What is predrilling, and how can it save you time and money? We're going to look at that today. I'll explain what predrilling is, what it's for, what it does, as well as when and how it should be used. So what is predrilling anyway? Short answer, it's drilling a small hole first before driving a fastener into your material. Long answer, predrilling is the act of drilling a hole, often called a pilot hole, the length of your fastener, before driving it into your material. This fastener can be a screw or lag bolt, and, in some cases even a nail, depending on the application and need. Now, if your wondering what predrilling is for, the answer is material stress relief. When you take a fastener and drive it into your material, you are in essence, pushing material out of the way. This causes internal stresses in your material in the form of outward pressure from your fastener. While these stresses don't cause much of an effect when you are working with thicker materials or a significant distance from the edge of your material, they can cause destructive results in thinner materials and at locations close to the edge of said material. This effect usually causes materials to split and lose structural strength. Soooo, how does predrilling help? In short, it removes excess material, which makes for less material needing to be pushed out of the way. Less material moved equals less stress and pressure. The best times to predrill are those when you have to work close to the edge of your materials, or you have to work with thin, potentially brittle materials. The task of predrilling is fairly straightforward; it's drilling a hole. The key is actually in selecting the right size of drill bit. My personal rule of thumb is to select a drill bit that is no more than 1/2 the thickness of my fastener if it's a nail, and no more than 1/2 the thickness of my fastener PLUS 1.5 mm which is close to 1/16th of an inch, if my fastener is a screw or lag bolt. By removing that amount of material from the path of your fastener, I find that it is enough to relieve the stresses and prevent damage, which in turn maintains material strength.

Happy Monday all! I hope everyone had a good week end. It was crazy and tiring here, and I spent half of yesterday recovering. I had a good rest, and I'm rarin' to go. I want to say welcome to @Andries Venter, glad to have you with us. Feel free to drop a short intro in the instructions thread. Anyone else is welcome to say hello in the comments. Looking forward to chatting with you all and wishing you all a great week! Roy - aka The Pinchpenny DIYer.

Have you ever had a situation where the best solution appears more expensive, at least until you do the long-term math? This is a situation our household found itself in recently, and let me tell you, the best solution is the one I wanted the LEAST. A little bit of back story, in our household, we live together to lower the cost of living. 4 like-minded people sharing expenses. As it turns out, one of the people, due to their job, is spending an absurd amount of money each month on fuel and vehicle maintenance, which is almost as much as their share of the household expenses. After crunching numbers, it turned out that in the long run, it will actually be cheaper for them to move out. Just the fuel savings alone amount to nearly $350 per month. With the numbers telling it like it is, a decision was made that the person affected would be better off living closer to work, and a decision was made that they will move out... temporarily, until the work situation changes or improves or we can find a home closer to their job. This person is like family, so it's going to be a big adjustment not having them here. Hence why I wanted this solution the least... Is this going to affect the rest of the household financially? Yes, but not as much as we thought it would, so it's all good. When you're pinching pennies, it's not always done through DIY, repurposing, or smart shopping. Sometimes it takes a more significant shift. Sometimes it's a shift nobody really wants, but rather one that is needed, whether we like it or not. This is an aspect of being a DIYer that nobody seems to talk about: the times when hard choices need to be made, and none of the options are particularly pleasant or perfect. It happens, we can't always fix a problem or fabricate a solution out of scraps. All we can do is take the least undesirable option, implement it, and move forward. I'd love to hear your take on situations like this in the comments below. Let me know what you think?

I call this Easy Peasy Squeezy (or spreadable) Cheese If you're a cheese lover, this simple, basic, 2 ingredient cheese recipe will be a hit for sure. It's a flexible and affordable option to those expensive store-bought brands. To get started, you'll need a few tools: Cheesecloth or lint-free cotton cloth 1 medium to large-sized strainer/sieve 1 large pot capable of holding 1 Gallon / 4L of liquid 1 large bowl capable of the same capacity as the pot. 1 wooden spoon for stirring A thermometer capable of at least 150 Deg Fahrenheit, a candy thermometer is ideal for this. A 3/4 cup measuring cup 4 wooden or plastic clothespins Jars for saving the whey For ingredients you'll need: 1 Gallon / 4L Jug of 3.25% milk or raw milk 3/4 cup 5% white vinegar. Your choice of herbs and spices. To make the cheese, follow these seven steps Step 1 – Place the large pot and milk on the stove & bring slowly to a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, use low to medium heat. Stir constantly to avoid scorching milk Step 2 – When milk has reached 120 Degrees Fahrenheit, remove from heat. Step 3 – Gently stir in 3/4 cup of 5% white vinegar. Let it sit for 30 minutes off the burner Step 4 – Place a strainer or sieve in/over a large bowl and place a lint free cotton cloth, or cheesecloth in the strainer or sieve and hold in place with clothespins. Step 5 – Strain pot contents through the cloth/cheese cloth and strainer to separate whey from curds Step 6 – Let the mixture sit until the whey stops dripping from the sieve/strainer. Bonus Whey tips at the end of the recipe. For thicker or firmer cheese, you can squeeze out more whey by hand. Step 7- When your cheese reaches the consistency or firmness you want, place it in a smaller bowl and mix in herbs and spices to taste. Let it stand in the refrigerator for 24 hours for the best flavour. Bonus tip: Save the whey! You can use the whey: - In pancakes - In soups - You can water your plants with it - If done with raw whole milk, you can try reheating the whey, add more vinegar, & repeat for more cheese!

I decided to put a pinned post up called introductions so we can get to know each other better. Drop your intro in the comments. I'm looking forward to meeting you.