Hee, a little busting of ol doc’s chops…yeah, I know, no worries.I know where you’re coming from on this sort of thing. Been there myself. The thing is, Herb is doing it by the book, keeping a clean shop and everything, and he still got hassled, had his time wasted , had to deal with inspectors and had to threaten lawsuits and all . If his shop hadn’t been set up by the book - bad news. If he wasn’t willing to go out and fight this, bad news. And there is always somebody willing to stab you in the back. Neighbors, competitors, somebody you thought was a friend, do gooders, busybodies, jokers with too much time on their hands… somebody five miles up the road who thinks you’re lowering his damned property values. There’s always somebody, some SOB who will make your life difficult. So, it’s just easier to do it by the book. And if you’re charging money, figure that into what you have to charge, y’know? And Herb, best wishes for the new year, man. doc…
Its not that hard to abide by the rules set fo building surfboards.Try refinishing a cabinet for an airplane and deal with the FAA and you will see a real cluster fock. R.B.
Is Rick-da-file desperate or what ? It’s pretty sad when someone who has been in business for 20 plus years feals threatend by a guy or guy’s who work out of there back yard or garage.He should change his name to Dick.How does he think all of the “big” name shapers got started.He is most likely pissed because he could not shape a board if his life depended on it.How he stays in business is a miracle. Boycot “Dicks” I mean Ricks !
FAA - agh. Yeah, they have to have that whole paper trail, don’t they. How many small aircraft makers have gone under and don’t all the rest live behind a wall of legal protections of one kind or another that makes a small airplane cost more han most houses. Y’know, it’s funny, 'cos if you want to do major structural work on commercial fishing boats that work out off New England in the winter, you need zero licenses, certifications, zero liability insurance, zero overhead for that sort of thing. You need more paper to put shingles on a house than to repair, build or maintain something that’s both somebody’s livlihood and something that keeps 'em alive. So far, anyways… doc…
…First:I have friends that never say ,“sorry” or apologize in any manner.To them it’s a sign of weakness.To me ,to not be able to say you’re sorry is a weakness, because if you don’t know when you’ve done wrong ,then life real has no meaning . …Second: let me apologize for my previous posts in this thread to anyone that felt I was focusing my angry on them.I wasn’t so much as mad as I was MANIC ! …Third:I don’t fiberglass much anymore,I have a friend that has a small pro shop that lams,hotcoats and ruff sands, to my specs, most of my boards.I then take the boards home and box,plug and finish the end product.The only glassing I do anymore is on my own personal boards …(once and awhile to keep in touch).I do this on my own,voluntary.This is to give my neighbors a break,and me too.The 35 bucks I save glassing a board myself is not worth it.I still shape,airbrush,press and finish skateboards,not to mention a zillion other projects,cars,home,bla,bla,bla,and so forth and so on.I do my very best not to harm my relationship with my neighbors or the enviroment. …Last but tied for first:I hold anyone that builds surfboards for a living in the highest reguard.If I had heros those heros are here and out there building boards,professionally.IT’S A THANKLESS,FILTHTY,LOW $$$ YIELDING JOB.That gets little credit from there own culture,like THE MAGS !!!That’s where Swaylock’s comes in…In time things will change for all builders pro or hobbiest…the computer is just now coming to time,and many worlds are going to get rocked. …Remember you’re always out numbered,always out gunned.So EITHER, LEAD,follow or get the hell out of the way !Herb
I forgive you Herb old Buddy. R.B.
hahahahahaha- you must live on Long Island and have entered his shop… Unless you are one of his former victims. Oh God… I’m sorry then. Working at Ricks is like being in Menudo- you start shaving, you’re fired and replaced.
I’m not a victim.All you have to do is go in his shop a few times & you’ll understand ! He should keep a low profile.What an idiot !
Hey, my friend, no worries. Grew up among commercial fishermen myself, and backing down wasn’t an option and I DEFINITELY had to learn to do otherwise… not putting myself up as a model, more like ‘Yep, know what you mean’. Maniac? You mean, where your field of vision narrows, your veins stick out and you’re muttering to yourself? Yep. There are days when it’s a Real Bad Idea to be around me. Airbrushing, etc… a zillion projects - yep. Learning boat canvas this last year, welding on this year’s plate, hopefully machine tools in a corner of my shop. With the right stuff as best I can accomplish it. Underpaid and no respect - mmmhm. As Jimmy Buffet wrote " Remember, they are ALWAYS the enemy" - and they are everywhere. Y’know, I think we’re doing a lot of the same stuff and act much the same way. Takes somebody a lot like you to push, even accidentally, the wrong buttons and get a hell of a bang. Best regards doc… oh, and you were Airborne? Yeehah - not for me,man, I’m terribly afraid of heights…
…jump the 173rd PathFinders.Herb
…There’s an art, …a young not-so-smart man down the block is a mechanic,not someone I would go to have my car worked on mine you,and his welding looks like chicken shit, literally.Whereas my buddy and genius friend Eddy can weld like a seasoned pro,and weld anything,either you got it or you don’t. …Eddy was a S & R in the Navy during Vietnam then volunteered for river boat duty.Like Eddy said, never volunteer for ANYTHING in the service ! I found that out the hard way too! Joint task force jaguar, Honduras. …I hungout with a Italian family when I lived in LongBeach,Ca. back in the days.They came from a long line of fishermen from San Pedro,Ca. A bunch of ruff and toughs,but GOOD SALT OF THE EARTH PEOPLE ! Fishermen are one of the hardest working people in this world,but it has it’s own separate rewards.Herb
Here in Southern Calif, you have illegal mexicans selling flowers at Freeway exits every day of the year. I wonder how the Small Businessman Florist feels. I live near a Major intersection where on two opposing corners of each weekend various groups offer ‘Free Carwashes’ for a donation of course(two diagonally opposed gas stations --they dont mind) sometimes its the Fireman,H.S.Soccer team, Some Feel good organization, and one time it was actually a big extended family(didnt know their purpose??) How do the City Car Washes feel…especially when weekends are the bread and butter of that business?? This situation is occuring 30-40 weekends a year…its a business! I’m not saying that Herb shouldnt be doing what he’s doing. My point is that nobody(govt included) sticks up for the local businessman. They want your license fees and taxes , but look the other way when someone else is habitually cutting your throat. Sometimes you gotta stick up for yourself.
…I give away more than I sell,ask here and find out how much. …If someone is trying to make a living building boards out of his garage ,it’s noticible and eventually will get caught and fined OR go pro. …Like I said you can make money with a hobby,it’s the law. …by the way ,trading things doesn’t fall under a business code or selling used stuff as well.I think that’s why Skip rides his boards first,then he can call them used,and the board doen’t fall into a mfg. sales CATAGORY law.Herb
…2001: 12 surfboards,less than 6 skateboards,most my own. …2002: 15 surfboards,30 skateboards 1/2 sold at a small profit the rest were my own personnal boards. …2003: 19 surfboards,15 skateboards too many for me,I’m going to cut down next year. …my worst years…98,99,2000 from 40 - 100 approx. boards a year ,those years sucked,I was to busy building boards for others including big name pros in there shops. and 5 - 6 skaters for myself or friends. …This not to discount making prototypes for businesses and have them claim them as there own model,making money on them,and not kicking me down a penny.Most didn’t even give me credit for my designs,so I don’t do that anymore.This is skate and surf industries both. …Who’s really ripping who here ? Herb
Oh yeah- when I was in engineering school the guy who ran the manufacturing engineering metals shop was a magician with heliarc…come to think of it, if I remember right his name was Herb too. I figure it this way - what I know about somebody else’s trade, well, that lets me make it easier for him when he has to do some work for me and I can see if he is good or awful. And if cobby but effective will work, then I can do it myself. The other thing is that, well, there was a time when being self sufficient, jack of all trades instead of specialising, never hesitating to take a swing at something new, that was valued more than it is now, where everybody specialises and yeah, they do it well but outside their specialty they’re lost. Give repair people a broken whatsit and they give up if the part isn’t blister-packed and on the hanging rack in a bad hardware store right then and there. Sticking something that’s a little diferent sized in a lathe and turning it down a skosh never occurs to them. On a fishing boat, well, everything is kinda customised and finding parts difficult to impossible. So, I may just have to stuff a lathe and a small vertical mill in a corner of the workshop. Plus, it’s fun to learn the new trades, y’know? Oh, before I forget - have you ever run across http://www.173rdairborne.com ? Best doc…
…Yes,as well as other sites including R.Lee Ermey’s site. …Funny ,I use my call sign on those sites.And thanks for the thought ! Herb
First off I think what this guys trying to say is he doesn’t want anyone else stealing customers from him. I get this all the time from shops, I guess I fall under the byb catagory I’ve been making a living building boards for a handfull of years now and I’m not in an industrial location and if I was I would have filed chapter 11.The only glass shop closest to me is 100 miles away so I’m forced to glass all my boards myself.My family isn’t rich and I don’t have a trust fund this is the only thing I know how to make a living I started my business with a planer and a blank. Every board builder is a backyard builder in my area and I glass their boards or they do.All this guy cares about is his own pocket!!
head on brother, do your thang.
lets get GW bush on this… he will let us dispose our chemicals rite down the streets sewer drains and he will pay us to do that! Im sure the manufactures of our chemicals get to dump there waste product in the air and in out precious water supply all they want… they will just pay for a stupid scarry TV ad on the FOX network to get the asshole reelected.the perfect plan
Just when you feel things are slipping and you believe you.ve had enough, never ending reeling sending your mind to crash, from where it is coming to where it should go, JFK,MLK,JOL, never saw the point, just when you think it’s over it gets you the worse way posible, friends are they really there when you need them most, set up tear down nothings safe for you another day of hell, nobody around to understand, your in a world all your own, Is this just surfboards or could it be something else. If you need someone to lean on GO MY WAY, if you need someone to count on go my way…6/29/60