Folks Of Interest Oh elders of the hamb, give me guidance

Tell her it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission.... LOLOL...

 

Yeah....pesky legal stuff like proving you had really died BEFORE she sent you off on your blazing cruise.

Lynn

 

Nope, married 35 years to a very understanding wife!

 

You guys think I am joking.......

 

Good point, 'cept you're dead! She can ignite the funeral boat with her cigarette while have the Viking funeral in the toilet bowl in the local Indian casino's ladies room and you wouldn't have a Nordic clue! Valhalla meets the scrubbing bubbles. Hallelujah, Where's the Tylenol?

 

I like the 6,000 building on the 6500 lot idea.

 

"I like the 6,000 sq' building on the 6500 sq' lot idea." .

No kidding. Esp iffen it's say sorta old 30's barn-shaped, 3-4 stories high, all finished out of course... living qtrs on top w/a view to anywhere/everywhere. Full needed amenities on each floor as needed for the particular function(s) desired. You know - the essentials: a Dyno(maybe 2 - one for engines only, the other for rolling-road simulations), flow bench, porting area = grinding, cutting, welding/etc, clean room(s) for painting, assembling, designing; aw hell, may as well have a drinking room along w/an area to make ice creaam/gelato in in a Coldelite machine. Cooking/canning/preserving/etc. Magazine/library room. Tinkering shop + metalworking shop incl foundry... hobby shop, & more. Hmmm, thinking that neither the "6000 sq' building on a 6500 sq' lot"(which sounds suspiciously like it's in town...<shudder>. Unless it's YOUR Private Old Abandoned Town - w/an old gold &/or silver mine on the property, incl all rights? Smelter too, right? WTF - may as well include a small stocked private lake n stream, + windcharger, solarpanels, various alt energy devices to keep you occupied in all of your spare time. HotDamn... ) is near big enough - still need room for the project storage & of course the room for the allotted parts storage for the projects-in-waiting. Maybe need 120'x80', x 3+ stories, & maybe a 1000 sq' house to keep cozy in. On 10->200 heavily treed acres that are hidden away from the damned public...

"Sweet Dreams are made of These... , who am I to disagree..." ...

No. I don't have this... sigh... ;( ;( ;( .

Marcus...

 

I found the lot and she wants grass for her dogs. I told her to train them to go in the neighbors yard.

 

post retirement. spend a lot of time at home not always someone to help get the job done on my time. im glad i bought a good heavy duty gantry type crane on wheels use it lots....

 

Great thread subject matter Roothawg! It's timely. I've read with great interest as I'll retire in 45 months at 65. Hopefully a bit sooner. Lots of great advise shared by HAMBers!

Consider taking some of the income that you used to pay monthly bills with (before you paid everything off) and invest it (401k, etc). Even in a few years it will grow and provide additional money for purchases before (or after) you retire. The big (obvious) advantage to buying tools now is that you get to use them starting now instead of waiting for retirement.

Use a lot of patience, and really keep your eyes open when shopping for tools/equipment. Have cash on hand and be ready to strike quick if the right deal pops up. While I had a pretty well outfitted garage (220 MIG, drill press, lathe, press, blast cabinet, etc.), about 5 years ago I started concentrating on buying good, used sheet metal fab equipment when I could find a good deal, (some at give away prices); Nibbler Jr., roller, 48" box & pan brake, 5' Dreiss and Krump brake, B-3 Beverly, bead roller, English wheel, shrinker/stretcher.

You never know when/where stuff will show up. The Enco B&P brake; One Sunday AM, I make a run to get a dozen donuts. Take my truck as it needs gas. On my way home on the main drag, I make a quick 2 second flash look to the right side at the paint & body shop. There's a few carts and workbenches out front. I say out loud to myself, "was that a sheet metal brake on that cart"? Hang a U turn, go back. Sure enough it's a box & pan brake. The shop is cleaned out. Lots of half finished cars strewn about. Ask the old guy that's walking through there if he's selling stuff ? "Kind of. I'm the landlord and this SOB skipped out on me last night". "I'm waiting for the scrap metal guy to come haul off all this metal. He should be here any minute". Stunned, I point and say "how much for that" ? "$40, back up your truck".

The B-3 came out of the back of a CNC machine shop that was thinning down. Seldom used it was like new. $75 for the H/F English wheel. Used by a guy that bought it to prototype a single part, then he listed it.

The 5' brake from the storage room of a commercial door manufacturer. Stanley doors bought the guy's door co. out of his product and production line tools lock stock and barrel. He was retiring early and emptying out his storage and in one helluva hurry to start traveling. He says "scrap price, $100, doesn't work, it's got broken linkage". It will only swing couple of inches. I figure for $100 I'll make it work. He loads it in my truck with his forklift. Get the thing home, look at it to find that someone had wedged a 2x4 in the workings underneath. Pull it and it works fine! Chalk it up to good luck and good living.

#1 on my wish list is a lift. Though I'm still in good shape, crawling around under cars really sucks. Then a stomp shear, TIG (and the patience to practice), maybe a plasma.

The Wife and I have recently become empty nesters. 3 are through College and out on their own (all in town). The last of 4 (the Baby) just left for College and will graduate the same month I turn 65. The 2 daily's will be paid off and I'll be down to a very modest mortgage. Everything else paid for. My S/S, pension and interest throw off from 401k should put me around 90%. I'll need it here in CA. The cost of admission is insane. Homeowner's just went up 40%. Gas is up 45% since January (glad I bought hybrid daily's).

Could retire now. Wanted to cash in the chips and move out of State like everyone else I know that's recently retired but the Wife isn't on board as we have a Grandbaby now and another on the way. Stranded in paradise. I'm in for the long haul.

 

I found my best strategy for early retirement was staying single with no kids. It worked for me, your results may vary.

 

Do something every day because retirement is life in overdrive. I retired 14 years ago (recalculated yesterday) Unfortunately retirement years fly away like feathers in a wind tunnel so get off your dreaming the perfect plan and enjoy it now!!!

 

Hello,

When my wife and I decided to retire, it was due to our wanting to take care of our infant granddaughter. Her parents were hit with new jobs, a new house, one new car and a whole lot of craziness with all of the stuff those new parents/career folks from that generation can drum up. To us, it was a mess. So, we were getting ready to slow down anyway and that cute little face staring up at us just asked… “HELP.”

So, we had moved to a smaller house (2000 sf) as our last one and decided to try and cram into the garage, all of the garage tools and equipment for continuing to do stuff we did before and now, into retirement. Our garages have always been neat and clean. So, the stuff from the downsizing was in a three car garage with cabinets lining all walls and hid everything, except for smooth white counter.

But, we did notice that due to the downsizing, the garage space went to a two car garage from three. So, we had to get creative. (Table saw, drill press, band saw, work bench vise, a sander, radial arm saw, small compressor, and a bunch of other garage stuff.) The two car garage was made for a row of cabinets and a long work counter. But, not much else.

Most of the equipment was relegated to being outside behind a tall fence and gate covered up with fitted tarps and to the ground slip covers. Rust was kept to a minimum. The garage had the workspace to do some car stuff, home stuff and building patios, chairs, baby toys and other yard necessities. But our garage was basically for cars with some storage.

Everything slowed down with our new granddaughter being at our house 4-5 days a week for sleepovers and living. Sometimes it was 5-6 days due to inconvenience of late nights for her parents. So, we now had a new person living with us and when we were at her house, it was two other days during illnesses and emergency meetings/social stuff. We were fine as our house was now granddaughter central and we were getting another go at raising a child.

Jnaki

Our garage stuff was now gathering cobwebs and for lack of use (although there were plenty of projects on our list) the granddaughter took precedence over anything else. So, the rest of the extended family (not our granddaughter’s parents) were the recipients of all garage large tools and equipment. We were too busy with our granddaughter and that took precedence over a hot rod build or a boat.

So, for the next 4 years, the garage projects were at a minimum if any. The garage took on the aspect of another work place, but this time, a full set of premium tall cabinets and shelves with a cool long counter for my little work and photo stuff. It is now a very good place to be during the warm/hot days since it now has a fully insulated door. As important as things are, the small things are taken care of to make life easier and more efficient.

As far as anyone else doing the same things as us, that would be farfetched. It was just the right thing to do at the time, for us. The retirement allows a slower pace for anything. People have asked if we are ever bored with anything. The answer is: “There is always something to take care of, in our lives.” Family first, bank accounts, household purchases for repairs and replacements, etc. and yes, reliable daily drivers all are part of our active lives.

As far as anyone saying there will be times of being bored with nothing to do, there are always things to be done. But, it is not something that needs to get done right now. No due dates with the time crunch making everything tense. We all have something to do, even if it is time for a nap. Read, write, walk around the yard or neighborhood, etc. Kindle/Kindle Unlimited has such a variety of book genres that it will last forever on those styles. It just makes sense to have something to spark the mind.

The pandemic allowed us to slow down more if there is such a thing. Bills are low, the family seems to be affected, but are adjusting, so far. Our teenage granddaughter is using her mind and friends to be creative with their adjusted lives. The pandemic would have blasted our own hot rod/drag race lives back in the 50s-60s. This new generation adapts well and we are just as proud to be a part of it as we were when she was just a newborn and toddler living at our house.

But, we look back and have decided that time is important and what you don’t use today, might just be gathering dust in the future. Time for a recharge and clean out of the garage… again. Don’t worry about finishing stuff. A routine will drop in place of things you like to do. It will change over time, but it is something that is not a planned activity map. Each day will seem like the same as yesterday, so the routine will just drop in place without anyone worrying about doing something or finishing something.

We even thought of purchasing this cool Tahitian Red/Candy Apple Red 1940 Ford Sedan to cruise over to our granddaughter’s house for her driver’s education/training practices. Now, that is gaining some ground in our own family discussions. Something else to help stay involved with our granddaughter’s hectic life as a current teenager. YRMV