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Back from Montreal, 2500 kms, from Noon Wed til 10 pm Friday.. I did wave at Pierre, or at least in his general direction on Thursday, once at 01:30h and again at 19:30h.. I did the drive to Montreal without break ... just over 14 hours nonstop. I haven't done that nonstop in about 20 years or so ... I used to do it often when I was young & foolish. I stopped at La Malbaie, in Quebec on the way back, had a lovely supper, and won $100 at the blackjack tables in the casino.. I had a great room overlooking the St. Lawrence River and spotted some whales from the balcony in the morning, all in all a nice pit stop. If anyone has a few extra days after F.K.A.B. I would heartily reccomend a visit to this scenic area. It's about 1:45 hrs from Quebec City.
Got the Machine safely back to the shop, Matan Spark. Unloaded it with the help of a forklift, and got it uncrated. I'll post some pics tomorrow. It'll be Tuesday before I get it from the workshop into the shop proper, and work on the setup. It was a little intimidating sitting in its 6 ft crate & weighing in at 700 lbs... Not a machine for the feint of heart.. It was extremely well packaged, and appears to have survived the trip from Israel to Labrador without a blemish.
I did get to do a lot of thinking during 28hr drive and I've decided to move the shop to a larger building.. I did some looking at other businesses while I was in Montreal, and I've come to the conclusion that what I call cozy is in fact decidedly cramped. While I do have space in my present shop for the new equipment, I really don't have any display space, customer space, or even a private office for that matter. I've realized that without proper display, a lot of customers don't realized the full range of products & services that we offer. I've been in denial on the space issue for a while now, guess I didn't want to face moving and all that that entails. I moved into my present site in 1996, and spent a lot of time & energy modifying it to my purpose, including building a 25x60x16 garage only 3 years ago... I'll miss my little shop..
The good news is that I already own the larger building. I had opportunity to buy it last year for investment purposes. I will easily be able to sell the smaller building, I had an offer this morning from my neighbour who also wants to expand his business; I'll end up with a 4500 sq ft shop and a small mortgage, which is more than covered by a tenant who occupies 2000 sq ft of the 6500 sq ft building.. I will have to do a lot of work prior to moving, gonna need new flooring & counters and so forth, I'm also going to want to pick yer brains over colors and overall look. It's going to be a bit hectic, I've set September 15 as the target date for the move.. August gonna be busy month.. anyone like plastering & painting? I'm still going to make 1 day at F.K.A.B. while moving my daughter from St. John's to Montreal.
The new shop is well suited to the business, big front retail area, spacious work & storage areas and a 40' garage with 14' door. I might even manage to put in a spray booth... Hey I can dream..
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
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Michael, we're just sitting & waiting now. We got the plans done (there may be a little tweaking, I'm thinking of changing the doors), $ is in place, my beloved tree is gone & we're on the list with the contractor. It will be September/October when they get to us.
I've started trying to organize my existing space to make the move across the yard easier. I have a couple boxes of antique woodworking tools I've picked up at sales, dad's garage & my favorite tools outta pap's shed. I also bought an antique showcarder kit (cause it was cheap & looked really cool) & started gathering up my displays to adorn my front area. I can't wait to get in it & quit tripping over stuff in my "overgrown closet".
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Geeez Mike..You get all the toys!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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Getting it into the new shop is gonna be a piece of cake... all one level and 2 big double doors. Getting it into the existing shop will be more of a challenge.. narrow doorways and 2-3 steps no matter which way I enter.. tuning up the chainsaw now .. Grrr... just kidding... but it is gonna take six guys and a keg of beer to get it in..
Here's the floorplan of the new building as is... I'll be using the right hand side (yellow) as well as the garage area in back. I'm working on a plan for equipment placement and work flow. It's got lot's of possibilities...
Lots of area to play with ... the front section alone is nearly 40' x 40'
Glenn, I honestly didn't check the price of the DFS, I'm sure you'll get an email on the subject 'tho . I stretched the budget buying this component, besides I have to have something to look forward to getting.
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So, getting it into the new shop will be easy... after you get it out of the existing shop. Either way, plan on another keg.
Lotsa potential with that new shop. It's kinda a rush though, isn't it? Looking at it on paper & having free reign as to what it will look like when done.
Mine is going to be completely open when the construction crew leaves. I have an idea in my head where I want things, but I'm going to wait until I start walking around in the open area before I totally decide where the walls will be. Seeing as the side walls will be the structural members, I can put walls inside wherever I want without having to worry about them supporting the structure.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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just kidding... but it is gonna take six guys and a keg of beer to get it in.. 
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