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Erronius

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This video was made in Florida!
I thought he was up by me in KC? (Peculiar, MO)

wish they had tested the harbor freight doyle $200 vise

This guy gave this Yost vice off of Amazon a really good review. He bought his several years ago and then updated his post, which is nice. $271 for this 6" one? They're 4" is $145 and the 5" is $198. (links are 2nd and 3rd below, in order)




Not sure if we can get the Lanx Lanx seal of approval on it or not




 

Lanx

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I thought he was up by me in KC? (Peculiar, MO)



This guy gave this Yost vice off of Amazon a really good review. He bought his several years ago and then updated his post, which is nice. $271 for this 6" one? They're 4" is $145 and the 5" is $198. (links are 2nd and 3rd below, in order)




Not sure if we can get the Lanx Lanx seal of approval on it or not




my needs aren't crazy, i just it as a third hand, and since i repurposed my dresser as a workbench, it has a weird lip so i looked for the yoast w/ 3 mounting holes instead of 4 so i can go to the furthest corner while still biting into wood
ff5f481422c372f47524e603eb780ad8.png


at most it's just been holding up lawn mower blades.
 
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Erronius

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Contractors are some of the toughest motherfuckers to get on a job. They're also some of the toughest motherfuckers out there. Don't put all your eggs in one basket until you find the right one.

It's only because there's not a fuckton of money in residential so they have to always try juggling more clients and jobs than they probably should.

When I worked residential years and years ago, the mantra was always 'never turn down work'.

The down side is if you bid low/tight and get more work than you can actually do. Which happens a LOT.
 

Daidraco

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It's only because there's not a fuckton of money in residential so they have to always try juggling more clients and jobs than they probably should.

When I worked residential years and years ago, the mantra was always 'never turn down work'.

The down side is if you bid low/tight and get more work than you can actually do. Which happens a LOT.
I honestly have no idea how contractors price their work. When one tells me 3700 for a job, only for me to get another quote for 2100 and third quote for 2900... just starts to feel like people are pulling numbers out of their ass at times. I assumed that the tech at 3700 just didnt want the job, yet he called me back like a week later asking when I wanted him to start.

The only plus side to owning a property management business is that local contractors generally know who I am or have heard of my company at this point. Enough to know that they're going to get paid and that I'm realistic (Im assuming.) So I never seem to have any problems like I used to have, trying to find someone that can do the work in a timely manner.
 

BrutulTM

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Some of them are just pulling numbers out of their ass. You'll find out that's what they're doing when they start your job and then try to get you to pay them up front so they actually have enough money to finish one of the other half-done jobs they can't afford the materials for so that they can finish that job and get paid for it and hopefully buy the materials for your job, then they just say "fuck it" and blow all their cash at the strip club and block your number.
 
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Fucker

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I was replying to others who had used contractors in this thread.
They're mostly understaffed. Or lazy.
Friend of mine was a GC for a long fucking time. 40+ years. Workerbee types GC's hire are now only burnouts and fuckups. Old burnouts who can't get a job doing anything else, so they get a job their bodies and minds can't handle so they can drink themselves off of a bar stool 3-4 nights a week. Fuckups are young guys who can't handle the crazed pace of Wal Mart or emptying Porta Potties....and can't use a measuring tape....so they haul sheetrock and MAYBE can wire up a ceiling fan without supervision.

So, anyway, they've been running on empty for a long time. Now, the burnouts are dying of liver disease and the fuckups have gone on to less stressful jobs at Dairy Queen or dumping sugar mix into a big churn at a Kellogg plant.

So yeah, understaffed, and have been for a LONG time.
 
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Erronius

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To be fair, you don't realize the toll your body has taken until you're much older. And then you hope you can slot into some sort of manager or supervisor position but there's way too many old guys who realize too late that they're going to have to work far past retirement and probably straight into the grave.

I've recently had some MRIs done, and gone back to PT, only to be told that all of my joints are trash and everything is bone on bone with built up scar tissue everywhere.

It's weird having a Dr tell you that you're going to basically be crippled in another 10-15 years if you keep doing work that requires physical labor, but then also tells you that the UPSIDE is that 'there's not a lot of nerves in your joints so as long as you don't rip any more soft tissue and cause a bunch of inflammation, you can keep limping along w/o much pain'
 
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Fucker

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To be fair, you don't realize the toll your body has taken until you're much older. And then you hope you can slot into some sort of manager or supervisor position but there's way too many old guys who realize too late that they're going to have to work far past retirement and probably straight into the grave.

I've recently had some MRIs done, and gone back to PT, only to be told that all of my joints are trash and everything is bone on bone with built up scar tissue everywhere.

It's weird having a Dr tell you that you're going to basically be crippled in another 10-15 years if you keep doing work that requires physical labor, but then also tells you that the UPSIDE is that 'there's not a lot of nerves in your joints so as long as you don't rip any more soft tissue and cause a bunch of inflammation, you can keep limping along w/o much pain'
I'm referring to the people who fap around their entire lives and don't learn anything beyond general labor type of skills. I've seen a lot of these guys, 40+ y/o. All of them rode hard put away wet.
 

BrutulTM

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My brother was a union electrician and a lot of the guys he talks about sound like the burnouts you describe. In their 40s and 50s, families all blown to shit or they never had one. At some time in their life they were smart enough to pass the test to become an electrician, which ain't nothing but that was 25 years and a million gallons of bud light and black velvet ago. Dudes who can barely get through the day without shitting themselves and are probably close to the BAC limit for the first two hours of work making $45 an hour and protected by the union. Of course no one wants to hire them and no one wants to work with them, but they still get jobs and get through the day often enough to keep drawing a salary so they can afford to sit in a bar all night.
 
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Intrinsic

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Man that reminds me of my old dude neighbor that came by two days ago because they're dog sitting for a granddaughter. Dog broke through the fence and was running around our backyard. No big deal, we're fenced in (see fence gate build posts), we have a good neighborly relationship. That old piece of shit must have swung 100 times trying to drive a nail in to the fence post to secure it where the dog broke through. Felt really bad for him. Unfortunately for her she doesn't have 80 years of hard life to fall back on as an excuse.
 

Fucker

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My brother was a union electrician and a lot of the guys he talks about sound like the burnouts you describe. In their 40s and 50s, families all blown to shit or they never had one. At some time in their life they were smart enough to pass the test to become an electrician, which ain't nothing but that was 25 years and a million gallons of bud light and black velvet ago. Dudes who can barely get through the day without shitting themselves and are probably close to the BAC limit for the first two hours of work making $45 an hour and protected by the union. Of course no one wants to hire them and no one wants to work with them, but they still get jobs and get through the day often enough to keep drawing a salary so they can afford to sit in a bar all night.
I worked for a big company that had lots of union guys. Electric crew was mostly ex-military and the guy who ran it, ran it tight. No problems, no drunks. The drunk crew were the installers. Almost all of them were drunks. Motorpool was full of meatheads and fuckups. Union or not, safety violations was instant termination. I was dumb enough to walk into the motorpool just as a fuckup was checking what was inside a 55-gallon barrel with a LIGHTER. Poor guy was actually blubbering as I walked him out to his car. Cush well-paying job gone in a second of stupidity.

I caught one drunk installer removing a fucking electric lockout device. I enjoyed walking him out to his car. Meathead in motorpool swung a wrench at me from a distance. No real intention to hit, more just being an asshole because nearly all the union guys hated me. Cush, well paying job gone because he was a meathead fuckup.
 
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Cutlery

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Man that reminds me of my old dude neighbor that came by two days ago because they're dog sitting for a granddaughter. Dog broke through the fence and was running around our backyard. No big deal, we're fenced in (see fence gate build posts), we have a good neighborly relationship. That old piece of shit must have swung 100 times trying to drive a nail in to the fence post to secure it where the dog broke through. Felt really bad for him. Unfortunately for her she doesn't have 80 years of hard life to fall back on as an excuse.

Sucks to be him, I pound nails like lightning.

Never strike the same place twice!
 
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Erronius

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I caught one drunk installer removing a fucking electric lockout device.

The fuck?

I literally can't wrap my head around this happening in 2022.

Whenever I go onto customer sites for work, I almost always have to sit through their safety stuff, even if I'm just there to 'advise' them (AKA they need help with something and it's a million times easier to just talk their electricians through something while watching over their shoulder, as opposed to going through the Contractor approval process).

I had to go on site at a power plant earlier this month for some commissioning work. They let me watch their safety video on Vimeo in advance, so I didn't have to sit down and watch it after getting on their site and getting a badge (though I didn't get a sticker for my new hard hat, either, which makes me sad).

Even if I won't touch a single tool or touch any of the customers equipment while I'm there, I will have to at least watch a safety video, and Lockout/Tagout is ALWAYS one of the major topics covered. It's like one of the 10 Commandments.

The only time the safety culture is lax enough that removing locks or tags (without following procedure) would even be considered, is when people aren't really using LO/TO. It's just fucking weird. It's like residential electricians turning a breaker off and just putting a piece of black electrical tape over it.

I carry a lock & tag with me whenever I'm working in the field, and I would beat someone's ass if I found out they just up and decided to take my shit off. (well, not really, depends on the customer, and most customers would never do that ANYWAYS).

I mean, it's so hard for me to explain. If you've ever been on a site for a shutdown or a turnaround, and had to go through all of the pre-work briefings and permits before even beginning your work, or if you've ever been involved with putting your lock on an ammo can, then you probably know what I'm getting at.

This is just a little bit triggering, LOL

(first pic is actually mine, because I was in NO WAY going to be anyway near any of their breakers or switchgear, but safety rules are safety rules, LOL)


1669239067325.png



1669239587352.png
 
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Fucker

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The fuck?

I literally can't wrap my head around this happening in 2022.

Whenever I go onto customer sites for work, I almost always have to sit through their safety stuff, even if I'm just there to 'advise' them (AKA they need help with something and it's a million times easier to just talk their electricians through something while watching over their shoulder, as opposed to going through the Contractor approval process).

I had to go on site at a power plant earlier this month for some commissioning work. They let me watch their safety video on Vimeo in advance, so I didn't have to sit down and watch it after getting on their site and getting a badge (though I didn't get a sticker for my new hard hat, either, which makes me sad).

Even if I won't touch a single tool or touch any of the customers equipment while I'm there, I will have to at least watch a safety video, and Lockout/Tagout is ALWAYS one of the major topics covered. It's like one of the 10 Commandments.

The only time the safety culture is lax enough that removing locks or tags (without following procedure) would even be considered, is when people aren't really using LO/TO. It's just fucking weird. It's like residential electricians turning a breaker off and just putting a piece of black electrical tape over it.

I carry a lock & tag with me whenever I'm working in the field, and I would beat someone's ass if I found out they just up and decided to take my shit off. (well, not really, depends on the customer, and most customers would never do that ANYWAYS).

I mean, it's so hard for me to explain. If you've ever been on a site for a shutdown or a turnaround, and had to go through all of the pre-work briefings and permits before even beginning your work, or if you've ever been involved with putting your lock on an ammo can, then you probably know what I'm getting at.

This is just a little bit triggering, LOL

(first pic is actually mine, because I was in NO WAY going to be anyway near any of their breakers or switchgear, but safety rules are safety rules, LOL)


View attachment 444396


View attachment 444397
This happened a long time ago. By drunk installer, I don't mean he was drunk at the time. He was a lifelong drunk who managed to stay sober during the day. All these people knew there was zero flexibility for safety violations, but they'd fuck up every now and then.
 
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Kithani

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Excuse the noob question buds but I'm a younger member of the forum and relatively new to home ownership.

I went up to the attic to get the tree down Friday during a rain storm and noticed a small leak in the roof. Looking up on the roof it seemed to be coming in through the corner in an area around one of these things, with the wood underneath getting soaked and then dripping a drop of water every 1-2 seconds into the attic.

1669601679255.png


I'm guessing it should get some sealant put around it?
 

Captain Suave

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I'm guessing it should get some sealant put around it?

That might work if the problem is just a hole from a popped nail or something. In my experience, though, it's almost always badly installed flashing. IMO, if you can't see an immediate source it's worth getting a competent pro up there.
 
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