ENT 2210 Advanced Scenery Construction Fall 2016

Here is the PDF for the rock or stump project: rock-and-stump

After last night’s class I did some more reading about the age ranges of young and old forests. It turns out that a lot of factors contribute to how old a forest will be before it is considered old-growth, including the species of trees present, how often natural phenomona like fires or insect infestations disrupt the forest, and whether or not there are dead trees still standing in the forest.

In most cases, it takes more than 100 years for a forest to be considered old-growth, but some trees can live to be many hundreds of years old. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old-growth_forest

See the photos here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Z3sGWCQsyFQnJZdS1EblI1eGM/view?usp=sharing
Add the name of a tool to the list here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SVCqP5C7xRMWvT2VjPGUioTZDEH90WtkYfYN1SR9OpE/edit?usp=sharing

Today in search of a family run hardware store I went to Aquarius True-Value at 601 Amsterdam NY, 10024. I usually frequent a local Ace Hardware on Long Island which is owned independently as well- but I decided to give my business to True Value when purchasing my tools for entertainment technology. I found that my usual trusted brands were unavailable to me in such a small store. Cobalt, Craftsman, Husky and many similar companies are of course contracted to corporate big box dealers exclusively. I chose to purchase Stanley branded tools as they come with a lifetime warranty and a manufacturer return/exchange policy. One would note that big box chain stores do have a more lenient return policy- if you can bring them a upc and most of the tool back they will usually give you your money back if you complain enough; this is anecdotal advice, use with caution. This creates problems when products end up back on the shelf but True-Value had very detailed purchasing guides that said to avoid tools with abrasions and scratches on tools and recommended going directly through the manufacturer for defects and repairs, again, this is why I chose Stanley.

For $44 I was able to purchase a box cutter, 8 inch crescent wrench, and a 25 foot tape measure, while this is not much of a deal it is a fine deal in Manhattan, especially if it means supporting small business and guarantees the tool be ‘extra virgin’ as a hand made purchasing guide taught me. The store was laid out very well, but unfortunately the important hardware for our major was all found behind the counter.

It was an extreme inconvenience to both me and the employees to try and pull down all of the options for tools. The only logical answer was of course for me to awkwardly hover behind people making their purchases for about 10 minutes to choose my tools; I can not stress enough that this made everyone uncomfortable but does protect the store from thieves. Overall I was able to find what I was looking for and could’ve gotten many specialty tools as they had a large selection of plumbing supplies, a large selection of household electrical equipment, and even a paint section with custom mixing on site (Benjamin Moore.)

They did lack a selection of ratchets and nutdrivers as well as Personal Safety Equipment which did hinder some of my loftier goals for my tool bag such as the standard nut drivers (9 and 7/16), a respirator, and new disposable safety glasses. I had a fine experience, but did struggle to find a sign to take a picture with as the facade of the building was under construction which led to me attempting a covert selfie, which worked fine until I walked head on into the store owner an experience unique to a local store.

The local hardware store I visit is located at 831 Franklin Av, which is about 4 blocks away from my house. The name of the hardware store is called Three Brothers. The store was a local deli before becoming a hardware store so it is really small. The store don’t really have that many items as far as power tools because it mostly sell small hand tools like Phillips Head screwdriver,tape measure, nuts and bolts and so on. Although the store is small, it sometimes have the items most people liveing the local area needs.the store also make copies for your keys for a decent price if needed. The guys that works there are pretty cool and can help you find what you’re looking for most of the time if the store have or sell it. Although the store may have some of the items you may need, sometimes it’s not the best quality. I remember buying a tape measure for my tech class from three brothers and a few weeks later it didn’t really work so well but hey you get what you pay for. All in all the store is pretty decent for a local hardware store. It’s easy to get there, easy to find and most of the time easy to find what you are looking for inside the store for without asking help. I would recommend the store to anyone but only if you are looking for small working items like hands tools and so on.

When I first found out about this assignment I panic because I had no idea where any lumber yards were at. So I drove around areas where I knew lumber yards would be at but no luck. I found brick yards, metal work and place to get gates made but no lumber. So I typed in google lumber yards in queens and I’ve found Richmond Hill lumber which is located 115 – 02 Atlantic Avenue Jamaica NY 11419.

When I first walked in the place, the first thing I saw was  stacks of sheet rock waiting to be put in a truck. once i was fully in, I saw was wood all over the place, forklifts and ladders. there was 2 x 4’s, plywood and any other types of wood you can think of. These woods was all different shapes and sizes. So as i’m waiting and looking for some one to talk to, I seen a door open and a guy came out. I walked over to the door and walked in and there was a room full of tools. I saw all kinds of power tools like electric saws, drills, screwdrivers, screws and so on.

I spoke with one of the sales rep and I asked him a few questions and he told me they are known for framing lumber. I had no idea what he was talking about so I looked it up. Framing Lumber is light structural lumber used for residential construction. he also mentioned they do mill work. the also specialize in hand tools. when i ask him what makes this store stand out he said they have the best service.

The store wasn’t hard to find and all the tool was neatly on the shelf’s. everything was right in front of you when you walk into the store was small and the yard wasn’t too big. I spent about 20 minutes looking around and talking. It was nice to visit some place different.

Matthew Durnin

Advance Scenery

Prof. John M.

8/30/16

I live few blocks from Ovington House & Hardware. They are not known for selling power tools, they basically sell only hand tools and little supplies like screws, nails, some pipe fittings iron and plastic. They have a very small selection on electrical. They sell some power tools like black & decker.

They are really known for their paint selection. The store is 40’ long from front to back of the store. The left side when you walk in has the cash out counter with small lock smith. Then going on back had the hand tools and pipe fitting. The center of the store has some rope, tape, and glue, little bit of cleaning supplies. And the right row and has entire wall of just paint supplies and paint making station, with paint chips. And on the back wall has the electrical small portion of stuff, enough though to get the job done.

On September 5^th 2016, I went to Williams Hardware (no relation) located at 1581 Unionport Road Bronx, NY 10462 in search of a pair of wire cutters. I’ve been to this store a few times before to purchase small hand tools since it’s only one block away from my apartment. On this particular visit, I conducted a visual inspection of the floor inventory, and determined the store is best suited at hardware such as door hinges, locks, wall switches, cord connectors, fasteners (nuts, bolts, screws), mostly intended for smaller scale home improvement projects. There were only two employees working when I went and they both were very helpful. I asked the employee at the counter “What is your best-selling item in the store?” Unexpectedly, he replied, “Lightbulbs.” I followed up with another question: “What is your best-selling hand tool/power tool?” He said, “All our tools are always in stock,” inferring to the fact that they really don’t have any popular tools.  At first, I found it a little strange that lightbulbs were their number one selling item. But then I realized that the store in located within a 75-year old residential complex that prides itself on its efficient maintenance team and buildings’ upkeep. Many of the building residents have no need to fix anything except for to change a burn-out lightbulb. Additionally, I noticed that most of the popular hand and power tools are kept behind the counter, most likely to reduce theft. Unless you specifically ask for a specific hand or power tool, a customer would never know they are available for purchase. I don’t know if they carry plumbing tools but they did carry carpentry and electrical tools—all behind the counter. I’m not sure if they have a good selection of power tools because the counter guy started to get annoyed with all the questions I was asking, but I highly doubt they do. The only hand tool brands I saw were Stanley and Milwaukee. The lack of brand variety and hand tool accessibility makes this store stand out because it doesn’t give customers any opportunity to do price and/or brand comparisons, which, ironically, causes them to lose money.

The hardware store I visited was not in New York, but rather in southern New Jersey near family of mine. Since I’m down there nearly every other weekend, I figured I would take a look around and check out what was in the area. Turns out.. Not much. A couple dinky little hardware stores but nothing substantial. Then, we stumbled upon Swedesboro Hardware in (unsurprisingly) Swedesboro, New Jersey. The building was large and stand-alone, which was a lot different than the tiny stores we’d seen in shopping centers. It was the only one for miles and it was right off a main road, so there was no way to miss it. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by three employees who were friendly and incredibly helpful. There was a very small selection of hand power tools (the entire selection can be seen in my photo) and they only had three brands: DeWalt, Master Mechanic, and Black + Decker. But they did have more to choose from than I expected, including angle grinders, circular saws, jigsaws, sanders, reciprocating saws, and drills (both corded and cordless) from each brand. Though there was only half a wall of tools, there were two complete aisles worth of accessories for them. The largest sections in the store were for gardening supplies and paint. There was no lumber selection at all, nor were there any larger power tools. Luckily for me, everything in the store was well organized, clean, aisles were clearly labeled, and the employees were attentive so it was easy to find the few supplies I needed to buy. This hardware store is probably the only decent one for miles so if you’re in the area looking for a place with plenty of options for home improvement projects, this is an excellent place to go. However, this store doesn’t have the best selection of items for our particular needs.