TWISTEDWILLOW

She really is a killer! That cat can Hunt down an kill more critters then you can shake a stick at! that orange tom cat on the other hand… is beyond lazy and strangely he drools like a dog…

Jerry now you got me wondering if a bumper crop of space tomatoes might be worth living in a rural crater! I’ll have to get myself an electric truck an tractor, I just don’t think my Chevy and kubota would cut it on the moon

So that’s what the movie DUNE was based off of! if that’s true I want my own sand worm! Imma call him dusty!

That’s a good point! It would be my Luck I’d get stationed at an remote outpost in a crater where I couldn’t get to do much but collect moon rocks

Thomas you outta volunteer for the mars expedition! you already got plenty of red planet experience from living in New Mexico!

In 1990 something I watched an old Godzilla movie that said by the year 2020 we where gonna have daily rockets flying back an forth to the moon base, they are two years late an ain’t even started construction yet… An here MR Mighty Musk says he’s gonna colonize mars! How’s he gonna do that when he ain’t even built a Tesla charging station on the moon yet? i bet ford will beat him to it! Lol

she’s hunting for post mice

We’ve came a long way since 2006 it’s true! but We still ain’t got no moon base and flying cars were supposed to be all rage by now…

Lol, Charles, the sad thing is I hear that exact same offer more then you wanna know

Employees?!?!? I’ve heard of the rare an elusive critters known as employees, if you happen to catch one, stuff em in a box an mail em to me!!! I’ll pay top dollar! Bahaha seriously though it’s been over a year now since the last one quit, they never last more then a couple months if I’m lucky, the record to date is 3 hrs before quitting Taxes is a wonderful time consuming tire fire, i literally gotta keep every receipt from a single can of carb cleaner to a thousand dollar parts order to make it through taxes, parts research and ordering has been a holy terror since covid hit Overall it varies but to answer your question sometimes it takes just as much time to locate a part an messin with paperwork as it does to actually fix the machine, I had the mechanical training and background but it was like getting hit by a freight train when it came time for learning the business side, it’s a serious learning curve, and I still learn more all the time, I had no previous business experience and I didn’t know about the small business administration when I started, im one of the lucky ones, if the economy is good people buy new machines and pay to have them serviced, if the economy is bad, people can’t afford to buy new so they fix their old stuff I watched other businesses go up in flames when covid hit, I watched people cash in their retirements to try An keep their dreams afloat, an even the PPE loans weren’t enough to save them… I did it all the hard and bull headed way, I built from the ground up, I did without, I made do with what I had and slowly built up, and I don’t recommend anyone ever follow in my footsteps that’s why both my previous comments are toned against it, I have extensive knowledge of how much it is a bad idea when I first opened I went to the bank and asked for a thousand dollar loan to help me make it through till cash flow started… I was laughed outta the bank… I’ll never forget that… I was humiliated, angry, scared, and starting to doubt myself, Since that day I refused to ever ask them for money again, and saved every dime I made to build up to where I could afford to buy everything in cash an keep enough aside for emergency’s, That first year I starved, I ate ramen noodles, I was late paying the bills… I traded every last blacksmith tool I had collected for years for a pickup truck with a Tommy lift so I could load and unload heavy machinery, I sold almost everything I owned that I couldn’t use to make money in the shop… I already owned all the basic hand tools I needed but hardly any of the specialty tools, my fist air compressor I drug out of a salvage yard and got it half running again, i limped along with it til I could actually afford to buy a multi thousand dollar industrial one, that poor thing was wore out when I got it, It was only by the grace of god I made it through that first year… I didn’t ever plan on being a privately employed business owner… this wasn’t ever a dream of mine, I did it out of necessity and survival… in the months leading up to my previous jobs closing I applied to jobs all over creation, I dressed up nice and went to interview after interview…. even with my military background, some college an a boat load of certificates I lost out on every job to someone else who had just one more thing under their belt… In the last week of work before we closed out of pure desperation I spent what money I had to buy out all the fast moving parts I knew I could turnaround quickly an make some labor doin so, it took years to get on top again, and that was with starting out with a huge customer base from my previous job, and years of experience, and having a run down old building to work out of, one wrong financial move or one physical accident and I would have lost my home an been living under a bridge, I only made it by shear dumb luck and working myself to death 7 days a week… I don’t want to see anyone anywhere ever have to live through that and have to make the decisions I’ve had to make, it’s not fun it’s not smart, an quite frankly I’d have probably been way better off goin back to college an getting a degree in something useful, After running my own shop I have a gained a greater understanding and respect for my previous employers who built their businesses from the ground up, on a ironic side note, since I now have a stable business and am doin well, I have been approached by other businesses several times askin if I’d be willing to close up shop an go work for them…. All I can think is… Where were you back then?!?! Lol Mr Kooky, it’s your life do as you please, far be it for me to tell you or anyone else how to live it, i apologize y’all, I got way to fired up over this thread, I’ve went way off topic, I’ll quit my caterwauling now

Yes I’ve seen that video, and I did notice his anvil, i don’t personally know him but his shop is somewhere over on the other side of tahlequah, I thought about running over there for a visit sometime, I’d like to meet him an watch him make a gig I tried making some gigs from mild steel awhile back but they didn’t turn out to good, I was trying to forge weld the barbs, i got a couple done but they were way to small and the sockets were terrible so I threw them in the scrap pile lol,

You feeling alright today Thomas? Lol

His cabin is about 30 minutes south of me but it’s been years since I’ve visited it, I might take max down there sometime for a visit an get some pictures for y’all,

Not really ancient history but There’s some Cherokees here in Eastern Oklahoma that have been forging frog an fish gigs for several generations there’s a couple Cherokee smiths that were or are national treasures to the nation,

Don’t listen to em! Their tryin to talk you outta that sweet little anvil with all this talk about 100 pounders! Lol No I’m gonna join in! Lol seriously though if you were closer and if you just had to have a bigger one id probably swap you a 100+ pounder for that little Columbian! my lightest anvil is 84 and I wouldn’t mind shaving a few more pounds off for a travel setup!

[political content removed] anyone you want to ask will tell you that I’m extremely laid back an much prefer to crack jokes then to “oppress” anyone or anything, My previous statement to you was not intended to be mean, rude or otherwise, i have personally seen more times then I care to remember people that are under trained, under prepared, under experienced and Under equipped go off half cocked and try to start a business which crashes an burns in less then a year… and in almost every case ended up in a much worse position then they were to start with, i support and respect anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur and wish them the best, From reading your comments so far I can see you have a wonderful dream! but are not prepared for success in my humble opinion, backsmithing, wood carving, painting, writing, playing a sport, playing an instrument ect.. are all are very fun but very few people that do these things actually support their family doing so, and those that do normally have years of extensive experience and training or apprenticeship, in my personal business I’m constantly having to reinvest in tools, machines, manuals an more training to stay afloat and competitive in the market, an keep in compliance with laws, when I need a machine I don’t have time to waste on finding used wore equipment that’s gonna break down in six months, or cheap subpar tools that take more time to make work then if I had just spent the money an bought what I needed, I don’t have time to waste on making something or making something else work… I order what I need then I figure it into my labor rates and write it off on taxes. blacksmithing is different in that you can make most all of your hand tools and can get away with using old machinery, the difference is I have several thousand customers a year pass through my shop needing parts or services I don’t believe that many if any blacksmithing or woodworking shops have that amount clientele passing through their doors unless they are a shop at a tourist destination, the blacksmiths I know of that make their living smithing have the equipment an the knowledge to do so, and they gained it all over decades, and a lot of them also make money teaching I just don’t see that there’s a massive market for handmade goods it’s more of a niche market, we all can’t sell fire pokers and an custom woodwork on Etsy for a living, im not trying to pick on you and your dream surely you can see where logic says you’d be much better off using your wood working and smithing as a side hustle to bring in extra cash an focus a larger portion of your time finding something more lucrative to better your position for yourself and your family, I dunno, maybe I’m wrong, maybe others on here disagree with my opinion, I’m just a stranger on the internet that you’ll probably never have an interaction with in person, you can listen to my two cents or ignore it,

Wow that Alan DuBoff guy whoever he was sure didn’t have much need for input! Lol

I think John did a post on handheld infrared thermometers here recently but I don’t remember where I saw it,

You an them goats! doncha know goats ain’t got no engine either! What am I gonna do with you Jerry

I looked it up an they have a full website for the Goodyear blimp, apparently you can even get on a waitlist to ride it!!!! now there’s something else me an max gotta go get done! Lol

Lol, sorry Scott I’m not goin anywhere near a weed eater that ain’t got no engine! that’s more work then the weeds are worth!

I also occasionally get free junk from the feed store an hardware store when they are cleaning up, they know I’ll drag almost any metal home lol

I’m sorry Scott, we here at mid county small engine repair are regrettably unable to service that brand of weed eater at this time lol

I dunno how often or if they replace those park grills but it’s been most of my experience that municipality’s, schools, street Depts, fire depts, city, county, state and federal governments all have a specific process to offload everything from office chairs to battleships, because all that stuff is paid for with tax dollars, it would probably be much faster an easier to drag something outta the scrap yard but if I had a mind to allocate one of those grills I would mosey on down to the street depts shop and inquire, an even if they aren’t over parks they will know who is, an you might be able to talk them outta one or something similar,

I dunno I couldn’t see the people with the sun beaming on it, I was standing at the edge of my shop talking with a customer when it passed overhead and I did a double take an just stared at it in disbelief until I had the realization to run an grab my phone to take a picture lol