4 FN 27
ALLIANCE MEMBER
And so it begins. Turning the page to another chapter in the book of life.
I started this year with 2 New Years Resolutions:
1. I will not work more than 8 hours a day and I will take all my vacation.
2. There will be no F's given.
On #1 I have faired well on the 8 hour rule for the most part. Worked a few Saturdays and a few later evenings because I wanted to...not because I had to. The vacation front...well I have failed terribly. I took 2 Fridays off this past winter to go Snowmobiling. That is it so far and if I don't burn up the rest of my vacation it will effect my bonus at the end of the year. To hold myself accountable I wrote it in my 1 page plan and made it one of my performance metrics.
On #2...well push comes to shove that has never been an issue except when it came to work and getting it done. So I would say I am 95% on the no F's given.
So what the heck does all that mean? Well I "gotta do sumthin" (GDS) as my Engine Builder use to say in the heat of the battle. He is as tireless as I am. I need something to do most of the time. Always have and I believe I always will. Legos and Erectors Sets when I was a kid. Now the things I use to dream of building have become real. The quest must continue.
9 Years ago my Wife and I purchased a property we always dreamed of. She got the house she wanted and I got the Garages I wanted. But I wanted a shop too. I have always had a shop since I was 21 years old. Never less than 7000 sq feet and never more than 10000, both leased and owned and I owe a lot of thanks to my Dad for funding it at time I couldn't. It didn't come without a price. I had to keep his fleet of vehicles running which he never drove, just collected. His taste in vehicles was and still is 180 degrees from mine. Thank God my nephew is now managing the fleet.
3 years ago I built a shop behind the house so I wouldn't have to spend so much time away from home. I was MIA for the first 20+ years of our marriage. I was either at work, at the Shop or on the road racing. She is a saint for putting up with that. She stuck by my side and supported my Shop build and continues to support it.
Over the years I have collected equipment, mostly used and moved it into the "Skunkworks" and started working out of the backyard on my personal projects instead of staying at work and getting things made where there were constant interruptions. What the heck do they do when I am not there? I know the answer to that...they figure it out. And now they are doing a better job of figuring it out because the business is doing fine, growing and the employees for the most part are happy and very productive (a blessing).
I decided with the build of the GDS "Skunkworks" out with the used and in with the new.
The latest acquisition is an OMAX 5555 Water Jet. Had a Plasma Cutter and was not happy with the edge quality (a whole other thread). Not complaining, the Plasma did exactly what it should. I was just spoiled making things on a Laser since 1979.
Tomorrow the Tech will be here to get it fired up. One more day of vacation consumed and second day on Friday leaving me with 16 more to go. Next week if things workout I should have 1-3 days of training.
I'll keep popping in here and updating as the Machine gets smarter over time (I say this in jest) working on the many projects I keep myself busy with. My goal is to keep up with Mike and his
ZMotorsports Project Thread.
...lol...
Took delivery August 3.
View media item 85956
Set it in place after carefully laying it out on the Cad File of the Building.
View media item 85957
Did a little plumbing last week. Need a hose near the front for rinsing.
View media item 85958
Ran a leg to the Pump. Need to finish this up when they get the pump to location tomorrow.
View media item 85959
Had to fabricate a Bracket back at the plant to mount the H2O line and Power. the set-up in the Brake is a makeshift flattening tool for pressing Pem Nuts into the Stainless Part.
View media item 85960
Installed. Hate the new clamps compared to the old ones. They just look cheesy being painted instead of Copper Flashed. I ran out of my old stock.
View media item 85961
Birdseye view.
View media item 85962
Since I was on the lift I took a shot of the other business end of the Skunkworks.
View media item 85963
Hope you follow along. I am always looking for pointers and new ways to do things.
Time to head up to the house. My Wife has Ice Cream waiting!!!
I started this year with 2 New Years Resolutions:
1. I will not work more than 8 hours a day and I will take all my vacation.
2. There will be no F's given.
On #1 I have faired well on the 8 hour rule for the most part. Worked a few Saturdays and a few later evenings because I wanted to...not because I had to. The vacation front...well I have failed terribly. I took 2 Fridays off this past winter to go Snowmobiling. That is it so far and if I don't burn up the rest of my vacation it will effect my bonus at the end of the year. To hold myself accountable I wrote it in my 1 page plan and made it one of my performance metrics.
On #2...well push comes to shove that has never been an issue except when it came to work and getting it done. So I would say I am 95% on the no F's given.
So what the heck does all that mean? Well I "gotta do sumthin" (GDS) as my Engine Builder use to say in the heat of the battle. He is as tireless as I am. I need something to do most of the time. Always have and I believe I always will. Legos and Erectors Sets when I was a kid. Now the things I use to dream of building have become real. The quest must continue.
9 Years ago my Wife and I purchased a property we always dreamed of. She got the house she wanted and I got the Garages I wanted. But I wanted a shop too. I have always had a shop since I was 21 years old. Never less than 7000 sq feet and never more than 10000, both leased and owned and I owe a lot of thanks to my Dad for funding it at time I couldn't. It didn't come without a price. I had to keep his fleet of vehicles running which he never drove, just collected. His taste in vehicles was and still is 180 degrees from mine. Thank God my nephew is now managing the fleet.
3 years ago I built a shop behind the house so I wouldn't have to spend so much time away from home. I was MIA for the first 20+ years of our marriage. I was either at work, at the Shop or on the road racing. She is a saint for putting up with that. She stuck by my side and supported my Shop build and continues to support it.
Over the years I have collected equipment, mostly used and moved it into the "Skunkworks" and started working out of the backyard on my personal projects instead of staying at work and getting things made where there were constant interruptions. What the heck do they do when I am not there? I know the answer to that...they figure it out. And now they are doing a better job of figuring it out because the business is doing fine, growing and the employees for the most part are happy and very productive (a blessing).
I decided with the build of the GDS "Skunkworks" out with the used and in with the new.
The latest acquisition is an OMAX 5555 Water Jet. Had a Plasma Cutter and was not happy with the edge quality (a whole other thread). Not complaining, the Plasma did exactly what it should. I was just spoiled making things on a Laser since 1979.
Tomorrow the Tech will be here to get it fired up. One more day of vacation consumed and second day on Friday leaving me with 16 more to go. Next week if things workout I should have 1-3 days of training.
I'll keep popping in here and updating as the Machine gets smarter over time (I say this in jest) working on the many projects I keep myself busy with. My goal is to keep up with Mike and his
ZMotorsports Project Thread.
...lol...Took delivery August 3.
View media item 85956
Set it in place after carefully laying it out on the Cad File of the Building.
View media item 85957
Did a little plumbing last week. Need a hose near the front for rinsing.
View media item 85958
Ran a leg to the Pump. Need to finish this up when they get the pump to location tomorrow.
View media item 85959
Had to fabricate a Bracket back at the plant to mount the H2O line and Power. the set-up in the Brake is a makeshift flattening tool for pressing Pem Nuts into the Stainless Part.
View media item 85960
Installed. Hate the new clamps compared to the old ones. They just look cheesy being painted instead of Copper Flashed. I ran out of my old stock.
View media item 85961
Birdseye view.
View media item 85962
Since I was on the lift I took a shot of the other business end of the Skunkworks.
View media item 85963
Hope you follow along. I am always looking for pointers and new ways to do things.
Time to head up to the house. My Wife has Ice Cream waiting!!!


