Re: it pays to shop around...

[Ian Lomax <sfalfisto@xxxxxxxxx>]

not a flame... but if you value your time at whatever
rate you typically earn, then the $400 stiffener is a
bargain.

on a side note/rant, i keep hoping that my hourly rate
will rise enough to exceed the going rate at repair
shops, which would sort of justify me becoming a
checkbook mechanic.  but these days it seems like most
shops in the bay area are getting almost $100 an hour!
 i'm still well short of that, even as i add multiple
degrees (and debt).  harumph.

cheers,
ian lomax
overeducated and underpayed in silicon valley... but
happy to be employed.

--- PJ Wise <verenaragazza@domain.elided> wrote:
> Joe Elliott astutely points out the utility of
> Parafilm, and may I add it is very
> versatile, able to cover or seal about anything and
> come off cleanly after weeks! Joe
> goes on to one-up me by posting a link to a supplier
> with a lower price and possibly no
> shipping cost. Way to go Joe!
> 
> I had the SPI site in mind as I 'like to look'
> (apologies to Shirley Mclaine and Peter
> Sellers) via light and electron microscopy. They
> also have nice tools for fine work,
> and a really nice daimond scribe, if you need to
> write your sweeties name on the glass
> door at Pep Boys.
> 
> I thought I'd add another parafilm supplier, one I
> wouldn't recommend for purchasing
> parafilm.   http://www.creschem.com/zx_107.mv   Can
> you say mark up?
> 
> I add this because the comments about the chassis
> stiffener (CS) indicate that there
> aren't a lot of suppliers, as if I'd expect there to
> be. Also, it's generally
> understood that market forces set the price. If
> Cresent can sell parafilm for roughly
> eight times what Pollard Water asks, more power to
> 'em. My guess is they don't move a
> lot of this product.
> 
> If there are only a couple of CS manufacturers
> selling to a handful of buyers, things
> aren't going to change much. How many CSs are sold
> annually? Can it possibly be greater
> than 50? As many as 100? I have no data, but I doubt
> it, guessing again.
> 
> I don't know a lot about engineering (outside of
> biological structure, His handiwork)
> other than fabricating or fitting things over the
> years a la Don Daegrigg's Alfisti in
> his contra rant. I've owned and driven a car with
> great cowl shake - TR GT6 - and I
> could certainly appreciate the effect of said CS.
> But I don't think I'll see one for
> $500.00 The only CS I've seen is the photo in the
> IAP catalog. The only other CS that
> I've known to be offered for sale by a manufacturer
> was on AD soon after I started
> looking, late '99 or early 2000. 
> 
> I'm getting ready to get flammed here.... How hard
> could it be to make one or get it
> made? If the IAP photo represents the generic form,
> it seems to me that the salient
> points are where to mount it and how to miss stuff
> with the cross pieces. I'm sure
> someone could even get some Mech.Eng. or App.Phys.
> students to run some sims on square
> v. oval v. triangular cross section torsion and
> deflection and how common material
> choices would affect fabrication procedures and
> cost. i.e. This looks like something
> one of us could, after a bit of trial and error,
> make in the shed in the back yard. Am
> I way off base? I'll stay tuned to find out...
> 
> Perry Wise
> Bianchi, Rossin, Alfa - Italian conveyences
> Nemah, Washington
> Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms,
> and more
> http://tax.yahoo.com
> --
> to be removed from alfa, see
> /bin/digest-subs.cgi
> or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided
Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more
http://tax.yahoo.com
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided