Welcome to the IHoP v.2

[Julian 641]

2 hours ago, sandt38 said:

 

night time Gold Lions

 

 

Day time gold lion

System as it sits now. I will be adding the tube phono stage and Paradigm Prestige.

Gold Lions front view.

Cabinets look beautiful, what did you use to finish them? I need to do something to my MTM kit since the bare MDF is pretty unappealing to look at.

[dem beats 1,223]

1 hour ago, Julian said:

Do you do any isolation workouts? Concentration curls with usually a fairly manageable weight high reps has done wonders for me, preacher curls,  Standing One-Arm Dumbbell Curl Over Incline Bench, and sometimes the curl machine are by far my favorite bicep workouts. 

The biggest change for me was instead of doing the typical body builder split I went  to doing body parts twice a week, one day doing barbell workouts and the other day doing dumbbell workouts. 

I almost always finish with preacher curls. Lately I have been augmenting my standing curls with overhand standing curls to work the brachilis a bit more.

 

For a while I was dedicating an entire day to arms, focusing on biceps.

[sandt38 448]

Thanks Julian!

I veneered them with curly mahogany, added black walnut on the edges, 1 coat of schelac and 16 coats of brushing lacquer. I have about 2 months of finish work into them.

 

[sandt38 448]

Matt, which Stihl saw did you buy?

I am wanting an 18-20 inch saw, 2.5 or better horses and reliability. I also want an anti-vibe body. I want to keep it around $300. I have it narrowed down to the Stihl 251 WoodBoss at $329 and the Husqvarna 40.9cc 18 incher for $299. Both have anti-vibe and easy self oilers. The Stihl has an extra .5HP, but the Husky has a decompression valve for easy start.

I feel like I want another Stihl, but Husqvarna is also a strong choice. I don't want to seem like a Stihl fanboi, and Husky has a killer reputation. Even though the Sthil seems like the best buy, I want to be sure you have no regrets. My Stihl saw is ~40 years old, so I don't have any personal ownership experience with the newer saws. My experiance is using friends'/neighbors' Stihls and my experiences have all been positive. I just want more owners' opinions.

[nem 2,019]

7 hours ago, dem beats said:

 

I have tried almost every approach. Right now I work biceps after a big compound.

 

I have done high reps and high weight.

 

What works best so far is adding in a metric ton of these super light resistance band sets. It's not enough to even really stress the bicep but it Definately helps growth 

I like to do movements based on muscle twitch fibers. It really seems to work well for me, but it is very old school. 

[nem 2,019]

Seth that is a lot of sexiness!!!

[sandt38 448]

Thanks, Neal. It's been a lot of time, effort, work, money, and frustration! At some point my quest will be over... of course that would involve 2 VAC Statement 450S IQ Monoblocks, VAC Statement Phono, VAC Statement Line pre, some Tidal Sunray T1s and a Goldmund Reference ii. Of course, I would need to with the lottery to pay for that cool 3/4 of a million dollar 2 channel analog set up. For records... Jeezus.

 

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Love my Stihl, but can't tell you the model.  It's from 2001, so it's not exactly newer.

[nem 2,019]

I have an old .024 from the early 90's and it still kicks ass for small stuff.

[nem 2,019]

After a day of being enslaved by Aaron I am glad the little man Arthur bailed me out.

[nem 2,019]

Tomorrow will bring another gun show, not sure if I should take my wallet...

[nem 2,019]

Matt, I think we have another 1911 guy. Maybe he can tell us himself.

[Julian 641]

5 hours ago, dem beats said:

I almost always finish with preacher curls. Lately I have been augmenting my standing curls with overhand standing curls to work the brachilis a bit more.

 

For a while I was dedicating an entire day to arms, focusing on biceps.

Add some variety with your workouts, it helped me.

 

Here is my split

Sun: Chest, Back, abs

Mon: Arms, forearms, Shoulders

Tue:Legs, lower back, abs

Wed: Chest, Back, abs

Thur: Arms, Forearms, Shoulder

Fri, Legs, lower back, abs

Sat: Rest Day

So basically every single day biceps are being hit either directly or as apart of compound lifts.

[Julian 641]

5 hours ago, sandt38 said:

Thanks Julian!

I veneered them with curly mahogany, added black walnut on the edges, 1 coat of schelac and 16 coats of brushing lacquer. I have about 2 months of finish work into them.

 

Where did you pick your veneer up from?

I really like the grain pattern, I was actually looking to find some similar to what you have but with a dark coffee color.

[///M5 2,833]

Stop spending my money Seth!

[sandt38 448]

16 hours ago, Julian said:

Where did you pick your veneer up from?

I really like the grain pattern, I was actually looking to find some similar to what you have but with a dark coffee color.

I got that from a local wood crafters show. But I have bought some from http://www.veneersupplies.com/categories/Specialty__Veneer/

 

Try looking for Cocobolo, Macasar Ebony, Bubinga, Rosewood or Sapale. I have a ton of Sapale Pommelle laying around that I would love to use. I have been contemplating a nice 2 way passive Dipole with a small incorporated active sub.

 

FWIW, that is unstained mahogany. You can also stain it if you so desire.

[sandt38 448]

Went and looked at the Husqvarna today and walked right the hell out and headed to the Stihl dealer. The Husky felt like a cheap plastic piece of shit. My son and I checked out the Stihls last night and I liked the 251 Woodboss better than the 250. So I went up to the chainsaws and the 251 was gone! Dude told me that a guy came in this morning and grabbed the last one. So I said fuck it, just give me the 250. So he takes it in the back, oils and fuels it up and goes to start it... 30 pulls later we decided that was not the model for me.

He ordered me a 251 Woodboss. It will be in on Wednesday.

The Husqvarnas seriously disappointed me. They are always touted as such a great saw. I have played with their older models and was extremely impressed. When I grabbed up the Huskys at Lowes I was shocked. They looked cheap, and felt even cheaper. I know that the Husky combi units like my Stihl are Honda built, and they are impressive, but the Husky saws feel like cheap Poulans. The small, less expensive "entry level" Stihl 170, 181, and 211s were even nicer to the touch. They felt more substantial, even though they were much smaller (5-10cc) than the Husky.

[sandt38 448]

38 minutes ago, ///M5 said:

Stop spending my money Seth!

Que?

 

[Julian 641]

1 hour ago, sandt38 said:

I got that from a local wood crafters show. But I have bought some from http://www.veneersupplies.com/categories/Specialty__Veneer/

 

Try looking for Cocobolo, Macasar Ebony, Bubinga, Rosewood or Sapale. I have a ton of Sapale Pommelle laying around that I would love to use. I have been contemplating a nice 2 way passive Dipole with a small incorporated active sub.

 

FWIW, that is unstained mahogany. You can also stain it if you so desire.

actually ebony would be just about perfect. I think that's what my coffee table is veneered with.

What do you think? It looks ebony ish

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60261155/

[Penguin4x4 1,761]

[nem 2,019]

1 minute ago, Penguin4x4 said:

 

Went to one today.

[sandt38 448]

The description is stained poplar, but I would say it is very close to an ebony finish. Maybe closer to a rosewood?

[nem 2,019]

I did my best not to buy anything but CLP.

[sandt38 448]

I went to one about 3 weeks ago. Prices were absurd. They had my .40 Shield there for $475... I paid $349 just a few months ago, and bought my lady a 9mm for $329 right before Christmas. I bought nothing, and overspent on parking ($5) and entry fees ($11).

[Julian 641]

2 hours ago, sandt38 said:

Went and looked at the Husqvarna today and walked right the hell out and headed to the Stihl dealer. The Husky felt like a cheap plastic piece of shit. My son and I checked out the Stihls last night and I liked the 251 Woodboss better than the 250. So I went up to the chainsaws and the 251 was gone! Dude told me that a guy came in this morning and grabbed the last one. So I said fuck it, just give me the 250. So he takes it in the back, oils and fuels it up and goes to start it... 30 pulls later we decided that was not the model for me.

He ordered me a 251 Woodboss. It will be in on Wednesday.

The Husqvarnas seriously disappointed me. They are always touted as such a great saw. I have played with their older models and was extremely impressed. When I grabbed up the Huskys at Lowes I was shocked. They looked cheap, and felt even cheaper. I know that the Husky combi units like my Stihl are Honda built, and they are impressive, but the Husky saws feel like cheap Poulans. The small, less expensive "entry level" Stihl 170, 181, and 211s were even nicer to the touch. They felt more substantial, even though they were much smaller (5-10cc) than the Husky.

At my old job we used a lot of Stihl products, everything from trimmers, saws, leaf blowers, etc. Very rarely did we have an issue with them outside of the employees treating the equipment shit. Parts are pretty cheap and plentiful so repairing them isn't a huge hassle.