Always begin any electrical procedure by shutting the breaker off and testing the project with a multitester to confirm that no power is present. On a modern basic light switch there are three wires. One wire is the line wire that comes from the breaker box. Another wire is the load wire that goes to the light fixture or possibly an outlet that is to be controlled by the switch. The third is simply a ground wire that is connected to the side of the switch with a green screw.

The most common reason for replacement of a switch is that it fails to make sufficient contact internally to turn on the lights. Another reason would be an impact to the switch resulting in a break to the toggle or surrounding area. To replace the switch, turn off the breaker and remove the switch plate. Remove the retaining screws and pull the switch forward and remove the wires. Reverse the procedure with your new switch and turn on the power.

An outlet that needs to be replaced is usually a result of an impact. Outlets in open, high traffic areas often suffer regular abuse, particularly in public places where sweepers or buffers are being used. Outlets that provide power to high amperage appliances such as microwaves will occasionally need to be replaced as the internal contacts become less reliable due to overheating.

Basic outlets generally have five wires unless the outlet in question happens to be the last one on the circuit. Aside from the green ground, there will be a black and white wire feeding the top or bottom of the outlet and another white and black leaving the outlet providing power to the next outlet in the circuit.

When you replace an outlet, check to see if the outlet is fifteen or twenty amps and replace it with the same. If you aren’t sure just take it to the hardware store and get some help choosing your new outlet. Replacing an outlet is just like replacing a switch. Turn the breaker off and verify the power is off with a multimeter. Remove the cover plate and the retaining screws and pull the outlet from the box and then the wires from the outlet. Reverse the procedure to reinstall your new outlet.

I hope this has given you some insight regarding switches and outlets. Remember that in any home repair project that safety is the most important aspect. Consult a professional if you ever have doubts about your ability to complete a task.

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Tulsa, Oklahoma is one of the best well kept secrets.  Not counting ocean front states and the Great Lake states, Oklahoma offers the most water shoreline than any of the other states.  Several of our lakes are large enough on which one can get lost. One of the largest lakes is the only one in Oklahoma in which one can have water front property, it has floating restaurants and several islands, some of which come up for sale on occasion, at a very pretty price.  Most of the lakes offer nice easy to difficult trails, cabins for sale or rent and moderate rock climbing and repelling.  We also have several rivers in which one can canoe, though the water is only rapid enough to carry you downstream in the Spring, rather than you carrying your boat downstream.  The water does run fast enough after a good rain for it to make standing in the water and climbing out of the rapids difficult. 

We offer yachting and canoeing clubs, caving and rock climbing clubs, a scuba diving club, skydiving club, hunting club, martial arts clubs and every other club from A to Z.  For the more intellectual types; or, for those like myself we offer both sports clubs and intellect clubs: examples of these would be the writing club, chess club, Psychology club, Civics clubs, astronomy and other science clubs, art clubs and book reading clubs. 

Tulsa is an average sized city, population about 400,000.  If one counts the suburbs, there are close to a million of us.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that we had just about every kind of club one could possibly want to join, some are free and the rest are less than $50 dollars a year to join and all of them allow you to use their equipment, such as with the caving, repelling and astronomy clubs.

If you live in a small town and don’t want to drive to the city nearest you to join the club you’d be most interested in; then, perhaps you could get enough friends and other town people together to form one of your own clubs.  By charging dues, about $25 a year, then you’d be able to save the money to go places together.  Camping is likely the cheapest kind of club to begin or canoeing.  A person can buy a raft or kayak for $50.00 to $800.00.  If your interest lies more in caving or repelling, you can send off for information on the subject from various park rangers and Chambers of Commerce.  Once you find out what kind of equipment you’ll need and how much it will cost, you can set monthly dues until everyone has the needed items, then, reduce the cost to join and stay in it.  Perhaps, some of the persons you know in town who’d be interested in joining would already have some of the needed items.  Maybe one or two would have RV’s or other campers and someone else would have repelling gear; it’s possible they’d taken up the sport before and quit for a while or maybe they were on a search and rescue team and have this kind of equipment.

Either way, it is possible to start your own club if you’re an hour or so from the largest city that would offer these kinds of items for entertainment and it is one of the best ways to meet new people, maybe even that special person.  So, go clubbing and form one and see what the world has to offer out there.  This kind of clubbing one won’t regret, as you’ll remember what you did last night and with whom you stayed the night; you won’t wake with a headache and you’ll not regret with whom you stayed the night.  Nor will there be any unwanted surprises – like pregnancy or disease. 

Now, either take a walk on this wild side or exercise the old gray matter with the more philosophical and intellectual ventures.http://waterfeaturepump.org/ http://l96airsoft.com/

A Vegetarian Cure for Diabetes?

Most people looking for Mister or Misses right often fail to heed the warning signs when they’re first noted. In fact, people looking for that special someone tend to write off these warnings or excuse them for one reason or another. For example, if you find yourself dating a past drug user, you may excuse this based on the fact that you have experimented with it yourself or that you’re not perfect either and don’t have the right to judge someone else. Another example might be the way the man you’re dating talks to his mother. He may justify this by telling you that’s just how they’ve always communicated and then you overlook it. This is going to spell trouble later. I assure you that if he isn’t respectful to his mother, he won’t respect you.

Now, I’m all for second chances. Most of us have done something in the past we wished we hadn’t, but if it’s an addictive behavior your potential mate had – make sure that it was years in the past.

Dangerous Red Flags:

1. Addiction to drugs/ alcohol

2. Jealousy

3. Quick to anger

Any of these will likely indicate that this person, whether it be male or, sometimes now female will become verbally, emotionally or physically abusive.

Caution for Orange flags:

1. Clings too much to mother

2. Different religions

3. Large difference in intelligence level

These things one should be cautious of; these relationships might be workable, but make sure to get to know the person better before proceeding too quickly. A man who clings too much to his mother is going to expect his wife to be like her, cook like her and clean up after him as she would’ve done. Persons with different religious beliefs can often have serious conflicts. Same with the intelligence level. If one wants to have serious discussions with their mate, it’s best that he or she is capable of carrying on a conversation. This would also help to avoid jealousy in the relationship. One wouldn’t want a potential spouse to brag to their friends about how smart you are and then, behind closed doors tell you how stupid you are.

One last consideration, know if your potential spouse is going to be willing to defend you should the need arise. And always listen to and heed that little voice inside you. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

Pay attention to how this person treats others. If they’re considerate and open doors for strangers, excuse themselves for nearly running into someone, they’re likely going to be considerate to you.

Watch how they interact with friends and family. If they embarrass them in public, they likely won’t have a problem embarrassing you in public and in private either.

Alicia

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Last weekend I even went to the extent of building a bird feeder. After looking at them at the home improvement stores, I decided not only could I build a better bird feeder but it would also be cheaper. After a couple of hours at the workbench and my table saw, I was finished. I filled it with bird seed and hung it in the backyard and within minutes I had a cardinal checking out my handywork. If that is all it took to get some more birds to my backyard, I should have done it years ago.

lee

how to make a bird feeder

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Something that happens frequently to interior doors in homes that are older than 20 years is that the hinge screw holes get stripped out. Not only is a loose interior door a nuisance, it can also be a hazard. One of the easier ways to repair a stripped out screw hole in a door is to put something in the hole to provide extra material for the screw to grab onto. In my years as a repair man, I’ve used toothpicks, match sticks and wood splinters shaved from a pencil to repair loose doors.

The trick is to put enough material in the hole for the screw to grab, but not so much that the wood around the screw hole wants to split when the hinge is tightened down. One solution that I’ve found works very well is to purchase some 6-8 x 3/4″ tapered plastic anchors. Take the plastic anchors and use a hammer to tap one into each screw hole that is stripped out. If you have tapped the anchors in as far as they will go and you still have some plastic protruding from the hole, you can take a razor knife or a wood chisel and cut off the excess plastic. Although these anchors are not specifically designed for this project, they happen to work perfectly.

When you have your anchors installed, you can then line up the hinges with the door and begin to install your screws. This part of the process is much easier if you have a cordless drill with a Phillips style bit. While it is important that you don’t over-tighten the screws, remember that you can always start over if you make a mistake. You want the screws to be snug but you don’t want to go so far that you are stripping the hole again.

While this is a fairly simple project for the home handy person, it sometimes takes a little practice to get it just right. However, after the repair you will be glad you took the time to fix it yourself.

Something I’ve noticed in some of the newer homes is the lack of proper lighting in the garage. Sometimes the contractor who built the home will only install one or two single bulb porcelain sockets. For the home owner who may use his or her garage for more than parking their car, this simply isn’t enough light. Extra lighting means extra safety and the garage is no exception. Fortunately adding some extra light to your garage is an extremely simple task.

Any home improvement store will carry a variety of fluorescent shop lighting and these lights work beautifully when it comes to illuminating your garage. Fluorescent lighting is low in power consumption so more is better. I like to use the eight foot, double bulb fixtures in my garage. You can simply use the existing electrical box and mount the fluorescent light fixture over it after removing the old fixture.

To begin, you will want to shut the breaker off to the fixture. Simply turning the switch off will cut the power to the fixture, but I like to be extra safe and shut the whole circuit off. Remove the screws holding the old light fixture in place and disconnect the wiring. There will be a hot, neutral and ground wire. This is a good time to use a stud sensor to find ceiling joists to provide extra support for your new light fixture.

Take the cover off of your new fluorescent light fixture and find the hole in the middle of the fixture to guide the wiring through. This part will be easier if you have two people working together, one person to hold the fixture in place and the other to install the screws and do the wiring.

After you get your new light fixture wired and mounted, it’s time to put the cover back on the fixture and install your bulbs. You can then turn the circuit breaker back on, flip the switch and admire your new light. You will find that you’ll appreciate the extra light whether you are working out in your garage or bringing in the groceries.

1. Build a bluebird house. This is one of my favorite easy woodworking projects for adults that want to introduce kids to woodworking. Birdhouses don’t have to be perfect when they are finished and you can decorate them anyway you like. Birds are thankful for anything you throw together for them. This task can be completed with minimal power tools if any and there are free plans all over the internet for bluebird houses. One reason that this is such a fun project is that once it is completed, you get to hang it up outside and see how long it takes to get an occupant. You can probably complete this project for under ten dollars in lumber.

2. Make a small wooden box. This is another fun and easy woodworking project that can be completed for under ten dollars depending on the size of your box. Wooden boxes can be very plain and useful or they can be adorned with fancy hardware, hinges and hasps and used to decorate a room. Wooden boxes can also make great gifts to give away at birthdays and holidays. Everyone likes a neat little box, especially if you stuff it with things they like.

3. Make a wooden shelf. This is as easy as it gets in our easy woodworking project lineup. The simplest of wooden shelves just need a top (to put things on) and a back so you can mount it to the wall. You can either put hangers at either end on the back of your shelf towards the top and hang it on a couple of nails if you are going to put lightweight items on it or you can drill holes in the back and mount it with screws or anchors to the wall if your shelf is bigger or you plan to put heavier items on it.

After twenty years of making things out of wood for myself and to give to others I can tell you that woodworking is a super fun and rewarding hobby and you don’t have to think big to get started. Why not go get a board and make something today?

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Computers and computer components have come a long way in the last ten years. Back then, it may have been difficult to build your own computer, but that is definitely a thing of the past. If you can use a screwdriver and load software on a pc, then you can build your own computer.

When procuring parts to build your computer, you will need to make sure that the motherboard you have chosen has the proper socket for the processor you want to use. Intel and Athlon processors both have many different socket configurations. Every motherboard is made to fit a specific processor.

When you have your motherboard and processor picked out, you will want to make sure that the ram (memory) you buy is also compatible with the motherboard. The motherboard specifications will let you know what memory you will need. It is also important that the motherboard fits the computer case. Cases and motherboards come in atx and micro atx format and you will want them to match. A micro atx motherboard will work in an atx computer case but not vice versa. If your case does not come with a power supply for your computer system, then you will have to purchase one.

When you get your case, processor, motherboard and ram picked out, you will need to choose a hard drive. Hard drive storage space is inexpensive now and I usually like to install a 500gb hard drive in my computers. Some would say that no one should need that kind of space, but I love music and games and I do not believe I can have too much space.

Another thing you will need for your computer is dvd player or burner. There are many quality dvd burners for your computer that can be had for less than $35. Also, if the motherboard you’ve chosen doesn’t have video out or you need extra power for graphic intensive games, you will want to purchase a video card.

After assembling all of the above, you will need to install motherboard drivers and an operating system. This may seem daunting, but it is really easier than it seems. There are many very good computer forums on the internet and some of them have areas for people who are trying to build their own computers.

I had a real sense of accomplishment when I built my first computer. It was fun and a lot easier than I thought it would be. So if you are in the market for a new pc, consider building your own.