Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Fred's (hopefully) excellent HT adventure

Yeah thanks for that fred , now I am starting to think its a good idea. Seems my retirement fund is going to be coming up short. Must stop reading this thread.

Retirement is highly over-rated. My father tried 4 times.

Projectors on the other hand...

My HDMI cable finally came tonight. I was beginning to worry that it got caught up in the Christmas rush. I also picked up a longer power cable and VGA cable (for computer hookups should my son end up at my place this summer).

Last night I cut the mounting rail to size, drilled holes in in it for the concrete bolts, marked out the ceiling and generally got ready to mount the projector.

Tonight was almost a wash out. Every Home Depot has the 1 1/2" pipe I needed and will cut to size and thread. Except in Canada that is. Apparently us Canadians just aren't man enough and stop short a 1 1/4". I also still don't have the ceiling mount part as I can't find it locally... or a working drill as it turns out (drill press doesn't count). Sigh, more shopping.

No worries though. I made supper and watched Passchendaele. Great movie, but no nausea inducing scenes. Still, tonight I felt the screen might be just a little big. I'll have to try a couple of movies at 106" to see how that feels. 110" is just so immersive though!

After being happily retired for over a decade, I have become quite good at it actually. I find that the best thing about retirement is that I now associate only with those people that I want to have around.

That alone is great for one's mental health...

TAM

Snicker. Good catch.

Who knew drilling a couple of holes could be so difficult. 3 days, two sets of bits and two drills later I have two [barely] acceptable holes and a crappy set of bits to return.

How can Tapcon throw in a bit that is so far our that a 5/32 bit is likely to produce a 3/16 hole?? How can a major drill manufacturer sell the same bit as part of a kit?? Well, OK, it probably created a 1/8 hole... more or less. It's a good thing those Tapcon concrete screws rated for 250lb don't have to hold anything close to their rated tolerance.

How could I be so stupid as to think that the tool specialists in the tool department in Home depot had a clue what they have on the shelf let alone what the best tool might be?????

/rant

Normally I research the crap out of stuff before I buy. I'm off to Home Depot now to return stuff.

Dumb question

You used a hammer drill, right?

Hammer drill + hammer drill bit = tapcon success.

The bits in the tapcon screw pack are barely passable for grout even.

I feel your pain.

I've used Tapcon and various similar-type replacements(Cobra, Duracut) all over the basement(subfloor, framework to hold insulation batts against wall) to great effect. Alas, I must admit I have a Rotary Hammer with SDS bits, not the straight shank bits you get with the screws/hammer drill.

Well, um,

I've drilled holes in concrete (a wall) with a regular drill with success before using a nail to break up aggregate. When its two holes in 5 years, it's hard to justify a hammer drill.

Doesn't work so well in a ceiling though.

I'm currently contemplating returning the cheapo hammer drill I bought for one that at least has some metal parts in the gear box... If I can figure out at which price point that happens. Nobody seems to be aware of what's inside the drill.

Edit: I actually had one guy tell me the new brushless motor drills have no gearbox. I find that very hard to believe.

When we moved our hoist at work , the boss bought a 1/2" mastercraft combination hammer drill and it worked great and still does even after drilling 10 5/8 holes in the concrete. Chances are you wont need the hammer drill again but the one he got functions as a regular drill as well.

Hmm, I suppose a 1/2" drill should have a larger gear box. I went by Canadian Tire today and did not even see a shelf space for the 1/2" hammer drill, but according to their web app there are two in the very store I was at. Go figure.

Edit: are you talking cordless or corded?

Edit the edit: never mind, the one I currently have is 1/2"