Tuesday 1 April 2014

What a great deal....


I was down the local shops recently and slipped into one of those so called "two dollar" shops and had a quick look around. Well they got that wrong with many items now over the magic "two dollars"

I was up aisle two and while I was breathing in so another person could squeeze past I noticed this package on the shelf. It was a small packet with the title "Deckakard" and referred to a "universal levelling system. There were two in a box for $3.99. After I thought about it for a moment I realised that some legs on the layout were not as level as they could be and for a lousy $4, I grabbed them, took them to the cash register and went on my way home.


When I got home and opened the pack there were a total of 54 card like pieces. They measured 90mm by 60mm. Strangely there were no instructions in the pack. I assume they thought that they were self explanatory on how to use them. So with 54 cards you can to pack up gaps under legs from 0.05mm (1 card) to 13mm (The full deck).

I was disappointed when I opened the second pack to actually find a card missing. I felt like I was a few cards short of a deck. I was always told that when the chips are down to pick yourself up again.

So I turned up again at the shop and explained about being short decked. The shop assistant  told me to wait at the counter and went off to a back room. After a while waiting my patience was wearing thin. An old maid wandered down from the back room and after smelling gin and rummy on her I was ready to poker. I reached into my bag and put my cards on the table.

I always call a spade a spade and I knew I held all the trumps with the Fair Trading laws on my side. I said to her " I am not playing with a full deck of cards and have been dealt a bad deal and would like an exchange please."

Now as strange as it may seem she had an ace up her sleeve. She showed this  ace of spades to me and then I said yes that's the one missing. I now felt that I held all the aces and left the shop with no spite or malice and went home to try out the system.

As soon as I got home it was time to try out the Deckakard system under our outdoor furniture. You may think the ground is level  but as can be seen this chair required quite a few cards to stop the rocking. 



It was also put under a table. Being of plastic nature it will only have the four legs grounded when heavy items are placed on it.  The gap was large and took up nearly half of the first pack. The beauty of this system with the thin cards is the ability to get a precise level. You don't really need to measure the gap, just keep putting them under the leg until the rockin is a stoppin.

Down in the layout room one of the stools was particularly bad and uneven so two legs had to be packed.  Now it is very stable and you don't feel like you are about to fall. Notice how the closest leg  has more under it.
 
 You can take a chance that you have bought enough packs home to fix all the levelling problems. But if the occasion arises that you have only one card left you have to "know when to hold them and know when to fold them" It is not recommended to go above two pack high as this would either indicate poor carpentry  or a big hole in the floor.



And lastly two of the cards in the pack have these words on them:





3 comments:

  1. Good one SCR, I enjoyed that. Did you see the 'rivet counter' in MR ? 1st of April should be every other month...brighten things up a little. ;-)

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  2. You should always use the Deckakard system responsibly and if you have a problem call a help line !
    Also some good advice for you would be
    You got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them.
    Folding will obviously increase the systems leveling ability by 100 %.
    And holding them ,well that might bring them up to body temperature

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  3. Bob, please be careful, I hear that Deckacards can be addictive.

    If you go around levelling everything in sight this is a symptom that you are getting in over your head. You may then run short of cards and if you have it bad you might supplement the cards with banknotes and coins.

    You will then have to join Deckacards Anonymous.

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