Making it through another year, '23-'24

[Old Greenhorn]

Spot on, it's definitely a game, like craps.
 Way back in the early 80's I got a job as a Senior Applications Engineer which sounds neat, but it was really being a skilled machinist working as a salesman for a specialty superfinishing tool. I was 'senior' because they hired a younger fella to help me do the tool shows. (He was unimpressive, barely an all-around machinist, and did whatever he was told, but if you didn't tell him anything, he didn't do anything. Not a self starter, you could say. ) Anyway, sales were new to me and they had a couple  of high end big dollar investors that were very successful businessmen and knew sales and the psychology of selling. They gave us a crash course in qualifying prospects, reading human 'tells' and driving quickly to a meaningful connection (hopefully resulting in a sale and a new client), OR casting the prospect aside as a tire kicker pretty quickly and not expending time on a time waster. Caustic though it was, they were pretty dang accurate in their methods and we (my junior and I) would make a game out of who could read prospects at a show quickest and home in on the good ones. It was an amusement that made a 2 or 3 day show go faster, and also a fascinating glimpse into how people think, talk, decide, and behave. I learned a lot and I carried those 'reading skills' through the rest of my career up to now. I continue to hone them, just for fun, it fascinates me a little. Most shows I have ample opportunity to 'practice' on people as I entertain questions and conversations about their needs and interests. On average I would guess about 20-40 interactions during a 5 hour show. At this show, there was 1 which made it clear to me "we have no buyers here". (AKA ' these are not the Droids you are looking for'.) This show reminded me of when we did a tool show in Charlotte, NC and they had a cold snap with a little snow in the suburbs, the temp was around 20° during the days of the show and they thought the world was ending, schools were closed because some found ice on a road (frozen puddle) and nobody came out. The local news was selling it as a 'natural disaster' (stay home if you don't HAVE to be somewhere). It was 8 below when we left NY for the show, so bright sunshine and 20° was like a Caribbean vacation to us. People stared at us as we walked up the street in open sport coats while they were wearing any and every piece of heavy outerwear they owned. But with a filled convention hall of exhibitors (about 300) we had less than 600 people come to the show over a 3 day period. Normal would have been around 6-10,000 people in that period. The show was beyond a total bust for everyone and exhibitors were setting up card tables and playing poker in groups of booths. We had a TV in our booth for playing videos of our tools through a VCR and a lot of folks asked us if we could rig it to get local tv and at least watch the news, a ball game, or the Andy Griffith show...anything. (We tried, no joy.)  I will add that of all the shows I did around the country, from LA to NY, the Charlotte show was by far the nicest one to work at, get setup, do the show, and get out. The staff and the town were the most pleasant to work with that I had experienced. It's a shame the weather killed that show. (And if your curious, Detroit was at the other end of that spectrum, they wore me out and had me on edge the minute I walked in the hall and it didn't let up until I got home.)
 Anyway, today was a 'Charlotte day' for me as far as the show went. It's gonna happen, all you can do is lay back, laugh, and enjoy what you can out of it, then move on the next day. Life doesn't come with any promises except that it will end eventually.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

    Here I am sitting in a hotel in Charlotte reading your fond memories. Maybe I better go make some.

[Old Greenhorn]

I still can't believe you haven't yet chortled over how I cut the legs on those last 2 rush benches.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

    I rarely chortle (Snicker, Snicker). I was in a rush last night when I read your post. I finally got back to WV tonight after 10 days on the road/trip. Mist of the time I did not have steady internet and just ran in and checked my e-mail real quick and answered any that were urgent and did a rush job checking the FF for any alerts there and maybe a quick comment elsewhere.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well Howard, to clear things up I never actually posted the post that included the leg cutting. I wrote it on 4/22 and it got lost in the confusion of another post going up, I missed it, and it was gone.
 So just for your benefit I will paraphrase as best I can recall;
 I was anxious to have those 2 benches done for this show and I knew using the 'cut and sand' method would kill a lot of time I didn't have. So I grabbed a bunch of clamps and some bunk wood and headed to the LT50. I did the bigger one first, easier clamp setup, and it cut like a dream even though the blade was apparently shot. I put the smaller one up and messed with padding boards a bit and that too cut perfect. Color me amazed. There was ZERO shake rattle or roll even with a poor blade. I was on my way back to the shop in under 30 minutes.
 So there, I have fallen on my sword. I may still pick on you for this prOcess, but I think I will be using it more often anyway.  Go ahead Howard, chortle away, you earned that.
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 Yesterday after I had some time to reflect on that 'show' some more and I was pretty disgusted. The fact that they had no advertising really ticked me off. There was only one vendor that made a few bucks beyond the cost of the booth and they were selling fresh baked goods, but they went home with plenty of leftovers. Every other vendor lost money and time. That's not right. I am finding a lot of these people who run smaller shows don't have a clue how to do it right. I had two people come and ask me if I would consider doing their shows. I asked one of them if I could fit my booth in as it was standing in front of her. "Oh No, I don't think so. I think we only do 10x10's" 'well then, it's not for me, how much do you charge?', she says "well, I really don't know, I should find out". Yeah, you should have a clue. AT this show I was the second one there and they had no idea where I would be. They just winged it as it went along, no marked, or even planned areas and the main gal was there late with nothing written down. It amazes me.
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 The other thing that depressed me was the trailer tie down method I had chosen which takes way too long. Yeah, I fit a lot of stuff in, but wow it takes a lot of time. I have to fix that. I didn't do nuttin' yesterday except stare into that trailer trying to re-arrange stuff in my head and find a better solution. I researched some different strapping methods with no success. I am still thinking on it. There has to be a better way. I do know that I need to make more crates that are fitted for specific products and labeled so that I get the right stuff in each during pack-up. I also made longer lists of small things that need doing.
 Still, I am not very enthused about going to the next show. Plus, I have to find that show and see if I can get in. So I really bummed around yesterday because I was pretty tired still and a little depressed.
 Today is another day and I should get on it.

[Nebraska]

Well unfortunately it will take time to figure out where you should and shouldn't go. Sounds awful to go to that much effort to ready yourselves to put a good face out there and have a poorly organized event. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah Pat, that is part of the prOcess, the weeding out. I should have known better. But the timing on that show was fairly perfect for me. I will have to make a point of going to all the shows I am considering just to check them out. I started doing some of this last year, but will really have to buckle down and keep notes. I knocked a couple off my list last fall. I avoid anything with a high entry fee and the ones that require vendors to provide an insurance certificate with the show named on it. That is nonsense in my book. A lot of folks who run shows do it to make money off the vendors but don't deliver on their end by bringing in the crowds and advertising.

[aigheadish]

I wonder, Tom, and I'm just spitballing, about a couple removable cubby-hole racks that are of average size for your stuff. I know that average is very loose term for your woodworking, maybe the racks could be adjustable and lined with moving blankets, so you stuff a piece in, it's mostly secure, and run a strap down the front to keep it in it's hole. Throw some pneumatic casters on them so you could wheel them out of the trailer to load or unload or adjust?

Certainly, that isn't a perfect idea but hopefully it sparks something... I'm looking at pantry designs, there may be some inspiration there...

[doc henderson]

not a bad idea.  or even a tote with wheels and a handle like I use for firewood.  they can stack 5 high.  and we fill them with firewood, and they roll and even go up steps.  



these are now 43 bucks a piece.  big and easy to handle.  stackable

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I always say there are no bad ideas when trying to figure stuff like this out. It's just that some ideas will work better than others and some ideas lead to better ideas, but most ideas (at least here) will work to some degree. SO I read and really consider each thought that someone took time to think up and offer. Although I have to say that sometimes Howard gets a bit 'out there' in the thought process and goes down roads that I would not really want to travel myself but, bless his heart, he took time to think on it and offer something up tat he feels might help.
 Doc those boxes can work nice, my wife uses tons of tubs for her stuff and that works great. For me, it would be a lot of wasted space for most of my stuff. Properly sized crates work better for that and are cheap/fast to make. I am thinking of one of those tubs for all my moving blankets, which I use like paper towels when I am packing. Never have enough. My real issue is/are those benches (and the small items which I will solve easily with the fitted crates). My system sucks for loading and unloading but is great for travel, they are rock solid secure. Holding the benches in place while trying to put on and tighten straps turns out to be a real pain even if the end result is great.
 Now Austin's idea was another I considered. I even went out and measured the space and the benches and thunk on it for a bit. Although the rolling racks don't really work for me (too heavy and awkward and not really solving the issue) the rack idea actually works better than what I am doing. Screwing it to the wall makes it very rigid and I believe I can get 4 benches, with one or two more small ones nested inside larger ones, plus a bunch of stools on the top shelf or lo-pro crates.
 Thinking back, the shelf idea was my first one that I cast aside in favor of the wall strapping idea. But now that I have suffered through my first choice and had time to look and measure, Austin's idea in basic form may be the way I need to go. Of course, like every other project, it starts with me getting to the mill to make lumber for it. So in this case I think Austin 'sparked something' as he said. At least this one will be squared instead of  rounded to match the front of the trailer. That wasn't easy for me.
 Thanks guys, I needed somebody to rattle my brain a bit. I'll have to let it set for a bit until I make lumber and I am working (very slowly) on that park bench, it's more tricky that I thought. I got everything fitted up today but I got bolts too short so need to go get the right ones and have some holes to adjust and open up. Once it all fits right I can do the finishing on the wood and figure out that silly paint job. I really should get to the mill start on firewood and do a ton of other things. Oh yeah, and last minute mushroom log orders.  But after finishing up the messed up harvest season and getting that first show out of the way and all the work that was involved in both I am tired and taking some lazy days to recuperate.
 Tomorrow is our 47th Wedding anniversary, so I need a plan for that too.

[SawyerTed]

Would rails of this stuff work?  Seems like mounted (vertical or horizontal) with some spacers between it and the wall bungees could be used.  Covering it with some pipe insulation for padding.  

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah Ted, that was the very first thing that popped into my mind the day I got the trailer and many times it has been suggested by others. But I am shying away from that because it, and the attachments, are pricey and add up quick, but mostly because it protrudes and as you noted, it needs padding. I may still wind up there some day, but for now I am trying to avoid it. It has strong points for sure, but for now I am leaving that until later. I've been thinking on this modified shelf thing all evening and am honing in on a design that could work very well and the cost will be quite low. It's still in the running (I never throw out an idea permanently), but I am holding on that for a bit.

[SawyerTed]

Slotted DIN rail - 10 pcs at 3 1 meters each is $50 at the orange box store, $35 at the big online retailer for 10 pcs at 3  1 meters each.  Both are steel not aluminum.  There are packs of 6", 8", an 12" for less.  Proof of concept (or not) wouldnt be too expensive.

Slotted DIN rail not slotted strut channel which is $$$.  It's profile is 7.5 mm thick, 0.30". With a 3/8" plywood spacer it's around 5/8" off the wall, not a much more than D rings.  The spacer would allow a bungee hook to go behind.  It could be mounted flat and bungees would still hook. 

Some cable ties to hold some pool noodles or pipe insulation for padding would be cheap enough to relocate as needed and semi permanent. 

Remember the FF rule, we CAN spend other Forumite's money indiscriminately even if it's $100.  I know sometimes it doesn't feel right throwing more cash at something that's already taken several dollars already. 

It would be easy to add sections over time.

[TimW]

What about putting in wooden shelves and lining with carpet?  Put the stools and benches upside down on the carpet. Carpet stores always have remnants for free or almost nothing.  Have a bungee cord hook onto the wall and on the bottom side of the wooden shelf.  Two bungee cords for benches and one bungee cord for stools.

[aigheadish]

Whoa, I got one kinda right!

What about racking with shelves that just have dowels and slots on the sides of them to slot into different sizes? I'm thinking just 2x4s with notches cut out to slide the dowels into to adjust size. 

I like the carpet remnant and pool noodle ideas! 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, that's a lotta stuff to consider and reply to.
 First, let me 'splain my philosophy about securing stuff, especially this stuff. I don't use bungees for anything except maybe holding a bunch of poles in a bundle. They stretch and move way too much and are never the right length. When I secure this stuff it has to be rock solid with not movement, because if it moves, it abrades, even a tiny little bit, each time it moves, this will ruin a finish quick. There has to be zero movement and in the event of even a minor crash or pothole, things can get thrown harder than one might think. SO I use mostly ratchet straps and sometimes just pull buckle straps if I can get them tight enough.
 As far as spending money goes, if I found the perfect solution, I'd do it. I have already spent well over $500. on doo-dads for this trailer setup, what's a few more bucks?
 Those DIN rails or etracks only provide an anchor point and that doesn't really help my problem. I already have anchor points with the d-rings. By the way, the cost with those rails is not in the rails, it's the attachment points. At between 10 and 18 bucks a pop, needing 4 per bench, that adds up really quick! I get those d-rings for $1.50/ea. My issue is holding the benches in place while I make and tighten the straps. If it's just one bench it's not bad at all, but if it's two benches and a stool I am strapping to the wall, it becomes nearly impossible to do alone. Shelving should allow me to set the stuff in, pad it, then strap it down without having to hold it there the whole time. Gravity becomes my friend, not my nemesis.
 As far as padding goes, I already wrap everything in a moving blanket for protection, and I am very liberal with those. This shelf I am planning in my head will pretty much just be a frame. For the shelf surface, I am going to use 1/2" rigid foam insulation, then a moving blanket on top  of that, then a nested stack of long bench, short bench, and one or two stools with blankets between everything. If I need to I can cut plywood shelf tops at a later date, but for right now, I am just going to do that on the top shelf which may get a couple of small crates. I'll decide that on the fly.

 Right now I am still working out the math in my head. That shelf unit will need to be about 80" long and some 40" high (I have to go back and figure the depth I need). That's a lot of wall space to consume in this trailer so I just have to be sure that I can fit the equivalent amount of product in that space as I am storing there now. If it comes out even, it's a go. But I actually think I might be able to get even more on the shelves. With all the odd shapes and curved benches, it is very hard to tell.
 It will likely be a week or more before I have time to work on this. I have no idea when my next show is yet. I am a little gun-shy after this last one.

[SawyerTed]

Tom, it's evident we look at things much differently.   I get that securing your works is the end goal.  Certainly you've spent a lot of resources to craft them.  They are very nice works.  Damage in transport would be disheartening for sure. 

But my approach is different.   Everyone wants a better mouse trap but it's unusual when a regular trap won't catch a mouse.  So when there's an industry standard system I am more inclined to use it and adapt it versus build something.    

If I can closely replicate an industry standard with off the shelf parts, I often do that.  The DIN rail is that kind of solution. 

My creative energy goes other places.  No better and no worse than trying to build a better mouse trap - create a cargo securing system.

Our differences make the world an interesting place.  

Carry on, I'm intrigued to see what develops. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Absolutely correct Ted, we all think differently and that's what makes this forum great, getting good ideas from different approaches. I may still come around to the pre-fab tracks at some point, but for now I want to try this rack first because of that 'holding it up' issue I mentioned in the previous post.

[aigheadish]

I'd personally build racks because I have "free" (already paid for) wood sitting around. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Yesterday I worked on that park bench some more and got the parts to fit a little better and test fitted everything, then took it apart and put a first coat of poly on one side of all the boards. The I messed around with a test piece of wood on how I might do this paint job on the legs. Mixed results and I am letting it go for now while I ponder it some more.
 Then I started kicking around wondering 'what's next?'. I have some stuff to fix, the shop needs a major cleanup, there are lots of tools overdue to be put away, etc.
 But with that flurry of discussion here yesterday about my trailer issues, I was hung up on that. As I said I need wood to make the latest idea and I checked my pine pile out back for 1x material, but there was enough. I knocked around some more and then remembered my attic 'kiln' but could not recall what was up there so I checked. I had a bunch of 1x6 pine boards, more than enough for the build, but short of what I wanted to the long parts. I found one board outside on the pile that would cover the long parts. So I collected it all, cut stuff to length, ripped the pieces I needed, planed everything and hade enough to make the two shelf frames. I got one frame assembled and just stuck that out in the trailer. I will have to clean it out to make working room today. The other one I still have to assemble, then I have to rip and plane some more material for the front legs and any cross pieces. I had to quit around 4 to some get cleaned up and changed.
 Yesterday was our 47th wedding anniversary and we went out to a real fancy joint that was VERY proud of their food and reflected it in their pricing. We concluded that it was the most expensive dinner we ever had together, but we really enjoyed it. We took a short walk and sat on a bench by the creek and watched the boat traffic and ducks for a while until the rain started, then we headed home. A very nice evening.
 Today I will get back to work on the new shelves because I ma quite anxious to see how/if this works.

[aigheadish]

Happy Anniversary Tom and Pat!

We don't go out to eat very often, which makes me a little sad, but sometimes there is something to be said for fancy food with fancy prices. The fanciest place I've been was on my first honeymoon in the Virgin Islands, where we spent probably 300 bucks but boy howdy was the food good. It changed my whole view on what food could be as most of the stuff was ingredients I wouldn't have normally liked. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

  That was pretty poor meal planning! Two months from tomorrow is our 47th anniversary and I always take her out for Chinese. I tell her it is because we got married on the 4th of July weekend and the only thing open was a Chinese restaurant. Look at what I've saved over the years compared to taking her out for steak and lobster or such.

    My mistake was buying her one rose for every year we have been married. If I'd have been smarter I'd have bought silk roses then every year I could just buy one more silk rose to add to the bouquet. 47 fresh long stem roses will get to be pretty pricey.

[aigheadish]

Both of your marriage longevity should teach me something... My wife and I give each other a "Happy Anniversary!" and that's about it... We're not even positive what year we met in. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   The only way I can remember used to be to remember our son's age because he was born 3 weeks after our first anniversary. Now it is getting hard to remember hold old our son is. Fortunately for me (Well, maybe) my memory is better than hers so I am less likely to get in trouble.

[Old Greenhorn]

I never have any trouble remembering. There was only one thing I was allowed to decide in regards to our wedding arrangements and that was the date. So I picked the 30th of April because that would make me the last fool of the month.
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Anyway, regarding today. I have to say I try to be a humble guy and rarely brag on anything I do or spout it around, and I am not doing that now either (but I am just a little tempted). However I have been so down on myself for the terrible setup in the trailer and probably it was compounded by the nightmare show this past weekend. I knew I had to come up with something better meaning faster and easier or I wouldn't be doing many shows. You guys were a big help with all the ideas and suggestions, they helped me think. The idea I came up with SEEMED good, but I truly had my doubts that it would make THAT much of a difference, but I had to try, right? You can't make any progress if you don't take a step forward in some direction. SO I tried.
 So to quote Will Smith (the actor) "WOOOOOO!! Now THAT'S what I'M talkin' about!!"
 Let me re-cap: I had two goals: Faster, so I wouldn't be the last one out of every show and Easier so I wouldn't be  getting in the truck exhausted and with a poorly stowed load. I hit three out of the two goals.
 Here is the basic concept:


Not shown is the missing left leg, I hadn't made it yet. There is not padding or straps in that photo, I was just checking for fitment. Here is a detail of a fully secured bundle:


 I split some pool noodles for pads on top of the rails, they work perfect and I get 4 rails to the dollar.  I use a different method for the benches on that floor, they use d-rings.
 Here is a phtoto with everything secured, including some stuff that tied to the front of the rack.


I said I hit 3 of my 2 goals. My third goal was a stretch and that was to fit more in the same space. Previously I had 5 benches and a stool in that space. Now I have 8 benches and 3 stools in the same space and room for more stuff. That is all the benches and stools I currently have, and this leaves an open space on the floor I didn't have before.
 This new method allows me to put all the stuff in, and re-arrange if needed, THEN strap it all down once I have it fitted. It is a world of difference in effort and time and I am very happy. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.  Besides, I already tried the stuff that didn't work.
 Tomorrow is another day.