entropy
Moderator
Posts: 8671
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posted June 06, 2007 08:17 AM
a very sad day for me...
Nope no one died, but real sad day never the less.
Al Luna, my pal and ace machinist sold his shop, today was his last day.
He is 77, his hearing is 99% gone and he's wearing a pacemaker so it's time for him to put down the mic, but still i really hate to see him hang it up.
A couple years ago i was in his shop for a lil job and he asked me when i needed it. I said "by the weekend" because i was going out of town.
He said he HAD to get it out by the weekend because he was going to Hong Kong & Macau on vacation (by himself). Coincidently I was also going to Hong Kong & then accross the bay to Shekou on the mainland for a lil R&R.
I gave Al my hotel name and said if you come to the mainland, I'll buy you some beers. Lo and behold a few days later he was knocking on my hotel room door asking for that beer.
That night we knocked the bottom outa Wendy's bar, Al slugging it down and mixing it up with the bar babies.
Whatta guy, there is no way i will be 1/2 the adventurer Al is when i get in my mid 70's.
My hero, Al Luna.
BTW:
Machining down the ends of my cams was the last job he will ever do in that shop. I am honored that the job was mine.
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osti33
Needs a job
Posts: 2973
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posted June 06, 2007 08:51 AM
Well, it's good for Al if he is getting out on his terms. It's a bummer for you because now you have to find a new machine shop. Good luck Al. 
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H2 to ZX12
Needs a job
two stroke power
Posts: 3674
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posted June 06, 2007 09:54 AM
great story. I don't know if I'd go to Hong Kong now 
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted June 06, 2007 10:16 AM
With no machine shop, you are Naked to what ever comes your way! The good news for me is when the Machine shop I used the machinest left, I can still use the shop and no one else is in there! Will he let you use his shop or was it someone elses? Did you learn anything from him to do your own machine work?
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Made History @ Daytona and still one fast old man!!
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
Posts: 9660
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posted June 06, 2007 11:49 AM
sad but cool story. hope y'all still find time and reasons to hang out.
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entropy
Moderator
Posts: 8671
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posted June 06, 2007 11:48 PM
Al owned the shop since 1970; he just sold it to a guy who has been pestering him to sell for a long time. He is definitely going out on his terms.
I can find another shop, but not one which will just drop what they were doing to fix my lil problems on the spot, and I sure as hell am not gonna do that stuff myself like VH does.
Al is thinking about a return visit to Wendy's in Shekou; the guy is just unbelievable. 
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Texas12R
Zone Head
Posts: 545
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posted June 07, 2007 03:55 AM
It is difficult to say the least, when you see the end of an era. The world I live in rarely
sees, or appreciates the contributions of our elders. It may, at times, seem like I overly
appreciate, or engraciate myself to others. I once said Id like to have a photo of Mr Hill
for the garage wall. I think it was taken as a joke. I admire men that work on the future
by way of giving knowledge to the younger men.
There will come a day when I cant help anyone, I only hope that I am remembered well
Thanks Al for being a go-to-guy
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TRNorBRN6001
Needs a job
Posts: 2021
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posted June 07, 2007 01:35 PM
Yep, sad to see him go. I popped in from Austin to have him slim down my starter gear. Realy nice guy.
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TFA 200MPH CLUB MEMBER!
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Y2KZX12R
Needs a job
CompetitionCNC.com
Posts: 3762
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posted June 07, 2007 05:29 PM
 Edited By: Y2KZX12R on 7 Jun 2007 18:46
Karl, I know where your coming from. Its sad to see a good machinist walk away.
I was about 13 years old when one of my shotguns broke a piece in the action and my father took me over to a gun smitthing machine shop owned and run by a very good friend of his. His name was Judson Darrow, a life long gun smith, he was in his late 70's at the time (mid 1970's) and I was very impressed with the whole shop. Judd noticed how i took an interest in the machines and I started to ask a ton of questions. He took me around the shop to several machines and explained what each one did. Now you have to understand that this man was a master gunsmith and the shop was set up for repairing and producing the finest competition firearms, hand made, one offs with very specialized machines. These wernt just mills and lathes.
He made barrels and complete actions and stocks etc.
So anyway, I had started shooting in small bore (.22cal) leagues and he offered to make me a rifle. So he started on it and worked off and on on it for the better part of a summer and we had started negotiating a price for it because he was just about done with it and he knew I didnt have much money (being about 14 years old) and certailaly no where near what he would need to charge for it normally. One evening my dad got a call from his #2 man in the shop that Judd had passed away.... was very sad. He was never married and didnt have any children. So Harold his #2 guy gave me the rifle knowing Judd would want it that way. I still have it. It has a very reworked Ballard falling breachblock lever action from 1880's and an Eric Johnson 4 star barrel and a thumb hole blond birchwood stock much like an Anshutz 1413 at the time, which was the gun I was saving for when he offered to make me a better gun than the 1413. On a bench rest with Eley tenex ammo it will put one hole in the other over and over and over. Craftsmanship thats hard to find now. I won several matches in the late 70's and into the 80's with that rifle before I stopped shooting in smallbore matches and moved on to highpower long distance shooting.
Over the years I've had a few very serious offers to sell it, to people who know exactly what it is and who made it, for crazy money, but I just cant.
Some of you gun guys may know one of Judd Darrows protege's wildey J. Moore. who has a shop not too far from Judds old shop in the next town over. He has developed and marketed a truely amaizing pistol that has to be fired to believe. The wildey Magnum. Its the zx14 or Hayabusa of pistols.
Check it out there made in the next town over from me, one of my favorite pistols of all. The 475 Wildey Magnum with a 10" barrel.
http://www.wildeyguns.com/index.html
With this pistol you dont have to wait for the bad guy to come out from behind whatever it is he is hiding behind.
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Y2KZX12R
CompetitionCNC.com
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