Chicago --- AGAIN ....

[Sinifar]

I am not sure what suppliers are doing these days, but it seems unless it is a AAA mover, they do not stock much of anything in the local branches anymore. Another example...

So the other day I have to make a door key for a 87 or 88 Ford F150. They have an ignition but no door, I guess somebody changed out that lock. Okay, no biggie. This is 10 cut and I have done hundreds of these over the years. ONLY this stupid truck has the factory alarm, which means when you pull out the door lock you get to fight with that stupid switch on the back of it. Okay, got switch off, and the "monkey grip" plastic tailpiece off. Now with the cylinder in hand, back to the van, insert a key, and read off the cuts via the lower reveal. Cut key

First time, and it works like glass. Okay, now to get this thing back in. The fun begins. There is not enough room behind the window channel and around all the rods to work -- worse -- it is starting to rain. So I hook up the tailpiece to the rod, and snap it to the lock. Now to start the switch on. AND ON, AND ON .. this won't lock in. I guess that little finger which goes into the notch on the bottom is not lining up. Start screwing around with it, and the monkey grip comes loose and falls down in the door. YOU FIND IT !! ..

Back to the truck. Screw it just put another one on. Get out my ASP kit, Hmm... I got two yellow right side (P42-301) parts but (P42-302) The white one for the left side??? Call the local. As usual they got 3, but ONLY in Chicago. Like I need it NOW not in two days. Call the local Ford garage... they don't have those anymore. That is too old.

Rain is finally starting to let up, so back to the truck, with a long fingers, and a good flashlight. It is someplace wayyy down there in the bottom of the door. AND if you ever took one of these things apart you know that the access inside that door is very limited. Note a silver patch of something glued to the door, remove that and I can sort of see towards the bottom, now to shove / move / pry whatever that plastic thingy is which is blocking my view ... FINALLY find the stupid plastic part, and reach in with the long fingers and get it out.

By now I am soaking wet, and getting tired of this mess. Get the monkey grip tailpiece on, get it on the rod solidly, then with my arm pretty much in the door, and look out for the sharp edges, feel my way to the switch mount, get that lined up and with a SNAP! this job is finished. Wrap up the door, try the key in the other door - collect and I am out of here.

Slightly cut up from the door, now drying out a bit. and you wonder why I hate doing cars anymore?

AND this is the third time in about two weeks I called the local branch for something they should have on the shelf. WHO else works on old junk except smiths like me anyway? This is starting to eat at me. I already got the cylinder locks / mortise locks / rim locks in house from the last episode, and now this. What else do I have to stock which they either won't or don't?

Did I mention the end cap for a Detex V-40 Value exit device? That is another story ...

Just reading thru, I did stock R D1, L4 and LA - LD (Ilco GB) cylinders. Just in case. One would be surprised how many churches around here have those locks.

As I said in an earlier post, in the past we did carry a lot more, but then the suppliers said to "use them" as our warehouse. SO I did drop a lot of stock, relying on them to carry what I need. AND now they seem to be dropping the ball, so once again I need to stock the stuff needed and forget the locals.

Everything is in CHICAGO, not Milwaukee. Right now I am looking thru our total inventory and trying to figure out what else we don't "have in house" which i MAY need, and am starting orders for other suppliers to back fill our supply. If it is not on the wagon, you can't make the sale.If you go this route, be sure to look thru your kits and replace all the small parts you have used up and now are out of.

Back to the big job in house for sub-contract.

Sinifar

[jeffmoss26]

Just curious which supplier(s) you deal with the most...Clark, Security Lock?

[Sinifar]

IDN H. Hoffman, Milwaukee.

AND a few others, but the local mainly because we are short inventory due to their saying -- "Use our warehouse so you don't have to!" Well I am, and I keep on getting stuck with everything it seems I need TODAY is someplace like Chicago, Omaha, Indianapolis, or some other long distance place. That is fine if I am assembling an job down here and building the thing, BUT when I need it yesterday, I need it yesterday, like that Ford part. My kits are pretty well stocked, but there are times when I pop one open and find something -- now critical and needed for THIS JOB I AM SITTING ON -- I can't just call up there and get it.

I don't mind the run for it part, or if I could find it someplace else, run for it, we need it to complete this job I am sitting on, it is just that fact that when I call for something - they sort of "have it" but it is at least a day away, or several if it has to come from one of the other IDN members.

TRUST me, I have gotten things from the IDN Network and it took days. It was ordered thru the local and sent there, usually, so......

It is just getting to me that several jobs lately have gotten longer than they should have because I just can't open the cabinets, pull stock, and stuff -- 2 -- 3 -- 4. I like one and done. Get the thing finished. It looks professional. Having to await parts seems amateurish.

Sinifar

[jeffmoss26]

Here's one for you...went to help a computer customer out the other night with a smart TV. One TV is connected right to the router and the other is supposed to be wireless. Come to find out that it's an older TV and did not have wireless built in, so now I have to find a USB wireless dongle that will work with a 3+ year old TV, go back, and put it on the network.
In a way it's my fault because I could have asked for model numbers ahead of time, but I really don't work on TVs, just the network portion.
Oh well!