Reason 86 why I hate someone working on my stuff |
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Mark W.
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 09 Nov. 2014 Location: Silverton, OR Status: Offline Points: 7986 |
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Posted: 22 May 2020 at 1:22am |
So if any of you were to wander back to the first pages of my Britannica long project thread you would see it pretty much starts with my WIfe wanting to help jump start my getting back to work on CHUG by having my seats upholstered by a local Hot Rod upholsterer as a Christmas gift. I was at the time very hopeful. When I went to pick them up and was kind of rushed and didn't take as good of look at them as I should have. Once home I noticed a pretty good wrinkle in the Drivers seat back. For some unknown reason over the last 6 years the wrinkle has disappeared (being stored upstairs in a very warm room is most likely the reason. And he of course scratched all my seat frame paint up and sprayed glue all over another part of the frame. OK so all that is behind me. Today I attack the driver side Shoulder belt and as I am doing that I get to the point I need to actually anchor the drivers seat in place. I fight for a good 20 min to get the bolt that goes from the inside of the wheelhouse into the frame and the captive nut. Finally in a fit of cussing that sounds like I have Tourette Syndrome and spent my life as a Merchant Sailor. I decide to pull the seat out and try to see what the hell is the hang up. I would have never guessed I thought maybe the Nut was screwed up the bolt I was using the wrong size the Moon was in the wrong house. OH no the DUMBASS upholsterer ran one of his F'ing self tapping hard steel screws right through the center of the HOLE. SO I pull the screw and cut the dam thing off so its about 1/4" long and it works. If he had moved the screw a 1/4" to the side it would have missed the Seat attachment bolt. OK I'm almost calmed down time to go back to installing seat belts.
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Chug A Lug
1948 2A Body Customized 1949 3A W/S 1957 CJ5 Frame Modified Late 50's 134L 9.25"clutch T90A D18 (1.25") D44/30 flanged E-Locker D25 5.38 Since 1962 |
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48walker
Member Joined: 17 Mar. 2017 Location: Wisconsin Status: Offline Points: 366 |
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I hear you. What is it about other people that when you pay them to do something, half the time what they end up doing is over-tightening nuts, under-tightening bolts, scratching things, bending things, losing things, scraping insulation off wires, and not cleaning up after 'finishing' their work? I've run into some great repair shops over the years, but more often there's been too little care taken with the work that's been done.
The only upside is I've learned to do a lot of work myself. (Well, and I'm also too cheap to pay someone if I can figure it out on my own.)
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timcj2a
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 19 July 2005 Location: Chula Vista, CA. Status: Offline Points: 801 |
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I spent 35 years in the commercial construction side of things and my first boss (also the owner) told me something I never forgot. He said, "you can do the greatest job ever, but if you leave the place a mess, then that's all they're going to remember".
The point is I always stood back the day before a walk thru or a punchlist and gave everything the twice over and presented things the way I thought they should be done. I was fortunate enough to have been taught by what were the last true "craftsmen", guys who cared about their work and not punching a clock. Sometimes I felt 'cursed" because I had a conscience. A lot of guys just don't care anymore. My 2 cents.
Edited by timcj2a - 22 May 2020 at 3:46am |
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Ron D
Member Joined: 27 Oct. 2019 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 1446 |
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"A lot of guys just don't care anymore." And worse, they don't want to hear about it from somebody who does. Especially old guys like me. Too bad. I let them know one way or another anyway. True American workmanship is a rare thing nowadays.
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1951 M38
1951 M100 |
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Mark W.
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 09 Nov. 2014 Location: Silverton, OR Status: Offline Points: 7986 |
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the Wife says I am my own worst critic. Pointing out all sorts of things no one else would notice. I tell her I'm not worried about other people. I want it done right.
Edited by Mark W. - 22 May 2020 at 4:39am |
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Chug A Lug
1948 2A Body Customized 1949 3A W/S 1957 CJ5 Frame Modified Late 50's 134L 9.25"clutch T90A D18 (1.25") D44/30 flanged E-Locker D25 5.38 Since 1962 |
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uncamoney
Member Joined: 26 June 2019 Location: greeley co Status: Offline Points: 451 |
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We all have things we can be proud of. I rebuilt Jeep transmissions, transfer cases, axles. Nothing ever came back. I quit throwing darts, I found out that I was the number 2 dart thrower in the state. You just do the best job you are capable of...
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john
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BD1
Member Joined: 18 Dec. 2019 Location: Maine Status: Offline Points: 630 |
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I've been running high end residential construction projects for the last 20 years, before that I was in business for myself for 10 years building more "normal" residential and small commercial projects. As a young man I worked for other builders learning the trade. I used to lament the lack of concern for quality and what I thought was a general lack of pride in their work demonstrated by the majority of people we would hire. But now, 40 years into this, with a few side excursions along the way, I have come to thinking that what we are seeing is a fundamental difference in how folks come to be in the jobs they hold and how they get trained for those jobs. When I was learning the building trade, pneumatic nails guns were brand new, and not that common. Experienced carpenters did all of the layout, 90% of the framing and maybe 10% of the sheathing. They'd put 6 nails in a sheet or sheathing board, and the younger guys, (who did 90% of the lifting and carrying, 90% of the bulk stud cutting and 90% of the "nailing off") would come behind them nailing the corners hard and nailing off the sheathing to spec, by hand. On a normal crew a young guy might nail off like that for two, or even three years before he ever got the chance to layout, or learn to cut a roof. And he might be a framing carpenter for five or six years before anyone gave him a chance to get on a finish crew or go into the cabinet shop. Along the way we saw many buildings go up, we personally experienced the issues with framing done poorly and we witnessed the reactions of our bosses, clients and building inspectors to what had been built. We knew the difference between good work and poor work before we were ever in the position to make that difference. And, we had seen more experienced carpenters advance, or be let go, based on their abilities and concern for quality.
Trades are no longer learned that way. Kids go to school for the trade, or maybe they don't, and then they're thrown into a crew which may or may not be very well supervised, and basically they are building from day one. No experience at all with the repercussions of shoddy work. No years of learning from the mistakes of others. These days, (and I'm talking the last 10 years or more), they have to learn from their own mistakes, if they are even supervised intelligently enough for that to happen. |
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BD
'47 CJ2a, Shiny on top! '55 CJ5 project |
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SE Kansas 46 CJ-2A
Member Sponsor Member x 3 Joined: 22 Jan. 2016 Location: S.E. Kansas Status: Offline Points: 3192 |
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Plumb, Level and on the Square.
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46 CJ-2A #64462 "Ol' Red" (bought April 1969)(second owner)(12 V, 11" brakes, M-38 frame, MD Juan tub)
U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer(ret.) U.S. Army Vietnam veteran and damned proud of it. |
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uncamoney
Member Joined: 26 June 2019 Location: greeley co Status: Offline Points: 451 |
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I learned mostly from my grandfather. He had a nice tool chest, I still have it and my others grand father. I know how to use everything, I scare a few people when I walk in with a tool they cant recognize. I used to crank out millwork for several houses at a time. I finally got out to work on a house and my boss leaned over my shoulder " take as much time as it takes, just do it right".
He had several contracts for new houses, the only thing was that I had to do the trim work. |
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john
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BD1
Member Joined: 18 Dec. 2019 Location: Maine Status: Offline Points: 630 |
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I have fond memories of when things were as simple as plumb, level and square. Especially square. Now it's trapezoids,multiple "X" axis lines, inverted roofs and big glass cantilevered out on steel. I miss rectangles.
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BD
'47 CJ2a, Shiny on top! '55 CJ5 project |
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Bruce W
Member Joined: 29 July 2005 Location: Northeast Colorado Status: Offline Points: 9652 |
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When I was twenty and a cocky bastage I used to say things like, "Everybody can't be perfect, and I can't be around all the time."
I've mellowed out a bit over the years, but I still say, "If ya want a thing done right, yer gonna hafta do it yerself." BW
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It is NOT a Jeep Willys! It is a Willys jeep.
Happy Trails! Good-bye, Good Luck, and May the Good Lord Take a Likin' to You! We Have Miles to Jeep, Before We Sleep. |
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OnlyOneDR
Member Joined: 05 July 2016 Location: R Status: Offline Points: 459 |
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My wife tells me the same thing and says it only needs to be 98%. At issue is my 98% is really 98% whereas her idea and most others is probably more like 85%. There is a point of diminishing returns but the payback of not ever having to mess with it again is motivation enough to do it right the first time.
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Searching for time to put it all together...
1950 CJ-3A #37751 In Pieces 1969 Chevy Blazer Resto-Mod Waiting for its day... 2001 Nissan Frontier Crawler Adventure Rig |
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Doug Timme
Member Joined: 27 Aug. 2005 Location: St. Louis Missouri Status: Offline Points: 1399 |
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I think that I would have learned by now, but it seems I have to keep reminding myself. When I reach a point in a project, where due to confidence, or lack of equpment or knowledge, I break down and decide to hire someone to do something for me, more often than not, not only does it not get done right, but the very thing I was concerned about doing myself turns out to be the biggest problem. (holy run on sentence Batman!)
Sometimes, it seems easier to whip out the wallet wrench, but it is something that usually does not end well for me.
Edited by Doug Timme - 25 May 2020 at 4:40pm |
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