Nice projects. I recognize the radial. Its a popular USA design, gasoline fueled, spark ignition. he also offers plans for a double row 18-cyl. She's a big momma.
I'm starting to change my tune about MSM ... a little bit LOL. I'm not sure if USA prices & FX is going up, or some MSM prices are going down. But, at least on certain ordinary alloys & generally small-ish offcuts I've had to purchase recently, the gap didn't seem as horrible as it used to be. I guess the answer is 'it depends'. So always need to do some checking.
I had an interesting conversation with the MSM manager here in Calgary two weeks ago. I even went on to Google and did a review I was so impressed with him. We talked for 45 mins in the back parking lot when I was doing a pickup.
The conversation was about Covid and how he was getting all sorts of pushback from customers about wearing masks—how he had to call the cops on multiple occasions as customers got violent. MSM had protocols in place from the start, including telephone messaging and curb-side pickup. That's amazing as much bigger companies didn't. Even more impressive when you consider that metal working can be a rough and tough industry and I wouldn't have expected that level of concern for guys who routinely expose themselves to danger. He also told me about some of the ways customers tried to rip them off. There is a lot to running a business, and they have to absorb the cost of extra staff for carry out, PPE, sanitizer, etc. That hits their bottom line.
He gets that sometimes their per unit prices are higher. But I maintain that the ability to buy off cuts and get product cut to length, combined with little things like keeping their sheet products away from bay doors where they can rust, and the nice way their staff have treated me, keep me coming back. They have become my go-to place for quite a while now. It would take a massive price increase for them to turn me off now. I feel comfortable there, and safe with this crazy virus.
