Bikes: Swapping in Studded Winter Tires

Swapping in Studded Tires for a winter bicycle
   Its time, well a little past even. With that last Minnesota thaw, I was happy that I still had snow tires on, but with the latest cold blast, it seems the ice is here to stay. This week I swapped out my front tire on the snow bike for a studded tire, making it a snow and ice champion. This is a 'can swing a hammer' project, fer sure. Here's how to do it:

1) Remove the wheel.
   -let the air out of the tube. you can either use a tool to push in a schreoder valve (shown) or unscrew the valve on a presta and push it in with your finger.
   -you may still need to loosen the brakes to remove the wheel. For linear pull, remove the metal 'noodle' from its harness, or for cantilever, pull the metal quick release end of the straddle cable.

2 ) Remove the old tire.


   -insert a tire lever under the tire and pop it off the rim with the 'spoon.'
   -run the lever all the way around the rest of the tire bead/rim so that one side is completely off.
   -the other side should come off easily with only the force of your thumbs. Finally, pull the valve from the valve hole, and set the tire aside.

3) Install the new tire

   -set the new tire/tube up next the rim and start the new tire installation by doing the reverse of removal. install the valve into the valve hole, push one side on with your thumbs, then use the lever to 'pop' in the other side.
   -make sure to reattach the brake cable and check that the wheel is centered.




4) Pump it up!

   -double check to verify the valve is sitting in a 90 degree position perpendicular to the rim. that way the valve hole can't dig into the valve and cause air leakage later.
   -refer to the tire casing for the proper amount of air the tire should be pumped to. I generally leave it at the lowest end for snow/ice winter riding.

5) Get out and ride!
   You can find a handy multi-tool like the one shown for a bout $30 from your friendly local bike shop, and studded winter tires like these generally run for $60-$100 depending on size, quality, and availability.

Thanks for tuning in,
DIY Dads with Beards

Kid approved!

Home: Repairing sagging kitchen cabinets - DIY Dads with Beards

Sagging Kitchen Cabinets
   Have you noticed your cabinet doors don't close properly, or swing open on their own? What's up with that gap between the wall and the back of the cabinet?

Mind the gap.

   Sagging cabinets can be caused be several things: poor materials, poor construction, poor installation, too much weight, or just old age. Usually there is a combination of these issues that causes enough sagging for us to notice it, and it that point it needs to be dealt with immediately, for the worst case scenario is that the cabinets loose their structural integrity and send all of their contents onto the floor, and possibly even, you or your child who put a little too much weight on it when reaching up for a sippy cup.

  So let's fix'em! If you can swing a hammer and use a screw gun, this project will be easy for you.

1) The first step is to remove all of the contents of the cabinet, and put them out of reach of the kids. A large bin with a snap lid would be a great tool for this.

2) Assess the damage and integrity of the cabinets. In our case, the condition is due to poor quality, poor construction, and poor installation. The good news is, with some reinforcement, they should last at least a few more years until we can afford to renovate and replace the cabinets that came with the house.

3) Detach and remove cabinet to be worked on. Usually there is a
thicker support on the top and bottom of the cabinets that are used as the 'nail board', in our case there were a couple screws in each. I removed the six screws ( the top one last) and gently lowered the cabinet to the floor.




4) Repair the damage. The backing was pulling apart and the top nailer was damaged. I used 4 screws and an 'L' bracket on each of the damaged nailers, and a little glue and finish nails to reattach the backing. I also added a finish nail and some glue to the backing. Easy peasy.

Repairing broken supports

  

I used self tapping wood screws

Adding L bracket to inside nailer

Adding L bracket to top

5) Reattach the cabinet. Using my knee to prop it up, I screwed the cabinet back in with the original 3" screws that held it in place. be sure to find a stud if you are installing into drywall. Make sure that the screws pull the cabinet tight to the wall.

Drill a small pilot hole

No Gap!

6)Add more attachment points. Part of separation and warping was caused by the fact that the installers used very few attachment points. I would recommend at least 3 in each nailer, two at the edges and one center. Four if it is over 18" wide or needs to be more secure/heavy duty.

Pull the edges in with more screws

Once it is secured, make sure all shelves are properly set in their grooves, and all doors open and close freely. If done properly, the doors should no longer 'hang open.'


7) Clean to a sparkle and replace dishes!

No more sag!

Since everything is out of the cabinets, now is the time to vacuum them out, scrub off the kid splatters, and shine them up with some murphy's oil or equivalent. I would also recommend using a little wood filler to clean up any new attachment points, scuffs, etc. I opted to skip this step, since we are planning on replacing the cabinets as soon as possible, anyways.

Thanks for tuning in!
-DIY Dads with Beards