Can't love this enough! I was raised by a "farm boy" and married a "farm boy." You can't beat the work ethic, ingenuity ("survival smarts") of someone raised on a working farm. Looks like you're doing a great job catching up. Nice job.
Not a farm girl, nor raised by a farmer, but every once in a while, being an older woman with no man around, I have to do manly stuff by myself. This morning for example, I needed to move a heavy glass-topped table on a solid brass base. Guessing the entire thing weighed at minimum, 75-85 lbs and it was bulky. The removable glass top, 4'X3' and about 1/4" thick probably weighed 65 lbs and the base 25 lbs at minimum, maybe more. I couldn't carry it. I'm 5'2" and not muscular. It's the 4th. Everyone near me is away for the holiday.
I needed to move this table out of the room, and put it somewhere out of sight. I had some heavy duty plastic drop clothes which I used a little like a sled by carefully moving the glass top toward the end, and tilting it onto one of the plastic sheets, folded several times to make it thicker. I was able to push and pull the glass some ways before it began to get closer to the end of the front edge of the plastic. I put the other plastic piece under the table, using a pancake spatula to lever it up off the floor so I could grip and lift it enough to get the plastic underneath it. Then I used a floor mop with a flat rectangle piece about 8" X 4" with a terry cloth pad velcroed onto it, to push the glass into the bedroom next to the living room where the table had been. Much grunting ensued, but I was able to get the glass top pushed under the bed and out of sight. Mission accomplished! I always get a bit of a thrill when I manage something by myself, mostly 'cause I'm too impatient to wait for help, and have an attitude of "where there's a will there's a way". Makers. The world needs 'em!
Nagging pain might come for a visit, and decide to move in with you.
Well meaning friends tried to warn me, but yes, I had to learn the hard way. I’ve stayed active and in shape like J, all my life, but apparently pushed myself a bit too hard.
Take extra good care of yourself, and get yourself a supply of some patience. The neighbor, or good friend, will be available soon enough.
Thank you for your wise and caring reply. Your voice of experience carries a lot of weight. I will take your advice to heart. Quelling impatience, and tempering an attitude of "I'll just do it myself" needs to come into play a little more often.
Never underestimate the utility of leverage and safety precautions when working where your strength limits. Also, remember, when the load tips, and you don’t have equipment to catch it, let it fall. Better to spend a couple hundred bucks to replace a shattered thing than a couple hundred thousand bucks repairing a broken back. (This scenario—chasing a falling load—is where most catastrophic injuries happen when moving heavy things).
Thanks for more good advice. I need it. I’m not the wisest when it comes to assessing a situation for which I have little experience and even less understanding of the physics of weight displacement or management. Luck plays a big role in keeping me out of trouble.
Also I am listening to an audio version of Starship Troopers, I've never seen the movie or read the print version. I am loving it, and I'm interested to follow up with your book on Heinlein.
You'll get more utility out of a minivan (especially if it's one where you can remove or stow the second and third rows of seats) than you will out of most SUVs. Removable second-row seats used to be a very common thing; some (looking at you, Toyota Sienna) won't let you do that anymore because the airbags are in the seats.
You can't haul a load of manure in it and then hose it out, but you can easily transport larger pieces of furniture like a dresser or a small dining room table and chairs, and in any weather.
True nuff. I grew up in a large family so often had access to a full-sized conversion van. Used it for everything from a camera dolly to a camping hut to a cargo vehicle.
But most minivans are unibody these days, IIRC. That is a point against them. Also, no 4x4--not relevant to most people, but I live at the end of a 5 mile dirt road and we get several feet of snow and ice every winter ;-)
Correct, except for the old Astro and Aerostar minivans, I think every other minivan has been unibody.
And 4WD is a big minus in terms of gas mileage and more-stuff-to-break-down, until you need it, and then yes, it is a big plus.
Also, all of these new-gen cargo vans (Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter, Fiat/Dodge ProMaster, etc.) are unibody. The old Econoline, Ram, and GM C-vans were body-on-frame.
I am curious if “native” in this context is in reference to the local American culture, Native Americans, or those native to their religion in their region (Quakers, Anabaptists, Amish) ?
I am very much of the "saving money IS making money" school of thought. We chased interest rates down during the recession, refinancing our house twice for better terms, so that we were able to pay it off in 15 years rather than 30. I haven't done the full calculation, but that was a lot of money we don't have to make.
It's one of those skills you will learn quicker in a class, but if one isn't easily available, buy yourself a multiprocess welder and start off learning stick. The skills with stick welding make MIG and TIG easy--if you start off on MIG (the easy kind of welding) the other two become WAY harder.
Watch the videos from weld.com for good DIY instruction. I had one lesson from a friend's neighbor (he gave me one blacksmithing lesson as well), and did all the rest from YouTube videos. It was the slow way, but it works. Had a class been available, I'd have gotten way better way faster.
For machines, the cheap chinesium 1GBT machines are really *really* astonishingly good. $150 will get you a good stick-only machine. $300-500 will get you a good multi-process machine. Once you're good at what you're doing, you will know enough to upgrade to an expensive machine.
Can't love this enough! I was raised by a "farm boy" and married a "farm boy." You can't beat the work ethic, ingenuity ("survival smarts") of someone raised on a working farm. Looks like you're doing a great job catching up. Nice job.
Thank you! :-)
Not a farm girl, nor raised by a farmer, but every once in a while, being an older woman with no man around, I have to do manly stuff by myself. This morning for example, I needed to move a heavy glass-topped table on a solid brass base. Guessing the entire thing weighed at minimum, 75-85 lbs and it was bulky. The removable glass top, 4'X3' and about 1/4" thick probably weighed 65 lbs and the base 25 lbs at minimum, maybe more. I couldn't carry it. I'm 5'2" and not muscular. It's the 4th. Everyone near me is away for the holiday.
I needed to move this table out of the room, and put it somewhere out of sight. I had some heavy duty plastic drop clothes which I used a little like a sled by carefully moving the glass top toward the end, and tilting it onto one of the plastic sheets, folded several times to make it thicker. I was able to push and pull the glass some ways before it began to get closer to the end of the front edge of the plastic. I put the other plastic piece under the table, using a pancake spatula to lever it up off the floor so I could grip and lift it enough to get the plastic underneath it. Then I used a floor mop with a flat rectangle piece about 8" X 4" with a terry cloth pad velcroed onto it, to push the glass into the bedroom next to the living room where the table had been. Much grunting ensued, but I was able to get the glass top pushed under the bed and out of sight. Mission accomplished! I always get a bit of a thrill when I manage something by myself, mostly 'cause I'm too impatient to wait for help, and have an attitude of "where there's a will there's a way". Makers. The world needs 'em!
You go girl! But don’t be tempted to
push your, hopefully known, limits.
Nagging pain might come for a visit, and decide to move in with you.
Well meaning friends tried to warn me, but yes, I had to learn the hard way. I’ve stayed active and in shape like J, all my life, but apparently pushed myself a bit too hard.
Take extra good care of yourself, and get yourself a supply of some patience. The neighbor, or good friend, will be available soon enough.
And God bless you and yours!
Thank you for your wise and caring reply. Your voice of experience carries a lot of weight. I will take your advice to heart. Quelling impatience, and tempering an attitude of "I'll just do it myself" needs to come into play a little more often.
To add to the above:
Never underestimate the utility of leverage and safety precautions when working where your strength limits. Also, remember, when the load tips, and you don’t have equipment to catch it, let it fall. Better to spend a couple hundred bucks to replace a shattered thing than a couple hundred thousand bucks repairing a broken back. (This scenario—chasing a falling load—is where most catastrophic injuries happen when moving heavy things).
Thanks for more good advice. I need it. I’m not the wisest when it comes to assessing a situation for which I have little experience and even less understanding of the physics of weight displacement or management. Luck plays a big role in keeping me out of trouble.
Might have to do an article on lifting and moving heavy things.
Very nice!
And really, who would want to move out to the country when you’re poor? That’s the life that hillbillies, meth-heads, and Red Staters live. Ew.1
Hilarious....'Glamping' anyone?
LOL omg, I forgot all about "glamping!"
Also I am listening to an audio version of Starship Troopers, I've never seen the movie or read the print version. I am loving it, and I'm interested to follow up with your book on Heinlein.
I hope you enjoy it! I had a lovely time writing it, and had a lot of fun with the chapter on Starship Troopers.
Sending this to my husband and son. They are all about this stuff and love engines, transmissions, and pick-up trucks.
You get extra points for mentioning a Jeep™️
Thanks, @Holly for cross posting this. Enjoyed reading it. Thanks goodness for neighbors!
You'll get more utility out of a minivan (especially if it's one where you can remove or stow the second and third rows of seats) than you will out of most SUVs. Removable second-row seats used to be a very common thing; some (looking at you, Toyota Sienna) won't let you do that anymore because the airbags are in the seats.
You can't haul a load of manure in it and then hose it out, but you can easily transport larger pieces of furniture like a dresser or a small dining room table and chairs, and in any weather.
True nuff. I grew up in a large family so often had access to a full-sized conversion van. Used it for everything from a camera dolly to a camping hut to a cargo vehicle.
But most minivans are unibody these days, IIRC. That is a point against them. Also, no 4x4--not relevant to most people, but I live at the end of a 5 mile dirt road and we get several feet of snow and ice every winter ;-)
Correct, except for the old Astro and Aerostar minivans, I think every other minivan has been unibody.
And 4WD is a big minus in terms of gas mileage and more-stuff-to-break-down, until you need it, and then yes, it is a big plus.
Also, all of these new-gen cargo vans (Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter, Fiat/Dodge ProMaster, etc.) are unibody. The old Econoline, Ram, and GM C-vans were body-on-frame.
I am curious if “native” in this context is in reference to the local American culture, Native Americans, or those native to their religion in their region (Quakers, Anabaptists, Amish) ?
American culture in general.
I am very much of the "saving money IS making money" school of thought. We chased interest rates down during the recession, refinancing our house twice for better terms, so that we were able to pay it off in 15 years rather than 30. I haven't done the full calculation, but that was a lot of money we don't have to make.
Overall savings should be something like 30-40% if I remember my mortgage math correctly.
Nice!
Any recommendations on learning to weld? The one handy man skill I have yet to learn.
It's one of those skills you will learn quicker in a class, but if one isn't easily available, buy yourself a multiprocess welder and start off learning stick. The skills with stick welding make MIG and TIG easy--if you start off on MIG (the easy kind of welding) the other two become WAY harder.
Watch the videos from weld.com for good DIY instruction. I had one lesson from a friend's neighbor (he gave me one blacksmithing lesson as well), and did all the rest from YouTube videos. It was the slow way, but it works. Had a class been available, I'd have gotten way better way faster.
For machines, the cheap chinesium 1GBT machines are really *really* astonishingly good. $150 will get you a good stick-only machine. $300-500 will get you a good multi-process machine. Once you're good at what you're doing, you will know enough to upgrade to an expensive machine.
Thanks !