What do You do for a living?
- Thread starter timboellner
- Start date
Until June 14, 2013 I worked for eight years as a production coordinator for CNC moulders and Double Ends at a large window and door factory. I designed moulder/shaper/tennoner heads, setup templates and ground heads as well as kept up with the production tooling needs of two Weinig P3000 moulders and two associated Progressive Double-End Tennoners. As a job it was a Royal Pain in the Rear.
Before that I was a tablet press operator at a large pharmaceutical company for seven years, a John Deere Parts Counterman for Three Years, a Product Test Technician, Moulder Operator, Auto and Truck Mechanic, Musician, Part time College Astronomical Observatory Technician, Photographer, Airborne Chinese Mandarin Intercept Specialist (USAF), grocery bagger/stocker/checker, paper boy. Worked for a livin' from 1965-2013.
Now I'm retired. Best job I ever had!
Before that I was a tablet press operator at a large pharmaceutical company for seven years, a John Deere Parts Counterman for Three Years, a Product Test Technician, Moulder Operator, Auto and Truck Mechanic, Musician, Part time College Astronomical Observatory Technician, Photographer, Airborne Chinese Mandarin Intercept Specialist (USAF), grocery bagger/stocker/checker, paper boy. Worked for a livin' from 1965-2013.
Now I'm retired. Best job I ever had!
Interesting way to phrase the question. My title (or titles actually) have little to do with what I do. A portion of my job is co-managing a photonics engineering consulting and small manufacturing company which basically means engineering project management. Most of my job and the part I really enjoy is spent at a CAD station. I am the Opto-mechanical designer for our company. When we engineer a laser or lens system for a client my job is verification of the optical design and wrapping metal around it within SolidWorks with OptisWorks add-in. I also design LEDs and LED lighting systems. The software I use can simulate complex and extremely small systems right down to the wire bonds and phosphor particles. I consider being called a nerd a great compliment. I love my job! This hobby is a stretch for me. I can design but I lack most of the skills to build. Won't learn unless I try.
Very cool, have you designed a super efficient LED light system that could run on the erratic white Aux power wire on the magneto of the Chinese 2-stroke engines yet?
Heck if you could come up little single side PCB image for etching a board and the parts list I'd pay for it.
As do I ;-}
Yep, old dogs can learn new tricks and you might be surprised what solid engineering skills bring to building motorized bicycles even if you are not the best at turning wrenches ;-}
Well!
Right now.
I
1) Wax floors
2) strip floors then (see (1) )
3) I filled in to clean toilets and stuff for vacationers.
4) Fire Flood restoration work
(are you impressed yet)
No!? Well Then!
I
also
5) clean carpets!
......and uhhhhh.... something else.....
Right now.
I
1) Wax floors
2) strip floors then (see (1) )
3) I filled in to clean toilets and stuff for vacationers.
4) Fire Flood restoration work
(are you impressed yet)
No!? Well Then!
I
also
5) clean carpets!
......and uhhhhh.... something else.....
KC - you got the "old dog" part right! I've been working with the exception of a few times where I was unemployed for almost 40 years.
You're willing to fund a light powered by the magnetto you say? Send me a PM with the performance requirements (output, the power available from the magnetto, etc) and lets talk! We have an LED that we designed and manufacture. If it's right for the job then great but if not I design with Philips, Bridgelux, Luxeon, Cree, etc. and we can design with off the shelf optics or custom. Should be fun. I am using one of our 1400lm LEDs in my headlight and our 450lm LEDs in my tail light, brake light, and running lights. Here's the build: http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=43392&page=13
You're willing to fund a light powered by the magnetto you say? Send me a PM with the performance requirements (output, the power available from the magnetto, etc) and lets talk! We have an LED that we designed and manufacture. If it's right for the job then great but if not I design with Philips, Bridgelux, Luxeon, Cree, etc. and we can design with off the shelf optics or custom. Should be fun. I am using one of our 1400lm LEDs in my headlight and our 450lm LEDs in my tail light, brake light, and running lights. Here's the build: http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=43392&page=13
Last edited:
Really cool Herold.
Just started a Mastercam certification course. It is incredible what you can do.
Not yet Herold. I have a manual mill/lathe. Just finished school for machining and am trying to get hired at a product development firm. They do some really cool stuff!
I do have a simulator program. http://cncsimulator.info/ This is great fun to play with. ...and free
I do have a simulator program. http://cncsimulator.info/ This is great fun to play with. ...and free
Sure will be glad when Dan's all trained up... I've got all kinds of stuff that needs engineered! 
This is what talented people do with the wood that I reclaim...
1) Ever seen a million dollar kitchen?
2) Very well done- you gotta pay for that...
3) Craftsmanship right there. It'll run you almost a grand each- I counted half a dozen just on the main floor.
4/5) This is a typical- I say again; typical, home near the Yellowstone Club. They use them five or six times a decade.
This is what talented people do with the wood that I reclaim...
1) Ever seen a million dollar kitchen?
2) Very well done- you gotta pay for that...
3) Craftsmanship right there. It'll run you almost a grand each- I counted half a dozen just on the main floor.
4/5) This is a typical- I say again; typical, home near the Yellowstone Club. They use them five or six times a decade.
Attachments
Last edited:
Wow Trey. I didn't know old growth was used regularly for any thing other then laminate.
That door alone is amazing. Is it normally left with no finishing?
Was curious to see what it would go for on the open market and found this; http://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-73-5in-long-old-growth-redwood-burl-slab-/181209053278
LOL, finding a couple of big 'ol logs would be an awesome day at work!
I am in the wrong line of work. http://www.etsy.com/listing/1593237...rniture_high&gclid=CI_C77uw-bkCFQZyQgodK3EATQ
That door alone is amazing. Is it normally left with no finishing?
Was curious to see what it would go for on the open market and found this; http://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-73-5in-long-old-growth-redwood-burl-slab-/181209053278
LOL, finding a couple of big 'ol logs would be an awesome day at work!
I am in the wrong line of work. http://www.etsy.com/listing/1593237...rniture_high&gclid=CI_C77uw-bkCFQZyQgodK3EATQ
Last edited:
Trey,
I can't help but wonder how well a couple or more of us could live on what that house cost? I worked with reclaimed wood for a lot of years making what people saw in Good Housekeeping or later on Country Living magazines but in a size to fit what space they had available.
Tore down a few buildings as well to get the wood so I really appreciate what you guys do. We did it by hand because there wasn't enough money in it to hire equipment.
I did the opposite to what they did with the beams. I had the outsides trimmed off and then the core of the beam milled into lumber then the outsides of the beam were glued back together and used to make false beams for ceilings in houses.
I'm glad they are doing it and not me. It's mighty hard work, working with old wood and the customers that come with it.
Steve.
I can't help but wonder how well a couple or more of us could live on what that house cost? I worked with reclaimed wood for a lot of years making what people saw in Good Housekeeping or later on Country Living magazines but in a size to fit what space they had available.
Tore down a few buildings as well to get the wood so I really appreciate what you guys do. We did it by hand because there wasn't enough money in it to hire equipment.
I did the opposite to what they did with the beams. I had the outsides trimmed off and then the core of the beam milled into lumber then the outsides of the beam were glued back together and used to make false beams for ceilings in houses.
I'm glad they are doing it and not me. It's mighty hard work, working with old wood and the customers that come with it.
Steve.
Before I had to take early retirement due to on-going problems with ME/CFS I was a social worker for 8 years with the adult mental health service and before that I worked in the disability employment sector for 3 years. I loved those jobs and I got to meet and interact with some amazing people on a daily basis. The day came though when my doctor finally sat me down and bluntly told me that, 'That job you love so much is making you ill and you have to give it up. You're already well on the way to a major relapse and if you keep going you're going to be a very sick woman.'
Soooo do not pass 'go', do not collect $200, hand in your Supergirl Tee shirt as you leave. Even though I hated having to retire looking back on it I can see very plainly it was the right thing to do. Living on an Invalid's pension is a challenge during these years of the Great Resession, but trying to hold down a job as well as manage my illness would be even worse.
Not long after I retired I joined a religious congregation, the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis, - so I still do my bit for helping humanity in my own small way by praying for those who are in distress and great need.
My Dad and my brothers were tradesmen in the motor and metalworking trades so as I grew up I learned how to use tools. Once I bought my first car, - a 30 year old Austin, - I got told by my brothers that I was going be taught how to maintain it myself because they weren't going to have me coming to them every five minutes wanting something done.
Over the years I owned that old Austin I tuned the engine up to produce considerably more horsepower than what it left the factory with. One night when I laid it on its doorhandles I also learned that if you wickedly tune up an engine it's essential to also do the same to the brakes and suspension.
Later on when I was married I did the earthmother hippie thing and did my best to farm a small holding. I was riding motorbikes in those days and after a learner driver pulled out in front of me and my dear old Suzuki GT380 I earned myself a limp and a 5 inch scar across my left knee. I rode sidecar outfits after that. At first a 1960's bitsa Jawa outfit with an alloy competition motor (wow could that thing go!!!) and after it blew up I built up a Honda 350 twin powered outfit that was completely and solidly reliable. My two children loved that Honda outfit, but unfortunately my marriage was falling apart and when it went bust I foolishly sold the Honda when I really should have kept it.
One of the reasons why my marriage failed was that I supposedly didn't behave like a woman should (whatever that means).
My now adult children love me and I love them and what's more being single I can work on my old bicycles and other projects whenever I please and even work on them inside the house if I want if the weathers bad. My daughter who lives with me sometimes teases me a little when I do my impression of an old lady falling asleep in her chair with the cat on her knee, but that's Ok. I'm happy and that's all that counts.
Soooo do not pass 'go', do not collect $200, hand in your Supergirl Tee shirt as you leave. Even though I hated having to retire looking back on it I can see very plainly it was the right thing to do. Living on an Invalid's pension is a challenge during these years of the Great Resession, but trying to hold down a job as well as manage my illness would be even worse.
Not long after I retired I joined a religious congregation, the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis, - so I still do my bit for helping humanity in my own small way by praying for those who are in distress and great need.
My Dad and my brothers were tradesmen in the motor and metalworking trades so as I grew up I learned how to use tools. Once I bought my first car, - a 30 year old Austin, - I got told by my brothers that I was going be taught how to maintain it myself because they weren't going to have me coming to them every five minutes wanting something done.
Over the years I owned that old Austin I tuned the engine up to produce considerably more horsepower than what it left the factory with. One night when I laid it on its doorhandles I also learned that if you wickedly tune up an engine it's essential to also do the same to the brakes and suspension.
Later on when I was married I did the earthmother hippie thing and did my best to farm a small holding. I was riding motorbikes in those days and after a learner driver pulled out in front of me and my dear old Suzuki GT380 I earned myself a limp and a 5 inch scar across my left knee. I rode sidecar outfits after that. At first a 1960's bitsa Jawa outfit with an alloy competition motor (wow could that thing go!!!) and after it blew up I built up a Honda 350 twin powered outfit that was completely and solidly reliable. My two children loved that Honda outfit, but unfortunately my marriage was falling apart and when it went bust I foolishly sold the Honda when I really should have kept it.
One of the reasons why my marriage failed was that I supposedly didn't behave like a woman should (whatever that means).
My now adult children love me and I love them and what's more being single I can work on my old bicycles and other projects whenever I please and even work on them inside the house if I want if the weathers bad. My daughter who lives with me sometimes teases me a little when I do my impression of an old lady falling asleep in her chair with the cat on her knee, but that's Ok. I'm happy and that's all that counts.
Dan- If memory serves, that lumber was reclaimed from a huge barn near Sheridan Wyoming. If so, that was cut and hung about 80 years ago, and the tree was near 100 when they fell it. It's rare that someone does EVERY INCH of the interior of their home with barn wood, but that's what these folks decided on. (It's nice!) It slowed construction by a few months, but they're probably waiting at their castle, or private island.
Those doors are truly a thing of beauty, no? Framed with first quality, grey 2X6- $3.50 per lineal foot. They had to order corral boards that the posts were 10' apart, so that they could trim off the non weathered part that was against the posts, giving the completed door a consistant silver grey finish. Lot's of waste normally, but by the looks of this place, they had someplace else to use it. Sometimes they spray them with sealer, but in this case, the weather has already done it's worst, so hang it!
I grew up working summers with my carpenter uncle in San Francisco. That link to the wood reminded me of a time we took some redwood to the sawyer, and he gave my uncle the third degree before he would cut it. Rare old wood, can't harvest anymore like it, large size etc etc. We do very little of that kind of stuff here. Believe it or not 2X6, 2X8 and 1X6 fly outta here as soon as we take it down.
Speaking of big logs, I thought you were gonna be pulling up some...
Those doors are truly a thing of beauty, no? Framed with first quality, grey 2X6- $3.50 per lineal foot. They had to order corral boards that the posts were 10' apart, so that they could trim off the non weathered part that was against the posts, giving the completed door a consistant silver grey finish. Lot's of waste normally, but by the looks of this place, they had someplace else to use it. Sometimes they spray them with sealer, but in this case, the weather has already done it's worst, so hang it!
I grew up working summers with my carpenter uncle in San Francisco. That link to the wood reminded me of a time we took some redwood to the sawyer, and he gave my uncle the third degree before he would cut it. Rare old wood, can't harvest anymore like it, large size etc etc. We do very little of that kind of stuff here. Believe it or not 2X6, 2X8 and 1X6 fly outta here as soon as we take it down.
Speaking of big logs, I thought you were gonna be pulling up some...
Steve- It's fun work- hard, but my back is still good. We do alot by hand too, but usually have a skidsteer, or on bigger jobs a telehandler.
We get alot of the beam work the way you described as well, but those among us with piles of fednotes tend to use the whole beam. They do use them as structural members pretty often too.
Want to go on a job with me? Got a three month gig in North Dakota starting in January. It won't be cold or windy- I promise
We get alot of the beam work the way you described as well, but those among us with piles of fednotes tend to use the whole beam. They do use them as structural members pretty often too.
Want to go on a job with me? Got a three month gig in North Dakota starting in January. It won't be cold or windy- I promise
Wheelwoman- What are you doing on the computer- isn't there cooking and cleaning to be done? Geez, do people really still think like that?! You have come out the other end pretty squared away it appears to me, and good for you. Break out that Supergirl Tee and get it greasy workin on your gasbike!
Geez, do people really still think like that?! You have come out the other end pretty squared away it appears to me, and good for you. Break out that Supergirl Tee and get it greasy workin on your gasbike!
Wheelwoman. ayup. What they said!
Now ya gotta get a pic of ya with a classic touring helmet, goggles, wearing a Super-Girl tshirt while on a motorbike. Could be the promotional poster for "WheelWoman" The movie.......
Now ya gotta get a pic of ya with a classic touring helmet, goggles, wearing a Super-Girl tshirt while on a motorbike. Could be the promotional poster for "WheelWoman" The movie.......