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Post by Marty on Jul 8, 2022 11:09:32 GMT -5
That's the hardware store I go to. When I come in they greet me by name and know I will ask if I can't find something, otherwise I am left alone because they know that I know where things are. Been going there since the 80s. That is a hell of a drive for a hammer. When I started looking for a hammer to do fretwork in the 70s I found a bumping hammer that seemed like just the right thing, it is. I still use it but sometime in the 80s I noticed via the grime on the handle where I held it for balance. So I cut off the excess handle. It still hangs on the side of my bench and I still think it is the best fret hammer around. The other hammer I used was a 10oz dead blow, but I wore out the covering and can't find one in that size in black, hate the orange ones.
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Post by Marty on Jul 8, 2022 11:35:41 GMT -5
Got curious and searched for a 10oz dead blow in black. Woodcraft now has one and I may order it Monday.
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Post by John B on Jul 8, 2022 11:41:19 GMT -5
I just have a Stewmac fretting hammer. I always used the plastic side vs the brass side, but I bet someone with finesse would find the brass side works better.
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Post by paleo on Jul 8, 2022 12:11:41 GMT -5
I couldn't figure out the socket size for a bulb I needed for a reading lamp by eyeballing it, so instead of going to Walmart or Lowe's or Menards and guessing, I unplugged the lamp and walked in to a real hardware store with it this afternoon when I was in Cedar Rapids. (O'Donnell's Ace Hardware, near Mark and Joy's place). A step through the door was a step to decades ago. I didn't seek someone out, someone came to me. He asked if I was there for a lamp repair. Lamp repair? Really? People actually still to that? Half an hour later I walked out knowing more about bulbs than I though there was to know, and glad to hear about all of it. I haven't been in a place like that in years, ever since the Vinton one closed down years ago. What a great afternoon. Sounds like my trip to the Amish hardware store this morning. We also discussed their tree trimming/removal and lawn mowing services.
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Post by Village Idiot on Jul 8, 2022 20:45:25 GMT -5
I couldn't figure out the socket size for a bulb I needed for a reading lamp by eyeballing it, so instead of going to Walmart or Lowe's or Menards and guessing, I unplugged the lamp and walked in to a real hardware store with it this afternoon when I was in Cedar Rapids. (O'Donnell's Ace Hardware, near Mark and Joy's place). A step through the door was a step to decades ago. I didn't seek someone out, someone came to me. He asked if I was there for a lamp repair. Lamp repair? Really? People actually still to that? Half an hour later I walked out knowing more about bulbs than I though there was to know, and glad to hear about all of it. I haven't been in a place like that in years, ever since the Vinton one closed down years ago. What a great afternoon. Sounds like my trip to the Amish hardware store this morning. We also discussed their tree trimming/removal and lawn mowing services. Hartwick General Store?
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Post by kbcolorado on Jul 9, 2022 11:14:38 GMT -5
Talked to them yesterday about a Go cordless pole trimmer, been thinking about getting one since they came out. It was an easy conversation, no pressure. Think I'll buy it tomorrow. I assume you mean EGO cordless pole trimmer, like this. I love mine. Best trimmer I’ve ever owned and the self loading feature really works well. If this is your first EGO purchase, you’ll soon be buying more. Yes, EGO it is. It is a pole saw for trimming branches. I don't have any outdoor battery powered gear yet as I went down the Stihl rabbit hole a while ago and that stuff doesn't quit. But enough about Craftsman stuff :-)
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Post by Village Idiot on Jul 9, 2022 11:28:47 GMT -5
I assume you mean EGO cordless pole trimmer, like this. I love mine. Best trimmer I’ve ever owned and the self loading feature really works well. If this is your first EGO purchase, you’ll soon be buying more. Yes, EGO it is. It is a pole saw for trimming branches. I don't have any outdoor battery powered gear yet as I went down the Stihl rabbit hole a while ago and that stuff doesn't quit. But enough about Craftsman stuff :-) Couldn't agree more.
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Post by epaul on Jul 9, 2022 11:47:17 GMT -5
Pretty pricy, but it sounds like it works (if you don't have more than an acre and half to do in a day).
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Jul 9, 2022 12:17:12 GMT -5
Pretty pricy, but it sounds like it works (if you don't have more than an acre and half to do in a day). My neighbor has one of those for his small suburban lot. Probably a third of an acre. But he likes toys and can apparently afford them. He also drives a Tesla.
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Post by paleo on Jul 9, 2022 14:13:17 GMT -5
Sounds like my trip to the Amish hardware store this morning. We also discussed their tree trimming/removal and lawn mowing services. Hartwick General Store? [b Just up the hill, north, from Hartwick Marina, there is general store. Both run by the Amish.
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Post by Village Idiot on Jul 9, 2022 14:54:28 GMT -5
Haven’t been there. Do they have electricity? Or is it like the stores around Hazleton where they have skylights so you can see?
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Post by Village Idiot on Jul 9, 2022 14:54:39 GMT -5
Haven’t been there. Do they have electricity? Or is it like the stores around Hazleton where they have skylights so you can see?
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Post by paleo on Jul 9, 2022 16:23:38 GMT -5
Haven’t been there. Do they have electricity? Or is it like the stores around Hazleton where they have skylights so you can see? They have skylights, but they also have battery powered led lighting that is available.
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Post by Marshall on Jul 9, 2022 17:07:21 GMT -5
Pretty pricy, but it sounds like it works (if you don't have more than an acre and half to do in a day). Does it have WIFI? Can you get HBO?
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Post by epaul on Jul 9, 2022 17:24:16 GMT -5
Yes to both, PLUS Prime.
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Post by millring on Jul 10, 2022 5:01:00 GMT -5
baumanstoneware.blogspot.com/search?q=butchButch, the owner of the local Ace Hardware, has made a practice of tapping a great, knowledgeable but inexpensive workforce -- retired old guys. One day, after I had spent about forty minutes getting one of the old guys to cut me 50 feet of 1/16" cable, Butch approached me in the aisle as I headed toward the checkout. He wanted to know if the service I got from the old guy was OK. "You know, Ed's 88." he said, "I like the idea of these guys having something to do besides wasting away sitting on their butts 'til they die. Still, I'm hoping the service they offer here is to the customer's satisfaction." “It was fine”, I said. For some reason the forty minute wait suddenly didn’t seem to matter as much to me anymore. The Ace guys talk in old man short hand. They never tire of an old joke or a good cliché. In one short(er) visit to the hardware I heard: “I don’t get mad. I get even”, and “No matter how many times he cut that board, it was still too short -- ha ha”, and, “You don’t like the weather here? … just wait five minutes”. I don’t think that they think they’re being original, clever, or even funny by these ritual repetitions. I think they believe themselves friendly. I believe they’re right. My wife and a few of her friends used to take their dogs to the local nursing homes each month for “pet therapy”. The more infirmed older people really seemed to respond well to the affection of a dog. The more coherent ones would regularly launch into tales of the dogs in their past. The reminiscences seemed to bring them joy in addition to helping them pass the endless, empty hours of nursing home life. In a very short time it was evident to me, in the few times I’d go along with her on her pet therapy rounds, that the old folks had taken a real liking to my wife. By really listening to the old folks on her visits, she showed a kind of interest that meant a whole lot to those people. I remember a story I read of a woman looking for the right nursing home for her mother who was going to require constant care. She went from nursing home to nursing home – each seemingly loving and caring, but for some reason the woman didn’t choose them. The place she chose seemed little different in any way from the many others she had rejected. When asked about her choice, she explained that it was the first place where they addressed her mother as “Mrs _______”. All the others referred to her by her first name or, even worse, as “honey” or some other sweet nickname. The daughter wanted her mother in a place that respected, rather than patronized her mother. She felt as though a woman who had lived a respectable life didn't stop deserving respect just because she lost the ability to care for herself. I was standing in line at the post office a few months ago. One older gentleman, probably in his 80’s, was standing right behind me. Another, younger -- maybe 70’s but farm-work rugged -- was almost up to the window. The man behind me said “Hey Jack.” and the fellow up-line turned, smiled and said “Hey Ed. How’s life?” “Every day this side of the sod, y’know?” replied Ed, and then he added, “I’m just thankful to be on my own still. After seeing Alice into Miller’s (local nursing home) before she passed on, well, I just….well, I’m just happy -- happy to be at home. Glad I still get around on my own.” They talked a while longer until it was Jack’s turn at the window. Jack wished Ed well and then turned to the postal clerk. “I’ll have a book of those left-handed stamps please.”
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Post by Village Idiot on Jul 10, 2022 20:14:35 GMT -5
pain Which is exactly why I'd go there. The added banter is a reason for a customer to return.
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