Fear

There seems to be a lot of fear tactics being used these days to get you to buy one item or another and even to vote for one person or another.  The TV ads will warn you to watch out for H1N1 or the latest farm animal flu, be it bird, chicken or the infamous rhino.  These are scary things or are they?  The flu has always been around and probably always will be.  Wash your hands and try to avoid it.  If you get it, take care of yourself and get healthy.  Speaking of diseases the same goes for politicians.  The Republicans have become infamous for this tactic of scaring us.  The Republicans will tell you not to vote for the Democrat because of what harm will befall this great country of ours.  Before President Obama was elected, the Republicans told us to "Watch out because other nations will test him."  Test him how I thought to myself. Nothing has changed it's just one person.  A person with less and less power in this country as time goes on.  You can test the office of the Presidency but I would not recommend testing the resolve of the American people.  I wish that for just once the Republicans would come out and tell me what good they will do for the country and why I should vote FOR them rather than try to scare me into not voting for the Democrat.  This comes from a lifelong Republican, me.  Although, after the last few Republican Presidents, I would officially classify myself as a independent these days.

I don't have any fears.  Oh sure you could dig up some bone chilling event about my health or a loved one or some global incident that would find some fear within these bones of mine but I do not sit in fear on a daily basis.  In fact, I believe that without bad things you would never know to appreciate the good things life has to offer.  How could you appreciate the sun shinning everyday if it never were cloudy or rainy?  One would have a tendency to curse the warm glow of the sun after so much time having only sun and nothing else.  Too much of a good thing suddenly makes that thing not so good.  I won't go as far as to say that I embrace the bad but without bad is there good?  How would you know?

It's the same with war.  I think war is one of the dumbest things that mankind does.  I understand that not everyone can always get along but War just seems so outdated to me.  For people of different opinions to actually take up arms against each other and shoot and kill one another just makes me shake my head.  Could you imagine if a higher intelligence being (driving on the freeway these days makes me believe that there must be higher life somewhere) were to visit our planet today?  I wonder what they would think?  They would see all of these puny humans running around shooting each other.  I mean a higher being, go beyond your limits and imagine an entity that was so advanced that to them, we would look like a plastic set of army men on a bed of sand in some kids' sandbox.  What if these beings attacked us?  Would the nations and the people of good old planet Earth group together or would we simply protect our own land and boundaries?   Until then, world peace is just a Dream but I can Imagine, right Mr. Lennon?

I think it is mankinds natural arrogance that holds us back and takes us into war against each other.  For example, we look for life on other planets and we base whether life can exist on those planets by looking for things like oxygen and at the bare minimum we look for water or traces of it.  Why do we believe so strongly that water must exist for life to exist?  We need water and oxygen but how do these scientists state so factually that ALL life needs water.  How can they know that?  In all of the little round planets in all of the galaxies maybe there is a life form that breathes methane and drinks acid.  Perhaps if they were to visit us they would perish because they could only find fresh water and oxygen.  Maybe that is why they are not here - because this planet is not inhabitable for them.  We look at dust planets and imagine how brutal those conditions must be.  Perhaps life on that dust planet looks at this wet, humid planet and imagines the horrific conditions here as rain falls and tornado's twist and hurricanes brew.

Where this is going I am not sure. I got a bit off the topic but that is me and I warned you that these topics would go in many different directions.  Do I believe in little green men? Well, I will say this, that until humankind has explored all of the universe that anything is possible.  The bottom line is that I think it depends on your definition of "life".  I think it is a human trait and possible flaw to project ourselves as the definition of "life".  I believe that there could be life on the Moon or on Mars or any of the other planets but perhaps we cannot recognize it as what we define as life because it is a life of another type.  I do wonder who else thinks like this at 7 am on a Saturday morning.  Hmmm, I may need more coffee.

Whatever this may end up being

I really have no idea what I am about to write. I just noticed that it has been 2 months since my last rant so I decided to change that and write this - whatever "this" may end up being.

I went back and read some of my older posts. Posts where I talked about playing poker. I laughed as I read some of my horrible bad beat stories from back then. Truth is they were probably more like bad "no folds" then they were "bad beats". Sometimes it is hard to throw hands away. But two kings have never beat 2 aces and I should know that by now. At least I have "invested" enough into the game of poker by now to know better. Throwing away things is not something I have an issue with in life. Although I will admit that I do keep some weird things for reasons unknown.

I have a beer can collection that I recently stacked in my pole barn. Thats them up above in the picture. The collection is special to me because I collected these cans when I was 8 years old and I've had them ever since. Back then there were not returnable (no deposit) cans here in Michigan so my very first can was a "Tall Boy" that someone had conveniently deposited onto the front lawn of my childhood home. All of my neighborhood friends were already collecting cans so I started with this one and from there I was hooked.

I spent a lot of time as a child at a corporate resort in Brighton, Michigan called "Burroughs Farms". No, not "Burroughs Farm" but "Burroughs Farms" with an "S". Sorry but that is a pet peeve with me. Yes I do have better things to worry about but I take issue with that whole "S" thing. Anyway, Burroughs Farms was a resort getaway for employees of Burroughs Corporation. (Burroughs later paired with Sperry to form Unysis) At Burroughs I found most of my empty beer cans for my now infamous collection. I would go to where the older kids were known to party or just walk through the woods and find their spots and also find their tossed beer cans. Gross? Yea it is now that I look back on it but it is pretty cool too and here is why. I found some areas where people used to party long ago. I found conehead cans and "no opener needed" budweiser cans. These things had sat out in these woods for years - long after the party had ended and probably long before these people who left them went on to be adults and get jobs and wives or husbands and families. Please note that I did not say "the good old days" lol.

So the can collection lived for about 31 years in the basement of my parents home. Annually I would receive the call from my Mother asking me "when I was going to take these darn cans." Too funny and it became a little joke with us. Sometimes I wish I hadn't gone and got them from her so she could still call and joke about those wonderful cans that she loved so much. Funny thing though she has never asked about the cans since I took them. I wonder why? I always thought that those cans would be worth something someday. Who else has a "Billy Beer" can that was opened from the bottom so the pull tab is still in place? Well, log onto ebay - there are a lot of them and the can is worth about a buck. Oh well.

Other strange things I have hung onto for unknown reasons: Old Computers, Old Cameras, Old Cell Phones, (I guess I can stop saying "old" in front of everything) Resumes, Printed Ads that I created for customers, bowling trophy's and awards, bowling balls, TV's, - wait a minute I just realized that I AM my Father. Ok this weekend is cleaning time. This makes everything sound like it is a mess but it really is not. My house is organized and well kept. I do need to remove a few of these things though and I will. But I still wonder why I held onto them.

I have bowling trophies from when my youth bowling team won the league in 1972. I still have high average trophies, league high game and high series trophies from that same year. I had the highest average at 95. Not bad for my first year of bowling. Last year (2008-2009) I averaged 229 for a season with 99 games.  I have showed some improvement over the years.  The sad part is that all of this "wonderful" stuff is just junk to anyone else. If I dropped off the face of the planet tonight someone would just back in a dumpster and load all of my precious junk for a quick trip to the dump. But it is special to me and that is why I keep it. Maybe we need more of that in this world?

Americans have become a throw away society where young folks go through 3-4 phones a year and it is ok. We lease cars now because heaven forbid we have a car with more than 10,000 miles on it. We are impatient while driving or on the internet because we have become accustomed to getting things right now. When I was growing up I didn't get a lot of toys or bikes or things like many of my friends got. We had money but my parents didn't believe in just giving out gifts. We got gifts at Christmas or on our Birthday and it made them more special although I didn't feel that way when I was young. My friends didn't appreciate their things like I did. Maybe that is why I take such good care of my things. If I broke a toy as a child I didn't just get another one, rather it was a lesson to be learned. So, I didn't break my toys.

I went into my local cell phone supplier to get a new phone.  The last cell phone I bought was the original "Blackjack".  When I bought it the phone was cutting edge but after several years it needed to be replaced.  When I showed the young person behind the counter my Blackjack he commented, "Wow I haven't seen one of these in years. Do you know that there have been two newer version of this phone sir?"  He also commented, as he looked at it in astonishment because it looked like it was new by saying, "Did you even use this phone?"  Now that is funny because being in sales as I am that phone was my lifeline.  It went with me everywhere.  Anyway, I bought a simple Motorola Karma phone and went on my way.  I've had the phone for a few months now and it is still in pristine condition.  oF course, now that I said that I expect to drop it on the pavement sometime today.

So there you go another moderately entertaining post from me. I guess that explains why I hang onto things like I do. But I am going to clean up a few things around here.....someday.

Who cares about Detroit?

I've been meaning to write this for some time now. Months ago I heard some TV personality say that the US Automakers should file for bankruptcy because after all they got themselves into this situation and why should we, the American People, have to bail them out. "Let Detroit go under" he said. The whole bailout thing I actually agree with. Why should my tax dollars be used to help a private industry or business? But I take serious issue with it being a "Detroit" problem. This problem is a national one and could be crippling for our economy for many years. To be so naive as to believe that Detroit is the only area affected by a possible bankruptcy of the "big 3" is well, naive.

I have customers in TN and KY who used to buy cutting tools on a weekly if not by-weekly basis. I can tell you that one of these two customers has not purchased anything in 8 months and the other has placed one order in the last 6 months. I know that each of those companies have also gone through some pretty massive layoffs. I hear it from customers all across the country that things are slow. Companies go out of business or are very slow paying their bills now.

I recently saw a show on CNN where a panel of 4 (2 men and 2 woman) were discussing this whole auto industry issue. They were interviewing the mayor of Lansing, Michigan (sorry I dont have his name right now). The Mayor of Lansing was insisting that we need to manufacture things in this country. One of the panelists argued with him saying that we as Americans cannot afford to buy things that were made in this country because they are just too darn expensive. After the Lansing Mayor hung up and the interview was over this same panalist stated that he personally wants to buy things made in China and that we have to keep making things in China because they are cheaper. I do not wish harm on anyone but I wonder how his opinion would be if he had a child that spent the afternoon chewing on the lead paint of its latest toy. I also wonder how he would feel if CNN became the "Chinese News Network" and he lost his job. Afterall couldn't we just pipe in via satellite the world news from Bejing? You could have an entire Chinese staff give us our American news. He would be the first one to cry when his overpaid job went away to foreign competition.

I have nothing against China or the Chinese. I do believe though that at one time the United States of America was the land of opportunity. We, as Americans, accept foreigners into this great country of ours so that we can share the American Dream. I have never heard of the Chinese Dream or the Asian Dream. When did it become our responsibility to worry about what lifestyle the people of communist China were living? Why is it presented to us that we cannot pull all of the work out of China and bring it back here to the US because it would devestate China? Where is the American Dream my Grandfather, Uncles and my Father fought for?! I don't get it.

So who cares about Detroit? Well, I as one do because I am not solely out for myself but I am out to save and restore what was once the American Dream - The Land of Opportunity - the greatest nation on Mother Earth. Oh sure, Ford GM and Chrysler could go the way of the Dinosaur and we would get by somehow. But if we do not continue to manufacture in this country where will we be? We must make things here to keep people working, to keep the economy flowing and to maintain our peace of mind. If we stop making things and we go to war how long will it take for China to make a tank for us and why once we get it do I see forward gear going reverse and left being right? It doesn't work people. A slow boat bringing us Chinese made armed tanks and aircraft doesn't make any more sense than us receiving lead paint toys for our children and tainted toothpaste for our twice a day routine.

What language would you be speaking now if it had not been for the manufacturing efforts of Detroit during the World Wars? The Declaration of Independence states that we as a people have an obligation to rise up and take back our country from our own government if that government fails to lead us in a prosperous direction. An OBLIGATION. I bet George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson are a little unsettled in their graves these days.

In Congress July 4, 1776. The unanimous declaration of the thirteen united States of America as penned by John Hancock states: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

Hancock was speaking of the King of Great Britain but do not the same words apply to any government that governs and/or controls these great United States?

Why do things have to change?

I thought about the title line for this post for a few minutes.  "Why do things have to change?".  At first read this sounds like something an old man might say along with "I remember when" or the infamous "Back in the day..." but I am not an old man.  Not by number or spirit.  I will say that I have seen change many times in my life and though many people do not like change I accept it and typically do not have an issue with it.  

Last week I heard of General Motors dropping the Pontiac Brand Name.  For most of you this probably passed in one ear and out the other as you could possibly care less about that news.  But for me it hit a nerve.  In 1984 I bought my first real car.  I had others in the past but they were given to me or sold to me by family members.  This car was my first out-of-the family car purchase.  A 1978 Pontiac Trans-AM.  Now, "back in the day" these babies had a 6.6 400 HP motor in them.  Mine had a .... hmmm.... well this is sad I cant remember if it was 454 or 455 but either way this car moved when you hit the gas.  My only complaint was that it was bright yellow with black interior.  The interior was going to receive peer approval for sure but the yellow exterior made me cringe a bit.  My friends were driving GTO's, Chevelle's, Fast back Mustangs and none of them were yellow.  There were a few of us who wrenched on cars and helped each other keep our road machines running.  

"I remember when" you could work on a car yourself.  If it stopped running you dragged it to "Norms" house. Yes his name was Norm.  He had all the tools and all the tricks to keep our cars on the road.  We would wrench on one thing or another for a couple of hours and "bam" you'd be up and running and the smile would return.  You can't work on cars anymore.  Many young people are probably asking why you would want to and the answer is this:  It was a bonding thing.  Three or four guys standing around a car, wrenching on this, replacing that and you talked about everything from hamburgers to girls while you worked.  It may sound crazy if you didnt participate in anything like this but it was fantastic.  It was worth having a car that needed constant wrenching to keep it going. (editors note: If you are smiling right now because you know what I am talking about you are ok in my book)

But this post really wasn't to be about my '78 Trans-AM.  No, it was about things changing.  You see, I don't see Norm or any of those guys anymore.  In fact our time together was fleeting because we were young and youth is fleeting.  We all grow up and move on to live our lives.  I met those guys when we all worked at McDonalds flipping burgers or doing maintenance.  Those were our first jobs so we shared that together too.  This is where my story starts.

I was born just after the baby boom in this country.  My older brothers generation caused many new schools to be built to hold their masses.  My generation was the beginning of the smaller families with fewer children.  All of the schools and teachers wouldn't be needed as class sizes diminished.  I had the honor of being the last class out of nearly every school I attended.  I went to Clay Elementary School in Livonia Michigan.  It closed after I graduated to Junior High or Middle School now I guess it is called - another thing that changed for no reason.  I attended Dickinson Junior High (Funny I can't remember now if it was spelled "Dickenson" or Dickinson" come to think of it I don't think I ever had to spell it before) also in Livonia.  It closed the year after I graduated from it.  Two schools closing right after my class.  This still may not mean much to you but I knew then that it was a sad thing because I would never be able to go back revisit my youth by walking the halls or if I lived in the area later in life have my children attend those schools and be able to mutter "I remember when".

Remember that McDonalds that my friends and I worked at?  Well, just after I left for a better job - they torn it down.  How many times have you seen a McDonalds get torn down? But it gets better.  They rebuilt a new McDonalds building, not down the block or around the corner but on the same plot of land.  In the exact same location.  I had many great times at that McDonalds Restaurant.  I met great friends, I dated many great girls, I practically started my adult life - the life after high school - there at McDonalds.  What a great place that was to meet people.  Most of my girlfriends at that time I met there.  We played baseball against the other area McDonalds. The store managers actually coordinated other crews from other McDonalds to come to our store and work it so we could go play baseball against another store.  You know, that was really cool!  I bet they do not do that anymore.  One other thing about that place, I had a few girls at the time who told me that they hated going to work until they pulled in and saw my yellow Trans-AM in the parking lot.  How cool did that make me feel? Great! - nice to hear too that the whole yellow car thing didn't keep me down! It must have been the shaker hood.

You can see how all of this is linking together.  It is my past.  It is ultimately how I have shaped into the person who I am today. Norm and some of the other fellas working together to get our cars ready for the weekend are still in my memories.  The great girls that I dated are still in my memory.  We all have a past of things that we experienced.  It would be nice if these remained the same so we could go back and visit but things must move on.  

Now it is Pontiac.  Up until last week when GM announced it would drop the Pontiac label I held hope for a new Trans-AM.  Even after the new Camaro came out I still thought there was a chance but now there is no chance.  It is ok and I will survive but it is just another thing that I will never be able to go back and revisit.  One of my favorite songs of that era was "When you close your eyes do you dream about me?"  I believe it was by Honeymoon Suite but I may be wrong. One of the lines in that song is "I remember when we learned about love in the back of a Chevrolet".  It just doesn't sound the same if it were: "I remember when we learned about love in our Toyota". 

Move on and get over it.  I can read your mind you know.  Especially if you are young you are probably thinking that I should stop complaining and move on - things change.  Just remember this, one day your children will be playing virtual reality video games.  They will put a helmet on and sit in a chair or lay down on their bed and they will be able to just think their next move.  You will stand there and say, "Back in the day we had it made - we actually had to move levers and push buttons and hold a controller.  Now a days these young people don't know what it's like to play a video game. All they do is sit there and think and the game does everything for them. These kids are lazy."   

Ah age - the horrible part is that things change - the great part is too that things change.  Wouldn't it be boring if everyday were the same as the last one?  Some like blondes, some like brunettes for me it's redheads. 

Happy New Year

So we have another new year. 2009. My parents were right in that time does go faster and faster the older you get. What is it about a new year that gets everyone so excited? Is it just another reason to party? Is it just another reason to get a day or two off from work? Is it the rare opportunity to see family that we only see during this time of the year? I don’t think so. To me and through my observations it seems that it is the sense of new hope and a chance of a brighter future that leads everyone to celebrate the New Year so much.

You know, of course, that the New Year is not just celebrated here in the US but it is globally celebrated and embraced. I watched live footage of several countries as the New Year rang in. Australia where the fireworks and the celebration were on a very grand scale. Bejing where the lights flashed and people cheered (although I thought that the Chinese New Year took place in our January but what do I know I sell cutting tools for a living). And, of course, in New York where many of us love to watch a glowing ball drop down a poll as we count down the remaining seconds. Don’t get me wrong I feel the same joy and excitement of bringing in a new year. I just don’t understand why I feel this way.

If the current year was so bad and we just want to get rid of it and move on then I understand the joy of sending it packing into history. If there were something big coming in the New Year (world peace would be nice) I would understand it too. But we know nothing of the coming New Year. One thing for sure is that it brings us one year closer to the end of the Mayan Calendar which some say predicts the end of mankind in the year 2012. “Oh don’t be so negative and enjoy the moment” I can hear you now and I agree we should enjoy this moment. Perhaps this is exactly what I am getting at.

Why don’t we celebrate everyday as if it were the last day of the year and the dawn of a new one? Nobody was upset yesterday. I stood in line at a small convenience store at 8:30pm needing Tequila to make margaritas. No salt – shaken not stirred – a small slice of lime and pour it over a glass stuffed with ice please. So here was this line, a line that typically would consist of people moaning and griping and wondering why the lady in front is writing a check for $15.81 and holding up the line. But last night there was none of that. There was only patience and understanding. Sure, everyone there had someplace they were going even if it were just back home to make sour drinks with ice. Lots of ice – did I mention that yet? So why is everyone so kind and understanding on December 31st and how do we roll that into January 1 and so on?

So how can we get pumped up like this everyday? I’ve said before that I admit a lot of personal things on this blog - probably much more than I should. I chest pound. Yes, you read that correctly. I pound my own chest. I take right hand into a loose fist and I tap the left side of my upper chest two times. Just below the shoulder to be exact and only twice. No, not three times as I would after scoring any goal in air hockey but only two times. The air hockey thing I will tell you about at another time. At least one person knows that story and is shaking their head right now remembering it in utter dismay. Why do I chest pound? I don’t know for sure. My wife hates it. She says I look silly and a few other things but I do it anyway. It isn’t for her or anyone else. I do it only for myself. My daughters have not seen it yet but my wife still doesn’t feel special about being introduced to the chest pound. I wonder why?

The chest pound is a way of showing confidence in me. It pumps me up after a big sale or making a good decision. It is reserved and not used daily but only used for special situations. I know you are reading into that “special” and I do not blame you as I will admit it is a bit strange but I never was one to get in line and follow. Up until this Christmas I only chest pounded in the privacy of my own home. This holiday season I introduced my visiting from out of town family to the chest pound. Yea, nobody understood it.

Wouldn’t it be a great thing though if we all got fired up everyday like we do on New Years? So here is a toast, moderate on the sour mix, a bit heavy on the Tequila, a squirt of lime and packed with a bunch of ice for a new year filled with happiness, joy and peace. May we all carry with us each day the warmth we feel on New Years Eve. Happy 2009!

Leading a Horse to Water.

Growing up my parents had many sayings:

"Do you want your face to stay like that?"

"It only hurts for a little while"

The infamous: "If they were jumping off a bridge would you do that too?" -- sorry to say that I did indeed jump off of bridges, rooftops, garages and out of trees which leads to wonder why I never heard: "There is something not right about that one" from my Father.

Speaking of my Father he has to be one of the best, yet still undiscovered, sayings creator in history.  I'll never forget the gems my Father came up with when he would get angry while working in the garage on one of our cars.  If things went awry he would shout out things like:

"Cheese and crackers!"

"Son of a pup!" - I didn't get this one until I was much older and I still don't get the whole cheese and crackers thing - although I do like cheese and crackers to this day. I wonder if that is some type of psychological thing?

You see my Father worked on vehicles in the Korean war.  He is an electrical engineer by education and a purchasing manager by occupation - retired now - thank you very much.  I know first hand how working on vehicles and being a purchasing manager can drive you a bit batty because I have been there. No, I have never muttered "Cheese and crackers" of course, unless there were a bottle of wine near by.

One of their best sayings and one said by many over the years is "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink." I often think about where I would be today if someone actually told me things straight out instead of in rhyme.  Just tell me that you can show people what they should do but only they can choose to do it or not. Is that so hard?  So that was me growing up amongst all of these life lessons hidden within speech.  It leads me to my topic today: "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink."

Take Toolinghouse.com for example.  Come on, you knew this was leading to commercial. Did you think you would get all of this wonderful stuff to read without hearing a pitch or two? Toolinghouse competes with the big boys of the online world - you know who they are so I don't have to mention them.  If you were to compare our prices against their prices I can tell you that Toolinghouse is 25-55% lower on almost everything we sell.  I have introduced many end users of cutting tools to toolinghouse.com.  Many have ordered from me over the years and continue to do so today.  I cherish my customers as I know they are my corporate lifeline. What makes me wonder though are the others whom I have introduced Toolinghouse.com to but who have never ordered a thing from me and worse yet, continue to buy from that 3-letter company.  It is ultimately the buyers choice but coming from a purchasing background like I do, I cannot resist wondering why they choose to spend more for the same things they can get from me much cheaper?  "Well, I need it here tomorrow" and I reply with "so order it from me today and you will have it tomorrow." Most of our items can ship same day just like the 3-letter company. Now, for those of you who do not know, Toolinghouse is not some multi-billion dollar company with warehouses all over the land.  Kudos to the big boys for having so many brick and mortar locations.  This overhead of theirs is passed on to you the customer in higher tooling costs.  That's it. I have much lower overhead and therefore much lower prices.  The drawback, and I hope you find my honesty refreshing, is that all of our orders ship out of Michigan.  I'm not selling gasoline and I do not have a location on every street corner - nor do I have the high prices associated with that type of infrastructure.  That's how I can sell you "Great Tools - at Great Prices."

In today's market there are many goofballs (that's the technical term for it) running around out there telling you anything you want to hear to try and make a sale.  It is tough out there these days but I do not believe in deception as a sales technique.  Those of you who know me know that I am a straight up kind of guy, I don't - hey, I just remembered another parent saying, worse yet it came to mind just now and it applies - "Pull the wool over your eyes." Yikes, that stuff is still up in my head.  Probably because I am still trying to figure out what half of it means - 40 some years later.

Look, I know you have choices when it comes to making your cutting tool decisions.  All I ask for is an opportunity to quote your cutting tool needs.  All I can do is show you how I can save you money and provide you with quality US Made Cutting Tools at affordable prices. That's the sales pitch - not much to it I know but it is the truth and that is the best kind of water to be led to isn't it?  Call me today and let's talk. Toll Free: 1-866-583-TOOL. Or log onto www.toolinghouse.com and check us out. 

The bottom line is that good 'ol Mom and Dad were right about most things, confusing and twisted in their method of getting it across to me, but right none the less. They taught me some important lessons.  They confused the heck out of me and they have instilled some of the silliest yet pertinent sayings into this head of mine - even if I have only deciphered 50% of them so far.

The Wonderment of Youth

I had a 9:12 tee time this morning but a rain shower has pushed my time back to 12:16. So that gives me some time to sit here at my iMac and write. When I woke up this morning, it was already raining. I made my coffee as I usually do and I took it along with a blueberry muffin out onto my screened in porch to sit and watch the rain. Actually, I really like rainy days except for when they kill tee times.

While sitting and watching the rain fall I saw a mother deer and her fawn run past my driveway and onto my neighbors property. Great thing these fawns are as they sleep during the day either under some of my trees or my neighbors and the mother sleeps in the woods behind my house. Why they separate like this during the day I do not know but they do.

Today, the mother walked and the fawns bounded around and along side of her. If you have read my blogs you probably know that I have a 2 year old daughter. I had mentioned this before when I warned the world that I reproduce every 14 years. You know what is really great about kids? The innocence and the wonderment of everything they do. They do not know anything. They do not know to be afraid. They do not judge people on looks. I can carry an extra few pounds around the middle and she doesn't care one single bit.

It's funny how those fawns were bounding and bouncing around their mother this morning. Ironically enough my daughter does the same thing. Anytime she wants to go somewhere she runs. Time for lunch and she runs to the table. Time to go outside and play and she runs to the back door. Time to brush her teeth and she runs the other way. The joy of life in her is one of the things I love so much. She is just amazing because she is just happy to be. To be what? It doesn't matter. Just to be is enough for a child as they can find pleasure and happiness in anything.

There is absolutely no greater feeling on Mother Earth for me then walking in the back door from the garage to see my little girl running just as fast as her little legs will take her, down the hallway, past the kitchen towards the back door where "Dada" has just come in. The exuberance in her actions as those little legs try to run 90 mph just to get to see me faster. What an amazing feeling that is for me. She runs so fast that her hair blows back and she almost loses her balance.

We, as adults should take this approach to life. At least, if it does nothing else, it would help some of us tone up a bit. After all, when was the last time you ran to your car just because you were so excited to take a drive to the post office? When was the last time you ran as fast as you could to catch a big yellow rubber ball you had just kicked across the lawn? I admit some strange and personal things on this blog and this will be right in line with those other confessions. I've run around on the inside of my house chasing my daughter and playing as she plays and it is not easy to keep up. I run to a lot of places now. I sprint to the car in the garage. If I am going to water the trees in the back, I run to the faucet. My 2 year old giggles at me and that is why I do it. But what a great change of pace for me. She and I will run around the yard. Instead of taking long strides I take what seems to be about two trillion tiny steps to get where I am going. Just like she does.

I hope she will always feel that exuberance when I come home and when she sees me for the first time on any given day. Right now, is very special and I am old enough to know it. The sheer magic that "Dada" holds right now is fleeting. There will come a time when she will question everything I say and I look forward to her doing it. But right now, I am reveling in what can only be called one of the best times of a Fathers life. Sure, those little legs that try so hard just to get to the back door a little faster will slow down. The excitement will fade in the legs but I hope that, if I do my job right, the excitement will never fade in her spirit or her desire to see Dada.

Maybe one day she will call me "Father" or "Dad" and maybe even in quite or silly times between us I will be the "old man". I'm not sure but I do know that even though Dada by name may fade, Dada by spirit in me, never will.

Keep jumping - keep leaping. We need more of that in this world.

New Blogs Started

Well the “trinkets” blog has gone in many different directions as I thought it would. This is not a bad thing but it has made me re-think the blog. I’ve decided to allow myself (and you) to continue to go in any direction on this “trinkets” blog. However, I want forums to seriously discuss cutting tools. Therefore I have created www.carbideendmills.blogspot.com to discuss carbide end mills. I also started www.holemaking.blogspot.com for the discussion of drills, reamers and deburring tools. These two blogs will be used for on-topic discussion and the “trinkets” blog will be used for miscellaneous topics.

Thanks for reading the blog and please feel free to contribute.

When is enough, enough?

Gas prices topped $4.00 a gallon here today in Howell Township, Michigan. This is getting a bit sick and it is and will continue to devastate this wonderful country of ours. It would be one thing if the big oil companies were barely squeaking by and making modest profits. I don't have any problem whatsoever with a "for profit company" making a modest profit. After all, that is what it is all about. I do take issue with these companies making record profits, quarter after quarter, while we, the American People suffer trying to fill our tanks. The government was supposed to stop monopolies and protect us consumers yet here we see the largest of all monopolies helping to crush the American Economy. I said "helping" since they are not the only issue we have here that is devastating our economy. I'm going to address the biggest crusher here too and that is the "Global Economy" that some Einstein thought of years ago. All the global economy has done is lifted Asian Countries and deflated Western ones. I wonder how long it will be until we can't afford to commute to work any longer and we'll just live in small huts on the back parking lot of our employers - wait that sounds like China. Maybe this idea of globalizing economies does work. We will soon be just like China. More about that later.

I've heard people suggest that since we have President Bush in office and since he is from Texas and since Texas is about oil there may be a connection to him being in the White House and us paying these high prices for gas. One big clue to the answer may be found in profits for these oil refineries and their sister companies. Big profits, like the billions they are showing every quarter, could, COULD mean that some shady things are being done by some shady people. Greed can be very tempting as I know people who have been consumed by it.

So we've spent Billions of dollars or is it Trillions now on this "war" with Iraq. We tossed away the lives of thousands of our young people who have had no chance to live the American dream as they were killed trying to defend it. This war has begged the question since it began of "why and is it worth it". I supported Bush and his notion of us having to defend against the terrorists and the "evil-doers". I even supported us going to war as I trusted our government to do the right thing. Now, I believe that label of "evil-doer" may apply to what we need to protect ourselves against right here on our own land. There is a lot we could get into here and you are welcome to chime in but all I will say for now is that I feel that the leaders of this country misled me and the American People when they took us to war in Iraq. The whole driving force on this war was to find and destroy all of these weapons of mass destruction that Hussein had, yet an investigating team didn't find a single one. Perhaps Benedict Arnold would have been proud of this deception.

I come from the heritage of a long line of men who fought to protect this country. My Grandfather fought overseas in WWI. His son, my Uncle fought in WWII and was one of the translators during the German trials. My Father saw action in Korea. I am very proud of this family heritage and I am very proud of and extremely supportive of any American Troops. I do not like feeling as if they are being used to risk their lives under the notion of protecting our Country if they are not truly attacking a enemy that poses a threat. No, I haven't forgotten about the Twin Tower attack. However, I do not believe that Iraq had anything to do with that. I am starting to think that our leaders mislead us into attacking Iraq for oil. Period.

I had heard this notion of a war for oil when our leaders first started to say that we may be going to Iraq. Many people brought this point up and I was one on the other side who defended their decision as a necessary act of war to protect us. I now believe that I was lied to and I further believe that oil was/is the reason we are there now. I think our brave young men and women should be brought home and used for the purpose for which they signed up for in the beginning: To Protect Our Country from Threats. I do not believe that Iraq poses us any threat. Their street bombs and road side attacks only kill our brave soldiers if our soldiers are driving in the streets of Iraq.

Hmmm, so I started out complaining about gas prices and I went off on the war with Iraq. I didn't know I was going to go in that direction but it happened. So perhaps it is time that the government steps in and governs the oil companies. They have done it wil other things such a telephones and then when the companies decided to play nice the government deregulated the market and free enterprise and choice was once again available to us. Lets have the government take over the oil companies, regulate them, get gas prices down to where they need to be and move on.

I know, you want to tell me that a thimble full of gas in the UK costs $3 and we should be happy to "only" pay $4 a gallon. You know what, I really don't care what gas prices are in other countries. They are NOT comparable to us. We drive larger machines, we drive independently and do not use mass transit like other countries do. We are just not set up that way. It is NOT the American way. We do not live in huts build by our employers - we do not walk or ride bikes to work (some of us do I know) - we do not sit at home - we venture out and see what this country of ours has to offer. We DRIVE! We VISIT! We LIVE!

Global Economy: Perhaps the worst thing to ever happen to our business environment. Who's idea was this mess? Now, we check our children for lead poisoning. Lead Poisoning? Are you kidding me! Didn't we learn about the dangers of lead thirty years ago in this country? The buyers for these toy companies should be brought up on charges of negligence for bringing lead painted toys into this country for our kids to play with. Don't think it is a serious issue? Well, my two year old is now ordered by our government to be tested for lead poisoning every six months. Lead poisoning? Lead Poisoning! My 16 year old never had to do this, why now? (Yes, some of you may be frightened to know that I reproduce every 14 years)

It is because some of our leaders, pronounced "lead-ers" (clever eh?) now know how big of an issue this is. Product packaging on most toys made in China now reads, "MUST wash before using". Well thats nice to know. Boxes being packaged full of children's toys from third world countries probably carry some very interesting germs. Some guy unpacks these boxes at Large-Mart and puts them on the shelf for Mr. Consumer to touch and for little Sue to play with. Mr. Consumer touches a drinking fountain, elevator button, door knob and those items are now infected with whatever Mr. Third World Packer generously and probably unknowingly placed in the box for us. Don't argue it isn't happening because it is. Been sick lately? How about your neighbor? There is no immune system for this in us because we have not been exposed to it before. No, I am not a doctor but I play one on my blog.

So where does this leave us? All of our jobs are gone - our gas prices are too high - and we now have things such as lead paint back on our childrens toys. Oh yea, it's 1974! It makes me wonder what else is lurking out there now that we have invited into our country? Maybe in 20 years we will just pee in a ditch, live in a hut on our employers lot and die at the ripe old age of 39. Global economy - bringing third world countries up to us or us down to them?

There are a lot of opinions on these topics and it is about time they were discussed. The forum is open. (But not as open as our borders so keep it clean please)

Reamers: More than you ever wanted to know.

Reamer can simply be defined as: Any tool used to smooth, enlarge or accurately size an existing hole.

Reamer Design: Most reamers are made up of three parts:
1. Angle of chamfer. This is the part of the reamer that does all of the cutting. The flutes allow oil to reach the cutting area and also allow for chips to be removed.
2. The Body. The body is made up of flutes and lands. The land is the area between each flute. On top of each land is a margin which runs from the angle of the chamfer to the back end of the flute. Body clearance angle is the relief in the back of the margin.
3. The Shank. This is the driving end of the reamer and is the end that fits into the holder on your machine. Reamers are available with straight or tapered shanks.

Reamers can have straight or spiral flutes. Spiral flutes allow for chips to be pulled up and out of the hole and are therefore ideal to use in blind holes. While the majority of reamers are right hand cut, they can be right or left hand spiral. Let me explain the difference:

Right Hand Spiral / Right Hand Cut:
- chips flow up the flutes and out of the top.
- suitable for blind holes

Left Hand Spiral / Right Hand Cut:
- chips flow in the direction of the feed
- typically used for through holes
- preferred method for interrupted holes

High Spiral Flute:
- typically used for soft and gummy materials
- usually allow for faster speeds and feeds

Application and Use of Reamers:

It is always best to leave as little stock as possible for the reamer to cut. How much? Well here is a good guideline for you.

Stock Removal for Machine Reaming:
To 3/32" .003 - .006
Above 3/32" to 1/4" .008 - .010
Above 1/4" to 1/2" .012 - .015
Above 1/2" to 1" .017 - .020
Above 1" to 2" .020 - .025
Above 2" .030 - .035

Stock Removal for Hand Reaming:
All sizes .002 - .004

A reamers must be in proper alignment with the hole to be reamed. This means the spindle and hole to be reamed must be in proper centerline alignment in order to assure that the hole produced is straight and well machined. Proper alignment will also prolong tool life. A sure sign of misalignment is oversized holes, egg-shaped holes and bell-shaped holes.

How many different types of reamers are there? Many. Here they are with quick definition.

Hand Reamers:
Basically a finishing tool it should never be used under mechanical power. It is not advisable to leave more than .005" stock to be removed for hand reaming.

Taper Pin Reamers:
Used to ream holes to suit taper pins. Makes sense right? typically you will want to predrill the hole with a tapered drill.

Taper Pipe Reamers:
Ok, getting basic here but these are typically used to ream holes to suit tapered pipe taps. You should also use a tapered drill to generate this hole.

Taper Shank Jobber:
Longer flute length compared to standard reamers.

Speeds and Feeds can be found on the www.toolinghouse.com website under Technical Sheets. As always you can contact us at anytime with tooling questions or concerns.

At www.toolinghouse.com we are pleased to offer one of the largest selections of Reamers in HSS, Cobalt and Solid Carbide. US Made.

Coatings: Benefits and Uses

Coatings remain one of the most misunderstood elements of cutting tools. Sometimes viewed as another method by which manufacturers sneak a few more bucks out of their customers the benefits are often snubbed by end users. But maybe there is something to these coatings. Lets take a closer look.

There are many coatings available for end mills and other cutting tools and this may be one of the reasons coatings are so misunderstood. The biggest benefit to coatings is that they reduce friction and keep the tool cooler. The result is longer lasting tools and typically better surface finish. Here is a list of the most popular: Titanium Nitride, Titanium Carbo Nitride, Zirconium Nitride, Titanium Aluminum Nitride, Aluminum Titanium Nitride and Diamond Coating. I'll discuss the most popular of these.

Titanium Nitride (TiN) - Known on the Toolinghouse website as coating suffix -01. TiN consists of a very hard coating on the surface of the tool. It has outstanding resistance to wear as it reduces friction and prevents galling. Technically speaking Titanium Nitride is a PVD process with an approximate hardness of 2400HV, Rc86.

Titanium Carbo Nitride (TiCN) - Known on the Toolinghouse website as coating suffix -02. TiCN consists of an extremely hard coating on the surface of the tool. It also has outstanding resistance to wear and reduces friction and prevents galling. Titanium Carbo Nitride is a PVD process with an approximate hardness of 3000HV, Rc94.

Titanium Aluminum Nitride (TiALN) - Known on the Toolinghouse website as coating suffix -04. TiALN consists of an extremely hard coating on the surface of the tool. It has outstanding resistance to wear and reduces friction and prevents galling. TiALN forms an aluminum oxide layer at high speeds and elevated temperatures. Titanium Aluminum Nitride is a PVD process with an approximate hardness of 2600HV, Rc89. Simply stated: TiALN needs heat to work properly.

I highly recommend the use of coatings on carbide end mills. I won't say that it is a waste to use an uncoated sub-micrograin carbide end mill because sometimes it is all you need but the benefits of using one with the proper coating are self-evident. This holds true especially in hard materials or fast speeds where heat is being generated. Notice our QuickKut VH Series End Mills that are specifically designed to machine tough materials are only offered coated. I won't sell one uncoated. In fact, as I typically do, here is another anouncement that you will hear first on the blog. We have designed a new coating that we call 1122 (pronounced eleven-twenty-two) for our VH Series End Mills. It will be available soon and I'll give you more details about it later. I will say that in tests we have seen increased tool life of 50%-400% with this coating.

So, ultimately it is your choice as to whether you use a coated or uncoated carbide end mill. If you are not generating heat through the cutting of hard materials or with high speeds and feeds you can probably get away with uncoated. But for most CNC applications and definately those applications with hard materials (Titanium - Stainless and similar) try a TiALN coated end mill. Soon you'll be able to try our new exclusive 1122 coating.

QuickKut VH Series End Mills

You heard it here first - all of our Variable Helix (VH) Series High Performance End Mills will soon be sold under our trademarked name of QuickKut. More exactly they will be called "QuickKut - VH". Same high performance VH Series you've come to trust to machine tough alloys such as titanium, inconel and stainless steel but now with a new name.

The Aerospace Industry has always loved our VH Series End Mills. Why? Simply put, there is no better end mill to machine those tough materials. The variable helix allows for faster and cleaner chip evacuation. (Remember my blog about chip evacuation? - If not, scroll down it's there)

What else does a QuickKut VH Series End Mill offer you?

Less chatter.

Prolonged tool life.

And as I said, flat out more aggressive machining of stainless steels, inconels, titanium and other hard to machine alloys.

As you know all of our end mills are produced on 29 ANCA 5-Axis machines right here in Michigan. Ooops, did I say 29? Well, make that 33. Yes, four more ANCA 5-Axis babies have just been added to churn out more of the end mills you love so much. Five of these 5-axis Centers are completely focused on producing special end mills. You did know that we made specials right? Hmmm, maybe I should add this little tidbit to the toolinghouse website. Does anyone say "Tidbit" anymore? Aging myself again. Anyway, back to the VH Tools.

Our unique VH Design, built in radius coupled with the TiALN coating offers you an end mill that is an absolute machining animal. Something else too: QuickKut VH Series End Mills offer LONGER LENGTHS OF CUT - Standard! That's right, the LOC on our VH End Mills is longer than the competitions. For example: What does the competitions 1/2" "Carb" End Mill got for a LOC about 1", right? Our 1/2" VH Series End Mill has a 1-1/4" LOC - Standard.

Our VH end mills cost up to 40% less to purchase versus those "Carb" Tools. I like saying that and the best part is that it's true. Test me on this. Run our QuickKut VH Series End Mill heads up against any other. When you see the savings and the machining results, I'll have a new customer and you'll have a bigger bank account. Win-Win.

Ok, so I've sung the praises on this wonderful end mill design that we have here at toolinghouse called the QuickKut VH Series. So what, right? I mean we all know that nearly every manufacturer offers some type of special end mill for these tough to machine materials, right? Ask yourself this: How many of them can say that they have customers who crank the speed and feed and simply watch the load meter? Think about that. Toolinghouse has customers who are doing this with the VH End Mills. It's our unique design. I'm not saying that everyone can nor do I really recommend that this be done but it is a fact that some are doing it.

Remember what I said earlier about our unique design and superior chip evacuation? Yup, this is where it comes into play. Faster and cleaner chip evacuation. It keeps the tool cooler because our design releases the heat into the chip. Ok, so what about finish. You know I knew what you were thinking... Our VH Series End Mills can be used for roughing or finishing and you will be amazed at the finish these tools will give you.

Oh by the way, we offer quantity breaks and we offer resharpening of the VH Tools too. Great Tools - Great Prices. Hmmm, now where have I heard that before?

If you are machining these types of materials please try our VH End Mills. I guarantee your satisfaction. Log onto www.toolinghouse.com for more info.

Purchasing 101

By popular demand (Hurray someones reading my blog!) I am going to talk a bit more about Purchasing - the joys and the pitfalls.

I clearly remember my first purchasing job. You see I am not as old as I feel I can still remember things. I worked for a window and door manufacturer in Detroit, Michigan as an assistant buyer. This was my first job out of the shop. Before I move on I must say that it was hard for me to leave the shop floor where I ran a bridgeport and did various milling/sawing/fabrication jobs. The people I worked with were my friends and moving into management unfortunately disolved those relationships. I was viewed as "Management" now. Kind of sad really and I tried to talk to some of my buddies but things never worked out and we didn't hang out any more. Such is life I guess.

As an assistant buyer I was asked, more like told, to do everything while the purchasing manager did little to nothing. I did all the buying and he did all of the "over the shoulder watching". Little did I know that this was really preparing me for what I would get when I was the Purchasing Manager and I had company ownership looking over my shoulder. I think now that this is where he learned to watch me. It was because he was being watched. It was the trickle down affect or is it effect? Hmmm. And all that time I just thought that he was a jerk. See "jerk" - not something worse - still a family blog. Whew, that took a lot to come up with such a nice term like that.

This particular window and door manufacturer was owned by a very wealthy man. The one thing I never understood was this: I would call up a supplier and reorder an item that we buy all the time. EVERYTIME I would call in an order we would be on credit hold. My vendor refused to ship to us until we paid for past due invoices. This happened with nearly every supplier we had. Get this: I would walk over to the next building (yes they owned two buildings next to each other) that housed accounting and I would talk to the assistant accountant about paying for our bills. He gets up and walks over to a huge walk in vault. I mean this thing had a 7 foot swinging door, large combination lock and steel construction. Outside of a bank, I had never seen anything like it. Inside this vault were shelves and shelves of checks. Each one already made payable to whomever the company owed money too and sitting in alphabetical order all ready to be signed. The assistant accountant pulled the few checks out that were made out to this particular supplier and then we walked in to see the accountant. He looks at the three checks and asks me, "Do we have to pay all of them or just the oldest?" I still have wrinkles on my face today from the cringed face I made at him that day. What was this guy thinking? He ends up very reluctantly ( and with a deep sigh) signing these three checks and tells me he will mail them out today. Upon leaving his office the assistant tells me that it isn't that we don't have the money it's that we don't like to pay our bills. This still makes me laugh. Now, talk about taking away a purchasing persons power. How do you negotiate with a current or new supplier when they all know that you don't pay your bills? Not much leverage there. It also shows how much more than just buying many buyers do. Think of the time wasted having to do this so often. Anyway, this brings me to my next point.

Why is it that sales can land a new customer that doesn't pay their bills and yet everyone celebrates the new customer? Flip it and why is it that purchasing gets chewed out everytime an invoice has to be paid. Hmmm, lets make a deal - you stop selling - I'll stop buying and we'll stop manufacturing. That doesn't make much sense. I've actually seen this many times. Sales will land a new customer, ownership or upper management will ask "How big?", the reply will come and everyone is excited. Thats great and the way it should be but why doesn't it fall on the salesmans head when that new customer doesn't pay their bills. It isn't hard to land the poor customers. It's hard to land the good ones. You have to work for the good ones. Someone in accounting gets hacked for it. If they could, they would try to pin yet this too on purchasing if they could find a way. Ok, so I'm a bit sensitive about my fellow buyers. I guess the thing I don't understand is why sales people are so untouchable in the companies that I have worked for?

The Art of Negotiation:
Ah yes, one of my favorite pastimes. Purchasing remains my favorite job ever. Even now that I own toolinghouse I still do the buying. I have this radical new idea of actually paying my bills on time too. You'd be surprised on how much more bargaining power and negotiation power I have with suppliers because I pay my bills. It's a great job, fun, challenging and yet rewarding too. But how does one negotiate?

Well there is give and take or in the case of my first employer as written about above, there is screaming, yelling and fighting. I was trained by my first employer to yell, scream and even curse at my suppliers. This is how these guys did business. I fell for it after all it worked, the louder you screamed at some poor cat on the other end of the line, the more they did for you. I did refuse to curse at my suppliers like my bosses did because I thought that was uncalled for. Sad to say that I carried this yelling/screaming mentality on to my new job after I left that company. I wasn't as bad as these other guys but I did learn the way of yelling at suppliers. In my new job as assistant purchasing agent for a humidification manufacturer I sometimes negotiated very loudly. Just to let you in on soemthing here, this is not who I am. I do not work that way, it was just what I saw my bosses doing everyday and I fell right into doing the same. Thats the role I began playing at work. Outside of work I was me. At work I was the Evil Buyer. Remind you of any monster movies from the past about two doctors, one named Hyde? Very sad actually. Guess thats why they say be careful what you do in front of your children. Afterall if I was impressionable at this age, what would a child be like? But it does testify to the pressure that purchasing people feel everyday. Yes, other people in companies have alot of pressure too. I know and I agree. But I am sticking with topic here so lets continue.

One day, early on in my employment at this new company we were running low on a particular special washer that we used millions and millions of every year. They are small and cheap and we use so many that it was absolutely unforgiveable to run out of them and shut down our production lines. For this reason I had a blanket order with our supplier for these washers and they were very late in shipping them to me. I was on the phone twice daily with the rep from our supplier trying to get an answer on where our washers were. With people sticking their head in my office door every second asking the same question about the whereabouts of "their" washers, I became flustered and I once again called the rep. He told me that he had screwed up and that he had pulled the order and that it was still laying on his desk and that he had done nothing with it. It would be at least another three weeks before we would have any washers. Out of frustration, I raised my voice and out of further frustration I, for the first time ever, cursed at this man. Even as the words came out I knew it was wrong. Again, this is not who I am and it was embarassing and uncomfortable. I felt cornered and at a loss to solve the situation and I regressed to doing what my old bosses did to get things done. After a few seconds of eerie silence, the rep calmly told me to call the manufacturer directly and that he would step aside. I'll never forget that and even though it is not who I am and though I have never spoken like that since he probably remembers me as "that guy". It shows you the frustration we as buyers face. Many employers think that we are sitting around sipping coffee and spending money like it is water. A good buyer cares so much for their company, their role in their position that these things happen. It has the potential to change you if you let it. Actually, I've never told anyone this story before because I am ashamed of how I acted. I use it for illustration purposes only to show how much pressure is actually on a buyer. It is NOT all coffee and window shopping.

I've had bosses come in yelling and screaming about why I bought this thing or that thing and when I tell them that Bob from Sales wanted it, he relaxes and says "oh ok then."

I've had bosses come in asking why we bought so much of this or that and when I tell them that their brother the production manager just doubled production on a particular line he says "oh ok then."

Its the life of a buyer. Like it or not it is just the way it is. Actually its part of the game we play as buyers. It's part of the art. Did you get a great deal on your last couch and loveseat like I did? Maybe, but did you get them to throw in the matching pair of bookends at no cost? Perhaps not. But I did. The art of negotiation. And, hurrah, I didn't yell, scream or curse at anyone to get it done. : )

Today, being on the sales side of the desk, I love running into good buyers. I can spot them in a second. All you have to look for is that serious face, the open eyes, the alert attitude and the fact that you know when they are talking to you they are giving you their full attention but they still have a million other things on their mind. It's ok, I was there. I know.

I asked for Purchasing and no one answered

My Father spent 30+ years working as a CPM (Certified Purchasing Manager) for Burroughs Corporation here in Michigan. When Sperry and Burroughs united to form Unisys he stayed on as a CPM. I spent nearly 12 years on that side of the table as well carrying such titles as "Purchasing Manager" and "Buyer". Then I left that career to hop onto the other side and I went into sales. Why?

For those 12 years I was in purchasing, I saved my respective employers more than I was paid each and every year. I took pride in reducing costs every year without reducing quality or lead time. For some reason though those major accomplishments were never acknowledged by the owners of the company or my immediate supervisors. All I would ever hear when I bought something was, "Did we really need that?" or "How much did that cost?". It became comical and I enjoyed shaking my head at them after they would leave my office knowing at least in my head what a fantastic job I was doing. They would always sweat the pennies and ignore the dollars. Too funny.

Then it happened. The first time I heard it was in the hallway outside of my office. The same accountant (son of the owner) who just chewed me out for spending a few bucks on a new bar code reader (we now barcoded everything and had no method for making sure the barcodes were readable on the cardboard boxes so I bought a scanner that cost in the area of $200) was in the hallway praising the sales manager for hitting such a great number the previous month. I withhold making any obscene comments here about brown noses and such for reasons that I am trying to be politically correct. Hmmm, politically correct? That sounds like another blog for another time.

Then I found out that this sales manager was receiving HUGE bonuses based on increasing sales every month. I ran a few numbers and it was 100% true that I actually saved the company in my frugal purchasing MORE than the sales team made us in profits for most months during the year. The bottom line was blacker than ever but not just because of sales but because of purchasing. Yet all of the credit was given to sales and the bonuses too. Ultimately that is why I left purchasing for sales.

Back in the 1980's I had an idea to manage companies inventories and purchases. That is, I thought myself to be such a great buyer that I thought I could manage several companies inventories, reduce their costs and I would work on a percentage of what I saved them and I would take NO salary. A win/win situation and a brilliant idea if I may say so. I'm gonna stop right here with taking credit for the commodity management idea as I won't argue who came up with it first.

The concept of commodity management or whatever we want to call it has really become turned around in many instances. I see it first hand that the only one benefiting from this relationship is the commodity manager. This only holds true for those companies who have eliminated their purchasing department in lieu of hiring a distributor to handle their buying. It is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop. Yes, I live in the country but I do not have any chickens....yet.

So why have so many manufacturers abandoned their purchasing departments? Do they believe they are saving money by reducing salaried employees, reducing benefits paid to them and getting a signed agreement that they will save X% on their purchases? This argument through accurate in a surface only skim of the formula holds true but look a bit deeper and its all wet. A good buyer cares about his company. Who do you think the commodity manager's company is? Clue: It's not yours!

A good buyer seeks out the best supplier. I didn't say the cheapest I said the best. After all, the old adage that my Father taught me still holds true today: "You get what you pay for." Period. Many, not all, commodity managers want to sell you the products that they make the most on. For example: Let's say that you hire Distributor A to do your commodity management. Distributor A has a long relationship with Carbide Insert Manufacturer B. The first thing A wants to do is convert all of your Carbide Inserts over to brand B. You may even be blinded by the small savings they present to you. I wonder what a professional buyer could have done? What if Manufacturer C has a wonderful new Carbide Insert that will cost half as much and run twice as long as Manufacturer B has? You may never know it because A doesn't sell (represent or distribute) it. A buyer, on the other hand, could allow this new company past the front door, speak to them about these new inserts and get samples for testing.

I think the best scenario is to have your companies purchasing managed by your companies purchasing department. I didn't say that all of the commodity managers work this way but many of them do. You decide: Purchasing Department or Commodity Manager?

At www.toolinghouse.com we offer you the right tool and the right price. Great Tools - Great Prices. It's on our site, it's trademarked as our slogan. It holds true because it is the words that I founded the company on. It doesn't say cheap tools - great prices. It says great for a reason. Our cutting tools are superior quality - guaranteed. After all, "You get what you pay for" and we offer the best of both worlds - the best tools at the best prices. Try us today and I know you'll be pleased.

Coffee makers and throw away mentalities.

This is a long one - get your coffee, tea or favorite beverage in hand and sit back.

My coffee brewer stopped working this morning. It wasn’t the biggest problem as, any coffee lover has, I had another new machine in the closet just waiting for its chance to turn out a fresh brew for me. How clever I thought myself to be as I dug past the other backups that I already purchased for other items to find my backup coffee brewer. Then it dawned on me how sad it really was that I actually had thought enough ahead to realize that my “New” coffee maker would need a backup. After all, the one that just stopped working is seven months old and of course one month past its warranty date. This is about the time when I realized how accustomed we have become (or maybe it’s just me) that things wear out, sometimes possibly prematurely and we simply replace them.

Some of you may know that in addition to my unhealthy love for cutting tools, I am, or at least once was an avid bowler. I love the sport. I remember when particle bowling balls came out and everyone bought them because “they hooked early and they hooked more” than the old balls. A sales technique that is still applied to the hundreds of bowling balls released as “New-hooks more” every year. When my particle ball wore out after about 50 games and stopped hooking. I logged onto my favorite bowling chat room (See I do have other addictions) and asked why we should expect to pay $200 for a bowling ball that wore out so fast? Thinking myself to be the champion up-riser against the evil bowling ball producer machines I sat back and waiting for the chat rooms replies. Remarkably I began receiving reply after reply telling me to go get another ball and to just deal with it. Here are some paraphrased excerpts:

“So, the ball wore out? If you average 219 like you say you do then it was worth it.”

“Nothing lasts forever, get over it and go buy a new ball.”

“That ball probably paid for itself with jackpots that you won. So what is the problem?”

This was in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s and it dawned on me that we now lived in a throw away society. When did this begin? How did I miss the memo that things are now disposable? Does this apply to everything or just certain things? I was behind. I felt like it was 11th grade accounting all over again and I would never get to the surface again. (Please note uncanny, remarkable and never done before comparison to drowning) _

So here I am 20 years later and I now own backups for many things that I own. Would you believe that for many years I even had a backup car!? It is true. Being in sales and having to service the customer it was very important that if my car didn’t start or couldn’t go for whatever reason, I had a backup car. Pretty sick in itself but for me not to actually realize that 20 years later I had all of these backups, that I had fallen victim to the same delusions that these bowling ball people had so long ago, surprised me to say the least.

So, what else did I have backups for? Why not the dishwasher, stove or refrigerator? I thought that perhaps I was unprepared. After all, just a few years ago, I bought a generator and wired it so I could still have all of my creature comforts if the power went out. Actually, living in the country I can justify this last purchase but I mention it anyway. So why do we accept this “throw away” mentality? Has it always been like this?

Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit I was around autos my whole life. I remember when you’d see “rust buckets” drive by with so much rust on the car that you could see what the driver was wearing. I once owned a car that had mats in the backseat to cover the holes in the floorboards. Holes that let you see the concrete if you were sitting in the backseat! The carpet mats were the solution to the issue as seen through the eyes of any 17 year old. But now, I don’t see any rusty cars on the road. None. Why? Because we live in a throw away society? Perhaps.

The thing is that many of us have come to believe that we should only borrow cars for a couple of years pay Mr. Manufacturer $300-$600 or more dollars a month for this privilege and then simply give it back after two or so years all the time carefully watching our mileage. Even worse is the up-front cost of thousands of dollars all paid in the interest of getting lower monthly payments. Think about that for a minute and get ready for a major realization. Maybe I am different than most but I like to drive. 10,000-12,000 miles is about three months worth of driving for me. Can I stretch that out over 12 months? Nope, I cannot do it. Now, don’t jump all over me because I know that leasing or borrowing as I like to call it does have its positive points in certain conditions. I had to use it because it is a great example of our throw away society. Do you know that I have a younger cousin who just got married recently whose new bride (a wonderful and fun loving person) told me that she desperately needed a new car because the one she was driving had almost 12,000 miles on it and was old? Even now, in writing this I had to sit back, scratch my head and make that “say-what?” face as I think about her statement. I’ve owned a few cars in my lifetime and I can think of only two that I bought that had LESS miles than that on them when I bought them. Old school or just old? Not sure what that makes me.

So, I guess we must accept this throw away society that we have created and worse yet accepted for ourselves. It got me to thinking about cutting tools. (You knew where I was going with this so don’t roll your eyes) I tend to think as any good manufacturer/supplier of goods or services would, that my product is superior to my competitor’s. I think this because it is true. My toolinghouse products are superior to the competitions and they cost less too. Shameless plug, evil marketing tool, or simply the spoken true word. You decide. But I will say this, if my tools wear out to what I believe to be prematurely or what my customer believes to be so, I will look at it closely. I will try to change a coating or a helix angle on an end mill to get more tool life. I have never, and I will never tell a customer things like: “Tools wear out – get over it – buy more”. Its just not me and never will be.

After carefully considering the facts, I can honestly say that although cutting tools by nature do wear out, I believe that I provide my customers with the hardest working tools that last for the maximum amount of time and that I provide the best tools for the job. Check us out at www.toolinghouse.com and let us prove it to you. I wonder if my coffee making machine manufacturer would say that. I don’t know because I didn’t call them. I just pulled another pot out of the closet and created my dark brew of life.

By the way, I just remembered that I DO have an extra refrigerator in the garage. So the saga continues…

Ok so a bit more on Poker

Picture it: Busy casino, Saturday Morning, Poker Room....I'm playing no-limit texas hold-em. Max buy in is $400 bones so I buy in at 400. Here are some real beauties for you:

Beauty #1: I have AK and the flop comes down AK5. Flop top two pair and I bet $20 into a $18 pot. I get called by 2 ppl and raised by a 3rd. So I re-raise to a hundo and get two to fold and one caller. Turn comes down J. Does this cat have a straight? Nope, I didn't put him on that but I wanted to find out where I was. He bets $90 and only has about another $80 in chips. So, what to do?.........I pushed all and he called so fast that I thought I was beat. He turns over AJ for two pair and of course I have the higher two pair. But with one card to come, $500ish dollars in the pot and him having two outs, I knew I was sunk. Yup, another J came out on the river.

Beauty #2: Again I have AK (I am starting to seriously hate those starting cards). I raise pre-flop and get called by SEVEN, yes 7 ppl. LMAO. Flop comes down A-rag-rag. So I know someone called with A-Rag so to find out where I am I bet $20 and get called by four players. LOL this is too funny. Long story short I bailed know that A-rag had two pairs and I was right.

Beauty #3: You know what? I am kinda tired reliving this right now. Let's move on to a good thing.

A Good thing: I have JK suited in spades. The clown in #1 above is in the hand with me along with two others. Two spades on the flop that I bet and get called on. Another spade on the turn gives me the K high flush. I bet it and Mr. Clown re-raises me. So, I re-raise him and he calls. Rag on the river and I go all in for $100ish and he calls. About a $425 pot. He turns over Q-10 of spades and the planets aligned, the sun shown, the stars wept tears of joy, the deer jumped, the birds sung, for once the Better Hand stood up AND paid off. Have I mentioned that I love poker?

Custom Carbide End Mills

At www.toolinghouse.com (Shameless plug #1) we pride ourselves on offering fast turnaround of your custom, blue print, carbide end mills. Typically, we can turn around full blown specials in as little as 2-3 days. Not only are we fast here at www.toolinghouse.com (Plug #2) but we are price competitive. Even if you only need 2 pieces you should give us a chance at www. tooli....ok, I'm done with the shameless plugs because they are even getting old to me and I love www.toolinghouse.com. Yea, I know, a bit beyond shameless but its my blog and I can do that kind of thing...lol

So where was I, oh yea, custom carbide end mills. Give us a shot the next time you go out for quote on specials and standard carbide end mills. Toolinghouse stands behind our products 100% by guaranteeing that you will love our tools or we will make it right.

If you use a large quantity of a certain end mill or two let us know and we will take a look at high volume discounts. We can also do blanket orders and let you release as you like or schedule releases at your convenience.

www.toolinghouse.com
Great Tools - Great Prices

Speaking of Cutting Tools...I was at the Casino the other day.

Along with my love of cutting tools - sick I know - I also have a love for Poker. (and occasionally a hate for it too) Now I am NOT another "Johnny come lately" although my name is John and well, on second thought - lets not go there. Fair enough to say that I've played poker on and off for many years.

So I'm at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan playing $1-2 no limit Texas-Hold'em Poker. For those of you who do not know, Mt. Pleasant is the home of Central Michigan University so there are plenty of college folks sitting at every poker table. This is good and this is bad because they are good and they are bad. Some of these young men and women are really good poker players while others probably should stick to the books as it would be much less expensive. There, that was said nicely, right?

We all talk about our bad beats and I am no different. I have about $200 in my stack and am sitting in the #4 chair. I look down at pocket J's. The #2 chair raises to $45 pre-flop. I was the only caller. The flop comes down: K J 4 and its a rainbow. So I've flopped trips. #2 bets $50 into a $93 pot. Don't ask me where the button is because it doesn't matter. I go all in for the rest of my $200 and he immediately calls. Now, this guy had been playing tight while I was there and I knew he had a big hand but when he turned over pocket Kings to show me drawing just about dead, that was not a good feeling. Luckily he had fewer chips than me so I still had about $40 left after the hand. Yes, of course I lost that...did you think I was gonna get that last Jack out of the deck. That only happens against me. See, told you sometimes I hate poker.

I don't like being short stacked so I bought another $150 to get back close to $200. The very next hand I see 10-J and call a small $15 pre-flop raise. The cards come down 8 9 Q. So I flop the straight. Now, the #5 chair was a very aggressive young man and so I checked it to him. One little smooth check and I think I am a Poker Genius. So #5 bets $40 and I just smooth call. I am the MAN! The turn comes out J. Crap, thats one of my down cards, now this is not such a fun hand anymore. I led out betting $50 at him this time and I didn't move a muscle while he looked at me, talked to me and tried to get info. It was funny, he said stuff like "So, top two pair is no good eh?" and "I think you're hiding in the bushes" Too Funny. He made all the right guesses but still couldn't fold his Q J and pushed all in which I, doing my best Phil Helmuth chip push into the table, immediately called. #5 looks at me with a bit too much comfort for me and says, "I still have outs". I knew it was over at that point and I watched as, no not a Q or J came out but the 10 did and we split the pot. Man, I hate poker!

I busted on pocket nines when I called "Mr. All-In" from seat #9 with my pocket 9's that had caught Trips on the flop only to have him have flopped the straight. So, it was off to the Kiddie-Game. 3-6 limit for me. Did I mention that I hate poker?

You know its funny, at the 3-6 table I was so aggressive, I turned $60 into $240 in about 8 hands. Have you ever played $3-6? People there are calling machines. They catch a pair of 2's on the flop and call you all the way down where if they are against me, they usually catch another 2 and beat my K's with an A kicker. Thats poker. The flip side to that is when they catch it and they turn over 8-2 with a two-2's on the board and look at me and say, "Oh wow, nice hand" as I turn over the Ace high flush that I flopped. I Love Poker!

Remember: Gamle with Chips not Tools. Buy your cutting tools and inserts at www.toolinghouse.com. That's always a GOOD bet!

Discussion of Tap Terms

A Tap has two main sections. The thread section and the shank section. The shank connects the thread section to the driving square at the back end of the shank. The driving square is the end of the tap that is held in the machine. Taps have centers at each end for manufacturing. Their can be External Centers that are full or truncated cones on sizes 3/8" (10mm) and smaller. Larger size taps have what are called Internal Centers. These are Center Holes.

Terminology of the Threaded Section:

The thread section of a tap is comprised of flutes. Flutes are grooves to provide cutting edges and space for chips and cutting fluid. I talked in an earier blog about the importance of chip evacuation. The same basics apply with taps as with end mills. Chips must be properly evacuated to allow a tap to cut clean threads and keep the tap from wearing out prematurely.

The chamfer is an angled, relieved section which allows the tap to progressively cut the thread form.

The space between the bottom of the flutes is called the core. The core diameter is also known as the width of the central section.

The threaded portions between the flutes are called the Lands. The core diameter and the lands give a tap its strength.

The Flutes on a tap are shaped to produce a cutting edge. A curved cutting edge is called a Hook and a straight cutting edge is call Rake. To be technical, a Hook is called a positive chordal hook angle. These angles can vary depending upon the material to be tapped. Typically 12-16 degree for tapping aluminum and 5-7 degrees for armor plate. You get the idea. The depth of the Hook is measured as the tangential hook angle. Yea, thats enough of the technical stuff for now.

A Rake can be Negative, Radial or Positive. The three factors listed below influence the amount of Hook or Rake, the size of the core, the width of the land and the angle of the chamfer.

1. Type of Material To Be Cut.
2. Material hardness.
3. Type of Hole to Be Cut.

I'll come back to this later and give you some more ramblings about taps and relief angles. For now, I need to go sell tools. I guess I can do that right here: for Taps go to www.toolinghouse.com. Shameless plug - I know. (No pun intended)

Ok, I 'm back to finish this, but I'm leaving the shamless plug because I can do that...

Let me talk about relief angles. All taps are manufactured with various types of Relief, designed to minimize tap-to-part contact, which increases friction, heat and reduces tap life and the quality of the part.

The thread section of a tap may have various combinations of radial relief on the thread form. Basically there are three combinations.

1. Concentric: has no relief.
2. Eccentric: has radial relief in the thread form starting at the cutting edge and continuing to the heel.
3. Con-Eccentric: has radial relief in the thread form starting behind the concentric margin. In English that means it has a combination of both concentric and eccentric relief. In German it means the same thing I just don't know how to say it.

Do you know what Back Taper is? Well, almost every tap made has back taper. Taps almost always have axial relief or Back Taper, so that the diameter at the back is smaller than the front. If you are a numbers person it is apporximately .001" per inch of diameter. If you're not a numbers person, then it means that the back of the tap is a tiny bit smaller in diameter than the front of the tap.

Let's talk about everyone's friend: Thread Form.

Find a comfortable chair and put your thinking caps on. By the way, what is a thinking cap and how do I acquire one? Anyway, here we go: Thread Form consists of Flanks which connect the Crests at the Major Diameter to the Roots at the Minor or Root Diameter. Simple stuff, right? Ok Good.

The Root is the bottom surface joining the flanks of two adjacent threads. If you think about that it really does make sense. I'm not making this up I promise. So, you're still with me, right?

The Pitch Diameter is the diameter of an imaginary cylinder whose surface passes through the thread form axially at such points as to make the width of the groove equal to one-half of the Basic Pitch. Hmmm, we probably need either an aspirin or another English version of that mumbo-jumbo. See if this helps:

Basic: The theoretical or nominal standard size from which all variations are made.

Major Diameter: the largest diameter of the screw or nut on a straight screw thread.

Minor Diameter: The smallest diameter of the screw or nut on a straight screw thread.

(Please, no Bevis & Butthead comments about "You said, Screw and nut. That's pretty cool.")

Height of thread: In profile, the distance between crest and basic minor diameter of the thread measured normal to the axis. I may have to add a few pics here as it would illustrate this much better. I'll see if I can find some later.

That's most of the tap terminology. In a future thread I'll talk about Types of Taps. You know, Hand, Machine, Metric, Spiral Point, Spiral Flute, Taper, Thread Forming and Pipe. For now, Have a Great Day! This ramble is over.

The Importance of Chip Evacuation

All of us in the metalworking industry always talk about the importance of chip evacuation and for good reason. Perhaps the single most important aspect in good metal removing techniques is the ability to effectively get chips out of the way so that a tool does not overwork itself by re-cutting chips. Re-cutting chips causes a tool to wear out prematurely and typically leave a rough and non-polished surface finish on the work piece.

Chip evacuation comes into play in many other things as well. It is the Fall Season here in Michigan and I planned on spending this Saturday in the woods in my backyard sawing up some of the numerous large oak trees that had fallen during our summer storms. The participant in this case was a 35” diameter by some 200 foot tall Black Oak that sadly now lay in a horizontal position on the ground.

Any of you who have used a chain saw to cut wood know how hardwood trees such as Oak will quickly dull even the sharpest of chain saw blades. This particular oak was so hard that, at times, I actually saw sparks while I was cutting. I found myself sharpening/retouching the saw blade about every two or three cuts. About halfway through the tree I started thinking about how the wood chips were ejecting out the back of my saw. (Yes, tooling is too much of my life) Many times they were getting gummed up and clogging. Not only was this tree hard but it was green and the chips were damp and gummy. Does this remind you of any materials you’ve worked on in the shop lately? Now, as any good tool-man would do, I shut off the saw and looked at the situation with a metalworking mentality.

The problem was that the wood chips were not ejecting fast enough or effectively enough to keep the area clear for the blade to do its work properly. I needed a chip slot to help get these wet and gummy chips out of the way faster. So, I created a chip slot in the log. I cut on the top of the log and then lifted the saw tip up to cut down the opposite side of the log thereby creating a slit in the wood. So far this isn’t anything new to anyone who’s cut wood. But what I did next was to step to the other side of the log and do the same thing. Now the cut I made the first time was working for effective chip evacuation. The chips flew out of the slit and the saw cut faster and without binding up. I didn’t generate nearly as much heat either and I was now able to cut 6-8 logs before re-sharpening the blade. This equated to a 3-4 times tool life for my chain saw blade. Not bad at all and yes, still a bit sick for my "day-off" work. You may not be able to convert this method to quicker metal removal with your favorite Carbide End Mill but the theory is there.

There are several keys to proper chip evacuation with an end mill. First of all, make sure you have the right end mill for the job such as using a three flute end mill in aluminum rather than a four. The three flute end mill offers better chip evacuation due to the chip gullets being deeper than a 4 flute design. The 3 flute also offers a larger core diameter. Typically, a three flute carbide end mill designed for aluminum has a higher helix. This also aids in chip evacuation. Please visit toolinghouse.com for more information and costs. (To get back to the blog you can use your back button or from the toolinghouse website click on the link located in "Toolinghouse Blog")

If you are working with hard (Rc52+) or tough to machine materials such as Stainless Steel, Inconel, Hastaloy, Waspaloy or many of the aircraft or medical materials you should consider using a variable helix end mill. A variable helix end mill offers a chip ejecting flute form for enhanced chip evacuation at high speeds and feeds. It is also practically "chatterless" because of the unequal flute indexing and the helical transition that typically takes place on the flutes at about 50% of the tools diameter. This unique flute transition also assists in chip evacuation. It is very important that a variable helix end mill be TiALN coated. It is virtually useless to use one that is not coated. The reason is that these hard materials generate a lot of heat and that heat needs to be released into the chip and not into the end mill. Also, TiALN coating actually needs heat to work properly and in these hard metal applications is a perfect match.

For more, please visit the toolinghouse website at www.toolinghouse.com.