Author Topic: Last night's Christmas party made me realize I need a change (Read 9769 times)

RENOVATIONS · « **Reply #15 on:** January 08, 2007, 08:26:47 PM »

Give that some thought...that rent is dirt cheap! If you think you could make enough side cash to pay the rent, it would give you space to work on your "soon" car, too.

Joker (§ir£Ðragon) · « **Reply #16 on:** January 08, 2007, 08:32:47 PM »

Quote from: "79ws6resto"

Goive that some thought...that rent is dirt cheap! If you think you could make enough side cash to pay the rent, it would give you space to work on your "soon" car, too.

I know. I'd love to be able to do that. It is almost right behind the building I see out my front door. :shock: :lol: But so far over the last two months doing side work I've earned some free haircuts for the kids and myself and enough cash to fill the LTD's gas tank. :? Maybe if it's still available in the spring I'll look into it more seriously. I'd also have to consider cost of utilities. But man it's perfect. :lol:

RENOVATIONS · « **Reply #17 on:** January 08, 2007, 08:46:09 PM »

Utilities?? Buy a flashlight and wear a jacket :wink: :lol:

Joker (§ir£Ðragon) · « **Reply #18 on:** January 08, 2007, 08:50:52 PM »

Quote from: "79ws6resto"

Utilities?? Buy a flashlight and wear a jacket :wink: :lol:

:lol: LMOA :lol:

milly · « **Reply #19 on:** January 08, 2007, 09:06:23 PM »

If you can see it from your house an extra long extension cord will reach. :wink:

Tin Indians Rule · « **Reply #20 on:** January 08, 2007, 09:37:18 PM »

Quote from: "79ws6resto"

Utilities?? Buy a flashlight and wear a jacket :wink: :lol:

Better yet, do what we did back in the early days. Go up in the roof and tap into the other shops wiring. Man, when we first started out we even went up in the roof and split their office A/C and heat ducts into my office. We'd go next door for a coke from their vending machine and adjust their thermostat as needed to be comfy on hot days. :lol: They never had a clue. All their bills went to a home office somewhere out west.

We tapped into their compressor for our air tools and they busted us for it. It took em a while to figure out why the compressor would come on and off so much when they were not using it. They never found out about the electricity or HVAC.

It's was nice to be young and brazen once upon a time. LOL

Joker (§ir£Ðragon) · « **Reply #21 on:** January 08, 2007, 09:40:05 PM »

Quote from: "Tin Indians Rule"

Quote from: "79ws6resto"
Utilities?? Buy a flashlight and wear a jacket :wink: :lol:

Better yet, do what we did back in the early days. Go up in the roof and tap into the other shops wiring. Man, when we first started out we even went up in the roof and split their office A/C and heat ducts into my office. We'd go next door for a coke from their vending machine and adjust their thermostat as needed to be comfy on hot days. :lol: They never had a clue. All their bills went to a home office somewhere out west.

We tapped into their compressor for our air tools and they busted us for it. It took em a while to figure out why the compressor would come on and off so much when they were not using it. They never found out about the electricity or HVAC.

It's was nice to be young and brazen once upon a time. LOL

That sounds like something I would have done. :lol: Unfortunately this is a freestanding building. So no attached neighbors.

I need to find a buried treasure or something.

jiveturkey692000 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 08, 2007, 09:41:55 PM »

Quote from: "Tin Indians Rule"

Quote from: "79ws6resto"
Utilities?? Buy a flashlight and wear a jacket :wink: :lol:

Better yet, do what we did back in the early days. Go up in the roof and tap into the other shops wiring. Man, when we first started out we even went up in the roof and split their office A/C and heat ducts into my office. We'd go next door for a coke from their vending machine and adjust their thermostat as needed to be comfy on hot days. :lol: They never had a clue. All their bills went to a home office somewhere out west.

We tapped into their compressor for our air tools and they busted us for it. It took em a while to figure out why the compressor would come on and off so much when they were not using it. They never found out about the electricity or HVAC.

It's was nice to be young and brazen once upon a time. LOL

LOL :lol:

milly · « **Reply #23 on:** January 08, 2007, 09:42:12 PM »

You could always start panning for gold. There is a river running through town right??

stimpy · « **Reply #24 on:** January 09, 2007, 04:25:48 PM »

larry the first shop I used I had no utilitys at all and it was a uninsulated pole barn , but with the knee condition and the cold you might stiffen up , I made a heater out of a old hot water heater I cut the guts out and made it so I gcould burn waste oil in a pan inside ( peel the insulation off the outside and weld fins too it ) , and I sealed up all the drafty windows and only opened the garage door when needed ,it was a forty gallon size and kept the building tollerable (about 40 degrees) and it kept my coffee warm too (the idea came from a magizine ) . I placed my desk near it so I could warm up at lunchtime , for light I used sunlight and a mirror and when it got dark I used kerosene huricane lamps or a car headlight wired to a battery pack (4 car batterys in a little red wagon ) which I charged at the house at night , later I took a 4 cylinder car engine (pinto 2300) and made a 220 volt 10k generator and aircompressor driven off the trans with pulleys and the radiator supplied the heat electric fan pushing heat out front of motor ( engine exaust piped outside) could run it 2 days on a tank of gas (12gallons)

RENOVATIONS · « **Reply #25 on:** January 09, 2007, 04:56:01 PM »

Stimpy, you never cease to amaze me. That is true ingenuity!

stimpy · « **Reply #26 on:** January 09, 2007, 05:19:39 PM »

I cannot take full credit , my grandfather grew up in the backwoods of So. Indiana , and taught me to make do with what you have, and to impervise , and try not to waste anything if at all possible, we had a waste oil burner ( smudge pot ) in the barn that burned all the used tractor oil and we got the waste oil from other farms as well (they where more than happy to get rid of it ) , and we also burned moldy corn that we couldn't sell , the magizine I refered too was the "mother earth news ", they are about 50 years ahead of everyone else when it comes to renewable resources . If I could put a waste burner or corn stove in my condo I would as the electric bills are outragous !!

RENOVATIONS · « **Reply #27 on:** January 09, 2007, 05:55:21 PM »

Quote from: "stimpy"

my grandfather grew up in the backwoods of So. Indiana ...

Where about? That's where I grew up... :shock: (minus the woods)

Joker (§ir£Ðragon) · « **Reply #28 on:** January 09, 2007, 08:09:31 PM »

I don't think I could go back to that. When I started I was working out of the trunk of my '77 Cutlass. I even went as far as moving the batteries (I made it a dual setup) to the trunk to make it easier to jump start other vehicles on the side of the road. I also pulled the passenger seat out to make loading and unloading heavy tools easier. Kept a full size floor jack and 4 jack stands in it. That was when I was young and was installing C-6 transmissions by laying under the truck in a parking lot and bench pressing them into place then holding them up on my knees while I started the bolts. :shock:

Then I wonder why I'm in the shape I'm in. :oops:
But in all fairness the most damage to my knees came in the first real shop I worked for when I fell onto the end of the lift arm. (There isn't a smilie adequate to show that feeling.)

But I may have something! I talked to a lady at work today and she told me to call her husband. They have a place right here in town that would be perfect! It has a 35 x 40 shop with one door and a storage room almost as big. It's attached to a house and shares electricity with it. So if I run up the bill I would have to help pay it. (No problem) I'd have to heat it but that shouldn't be hard as it is insulated. There's a bunch of old benches left from the last guy who was running a shop out of it. And even an old compressor which he says does work. (If I use it I will definitely have to help with the electric bill. :lol:)

The rent is only $175 a month with a $100 deposit. I am going to see if I can move in on the 1st after I get a couple of paychecks so I can split it up. And even better - he's a rural mail carrier. That means he uses his own vehicle to deliver mail 6 days a week. That means he will need a lot of maintenance on that vehicle. Especially brakes. And he's willing to work the rent out in trade for work like that!

Even if he doesn't need anything every month I can get enough side work to cover that much in rent.

That means I now have a bed (or will) for the Phoenix when she gets here!

Now I just need to get back to finding something to get me out of my current "job". :lol:

RENOVATIONS · « **Reply #29 on:** January 09, 2007, 09:21:46 PM »

That sounds awesome, Larry...congrats on that!!
Don't make the mistake I often do and UNDER-charge for your labor.