My luck ran out

[rockman]

 Got the news today I am unemployed. The construction company I work for has been having trouble winning bids for the last year, I guess I have been fortunate to have stayed this long. Kinda nervous about whats next, not much around here, I guess I'll get some work done around the house.

Kevin

[red oaks lumber]

sorry to hear that kevin :(

[Riggs]

I went through the same thing about three years ago, has to be one of the worst feelings ever.
Just remember when one door shuts another opens.
Good luck to you!

[GF]

Sorry to hear that, seems like anymore I hear this more and more often.

GF

[DeepWoods]

I went through it in September of 2008. At the time I wasn't sure what to do.  In December 2009 my Wife lost her job to India.  We thought about it long and hard and decided we would just retire early.  Me at 52, and my Wife at 63.  While I won't say it would work for everyone, we never looked back and said we made a mistake.  It has been a lot different that's for sure.  And not always easy.  Hopefully you find the right road to follow, and things work out for you.

[rockman]

Thank You for the encouragement. Thankfully the only bills we have are our mortgage and utilities, I do have alot of tools(mechanic and woodworking), portable lincoln welder, my little tracktor loader backhoe and the skills to use them. I have never been without a job when I wanted one my whole life, the thing that scares me the most is marketing these skills in this economy at my age. It sure is nice to have a place to think out loud while I formulate a game plan.
Thanks again everybody
Kevin

[WildDog]

Like Riggs said:

Just remember when one door shuts another opens.

Might be time to get the Band Mill ;) Hope it all comes together for you

[fishpharmer]

Hang in there Rockman.  I have heard there are several places around here looking for skilled welders.

[mad murdock]

Sorry to hear about your plight rockman:/ I'll 3rd rigg's thoughts, another opportunity is just waiting for you to discover it. Best to you and yours as we enter the new year!

[Patty]

I am so sorry to hear this news. Sometimes things do happen for a reason, and hopefully a new door will open for you. Best of luck.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Rockman, sorry to hear about your job loss.

Where do you live from Charlotte, N.C.?

I'm 20 minutes south of Charlotte in S.C. If I can help you to make up your mind on a band mill, come on down and you can run my Woodmizer. Your mind will be made up then.

Good-Luck.

David

[Taylortractornut]

I hate to hear about this but   your skilled and age shouldnt matter.  Alot of companies are looking for more experienced personell now.  When the plant that owned our landfill closed  I felt the same way. Another company came in and we went back to work.     Wife lost her  job at the bank and got a part time job at another that was kinda crappy. THe 90 day  didnt work out for her o they were  letting her go and he found a job a few weeks before the 90 was out.   It worked out to be a great job.     

I have  friend that was just told by the company her works for that  they were getting down graded in pay.  Alot of the workers there  had to quit  and find other work  rather than the  lowered wages.    He was shocked to see that all the replacements were  as nicely as I can put it   Undocumented workers.  Kinda chaps me badly.   He found work with another company and got to see his former company go down hill.         What line of construction are you  in? I may know of someone in your area thats looking.

[rockman]

Thanks for the invite David, the sawmill will be put on farther hold I search for another source of income. "If I can't pay cash I don't need it" has been my motto since the economy went down the tubes in'08.

Tractornut, I have been working on heavy civil construction projects as an equipment operator/ maintenance man, my expertise is in aggregates (i.e. rockman) crushers, screens etc.
Thank You,
  Kevin

[doctorb]

Best of luck. I find that, when people have been working in specific areas for many years, that they are more specialized, and more marketable, than they believe.  Show confidence in your skills and you'll find work, and maybe a better job than you had.

[Jeff]

I went from Sawyer to Geek. Never planned that or even saw it coming for that matter.  :D

[scsmith42]

Kevin, best of success to you in landing back on your feet.

In the interim....  if you're interested I've got an older Cat D8H that needs the pan pulled and the oil pump replaced.  I can do it myself, but am not sure when it will get to the top of the priority list.

Send me a PM or e-mail if you're interested in doing the repair work here at my farm.

Thx.

Scott

[beenthere]

....from Sawyer to Geek 

And a DanG good one at that!

[Norm]

Good luck Kevin. 

[thecfarm]

It always kinda amazes me. All this is on a short time base,like 6 months. We have all fell on bad times,large bills, be it medical bills or whatever,no job,but we always seem to get by. Even if on a few hundred a week instead of 6-800. May not buy what we are use too,but we get by. You will do just fine rockman,but I still want to wish you luck on a job. That should be my name,rockman. Seems like that's all I do around here is dig rocks.

[rockman]

Thanks again to everyone for the support, it really does mean alot.
doctorb, In the America we grew up in, you would be on the mark, however in todays America where companies cut every corner they can get away with, Illegal Aliens are the cheaper alternative. That is a topic for another time and place.

Jeff, As long as it has taken me to figure out how to post photo's, I don't think I have enough years ahead of me to become a "geek". 

Kevin

[mooleycow]

we all seen hard times just as we have seen good times,  know you are among friends and you, your wife are in our prayers. don't close down inside,  lean on us and others.   

[John_Haylow]

Sorry to hear about your job Kevin, hopefully it is only short term. Would there be any work for your Kioti locally?

John

[ahlkey]

Sorry to hear about your job loss. 

For me after I lost my job at 50 it took be more than two years to reinvent my 3rd chapter in life.  For sure their was some nervous days but now at 56 I am very happy with my forestry & woodworking business.  This forum has been a great place to get ideas and a wonderful place for experienced straight talk.   Keep us updated on your progress and good luck to you whatever you land.

[Buck]

Rockman, you have just a few years on me but skills and work ethic are in demand. You will be ok.

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Rockman

Sorry to hear about the loss of employment. I do believe that things happen for a reason and that this may be a sign from above for you to move on to a new career such as sawing lumber.

I originally got into sawing as a desire to keep my own wood racks full for my own personal use. Boy was I wrong about thinking that would ever happen. Even though I am not out there pushing lumber sales, the customers keep coming and buying the wood as fast as I can cut it.

Yesterday I had a fellow call me and said that he wanted every stick of hardwood lumber I had in my building. He was going to build a large number of butcher block style tables for a large new restaurant he was getting set to open and did not want to pay the rediculous price it would cost to buy them. He was not kidding. He took virtually everything that was 3/4" of thicker, even a bunch of 4 foot long stock that I had that I thought would be difficult to get rid of. I had about 100 bf of wood in a wood rack in the back corner of the building that was blocked by about 800 bundles of firewood and he even climbed up on the pile and pulled out 90% of that wood as well and added it to the shipment.

This one sale was more than I paid for my brand new LT-10. I got the logs for free, less the cost for fuel and a helper to go fetch them. The firewood sales I got from the flitches more than covered what it cost me to fetch the logs used to fill this order..

Wife was very happy when I came home today with a fist full of Franklins.

I do not saw nearly as frequently as most members on this forum, as we also sell a lot of firewood which consumes much of our time and resources, but after this experience today, that mill will be getting a lot more use in 2012, even if it means hiring more help.

There is definitely money to be made in sawing if you can get the logs at the right price and have an outlet for the lumber you produce. Best of all you gain the opportunity to be your own boss and control your own destiny. Hope this inspires you. Just make sure you do your homework and research both you log supply market and you retail market for your completed product.

If there is anything I can do to help you, shoot me a PM and will gladly share any info and knowledge I have with you to help you out.

Fred AKA Busy Beaver