I have decided to semi retire to a 3 day work week. I am in good health and love building curved stairways ....just throttling back. I don't have to work at all, but I would go nuts not having a challenging mission.

I just contracted my first semi retired stairway. Its going to be another fun one
With Barbara being sick late last year and the last 2 months...I had too many stairways for me to work on while she needed me so much.

However....I will have to be really sick or disabled to stop all together.

I have fileted out the best trees for building curved stairways...

It scares me sometimes when I announced to my dad in 1986 that I was going to find something else to do instead of farming.....and he said..."Where are you going to find a job?". Scares me had he not said that. That was the single most motivating statement EVER said to me. Something snapped in me.

Good for you Stan. I hope I get to be in the shape you are in when I get to your age.
Enjoy the semi retirement my friend.

Thanks. I will be like my dad...who had farming in his blood. At the age of 93 he was still out working on his tractors and machinery. I will still be doing some kind of stair building when I am much older...even if I have to hire the physical part done.

I could really set up some ambitious person with a high paying job. I do have a young Amish person I am considering options with. You must have a passion for whatever you do...especially being self employed. I could have made my business huge years ago....but I was wise enough then to know I would not have enjoyed making all that extra money....and that it would not have made it thru the lean years.

If I were to start over , I would only change one thing,...add a CNC router to my shop.

But....in retrospect....I made a dang good living with a minimum outlay in tools. I feel so lucky, and its not over by no means!

I just hope by that age......



my toenails will be half as nice as Stans

Have you got any more pics of the big turbine wheel stair case (in the dusty house) finished?

Muz- Which turbine wheel staircase? They are all dusty!

The spiral one.... looks like a huge turbo....

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3049&p=45388&hilit=spiral#p45388

The owner was helping you install it and created a dust storm that el mirage couldn't match

Just wondering if you have any pics of it finished?

I think last I heard, you were making the twisty hand rails or sump-fink?

Yea..I finished that a couple months ago.

I know, I am asking if you have any pics of it completed

Maybe you don't read 'Stralian very good?

Don't tell me you talk funny like Gabs as well??





How is Barbara doing?

Stan is one of your relatives managing the farm now?

Ray- My cousin does all the farming. My sister and I own the farms, but we give him lots of rope as he manages it well. The corn yields have been way over 200 bushels an acre. Back when I last farmed....1986...typical corn yields of 160 was excellent.

wow .... 200 bu/acre .... around here corn is 125 to 145 bushels per acre in a good year , mostly grown by Hutterites who use it as livestock feed and then sell the meat at profit.

Most folks do not realize how advanced and innovative farmers have been in the last 50 years .... the other day I stumbled upon this 1968 USA corn article in a Canadian newspaper.

Back then 79 bu/ac was considered a great yield .

.