Heath Eastman shares his tips and tools homeowners can use to identify and label home circuit breakers; Tom Silva discusses his hobby of lathe turning, why he enjoys it, and shares some of his favorite pieces he’s created. Then, in Build It, he shows how to turn a segmented bowl, which is comprised of multiple pieces of wood glued together and turned, creating a unique visual effect.
Master electrician Heath Eastman shows host Kevin O’Connor how to label a breaker panel back at the shop. Heath shows Kevin some of the tools he uses to find and identify breakers, as well as his label maker. But when individually printed labels aren’t possible due to space constraints, Heath says a printable template that can be sized for any space and printed on adhesive paper does the trick.
Next, general contractor Tom Silva tells us about one of his favorite hobbies: wood turning. While he doesn’t consider himself an expert, Tom loves to work on the lathe and has tackled small projects nearly all his life. Now that he isn’t running a contracting firm anymore, he can spend more time turning, trying new things, and honing his skills.
Finally, we meet back at the shop so Tom can show Kevin how to turn an orange osage and walnut segmented bowl on the lathe. Tom shows Kevin how to cut individual pieces and glue them together to make the segments and how to carve and finish the bowl for a perfect finish.
How to Label a Circuit Breaker
Master electrician Heath Eastman shows host Kevin O’Connor how to label a breaker panel. Heath shows Kevin some of the tools he uses to find and identify breakers, as well as his label maker. But, Heath says when individually printed labels aren’t possible due to space constraints, a printable template that can be sized for any space and printed on adhesive paper does the trick.
Where to find it?
To better organize an electrical panel, Heath recommends using a label maker to create clean-looking labels with adhesive backing.
If space is an issue and your panel can’t accommodate larger labels, use a label template that can be easily resized to fit neatly. Panel label templates can be found online and printed off with adhesive paper.
Use a circuit breaker finder to accurately identify which breakers are connected to what receptacle without having to interrupt service.
Tom Silva: A Lathe Guy
General contractor Tom Silva tells us about one of his favorite hobbies: wood turning. While he doesn’t consider himself an expert, Tom loves to work on the lathe and has tackled small projects nearly all his life. Now that he isn’t running a contracting firm anymore, he can spend more time turning, trying new things, and honing his skills.
Build It | Segmented Bowl
Tom Silva shows Kevin O’Connor how to turn an orange osage and walnut segmented bowl on the lathe. Tom shows Kevin how to cut individual pieces and glue them together to make the segments and how to carve and finish the bowl for a perfect finish.
Where to find it?
Tom and Kevin work together to turn a segmented bowl on the lathe machine. For lumber materials, Tom selects Osage orange and walnut.
Tom uses a jigsaw to cut out four sections for the wheels. For the worktop, Tom makes the cuts using a miter saw with a standard wood cutting blade. They secure the worktop to the metal frame using heavy duty wood screws.
For easy measuring and consistent cuts, Tom and Kevin include a Track and Stop kit. To keep the boards in place, they also include a Feather board.
Power the lathe on and slowly bring it up to speed. Taking your time with this step will help ensure the block is properly secured and will spin well. Get the rough shape of the bowl on the outside using a parting tool. Do this until the bowl is roughly to the desired shape and smoothness. Get the smooth shape of the bowl on the outside using a bowl gouge.
Remove the bowl from the spur and clamp the dowel at the bottom of the bowl using the
spindle. Turn the lathe back on, allow it to get to speed, and repeat the process for the inside of the bowl.
To finish off the bowl, hand sand using 100-160 grit sandpaper until smooth. Once smooth to the touch, use a paper towel to generously apply a food-safe finishing oil.
Tom used a lathe manufactured by Laguna Tools. Odie’s Oil manufactures the food-safe finishing oil.
Original Air Date: Feb 1, 2023, Season 22; Ep. 13 23:42
Products and services from this episode
- Jig manufacturer: Track and Stop kit
- Lathe manufacturer: Laguna Tools
- Food-safe finishing oil manufacturer: Odie’s Oil
