bulletpruf
Well-known member
Good luck with the surgery, Strouty. Also curious to hear how the compressors work out.
Scott
Scott
Something just clicked…..
- Thread starter Strouty
- Start date
I think the surgery is more of a procedure, but the doc calls it surgery so he can charge more. I am anticipating that I will still be out and about during the recovery, just a little more limited on what I can do.
I am about ready to head to the shop, I need to do a few things to the compressor in order to actually use it. I know that the other day I could not find any of my fittings and valves, so I need to take a look around, I do not want to buy more stuff that I all ready own! I figure if I can't find the stuff this weekend, I will buy replacements on Monday and have the compressor up and running before my "procedure" on Tuesday.
I am about ready to head to the shop, I need to do a few things to the compressor in order to actually use it. I know that the other day I could not find any of my fittings and valves, so I need to take a look around, I do not want to buy more stuff that I all ready own! I figure if I can't find the stuff this weekend, I will buy replacements on Monday and have the compressor up and running before my "procedure" on Tuesday.
You've reached a milestone with the compressor that I was not sure we would ever see: making actual air. I almost told you to cut bait with it last fall when it got piled with all the other stuff for winter. Then I figured why ***** about something not mine not in my building? Congrats.
I will admit that when I opened up my pole building to kick on the compressor to air up a flat tire on the plow truck last week, I did not think about your lack of air at all, unlike last year.
I will admit that when I opened up my pole building to kick on the compressor to air up a flat tire on the plow truck last week, I did not think about your lack of air at all, unlike last year.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
Yes, a mile stone it is.
I want to redo my garage and install galv. pipe for my compressor, I think I have all the parts, Just need a kick in the pants to get started. As I have been finding parts that I think I could use on my pipe project, I have been putting them all in a spare drawer in one of my old tool boxes, Just to keep them all where I can find them when I want them.
I want to redo my garage and install galv. pipe for my compressor, I think I have all the parts, Just need a kick in the pants to get started. As I have been finding parts that I think I could use on my pipe project, I have been putting them all in a spare drawer in one of my old tool boxes, Just to keep them all where I can find them when I want them.
DonPowers
Well-known member
9s, what are you doing up so early?
Thanks guys, I will admit I thought I was never going to have a working compressor again, I am almost there. The budget is going to be tight as I have some bills that are due soon and this year is not looking like I will be doing nearly as much paid work. I figure I will make due with what I have for parts, then once I get back into making money I will fix things up the way I would like them. I am still working on those pesky "needs" versus "wants".
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
As long as you know the differences.
dkmc
Well-known member
Strouty
You and I have a lot in common.
I spent a couple hours this afternoon reading from page 1 to 26, and then the last 3 pages up to "here". Over the years I've had a lot of the same problems as you.
My skills are Engineer, Machinist, and Welder. I've had the "GREAT DEAL" addiction
since 1980. Unlike you, I am very fortunate? to have approximately 9000 square feet of roof covered enablement, that causes me daily grief. Because I have no inherent natural organizational skills what so ever. It's a constant struggle! And I've been at it and self employed for the last 35 years. With all the outpouring of support you've gotten in these 175+ pages, I am tempted to start my own thread on the subject.
You've made great strides in your efforts in these pages.
Many of the 'deals' you've scored are well worth the effort and outlay you've given.
I do admit, some of them have even made me envious! And you should take that as a complement. Sometimes when I venture out, I see all the people out there in the nasty world clawing for a living. The cashier at the Mini Mart. The hurried and haggard waitress in the restaurant. The guys at the Tire Store, they change, mount, and balance tires all-day-long.
You and I......WE HAVE shops to GO TO! WE HAVE SPACE!
We don't just use compressed air all day......we OWN the compressor......that we got as a sweet deal. We have knowledge of tools and machines and "STUFF"......industrial stuff.
We have so much power! And knowledge.
WE ARE SO LUCKY!
Be thankful for that when you walk in YOUR shop and look around at YOUR tools and
equipment. Please TRY to use every hour at your shop doing what makes you happy and proud.
It is NOT easy.
Small steps.
You and I have a lot in common.
I spent a couple hours this afternoon reading from page 1 to 26, and then the last 3 pages up to "here". Over the years I've had a lot of the same problems as you.
My skills are Engineer, Machinist, and Welder. I've had the "GREAT DEAL" addiction
since 1980. Unlike you, I am very fortunate? to have approximately 9000 square feet of roof covered enablement, that causes me daily grief. Because I have no inherent natural organizational skills what so ever. It's a constant struggle! And I've been at it and self employed for the last 35 years. With all the outpouring of support you've gotten in these 175+ pages, I am tempted to start my own thread on the subject.
You've made great strides in your efforts in these pages.
Many of the 'deals' you've scored are well worth the effort and outlay you've given.
I do admit, some of them have even made me envious! And you should take that as a complement. Sometimes when I venture out, I see all the people out there in the nasty world clawing for a living. The cashier at the Mini Mart. The hurried and haggard waitress in the restaurant. The guys at the Tire Store, they change, mount, and balance tires all-day-long.
You and I......WE HAVE shops to GO TO! WE HAVE SPACE!
We don't just use compressed air all day......we OWN the compressor......that we got as a sweet deal. We have knowledge of tools and machines and "STUFF"......industrial stuff.
We have so much power! And knowledge.
WE ARE SO LUCKY!
Be thankful for that when you walk in YOUR shop and look around at YOUR tools and
equipment. Please TRY to use every hour at your shop doing what makes you happy and proud.
It is NOT easy.
Small steps.
Thanks DKMC, there are several of us that I am sure would love to see your shop. If you need motivation, we try and spread it around. Passing up "deals" can be one of the toughest things for people like us, I have become a little more selective in the last year or so. I hope to become downright ruthless in the next few years. I figure once I get some of the big projects out of the way, then I can go back into deal mode from time to time. We are like addicts, so it is pretty hard to completely stop, the search is usually more than half the fun.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
I have the same problem with tool sales/auctions.
Just about the time I get my shop cleaned out, I bring in a new load of stuff.
Just about the time I get my shop cleaned out, I bring in a new load of stuff.
I am working on not having that happen. Right now it seems to be two steps forward and one step back, before it was more like two steps froward and five back. I can see a big difference and hope that things don't go backwards on me. The shop is not going to get nearly as much attention this year as I would like, but I have a lot of things going on in my personal life that need attention. At least I have my priorities straight, I think years ago I would have put my stuff ahead of all else.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
life gets busy, but you will find a little time for the shop also. If nothing more than a place to get away from every thing else.
bulletpruf
Well-known member
Here is a random idea; plan ahead for another milestone. Six months from now, hold a Mohawk installation gathering. Plenty of time to figure out where to put it and to acquire any hardware needed. 3 or 10 guys can get it going easily in a few hours.
No need to stress about anything, you can make it BYOB. Or your girlfriend can boil some lobsters if she's into that.
I know you don't like deadlines but wouldn't it be nice looking forward and know that on **-**-2016, the lift will be born?
People might travel a long way so see Maine in the Summertime, you could charge admission to see some of your towers and your dad's collection of stuff....
No need to stress about anything, you can make it BYOB. Or your girlfriend can boil some lobsters if she's into that.
I know you don't like deadlines but wouldn't it be nice looking forward and know that on **-**-2016, the lift will be born?
People might travel a long way so see Maine in the Summertime, you could charge admission to see some of your towers and your dad's collection of stuff....
I think this year is going to be the year of the machines. The lift is not nearly as important to me right now. I have access to my Dad's lift and a friend's lift if I really need to do something. I would like to see the big drill press running, the ironworker running, the bridgeport running, the lathe running, the sewing machines running, the thermal printer running, and of course the air compressor. I am sure I have forgotten about something, but you get the idea. This doesn't even take into consideration all the other things I have to do for work, plus my personal stuff and the house is still in disrepair. Then my GF's Mom is trying to get her house on the market and it is full of **** that we are going to have to deal with, oh and I just had a good customer ask me about installation of another monopole on his property. I still have plenty to do outside as well, so I think my plate is all ready full enough to call it a year!
Yesterday my GF helped me for a few hours and we cleaned up the office. I still have a mess, but it is a little smaller now. I hope to use the recovery time to catch up on (really starting) my file system, it appears to be so haphazard that I can't find anything unless it is by accident. I struggle with two issues and they transfer to the shop as well. First I am a perfectionist, so if I can't do it "right", I don't like to do it at all. this thread has been helping with that, but I still have a long way to go. Second is that when I can't see something, it seems to disappear, (at least from my mind), this is a bad thing when it comes to bills and other time sensitive things. There are other issues like labeling things and creating organizing systems that are so complex I can't remember how they work. These are my biggest hang ups so far.
I have all the basics, all the organizational tools, all the supplies that I need, I just have to get so that I use them and that is where the procrastination comes in! Anyways, enough of me and my sob stories, I am off to do the last few physical things before my procedure tomorrow slows me down to a crawl.
I have all the basics, all the organizational tools, all the supplies that I need, I just have to get so that I use them and that is where the procrastination comes in! Anyways, enough of me and my sob stories, I am off to do the last few physical things before my procedure tomorrow slows me down to a crawl.
I use a really simple file system now, I used to have a complex system and found that I would put off filing just because it was so much work.
Now I have two file folders for unpaid bills where they go as they come in One for the bills I need to pay in the first half of the month and one for the second half of the month.
Then I have a folder for each bill where they go when they are paid, Water and gas in one folder, bank statements in another etc...at the end of the year they all go in a bankers box or 2 and I start all over for the new year.
That is all in one drawer and nothing else goes in that drawer. I have a drawer for important papers sorted alphabetically AAA coverage would be the first folder in that drawer.
All my machine manuals etc. are in another drawer.
All the work related stuff is in it's own 4 drawer, contracts, bids, invoices in alphabetic order by the name of the company/person. Easy to file and find what I need.
This reminds me that I need to take some time and go through the work cabinet and get rid of all the old stuff I don't need anymore, I try and do that once a year.
I made it as simple as I could that way I use it instead of letting stuff pile up.
Now I have two file folders for unpaid bills where they go as they come in One for the bills I need to pay in the first half of the month and one for the second half of the month.
Then I have a folder for each bill where they go when they are paid, Water and gas in one folder, bank statements in another etc...at the end of the year they all go in a bankers box or 2 and I start all over for the new year.
That is all in one drawer and nothing else goes in that drawer. I have a drawer for important papers sorted alphabetically AAA coverage would be the first folder in that drawer.
All my machine manuals etc. are in another drawer.
All the work related stuff is in it's own 4 drawer, contracts, bids, invoices in alphabetic order by the name of the company/person. Easy to file and find what I need.
This reminds me that I need to take some time and go through the work cabinet and get rid of all the old stuff I don't need anymore, I try and do that once a year.
I made it as simple as I could that way I use it instead of letting stuff pile up.
egnorant
Well-known member
Preach it brother! I made a vow of no new projects and equipment until I trimmed a LOT off. Failed miserably! It actually seems as if I have accelerated in buying ****!
Sure, now I have a space to work and even more space cleared for storage AND can now find stuff in my hoard. And somehow I manage to make all the money spent and then some back quickly, I still have added to my hoard. A lot of space can be a curse!!
Logically I can look at the scrap metal mountain and say I am waiting for scrap prices to go up some it still bothers me.
As for passing up deals, it can sometimes be impossible! Find that Holy Grail car (67 Mustang fastback), big load of free Mustang parts, 4 60s and 70s Fords with many parts for a steal, auction where $5.00 buys stuff that is sold for $650 in 2 days!
For the month of March I have one estate sale, 2 auctions and a swap meet on my schedule. Hard to stop...funny.
Bruce
bczygan
Well-known member
Strouty,
Good luck with the procedure. When he says "You are going to feel a little pressure", brace yourself!
I know how you feel about having a thousand things that will need doing.
It feels like it will be impossible to get them all done.
But if you take a look back at what you have accomplished, you will see it is all possible.
What you have done is to prioritize, to choose what is worth doing and what isn't.
You've done enough to make real decent progress, and still not feel like you are a prisoner to the work.
Just keep doing that.
On the hoarders group I am on we deal with perfectionism by using the phrase "Broad brush strokes".
Whenever we do a task, we hit it with broad brush strokes first, knowing full well that we will be going over it again later, sometimes more then once.
Bill
Good luck with the procedure. When he says "You are going to feel a little pressure", brace yourself!
I know how you feel about having a thousand things that will need doing.
It feels like it will be impossible to get them all done.
But if you take a look back at what you have accomplished, you will see it is all possible.
What you have done is to prioritize, to choose what is worth doing and what isn't.
You've done enough to make real decent progress, and still not feel like you are a prisoner to the work.
Just keep doing that.
On the hoarders group I am on we deal with perfectionism by using the phrase "Broad brush strokes".
Whenever we do a task, we hit it with broad brush strokes first, knowing full well that we will be going over it again later, sometimes more then once.
Bill
bczygan
Well-known member
Filing system?
Every piece of mail that comes to the house gets interrogated on the front porch.
90% never makes it in the door.
All junk mail is tossed.
Envelopes and return envelopes trashed (We pay all bills on line).
Only critical things come inside.
The rest of the filing system is that I give it all to Julie to do.
A lot less stress for me!
How do I avoid too many "Great buys"?
First, I have very limited space. So if I want to actually be able to use what I have, I cannot just buy things willy-nilly. Just being a great buy isn't enough for something to qualify. It has to be on my list, or something I obviously need. In addition, I have to have a place to put it right now. And since I already have most of the things I need, my list is pretty short.
Also, besides looking at CL, I go to no other places where I might find stuff. No resales, garage sales, auctions or machinery sales places. This slows the acquisition rate dramatically.
And I don't use the excuse that I can flip things to make money. I've put so many things in the trash, that I paid good money for, and could have tried to sell, that thinking of loading myself down with that responsibility seems just foolish.
I am free of that.
I already have enough things I HAVE to do, and want to get to the things I WANT to do.
Bill
Every piece of mail that comes to the house gets interrogated on the front porch.
90% never makes it in the door.
All junk mail is tossed.
Envelopes and return envelopes trashed (We pay all bills on line).
Only critical things come inside.
The rest of the filing system is that I give it all to Julie to do.
A lot less stress for me!
How do I avoid too many "Great buys"?
First, I have very limited space. So if I want to actually be able to use what I have, I cannot just buy things willy-nilly. Just being a great buy isn't enough for something to qualify. It has to be on my list, or something I obviously need. In addition, I have to have a place to put it right now. And since I already have most of the things I need, my list is pretty short.
Also, besides looking at CL, I go to no other places where I might find stuff. No resales, garage sales, auctions or machinery sales places. This slows the acquisition rate dramatically.
And I don't use the excuse that I can flip things to make money. I've put so many things in the trash, that I paid good money for, and could have tried to sell, that thinking of loading myself down with that responsibility seems just foolish.
I am free of that.
I already have enough things I HAVE to do, and want to get to the things I WANT to do.
Bill
You guys are great, I appreciate all the well wishing, hopefully I won't need it!
I have been busy as can be today, made some huge progress (at least as far as I am concerned) and will be working late. I am off to get a bite to eat, when I get done I will post a few pictures of the progress. I will have plenty to do during the recovery and what I have been doing today is going to make it much easier to get things done.
Thumper, your file systems sounds similar to what I am going to try, having my GF look at me like I had three heads when I tried to explain how I wanted to file things made me rethink things. Right now I am hungry so gotta go.
I have been busy as can be today, made some huge progress (at least as far as I am concerned) and will be working late. I am off to get a bite to eat, when I get done I will post a few pictures of the progress. I will have plenty to do during the recovery and what I have been doing today is going to make it much easier to get things done.
Thumper, your file systems sounds similar to what I am going to try, having my GF look at me like I had three heads when I tried to explain how I wanted to file things made me rethink things. Right now I am hungry so gotta go.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
hello group, having great time at the beach. Weather was suppose to be crappy, but they were wrong again. Rained real hard for 10min. then it was out of its system. Great day. Warm.
Thumper, since you brought up manuals, at what point do you consider them worth saving? I have a ton of them, some are good, parts list and maybe a break down, but most are totally just a two page how to, surrounded by 10 pages of safety and another 10 pages for additional languages. What do you keep and what do you toss?
bczygan
Well-known member
If I can find the manual in digital format, I toss the paper one. Especially true for ones with hundreds of pages. And the short meaningless ones are all lost somewhere, so it doesn't really matter if I ever find them. If I do, I'll probably pitch them. Another thing that I don't care if it gets ruined.
Also, all old bills get **** canned whenever I find them.
Receipts only kept for big dollar items, and then just for a year or two. After that, it's pointless. The item either worked, or it didn't.
Bill
I tend to keep the whole manual, I write the date purchased, where I purchased it, the serial number and cost inside the front cover.
Might be overkill but it's working for now at least, only have a 2 drawer legal sized cabinet for them and it is only about half full.
Might be overkill but it's working for now at least, only have a 2 drawer legal sized cabinet for them and it is only about half full.
Looking good, now you just need some pipe connected.
The office is clean and I am going to really try to keep it this way. We took out all my old tax files from the file cabinets and put them in plastic bankers boxes. I need to talk with my accountant and figure out what I can toss, I had some years filed late, so I think they have to hang around for a while before they can be shredded. Keep in mind this is business stuff, not personal. It was nice because it emptied out almost half the drawers in my file cabinets, so now I have room to put things away and not have to stuff things in where they fit.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
look at all that stuff all in totes stacked up above the door way out of the way, Even has labels on the totes. Now that is a huge step in its self.
the compressor with one of the motors on it, all set in where it belongs.
Looking good.
Also Good luck with your procedure tomorrow.
the compressor with one of the motors on it, all set in where it belongs.
Looking good.
Also Good luck with your procedure tomorrow.
bczygan
Well-known member
Nice!
I like the clean white cabinets and bins up high.
RC sailboats?
Nice compressor. I was given a beast like that and left it in the yard for a year before giving it back. The guy junked it.
Wow, the rest of the shop is **** and span.
What will you do with your time, now that everything is done?
Bill
I like the clean white cabinets and bins up high.
RC sailboats?
Nice compressor. I was given a beast like that and left it in the yard for a year before giving it back. The guy junked it.
Wow, the rest of the shop is **** and span.
What will you do with your time, now that everything is done?
Bill
Last edited:
On top of all this the Snap On driver came over and we pulled the top drawers out of my toolbox so I can add some more bolts to hold the top down. Snap On decided that two bolts, one in the center of each end, was enough to keep a 30" deep by 84" wide top stay flat. Well it warps and looks like ****. The plan is to remove the top and drill holes so I can add some threaded inserts into the wood under the stainless, then each end will have three bolts, the middle has no good location to bolt it, but it seems fine, hopefully it will work the way we think. That top is freaking heavy, next Monday we will try and finish it, then put the drawers back in, but we will be using the forklift to pick it up.
You are correct you are an enabler! 
I was told to keep my Business records for 10 years so that is what I have done, all packed up in bankers boxes one or two for each year stashed up on a shelf.
The personal ones I keep for 7 years.
I don't think I have shredded anything for about 3 years so that is something I need to do as well.
I was told to keep my Business records for 10 years so that is what I have done, all packed up in bankers boxes one or two for each year stashed up on a shelf.
The personal ones I keep for 7 years.
I don't think I have shredded anything for about 3 years so that is something I need to do as well.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
Your shop is looking nicer every time I see it. You have a ways to go, But you have came so far. A huge difference. Way to go.
Ok I now will get off my cheer leading box.
It is starting to look like a shop that we all would love to have.
Raining here harder than I think I have ever seen it rain before.
Ok I now will get off my cheer leading box.
It is starting to look like a shop that we all would love to have.
Raining here harder than I think I have ever seen it rain before.
