So a friend of mine called me two days ago. His baler failed him and he wanted me to bale straw for him. I didn't have time and so I loaned him our baler. And later, the stacker. I don't loan my wife or child or chainsaw. You do have to draw the line.
Anyway...
Yesterday I'm planting and the phone rings. The stacker died and the computer is beeping a flashing "88." My first thought is that a new computer for the stacker is $5,000...
I talk his hired man though resetting the computer and starting the stacker.
The phone rings again...
It is my friend, he has baled the needles on the baler.
I send my little helper to investigate.
My little helper says, "Oh no, the spring on the knotter safety latch broke and I forgot to tell you..." I say,
So he calls Agwest, $250 each for the needles and it takes three...
Ok, so my friend doesn't have an account and my helper admits he knew the spring was broken...
So that is $750 on the account...
So then... I get a call, the needle yoke (or shuttle) is bent. Another $750...
What happened is this...
I am running 300lb knot strength twine. Two things happened at once. A knot from splicing two balls of twine together got stuck in one knotter, a plastic bag off a roll of twine wrapped in some twine and also jammed up causing twine to wrap tightly on two of the knotter bill hooks. This caused the knotter shear pin to break in the tying cycle. Since the plunger emergency stop didn't work the plunger hit the needles at full speed.
If there is one broken bale behind the baler it is just random bad luck. If there are four or five broken bales behind the baler then it is operator error.
I didn't go look.
The bill will pass $2,000 I imagine. I haven't looked at it. The friend thinks we can straighten the needle yoke. I have never had that work with the old freeman balers.
Perhaps I need to call salvage yards today.
Have a little more planting to do.
Need to get the trucks and silage chopper ready.
Need to finish the wood stove.
Need to take the car in to be serviced.
Need to do something about my life insurance.
Need to go visit MuddyValley.
Need to take a nap...
Go over and read the song of the lazy farmer at Ralph Goff's blog.
Posts
Good help is hard to come by. That's why I always used as little of it as possible.
ReplyDeleteAnd you will probably lend it again next time. These are the kind of things in any business that the general public doesn't take into consideration when they hear about obscene profits. Obscene profits are like beauty, in the eyes of the beholder.
ReplyDeleteGrace and peace.
An old machine is like a one man dog. Next time loan him the chain saw.
ReplyDeleteWanna borrow my 30' roller? I've got a bunch of deferred maintenance that I'm sure you could take care of for me.........
ReplyDeleteHey, at least the guy didn't bring it back broken and not say anything about it like we had a neighbor do once. We found the problems when we tried to use it the next spring.
I've never loaned my good chainsaw & it still starts every time. I bought one just as a loaner & it's junk now.
ReplyDeleteMy policy is to repair anything I borrow if it breaks for any reason. That keeps me from borrowing anything expensive or complicated.