- Joined
- Aug 12, 2010
- Messages
- 8,301
- Reaction score
- 680
- Location
- San Angelo, Texas
- My Car
- 1971 Mustang Mach 1
Things are getting weird at the Auto Hobby Shop, and I've pretty much had enough of their crap... not to mention all the 'big stuff' is basically done now - I should be able to finish up at home. The dumb-ass flight chief and female trolls in-charge of the facility are once again b!tching about us 'volunteers' and our long-term projects behind our backs, and stopping just short of 'kissie-face' when talking to us directly. Basically, we wind up spending roughly 40-60% of our time in the shop on the weekends helping others, which slows down progress on our projects... and they can't seem to figure that out (it took me 3 days of shop time to install the RAAMat on just the floor and firewall, for instance). When we're there to bail them out (like when the new guy calls in sick or something and we're there to fill-in), we're awesome... otherwise, our junk is an eyesore and needs to go.
I have mixed feelings about it - the bad is that I'll miss the shop... but that's really the only 'bad' about it (except having to clean out the garage - which kinda needs to be done anyway). Everything else is win-win to me: I can work on it when I like (not JUST on weekends), I don't have to spend extra money buying breakfast for the guys, no interruptions to help others work on their stuff, and no hassles from douchebags who can't even appreciate the things Jim and I do for them... like stop one of the customers from getting hurt and ruining their car, a lift, and Jim's car because the new guy thinks they should be fine running the lifts themselves after a 30-second briefing because he doesn't want to be bothered with running the lifts - no kidding... one of the guys was lowering his car and forgot to secure the 36" pivoting center-jack on a Mohawk 2-pedestal drive-on lift - almost shoved it right up through the gas tank and cargo area of his Buick Rendezvous. It is secured in the horizontal state... and hangs down almost 3 feet below the drive-on part of the lift... stopped him from hitting the ground with about 4 inches to go.
Here's a picture of the actual lift with my Jeep on it several years ago... with Jim helping me rebuild the front axle. Basically (in this 'unsecured' position), the bottom of the center-jack hits the ground and stops, but the rest of the lift will keep coming down - it's only hanging in there on a roller mechanism, so it can move forward and backward along the pads. It would not be pretty or good for the car, lift, or anybody within 20 feet:
OK - Sorry for the tangent, but that was just one thing that happened this past weekend where our direct supervision prevented a mishap. That part bothers me because nobody has ever gotten hurt since Jim and I have been there, and even before when he was actually running the shop (beyond normal minor stuff people sometimes get when working on their cars). Now... who knows? The new guy doesn't seem to care... and neither does the management - apparently. My fear is that someone will get hurt (the truly sucky part), and they'll close it down altogether as a result of a knee-jerk reaction.
The only thing I'll really be missing from the shop at this point is the 'blasting cabinet... but that's easily remedied with a nice unit from Harbor Freight and a 40-gallon compressor. Which I'm sure my pals will probably come by and use, so it's not like I won't get a chance to hang out with them or anything.
Sorry to vent... just pisses me off.
I have mixed feelings about it - the bad is that I'll miss the shop... but that's really the only 'bad' about it (except having to clean out the garage - which kinda needs to be done anyway). Everything else is win-win to me: I can work on it when I like (not JUST on weekends), I don't have to spend extra money buying breakfast for the guys, no interruptions to help others work on their stuff, and no hassles from douchebags who can't even appreciate the things Jim and I do for them... like stop one of the customers from getting hurt and ruining their car, a lift, and Jim's car because the new guy thinks they should be fine running the lifts themselves after a 30-second briefing because he doesn't want to be bothered with running the lifts - no kidding... one of the guys was lowering his car and forgot to secure the 36" pivoting center-jack on a Mohawk 2-pedestal drive-on lift - almost shoved it right up through the gas tank and cargo area of his Buick Rendezvous. It is secured in the horizontal state... and hangs down almost 3 feet below the drive-on part of the lift... stopped him from hitting the ground with about 4 inches to go.
Here's a picture of the actual lift with my Jeep on it several years ago... with Jim helping me rebuild the front axle. Basically (in this 'unsecured' position), the bottom of the center-jack hits the ground and stops, but the rest of the lift will keep coming down - it's only hanging in there on a roller mechanism, so it can move forward and backward along the pads. It would not be pretty or good for the car, lift, or anybody within 20 feet:
OK - Sorry for the tangent, but that was just one thing that happened this past weekend where our direct supervision prevented a mishap. That part bothers me because nobody has ever gotten hurt since Jim and I have been there, and even before when he was actually running the shop (beyond normal minor stuff people sometimes get when working on their cars). Now... who knows? The new guy doesn't seem to care... and neither does the management - apparently. My fear is that someone will get hurt (the truly sucky part), and they'll close it down altogether as a result of a knee-jerk reaction.
The only thing I'll really be missing from the shop at this point is the 'blasting cabinet... but that's easily remedied with a nice unit from Harbor Freight and a 40-gallon compressor. Which I'm sure my pals will probably come by and use, so it's not like I won't get a chance to hang out with them or anything.
Sorry to vent... just pisses me off.
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