"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...

"Tom Gardner" wrote in message
...

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...

"Tom Gardner" wrote in message
. ..

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message Did
anyone
on
the group watch SOAP when it was on the air? It was,
without a doubt, one of the funniest sitcoms to hit the
air--------but
if
you didn't watch it long enough to figure out what it was up to, it
was
stupid and offensive. Sometimes you have to give things a little
time
before making a decision.

Harold

Herold, most people think I'm stupid and offensive right away! Soon
after,
I remove all doubt.

Chuckle! What was that saying------It's better to be thought a full
than
to open your mouth and remove all doubt?

I don't care what you say, Tom. I think you're Ok. A little tight
with
the
freebie brushes, maybe, but Ok. g

Harold


I owe you big time over the years, what do you use? Send me a ship-to
address and I can remidy your brush needs!



See? He's all heart!

Thanks, Tom, but each of us brings something to the table and I can't help
but think that we're about even. Beyond that, I can't stand folks that
take
advantage of others.

It is fun jerking your chain, though! g

Tell you what I'll do. When I'm finished building the house and I'm in
the
shop doing something constructive, I'll let you know what I can use and
I'll
buy them from you. I've always had a curiosity about your brushes.

Be well,

Harold

If you had any idea of the amount of stuff I have as "seconds" with a split
in the wood, miss-marked or a spot of rust...still perfectly servicable! If
there is an asbestos removal project going on in the area, I sell them by
the drum. Send me your ship-to.

"Tom Gardner" wrote in message
t...
snip----

If you had any idea of the amount of stuff I have as "seconds" with a
split
in the wood, miss-marked or a spot of rust...still perfectly servicable!
If
there is an asbestos removal project going on in the area, I sell them by
the drum. Send me your ship-to.



Done! (on the side), and thanks! You really don't have to.

Harold

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 02:52:24 GMT, the opaque "Tom Gardner"
clearly wrote:

All wire brushes, power and hand, the sharp corners on the ends of the wire
do the work. As the work is done the edges become rounded and the cutting
action changes. Thus if the wire ends are ground square again before the
slippery slope, the brush will do more, consistent work with less energy.
So, sharpen your brushes or buy a lot of new ones! Sound advise, but some
people think I'm being smart-assed.

So you sharpen wire brushes via a grinding wheel? Please expand.
Delicately, in reverse direction, and by hand, so it leaves the
wire edge on the cutting side, or what?

And how do cup brushes work on angle grinders at the 11kRPM
speeds? It would seem that even knotted brushes would be
sent, er, akimbo at that speed.


Just don't tell anybody!

vbg


-
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering WTF happened.
---
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 02:52:24 GMT, the opaque "Tom Gardner"
clearly wrote:

All wire brushes, power and hand, the sharp corners on the ends of the
wire
do the work. As the work is done the edges become rounded and the cutting
action changes. Thus if the wire ends are ground square again before the
slippery slope, the brush will do more, consistent work with less energy.
So, sharpen your brushes or buy a lot of new ones! Sound advise, but some
people think I'm being smart-assed.

So you sharpen wire brushes via a grinding wheel? Please expand.
Delicately, in reverse direction, and by hand, so it leaves the
wire edge on the cutting side, or what?

And how do cup brushes work on angle grinders at the 11kRPM
speeds? It would seem that even knotted brushes would be
sent, er, akimbo at that speed.

Well, it's often best to just sacrifice the brush...thank GOD! But, for a
bench grinder wheel just chuck it up in the lathe and spin it slowly and
touch an angle grinder to the tips of the wires, just a few thousandths, to
square-up the wire tips. Do you see why a reversed wire wheel works so good
for a while? If the wire is tending to lay over, try heavier gauge wire or
shorter trim length rather than more pressure.

For a hand brush, just wipe it on the side of a grinding wheel in both
directions, being careful not to over heat the tips of the wire.

For wire cups in grinders you don't have the option of reversing so you use
heavier or better wire or go to knot-type. Sometimes higher speed is
detrimental to the operation, there are graphs of surface-feet/minute for
average brushing jobs as a starting point to then be fine tuned.

The big-unknown to most people is the alloy. The cheap brushes that you see
people complaining about here lately are most likely imports using
hard-drawn wire that is 1/4 the cost of good oil-tempered wire but looks the
same. Ask Gunner the difference, he's used them both. Hard-drawn has some
advantages as does oil-tempered. Try and see the cost of a "brushing
operation" and the cost of the brush is only a part of the mix. Sometimes a
big part of the cost, sometimes not. Just like the rest of life, nothing is
assured.

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:43:18 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:


The big-unknown to most people is the alloy. The cheap brushes that you see
people complaining about here lately are most likely imports using
hard-drawn wire that is 1/4 the cost of good oil-tempered wire but looks the
same. Ask Gunner the difference, he's used them both. Hard-drawn has some
advantages as does oil-tempered. Try and see the cost of a "brushing
operation" and the cost of the brush is only a part of the mix. Sometimes a
big part of the cost, sometimes not. Just like the rest of life, nothing is
assured.

Indeed! Great brushes. I figure that Im about 4 or 5 to one, imported
brushes versus Toms brushes, based on rust/slag removal and how often
I have to trash one of his. I was buying them 6 at a time from the
hardware store, and now I replace one of Toms after completing 4-5
times the work.

Gunner

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:43:18 GMT, the opaque "Tom Gardner"
clearly wrote:

Well, it's often best to just sacrifice the brush...thank GOD! But, for a

Spoken like a true businessman.


bench grinder wheel just chuck it up in the lathe and spin it slowly and
touch an angle grinder to the tips of the wires, just a few thousandths, to
square-up the wire tips. Do you see why a reversed wire wheel works so good
for a while? If the wire is tending to lay over, try heavier gauge wire or
shorter trim length rather than more pressure.

For a hand brush, just wipe it on the side of a grinding wheel in both
directions, being careful not to over heat the tips of the wire.

For wire cups in grinders you don't have the option of reversing so you use
heavier or better wire or go to knot-type. Sometimes higher speed is
detrimental to the operation, there are graphs of surface-feet/minute for
average brushing jobs as a starting point to then be fine tuned.

The big-unknown to most people is the alloy. The cheap brushes that you see
people complaining about here lately are most likely imports using
hard-drawn wire that is 1/4 the cost of good oil-tempered wire but looks the
same. Ask Gunner the difference, he's used them both. Hard-drawn has some
advantages as does oil-tempered. Try and see the cost of a "brushing
operation" and the cost of the brush is only a part of the mix. Sometimes a
big part of the cost, sometimes not. Just like the rest of life, nothing is
assured.

Thanks for the info.


-
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering WTF happened.
---
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..
In article , Harold and Susan Vordos
wrote:
snip---


Tell you what I'll do. When I'm finished building the house and I'm in
the
shop doing something constructive, I'll let you know what I can use and
I'll
buy them from you. I've always had a curiosity about your brushes.

I reckon he's pretty safe, judging by my experience with finishing
building houses. I moved out of the last one after 20 years and it
*still* wasn't finished. This time round I gave up right away, built
the small shop off the living room and moved in some of my tools. To
hell with aiming at finishing the house, I only work on it now when
I've run outa other things to do and I have a shop to play in on cold
nights without having to go outside. The kids can finish the house as
penance for inheriting the place.

There's no way I'm going to put off finishing that damned house from
hell-----particularly when I have a wife that has never badgered me to get
it finished, and has worked side by side with me every step of the way,
without complaining. She even drove to the laundromat until we could get
her washer and dryer up and running. At this point, it's sort of a contest
between me and the house, anyway! g

Next I'm building the big shop; I have 3 acres of land to spread out
over.......

For us, the shop came first, or almost first. The first thing we built was
our pump shed (so we'd have water), then the shop, all 2,600 square feet of
it. It is now home to us, while we build the house, and is a very cool
place. Tiled shower, with a toilet and lavatory. Built in vacuum cleaner
system, hydronic heating, (49) 8' 2 lamp fluorescent light fixtures, 3
phase power, and totally finished and painted inside, with synthetic stucco
exterior. It's nicer than some of the homes around us. Probably makes it
easier for you to understand my determination to get the house finished.
I won't have my shop back until I do. ;-)

By the way, we're on 5-1/2 acres, which was totally wooded when we purchased
it. Having lived in a sub-division prior, I can't imagine how I put up
with if for so many years. No way could I go back to living that way. I
really enjoy having space to waste, as I'm sure you do!

Harold

DoN. Nichols wrote:

I also understand that outside of the Paris area, people are
less upset by French which is less than perfect.

Your experience is completely different than mine. I've been quite some
times been in France and they never wanted to understand me (3 years
French at school + 4 weeks intensive course in Cannes/France). Maybe it
has to do something with beeing a German. You can ask any German and you
will always get the same answer: French are not willing to
help/understand.
Also, they were kind enough to steal my MX-motorcycle two days before
the race. :-(

Nick
--
Motormodelle / Engine Models:
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
Ellwe 2FB * VTM 87 * DLM-S3a * cubic
more to come ...

In article , Harold and Susan Vordos
wrote:

"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
snip--


Given the shipping costs, perhaps a 3-in-1 tool (lathe, drill
press, and mill) would be a better choice for you, in spite of the known
problems with such machines. At least, you would be paying only once.
(Though most who have started with a 3-in-1 machine have moved on to
separate machines after a while.

Best of luck,
DoN.

Brilliant! In spite of my dislike for such tools, this is a classic example
of where one might benefit by owning one. I heartily endorse the idea.

Actually an Emco - if he has the money - would give him a good lathe
plus an OK vertical milling machine. Preferably a Maximat 11 but you
can do an awful lot with a Compact 8.

As for freight from Australia, should be possible if time isn't of the
essence. The other consideration is that we're 240V 50 Hz power, dunno
about Reunion Island. Getting a 240V - 110V transformer is a piece of
cake tho, I have a number of them lying about at work for visiting
Americans to use. Machines here are a mixture of metric & Imperial, a
lot with metric dials but imperial leadscrews due to demand but pure
metric machines are available. Since you can fit a DRO and swap between
metric & imperial at the push of a button, IMO it makes sense to get
the leadscrew you'll use most for the threads you're planning on
cutting and getting by for the other ones.

Indicative price for a lathe/mill/drill from Hare & Forbes Sydney is
$AUD 1295. I really can't see how machines of this type can be
satisfactory milling machines. Drill presses & lathes, ok, but unless
you pack the mill table waaaaay up off the cross slide, how do you get
a milling cutter to the work? The Emco units have the head independent
on its own column. Serious money, tho.

The following URL has an interesting machine option at the top. I've
seen these and they're more useful, IMO, than the 3-in-1.

http://www.hareandforbes.com.au/sample_2/home.php

PDW

In article , Harold and Susan Vordos
wrote:

"Tom Gardner" wrote in message
...

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...

"Tom Gardner" wrote in message
. ..

"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message Did
anyone
on
the group watch SOAP when it was on the air? It was,
without a doubt, one of the funniest sitcoms to hit the
air--------but
if
you didn't watch it long enough to figure out what it was up to, it
was
stupid and offensive. Sometimes you have to give things a little
time
before making a decision.

Harold

Herold, most people think I'm stupid and offensive right away! Soon
after,
I remove all doubt.

Chuckle! What was that saying------It's better to be thought a full
than
to open your mouth and remove all doubt?

I don't care what you say, Tom. I think you're Ok. A little tight with
the
freebie brushes, maybe, but Ok. g

Harold


I owe you big time over the years, what do you use? Send me a ship-to
address and I can remidy your brush needs!



See? He's all heart!

Thanks, Tom, but each of us brings something to the table and I can't help
but think that we're about even. Beyond that, I can't stand folks that take
advantage of others.

It is fun jerking your chain, though! g

Tell you what I'll do. When I'm finished building the house and I'm in the
shop doing something constructive, I'll let you know what I can use and I'll
buy them from you. I've always had a curiosity about your brushes.

I reckon he's pretty safe, judging by my experience with finishing
building houses. I moved out of the last one after 20 years and it
*still* wasn't finished. This time round I gave up right away, built
the small shop off the living room and moved in some of my tools. To
hell with aiming at finishing the house, I only work on it now when
I've run outa other things to do and I have a shop to play in on cold
nights without having to go outside. The kids can finish the house as
penance for inheriting the place.

Next I'm building the big shop; I have 3 acres of land to spread out
over.......

PDW

Note to Tom: Record the breakins with a $69 recorder TODAY ONLY!
http://www.isellsurplus.com/product.asp?id=14185&c=10


I am looking at a PC based DVR eight camera system with cool software that
can do all kinds of stuff in addition to triggering an alarm with ADT.
http://www.worldeyecam.com/gv_800_dvr_card.htm

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 20:08:03 GMT, the opaque "Tom Gardner"
clearly wrote:

Note to Tom: Record the breakins with a $69 recorder TODAY ONLY!
http://www.isellsurplus.com/product.asp?id=14185&c=10

I am looking at a PC based DVR eight camera system with cool software that
can do all kinds of stuff in addition to triggering an alarm with ADT.

What are you doing fiddle****in' around with those folks at ADT?
I thought you realized that they couldn't do the job, even with
armed (and too late each and every time) dispatch?


http://www.worldeyecam.com/gv_800_dvr_card.htm

Ouch, $700 plus cameras ($40-400 each) plus installation plus
monitoring fees? (Their kit is only $2,350) OK, make those
turkeys at ADT buy it for you to save face. Now we're cookin!


-
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering WTF happened.
---
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming

Peter Wiley wrote:

but you can do an awful lot with a Compact 8.

But not with the milling arificial limb on the Compact 8. I have one,
used the "mill". Years ago the mill has got its own table and is serving
as drill press. This works.
But that piece of crap would not withstand side load, the mills get
pulled out etc.
No please!

The mill for the maximat-series is something really different. The same
head was used on Emco's PF2 (or was it FP2 or the like?). This thing
looks good, but the PITA with dual use remains ...


Nick
--
Motormodelle / Engine Models:
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
Ellwe 2FB * VTM 87 * DLM-S3a * cubic
more to come ...

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 20:08:03 GMT, the opaque "Tom Gardner"
clearly wrote:

Note to Tom: Record the breakins with a $69 recorder TODAY ONLY!
http://www.isellsurplus.com/product.asp?id=14185&c=10

I am looking at a PC based DVR eight camera system with cool software that
can do all kinds of stuff in addition to triggering an alarm with ADT.

What are you doing fiddle****in' around with those folks at ADT?
I thought you realized that they couldn't do the job, even with
armed (and too late each and every time) dispatch?


http://www.worldeyecam.com/gv_800_dvr_card.htm

Ouch, $700 plus cameras ($40-400 each) plus installation plus
monitoring fees? (Their kit is only $2,350) OK, make those
turkeys at ADT buy it for you to save face. Now we're cookin!


-
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering WTF happened.
---
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming


I have no complaints with ADT. They have recommended upgrading and adding
to my system often. I DO get what I pay for from them...limited protection,
limited to the number and quality of the sensors I pay for. The armed
Guards are a different company. They are here in 10 minutes after an alarm
hit and they tour the building 4 times a night. The thieves have been in
here so often they have figured out to avoid the PIRs. I'm still debating
exactly what to do.

Guards are a different company. They are here in 10 minutes after an alarm
hit and they tour the building 4 times a night. The thieves have been in
here so often they have figured out to avoid the PIRs. I'm still debating
exactly what to do.


Are you sure the guards and the thiefs are not the same people...
cs

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 15:38:25 GMT, the opaque "Tom Gardner"
clearly wrote:

I have no complaints with ADT. They have recommended upgrading and adding
to my system often. I DO get what I pay for from them...limited protection,
limited to the number and quality of the sensors I pay for. The armed
Guards are a different company.

Oh, x2.


They are here in 10 minutes after an alarm
hit and they tour the building 4 times a night.

That's about 9 minutes too late. How about sliding bar grates for
the interior perimeter. Once the PIR goes off, it drops the bars
around the building, maybe holding the perps in long enough for an
armed escort out. Only cost $10/11,000 and a man-month to do.


The thieves have been in
here so often they have figured out to avoid the PIRs. I'm still debating
exactly what to do.

Move the PIRs after each burglary. I'd suggest fencing in the interior
of the building (barewalled factory?) and the perimeter but
tool-wielding burglars breaking into a metalworking factory would have
too many tools at their disposal already.


Here's one solution to cat burglars:
http://www.big-boys.com/pictures/picture1217.html
(Gunner oughta like it a lot.)


---=====---
After all else fails, read the instructions.
---=====---
Website Design and Update http://www.diversify.com

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..

I've built 3 houses so far. What I learnt after building number 2 was
to never do it again. Number 2 was 3 storeys on a big suburban lot,
with a 30' x 30' metal shop drive in basement and a 16' x 20' wood shop
under the deck, all with 3 phase power.

We've built only two----but the first one http://www.castleutah.com/ , which
is now a bed & breakfast, was never finished by us. Ran out of money, but
we weren't in debt on it. You'd think we'd have learned a lesson, but
instead we did much as you did:

Then I found a perfect piece of land, which I could afford but not if I
had to pay a builder, in a different state, on the waterfront and 15
minutes from my new job. Oh hell.

For us, no waterfront, and retired, but still left with the building
project. And the move, which took three containers and three semi's.


Tent. Genset. Single phase builders power pole. Hut. Temporary shed for
the woodworking gear so I could build the cottage and store materials
undercover. Shipped down the DeWalt sliding compound mitre saw, the
table saw and a truckload of other woodworking tools. 18 months later,
move into cottage with big living room, kitchen, bathroom, heat,
insulation. Bliss. Build west wing with master bedroom and 15 x 18
workshop opening off living room via prepositioned doorways and smash
left elbow in 6 places in the process by falling when a ladder slipped
loose. 3 operations and 8 months of physiotherapy later.... 3 phase
power connection, move in welding gear, small lathe, small mill, big
bandsaw, boxes of tooling. Still got sufficient space for the B/port
and tooling, the rest of my stuff is stored at work where I have a
warehouse.

Ouch! I was somewhat more fortunate in that my fall, which was only about
6 feet, didn't break anything. Got a concussion and serious bruising where
one of our building blocks (Rastra http://rastra.com/ ) landed on my
chest, apparently after I pulled it off the wall as I fell. Same deal as
yours, a wonky ladder, which was immediately cut up and sold for scrap
(aluminum). That damned ladder ended up being quite costly---about $5,000
including the ambulance trip to the hospital.

I can build another wing on the cottage if I need it but have no
immediate plans to do so. I'm going to build a 16m by 13m workshop barn
near my power pole and run 3 phase to it. Move the rest of my tooling
in and then take it easy playing boatbuilder. Hah.

I ordered some bronze porthole castings yesterday so I can see how much
of a PITA it's gonna be to machine them up myself. It's good to be back
to the point where I can do metalwork at home again rather than having
to use the shop at work for every little job.

Sounds like a fun project. How large are the port holes?


The 2 immutable laws of building I've learnt are that nothing ever
happens on time and nothing ever happens on budget, so I know where
you're at. Eventually you'll get to where the place is 'good enough'
and can move on to other things. You'll know when it arrives. One of
these days I'll make the fancy drawer fronts for my kitchen.......

I'm not convinced a house is every truly finished---although for the first
time I'd like to assure it is as close as possible. We're quite comfortable
in the shop, but as I said, I'd enjoy having it back so I can use it
properly. The vast majority of my equipment isn't operable because we're
living where the items would be placed in use.

Harold

I've built 3 houses so far. What I learnt after building number 2 was
to never do it again. Number 2 was 3 storeys on a big suburban lot,
with a 30' x 30' metal shop drive in basement and a 16' x 20' wood shop
under the deck, all with 3 phase power.

Then I found a perfect piece of land, which I could afford but not if I
had to pay a builder, in a different state, on the waterfront and 15
minutes from my new job. Oh hell.

Tent. Genset. Single phase builders power pole. Hut. Temporary shed for
the woodworking gear so I could build the cottage and store materials
undercover. Shipped down the DeWalt sliding compound mitre saw, the
table saw and a truckload of other woodworking tools. 18 months later,
move into cottage with big living room, kitchen, bathroom, heat,
insulation. Bliss. Build west wing with master bedroom and 15 x 18
workshop opening off living room via prepositioned doorways and smash
left elbow in 6 places in the process by falling when a ladder slipped
loose. 3 operations and 8 months of physiotherapy later.... 3 phase
power connection, move in welding gear, small lathe, small mill, big
bandsaw, boxes of tooling. Still got sufficient space for the B/port
and tooling, the rest of my stuff is stored at work where I have a
warehouse.

I can build another wing on the cottage if I need it but have no
immediate plans to do so. I'm going to build a 16m by 13m workshop barn
near my power pole and run 3 phase to it. Move the rest of my tooling
in and then take it easy playing boatbuilder. Hah.

I ordered some bronze porthole castings yesterday so I can see how much
of a PITA it's gonna be to machine them up myself. It's good to be back
to the point where I can do metalwork at home again rather than having
to use the shop at work for every little job.

The 2 immutable laws of building I've learnt are that nothing ever
happens on time and nothing ever happens on budget, so I know where
you're at. Eventually you'll get to where the place is 'good enough'
and can move on to other things. You'll know when it arrives. One of
these days I'll make the fancy drawer fronts for my kitchen.......

PDW

In article , Harold and Susan Vordos
wrote:

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..
In article , Harold and Susan Vordos
wrote:
snip---


Tell you what I'll do. When I'm finished building the house and I'm in
the
shop doing something constructive, I'll let you know what I can use and
I'll
buy them from you. I've always had a curiosity about your brushes.

I reckon he's pretty safe, judging by my experience with finishing
building houses. I moved out of the last one after 20 years and it
*still* wasn't finished. This time round I gave up right away, built
the small shop off the living room and moved in some of my tools. To
hell with aiming at finishing the house, I only work on it now when
I've run outa other things to do and I have a shop to play in on cold
nights without having to go outside. The kids can finish the house as
penance for inheriting the place.

There's no way I'm going to put off finishing that damned house from
hell-----particularly when I have a wife that has never badgered me to get
it finished, and has worked side by side with me every step of the way,
without complaining. She even drove to the laundromat until we could get
her washer and dryer up and running. At this point, it's sort of a contest
between me and the house, anyway! g

Next I'm building the big shop; I have 3 acres of land to spread out
over.......

For us, the shop came first, or almost first. The first thing we built was
our pump shed (so we'd have water), then the shop, all 2,600 square feet of
it. It is now home to us, while we build the house, and is a very cool
place. Tiled shower, with a toilet and lavatory. Built in vacuum cleaner
system, hydronic heating, (49) 8' 2 lamp fluorescent light fixtures, 3
phase power, and totally finished and painted inside, with synthetic stucco
exterior. It's nicer than some of the homes around us. Probably makes it
easier for you to understand my determination to get the house finished.
I won't have my shop back until I do. ;-)

By the way, we're on 5-1/2 acres, which was totally wooded when we purchased
it. Having lived in a sub-division prior, I can't imagine how I put up
with if for so many years. No way could I go back to living that way. I
really enjoy having space to waste, as I'm sure you do!

Harold

In article , Nick Müller
wrote:

Peter Wiley wrote:

but you can do an awful lot with a Compact 8.

But not with the milling arificial limb on the Compact 8. I have one,
used the "mill". Years ago the mill has got its own table and is serving
as drill press. This works.
But that piece of crap would not withstand side load, the mills get
pulled out etc.
No please!

The mill for the maximat-series is something really different. The same
head was used on Emco's PF2 (or was it FP2 or the like?). This thing
looks good, but the PITA with dual use remains ...

Yeah, agree about the dual use headache. I never used a Compact 8
milling head, only the Maximat 11 as a friend of mine had one. They did
use the same head on the FP2 mill, IIRC. There was also a reasonable
Taiwanese knockoff copy available at one point some years ago.

PDW

In article , Harold and Susan Vordos
wrote:

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..

I've built 3 houses so far. What I learnt after building number 2 was
to never do it again. Number 2 was 3 storeys on a big suburban lot,
with a 30' x 30' metal shop drive in basement and a 16' x 20' wood shop
under the deck, all with 3 phase power.

We've built only two----but the first one http://www.castleutah.com/ , which
is now a bed & breakfast, was never finished by us. Ran out of money, but
we weren't in debt on it. You'd think we'd have learned a lesson, but
instead we did much as you did:

Then I found a perfect piece of land, which I could afford but not if I
had to pay a builder, in a different state, on the waterfront and 15
minutes from my new job. Oh hell.

For us, no waterfront, and retired, but still left with the building
project. And the move, which took three containers and three semi's.

Mine only took 2 containers but the old house still has all its
furniture etc. All I shipped was tools & books.

I ordered some bronze porthole castings yesterday so I can see how much
of a PITA it's gonna be to machine them up myself. It's good to be back
to the point where I can do metalwork at home again rather than having
to use the shop at work for every little job.

Sounds like a fun project. How large are the port holes?

These ones are only babies - approx 9" OD with opening glass ports. 3
castings to machine plus a few pins, screws etc for the clamps. I have
a few I inherited from my father; one weighs approx 40kg but it has a
solid bronze storm cover that clamps over the glass port.

Pleasure boat gear is unbelievably overpriced for the engineering
involved. I look at sheet winches and shake my head in disbelief.

Even with the little portholes I suspect I'll end up putting the 10"
rotary table on the B/port. Almost need a small crane to lift that bit
of gear nowadays so making a rolling table for it when I uncrate it is
a high priority. I'm mounting more stuff on castors nowadays.

I'm not convinced a house is every truly finished---although for the first
time I'd like to assure it is as close as possible. We're quite comfortable
in the shop, but as I said, I'd enjoy having it back so I can use it
properly. The vast majority of my equipment isn't operable because we're
living where the items would be placed in use.

Yeah, been there, it's a pain living with metal swarf & sawdust
everywhere. If you don't take it all too seriously, it'll work out
fine. I refused to move into my cottage until everything that was going
to make a mess was finished - and I worked from the top down so I
wasn't crapping up finished surfaces. The last job was getting the
timber floor sanded & sealed. By then the ceiling was finished, the
walls all painted and all I had to do was architrave & skirting, which
had already been cut to size and prefinished. Ditto with the shop
space, including painting the floor with paving paint before I had a
chance to spill oil on it. I lined the walls with good quality plywood
this time so I can hang stuff anywhere I want without having to find a
stud, and if I *do* need a stud, the screws holding the plywood up make
their location obvious. I guess by the time you do number 3 shop, you
have a fair idea of how to arrange things to suit yourself. Might not
suit the next owner, but that's their problem.....

PDW