “meh” though and I probably wouldn’t buy one. I’ll give it a 6/10.
Today, my team at Automattic did an hour long painting activity over Zoom. I’ve never done anything like this, so it was fun.
At some point I’ll have to make a frame to hang it on a wall in my workshop.
This Purple Thunder from Mountain Dew is a February 2024 exclusive at Kroger stores. The can describes it as “DEW with a Blast of Berry Plum.”
Not a very good flavor and you can definitely taste, what I assume, is the plum. Has a little medicine taste to it. Only gets a 3/10.
Yesterday I went to make some 45° cuts on the table saw and couldn’t get it past 30°. After a few minutes of tinkering around, I realized there wasn’t enough slack on the wire going to the motor. I guess I wasn’t thinking about when I installed the new switch several years ago.
Instead of replacing the entire wire all the way back to the motor, I added a junction box and an extension to the switch.
The saw still wouldn’t get to 45° though, because I had another issue. I guess I’d never done that much of an angle, so the threaded rod to guide the tilting mechanism was caked with saw dust. After some WD-40, a wire brush, and cranking it back and forth, it was moving well.
Nick Momrik 