Lost a full shift to a cheap collet set

Bought a no-name collet set online for $60 last month. First part ran fine. Second part had a 0.005" runout I couldn't tune out. Spent 8 hours checking the spindle, tramming the vise, re-indicating everything. Finally swapped in an old brand name collet. Runout dropped to under 0.0005" instantly. Wasted a whole day's pay on that junk. What brands do you guys actually trust for R8 collets?

Warning: I started using a 4-inch putty knife to spread adhesive for vinyl plank and it cut my time in half on a 1200 sq ft job in Boise.

I was fighting with a trowel for years until a guy at the supply house told me to just use the flat edge to lay down a consistent bed, and now I'll never go back, has anyone else tried this method on a big glue-down job?

Hot take: The coffee shop near my office has become a full-time remote work hub

I went to The Daily Grind on 5th Street yesterday and counted 17 people with laptops open, all clearly doing their day jobs. The manager told me they've had to double their power outlets and are considering a time limit. Is this just my city, or are we all turning cafes into unofficial satellite offices now?

Spent $40 on fancy paper for a zine and it totally backfired

Honestly, I bought this expensive handmade paper from an art store for my latest poetry zine. I thought the texture would make it feel special, but my printer just jammed and smeared ink all over it. Wasted the whole pack, which was like 20 sheets. Has anyone found a good, reliable paper that still looks nice but won't wreck your printer?

I was at a hotel spa in Asheville last weekend and saw they had a full LED light therapy room set up for guests. Has anyone worked with those systems?

Bought a $400 drywall lift for a single big ceiling job...

Had to do a 20 foot by 15 foot living room ceiling by myself last month. Rented a lift before and it was fine, but figured buying one would pay off. Used it for that one job and now it's just taking up a huge amount of space in my garage. It worked great, but I'm starting to think the rental fee would have been smarter. Anyone else have a tool they bought for one specific thing that just sits now?

My wife made me try a paper planner after I lost my phone for the third time this year

I thought it was just a fancy notebook, but after two months of writing everything down, I haven't missed a single appointment or forgotten a grocery item. Has anyone else made the switch from digital calendars and actually stuck with it?

I finally switched from a fancy pen to a basic ballpoint for my daily log and it's been a game changer for 3 months