The short version is that he is working hard on finishing the backlog and I'm posting this because many people on SFI and here as well as his clients should know what is going on with him, and below I'm copy pasting his entire very long post on Tinker's site. ( I hope that this is O.K. with Nathan and or the moderator's as I think it is important news and I think that any pressure this removes from Gus will be helpful ).
HERE IS WHAT ANGUS WROTE:
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| I'm probably not going to be the internet personality I have been in the past, even when caught up. I have been for ten years, and have to admit to some burnout.
Also, to be honest, I'm not doing well with frustration. Memory problems, awareness problems, and not dealing with frustration well..... even if for no other reason, that's why CF is now the retailer. I don't think I can do it anymore......... What does one say, when after a year and a half of delays, disruptions, etc, it finally looks like its cleared up. Said as much a couple months ago, after all, machine's paid off, and all the late fees are done, and I now have the "Bill of Sale" to prove it. Life's better, summer's here, and it should be smooth sailing.... Yeah..... New landlord, and he bought the property cheap. First thing he says to me, is he wants to keep the grinding mess inside. Sword's are cool, but since he's having the paint done, and new asphault done, he doesn't want all that dust ruining the paint and asphault right away. Ok, I can see that. The previous landlord painted the building {took two days}, and I did pretty good keeping the outside clean, until the whole mess {property} got run down, and no one cared.......... The painting started last week of June. Actually should say the prep started. The paint a little bit later. I tried to work schedule with the painters, so that I could grind, while they were on the side of the property. Landlord and/or paint boss would change things up, and they'd be in front again...... For instance.... first week of July, spent a weekend getting some Navy parts done. Took them down Monday and got check. Somehow left 15 parts at shop. The buyer and I talked about it, and he was going to have the driver come Tues and pick them up. Wednesday, more parts were coming in. Tuesday, the painter "guy" and I had agreed would be a Gus grind day. When I came around the corner Tues morning, things were taped off {again}, and they were already working the building across from me. After finding a safe place to park, I looked up the "Guy" to find out what happened........then totally frustrated went into the shop.......... Wednesday morning I'm talking to the buyer, and he's sending raw stuff to make into parts. I'm going to do this over the fourth weekend, as its easy money just sitting in front of the lathe, and I have no plans for the fourth. I ask Kevin to please have the driver remind me to give him the parts. "Gus, he picked the up yesterday, I was in QC when he brought them in." At that point, the fear factor went thru the roof. I have no recollection of the driver coming by. For that matter, no recollection of the work day, though I could see the guards run on the machine, and the rough machining of the blade stock....... but no recollection until that evening when I was teasing and flattering Eun Hee Kim and her co-worker Mina Lee...... That I remember..... Major rainstorm on Thursday, painters painting on the fourth to make up time...... either the storm or the paint {painted electrical wires, and possibly phone lines, I'm not climbing up to look that closely} knocked out the DSL over that weekend. It was a week before it was working right again, and the phone company was in the building three times..... Paint, trim, paint again........ landlord changed his mind, and another trim color......... finally the asphault........ but the asphault wasn't sealed.....*g* Saturday, I hung up plastic, so now I can move the grinding inside {have already done so}. Have experimented with cleaning the asphault outside, as I'm the only one on this end of the park that's month to month. Everyone else still has some lease to play out....... It works........ Odd thing is, I'm not the only one that's had an interesting July. My heat treater has been having their yard redone, meaning asphault too, for a month. So........ I have more 1506s in heat treat, the remainder of the 1403s, some "backlog" blades {big ones, really big ones}....... material being annealed, and more blades going this next week. Remakes {1404 blades}, tac blades, new falchion. Week after next the last of the remakes {Sale} get machined...... Have ground 40 handles {this last weekend, why I experimented with cleaning up the asphault}. Including these, have machined 340 handle cores. Expect to get them all ground before October's gone. Will be running knife blades soon.........Pommels have been run, and more guards. So......its not like nothing's been done, just not the grinding that sends stuff to happy homes....... Last week, thru yesterday, the "threes". Friday, more paint trim right outside the door, so I decide to put the new falchion media together {backorder, and Maker's Mark}. The geometry's done, but it still needs time "in the editor", putting it all together, so it'll make a blade. You know, making sure that I actually change tools between the main body, and the clip point false edge...... and make sure that I cut into the fuller, not rapid into it........ Well, get it all done, and set it up for download into the Daewoo, and it starts, then the computer locks up. Clear that, check the media in the editor for stupid mistakes {don't find any}, and reboot the computer. Go back into the communications software and get "hardware key missing", which basically means you can't access the software at all, because the computer is not recognizing the hardware key. Try a few things, nothing works. Walk outside, try and collect thoughts, and keep frustration {and blood pressure} under control. Come back in, and dig up old computer that is now just the "backup" for this one. Plug everything in, and pray if fires up. Ok so far, move hardware key over. Now click on the communications software "hardware key missing"..... Well, it really is the hardware key. Three hours and $150 later, I have another one on the way. Tuesday it arrived, and I'm back in bizz. Wednesday, I'm coming back from Fedex, and get off the gas at a light. The SHO acts like its downshifting really hard. Five times {four speed auto, even if it was downshifting that hard, in third, it could only have done it twice}. Ok....... The next light it surges again...... no check engine light. Reach the corner .3 miles from the shop, turn the corner, and now all the guage lights come on, as the car coasts to the side of the road. It does start.......but doesn't go far, and surges. Next light, it stops ok, then at a complete stop, no gas being applied, the engine surges to 1800rpm from its 900rpm idle. I did get it to the shop, did get it put away. Still there........ Yesterday, I had several calls {that I did not answer, busy making pommels}. I finally did check the thing, and it was the "light fixture" guys needing to get access so they could change the light fixtures........ Now, I did have a bit of a discussion with the landlord, that his disruptions had cost me a bit of business. To the tune of $2k to $3k minimum, and that I needed August to get the grinding caught up, and no more disruptions until the second half of September. He still wants to have the light fixtures changed, and have the natural gas heater rebuilt {haven't had heat in five years}. Well, a lot of good that discussion did, next week I lose at least part of a day for light fixtures. And truth to tell, will likely lose a couple more days next week..... Rustie, my second daughter is due on Sunday, and she'll probably pop sometime next week. I'll probably have to do the new grandfather thing for a couple of days.......... So...... behind the eight ball. Not been good at communication this last month, and won't in August. Yes, I should spend a couple full days sitting in front of the computer and write folks. No I'm not going to, we'll all be better off, once I get thing shipped. And the future in retailing is Christian Fletcher. Somewhere along the line, I'll have to spend some time to see where the costs are, CF did have me read the thread on myArmoury about Albion's price increase. May have to do the same this fall....... Both myArmoury and Arms and Armor have done it in July.......... |