Thread: Are your capabilities widely known?

Originally Posted by PDW

People who try to guilt-trip me with comments on how lucky I am to have all that machinery while they have nothing get really short shrift.

PDW

Yes, it's called hard work, discipline, going without luxuries and making your own beer.

It has nothing to do with 'luck'.

Sometimes making your own beer is handy for the 'home engineer' for three reasons:

1) You can save a lot of money. Say if you buy a slab a week, $40 (or thereabouts) multiplied by 52 (weeks) gives you an additional $2000 to spend on essential machinery or tools.

2) You can make a really bad batch for the 'bots'. Usually people who want stuff done for nothing will also over indulge on free beer, causing nasty hangovers. Most of the time they won't be back.

3) As well as the above, you can also drink it.

Originally Posted by Dave J

Reminds me of a story my mates dad (who is a machinist) told me.
He moved in close to me and his shed can be seen from the road, one day he had a guy open the gate and come in with a mower part he needed machining as a favour, and because he seen he had the gear he thought he could do it.
My mates day said fine it should take me about an hour and the guy was ready to leave.
My mates dad then said the mower is over there and while I am doing it you can mow my lawn. The guy stepped back and said your kidding right, which he replied you want me to work on your part for an hour while your at the pub or something relaxing? The guy said not to worry about and left with his part.

I thought that was a great way of getting someone to pay on the spot with no coin involved.

Dave

That story sounds familiar to me too Dave, and if you'd asked me, I would have thought that I read it on Practical Machinist, but the version I read had the person asking machining favours, being told to supply the materials needed, any machine tooling and coolants or lubricants etc, and then they had to get on the mower or blockbuster while the machinist went to work. Plenty of light cuts, fine feeds and lots of measuring went on, and the job got a final polish when completed. He did pretty well everything except paint it and wait for the paint to dry before letting the freeloader off the treadmill. Only had to do it once he said, and it worked for him.

I have told the same story somewhere else, but not sure where. I have never seen the one on PM you are talking about as I don't visit there much.
My mates dad does not get on the internet so it wasn't him. He never did the job, so there was no light cuts or anything like that, and he never saw the bloke before or after then either.
Maybe someone saw my story and added to it. I posted it a couple of years ago as I thought it was a classic and had never even thought of something like saying that. He told me about it when I got the old Ward lathe off him and my Hobart TIG, which was around 6 or more years ago now.

Dave

It was definitely some time ago now Dave, and as you say someone may have added to it, or just my old brain getting random bits of memory and jumbling it all together, who knows. Either way it give ammo to anyone facing a hoard of freeloaders. Cheers,
Rob.

No worries, I just thought I would clear it up as I heard it from him.
My mates dad is a funny sort of fellow, sometimes you don't know if he is really serious. I would say when it happened the guy thought he was kidding him.
It's funny I am friends with his son who is around my age through motor cross bikes, but get on well with his dad because he is a machinist. His son is not even remotely interested in machining when there is a whole shed full of gear.
His dad made up sprockets for him to suit stretched chains on motor cross bikes when he was young and just riding around the paddock, saved money.

Dave

I have this annoying neighbour that for years used me up but never repayed a single favour until one day I asked him for some help and he had every excuse in the book why he could not do it . So about a month later he asked me if I had an electric drill he could borrow . I think you all know what the reply was "F off" and don't come back.
I just have a policy now where I just do not lend tools at all to anybody because if someone cuts his hand off you can loose everything you own.
I lent a step ladder to a neighbour and the idiot fell off it and was going to sue me .
However his adult son who was a real nice guy was so embarrassed about his fathers behaviour that he convinced him to not pursue it any further , I think a slap up the side of the head was mentioned .
Now I just say no even to my own family . If my soninlaw needs a tool so bad I will buy it for him and give it to him as a gift and then it is his responsibility how he uses his own tools . Way cheaper than a law suit. It seems an extreme view but once you have had legal council tell you that it could cost you $10 000 to fight the case and if he wins another possible $20 000 to 50 000 in compensation for the alleged back injury which I reckon he already had for just trying to be a good neighbour you soon realize the risks in modern society . Scared me straight I will tell you. So now If Jesus came asking me to lend him a screw driver I would tell him no also .

Originally Posted by Dave J

LOL

I don't lend my tools, but my son always seems to find the keys when I am out.

Dave

Dave mate , buddy , can I borrow your workshop crane for about 25 years or so.

Originally Posted by Dave J

LOL

I don't lend my tools, but my son always seems to find the keys when I am out.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I have the reverse problem, Josh has better tools than me, he's got a good selection of LN planes and good quality chisels, Japanese, socket chisels, you name it.. About the only area I've got him beat is saws, He's got his LN saws, I've got ones I've made and a pretty fair assortment of others...

In any case we share the workshop a lot of the time, and it always works out pretty well. If I can't find something it's his fault!, if he can't find something it's usually my fault...

I've never had anyone borrow tools and return them in good time and condition, so borrowing tools is restricted to lending the cheap stuff (which I seem to have collected a fair selection of anyway..) but good quality tools, nope, not in this lifetime...

Regards
Ray

Originally Posted by Retromilling

I have this annoying neighbour that for years used me up but never repayed a single favour until one day I asked him for some help and he had every excuse in the book why he could not do it . So about a month later he asked me if I had an electric drill he could borrow . I think you all know what the reply was "F off" and don't come back.
I just have a policy now where I just do not lend tools at all to anybody because if someone cuts his hand off you can loose everything you own.
I lent a step ladder to a neighbour and the idiot fell off it and was going to sue me .
However his adult son who was a real nice guy was so embarrassed about his fathers behaviour that he convinced him to not pursue it any further , I think a slap up the side of the head was mentioned .
Now I just say no even to my own family . If my soninlaw needs a tool so bad I will buy it for him and give it to him as a gift and then it is his responsibility how he uses his own tools . Way cheaper than a law suit. It seems an extreme view but once you have had legal council tell you that it could cost you $10 000 to fight the case and if he wins another possible $20 000 to 50 000 in compensation for the alleged back injury which I reckon he already had for just trying to be a good neighbour you soon realize the risks in modern society . Scared me straight I will tell you. So now If Jesus came asking me to lend him a screw driver I would tell him no also .

It's depressing to realise that this is probably good advice.
If anyone wants something from me to do a job, I go and do it for them. I don't mind helping out, my tools come back and nobody gets hurt. If the job even hints at being problematic I'm honest and say that I (and my tools) don't want to get involved - you need a professional. I never charge money because that implies a guarantee. The what goes around principle has worked well for me. Cheers - Mick

I learnt another tack on the accepted “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” adage.

Many years ago when I first moved to a country block from Melbourne, I found myself having to tackle things I’d never come across before. How does one pull out a star stake for example or how do you wring a chooks neck?

My sons had made friends with some kids down the road and the friends Dad turned out to be the most helpful fellow I had ever met. He taught me heaps by showing me how to do things. Whenever I had a problem, he was the go-to guy. Problem was there was nothing I had or knew that I might possibly be able to help him with. It was a one way trip of help and advice.
To the point that I just could not bring myself to seek his help after a while. It all seemed so one sided.

Then one day, I bumped into him down the road and we had a chat about nothing much at all. He spoke of another neighbour that had asked for some help recently and he said. “I don’t mind helping people out that are trying to help themselves. But that guy won’t lift a finger to help himself”

It was a bit of a light bulb moment for me. I’d been brought up with the “What goes around comes around” or “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” lessons of life.
Everything was a fair exchange. You get back what you put in.

But this neighbour taught me something else about helping out. Things don’t necessarily need to be a fair exchange, to be right. I rather liked his philosophy and have tried my best to adopt it ever since.

Cheers
Jim

I agree with you Grandad, its hard to "get back" at some one who doesn't show any needs. But there is always a bang up feed, BBQ or baked dinner, that wold do the job well. You can't offer cash, as this is not a currency in this case, but a decent feed and spread goes a long way. Its also a time when you can invite his other half so she can size you up and see who the bloke is that has borrowed hers at times. Its a great way of cementing a neighbourly bond. And there should be more of it!!!

Yes I agree also . However your friend has never needed your help and as a result you have never refused to help him. That is fine , no problem.
One day he may need you and that is the time to pay back . It's the principle of the whole thing not the amount of who does what for whom.

Originally Posted by Grandad-5

But this neighbour taught me something else about helping out. Things don’t necessarily need to be a fair exchange, to be right. I rather liked his philosophy and have tried my best to adopt it ever since.

Cheers
Jim

The way I look at this is, you can't necessarily pay a favour or assistance back, but you can pay it on to someone else in need. Doesn't have to be equal between 2 people.

Friend of mine asked me to come & pick up 6 bays of Dexion racking that was taking up space at his workplace, take it away. Was I doing him a favour, or he doing me one? Now I have to clear off an entire wall in the shed to erect it. One of these days.

PDW

Ill do anything for anyone,wether that be at a price or favour/free.
Only time I get annoyed is when people arent specfic.
You could possably say specfic/honest but theres nothing worse than when somebody wants something and there not up front totally.
Not sure about others here ,but how many times has someone said I need it 25 or about 25.
Most people dont understand tollerances unless they have used them.
About 25 could be anything same as 25 could be anything.
Most of time I am usually very abrupt with people,not that it wastes my time but I cant suffer fools or idiots,and most people dont like to be told.