One heck of a day in NC

[zeusrekning]

Today was one of the funest days I have had in quite a while. I rode up to Randolph Bulgin's shop in Franklin NC with Cedge. There we met GeorgeSeal and Kvom. Such a great experience!!! Steve, manage to tear up a really cool looking gun Randolph showed us BTW Steve Barbara is going outside to see what you did to her car :big: :big:
I could try to tell you how much I loved Randolph's shop but it would end up being a long drawn out rant. Tons of tooling literally. Two large B'Port style machines, a large maybe 16" lathe, Hardinge HLV lathe , optical comparator, a nice engraving setup, large homemade bandsaw, massive drill press, just a great setup. And unbelievably clean. I picked up a lot of organization tips while I was there. I wish someone would have taken pictures. I also have to point out that Randolph's wife (Nancy I believe) was an excellent host and wonderful lady. I was slightly hesitant taking a road trip with the work load I have right now but am so glad I did.
Georgeseal and Kvom , I really enjoyed meeting you fellas today. Hope to do it again soon. Time for me to go wash all the druel off .
Tim

 

[Powder keg]

Sounds like fun was had, for sure

Later, Wes

 

[rake60]

Meeting the members in person is the best part of this community.

It's great to read posts like this!

Rick

 

[Cedge]

I'll have to agree with Tim.... the day was completely awesome and meeting Kvom was a real treat. We're gonna plan a trip to his new shop once he's ready for it to get up and running...(grin). George Seal was on hand and any day with George is bound to be fun. Unfortunately I didn't get to meet everyone before they had to head back to Georgia.

The gun thing was its own entertainment as 4 of us brainiacs tried to figure out the secret to re-inserting a completely friction free bolt. The other disassembly problem was spelled FORD in big capital letters....LOL Apparently one is not supposed to touch those little window buttons in a mustang, lest they collapse into the inner voids of the door.

Randolf's shop was the stuff of machinist's dreams. We all agreed his biggest problem was simply deciding with toy to play with each day. The place was immaculate, totally organized and completely full of capable manual machines of nearly every... and I do mean every... variety that one could ask for. He and his wife graciously provided all of us with the utmost in old fashioned southern hospitality.... along with a warm invitation to return in the future. I hope he'll accept our invitation to visit HMEM sometime in the future.

One very tired Steve

 

[kvom]

I can only second what Steve and Tim wrote. It's always great to put faces to names, and I'm certainly planning a visit to Steve's place "real soon."

A shop like Randolph's can induce tool envy, but for me the biggest benefit in such a visit is getting tons of small tips on how to organize things.

 

[Randolph]

How can I not reply to all the nice things said here about my shop -- and about my boss and partner, Nan. Yesterday was indeed a great day. Some of the local guys were here as well as maybe even a few who just dropped in for a hot dog.
This sort of gathering is a good thing for any hobby. It gives folks an opportunity to get acquainted and to swap stories whether they are true or not.
We'll do it again one day.

Randolph

 

[Cedge]

Randolph
Glad to see you drop by. Superlatives were not used loosely. You and Nana were the perfect host/ hostess and everyone enjoyed themselves. There at the end, I was beginning to think Tim was trying to figure out how to get a certain Hardinge lathe in the mustang....(grin). It was definitely a rekindling of a long lost love when he spotted it sitting over in the corner.

Thanks again and I'll get you the information we discussed later this week.

Steve