Amish have such cool toys

[DrPizza]

Just did a little bit of shopping up the road from my house. "I can make it now for you so you don't have to come back." Absolutely amazing simple, yet powerful and precise equipment. I watched one Amish guy move a 5000 pound roll of steel from one side of the building to the other with a hoist, and load it into a machine. That machine just amazed me at how precisely, yet simply it works. 5 minutes later, I was driving away with another 100 square feet of steel roofing, 40 year warranty on the steel.

Then up the road to the sawmill. Again, such simple machines - yet incredibly powerful. Picked up thirty 1x10's to reside one side of my small shed/barn. The efficiency of both places is just amazing though - the volume of product they can turn out, for the amount of labor put into it; and without stuff like fork lifts.

Oh, and about $150 for everything; probably half the cost, if that, of box stores.

 

[mizzou]

The amish near me are not so advanced

I have a great respect and appreciation for the old tradesman style of doing things. Something beautiful and elegant about it.

 

[OutHouse]

Just did a little bit of shopping up the road from my house. "I can make it now for you so you don't have to come back." Absolutely amazing simple, yet powerful and precise equipment. I watched one Amish guy move a 5000 pound roll of steel from one side of the building to the other with a hoist, and load it into a machine. That machine just amazed me at how precisely, yet simply it works. 5 minutes later, I was driving away with another 100 square feet of steel roofing, 40 year warranty on the steel.

Then up the road to the sawmill. Again, such simple machines - yet incredibly powerful. Picked up thirty 1x10's to reside one side of my small shed/barn. The efficiency of both places is just amazing though - the volume of product they can turn out, for the amount of labor put into it; and without stuff like fork lifts.

Oh, and about $150 for everything; probably half the cost, if that, of box stores.

the saw mill have a water wheel?

serious question.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

They logged our back 40 with mule teams. I've seen the guys who roll in with the heavy equipment and this simple Amish crew would give them a serious run for their money. Granted, they were toting enormous Husqvarna saws and used a picker truck to drive it down the road.

 

[DrPizza]

The amish near me are not so advanced

I have a great respect and appreciation for the old tradesman style of doing things. Something beautiful and elegant about it.

Most of the Amish guys I know are a great bunch of guys. Their skills are amazing. Though, their kids take on ever increasing roles from an early age. There was a 4 or 5 year old kid helping the guy today. His job was holding the end of the tape measure to the steel as it rolled through the machine.

I'd love to sit in the workshop of some of the cabinet makers. They do a ton by hand, but they also have some incredible equipment that they use as well. I've seen some of their finished products - it doesn't look at all like the crap that's sold at those great big "Amish made furniture!" places (that don't have any Amish working on the premises). At an auction I was at, they had a very large milling machine for sale. The prices started at $10k, and the bidding rapidly rose to well over $100,000. The thought occurred to me that every one of the guys bidding on it had that kind of cash in their pocket - they don't take out loans.

 

[DrPizza]

They logged our back 40 with mule teams. I've seen the guys who roll in with the heavy equipment and this simple Amish crew would give them a serious run for their money. Granted, they were toting enormous Husqvarna saws and used a picker truck to drive it down the road.

It would be interesting to have Amish consultants to some of those industries. I just looked for a video of how steel roofs are made. All I could think was, "wow, that's similar equipment to what I watched today, and it turns out a nearly identical product. But, what's with all the automation, with a guy standing 30 feet away, and untold tens of thousands of dollars invested in computerized controls? I'd be willing to wager the man hours wasted just setting up a particular job exceeds the man hours spent controlling the equipment manually - and those controls turn what's a very simple operation into one that requires quite a bit of training. Or, to put it another way, I watched what the Amish guy did today. I could go in there tomorrow & produce steel roofing in any of 20 or however many colors they have, in practically any length you wanted, right down to the quarter of an inch.

 

[LegendKiller]

A lot of our furniture came from an Amish guy not too far from us. My son's hickory bedroom set, 2 nightstands, captains bed, and big dresser were $2k. Our 6-chair round/oval (expand) dinette set was $1800, solid cherry. Also got a Cherry desk for $1k. A diff guy is probably going to make our mahogany table for $1.5k, 144" long.

Prices are absolutely amazing and they are very nice to deal with. No BS, just straight up dealing with great transparency. Cash on pickup.

The guy I deal with farms 20 acres in the summer with his 9 kids and does furniture in the winter. All of the kids have jobs to do and do them, all are very respectful when I show up.

There's a lot to be said for that.

 

[HeXen]

The Amish near me use power tools

 

[OutHouse]

The prices started at $10k, and the bidding rapidly rose to well over $100,000. The thought occurred to me that every one of the guys bidding on it had that kind of cash in their pocket

 

[Mixolydian]

In the times I've been through northern Indiana, I've seen Amish people driving cars. :hmm:

 

[OutHouse]

A lot of our furniture came from an Amish guy not too far from us. My son's hickory bedroom set, 2 nightstands, captains bed, and big dresser were $2k. Our 6-chair round/oval (expand) dinette set was $1800, solid cherry. Also got a Cherry desk for $1k. A diff guy is probably going to make our mahogany table for $1.5k, 144" long.

Prices are absolutely amazing and they are very nice to deal with. No BS, just straight up dealing with great transparency. Cash on pickup.

The guy I deal with farms 20 acres in the summer with his 9 kids and does furniture in the winter. All of the kids have jobs to do and do them, all are very respectful when I show up.

There's a lot to be said for that.

what part of the country? in a couple of years i will be looking to get a new dining room set.

 

[OutHouse]

In the times I've been through northern Indiana, I've seen Amish people driving cars. :hmm:

probably mennonites.

 

[MongGrel]

In the times I've been through northern Indiana, I've seen Amish people driving cars. :hmm:

I used to live in Northern Indiana, relatively, yeah they have a large community up there.

I haven't been around them in a long time, but was a pretty cool place to go to now and then, I forget the one county specifically a lot lived in.

Not sure how the Amish are all these days, definitely are busy little bee types.

 

[John Connor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKu65rYK_Vk

:awe:

 

[DrPizza]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKu65rYK_Vk

:awe:

Last summer, when I went to the school one day, I had a conversation over donuts with a neighbor about an apparent barn raising that was beginning to happen that morning. We had each seen a lot of activity in a field on the way in. I went home for lunch... holy shit. There was a barn. 4 hours before, there was a big bare spot on the ground, and.. A BARN?! It was almost done - roof, walls, everything was in place. My in-laws had an Amish crew build their barn - medium sized; about a dozen good sized horse stalls. Small crew of maybe half a dozen guys. Once the main posts were in the ground, I believe the entire barn was built in 3 days. I learned a lot by watching those guys.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Simple industry, simple machine. You're talking about roofing sheet and boards, for crying out loud. Not semiconductors and Li-ion batteries.

 

[John Connor]

Last summer, when I went to the school one day, I had a conversation over donuts with a neighbor about an apparent barn raising that was beginning to happen that morning. We had each seen a lot of activity in a field on the way in. I went home for lunch... holy shit. There was a barn. 4 hours before, there was a big bare spot on the ground, and.. A BARN?! It was almost done - roof, walls, everything was in place. My in-laws had an Amish crew build their barn - medium sized; about a dozen good sized horse stalls. Small crew of maybe half a dozen guys. Once the main posts were in the ground, I believe the entire barn was built in 3 days. I learned a lot by watching those guys.

Wow! Just wow. LOL! I would have loved seeing them build that barn. Here In Colorado there is some Amish people I think they are. Down the road here going towards Estes Park. We have an Amish store and they sell all kinds of good shit for cheapo. I guess this is their way of making money. I live in the foothills and they have farms right in between the foot hills like the Vally and it's pretty cool. There was a winery over there at one time and the wine was carried at our local liquor store. Never did try it.

 

[CPA]

Just did a little bit of shopping up the road from my house. "I can make it now for you so you don't have to come back." Absolutely amazing simple, yet powerful and precise equipment. I watched one Amish guy move a 5000 pound roll of steel from one side of the building to the other with a hoist, and load it into a machine. That machine just amazed me at how precisely, yet simply it works. 5 minutes later, I was driving away with another 100 square feet of steel roofing, 40 year warranty on the steel.

Then up the road to the sawmill. Again, such simple machines - yet incredibly powerful. Picked up thirty 1x10's to reside one side of my small shed/barn. The efficiency of both places is just amazing though - the volume of product they can turn out, for the amount of labor put into it; and without stuff like fork lifts.

Oh, and about $150 for everything; probably half the cost, if that, of box stores.

Yeah, but how did they get the 5000 pound roll of steel to the building in the first place? I'm doubting they used their horse and buggy.

 

[notposting]

Nice too that you actually live by them. You probably get the "not Amish but country neighbor" discount.

Live in the city here and know someone who just finished working at an Amish furniture place. They import it from the Indiana crews who churn stuff out en masse. Nice quality but pricy as heck. In fact, the quality for most of it is almost TOO nice, for me. It's been sanded and finished so many times and so smoothly most of the stuff feels artificial.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Simple industry, simple machine. You're talking about roofing sheet and boards, for crying out loud. Not semiconductors and Li-ion batteries.

This goes to show how ignorant most people are about 'simple' things these days. Given all the technology in the world, you could not duplicate what the guy in the OP's story did.

It's like when people see my CNC machine. "That's so cool. I bet you can make stuff really easily." Yeah, okay. Machining is one of the most complicated and nuanced trades on this planet. Getting a machine to do what you want on the first try in extremely expensive material is anything but easy. On that note, moving and cutting a roll of steel is far from the simple task that you've espoused it to be.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Simple industry, simple machine. You're talking about roofing sheet and boards, for crying out loud. Not semiconductors and Li-ion batteries.

Which they have no interest in, but in many cases their simple techniques produce a superior product for less than your Li-ion batteries. They also have their societal weaknesses but are far superior in other ways. They aren't consumed by having the latest and greatest. They aren't sponges soaking up debt they can never afford to pay off. They have an enviable work ethic and sense of community. Your house burns down and tough shit. Never would be a problem for the Amish or their kin the Mennonites. Do you know that a number of the latter (who will use more technology than the Amish) go quietly around the country to help rebuild after tragedy? My mother benefited directly. She was living in a FEMA trailer in poor health after a tornado. Somehow the Mennonites found out and she and a large portion of the town benefited. They clear the property at no cost. They built her a new home for the price of materials that they were able to purchase tax free and at a discount. She paid nothing for labor. Not one cent. She obtained a mortgage with little income at a bargain rate because the amount borrowed was small compared to the market value of the house. This is a part of the Mennonites mission on earth, part of the good they feel they should do (and no they don't thing they'll be damned to hell if they weren't to do it) and their organization pays for everything else out of its own pocket.

So how many semiconductors would it require to do this?

 

[DrPizza]

This goes to show how ignorant most people are about 'simple' things these days. Given all the technology in the world, you could not duplicate what the guy in the OP's story did.

It's like when people see my CNC machine. "That's so cool. I bet you can make stuff really easily." Yeah, okay. Machining is one of the most complicated and nuanced trades on this planet. Getting a machine to do what you want on the first try in extremely expensive material is anything but easy. On that note, moving and cutting a roll of steel is far from the simple task that you've espoused it to be.

No, I'm going to maintain that the machine is pretty beautiful in its simplicity. The steel is fed into the machine where it goes between two sets of rollers; there's a simple screw to get the steel lined up perfectly between the two sides. A single chain around a dozen or so axles keeps them all in synch. As the steel slides down, those rollers first start putting the center ridge on the piece of steel. As it progresses to more axles, there are more and more sets of rollers (one top, one bottom) that presses the steel into shape. When it gets to the end, the Amish guy simply puts his tape measure on it - when it hits the correct length, he pulls a big lever that shears off the entire piece in one loud cut. I'll used the wrong word, but it's like extruding the roofing - just cut it at the right place. At one point, he slowed it down, and by eyeball, stopped it when the next to last piece of steel was sticking out about a foot. He went back to the roll of steel end of the machine, pulled a lever, and cut the steel there. When my last piece was cut, he had about 3/4" of scrap left.

Again though, for what it's worth, I was looking for a video of making steel roofing. Each of the videos I found had incredibly complicated computer operated machinery, and a greatly automated process. Here, one person operated more or less the guts of a big manufacturing operation with no automation. A fairly simple hoist to transport large rolls the length of the building. The hoist was on a steel I-beam. But, all the support for that I-beam was wooden posts. Big wooden posts. Under the end of the I-beam, was a cart on 2 short railroad tracks. The bed of the cart was rounded & could be pumped up or down so that the center of the roll lined up with the spindle on the main machine. Once the steel was rolled into place, a BIG wrench (3 feet long) was used to expand the spindle to hold the roll of steel. 10 feet or so was unwound, and fed into the beginning of the machine. A bolt was turned to push the steel into perfect alignment; I'd estimate to 1/64" precision, judging by the finished product. 5 minutes later, I had my roof.

 

[MrDudeMan]

No, I'm going to maintain that the machine is pretty beautiful in its simplicity. The steel is fed into the machine where it goes between two sets of rollers; there's a simple screw to get the steel lined up perfectly between the two sides. A single chain around a dozen or so axles keeps them all in synch. As the steel slides down, those rollers first start putting the center ridge on the piece of steel. As it progresses to more axles, there are more and more sets of rollers (one top, one bottom) that presses the steel into shape. When it gets to the end, the Amish guy simply puts his tape measure on it - when it hits the correct length, he pulls a big lever that shears off the entire piece in one loud cut. I'll used the wrong word, but it's like extruding the roofing - just cut it at the right place. At one point, he slowed it down, and by eyeball, stopped it when the next to last piece of steel was sticking out about a foot. He went back to the roll of steel end of the machine, pulled a lever, and cut the steel there. When my last piece was cut, he had about 3/4" of scrap left.

I didn't say the machine was complicated. Using a pencil is pretty easy, but that doesn't mean I can sit down and write something beautiful. Regardless of how easy it looked at certain stages, there's skill involved even when using simple machines, which is the main point I was addressing.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

No, I'm going to maintain that the machine is pretty beautiful in its simplicity.

My grandfather 70 years ago built a workshop which I've seen similarly set up to something I've seen Amish use. He converted a large saw, a wood lathe, and a bunch of other things to work of a system of belts and pulleys and clutches. He had a single large 220v electric motor and everything was driven off that. I'm not sure I'd call it simple, as simplicity with elegance. It was all second hand commercial quality stuff and as an 8 year old I didn't know just what the specifics were, but the table saw was huge and had a blade that must have been 14", perhaps larger. He made every stick of furniture, every cabinet, caned every chair himself. He was an extraordinary craftsman, and it's apparent I admired him greatly. Likewise is you switch an electric power source to a diesel engine you would have the same thing. It's not primitive, it's an example of applied thought, something we're growing short of.

 

[sourn]

Which they have no interest in, but in many cases their simple techniques produce a superior product for less than your Li-ion batteries. They also have their societal weaknesses but are far superior in other ways. They aren't consumed by having the latest and greatest. They aren't sponges soaking up debt they can never afford to pay off. They have an enviable work ethic and sense of community. Your house burns down and tough shit. Never would be a problem for the Amish or their kin the Mennonites. Do you know that a number of the latter (who will use more technology than the Amish) go quietly around the country to help rebuild after tragedy? My mother benefited directly. She was living in a FEMA trailer in poor health after a tornado. Somehow the Mennonites found out and she and a large portion of the town benefited. They clear the property at no cost. They built her a new home for the price of materials that they were able to purchase tax free and at a discount. She paid nothing for labor. Not one cent. She obtained a mortgage with little income at a bargain rate because the amount borrowed was small compared to the market value of the house. This is a part of the Mennonites mission on earth, part of the good they feel they should do (and no they don't thing they'll be damned to hell if they weren't to do it) and their organization pays for everything else out of its own pocket.

So how many semiconductors would it require to do this?

Please don't talk about shit you clearly don't know anything about. I knew plenty of amish growing up that did have the latest and greatest hand held games and things like that. There's also plenty of them that are nothing but a bunch of hypocritical jackasses. Which even a bunch of jerked overs would admit to.

They're just like anybody else.