nick2354 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I still have a couple newb questions that I cant find an answer to. 1. How regulary should I clean my Mortar? at the moment I clean it after every fire. 2. Is PE and HDPE the same thing, I know that HDPE stands for High Density Polyethylene and PE just stands for Polyethylene. Is it some type of shortened version that HDPE is often referred to? I dont really mind about PVC not showing up on x-rays as I dont want it inside me to begin with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalFisk Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 If it's a hard plastic tube and it says it's made out of PE, then it's HDPE (or better). If it was LDPE it would not be a tube but a hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 1. How regulary should I clean my Mortar? at the moment I clean it after every fire. No need to clean it after every fire, though it depends on how clean your BP burns. You don't want slag to build up on the bottom of your mortar. Ofcourse remove any paper residue that is left behind in the mortar after each shot (smouldering embers can kill you or atleast take your arm off when realoading). Totally depends how you want your mortars to be, I haven't cleaned mine in over 2 years and they're in good condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick2354 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Thanks very much for that! To any Europeans looking for tube and some other things, I found an ebay supplier by accident. http://myworld.ebay.com.au/542dee/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Nick, Not saying you were wrong to post this here, since it does alert users to its existence. But please make an entry in Supplier Review (with more info) as well, since that will let all of us know. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ULTRABUF Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Scored some hemp twine at Wally World today, I seem to remember reading that its very strong and good for spiking canister shells. It wasnt too expensive, 5 bucks or so. And I got some gummed tape at Staples. All is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Hemp twine is an excellent substitute for flax. I have rolls of each. The hemp seems a bit stronger "per-strand" than the flax. (And the flax twine smells like goat piss to boot.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justanotherpyro Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I discovered a neat little trick. If you add &fmt=18 to the end of a link on youtube it plays it at better quality. It takes longer to load but there is a huge difference. Example. (like isn't real) www.youtube.com/ASDFIGUGJGJSDFGJwww.youtube.com/ASDFIGUGJGJSDFGJ&fmt=18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I agree. I have moved to using the same hemp twine almost exclusively now for all sized shells from 1 1/4" to 5". I have been using the thinner stuff, 20# I believe for most spikings up to 5" canisters. They are breaking great, so I'm not going to chance it with the heavier 48#. Maybe for a 6". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ULTRABUF Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Oooh I got the stuff thats like 1/8" thick, should I get the thinner stuff instead? The largest I make is 4 inchers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50AE Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I discovered a neat little trick. If you add &fmt=18 to the end of a link on youtube it plays it at better quality. It takes longer to load but there is a huge difference. Example. (like isn't real) www.youtube.com/ASDFIGUGJGJSDFGJwww.youtube.com/ASDFIGUGJGJSDFGJ&fmt=18 This works only for videos who are uploaded with a higher quality than the standart one. For these, there is a button bellow the clip "Watch in high quality". You don't need to put &fmt=18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmarley5780 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 ----Flax twine ---- http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=96958 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLAST420 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I discovered a neat little trick. If you add &fmt=18 to the end of a link on youtube it plays it at better quality. It takes longer to load but there is a huge difference. Example. (like isn't real) www.youtube.com/ASDFIGUGJGJSDFGJwww.youtube.com/ASDFIGUGJGJSDFGJ&fmt=18 lol.....ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogy Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 A place I work at sells very strong Flax twine for $0.50 a 300\500 foot roll... I can't remember the length, though, once I find it, I'll test tensile strength, and buy an assload to send to people if you're interested (at no profit on my end). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Just recieved a 1TB external USB HDD ... Going to put alot of stuff on it. Rip my CDs to it, OS distros, some portable applications should the need arise, backups for all the installers for the programs I use alot, backup of my bookmarks and website that has been in the works for like a year now, pictures, game CD .iso images, and the massive archives of chemistry, pyro, diy, survival, martial arts, and other things. Bad part is I have work in a few mintues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50AE Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Seems that CD's are going to die, like floppys. Look how expensive and slower they are, comparing to an external HDD. Liker here I can buy 320GB with good speed and quality for 80 Euro. A CD costs minimum 0.40Euro. To have 320GB on CDs, it will cost me ~182Euro. And CDs are slower, and need burning. DVDs can be still used for some time, but they're also expensive compaired to external HDDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 It really makes me nervous to see that NO reasonably-priced backup method exists to make archival copies of our data. The available sizes of external HDD's have far outstripped any Tape Backup units which the average person can afford. I have a very nice Dell Powervault DLT IV backup sitting at my feet. Capacity? FORTY GIG, and that's "with compression"!! That means with ZIP or RAR files, the tape is full with TWENTY Gig... FFS...... my smallest HDD is 150 GB. And with the DLT IV transfer speed being what it is, it takes 3 hours to write one tape, and ANOTHER three hours to verify it. It's for sale to anyone willing to pony up $300 plus shipping and insurance. It originally cost $1100, in 2002. *sigh* Maybe this belongs in the depression thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 TS: There are blu-ray writers availible, much faster than tape and like 40gb/disc I think. Writers were $500 last I looked. Frogy: I'd be interested in a few rolls if it's decent stuff. FrankRizzo might too, maybe figure how many would fill a flat rate box and let me know.. I'll make sure he sees your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Hmmm.... Blu-Ray *specification* has the capability to write that much data, but last I heard there was: 1) no writer available with that capacity yet, and2) no media with that capacity yet, either. Unless I missed something recently, which is certainly possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50AE Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Blu-Ray may be faster and have more space, but still 500$. I prefer the external HDDs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 TS: There is a company out there with production FD-ROM backup devices.. I think their top line models are up to 400G now... If you can afford them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogy Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 It really makes me nervous to see that NO reasonably-priced backup method exists to make archival copies of our data. The available sizes of external HDD's have far outstripped any Tape Backup units which the average person can afford. I have a very nice Dell Powervault DLT IV backup sitting at my feet. Capacity? FORTY GIG, and that's "with compression"!! That means with ZIP or RAR files, the tape is full with TWENTY Gig... FFS...... my smallest HDD is 150 GB. And with the DLT IV transfer speed being what it is, it takes 3 hours to write one tape, and ANOTHER three hours to verify it. It's for sale to anyone willing to pony up $300 plus shipping and insurance. It originally cost $1100, in 2002. *sigh* Maybe this belongs in the depression thread.Heh... The server at an Agricultural place I work on computers at fairly often, backs up every night with a 80 Gig (compressed) backup tape system... They also have 15000 RPM SSCI though They've been using the same backup tapes for as long as I can remember... years... Well same system, the tapes are eventually rotated out though... The twine is strong, I can tell you that, but it is currently at my other house... I could just buy some more tomorrow... I believe they're 500 ft for $0.50 + 1.0675 (tax) * .9 (10% employee discount)... Just pay shipping, and a 3 cent tip of so... just kidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Frogy, the HDD speed is almost irrelevant. The limiting factor is the hardware in the tape unit. DLT IV was fast in its day, but no more. When the tape unit filled its write buffer from the HDD, the activity light on the HDD only "blinked" for about 0.1 second. Writing that block to tape took about 10 seconds. I'm betting the tape unit you're seeing is an AIC unit rather than DLT? If you get back out there and think of it, look at a tape if one is lying around. They're clearly marked as to type. AIC was a lot faster, though still slow compared to today. I just have the sinking feeling that by the time 40 GB Blu-Ray writers and media are readily available and affordable for the home user, our "regular home user" HDD's will be in the 10-20 TB range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I was under the impression that blu-ray writers were only about $300 and 50GB blu-ray discs were available being 25GB per side or something... hmm... DVD is 4.7Gb... DVD-DL is 8 point something Gb... http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....-ray+DVD+Burner If that link works like its supposed to you should see a list of the 7 blue-ray DVD burners at NewEgg.com right now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Looks like I was more out of the loop than I thought. The link you provided includes one free 25GB disc for the top listed burner, an LG model. Let's see what media is available...... YOWCH! $15 per disk for 25GB media. Not as bad as the first DVD-R DL media ($20 a pop) but still damned expensive. And at 15 bucks a pop for media, that would mean ...... $90 to back up a 150 GB HDD. And at 2X write speed...... urgh. Still not an acceptable backup method, IMHO. And I feel lazy this morning, so what's the difference between BD-R and BD-RE? The capacity is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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