Remco, I wish we had those woodworking clubs around here. There’s been more than few times when a panel planer would have been nice. A programmable router would be a nice asset to have access to also.
We have one in Norwalk CT. It is apparently a chain because I worked with guys that were members of a different one, elsewhere in the state.
We’ve discussed the feasibility of having a DIY garage before. The problem is the cost of rent and insurance. Insurance for this type of business is very high. Real-estate in the Boston area is very high. Only a couple of other places in the US are higher.
I’d like the Woodworkers club also. I don’t dabble enough in woodworking to justify buying some very expensive tools. Table-Saw, Radial-arm saw, router table and a few hand tools are about it. Planer would be nice to have…Even used these tools are expensive.
I’ve made numerous pieces of furniture over the years including a Queen Anne Highboy with Cabriole legs. I have a hutch & cupboard still in daily use that I made in 1969. I’ve been at it a while.
I haven’t come close to making anything like that…
Made a couple of vanity cabinets for bathrooms we’ve owned.
Furniture pieces…I’ve built 4 pairs of high-end speakers. Currently using 2 pairs in my home theater now.
But I do like doing it. I really want to get more into it when I retire. I have a few projects I want to do, but just don’t have the time.
I’ve restored antique stuff my wife has dragged in the house and built a number of things like cabinets, outside furniture, arbors, etc. Our house was built in the early 1900s so it requires a fair bit of woodworking to keep it looking nice. As mentioned above, it is an excuse to buy tools. The one major tool I do not have (yet) is a lathe.
Not sure what everyone else does but I work in science and technology so it is relaxing to use a totally different part of the brain, creating saw dust and getting filthy in the process.
While rolling around, I’ve noticed lots of larger complexes with several bays that have been empty for 20 years. They’d be perfect. All you need is power, a fridge for beer and a lift. 
I’ve been wondering how many car guys it would take, willing to pitch in some money and work, to buy one of those things and turn it into a place to store and work on cars, hang out, etc.
My wife has already said she’d never see me, should that ever come true.
We can dream, I guess…
Edit:Oops, that last bit didn’t come out right. I love spending time with my wife - truly do. 
I am a man. But I can change. If I have to. I guess.
I’d love a facility like that to bang around in as a club member. I suspect the reason we don;t have them around here may be the weather. Our cars spend too much time a mess. We’ll get a lousy day Thursday, the car will get covered in road crap, then the temperature will drop below freezing, prohibiting a decent washing. We struggle just to keep the cars free of too much crap.
RemcoW, and the same mountainbike,
Good advice, gentlemen! I have enjoyed following this thread even if it did start out Click and Clack and ended up Red Green. Hmmm, do you still need an over-sized drain plug if you wrap it with a few layers of duct-tape first? Just kidding! (I wish Red Green was still on PBS in Oregon!)
I agree with urging those who are able, and can find a place, to change their own oil, I’ve done it myself a number of times; now I have one of my grown nephews change it. (If I were to try to change it myself now, I’d need to rent a self-service bay somewhere, just so I could use the hydraulic lift to get ME back up off the ground! Arthritis and knees don’t mix well!)
With regards to what oil to use: I agree with you again, the same mountainbike, “use what your owner’s manual recommends. Don’t try to outsmart the guys that designed the vehicle.” Amen to that!
I even changed a water pump once, when my father was too old to crawl under my car; he sat by and guided me step by step. I didn’t screw anything up, so I was glad to have made the effort and saved the money! (And it was great to have such a wonderful “foreman” to oversee and direct the project, I sure miss him!) I would recommend that women who are mechanically inclined learn to change their oil, and change a flat, too. It can be a life-saver in a pinch
Yup, I agree. Women can be just as capable as men in doing work on anything.
I’ve been talking to a couple of car friends and teach especially new drivers the basics* this coming spring. Nothing official nor crazy formal and long - we’ll start with kids of friends and teach them just enough to get them an idea of what’s what.
The idea came from when a son of a friend of mine paid $350 for a ‘pad slap’ brake job. The kid works too hard for his money to fork over that kind of cash for a job that simple. It is that ‘teach a man how to fish…’ sort of principle.
Besides obviously saving money, there’s a certain pride even on doing something relatively simple, being able to say you did something a mechanic would have charged real money for.
*(use of basic tools, change oil, replace brakes, tires, battery related stuff, simple inspection, etc)
My wife has helped me work on ours on numerous occasions. Once (quite a while ago), we swapped an automatic for a manual - with the pedals, clutch master/slave, lines and all that entails. She worked mostly in the vehicle, and I worked mostly out. Only took us a couple days.
i remember when we first started dating, winter in NH, I had my motorcycle engine in the basement and we spent hours cleaning, measuring and putting it all back together. I went through the 4 stroke cycle with her step by step, and she was extremely helpful, and her input was valuable to me. That was in 1983, and I still have that bike today, and it still runs rather well (although it does burn some oil). Haven’t rebuilt it since, either. Not too shabby for a 1975 Japanese bike that really wasn’t meant to last.
Steve is correct, there is not enough difference to worry about unless you live in a very cold climate…
But as with any motor oil thread, you will get at least 50 replies with 20 different answers. Take your pick!
I KNEW this thread would go 50 posts! Even though it degenerated into drivel…
Caddyman–I can help this thread degenerate into more drivel. I was with a couple of upperclassman when I was in college and we found that the “proper” visosity oil for a 1950 Pontiac straight eight was 90 weight gearl lube. We were returning to campus late at night and were 25 miles out when a rod bearing started knocking. We pulled into an all-night filling station and had the crankcase filled with the 90 weight gear lube. We then push started the engine and made it back to campus The next day, a wrecker hauled the Pontiac to the junk yard. Desperate men do desperate things.
Maybe it should be locked before we start arguing about to what oil is best when.