Less than technical terms...

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gemsmom

gemsmom

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Oct 10, 2000
Posts
3,576
What are some of the less than technical terms you use around your shop. For instance:Thingy- that little piece of fuzz I just found behind the glass. Thingy grabber-that skinny piece of matboard we stick behind the glass to fetch the thingy. Gummy ball- that rolled up piece of ATG tape I can't get rid of. The Shifting Mass-the works in progress we keep moving so we can work on a work in progress. The Beast- our Wizard CMC. Dinkle-that little dent a piece of grit I didn't find made in the poster I mounted. The Black Hole- the place where pencils, rulers, tape etc. disappear, never to be seen again. Project Person- that individual who comes in to pick our brains so they can go home and work on their project. Got some of your own?
 
Goob: ATG where you don't want it.

Fish: A large piece of unwanted material inside the frame, visible and magnified by the glass.

Hoop De: A vehicle more than ten yours old.

Goob Getter: A piece of mat board made sticky on the end to get a fish out of a frame.

Gummy: Art Gum eraser.



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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.
 
You know, that thing-a-majig that you find on the what-cha-ma-call it.
 
Design feature. That probably-an-almost-screw-up you try to convince yourself could look okay if you believe in...design features.
 
Being a retired engineer and a very proper person, I use all the proper terms in my shop,such as "heaty deal"(tacking iron), clampy thing" (corner vise),faxy-ma-jig (fax machine), big beater and little beater-(hammers). You get the idea.
 
LOVE this fun stuff...

Goober- atg glob
Schmoo- glass cleaner
walkietalkie- cordless phone
booger picker- long skinny piece of atg backing used to flick out "fish"
time bandits- you KNOW those customers
 
I'm enjoying this topic! Some entries from our shop:

Dinosaur - the Fletcher mat cutter that comes through in a pinch when our Wizard cutter is down.

The Cheese - rubber cement eraser used sometimes to clean up ATG tape.

Monkey tool - a simple tool invented for a task (e.g. an acrylic spacer strip with a Q-Tip attached to it, used to get a speck of dirt off the glass).

Gnat - a little old lady who doesn't want to spend much and takes up a whole lot of time.

Horsefly - a little old man who doesn't want to spend much and knows everything.

BFDs - 'big deals'
 
Tool board: A fictional place which exists only in my mind, at where I can find anything anytime.

Flat spot: A temporary phenonemom in space which appears on a worktable from time to time before it's quickly covered up.

Temp line: The air hose I strung across the top of the shop for the v-nailer a year or so ago.

Gizmo: The thing I rigged up and forgot why.

Catsass: A big wadded up pile of string and tape or something.
 
While working at the "Ambiente" show in Frankfurt, Germany a couple of years ago, I was traveling with mat decorating guru, Brian Wolf.

Brian had a German translator in his booth for the Crescent distributor for whom he was working. Right in the middle of the presentation, the translator stopped dead....

turned to Brian and said..............Sorry Brian, we don't have a German word for "Gizmo"!

John



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The Frame Workshop of Appleton, Inc.
www.theframeworkshop.com
Appleton, Wisconsin
jerserwi@aol.com
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So glad to know I'm not the only one. I think I'll be adding some of these to my list of "terms"!
 
Baby= my beloved Keeton mat cutter.
Secret Weapon= X-acto parallel marking gauge.
The Ball= Kneadable rubber eraser.
Whereinthehellis= X-Acto knife.
Wristsaver= Cordless power screwdriver

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Seth J. Bogdanove, CPF
21 years framing and still loving it
 
We use more physical gestures than nicknames in our shop:

Moving hands quickly together and apart ..."Where's the tape measure?"

Patting one's torso up and down .. "Where's the pencil?"

Franticly pawing the floor with one foot while the other remains firmly in place ..."Where's the super-sticky ATG?"

Kit

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Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana
 
Not every customer is familiar with orientation terms like "vertical" and "horizontal". Thus, "upsy-downsy" and "sidesy-widesy" are unleashed, to universal comprehension.
 
Brian had a German translator in his booth for the Crescent distributor for whom he was working. Right in the middle of the presentation, the translator stopped dead....
turned to Brian and said..............Sorry Brian, we don't have a German word for "Gizmo"!

Das Ding da...wie heisst es noch einmal??
 
I have no idea who started the whosy with the whatsy, but these thingys are so good I'll be using them to talk while flinging my hands around. Thanks

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Have you heard of my old friend "Common Sense?"
 
Tire Kickers = Those who ramble around the shop waiting for the restaurant next door to open
 
We used to call our old unreliable laminator "the damned machine". In an effort to improve its performance we changed her name to "Constance". She has worked like a champ ever since. Machines KNOW!
 
Hi! This is my first time here - and this thread was so much fun I just had to join in!!!

here are some of our "words"

Booger - the fuzzie under the glass after it's been pinned, papered and wired.

Life Sucker (also referred to by making a loud sucking noise) - a customer that just sucks the life out of you.

Pac Man Grape - one time I was eating grapes and there was one with a gash in it. I threw it to the garbage and it landed right on the rim RIGHT ON THE GASH!! It looked like it was hanging on for dear life!

Basket - this is when you stand across the room and shoot with a piece of matting (or what ever garbage you have) and try to make a basket. However; you have to call it first. Please take note that however good you may be - it will NEVER beat the pac man grape.

That piece of Crap - A really crappy store bought frame that someone expects you to fix for nothing because they only paid $10.00 for it

Writing Stick - where's the pencil?

Oward Oy - the name of our grumpiest customer of all time - now when we get a grump they are referred to as this.
fire.gif


This looks like a great group - hope to get to know some of you better!

Handy
 
Welcome Handy. You'll learn a lot here and it's fun.

I have another term:

Plague frame - an antique or just old frame that a customer brings in. The customer is usually ever so proud of the find and/or the savings. The frame is dry and dirty and casting off lengthy splinters and grime (layers of smoke, mildew, bug parts, etc.). Makes me glad I got a tetanus shot.
 
A few more- "Log"-bigger than a "thingy". Doing a "Kathy"-any mistake. Named after a former employee who made every mistake possible. "Pam project"-those left to me because no one else will touch them (or I won't let them). "Buds Brew"-adhesive release. Renamed after Bud 'cuz he uses it for everything. Insists it is wonderful mixed with gin (or is it vodka?).
 
Bugger - a goob in a finished project found on final inspection.

A frame from 7734 (upside down) - the project that anything and everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.

[This message has been edited by ArtLady (edited January 15, 2001).]
 
We had the problem of our tools being "Borrowed" by others in our store, and not returning them. So, we started to write names on our tools.
Scissors- Edward (scissor-hands)
Hammers- Maxwell (silver/ Beatles), MC (hammer)
ATG Guns- Billy (the kid), Jamie (song)
You get the idea, the tools never got lost after that. I guess they did not like explaining why the hammer was names MC.

Good O'l Sue

[This message has been edited by Susan May (edited January 16, 2001).]
 
We call it the BFH - have threatened to use it for fine tuning computer adjustments. Kit

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Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana
 
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