Why people don't keep older equipment running

[flyerdan]

China is manufacturing a few islands, but that's a bit of jiggery-pokery best discussed elsewhere.
Agree on the fact that there are fewer people able, or willing to fix things anymore. Just yesterday a guy a couple houses down brought over a nice Troy-Bilt mower that wouldn't start. Pulled the air cleaner and gave it a shot of WD and it popped a couple times, probably just needs a carb cleaning.

 

[grsthegreat]

Funny thing.... my wifes cheap 8 foot tall decorative windmill in her garden broke. I thought only 2 fins broke loose so i took it to shop and lo and behold entire windmill assembly was shot. Have no idea where parts went. I was planning on rebuilding it, but saw identical item on ebay for $28 with free shipping. Ordered it. Didnt look close enuf, got email stating its being shipped from China with 2 month lead time.
So i told my wife id give it a go. I built my own windmill bearing assembly from parts i had in shop, rewelded the fins, repainted entire thing. 5 hours later the thing works and looks like new. . . Talk about wasting my time. When the new one gets here...on a slow boat from China... im going to assemble it and keep it in the carriage barn. When the old one tanks again, out comes the new one and the old one goes to target range.

I think with old things, simply buying new things is easier and maybe cheaper in the long run.

 

[dnw64]

Well, the is that "land" thing too.. No making much more land either... maybe a few volcanic eruptions to make an island once in a while.

...and, depending on available technology, there is the "final frontier" of space.

Whereas time waits for no one.

 

[dnw64]

China is manufacturing a few islands...

As is/has Dubai.

 

[ovrszd]

Well, the is that "land" thing too.. No making much more land either... maybe a few volcanic eruptions to make an island once in a while.

My large farmer friend has said for decades, "invest in land, they ain't making anymore".

 

[5030]

Funny thing.... my wifes cheap 8 foot tall decorative windmill in her garden broke. I thought only 2 fins broke loose so i took it to shop and lo and behold entire windmill assembly was shot. Have no idea where parts went. I was planning on rebuilding it, but saw identical item on ebay for $28 with free shipping. Ordered it. Didnt look close enuf, got email stating its being shipped from China with 2 month lead time.
So i told my wife id give it a go. I built my own windmill bearing assembly from parts i had in shop, rewelded the fins, repainted entire thing. 5 hours later the thing works and looks like new. View attachment 656843. View attachment 656844 View attachment 656842. Talk about wasting my time. When the new one gets here...on a slow boat from China... im going to assemble it and keep it in the carriage barn. When the old one tanks again, out comes the new one and the old one goes to target range.

I think with old things, simply buying new things is easier and maybe cheaper in the long run.

Wrong color for me....lol You need to get in there and chop up that deadfall behind the windmill....

Funny you should picture it. I just destroyed my wife's wishing well in the backyard, backed into it with the tractor, so now I'm on the hook for a new one that she ordered last week. Probably coming from China as well, seems as though all that stuff is Chineseum today.:laughing:

 

[5030]

My large farmer friend has said for decades, "invest in land, they ain't making anymore".

Read an interesting article the other day in American Farmer about how foreign countries are buying up prime farmland in Southern Michigan and Northern Ohio. We are blessed here with fertile loam but it seems like foreign countries are buying it up. Interestingly, the Netherlands are the leading buyer and China isn't even on the radar.

Had an issue here with mega dairy farms and run off from manure lagoons and interestingly, they were owned by entities from the Netherlands. 3 got shut down by the EPA for continuing to emit untreated manure into local streams. Got told, told again and finally shut down because they wouldn't comply. Just blew it off.

 

[fried1765]

My large farmer friend has said for decades, "invest in land, they ain't making anymore".

"Buy land, they aren't making it anymore", is a ORIGINAL quote from Mark Twain.
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemmens) died on April 21st, 1910.
It seems likely that your (decades old?) large farmer friend was not even born at that time.

 

[grsthegreat]

Wrong color for me....lol You need to get in there and chop up that deadfall behind the windmill....

Funny you should picture it. I just destroyed my wife's wishing well in the backyard, backed into it with the tractor, so now I'm on the hook for a new one that she ordered last week. Probably coming from China as well, seems as though all that stuff is Chineseum today.:laughing:

Cleaning deadfall is a never ending chore. I was in the process of clearing entire fence line and around the arena when the deck replacement issue came up. If ir stays cool ill be back cleaning deadfall in a few weeks.

 

[grsthegreat]

"Buy land, they aren't making it anymore", is a ORIGINAL quote from Mark Twain.
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemmens) died on April 21st, 1910.
It seems likely that your (decades old?) large farmer friend was not even born at that time.

were not making land, but china is.