ShopTalk Sunday: Build Your Own Hobby Shop

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Right out of the box, I’d have to say that there has been tremendous fluctuation in the fate of hobby shops around the world. Covid, all that.

Mark Your Calendar

Home handy-bastard festival note coming up:  National Retail Hobby Shops Association has a big convention set for from Sept 11-14 in Lost Wages.  See here for details.

This is like THE tabletop expo to attend whether modeler or just looking for some kick-ass home weekend project ideas.  Look at the background pix on the site.

Here in the U.S. Hobby Lobby is a good general resource.  Overseas there are lots of good ones, too.  Just of a little different style.  China(Chinese)RC Hobby Shop | Online Stores Wholesale & Retails RC Airplane Model,Multirotors,Quadcopters,FPV, Drones,Engines, Servos, More. , for example.

Chinese hobby shops seem to sprout, flourish, and then disappear in a year or three.  Short lifespan or regulation…who knows?

Hobbies Teach Us

Turns out (getting into some deeply reflective “self-work” there are two things going on in the LoG (Life of George) that are resolving as we round the turn into the final stretch.  Some of this learning is hobby-based.  I should explain.

First is remembering that my late father had a tendency to order up a lot more materials than he ever got around to using.  For example, he had an entire set of new birch cabinets in the basement.  Yet, the project never got started.  In fairness, he left the fire service on disability (back fusion) so mucking around on a remodel would be mighty painful.

This resulted in my two sisters and me ripping the old cabinets out and installing the new ones while the folks were on a tour down to Winnemucca, Nevada where they loved the (then) small town vibe of playing the slots and roulette.

I have a similar backlog of projects piling up.  Awareness follows.  DNA programming?  Many projects rolling up around here now.  Hmm….need to get to work!

The second realization is that in the new “small projects workstation” I seem to be re-creating the “hobby shop” mood that absolutely permeated my buddy (The Major’s) home growing up.  His (sadly late) older brother was an absolute genius at building model airplanes.

His bedroom was always full of amazing sights:  First rubber band powered, then moving up to 0.19 power and circle flying (with wing-over’s) of course.  And from there, on to many other hobbies including shotgun shell reloading, which in turn, introduced the Major and me to Herter’s.  (Remember Alcan?)

Of course, everyone over 40 knows that Herter’s was gobbled up by Cabela’s and now lives over here.  And there is something missing with the end of the green (and sometimes orange-red) Herter’s catalog. Just not the same online.

Something about cultural memory:  Just like the Sears business model was automated by Amazon (complete with a Christmas Wish Book), so too, Cabela’s managed to do right by rolling up regional hobby stores and the mail-order giant.  Somehow, it’s not the same.  At least to me; though never trust someone who deliberately buys a men’s cologne that smells like Hoppe’s #9.

The Major and I would study a lot more than reloading equipment in the Herter’s catalogs.  Mainly the survival gear and outdoorsy stuff.  Which may have been the first “needle marks” of a prepping addiction, although I can’t say for sure.

A Refresher on Scale

Because my eyes are not what they used to be, I am tending toward not much smaller than 1:72 scale.

“So how does that scale shit work?”

Well, if one-foot of model equals 72-feet of full-sized [whatever] that’s called 1/72 scale.

Problem with 1/72 is it makes for really small cars.  A car might be 20 feet long, which at 1/35 scale (a pretty common scale for vehicles) would be 20/35 feet, which is 0.5714 feet.  Times 12 (convert feet to inches) and we have a car model about 6-3/4-inches long.  Big enough for big hands and short attention spans.

My wood ship models will be a bigger scale.  The sailing ship Cutty Sark (not the scotch, dag-nabit) was a 280 foot British clipper ship.  At 1/72 scale, that would be about 3.88 feet, or 3-feet 10 and a half inches long.  We can round it off to 36-inches.

Now, since parents aren’t big on having large square rigger builds occupying most of a whole room, we run into smaller scales.  A 1/150 Cutty Sark would still come in at an impressive 22.4-inches long.

But a 1/225 scale?  Now we’re just over a foot.  Not as impressive, but from a modeling standpoint here’s where you get into trade-offs.

See, a lot of the beauty of a sailing ship is the rigging.  Do the standing rigging first (that holds the masts up and the yards).  Then the running rigging goes in which is how the set of the sails is dialed in. Every line has a reason – none of it is just cob-webs. You following?

Smaller models than 1/225 scale for complex ships are a lot tougher.  The rigging gets smaller.  And small knots – unless your other hobby is neurosurgery – becomes problematic.  Some of the complex ropeworks (like the ratlines) [rope ladders up to the first yard, or so, on the mast] come in plastic in small scales.  But they look like shit, if a master modeler schooled you well.

Use this rare knowledge of scale models to find just the right ship model for the mantle or the desk at the office.

Dollhouse Scale

OK, OK!  We’ll build something at this scale one of these days.  But here’s the truth: There is this is a whole “other” dimension to modeling.  This part of modeling is generally to the 1:12 scale.  In other words, 1 inch is equal to one foot.

So, if you have a dimension on a piece of board of 8 feet in real life, convert it to 96-inches and divide this by 12.  By the same token, 1 inch would be 1/12th of an inch (.0933 inch.  And a 2-by-4 in a 1:12 “dollhouse scale” build would be about 0.33-inch wide and about 0.165 (or 0.17, but let’s not be silly here) wide.

If you haven’t already discovered Miniature Cinder Blocks from Mini Materials and the rest of the goodies on this site (*marvelous for prototyping your Dream Cabin to scale) then you haven’t really explored life, much.

When G2 returns from his latest adventure, we’ll likely do one iteration of his house build ideas as a model at 1:12 because you can work out just so many bugs on a tabletop.  Count the two-by-fours as you play. Realistic construction problems scream for attention in models.

Yes, you can even find things like corrugated tin for roofing your model.  $11 bucks a sheet on Amazon.  (Who, me?  Order that?)

OK, 4″ by 8″ by 1/32nd can be made to be T-111 siding…. 16-inch centers for wall studs pencils down to 1.333 inches.  *A decimal architect’s tool might be useful.

Build it all on a 2-foot doubled 1-inch blue foam base, wipe on glue, toss sand, now you have a “dirt” construction site. Pine cones can be trees with some air brushing and even small replicas of concrete blocks can be purchased.

Those of us with 3D printer farms, well, how many of what interior accessories do you want printed?  3D print a  scaled “fiberglass” 8-panel door and relight, for you?  80 inch high door framing in 6.66 inches.  And the 3-foot door rough-out is 3-inches wide.

Those of us with 3D printer farms and a TinkerCad.com account can print up ground screws, appliances to scale, and all kinds of other details.  Get a real sense of the place before building.

Put it up on a double-thickness of 1-inch blue styro (doubled).  Daub on glue, dust over with washed playground sand (which can be dyed and dried first if you want) and blow off the excess when dry.

A few pinecones for “trees and brush” plus $10-bucks worth of lichen from the model railroading kit…

Wait, this is about hobby shops, not G1 roughing out cabin ideas for G2!

Hobbies In China

Got a couple of ship models in from China this week.  Really masterful in terms of maximum play/enjoyment versus cost.  Minimalism and small laser cutouts can do marvelous things in a plastic bag.

There are actually two models here.  The left wood and plans plus cloth and bundle of sticks is one (The Harvey) while the other is another sailing ship.  I have to hand it to the folks who did these – dandy job!

I ordered a couple of reasonably large-scale models of a Chinese (junk rigged) Sand Boat.  One (when it arrives in a month or two) will go on to “Capt. Gooding.”  He might enjoy having a little “modeling junk” lying at anchor about the house.  Or on his desk.

The Sand Boats, when done, will be 370 MM overall – just over 14-inches. A reasonable “gentleman’s desk” discussion size.

Before you pick a scale, make the buy, and start the build, run all model projects pass the SheWhoPlans department.  Unless they are in Ure space, in which case, skip plan review.  Or get low-T screening scheduled.

Ship Building Notes

Another model arriving at Ure’s Model Shop this week was a plastic model of a USCG motor lifeboat.

Story time: Back in my cub reporter days, in about 1973, or so, I was invited to the CG Motor Lifeboat School in Astoria, Oregon.  Unfortunately, schedules and newsroom blah, blah.  Never made it.  But from what I saw in advance, the self-righting motor lifeboats were along this line:

Not terribly expensive and a fairly easy “get started” kit.

Since both the Major and I did a fair number of model this-n-that’s when young, I can already see the difference between the “what you get” and the “What They Sell” which is on the other side of the box:

As you can see, the motor lifeboat below has outboard lifelines along the side.  The brightwork looks to be teak, and the canvas on the dodger for the helm is more of a tan canvas than white in the “as built.”

Engine snorkel is there, so 10-points for that. These were designed to roll over in the surf, you know?.

Turns out, another detail item – a bit of judiciously applied weathering effects – has been reduced to an “off-the-shelf.”  For under $26-bucks, you can get a stain, weathering, and streaking set of paints – which will be in hand long before I get time to get started.

Don’t misunderstand I like the smell of paint thinner and airplane dope as much as the next guy, but time is of the essence as we age.

It’s Better Bear

Another not too spendy hobby is power wood carving.  For this, a bit of 2X4 scrap and a pen or pencil is all you need to get started.  Here, we can see why I am not doing projects at Disney Imagineering for a geezerly living:

FrankenBear?

On the thinner side, you imagine the bear’s side profile and make up something like this:

The next step in this one *(being big on workflows and such) is a visit to Dr. Bandsaw or Dr. Scrollsaw.  Probably the bandsaw since I am ADHD and the scrollsaws (and the old Dremel MotoSaw) are way fun for thin stock.  Too slow for thicker stock like this.  Just not fast enough for inch-and-a-half, which is what 2 by 4’s run.  And even more on the other edgewise cut.  Just let’s git ‘er done.

Rexbeti has a reasonable knock-off of the Exacto hobby knives, too if you need ’em.

The smallish Dremel has been relegated to mobile problem solving around the ranch.  While a 900 Watt 1/8th and 1/4-inch high speed rotary tool has been added.

Double-cut plastic and wood carving burrs can be caught on sale for under $10-bucks a set if you’re patient.

Run em cool and get carbide.  Don’t be cheap.

I’m not, so much.

Speaking of Saws

Some while back I mentioned the Micro Mark Table saw would be a dream saw to have for messing with hobby builds.  Which runs way north of $500 all kitted out and new with accessories.

But, this week, there was a used Micro Mark on eBay and I won it for $84 dollars.  Toss in a few bucks for shipping.

I’m really interested in how it will compare with the classic Dremel 4-inch table saw.

A bit of balsa 18 inches long and either saw should do a perfect job of cutting down scale dimensional lumber for projects.

Modeling Supplies

On the way is a rubber band assortment (Zon, $6) because all these balsa models with hulls (boats) or fuselages (the two planes in queue) look like it would be a lot easier to “band ’em up” and then not have to grasp and worry about movement while applying the CA glue. (Medium)

One other thing:  Our Beech Musketeer that we flew all over the country in (until 3-4 years ago) had red wings.  And the old Cessna 150 I soloed in had (puke) yellow paint. (What was Cessna thinking?)  So, the answer was to buy an assortment of colored tissue, too.

Ham Radio Projects

All the parts are in hand to put together the double-decker operating position for that hobby/time-sink.  Laminated acacia wood butcher block.

Antennas are all in good shape.  When my son gets back (secret mission stuff but six-figures) I’ll have him drone-up some high leads for a couple of massive half-wave-end-fed antennas.  Having a full-sized halfwave end-fed favoring Europe might provide some DX-ing (long distance radio work) this fall.

The Johnson Pacemaker restoration is about to come out from under cover as soon as the electronics workbench reorg is done.

Like I said in an earlier column:  People intuitively limit themselves usually to one or two hobbies at a time.  Reason?  Most people only have room for one relatively undisturbed workstation.  But that won’t keep you active enough to hit 90, as I figure it.  The more motion, the better.  Applies to neurons, too, which is why you can’t have too many toys.

Seeing the collection of entertainment modes as being “workstation count limited” I’ve now got 9 or 10 workstation areas coming together, not counting the recording studio.  That is an odd form of wealth, for sure.  Not very taxable, though.

The idea being that if you feel like metalwork today, you go over there.  Models on yonder small projects bench.  3D printers are at that workstation with the CNC around the corner.  Jewelry (lapidary) is on the far wall.  (*I’m looking for a Sears gem grinder which apparently so is everyone else on eBay).  Oil and Acrylic paints go on the screen porch when the blast furnace is turned off in September, again.  Drum lessons in the studio?

No point sitting around and aging.  By the time you get all your fill of a dozen hobbies, write a few books, and do some more travel?  Yeah, then time for Next.

But let’s not push that, shall we?  We have toys to play with and then share with kids, museums, and folks wandering buy who need flowers to stop and smell for a while.

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net

44 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Build Your Own Hobby Shop”

  1. Dammit George! There went the whole half hour of my computer time this morning hitting these links of yours. Holy crap! Mini cinder blocks and corrugated roofing. I’ll have to lock up my wallet for a while.
    You did inspire me to take some more downtime this evening though. I have an old strongbox of fly tying gear and materials that were my grandfathers. Feathers, thread, hooks, rolls of chaneel (don’t know how to spull that), vise and magnifier. There might be some of the first flies he and I tied together. Guess I was about 8 or maybe 9.
    Thanks for the reminder to take some downtime to enjoy life.

    Stay safe. 73

  2. The old northern Michigan Farmer.

    Mr G
    Wow Herter’s now there is a catalog is miss.
    Yup we do have a lot of memories in common.
    They even sold snowmobiles,

    Oh yes the old D handled string controlled model air
    planes. I remember I picked potatoes for my grand dad
    to make enough money to buy this little bugger.

    https://duckduckgo.com/?q=old+pt-19+model+plane&t=newext&atb=v254-1&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Ffe%2F89%2F8b%2Ffe898b92d0b29e47e9139a0c1eace675.jpg

    I remember the rubber band on the engine let go the engine flew off into my aunts hair. Not a good day for me.

    Take care

    • “I remember the rubber band on the engine let go the engine flew off into my aunts hair.”

      That’s what the 2×56 screws and that 1/16 hardwood plywood were for — and Ambroid Cement.

      I liked Cox engines, but never cared for their models. I was a Sterling guy — started out on a Baby Ringmaster, then moved up to a Ringmaster Junior, once I figured out how to fly a control line plane without nose-planting it. I flew both 52-foot and 60-foot lines. Then I (ahem) discovered girls…

      I get to Muncie (Indiana) occasionally. That’s where the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics, not that witchdoctor association) museum, HOF, and national/international meets (I believe) are held. It is an actual airport, because some of the models are like (I’m guessing — they’re trailered in) 1/12 scale B-17s and B-24s. You can see the control tower from the city’s bypass. Never been there though…

      • “Then thing you know, you’ll mention the venerable McCoy .60…..”

        Not me. I had two brothers who flew control line — one of them flew “combat” and he had the “big 60s…”

        I really don’t remember much about flying airplane modeling. I had several .049s and an .020, a couple .35s, and I remember the “speed shop” 42 miles away sold pure nitromethane by the gallon for the same money as a pint at my local (7-miles away) hobby shop, and the local (real) pharmacy sold (pharm-grade, pure) castor oil by the quart and 100% ethanol in 4oz pharm bottles, OTC.

        ‘Never got into RC. It was expensive (when you could buy a Sterling or Guillows control line plane for $2.95 and two 60’ steel lines (with swivels) for a couple bucks more, the cheapest RC planes were styrofoam, and $79.95. You still needed nitro, engines, and all the other accoutrements necessary for control line (except silkspan and the lines themselves) and if you stacked the plane up, you got to buy another, because there was no such thing as “styrofoam repair.”

        Rockets were much more fun. I cut & etched several .45″ x 2.5″ PCBs and built (homing) transmitters of my own design onto them, so I could do “Estes not-approved” experiments with 3-6 stage rockets (also of my own design) which went much higher than the rack-models. The .45″ was so the transmitter would fit in a tiny tube or nosecone, and it trailed a wire through the body (fuselage) as its antenna. My receiver was in a Bud Box about the size of a pocket transistor radio and sported a “Hallicrafters S-30 type” antenna I made out of rolled aluminum foil — 20 years before I ever saw a photo of an S-30.

        …Pretty sure a lot of the stuff I did between the ages of 8 and 15 would get me locked-up in today’s world. Back then? ‘Twas no big deal, and not illegal.

        • The Major and I still might be brought up on domestic terrorism charges. Isn’t filling a kid’s wading pool with root beer Fizzy’s interference in some pure food law, or something? That was 1958, or so…but given the mood of witch hunters who can’t find the FBI insider to testicle in front of con grease, maybe we should step up and confess?

  4. Having been a model railroader since the early ’60s, having transitioned from toys to models around that time, most of my “spare” time has been spent on that hobby. Excepting motorcycles, which cannot be related even remotely to model building. I had to delete MCs when I started having strokes, but the memories are more or less intact. The advantage of model railroading is the broad spectrum of related hobbies.

    Electrical and electronics were started by my “playing trains” but became a lifelong profession. (Industrial electronicist) I don’t pursue Ham Radio, that is another hobby in a wholly different direction.

    Machine work, to a serious modeler, is an integral part of many hobbies. There are parts and tools that to this day cannot be bought. They must be made.

    Then there are construction projects. With many such projects, the only difference in small scale vs 12″=1′ is the size and cost of materials. And for the points where something is not duplicated to scale, creating the appearence requires an intimate knowledge of the subject structure.

    I model in “H-O” scale, mostly for the enormous amount of models I have in that scale. The scale ratio is 1:87.xx, an odd size from the older English “O” scale cut in half. The original O scale was 7mm:1 ft. Hence Half O being 3.5mm”1 ft. In any case, the reduction ratio of 1/8 inch per foot is very close at 1:96.

    There are many model ships at 1/8″:1′. I find sailing ships fascinating themselves. And at that scale, quite suitable for use with my trains. Since I am building early 20th century trains, sailing ships do fit in, albeit on their “last legs.”

    I differ from you to some extent, largely from that fatal disease “lackomoola”. I do have an extensive machine shop at my disposal, capable of work that I am not skilled enough to do. And an electronics shop that is suited to my line of work.

    The upshoot of all the above is that I have made a decent living all my life working in a field that is my hobby. With no education beyond grammar school, I found a niche where I fit like a glove. Limited machining knowledge made me an above average electrician. All because I wanted more accurate models that ran better.

    • God, I love hearing stories like yours – thanks for sharing.
      Like I told G2 (and one of his sisters, too) this past week:
      People don’t really pay you for what you THINK – they pay you for what you can DO.
      I have never met a model builder who at some level i didn’t “connect with.”
      One of the points in my book Packing to Die is that we may all be understudies of Creator and so, people like me, Chris Tyreman (a real master of building things) and you would all have little to quibble around. We;re all “creators in training” at some level in this lifetime.
      Making is better than whining any day of the week.

    • “that fatal disease “lackomoola”

      I suffer from that one as well as the old man’s disease..”nonookieforu” Lol

  5. “Dollhouse Scale
    OK, OK!  We’ll build something at this scale one of these days.  But here’s the truth: There is this is a whole “other” dimension to modeling. ”

    The Bosses uncle was a contractor..when he retired he needed a hobby and since he built houses for a living he was going to make small scale models.. he made hundreds took the around the world.. along the way many were lost in Transit dome were used in movies..
    The finally stopped traveling and are presently shown in a barn museum on the colony east of des-moines and west of Iowa city..
    My favorite time was playing in his shop for two days.. made a few scaled down doll houses.. I have always wanted to make the old lighthouse that I use to camp in the light room..amazing experience amazing time..

  6. “Chinese hobby shops seem to sprout, flourish, and then disappear in a year or three.”

    When I built cabinets.. as the company just starting out.. to keep employees they would give product at cost.. I gave my mother a complete kitchen overhaul for 75 dollars on a kitchen that would cost thousands..
    ( they stopped that when they discovered small garage sales selling complete kitchen at a fraction of the cost.. put salesmen on salary when the boss found out the salesmen were making more than him )
    China does that.. laborers get product in trade for labor..they don’t stay in operation very long . But the main companies do..

    • Lol went to that chinese hobby shop.. took me a second to realize it was all priced in Chinese Juan lol lol.. the same with Russian sites that still advertise they just can’t sell…or deliver..
      At first I had sticker shock.. when they set up their own currency the prices I see are all their currency lol

      • My fear on that is when the federal reserve and EU, UK and all the other unsecured currencies finally collapse.. they will refuse to accept the euro, pound or us dollar for exchange..

  7. Models are OK, I suppose, but are rather useless. I’d just as soon build a building to keep out the sun and wind(and intruders), than to build a model of it. If it’s not useful, it would seem to be a waste of time, and if I want to do nothing useful, I can either sleep or meditate.

    Art has always seemed rather stupid and useless, though I lose friends by saying that. Form follows function, and every beam in a bridge can be analyzed either formally or by eyeball. That’s engineering, not art. The bridge justifies itself through utility, not aesthetics. While I suppose building a model is satisfying for some folks, it lost its appeal for me many years ago. Of course, a model for wind tunnel testing makes sense, and perhaps for other purposes, like sales.

    This rant is not meant to offend. It’s just that in this world where we have such limited time to acquire the skills, resources, and the relationships we need to survive and thrive, it seems that models are yet another time sink.

  8. Hi, George,
    Thank you for a wonderful column today. I hope that the Maj and you eventually write a book about your lives together. You could title it: The Major and Me: a story of life adventures, or some such.

    In cabochon making or carving of gemstones, make certain you buy grinding and polishing wheels in the various grit sizes. Polish compounds are also good to use. There are many types of discs and burrs for your hand piece, as well. Let me know if you have trouble obtaining anything you might need.

    To Mr. Hudson: I admire model train creations greatly. The amount of work and expense that required can be vast. They are so beautiful.

  9. ” Having a full-sized halfwave end-fed favoring Europe might provide some DX-ing (long distance radio work) this fall.”

    My local ham buddy is a 10-meter DX fanatic. He has a big lot with some tall support trees, so he built a 10m STERBA CURTAIN aimed N-S to work Europe over the pole. These are the antennas that Voice of America used to use on their shortwave transmitters.

    I was a STEM kid before that moniker existed. People used to tell me I had way too many interests. I still have some tiny Z-gauge model trains to finish the coffee table build. Ham radio… electronics (and foundational electrical power). My eclectic and varied interests served me well in a career of building and maintaining television stations. Everything from 3-phase power inputs through video, audio, optics, microwave and high power RF output systems. Minutia as exotic as diagnosing an intermittent phase jump in a YIG microwave oscillator.
    I’m never lacking in ‘something to do’. All I have to do is look around…

  10. far too many of the skills I’ve picked up over the years are on the obsolescent end of the scale,
    I have a liking for steam engines,
    driven many “models” (when it gets past half a ton can it still be called a model )

    drew some plans up, inch and a half to the foot,
    to get the design performance it’d need full size pressure on the boiler (280psi) and that would be well over the allowed (100psi) for a model boiler…….
    been having a look at bits of V2 rocket motor fuel pump as an alternative to a scarily heavy (and expensive) boiler…….

    to stay ahead of the curve in at least one field having a potter about with various other odds and ends to see if I can burn water in a range of options…..
    the plants like the pond foggers I got for those experiments…. ;)

    mv

    • If petrochemical fuels become unobtanium, an external combustion steam engine might be more efficient than using wood vapors in an ICE! Your skills might actually become relevant again. I didn’t know there was some limitation on pressure(100 psi?). Is that a custom or a law?

      • here in the UK up to 100psi is the norm for model engineers,
        certification and insurance is reasonably easy to sort via a club or society, over 100psi it’s into the commercial insurance realms and experimental rigs are a nightmare when it comes to pressure vessel regs compliance……

  11. Be careful with rubber bands. Most of what’s available now is Chinese. Chinese rubber bands degrade from both air and light, and become both sticky & brittle within a couple months of exposure to air.

    • good luck trying to find an american made rubber band LOL LOL LOL LOL….
      it is all in the business model they set .. if the bands last a long time.. then you won’t buy many.. make them so they fall apart you have to buy more..

      • My Mom had a rubber band “ball” she made from the bands on the daily newspaper. The green bands were “cheap” American syn-rubber, the amber ones, natural gum rubber. When she passed, that ball was bigger than a baseball — I wish I had it, today…

        The only “good” rubber bands I ever see any more are the ones on cables or cords of the few new-bought electrical/electronic items which don’t use bread-ties. They can’t use a Chinese rubber band because it’d eat the insulation when it decomposed, and an item may be on the shelf for 4-5 years…

  12. Since today is STS, I’ll link my favorite youtube channel:

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpPt42tLH5FRk__ytvMsejw

    Lin Guoer is a highly resourceful girl who trained as a hydroelectric engineer. She quit a good job and went back to her village where she repairs lost cause equipment and engines for next to nothing. She refers to herself as a mechanic. She uses old school techniques that I learned when I was 12 and a number of others I’d never dreamed of. She has no qualms about shredding burned stator wiring on a motor or generator and rewinding the stators properly. The amazing thing is that we tool sluts have all kinds of options, yet she gets by with the most minimal of tools to do jobs that most Americans would never touch. The results work and look good too. So does she!

    • Sounds like you may be one of few Americans (for now) who will appreciate the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. Amazon link: https://amzn.to/39r2WDt
      BIC – because of his work in Africa building water supplies – would also love the book if he hasn’t read it yet.

      People have misunderstood our “downscaling” out here in East Texas for years. Tide’s changing now.

      • Thanks for the suggestion George! I read a synopsis and will be reading the book when I can get to it. People such as these give hope to communities, and legitimate hope is essential for improving the human condition.

    • Omg..she’s gorgeous as well as smart.. she could restring my rotor anytime… that is only with the bosses permission lol..

  13. Nice Yogi ya got there George. Hahah

    Hey, you remember when I wrote that “We the People” blog entry on my old website, did my first or second podcast and shortly after about “We the people” Then a few months later there was a movement about it and then they “stormed the capitol”?

    Some stuff we create just keeps going and going and going.
    And going some more.

    Sleastacks or not,

    If every extra day of life is like hitting the Jackpot Lottey? I just keep winning and winning and well winning.

    Kid rock wrote the song on his new release titled “We the People.” Pretty interesting I must say….

    Truly, I am Poweful and Highly Creative.

    Cue ~ We the People ~

    Kid Rock.

    https://youtu.be/kyFnLqJx-uU

  14. “If you haven’t already discovered Miniature Cinder Blocks from Mini Materials and the rest of the goodies on this site then you haven’t really explored life, much.”

    I think for prototyping, I’d spring for some vintage Elgo* bricks. One of me brudders studied architecture and that was what he used — the advantage being when you were done with the prototype (he’d build the building, then use a quadrille layout mat and posterboard walls for the interior, so’s stuff could be moved around. I thought the mini furniture, pedestal sink, toilet, etc., were (pardon the expression) neat as crap…

    * Not a typo. “Elgo” blocks were made in Chicago by Halsam Manufacturing, long before “LEGO” copied Kiddicraft’s building blocks. I still have my bigbro’s set around here, somewhere.

    • https://www.minimaterials.com/collections/cinder-blocks

      https://youtu.be/1q1C-cnt3i4

      My grandkids in school all had to make a castle or pyramid etc.. we would make them as realistic as we could.. you can buy the block molds etc.. and making them was always a lot of fun..
      the one grandson just had to make a cabinet diorama for a book story.. each of the kids had to make them..
      the book was from a movie the chronicles of Narnia..
      here is the movie..
      https://youtu.be/yIFvFquPHoI
      we built the cardboard cabinet in less than a day with the room on one side and the kingdom on the other side…. I was afraid he wouldn’t get much of a grade on it.. but his teacher was amazed at the detail on the cabinet and gave him a great grade.. he has the whole thing on a shelf above his dresser.. LOL..

      • Play dough use to have a cinder block mold for their fun factory.. we would make up our own dough to make all kinds if things

  15. I know 2 women who got rid of their dead husbands model train setups because they needed to move to smaller lodgings. One had a double garage full and the other a whole attic full. Neither found anyone who wanted to buy them. Both women were really distressed over dismantling the setups and figuring out what to do with the trains. A nursing home took some track and a few train cars. A relative took one complete train. Sadly much of the stuff ended up at Goodwill.

    • “because they needed to move to smaller lodgings.”

      Absolutely @Eleanor.. I have had thoughts of the same.. but decided rather than have a sale.. I would get more enjoyment out of seeing them enjoyes.. so I have been giving away my tools and toys.. ( I have cars.. still have my checker cab though.. my dream car.. the mariton.. if I ever won the lottery I would rebuild one or get one rebuilt)
      If we are lucky enough to live long enough to make it to a nursing facility.. everything we have is gone anyway.. we all end up with a couple of boxes of assorted crap.. a few photos of us and the memories of what we stood for..
      having toy train sets occupies your mind.. like books or stamp collecting etc.. it keeps your mind busy.. is something of beauty and value that you can enjoy..I did paper modeling.. china and most asian countries along with most european countries push paper modeling on the citizens.. it is cheaper and everyone can participate..
      But as health declines.. your eventually forced to sell out.. what money you have or property goes to the doctors hospitals and lawyers.. only carry enough money in life insurance to bury your butt.. (unless you are wealthy.. the hospitals take it all.. the mortician gets first dibs on it though)
      the gent that just passed away.. he raised thoroughbreds worked the races .. he knew all the kentucky derby horses and their owners.. groomed and worked with secretariate .. super nice guy loved animals.. had a farm.. when he got to the point he couldn’t work with horses.. he had another business.. his wife.. was a nurse.. she got breast cancer when she couldn’t do her job.. they of course fired her so she couldn’t keep the insurance.. they took his farm his company.. their retirement home or rental home.. all his belongings of any value.. everything just to cover the expenses of his wifes final cares…. when I first met him.. he didn’t even have clothes except what he had on his back.. we had to take him shopping for clothes. he was depressed and beaten down… his surviving family is facing the same thing now.. once he died.. they stop paying for care.. the day before his death the family was getting calls on how to pay for his extended cares.. Having had similar situation over a much smaller bill.. ( his is way over a million dollars I am positive of that.. probably closer to two mill before the consultation bill from every doctor in the system..) then the cost of a larger building.. phew.. big expenses.. downsizing is what has to be done.. sell off what they can to help pay the rising costs of rent.. around here in a nice place is just shy two grand.. average SS doesn’t even come close to rent much less anything.. I can’t even tell you how many people I have taken grocery boxes to that could only afford dog or cat food to eat.. ( I actually am taking a box over to a woman tomorrow single mother very little income. she is working less than my wife..( who is working eight days a month I think she got three days last month to work and she is trying to work.. ) and has two teenagers in the house.. shes been fretting on how to feed the kids or find work … ) the gent before our last one.. he had so many diploma’s.. had a great job.. top of the line.. deep water oil rigs design build and oversee.. after a huge explosion and oil spill he was black balled.. before that he was stuggling because of a hurricane that took his home … sad.. so I get it.. sell the stuff off downsize and be at least able to survive for a time on their own.. it won’t be to long before they come for the rest of it.. he had tricare.. good insurance.. great insurance everything paid except for a dribble or two till you die.. then the final expenses are sent to the family.. see once your gone your no longer insured.. LOL LOL seen that one more than one time.. and heard all the arguments that they wouldn’t do that LOL LOL LOL those people just didn’t see the business model set before them..

    • Nusring home care.. if you don’t need a lot of care.. is shy a quarter mill a year.. an assisted living center is almost eight grand a year per person. If you don’t have money enough to cover a few months of care it is almost impossible to get into a place.. one gent had thirty years in military.. many overseas deployments.. went and retired.. only to discover that most of the diployments were with another agency.. even though he wore the uniform and went with his company they were not officially us military..He never did get his retirement.. lived in his car in the retailers parking lot.. stayed with us for a while I didn’t have anymore bedrooms.. and he couldn’t live on the couch.. I was trying to get him into a place.. he ended up having a stroke and the social worker at the nursing home was working to get him his retirement.. a family member took him in and they never finished getting his retirement..they got tired of taking care of him.. ( he really did need twenty four hour nursing care) and they put him in an apartment.. where he died alone from complications from his stroke…. oh.. its even chewier.. one reason I will never vote for our congressman again.. NO… veteran should be homeless on the street after putting in thirty years of service to his country.. at all..

      I am not sure yet.. last friday I had heard about some guy in a wheel chair that is homeless and needs a place to live.. I think he is at the local homeless shelter I will find out more tomorrow when the person I heard about him is back from vacation… ..I still have flooring going into the room but will go have coffee with the gent.. I have worked with people all my life and am a pretty good judge of character… I have screwed up a few times and was wrong but those are very few.. ..I will visit till I see where his mind is at before offering him shelter.. I had visited with one guy a few years ago he was perfectly ok.. IT was his family that was not….

  16. Farken hobbies !! Greatest night in history approaches . Honestly george you really are farked and well at times . Buy some gold

  17. Sick evil
    Carnts . Hobbies ? American hobbies !!! Farking humanity !!!not for much longer !! Tanti belli cosi ammmmerica, gold off 16 strong USD . Animals

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