An annoying story/ details from the old days

-

67Dart273

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Messages
60,035
Reaction score
33,295
Location
Idaho
From about? 81 to about 89 I worked here in town at what was then a huge auto/ light truck/ some heavy truck parts/ sold hydraulic hoses, separate welder sales & repair, gas bottles and gas welding store. We changed rear axle bearings, turned drums and rotors from the smallest car imaginable clear out to heavy truck trailer drums, relined shoes and winch bands and sold wire rope up to I forget, 7/8? Logging chokers, chain and fittings and rigging, black pipe fittings, and a complete line of heavy industrial janitorial supplies. We were among others, FACTORY distributors for Wix, C/R and National seals, Victor gasket, Wix filters, Fafnir and Timken bearings, and Browning sprockets,sheaves and roller chain, and Gates belts. We carried everything from fractional HP to automotive, to A, B, C and multi Vee belts.

The owner also started the area's first dedicated fasteners store, the tail end of which has now been bought out and corporatized, and moved out N of town near the airport, so that it's a half day's drive to get out to the damn thing and back. I have not been there, and will not.

Now its all gone. There's been several businesses in the building.

Today I went to an "antique" (junk) store that is sort of in where the old welding store, and bosses and bookeepers offices were. It is divided up into a chaos of little cubbies with different seller's items, no organization at all. It is stacked high, and difficult to get some idea of "where you are".

At some point I REALIZED I WAS WALKING UP the concrete ramp from the old shop area into the "cable room." This is where wire rope, chain, tire chains, and batteries overstock and antifreeze was kept

SO HERE ARE THE DETAILS

It is gone now, but at one time, the entrance from the shop area to the "cable room" at the top of the ramp was wood framed for the doors. Back then, there was a big chuck of heavy truck air brake can IMBEDDED into the wood, that had "gotten loose" when the manager was working on a spring brake air can (dynamiter) in the hydraulic press. It had been left there as a reminder.

The other story is that one day I was up in the cable room, looking over battery overstock. I was not doing anything, just counting and looking, so I was rather "quiet." Next thing I know, here's "John" getting up from his NAP...........FROM UP ON TOP OF the anti freeze cases--stacked nearly to the ceiling. He had carefully stacked them so that there was a "coffin" trench at the top---he could get up on the stack, lay down in the "trench" and take a nap without being seen---until "me."
 
Incidently what I bought --as I could not find a big sledge--is a couple of old splitting malls, one for 11 bucks and the other for about 15. Both are perfectly serviceable, and even though I won't be splitting any wood, they will work find for occasional "sledging"

We used to sell axes and splitting malls at the parts store, it would be hilarious if this was one, though I doubt it. I don't remember the brand, "they were blue"
 
CDA is ruined from foreign entities. lol
and it's spreading Northward to Sandpoint
 
From about? 81 to about 89 I worked here in town at what was then a huge auto/ light truck/ some heavy truck parts/ sold hydraulic hoses, separate welder sales & repair, gas bottles and gas welding store. We changed rear axle bearings, turned drums and rotors from the smallest car imaginable clear out to heavy truck trailer drums, relined shoes and winch bands and sold wire rope up to I forget, 7/8? Logging chokers, chain and fittings and rigging, black pipe fittings, and a complete line of heavy industrial janitorial supplies. We were among others, FACTORY distributors for Wix, C/R and National seals, Victor gasket, Wix filters, Fafnir and Timken bearings, and Browning sprockets,sheaves and roller chain, and Gates belts. We carried everything from fractional HP to automotive, to A, B, C and multi Vee belts.

The owner also started the area's first dedicated fasteners store, the tail end of which has now been bought out and corporatized, and moved out N of town near the airport, so that it's a half day's drive to get out to the damn thing and back. I have not been there, and will not.

Now its all gone. There's been several businesses in the building.

Today I went to an "antique" (junk) store that is sort of in where the old welding store, and bosses and bookeepers offices were. It is divided up into a chaos of little cubbies with different seller's items, no organization at all. It is stacked high, and difficult to get some idea of "where you are".

At some point I REALIZED I WAS WALKING UP the concrete ramp from the old shop area into the "cable room." This is where wire rope, chain, tire chains, and batteries overstock and antifreeze was kept

SO HERE ARE THE DETAILS

It is gone now, but at one time, the entrance from the shop area to the "cable room" at the top of the ramp was wood framed for the doors. Back then, there was a big chuck of heavy truck air brake can IMBEDDED into the wood, that had "gotten loose" when the manager was working on a spring brake air can (dynamiter) in the hydraulic press. It had been left there as a reminder.

The other story is that one day I was up in the cable room, looking over battery overstock. I was not doing anything, just counting and looking, so I was rather "quiet." Next thing I know, here's "John" getting up from his NAP...........FROM UP ON TOP OF the anti freeze cases--stacked nearly to the ceiling. He had carefully stacked them so that there was a "coffin" trench at the top---he could get up on the stack, lay down in the "trench" and take a nap without being seen---until "me."
Awesome Man,
 
Mid 1970s, in my hot rodding, drag racing days, I got to go with my mentor for everything automotive and a mechanical engineer to some of his suppliers and machine shops.
One place, which he referred to as Peanut's, was a big industrial size brick building full of metal working machinery. IIRC, Peanut, a little elderly workhorse of a man, was the owner and sole employee. My car guy said there was probably a million dollars worth of machinery in that building. I'm guessing it was probably there to service the furniture industry which was huge in my area. Any time we needed any type of special grade 8 fasteners, he always had bins full of what we needed.
Then there was Lentz Machine Shop where maybe all the local drag racers including Don Carlton and the oval track racers took there engines and parts for machining. My car guy would walk in for some machine work and knowing how particular he was about his parts, they would just let him use their machinery and do it himself. We saw some really trick stuff in that building.
We also had a little mom & pop hardware store just down the street from his garage. It looked like an antique store even then. And they had prices like from years earlier. For any fasteners or such less than grade 8, I could get a bag full and never spend more than a dollar. At checkout, they seemed to just make up a price.

Sadly, they are long gone now.
 
Last edited:
Well, I don't have a Fireplace, wish I Did! And actually Wish I Needed one! But I smoke on ALOT of Oak
I smoke my meats with oak also. But the majority of the wood I burn is for shop heat usually poplar, ash or elm. -40 that wood stove gets pretty hungry
 
-
Back
Top