Ok, I'm wondering if I've possibly got the worlds cheapest boss. We have no
benefits, no sick pay, no paid vacations; but I knew that going in. What
bothers me is that the equipment he buys is junk! I finally talked him into
buying a new drill set, one with fractions, letter and number sizes. I got
tired of sifting through the cardboard box of old worn out and broken drill
bits. The new set arrives and I find it's the cheapest set that Enco sells
for like $29. I used a 5/16" to drill ¼" aluminum plate and it broke. The
lathe I use is an old one that a local high school auctioned off. The speed
changer doesn't work. The power feed doesn't work. The cross slide on the
tool post won't move more than an inch. The gibs are so worn that it
chatters something bad at times. Our vertical belt sander is another
commercial reject that I found out has a backing plate that is so worn that
it is impossible to get a straight sanding job out of it. The drill press we
have is a bench top model straight from the local big box store. The air
compressor died a few weeks ago, and guess what, he bought a Campbell
Hausfeld. It runs constantly I wonder how long it will last. The other day
I had to cut two 12' pieces of aluminum extrusion in half. We have nothing
to cut it with except the 14" Jet bandsaw. What fun! The other day I needed
a large wide slotted screwdriver. We didn't have one so I had to make a
piece of metal the right size and use a wrench on it! The manager says that
the boss has been running this business for 15 years this way, and "if he
spent more money we probably wouldn't be in business." I'm open to comments
both pro and con, clearly I'm cynical and maybe need to have my eyes opened?
I worked for a large aerospace company for 15 years and enjoyed good pay and
equipment. Is my present situation normal? Do small companies operate this
way as a norm? Fill me in please. Tell me your stories.
Lane
- posted 17 years ago