First Big OOPS!

More things are being delivered. This Monday, I received my DRDT-2 dimpler! I was actually surprised by this one. They were able to deliver without signature which is always nice. I dislike having to grab the door tag and drive to pick up my stuff and try to hit the location in a 30 minute window. It's quite aggrivating. I could always tell them to hold and not send out for delivery and just take my tracking number and pick things up that way. We'll see how things go further down the road. I expected this to be delivered with my tools. However, these are usually ordered and have a 2 week lead time and are shipped at the same time as your tools but from the manufacturer. My mistake. Arizona is a lot closer than Kansas so it figures that this would come a little earlier.

DRDT-2 Dimpler from Isham (PlaneTools.com)

This dimpler will make things go much more quickly and relieve the hands of cramping and getting very sore and blistered by not having to use a hand squeezer. This is one heavy piece of equipment. I've seen a lot of others users build a neat little table for this gem. I always wondered where they were getting the idea for the table setup. Turns out there are plans for the table that come with the instuctions and dimpler! Wahooo!! That's a no-brainer! I love those. That'll keep me busy this weekend along with building a little frame for the plans.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was not a real good day. My air compressor shipped from Kentucky last Friday, the 18th. I was told by NorthernTool that I would get a call from the freight company (who, at this point, shall remain nameless) a day before delivery so I could make arrangements to pick it up from the curb and get it into my garage. I had to work late supporting a conference and was not able to have my phone with me at the time. I worked until 5pm which made me late for a 5:00 appointment. When I finally got finished with my support role, I called my appointment and said I'd be there by 5:30. "No worries, you're set!" Ahh, ok, scramble back to my office, log off my computer, grab my phone and throw it in the backpack and get outta Dodge! I'm racing to my appointment, get there just before 5:30 and as I'm pulling up, my wife calls me with news that there is an air compressor sitting on the side of my garage. WHAT?! Turns out my sis-n-law signed for the compressor. Nobody knew it was coming. It was a complete surprise!

Ingersoll-Rand SS5L5 Air Compressor. Ship wieght - 450 lbs.

After I get home, I get the whole story and realize that the driver had called my cell at 4:15pm!! "Hey, this is Eddie! I'll be here 5 minutes then I'm leaving. There is nobody here to sign for this." Sis-n-law just happens to drive up when he's walking back to his truck. Ahh, just in time! Well, I had paid to have it liftgated off the truck and left at curbside where it would be MY responsibility to get it to the garage. I guess he figured he was helping a lady out so they tried to move it by pallet jack INTO the garage, where I had not made room just yet for it. Well, don't bother, the compressor stands 6' high and sits on a 6" pallet! my garage opening is just 78" and the rise of the pallet jack added just enough that they couldn't get it in, so he left it on the side of the garage. Now, the fun part! I decide to unwind a bit after work from being so hurried. I changed into some shorts and a t-shirt and sat down for a little dinner. Take my time, relax, patience (remember my discussion last post on patience?). I finish dinner, grab a soda, go outside. I start with removing the plastic protective sheeting then unbolt the feet from the pallet. I had thought to ask wife and sis-n-law for some assistance to move it into the garage. I had originally planned to have a couple guys over and snag a pallet jack from work temporarily to move this beast, had I been alerted ahead of time! This thing weighs in around 450 lbs. and is very top heavy. I figured I could rock it carefully off the pallet and have things ready for the girls to assist. Well, my first big OOPS! I rocked it one way, then another to get a feel for it. Ok, ready. I make a big swing to get a foot over to another slat on the pallet, then start to let it sit back on all three feet. It kept going. Why isn't this thing stopping? What the hell? I can't catch it and it falls backward, on the belt wheel and the motor. DAMMIT! Seriously?!? Ok, what am I going to do? This thing is like lifting dead weight and 80% of its weight is on top. I'm a pretty talented guy when it comes to moving things around and pretty creative with getting things out of a bind. Not this time. I could NOT do this by myself. I had to throw in the towel.

My First Big OOPS!
THAT will Leave a Mark!

I swallowed my pride, went into the house and confessed. Repeat after me: I NEED HELP! Remember this phrase. The ladies came out and helped me get Big Bertha upright. With the assistance I should have had to begin with, they helped me to get it into the garage. Now, repair time. I need to replace the motor or get the motor housing fixed. The fall pushed the shaft of the motor through the other side, breaking the housing. The belt pully on the pump broke and came off as well. All the fins broke both at the hub and where they connect to the wheel. I'm hoping that because the way this thing fell, the pump is ok. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with this one. So, I'm in the process of getting assitance through NorthernTool, working with Ingersoll to see what "we" can do. I'll keep you posted.

Ordinarily, I would not post such a humiliating event. However, I'm posting Lessons Learned and will continue to do so throughout my project. At my company, lessons learned is a popular buzz phrase. It's our responsibility to alert others of the things we learn by mistake to help to keep things like this from happening and to improve processes which help in many ways. What was I thinking? What's one of the signs of a hazardous attidude? MACHO.. you got it! I can do this!! Well, I was wrong friends very wrong. Please, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you need help, ask for it. It should NOT be beneath any of us to request assistance. Don't be embarrased. We are adults. KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS. Nobody will laugh at you. If they do, show them this post. I'm extremely lucky that I wasn't on the other end of this behemoth to sustain major injury. As a pilot, I feel I'm very safe. We can always be safer though. On the ground however, I take a risk or two, here and there. Well, the picture above shows what can and what DID happen.

I hope this valuable lesson serves you well. If nothing else, I hope I planted a little seed in your noggin so that when you come to a point in your build or doing anything else in your life, you'll stop and think about it. Maybe you'll remember this little picture and think to yourself, I'd better get help. Maybe I should wait. Please do. You'll be happy you did.

Take care my friends and Thanks For Reading!