A rant about...... shims
 

I won't lie, this genuinely pissed me off. It's such a small thing too, but it made me realize, just how well and truly screwed we are.

What am i pissed off about?

Shims. You know, shims. What's a shim you might ask? It's an object of basic F'ing carpentry. Primarily used to square and/or space windows or doors into their rough opening. I'm sure you do it yourself'ers know what im talking about.

Here's a picture of a shim.

http://www.ducimus.net/temp/shim_01.jpg

Seems simply enough doesn't it? it's just a thinly cut wedge made of wood. It's purpose should be self explanitory. You wedge it into things. Not a very hard concept, nor is the object itself, all that complicated.

But lets back up for a moment. Here are those shims after i picked them up from my local home depot. So what am i upset about? Do you see it?
http://www.ducimus.net/temp/shim_02.jpg

If not, let me zoom that in for you...
http://www.ducimus.net/temp/shim_03.jpg

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?

This is basic Mother F'ing carpentry! And its outsourced to china?!?! If i had access to a band saw, i could make those pack of shims in less then two F'ing minutes. Don't we make ANYTHING for ourselves anymore? If we can't even make our own F'ing shims, SHIMS, then WTF is this country coming to?

Yes....yes we are screwed. Can't say I'm surprised though, it's probably cheaper for them to get the Chinese to do it at 0.001 of the wage that the average American worker would do it at. Then importing it in is a doddle because of the dollar/yuan difference and bobs your mothers brother. :damn:

:nope:


Were the 2x4s and particle board from China as well? Probably not "packaged" so no way to tell.

yup...

now im pissed:nope:

It's just a wonderful world economy! :yeah: Lollipops for all (imported from China)

Maybe Chinese Trees are better suited for shims?

Nah, can't back that up. It is sad that it is cheaper to get shims shipped from China than it is to have them made here. :nope:

We must end our dependence on foreign shims!

Just think if we have china use their trees for our stuff they will eventually use up all the trees in china. Trees are the leading producers of oxygen I believe. THUS CHINA WILL RUN OUT OF OXYGEN.

And yet you choose to buy the Chinese shims instead of spending a few extra minutes looking for a locally produced product, or making your own, because it's either cheaper or more convenient.

You're only supporting the system you're complaining about.
:doh:

not necessarily true.

It is rare that "made in" labels are checked prior to purchase, this is usually an afterthought.

I'm proud to say that all of my fishing gear is made in the USA though :up:

If you feel it's that important, you should be checking it before you buy it.

Cool. Some products just aren't made domestically anymore, though.

From parts made in China. :O:

Your wrong. I had no choice. There are no other hardware stores near my area, and these were the ONLY shims they had. And apparently you missed the part where i said, "If i had access to a band saw....". Which i don't. I live in an apartment complex. Its not like i have a garage to store shop power tools in.

Oh BTW, the tail gate in those pictures is of my truck, a Ford Ranger. A vehicle that is still made here in the US, amazingly enough.

The first thing i looked at when i picked up those shims, was where they were made. It was the VERY first thiing i looked at. I looked around for a different pack, there weren't any. I walked up to the register cussing a mean streak.

From parts made in Canada and Mexico. Hombre :O:

Oh, sorry and from China:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/26/bu...f.3300488.html

:O:

F**k. :damn:

and Korea.




problem identified. The USA has been too busy taking care of crap hole countries that they forgot to take care of themselves.

i'll tell you one thing is for sure... when i am 70 years old, i can't wait to read what the history books say about the United States.

this country is a case study of how not to run a nation.