Originally Posted by
miriam
I think the lines between hobby and business ARE blurred. If it is to be a business, it needs some sort of organization to it or it could get out of hand and crazy. I have been looking at how to best tag a machine - what needs to go on a tag??? they come in and then I don't know what is going on in another month. I don't need to be looking them over more than once I guess. Some times I just don't have time to fool with something or don't have a certain part. I try to order parts all at once to save postage. Some times I take a day just to work on tensions that need to be torn down. That way I keep in practice. There are different types of tensions, too. I think there is just so much to learn about the machines. I doubt if anybody ever learns all of it. I've seen the repair man get stumped. I know the repair man knows basics and then has to look up what he doesn't know specific to a machine - too many odd machines out there aren't there.
If you kept some kind of file card system, would that help? Maybe put a tag on the machine with an id number, then keep a note card(s) in a little file box with the info you have on the machine so far. You could keep track of the money and time you put into it, what parts you need, so on. You could keep pictures with it as well, save them after the machine has found a new home, and this could be filed under the machine type as a "manual of past problems" sort of thing. This could also be done with some type of database or spreadsheet on the computer if it got too big. (Yes, I actually like organizing and sorting things.)
Bottom line, find something that works for you, how you process information, and that you'll actually use all the time.
My Grammy used to keep spiral notebooks with all her antique/collectible plates in them. She had about 3 or 4 of them filled up (the family quit counting after going through 200 plates with tons more left to divvy up--I really hope I don't end up with that many VSMs). She'd put a little sticker with the number of the notebook and the page number on the plate. In the book, she'd write down what she paid for it, the date she bought it, information about the markings/decorations, and anything she could find on valuation with the reference where she found it. She kept this up for at least 20 years!