Chronic's Research and Aeronautics Project (C.R.A.P.)

[TheChronicOne]

My earlier numbers were off... I think I STOPPED counting at $300 but I've just priced 9 2x4s and 4 sheets of plywood and THAT is (after tax) is going to be over $400 and I'm not counting any of the stuff for the tables or benches....



I guess I'm just going to have to wait even longer... I can't justify $400 just to build a tiny 12x14' base to put a storage shed on. 


Painted some of the interior of the Cessna. 

[Rick Lowe]

Money isn't the root of all evil, greed is.

If people are willing to pay a price, sellers will gladly take it so scarcity is tied to value.

But yeah, it's dirty in so many cases... punishing the end user to make up for lower profits is pretty scummy.

It's a form of price gouging if you ask me.

Yeah, The Love of Money = Greed.

Sadly, that's the definition of a Retail Price - what the market will stand. And if enough people have to have it at any price, or don't care how much it is, the rest of us suffer.
The consumer has pretty much always been over a barrel...

The 'make as much profit NOW as we can' motive has a lot to answer for, and so does wanting to get an ever-higher return 'for the shareholders' - yeah, right. The fact you get a bonus for every extra dollar profit doesn't enter the equation, oh nooo...

Those timber prices are horrific.  There again, I tried to get some pieces of MDF recently - upwards of $70. And I would have had to buy the whole sheet (which is almost fair enough).
Realized I could buy 2X pre-cut shelves at the width I needed and get them cut to the lengths I needed for 1/2 that - guess which I chose?

Could you maybe see if you can source some old shipping pallets?

[TheChronicOne]

^Bravo. Not much I can add to that! 


Yeah.... GMTA... not long after looking at these prices I started wondering about pallets....   Piecing things together is such a pain in the arse but at this stage saving money by sacrificing time and effort is really starting to look more appealing now. The benches and picnic tables will have to wait but I really would enjoy having me shed finally.    I'll start looking around for alternate materials.

[Rick Lowe]

Thank'ee. 

The time and effort spent now would offset the time you'd save not having to tear things down after every use, maybe?
Having somewhere secure you could just roll it out of and onto the pickup would be a lot easier and quicker.
And the pallets might even be heavier-duty than what you were looking at.

FWIW, I found the following (Thread Hijack Alert!):

https://earth911.com/health/how-to-safely-use-pallet-wood/
Is pallet wood dangerous?
It turns out that pallet wood can often be contaminated with toxic chemicals, harmful bacteria, and other icky bad stuff you certainly don't want in your home or around your family. ...
So, before reusing a pallet at home, read on for some questions to consider to protect your health.

https://blog.nelsoncompany.com/home/category/pallet%20mold
Does pallet wood rot?
But, long-term storage under poor conditions can lead to pallets that "look" bad, grow mold and can even become rotten and unsuitable for use.

https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/treat-pallet-wood-indoor-use
How do you clean dirty pallet wood?
Scrubbing the wood with bleach or soapy water and/or rinsing it with a power washer are good methods.
Let the sun do a bit of cleaning, too, if you can—leave your washed pallets outside in full sun so they dry out completely and benefit from the disinfecting powers of UV rays

https://packagingrevolution.net/free-pallets-ten-places-to-find-them/
Here are ten sources for free, clean pallets:
Bars and craft beer locations
Pet food stores
Feed & Tack stores
Stationary shops
Furniture stores
Liquor stores
Schools
Flooring stores
Other small retail
Construction sites


Hope this is of use.

[NARSES2]

Must admit I was looking at MDF prices a week or so ago and actually did the search twice as I was convinced I'd done something wrong. Couldn't believe the price ! Lets just say that what I was planning on has been put on the back burner.

[TheChronicOne]

That's probably what I'm going to do.... just wait until Fall. Prices will return to closer to normal at some point and might be there by then. I got to thinking and even with pallets I'd still have to put plywood on top to serve as a nice smooth, solid floor and we're still talking well over $200 so... hell.. damned if you do, damned if you don't. That's not to say I'm not going to keep my eyes open for alternates... if I see a nice set of pallets that would work, I can grab 'em then start keeping my eyes peeled for "free" plywood.    You know, I got a pretty good deal on the shed package itself and I think now in hindsight I know why! Gotta build a floor for it so they weren't exactly flying off the shelf. Just a theory, but damn sure fits the bill. 

[Rick Lowe]

There's usually a catch... 

[TheChronicOne]

Yeah!! I know one thing, I'll never take wood for granted again. I had no clue it had gone up so much....   NEXT TIME... I do anything involving wood.... I'll check the market first before I get underway.

Here's the funny thing, though... the amount of money they knocked off of the shed kit covers half or more of the price of the wood for the floor so in reality I could look at it as basically costing the same as it would have two years ago, just the wood went up and the metal went down.  I'm probably going to wind up just paying for the stupid crap and rolling with it (I'm not so keen on waiting until Fall and I'm actually looking forward to doing it.. I was kind of excited to get started on it... )  but NOT before I go around looking for pallets and stuff first. I might make a day of it tomorrow.. I have to get out and about anyway so I can just load up a thermos of coffee, perhaps my dog, and go for a cruise around town. 

[Rick Lowe]

Good thinking - as well as making it more bearable, in real terms if the price is relatively the same you're not really losing on the deal. 

And a day out'n'about, whether you come home with the stuff you need or not, is still some time decompressing and recharging.

Have fun!

[TheChronicOne]

I have become utterly overwhelmed with tasks. Something about this year....   Spring is always VERY busy not just because of work but because of multiple instances of bills, drs appointments, and all sorts of other stuff related to having more money than I do in the Winter. This year has been about double the load. There's all this weird stuff going on concerning the pandemic and... like... unemployment, small business loan stuff, etc and trying to get all this going has caused a couple dozen hours of mind numbing "office" work. Then there's paying taxes, etc. It's been nuts. I'm steadily, albeit painfully slowly, getting much of this stuff knocked off of the "to do" list. So, it's just a matter of time now before I can get back to doing certain things like hobbies. What I did... was... seeing as how the stress and mental load was too much and causing me confusiong and anxiety.. I decided to completely stop doing some thing so I could focus my mind. Certain hobbies and other things I let go so that I wasn't immersed in such a level of multi-tasking that any individual goal was taking far too long to accomplish and merely trying to keep it all straight in my mind was getting to be difficult.

I still have plenty to do but I aim to be back to work on my lil Police Cessna within the week. There's not much time left to get it done but I'm pretty confident I can't manage it. It's such a small, simple thing. I know the back window glass is problematic (so I've been told) so when it came time to glue the fuselage halves in places I glued that little section in a manner that if it needs adjusting later, it will be easier. I won't have to pry a too-small opening wider, for instance... if anything a little clamping and putty and I'm in the money. In fact, that's where I left off... I need to glue on the wings and decide how much of the gear to put on now (opposed to at the end) then I can do the sanding work and get into paint. 

No thoughts on future projects beyond that, however. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Although, I do have the stuff out and ready to make a Boeing 727-100.............

[Pellson]

Sounds very much like my approach, but if I have too much on my mind, my modelling mojo simply disappears and that's that, really. Then I have to wait for a kind of peace of mind to return to be able to find my way back.

But - the models will be there and so will the bench. And you will be able not only to focus better, but more importantly to enjoy the hobby better when stress levels are lower. So let things take the time they do. We're here when you're ready. Just take care of yourself.

[NARSES2]

Sounds like your taking the right approach Brad 

Concentrate on the important things, those that have to be done, and then you find your mind tends to come to peace with itself.

[DogfighterZen]

Yup, i agree. Take your time doing the real world stuff and you'll be able to have real fun when it's all done. I have a hard time concentrating on models when i have real world stuff hanging and it kills my mojo and I reckon it's the same with a lot of people. 

[zenrat]

I find diving into models enables me to ignore real life.

[Old Wombat]

Read the first line below!