The Forestry Forum

Well, it's time to put that old thread to bed and start a new one because it was getting kind of long and had run 2 years instead of the normal single year. I just read-read the first post in that last thread and everything I said there still applies, so I am just pasting in that opening section here, not much has changed.
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"Well Today is Norwegian Constitution Day, a large holiday in Norway, something like out 4th of July here in the states. Lots of parades, traditional dress, and other celebrations. One of these days maybe I will get there to see it myself. But for a Norwegian, it is no small honor to have my birthday on that date also. As has been my tradition the last 2 years, I start a new thread on this day, just because it is a date I can remember. I don't want the server to get too bogged down with my never ending drivel which at this point is something like 29 page in the old thread, which can be found here: Staying Busy and Out of Trouble '20-'21 (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=110766.0).  (The one prior to that can be FOUND HERE (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=106265.0).) I thought long on the title for this one but could not find anything suitable so settled for what you see. Maybe I will modify it later when I think of something catchy.
It still amazes me that so many folks read and respond to my pitiful offerings here. Because its my b'day and because I have been feeling a little down the last few days because I am so tired, I have been thinking a lot about my dwindling ability to produce physical work on a consistent basis. It sucks to get old. Don't get me wrong, I know I have many blessing's that others may not enjoy. I am healthy and have no medical issues that I am aware of, I don't even have any prescriptions to take daily. I do have a shop, and some decent tools, and I have managed to find some good clients. I found this forum which has exposed me to a lot of the details and knowledge that I had been lacking and provided some amazing and generous mentors to answer my questions. I would not be where I am right now without it, that is for certain. In fact, I have even gotten a couple of personal messages already this morning wishing me a good day, so thanks for that. You guys are nicer to me than I deserve. Each of these blessings is a big thing that many would love to have and I should be grateful for that everyday and I think I am. But I am having trouble staying up with the workload I have developed. In addition, the work demands some investments in better equipment and I am not too interested in jumping up to large trucks and heavy equipment that I know in a few years I would be working to pay for in repairs and upkeep while getting even slower myself. I am still searching for that balance between making some extra money to keep us afloat, and building something that becomes a beast I have to work everyday to feed. I don't mean to whine or give the impression I am feeble. My ability to work is still a lot better than a lot of other folks. My neighbor across the road can't keep up with me for an hour, let alone a day, and he 'works out' nearly everyday and is at least 15 years younger than me. I am just not happy with what I can produce compared to my expectations of what I should produce. Working in the woods puts you in a situation where the environment doesn't give you a break based on your age. It treats everyone the same and will hurt you quick if you let your guard down.
Maybe I am just thinking about all this stuff too much. (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/cheesy.gif)"
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 So it's time for a new thread. I've decided to take Ray's advice and keep the same title and just change the years.
 Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes either in the previous thread or in a PM. It's not a big day for me, except for the National Holiday part, I do like that part. We are off to do the monthly food shopping in a few minutes and when we get back that latest video should have finished uploading so I can get that posted here. Sorry this one came out a bit longer, but I ran into some 'issues' and had a small disaster in the process and I included it all.  I haven't even checked on the bar yet this morning, a little slow getting started today.
 It's another new year, let's see if I make it through this one. ;D

Happy birthday Tom.

Happy Birthday. I always enjoy this thread even if I rarely have time to post a reply. I've heard a new thread described as flipping to the cool side of the pillow.

Happy birthday Tom, I always enjoy reading about your escapades.Getting old sucks,takes me a week to do what I used to do in a weekend but it's better than the alternative  :laugh:

Yes, indeed, it beats the heck out of the alternative for sure. I had heard a long time ago that one of the good parts of being old is that it doesn't last very long. I didn't understand that then, but I do now. ;D
 In my opening post I should have put a link to the thread preceding this one so that historical researchers would have an easier time a century from now. :D ;D SO here is the prior thread. (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=115334.0)
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 No sense putting off the inevitable, here is the latest video, wherein Tom makes a mistakes, corrects it, and follows that up with a disaster, which he also saves. It is the cluster that is my life some days in many ways. 

The Bar Episode 18 - YouTube (https://youtu.be/eY8Y1358wOY)

 Not sure what I am going to kill the rest of the day with yet. Lots of options.

 :P and Happy Birthday!

Your birthday? Had no idea you were getting older. Happy birthday 🎈🎉🎁🎊🎂 

Happy Birthday !

Before the rest of today slips on by me, Happy Birthday, I hope it was a good one.

 8) 8) 8)

Where did the last year go?

Don, all I know is I made it through and I am still breathing. ;D
 Thanks everyone, I do appreciate the B'day wishes. Really, it's just another work day. I don't particularly look forward to making note that I have one year less to go. ;D Frankly I feel old everyday with all the aches and pains and reduced capacity. It takes me an hour to 'get right' every morning. But I know that's just part of life. Yeah Dennis, I am reminded nearly every minute that I am getting older, all I have to do is move. :D

 But that was yesterday and today is a new day. The sun is shining and the temp is 34°, up from 31 over night. I have a full day of honest work in front of me so I might as well get at it, right?

Happy Birthday.

Following! 

Quote from: aigheadish on May 18, 2023, 07:11:47 AM
Following!

OK, it's your choice. I can't be held responsible if I lead you astray. :D

Catching up here, it's been a routine week with steady work. Mostly I am working on the bar trying to get it completed and it is nearly so. I will contact the client today and ask them to come by and see if they think it is done. I am working on polishing out the top and edges to get everything to be an optical match, but dang that is hard! Light strikes things in odd ways and if you look at it from one angle it's great and another angle, its not quite great. I had my main mushroom log client here yesterday picking up logs and I asked him to take a look at it and tell me honestly if he thought it was done. I really needed another opinion.
 Forum rules do not permit me to use the words he expressed when he saw it. Yes, he thought is was done. :D Even when I pointed out the issues I saw he scoffed at me, but those spots, I can't let go of until they are better. I asked what he thought the bar might be worth and he thought it depended on the sale market (which we all know is the big killer) but he thought with a reasonable sale market area it should be somewhere around $20k. ;D Yeah, well, I wish. Heck, I'd be very happy with 25% of that. I just don't have the market for those numbers.
 I have done so much sanding and polishing this week that I have messed up the muscles in my hands pretty good and if I grip objects in a certain way the pain goes right to my ears and toes like lightening. I am alternating with doing firewood, which doesn't help much. I still have some compounding yet to go today and then we'll see.
 The cool front that's been here for 3 days has me starting daily fires in the shop which allows me to burn up chips and chunks from the splitting operation. It was 73 out there last night and is 64 now. I get it up to 70 in less than 20 minutes, so easy to do and gets rid of junk wood. I want that epoxy to cure up completely and really well.
 I have been messing with various polishing materials and polishing pads trying to find the best formula. Wound up getting a full set of 8" foam pads from HF and am considering a new RO polishing tool, but this isn't a frequent thing for me. I'll do it continuously for a week or 3, then put it all in a box and not touch it for a year or more.
 I also did some improvements on my sanding dust collection which did a great job of keeping things cleaner. In the course of that I had the 'vacuum hose escapade' which I posted a video of in another thread. Frankly I have to say that I am very disappointed in the response. I pretty much made that video for the entertainment value for FF members and the inevitable ensuing discussion. I remain befuddled as to the underwhelming response. Only Doc and Trimguy responded to the video. The only thing I can guess is that the right players have not seen it because I posted it in a thread about ROS's and a lot of members only read certain subjects (I read them all). So here is the link again just in case you missed it:

Screaming Vacuum Hose - YouTube (https://youtu.be/lifLOsXE2xE)

Now I should say that I know now what is causing this, but I won't reveal that until I see what others think. I didn't figure it out until I was editing the video and heard a hint or two in there. I'll share it after I hear from the experts and the design committee. 

 Time to get some work done.

Wow really! Here too? I really thought that vacuum thing was funny but I see that I was woefully wrong. ;D Nobody even asked what the cause was. Geez, I am disappointed in youse guyz. :D ;D
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Follow-up on that backhoe that was near the end of the other thread which I thought Bill had bought. Well it turns out that Bill's best buddy CJ had bought it...for $1,200. which explains why CJ stuck with him getting the trailer tires replaced on the roadside. They just brought it to Bill's place so CJ could work on it. Starts and runs pretty good, all the cylinders they have tried so far are functioning fine with no leaks. He has fixed some minor stuff here and there, but more to go. SO far, so good. Not a bad deal from what I see. I thought @terrifictimbersllc (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=11495) might be interested to hear that.
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I had the Bar client come by yesterday to see what he thought of the bar and help me decide if it was finished. It is. I had already shot the (as it turns out) final video. Delivery will be in a few weeks and I'll try to get some better photos outdoors.
Today, I edited the video up, then while it was processing, I went to the mill and did a few logs, then came back and started the uploading and ran out to a mushroom workshop. When I got back I finished it off, then went out in the shop and lost total track of time.
So here is the LAST episode in that series that Trimguy has been waiting for. :D

The Bar, Episode 19, Conclusion - YouTube (https://youtu.be/ahwwOVF_p8E)


The new 'project' that made me lose track of time was this:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230521_183156911_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1684712855)
 

This has been in my shop, stuffed in various corners in varying states of assembly for over 20 years. Always used as a metal bandsaw, but I can take it out of back gears and rev it up for wood. I just never had time, but now it would be handy. I seem to have lost the blade guard/cover which was a big chunk of cast iron. I've also lost the 'puck' that goes in the table around the blade. I'll have to make one. I have no wood blades just fine blades for steel, so I am looking for a supplier and wondering what the right tooth pitch is for wood blades. This is set up for 1/2" blades which seem to be 9'4" long (112") and has a 16" throat and I think it might cut about 8" thick. It should be fine for a few projects. I have to reset the table, make the puck, and rewire the motor. Something to fill a day or two.
Any suggestions for blades or suppliers?
Tomorrow is another day.

Tom,the suspense is killing me.How come that vacuum made so much noise?

You know how to keep a sawyer in suspense?






I'll tell you later.



;D

Actually I'm glad you asked that so we can put it to bed. Turns out there is a difference between vacuum hose and discharge hose. If you look at a vacuum hose you will see that the ribs are spiral, this causes the air to flow in a venture (spiral) pattern. On the discharge hose the ribs are annular, meaning they are perpendicular to the centerline of the hose. They do not connect, each rib is it's own single rib. This creates a turbulent flow in the air which is not conducive to good airflow, but fine for water running through it. It's been a long time since I worked with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and so it didn't hit me right away, but eventually, it was pretty darn obvious.
The noise is fine on the tool but still intolerable as just a vacuum hose alone. I'll order a proper hose the next time I get a chance, but now I'm on the bandsaw thing. ;D

1200 bucks for the backhoe is way cheap! Nice. Mine sprung a pretty good leak from the big boom cylinder yesterday, now I've got to hunt for someone to come out and fix it, for I don't have the tools or time or expertise.

Bandsaws are mighty handy. I was attempting to cut some diamond plate (presumably aluminum) with a sawzall that ended up cutting poorly, bending blades like crazy, and just not working out. I looked at the clearance of the bandsaw and gave it a try, man, it cut through like butter! I usually use it for wood but there have been a couple times where I've eased into some metal and it always does great, even for a cheap hand-me-down saw.

Also, I'm part of the club now! 


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/63516/image00000128129.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1684752080)
 

Ok that makes sense as I have heard a similar thing when I made an insulation vacuum out of a leaf blower years ago to remove the vermiculite insulation over a bedroom in my attic. I used 4 inch tile pipe as a discharge hose and blew it into wagon.  Lower frequency noise but similar.  I wouldn't want to run your "screamer vac" without hearing protection..

Nice acquisition on the backhoe. I'd be jealous, but at present, my ambitions are limited by zoning.

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I've mostly bought my 14" shop bandsaw  blades at Lee Valley tool, and have been satisfied with them.

Well, not much to report from my tiny corner of the world. Been feeling guilty all week because I should be knocking some stuff out at the mill. I did get down there around Monday afternoon or so when Bill was there for a few minutes. Together we picked and pulled some hemlock logs for the pending orders and I grabbed the tool cat and cleaned up all the slabs from the mill so I have a clean deck to start with. He had snuck through a big cottonwood log to make up side boards for his new dump body and I still have two slabs laying on the mill to rip one straight edge on for side boards on another truck, I forget which one. I'll just make one straight edge on them both, then lay them somewhere to the side until he has time to mount them up.

 I've been getting sucked into firewood duty, just because the weather is pretty nice and I had a big pile of not so great logs to buck, split, and stack. I have 3 cords by the shop now (I measured tonight) so I need one more there. Today I fetched up two Red Maple logs I was going to mill and two ash logs I had sitting next to the mill and bucked them all. I split until I couldn't fit anymore on the trailer, moved that over to the house (this was much better wood than the previous stuff) and stacked that. I got the trailer back by the splitter around 5pm and it's ready to load again. I figure I have a half load worth already bucked up, then I have to grab a couple of RO logs off my milling pile that really should have been firewood in the fir place, They've been sitting up on top for 2 years. Hopefully they dry quick when I open them up. I have to keep at it. I don't like stacking by the house, it takes much longer than shop stacking because I have to take several steps with each armload of wood. By the shop it goes right from trailer to stack in one swing without moving my feet. Stacking for the house is just drudgery in my mind.
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 Yesterday I was taking a break in the shop at the end of the day and eying up a short slab that I cut off the slab I made the boys school bus bench out of. This piece is badly cupped and I had been thinking about how @tule peak timber (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=25190)  had mentioned a year or two ago how he 'breaks' badly cupped slabs and planes, straightens them and re-glues them back together again. I thought "What the heck, it's a good experiment or at worst, something to laugh at myself about". SO I laid out a line that followed the belly of the cup and ripped it in half. Now I am studying it and trying to decide on how I will plane this flat using some shims. The whole thing will just be learning through playing. If it winds up in the stove, oh well. :D Kind of like a 'between jobs' project to see if I can pull something like this off. I have a set of Singer Sewing machine legs this might make a nice top on. IF it comes out right.
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 Tomorrow I really need to get some time in at the mill. I have been saying that all week, then wind up doing firewood. But frankly, my back is about shot, so the mill should give me a bit of a break. We also have our monthly pot-luck dinner at Bill's tomorrow night with my wife, daughter, SIL, and Bill and his partner. If I don't spend time at the mill tomorrow it will be hard for me to face him in the evening. ;D I've got to at least knock out the 2x12 order of hemlock.

 So just another boring routine week here. But it's still a lot better than sitting in a conference room discussing what colors to put on a spreadsheet. :D

Tom,If you lived a little closer I would make you a good deal on a new woodshed  :laugh:

 :D :D :D
 Yeah, well it's funny you mention that, I have been considering MAYBE building one. I do have some resources in that department though. As a matter of fact I am sawing out an order now for and 8x 10 woodshed. I could maybe do one for myself someday..... maybe.

Last post I said I was going to work at the mill Saturday to give my back a little rest. What was I thinking? Yeah, 2x12x12's in wet hemlock are always easy on the back right? :D ;D It was pretty hot too. Got home and had lunch around 2 then yanked a few RO logs off the log pile to buck up for firewood. But it was still hot and I was waning in the energy department.
 I ripped down that slab and messed around with trying to flatten each half, but ran out of time. I grabbed a shower and we headed to Bill's for dinner. We got home kind of late and I overslept this morning with a slow start at around 10am. It felt like a 'domestic day' So I pulled up all the garden cloth from last year, emptied the compost bin on the garden, rototilled it all in and panted the tomato plants (Beefsteaks, I love 'em). I got out the hose from the water tank and hose off the lawn furniture after watering the garden, also washed off the lawn tractor. I mowed the front and back lawns but man it got hot out!
 I went back in the shop (10° cooler) and tried again to plane out those slab halves without much improvement. So I just went and glued them up as is, it's a LOT better than it was.
This is before planeing and glue up:


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230527_101750159_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685316263)
 

Pretty ugly, right?


 While I had the planer running I planed out some pine in 1x6 and 3/8 x 12. I had in mind to make some crates like Howard and Don P make from time to time. SO I finished up the day making the box ends and cutting up strips. I think I'll pick up one of those pneumatic staplers at HD and try a few. Just getting my feet wet. I will make a few 6 pack carriers just for fun or give away.
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 SO Bill called me early yesterday morning and I figured something was up for a 7:30 call. He had been talking to our fire chief who was asking him to bring some equipment to the 'Touch a Truck' event for kids and families the FD is putting on next Sunday. Since they have a big field, they are also trying to get local crafters and set up some booths and sell their stuff. No fee for vendors, they just want to make it a fun community day for folks to meet up with neighbors. Bill thought my wife Pat, and/or I would like to come over and set something up. Later in the day I ran into the Chief's wife who is the dept. secretary trying to recruit vendors. She made a hard, but pleasant pitch, hard to say 'no'. I figure 'what the heck'? SO if the weather holds, I will bring some stuff over, set up a canopy, and my wife will do the same. I don't expect to sell a thing, but 4 hours sitting in the dun catching up with neighbors cant be all bad, right? On the other hand I had a bunch of years in the department and they are still trying to get me back in. I really don't want to hear every member that still knows me come by and make their pitch for me joining back up. That ship sailed, they got a piece of my soul that has taken me years to get back. I have no regrets and would do it again if I were younger, but I am done. I just wish they could accept that. So really, I don't want to have a lot of 'those conversations', but if we can avoid that, it could be a fun day or at least, not suck. ;D
 Technically, this is my 'first show' but as low key as it can get. I have started pulling stuff from upstairs and piling it by the door in the shop.  I'll have to see what I can get in the truck. I am not bringing a trailer.
 Tomorrow is another day and in particular this is the one where we honor those who sacrificed their own safety, well being, and in many cases their lives in the defense of our country. This debt can never be repaid. and it fall to us to honor their contributions to maintaining our way of life and our great country.
usflag

Sounds like a neat event, Tom, I'll be interested to hear how it goes.

Tom you need a Tee shirt that says "Retired...Don't ask." so when someone starts trying to re-recruit you just point at the shirt and smile politely.

Hilltop,

  Tom would not want to do that. He may be retired but if the right job is offered he might want to go rejoin the labor force. I scan my job offers daily I get on my e-mail. One of these days that "bikini inspector" job is going to be there and I'll be hanging up my chainsaw and parking the mill. Of course that kind of work is seasonal so I might return to sawmilling in the cooler weather.  :D

   I bet Brandi is still looking for a "Buns inspector" job and she could be coaxed away by that. ;)

Well I won't get into it, but the FD is all volunteer work for which you get unlimited and unscheduled hours with all the overtime your body and brain can take. Now that I am retired I need that time to make money to buy food and stay in our home. That come first. I am tired of having to explain myself to these guys over and over and feel it shows a total lack of respect for me and what I need now, so I get annoyed. 'nuf sed on that.
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I'm doubt this show will be much of anything, but I am doing what I can to get ready and make a decent showing. I am working on this sewing machine table slab top thing and don't know if it will be ready in time, but I need to get it done anyway. Part of that includes using some 5/16-18 threaded wood inserts to get a good grip on the support shelf and stringer. I will be using 1/4-20 from RiteLeg for the top, but I need bigger ones for the other stuff and noted that home despot had these in stock. So I grabbed some the other day. This morning I went to locate and install them and came to learn that they are not like the ones I get from RiteLeg, those have a hex socket to drive them in with and are very easy to use and install straight. These ones from HD have a screwdriver slot in them. >:(

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230531_133258396_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685583259)
 

With all the screwdrivers I have, there are none wide enough for this gizmo. I had one that was close, but as hard as I tried I could not get these things to go in even close to straight. I tired drilling a pilot to start it but that didn't work either. Finally I gave up on using them at all, but when I tried long wood screws, they just weren't cutting it as far as being secure goes with the tapered holes in those Singer Sewing legs. I got entirely frustrated and did other stuff for a break from it.
 SO I had lunch and sat down to think about it and decided the way I was trying to drive these things was just wrong. I needed to hole them securely and square. So I went out in the shop, cut the head off a 5/16 bolt and screwed a locknut on it as a stop. Thusly:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230531_133310200_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685583825)
 

 Then I chucked it up in my drill and drove it in at slow speed.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230531_133332631.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685583910)
 

 It worked pretty perfect. Once it was home, I backed off the locknut and unscrewed the stud from the insert. I will have to order some of these inserts in the proper size with the hex socket and just keep them on the shelf. I use a bunch of 1/4" which I get from Ritleg, but would also like to have 5/16 and even some 3/8 just for future needs.
 BTW, all of these inserts I got from HD needed to have a tap run through them because they had burrs inside them from the slotting operation. That ticked me off, sloppy work. SO yeah, I am not a fan of this design. Even with the stud driver I made, they still don't drive dead straight. The ones from RiteLeg have a small pilot on them that centers them up in the hole and every one goes in dead square.

 Anyway, in my small mind I saved the day and happily went about sanding and finishing these pieces. I need these done before I can put the legs together and finally mount them to the table top (locating the inserts in the top). It seems my urethane isn't drying up as fast as I would like and I am trying to squeeze what I can out of this partial gallon I have left that is nearing a year old, screening off the skin and thinning with mineral spirits. Hopefully tomorrow I can do a light sand and put on final coats. I had to order 5/16 brass flat head bolts for this, could not find them any place locally, and I really tried. Hopefully they will get here in time for assembly Saturday. If not, oh well. ;D I would like to have it for Sunday, but if not, so what? I have been doing those after dinner sessions in the shop to try and get a bit more work done as I pull out stuff for this show that may need cleaning or some touch up work, or pricing put on it. But I have to keep in mind that my expectations are very low for this and if I make 50 bucks it will be more than I thought. It's a lot of work for little or no return, but I need to go through the motions and kind of see what I need to do actual shows and sales. I gotta make some money for a trip I want to make to Georgia next April or so, as well as Booneville in August, in addition to the tax bills etc.
 Tomorrow is another day.

Well it was a day, for sure. I was up at 5 am and started packing the truck by 6, done by 7, came in and cooked breakfast, left for the show at 7:50 and arrived at 7:57. ;D This was good because the truck was LOADED and I was afraid the vibrating would cause some damage to my pieces. Pulled is and got directions to 'my spot'. Got 2 different spots from 2 different folks  :D. Typical for an FD operation, so I got that straightened out and tried to drive in the easy way, but some bean brain and parked a giant Terex Skidder bucket truck where I needed to go, so I found another way in. The wife arrived and pulled in next to me and we both began setup. While doing that I saw somebody had fired up that Terex to move it, it was Bill in the cab  ;D. He can operate anything and when he showed up, I assumed they asked him to get it out of there. He drove it around onto the field, dropped the blade and then wandered over to say 'hi'. I thanked him for moving that machine. Turns out, it belongs to him now. He bought it yesterday and had it delivered to the fire station early this morning. Nice machine, this one sure isn't clapped out at all. Everything is tight and no leaks.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230604_095724886_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685916823)
 

 It's got VG rubber too.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230604_095741478_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685916779)
 

It was a big hits for the kids too. ;D Well at least those who could climb up in the cab.
 As for 'the show' aspect, I set up a small booth:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230604_094941546_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685916788)
 

And my wife had the booth next to me:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230604_094954215_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685916785)
 

 It was an easy day, my wife brought a short load, it was only 4 hours and not really billed as a 'craft fair'. She sold a few things, I only sold 2, and 1 of those was something she made and asked me to see if I could sell it for her because she was tired of carrying it around. It drew the most interest and I almost sold it twice before somebody laid down the cash. I also sold one of those 6 pack crates to the same person. That was it, but it was above my expectations anyway, as I had none. ;D I did have one woman that fell in love with that sewing machine table. She wanted it for a TV stand but need to measure in her apartment and see if she can fit it and it's the right height. She came back twice to look at it and ask questions. She is local and I know her daughter and SIL better than her. I told her I could deliver it later if she wanted. I did get a lot of compliments for the nicest, or most impressive booth there, but really, there were only 5 vendors total, so.... :D I did learn a lot about what I need to do to improve my setup and making it more manageable and also about the booth size I really need.

I saw a lot of old friends and nobody tried to talk me into anything. I guess we have finally put that to bed. Lots of the current members don't even know me. A lot of members I saw today I have never met. During close up, a woman at the booth next to us got hit and was in a lot of pain from a flying easy-up. She had pre-exiting back injuries, I didn't see it happen, but as usual, everybody in the area started hollering for me. I swear I am still the crap-magnet. So I started working with her and realized she needed transport, I looked around, saw my son, and told him to go get the Medics. There were several on hand, so I let them take over and slipped away. They had her packaged and transported in short order.
 Packing up for me was an issue, too many folks trying to help and not giving me time to figure out how I fit it all in this morning. So it was a little messy and maybe some stuff got rubbed up a bit. Show closed at 2, I was packed by 2:30, home by 3 and unloaded by 4. Short show, but a long day. We got pizza for dinner and are both tuckered out old folks.

Looks like a nice setup Tom. 

That machine is a monster!

   Back to the threaded inserts if you have access to a metal working lathe you could use some 1/2"-5/8" all thread and make some 5/16" and 3/8" inserts and then use a regular tap in the wood to get them in. A few drops of glue and your good.

Yeah, I currently don't have a working lathe, but your idea is good. Truthfully I am quite happy with the style RiteLeg sells. The wood thread is interrupted so when it is all the way down in the wood, it really can't be backed out. They are strictly for wood. The brass ones I bought for that sewing table job turned out the be for metal OR wood use and they had a 1/2-13 on the outside and 5/16-16 in the ID. Yeah I could make them but even with a running lathe, it's quicker and easier to buy them. Now if I ever need say 100 pieces for a project, that would be a totally different story. :D

Well, lemme see... I have been doing some oddball stuff the last couple of days, it's gotta get done at some point. I split a trailer load of wood and got it all stacked then I pulled some more logs and did some bucking. I pulled a couple more logs and bucked those up yesterday and was pretty shot by the end of the day. That fire smoke has been fairly distracting and maybe makes it a little hard to work. It was bad here yesterday afternoon. Today just steady all day, visibility was about less than 2 miles. Breathing is a little rough when you're working hard.

 Today, I re-registered my trailer online, so that's done. I bucked up the rest of the logs I had out and played around with some 24" diameter RO cookies to see how they come out when they dry. I cut these on a diagonal just for something different. I went to town and got some 4' chicken wire to put around my tomatoes. If I can't catch or shoot that ground hog, I will keep him out somehow. So I spent time getting that up, but Bill stopped in to help me for a few minutes with another job. I needed lifting hands for 2 minutes and that's all it took to get the ladder rack on the truck, he took off and I clamped it in place. Then I finished up the chicken wire.  I had to run out for a Festival planning meeting, got there and found it canceled, so I got the publicity stuff I needed and headed back. Took a short break and then decided to gather up the tools to install that ladder rack properly. One thing led to another and after an hour or so all the holes were drilled and filled with bolts and everything was lined up. Done by about 6:30. I never did get lunch today, too busy.
 I have no photo of the chicken wire. ;D Here is the next load to split, I am guessing it will be a full load on the trailer, maybe more. Diameters run from 24" on down to about 12". Good stuff, RO and WO. They would have been sawlogs. Oh well, I need heat.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230607_103845164_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686180695)
 

 The rack doesn't look bad either.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230607_135037835_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686180694)
 

 I got the rack from my SIL when he got a new truck last fall and was going to junk this rack. These things ain't cheap. My thought was it would make bringing lumber home from the mill a lot easier.  But since I did that show Sunday, I realized I need more room in the truck so things don't get banged up. Having some shelves on top of that rack I can hang benches on would make things a lot easier, so that part is the next project. I am also missing the tool box to keep my saws out of the weather and sawmill tools, etc. So I am still searching for a box solution that isn't $700. . Anyway, the rack is mounted now and I can move forward. I am looking at some shows, both that are still on my list are in September, I'd like something in the first half of the summer if I can find it. 
 I really have to get down to the mill, and it's already Wednesday. But I still have this dull headache from the smoke that distracts me. At least I got a few things off the list today.

Yeah, the smoke from wildfires can get old real quick. I think the last 3 out of 5 years here we had several weeks of bad smoke.

Nice rack. Hit CL for free truck boxes.

I just bought a Tundra which has the same rack on it.
I don't haul much, so don't really need it, but it's not in the way either.  ;)

Tom, how many mushroom logs can go up there?

None Doc, they are too short and will fall through the big hole in the middle. :D
 John, free boxes? Not hardly around here. I can find plenty of used saddle boxes like the one I already have, but nothing like what I need or want. OTOH, on a whim I checked Fleabay and may have found something that will do. :)

Tom,

  If you need help I can convene the design committee to help redesign/modify that ladder rack to hold a big load of mushroom logs. I am sure a good bit of welding and bracing material will be required and due to the height we will likely have to include some outriggers so the whole truck does not turn over from being so top heavy. I see drop down ramps and some winches in your future to roll the logs up that high. When we finish I am afraid the weight may be more than your current truck will handle so be prepared to make an upgrade and transfer the whole system to the new, heavier truck.

  Anyway, just remember we are here to help. :D

I am seeing a cover to keep the rain off, and maybe a vending machine mechanism, so folks can buy right off the truck with use of cash or a credit card, even in the off hours.  maybe a light beam that can project a two man saw into the sky for when Tom needs to sell logs either before they get too old, or if he wants cash for a project.  Just like the bat signal.  will need a hot spot so people can report real time tree removal so you can go pick up the logs.  may need a conveyor so the loading is easier from the ground.  It will need a auto stacker.  a computer inventory system so you can check inventory and also check your bank account.  Let us know if you want any help.   :)

   I thought about adding a fold away loading arm with a padded grapple - we don't want to damage the bark on the logs - to lift and place the logs. I figure that will be a real time and labor saver. I am pretty sure the loginator will fit in the bed of the truck under the suspended load in case Tom needs to go ahead and inoculate the customers logs when he gets on site. I guess he will have to come up with an additional rate for this service. I would think it would be better if the customer provided the spores so they cannot blame Tom if the mushrooms don't grow or the wrong species of mushrooms grow. We would not want Tom being dragged into a court case because the customer was growing illegal "happy" mushrooms.

I like the grapple, and Bill prob. has some old parts laying around.  The vending machine could have options for plain or inoculated logs.  the loginator would be incorporated into the vending apparatus.  logs could be just drilled and inoculated or not.  the chips from the drilling process can be fed into a gasifier vis and auger to power a generator, so Tom can listen to bluegrass music when he is there to service the self serve dispensary.  the logs could remain full length on top, and cut to the specified length by the vending process.  the whole setup can be painted "brown".   :snowball: :)

Geez, I just stepped outside to stack wood for a few hours and look what I come back to! :D With friends like you guys, who needs enemies? But really, I appreciate it, but thank you, no thanks. I am fine and can screw this up all by myself. ;D Besides, I am sure the committee had more important tasks to work on that would benefit humanity better then this project which doesn't even exist.
 I have thought long about making a grapple for picking logs in the woods, and if you guys recall, I put a winch lift on the trailer when I was doing lots of logs but haven't used it since. The issue with that was time. It's hard to make anything that is faster than just picking them up by hand and loading. You can only do one at a time. So whatever gets made has to operate very fast.

 As for the truck setup, I think I have a solution worked out. I just have to decided between a 44" long box or a 48". That will give me a place to leave saws, tools, and gas/oil out of the weather. I'll probably pull the trigger on that today, later. 

Don't worry Howard, He will come around.  He just needs to decide on a color.

Short report for today, I stacked that overloaded trailer of wood. RO is heavy! Had lunch around 1pm and when I went to adjust my chair at the table a pain shot up, down, around, and all over my lower back. It was a screamer this time. SO I'm a hurting dude right now wishing the advil will do something, but alas. ;D I am out of logs again anyway. I think I need 3 good trailer loads to finish the house pile up, maybe 4, and 2 or 3 for the shop. But at least I am pluggin' along.

 So I knocked around with other piddly stuff, and after reading the above 'helpful suggestions' I thought I had better work on that a little bit and get a solution lined up and in the works to hedge off any future 'help'. I had decided a couple of days ago to put a plain rectangular toolbox up on top of the roof rack, but it took me a while to find one and also figure out the right size to hold my 'basics'. Those basics are a small toolbox, two chainsaws, some ratchet straps, a few chokers, a grease tube, gas and oil cans, ax, etc. Basically anything I don't want in the cab. SO I found a box and settled on one 49"x15"x15" (LxWxH). I ordered that this evening from fleabay for $180. and yeah it's a cheapo, but it will work. Now I need a nice board to stretch across the rails, clamp on with u-bolts, and screw the box down to. I found a bench seat I made out of pine a couple of years ago and had to abort because it warped. It stood in the corner waiting for a use, I found it. ;D So I cut it to length and re-sanded a bit then put a coat of oil poly on one side.. That will work just fine, about 1-1/2 thick, and HD has the u-bolts in stock. Hopefully the box gets here by next weekend. In the meantime, I have an idea to work on for hanging racks for my benches and tables, but I will have to mill up some lumber for that first. Don't worry guys, I've got this.  ;D

Lemme see, where was I? Oh yeah, messed up back (again). SO Saturday I got down to the mill for a little bit just to get back into it. I just did one large pine log, 12' 6x6's can be a bit to lift and stack and I was too lazy to use the toolcat with the grapple, so I just humped it over. also did  a load of 2x4's. I could feel the back getting worse so I did the slabs and headed home.
 Sunday I did that hard maple tree, getting it out of the swamp (refer to the 'daily firewood' thread for more). That didn't help my back much and it was a sweat filled day. From Friday through today I worked on the shelf that is going on the truck rack to set the toolbox on. I was adding coats of oil based poly to harden it against the weather a bit.
 Today I drilled the holes and mounted it up after putting some finish inside the holes.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230612_155857787_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686609696)
 

 I have to trim the bolts, but I will wait until the box comes and I make sure it all fits up right. If you notice in the far end of the above photo, there is a board along the front edge of the rack. This is a test, it's just quick and dirty and ugly as sin. I since I put the rack on, I noticed a low pitched noise that is really annoying over 55 mph and pretty bad as 65. I reached out and grabbed the rack when I was doing about 60 and it was vibrating like mad. So I thunk on it a bit and have a theory that it is caused by the fluid dynamics around that bar at speed. So I grabbed a board and cut it off at 48" then put 2 u-bolts in it at a 45° angle. I want to see if this changes the dynamic. I have not tested it yet, but if it works I will pull it off, plane it out and paint it or something to make it look a little better. I really don't want to live with that noise.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230612_155920641_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686609692)
 

 I have more coming on this rack, just phase one now, Phase two is just starting in the concept stage. Yes, I did forgo the input from the committee and because of that I had to make a change on my own. I was going to mount the box cross wise, just above the back edge of the cab. But then I realized that I would not be able to put long lumber or ladders up there, the box would be in the way. So I flipped it by relocating the floating stringer bar to hold the same dimension and mounted it as you see. This will give me easier access to the box also. Over the cab was a bit of a reach to be lifting saws and tool boxes in and out of. The box is 15" tall.
------------
 I would have gone to the mill today, but rain was predicted and we did get some short sprinkles when there was none showing and the radar. Besides, my back is not back up to snuff quite yet. Probably a poor decision, but my back needed a day off.
 Tomorrow is another one.

cb antennas mounted on the board in the front?

Tom, I've got some back issues as well and it's no fun. My brother in law suggested one of those foam rollers and though a bit painful to use, it seems to work pretty well. They are cheap and so far I've only had to spend about 1 minute at a time on it rolling back and forth (slowly and gently) to ease my pain and straighten me out some. Maybe worth a try... 

Austin, I have had some serious back issues that really sidelined me bad in the last 40 years. But I have a full time Chiro man now that keeps me in the game. Not as cheap as a back roller, but he is spot on with his body work. I have my monthly with him in about a week or so and in the meantime he has done enough good work on me that I heal up pretty well by myself  most times with a few days light work. If I ever REALLY hurt myself I can call him and he will stay late to get me started healing up. I always give it 1 day and if there is no improvement I think about calling, by the second day, I usually don't have to make the call. The key is ongoing maintenance to keeps things pretty much in alignment.
-----------------
Doc, it's been a very long time since I had a CB. But I just realized this is the first truck I have had since 1982 or so that I did not hook up some Ham radios in (from 1973 to 1982 they were CB's). I have no 2 way radios in this truck at all. Back in the mid 80's I had 2 meter VHF, 440 UHF, and 10, 12, 15, 20, 40, and 80 meters on HF (and antennas for each of those bands). I had a second battery on that truck to handle the draw on a 100 watt radio. Some of my trucks looked like an antenna farm. I am just not into the hobby as much as I used to be. My previous truck had just VHF, I had marine, ham, and fire capabilities as well as the town highway channels in case we needed them on a fire call. No, on this truck I just didn't feel like doing all the wiring, fusing, switching systems, and power buss, let alone the antennas. Maybe I should think about it? ;D
On The Other Hand... I could just put one little UHF antenna on one side and a VHF antenna on the other side. :D But I had also considered a 48" LED off road light bar I have had hanging in the shop for a few years. It will light up the world in front of you, that's for sure. ;D I have yet to test that fairing out at speed, so we will see. The light bar will likely change the fluid dynamics.
---------------------------
Today I got to the mill and had to spend some time bucking logs for the next order before I could reach the logs for the current order. SO I spent an hour and a half doing that and then getting two bigger logs up to the mill. I milled up one, got the next log up on the bed, and then it got hot and humid, so I headed home. I didn't have breakfast and it was 1:30, so I had lunch and then my new truck toolbox arrived just as I was setting up to plane out some wood for the bench rack I'm making for the truck. I put the box on the side, planed up what I had, cleaned out the chip collector and stowed all that stuff. then got the box mounted.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230613_160813029_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686701426)
 

It may not be pretty, but it is functional.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230613_174942442_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686701424)
 

It's a 49" long box, 15x15 on the end. It will hold 2 saws, gas and oil, straps and a few other things, which was the goal. Looks pretty tall doesn't it? The top of the box is under 8.5' off the ground, so I am good on that score but have to be careful in the woods. ;D I had some restrictions based on the shape and fittings on the ladder rack, but this will get the job done. I am already working on a modified design that will lower the top of the box about even or a little below the top of the ladder rack deck. But that one I can take my time working on. Right now it is a pretty tall reach to get the saws in and out. This is functional and does what I need, which is having my saws and basic tools on the truck all the time in a dry condition. Only concern remaining is how this all behaves at 70 mph. :D
-------------------
Tomorrow is looking to be a rainout, so I will get into making the bench hangers for the rack and we'll see how that goes. It's just one step at a time and the hope is to make some progress on each step. The one big thing I learned from that little show I did was packing the truck (and fitting everything in) is something I need to work on. Packing in a  way that I cause no damage to the finishes and can fit as much stuff in as possible. I realize now I don't need a trailer if I just make more use of what I have available. So if I hang benches from the ladder rack, it gives me more room in the bed, and packing becomes easier and more secure. Really curious how this bench hanger idea is gonna work out. Tomorrow should give me a clue. I'd like to get 5 benches up in the air and out of the bed. That may be a stretch.
Tomorrow is another day.

I've had my truck at 55 a few times. but no noise from my rack.
I wonder if some rubber under each support would help??

Ray, the vibration I am getting is in the front section that hangs over the cab and is unsupported. No place to put in any dampers. If I did they would just rub the paint off the top of the cab. Doing computational fluid dynamics modeling is way in rearview mirror these days ;D, so I am just doing the farm mechanic version of playing with the problem until I find a solution I can make with available material and maybe some baling wire. :D

Mind the low branches with your toolbox!! I run orchard ladders on my tacoma sometimes and have had some pretty silly run ins forgetting my height.. 

Maybe get an antenna extender of some sort to help gage height...

Well, I am under 9' so I'm not worried. ;DBut there are those odd branches all over on the woods roads I have to be mindful of. ;D I know it looks tall, but it really isn't and I am already thinking on an idea to lower it considerably. We'll just see how it goes. My Dad always said I had to learn things the hard way, and this may (or may not) be another example of his wisdom.

Good experience (knowledge) comes from bad mistakes. (Old saying, best I can remember it). ;D

The contractors years ago would spray expanding foam inside the metal rungs on ladders on the ladder racks to keep the sound down, might help on the rack itself if it has any openings.

If you do get a CB let me know. I'll teach you the dying language dialect of big rig CB trucker talk. "Breaker one nine, you got your ears on driver... c'mon?!" ;D

I picked up a rack for my Tundra. My Tundra is the full 4 door model and the rack was made for a 2 door. It has a welded on air deflector but it sits above the middle of the roof. It's a flat plate at 45° attached at the top edge to the round bar. When I hit 70, the air flow makes my roof vibrate. One of these days I'm going to put a bottom section on it to see if that helps.

What I meant was putting rubber under the 4 supports that connect to the back body.
Yours is a little different on how it hooks on to your body. Mine just has J hooks that go under the lip of the top rail.

Ray, the rack is rock solid with no vibrations at all. Each corner is bolted to the bed with (2) 1/2-13 hex bolts. The issue is with that 4.5' of rack that sticks out over the roof. It only relies on the rigidity of the tubing and the rest of the rack so when that air flows around the top it sets up some interesting forces. I am hoping the deflector puts all the force downward.
 The thing with fluid dynamics is that it's a balance of the inputs, so when one thing changes something else can happen in a different format, such as what John just mentioned. Rack is fine, but his roof now is getting sucked up and down.
 If you remember the vehicles that have a simple FM radio antenna on the fender, when you would get the vehicle up to a certain speed, that antenna would vibrate like mad in a standing wave pattern? So thinking about that I have another possible solution in mind I will try if this one doesn't work. I should have tried it first, but given all the variables, I don't know if it will work.

Good luck with the noise.
Maybe that's why the guy sold the truck I just bought, it makes a noise at a certain speed. 
I only go to work with it, might do 50mph with it. 
I did take it to home depot once. 
Might have been up to 60 with no noise for a short distance.

Semi-related...

I'm amazed at the buffeting of wind on some cars in the days of wind tunnels. My wife seems to have a penchant for buying anything that buffets like crazy. I know car makers can't test for everything and every circumstance but it seems like another edge here or there would stop some of this. First, she had a Rav4 that if the back windows were opened almost any amount the buffeting would assault your eardrums, then she had a Honda Passport that was a little better but still not great, now it's a tiny Corolla hatchback that has similar issues. My son has a Camry that does it too, seems to be more prevalent in Toyotas for some reason, or at least that's where I've noticed it. I don't know anything of the physics of such things but seems like something that would be noticed.

Well yesterday was supposed to be a rainout, but we only got 3/8" spread through the day and into the evening. In the morning I started working in earnest on the bench rack for the truck and I got my first one mocked up and test fitted, then took it down and the rain started just as I was picking up tools. So back into the shop and made the second rail, but I only had 3" carriage bolts and needed 6" so the wife and I took a run to HD and she did some window shopping while I hunted up the bolts and got some more poly. During the trip I got the truck up to 65 and the noise is GONE! :) I love it when  plan comes together. ;D
 SO when we got home I removed the spoiler before it got too wet (just 4/4 EWP, saw finish) and brought that in the shop. I finished up the rack rails now that I had the right screws and test fitted, then took them apart and started applying poly I don't want the to soak up water if they get wet. I don't plan of leaving them on the truck for extended periods but I want them sealed so they last and tree sap can be washed off. So I did a coat all over on both sides plus the 'clamp blocks', then I took the spoiler and planed it off, sanded it and painted it black to sort of match the truck a bit better. Today I have an 'adornment' to add, then I will polyurethane it and see how that looks.
 After that I made a fitted crate to go inside the box on top to hold jumper cables, ratchet straps, etc. and didn't bother with a finish. I have ben bringing home those 'leveling cuts I get once in a while off the mill, where I have to take 1/2" or less off a cant to bring it to size or fix a squaring issue. It's not often, but I bring these home, run them through the planer and get them to about 1/4-5/16 or so thick, then set them aside until I need a crate. I cut off a few pieces at crate length and rip them into 2" strips. Easy-peasey. Good use for more scrap and they don't make many btu's anyway. Also, at that thickness, they air dry pretty quick in the shop. Box ends are usually the drops off of 1x12's or something. I am finding crates are much better than cardboard boxes.
 I'll try to get all this stuff pretty much finished up today if I can. It's damp and cool might start a one shot fire in the shop to dry the air a bit.

Not enough today to make a post worthwhile, but two things of interest popped into the day. I started out as planned and put another coat of urethane on the bench racks, just gotta wait for drying time. Maybe tomorrow I can do a test load. Maybe. I also put poly on the spoiler/fairing thingy after I put a slight adornment on it.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230615_163644831.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686870844)
 

 I always like it when I am driving and I can identify somebody else coming my way so I can wave before it's too late. So many trucks look the same these days. So I like to make it so folks can 'see me' coming. ;D for better or worse.
 In the meantime. I mentioned the other day that I had another idea, based on my limited CFD experience. Since I had the spoiler off for finishing, I thought I would try it as an academic exercise. Now don't laugh, but understanding how air flows over a round tube I thought that all i needed to do was change the dynamics of the air flow. I figured this had a good chance of working:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230615_155855129_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686870847)
 

 It's just a rope wrapped around the bar. If you look at most of the antennas on vheicles (that still have them) you will note a spiral wrap around the antenna. This is done to break up the air flow so that at high speed the antenna doesn't vibrate like mad. This here is the same concept. I had to run to town for fuel for the splitter, truck, and beer, so I gave it a test. At 50 MPH it just begins to vibrate lightly and as the speed goes up, the vibrations go away. It works! So for guys like Ray, this might be an easy solution if you are going out on the interstate at speed. It was a fun little experiment and I'll leave the rope on until I put the spoiler back up.
 Between all this stuff I had gone out to the shop this morning without my phone and when I finally got it from my desk I saw that I had missed a call from 'custom sawmilling'. Well that was out of the blue and I wondered if I was in trouble or something. ;D SO I returned the call and left a message. Less than an hour later we finally hooked up and had a lovely conversation catching up and swapping notes on growing a business, lessons learned, marketing, etc. At any rate I think that call was the highlight of my week. It was a good lesson to me that a call from a friend for no particular reason can be a real shot in the arm for one's morale. I'll have to start doing that myself more often.
 Ah well, tomorrow is a another day. :)

I will remember the rope trick.
I've seen that on antennas, but never would have thought to do.
I did get the truck up to 70 when I was trying it out. Did not hear anything odd.
aigheadish,I know what you mean about the noise. Need those side vents in the front windows.

Tom, maybe you can wrap it in vacuum.. I mean discharge hose! :snowball: :) :) :)

As long as I seal the ends of the hose. Think of the sound from that at 75 MPH.

That rope trick is cool! Good thinking! When I was a teenager they made a corrugated (ribbed maybe?) tube that you could swing around really fast and it would make a crazy whirring noise. I wonder if the same could be accomplished here. May get some attention from the boys in blue, as I could see it sounding like a siren.

cfarm, I would love, love to see those little corner vents come back into vogue. They were one of my favorite things on cars/trucks of that era. Who needs a/c when you can point one of those toward your face.

Yeah, I miss those vent windows also, too bad they had to 'improve' on them. >:(
 Well it was supposed to rain most of the day today, but it was kind of whimpy rain, we haven't even gotten a tenth of an inch yet. But it was cool and very damp, so I did another junk fire in the shop.
 I put the finished rack boards up on the ladder rack and before it started raining I put a few benches up there as a test fit.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230616_093811734_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686956429)
 

 I only put 3 up. That was enough to see that it wasn't working out very well. The box on the left side of the truck is cutting down the available space for benches.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230616_093830069_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686956421)
 

 I could have put another smaller one up, but I had seen enough. So I took them down and knew what I had to do. I marked the planks to cut them shorter and brought them back in the shop just as it started sprinkling. I cut them off and refinished the ends. Then while that was drying, I took the box off it mounts and swung it 90° across the rails and over the cab. I had planned for this possibility and hade made the hole pattern to work in either direction, just in case I changed my mind.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230616_111232603.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686956419)
 

 So now I can run the rails more in the center of the rack and should be able to get 5 of the bigger pieces up there or so and I can put small stools and such in the box. I'll wait for a better weather day to do another test fit and come up with a way to fasten things down. The downside to this setup is that I can't put any long lumber up on top of the rack with that box in the way.
 Tomorrow is another day, they say more rain. We'll see.

Time for some design committee input. ;)

What about mounting the truck box cross ways right behind the cab?  Make your mount board hang from below the rack so the box only protrudes a little less above the cab?

I realize this will kill any chance of hauling long stuff.  Then you can have your bench racks running from the box all the way to the rear to give you more hanging space and full width.  Maybe even have the bench rack hang off the back for an additional bench?  As far as loading the benches, are you planning on a layer with the legs down, a moving blanket and then a layer with the legs up?

Another option would be to make the bench rack go side to side and the benches going in line with the bed.  Placing two layers like I mention above would give you room for 6 pretty easily (3 across).

EDIT: you were modifying your post while I was typing.  I guess great minds think alike! ;)

I obviously don't know what all you plan to haul in the truck and maybe you don't either but I would want the tool box mounted on the bed rail, drivers side toward the front so accessible from the ground, maybe need a short stool. You could commission someone to design the stool. :D

No, not modifying the post.
First, if I hang the box below the rails, it still prevents me from putting a bench above it unless I put it upside down, plus, I can't use the box because I can't open it with the bench rails over it. It would also cover the back window completely. Right now with the box over the cab area, it gives me the maximum available open hanging space. It's entirely possible I have misunderstood your suggestion on this point. I did read it twice though. If that box is inside the perimeter of the bed it consumes the space where legs would hang is what it comes down to so I got it over the cab and out of the way.

My cherry benches have pretty fine finishes on them and I'd rather not stack them, but I have a couple of oak benches I might try it on. I am worried about catching a branch on the legs in some of the more wooded market areas.

The idea of going crosswise with possibly two sets of rails did occur to me. It might, or might not give me more room up there. I don't know. In addition, getting the benches (which are not lightweight) up on the crossway rails would be a bit more difficult. I need room to stand up straight to make the lift. My stuff is all different sizes and shapes, so it would be like a puzzle fitting it in and the main concern is that nothing bangs or rubs up against anything else. I don't want to beat up my stuff going to and from. So I may try crosswise setup as a mockup sometime.
I probably should have explained up front that I found at the last show that it was just too tight and would only fit in the truck if everything was packed perfectly. Loading for the show was fine, I had all the time in the world to keep moving stuff around until it fit well. Packing up at the show, not so much. ;D So the rack is a way to 'take the pressure off' the packing issues. If I get 5 or 6 pieces up in the air, it's puts me in pretty good shape. I had one finished product that I did not take to the show because I couldn't fit it safely. I should now be able to take that, plus a few more I have yet to make. But as it was, I had enough stuff that I could not stuff it in a 10x15 booth area.

But you're right John. I don't think this is done yet and I have other stuff I can try, but this is a good first step and I want to try it out before I start making changes. For instance, if you look at my prior post photos, you will see there is a crossbar on the rack, that was supporting the back end of the tool box. I can move that around now, or remove it completely. So I will mess with that also, because the bar is just a head banger I may not even need.

Gspren, yeah, that's where it should be, for sure and ideally the best spot. But it's a deep box and I would need some good brackets to support the back end. The box is a cheap one made with thin material, so it requires some 'bolstering up'. I'd have to make that a project and find some steel for brackets, etc.. Doing that mount style would be a separate project that I don't have the time for now. But it's a goal to work towards.

Tom,

   My thoughts were on stacking but you pretty well covered that. With the time spent and quality of your finishes you cannot risk it. I often have some unfinished benches and can lay them on moving blankets and put blankets between benches facing each other and strap them in good and take a bunch. Good luck and remember the design committee is standing by to help. ;)

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on June 16, 2023, 08:53:51 PMFirst, if I hang the box below the rails, it still prevents me from putting a bench about it unless I put it upside down, plus, I can use the box because I can't open it with the rack over it. It would also cover the back window completely.

No, not what I meant.  Hang the 2x6 below the side rails and that will lower the box maybe 5" (the thickness of the 2x6 + the thickness of the rack side rails).

Depending on the length of your benches, maybe have three running one direction, a blanket and then some running the other direction so the legs hang along the sides of the lower benches - eliminate the legs sticking up into the trees!  All about the rack spacing and the bench lengths.

John, I like that stacking idea. I had not thought of that and will try it when I do a test when the rain stops. Probably Sunday.
 As far as the box suggestion, I am completely lost. Are you speaking about hanging the box the way it was in the first two photos, just 5" lower? or are you saying I should have it behind the cab and parallel to the back window? In any event, I don't see how this helps me at all. So I think I am still not following you.

I'm not saying it will help you, you misunderstand the Design Committee bylaws... :D

Either way but I think parallel to the back window.  The 2x6 attached to the bottom side of the rack side rails.  Yes, it encroaches on the bed space but would give you full width of what remains while lowering the wind drag.

Oh OK, your right, I forgot the rules. And you're right again, it doesn't help me at all. :D Eventually I will try to get that box down on the side rail of the bed, that would be the best for my normal working days, but it's more work than I have time for now. 
 I put the box up high because I needed to get the entire bed area cleared. I don't really like it up there, but for now, it will have to do. At interstate speeds, it will be a real drag. ;D

sometimes a chunk-o-wood tells you what to make.  If you plan to chase the fleas markets it would be good to have inventory.  if you make more generic benches for the masses, you could even make shorter children's benches (like in the time out range)  with 8 inch legs, and others with 16 inch legs.  or 17.275 inches like Howard.  And he does them on the sawmill.  ;)  then they could at least be placed one over the other on the bed of the truck.  the wind wing could extend up to the box to help "break wind".   :)

Well Doc, I've got a bunch of inventory which includes some of those small and taller stools. I make those from slab cutoffs mostly. That little 'thing' I did a few weeks back showed me a 10x10' booth is too small for me if I have to stay inside that area, but I did fit everything in the truck without a trailer or the rack, just a lot of careful packing, nesting, and plenty of moving blankets. :D

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230604_094941546_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1685916788)
 

 If I make more room with the rack, I hope to make some lower priced stuff, maybe unfinished that would sell easier. Right now I have two applications on my desk for shows in the fall that are more toward my target demographic I think with a good potential of a lot of second homeowners coming through.  I am staying away from the flea market type things for now. Any show cost me basically 3 days: 1 day to prep and load, the day of the show, and a day to put it all away, plus the fees and any damage repair I have to do. One show starts at 9am, so I have to go out on Friday to find my spot and do a basic setup, then very early Saturday for the setup and show. Cars have to be off the field by 8am and the show goes until 6 at least, so a very long day by the time I get home. It's a lot to do alone.

Early post today, our monthly dinner at Bill's is tonight, besides, I didn't get much done. Rainy morning, clearing by noon. I finished off the spoiler in the rain, only took a few minutes. Don't look too bad and a test run showed it working fine.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230617_094325824_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1687028509)
 

 I ran some errands, then split a bunch of big rounds of 20"+ RO, but it didn't take long before my back was complaining again. Heavy stuff. I had lunch and was taking my early afternoon break when I heard something 'largish' winding up and coming down the road. Judging by the engine speed and the time it took to come into sight I thought something was odd. So I stepped outside and saw it was Bill with his new to him Terex off road bucket truck, he was backing in my shop driveway.

 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230617_140822951_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1687028513)
 

 He is parking it here until we take down the giant RO that is dead in my back yard and leaning toward the house. It is the best machine for the job because of the low ground pressure and he has to drive across my leech field. He said I could play with it if I wanted. :D ;D I don't even know how to start it. BTW, he drove it to my place from the other side of town, meaning he had to use and cross the state highway, at noon on a tourist Saturday. ;D The trooper he went by had a quizzacle look of bemusement and just shook his head. The Jersey tourists had no idea what it was. :D
 After he left, I started taking apart the fence to get it in the yard and I pretty much have that done to the point that I can finish it off in about 3 minutes. I want to keep the fence up to keep the critters out.

Cool rig!

Listening to these guys in the background, thought you might like it.

Live at Ginger’s Barn!! Guitar Wizard BRIAN DOYLE!!!! - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hAtZts2Qxg)

Nice Hilltop, yes I am listening to it right now. This is the first time I have heard of John Doyle but have known J.P. for over a decade. He's a great writer and player and you can't beat the Cape Breton vibe. Must be something in the water up that way. :)
 I haven't seen and talked to J.P. since well before the pandemic and he doesn't get down this way very often, but friends of our hired him for a back yard concert with full stage and sound/lighting and about 75 people. I spent some time chatting with him about his influences after the show and found him to be a shy, nice, and very intelligent guy. Some of his lyrics really get to me. I'll have to dig out his music that I have and give it another listen. This one in particular always stuck with me:

Hometown Battlefield - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qha5kyUj8n0)

 Thanks for sharing that, I am indeed enjoying it.

Bill's way of moving equipment and mine are pretty much the same! ;D Had to move the ole Timberjack across town years ago. We were cutting the edges of a hay field. No chains, they were clapped out, so off I went down the state road. Our now retired police chief was on patrol, got a smile and a head shake when he passed by going the other way. Sometimes its good to live in a small town. I'm sure most of the commuters passing me had no idea what I was in, oh I did have a nice tractor triangle on it too

Well, usually you can get away with it for short runs with it, but we don't have town police, we have county Sheriffs and State Police. The deputies are pretty cool and most use common sense with stuff like that since they are all local boys and girls. But the State folks get transferred in and out from all over the state, especially the newer troopers and they don't know the lay of the land. They can also be a little 'over enthusiastic' at times. So it's still a crap shoot. When we were both very active in the FD we would usually know who was on what shift. Sometimes we would see them at a job we were both working and could give them a heads up in advance of a machine move. These days, you never know who you're gonna get.
 Funny about the warning triangle, I was looking at the machine today and saw that he has one...... Laying upside down in a toolbox. :D ;D

 The only time I have known somebody to have problems is when they do damage or cause a legitimate hazard. There was the fella moving a D6 dozer on a trailer and he flipped it after it bottomed out on a turn. It was quite a mess and took a pretty big wrecker to get the thing upright. State highway was closed for quite a bit of time. Another guy unloaded a big tracked excavator on the black top and tore it all up when he pivoted without thought. >:( Stupid costs. :D

Happy Birthday GraniteState! Hope you're having a fine one.

Well, I thought today's project was going to be this:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230619_083048380_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1687218760)
 

 That RO has been shedding branches for over 30 years and this year it finally didn't come back. The gypsy moths added enough stress last year to finish it off. Bill said we might do it today, depending on what his guys were up to, given the holiday. So in anticipation, I trimmed the brush around the base and did a bit more getting ready to open the fence.  That tree is 38" DBH and is tilted at the house on a 15 degree angle. the height would put the top about in the middle of my house roof and would likely wipe the enclosed porch right off the back of the house. I noticed that tree is in worse shape than I thought as I could easily peel bark in some areas. I found this no so little gal under a chunk of bark which woke me up pretty well.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/spider.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1687219058)
 

 She was a little bigger than a silver dollar and I think she had some eggs there, sorry.

 So after that I did some more work removing a bad section of chain link that got clobbered in the last ice storm because it was so twisted up. What a pain, but I got a new section added in. I'll finish it after I pull it back one more time to take another tree down. Then I was over in the other driveway and a large dump was driving by, hit his brakes, backed up and yelled something at me. I walked down to hear him better and he asked if I wanted what was left of his crushed stone. he didn't want money, just a place to dump...now. SURE! Back right on it and drop it here. They were putting in a new driveway down the road and he needed to dump his stone so he could oil the bed and go get his blacktop. I was happy to help.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230619_095057207_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1687219535)
 

 Looks to be between 2 and 3 yards. My neighbor (AKA "The Idiot") tried to jump in on it after he saw what was happening. Too late. ;D But he did talk to the guy and about an hour or so later the guy came and dumped his leftover blacktop in his driveway, then a skidsteer came down and spread it pretty nicely in about 5 minutes. It was just dumped on tope of the mud, so we know how that is gonna last, but oh well. About an hour after that the neighbor comes home and drives right through it so I am not sure what it looks like now.

 Anyway, we had 2 grandsons here today so I lost a lot of time keeping up with them and didn't get much else done. I tried to get them interested moving the crushed stone out to the swamp, but that only last 2 1/2 boy sized loads. The they saw the little girl next door and that was it for the day for their work. :D 
 I just piddled with little odds and ends for the rest of the day. Bill never made it over, so I guess it's another day for that too.

Man, Tom, you are making out like a bandit! Big equipment to play on and to help safely pull a big(!) tree! Free rock! Good stuff!

Also, as an uninitiated junior member of the design committee I feel we are missing an opportunity. Tom's truck is pretty nice but I feel it'd be even nicer it he took a cutoff wheel to the back of the fuel filler, just above the wheel well, back toward the tailgate, and build that tool box in to the side of the bed. Get it good and out of the way. He has the wood to trim it out nicely (a la machinebuilder for his camper!). Then it's at a nice loading height, still has all the bench hanging and long lumber space needed and I'm sure it'll look classy! He may need another "WFP" air deflector for the front side, but he's got some practice making those already...

(@machinebuilder- Your camper looks great, I don't want you taking this joke the wrong way!)

 It's been 11 days since my last post. For the first part of that I was just real busy, doing some milling and chores, and for the second part of it my little world got rocked and I have been dealing with that in my head full time since Sunday evening. You can read about that in this thread (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=122501.msg1988236#top). Sunday I kept a promise to help a young fella who wants to build two guitars, an electric and an acoustic from the tree that grew on the front lawn of his house since his childhood. They had to take it out in several months ago and I had him seal all the cuts up. Just one log. It's a mess of a trunk with lots of leaders coming off. It's swamp (silver) maple. I explained all the issues he can expect. So Saturday morning I went down to his house and we dragged it on the trailer which went pretty easy and he followed me back up and helped unload which was really easy with the forks. He will come back when I mill it to make decisions and learn. It's not a paying job BUT he will need to cover expenses at least. I figure I will barter with him and he can work it off by helping me for the same amount of time and expense I have put in to help him. I already have 5 hours and 1/4 tank of gas in the game. ;D When I get my current mill orders done I will have him up for a day to do his log. He has a Luthier mentoring him through these builds and she told him to quarter saw the wood. That's gonna be rough on this one. :D Only thing for sure is that this young fella is gonna learn a lot.

 It's been raining most days up until today and building up in the ground, but Bill called on Tuesday around mid-day and suggested we do that big oak and wondered about how the ground would hold up. I really want that thing down and lawns can be fixed, lord knows I have done that back lawn at least 3 times over the years, so I said, lets do it. 20 minutes later he showed up, I had the fence opened up and we got at it. 20 minutes after that the whole top was on the ground. We left a 25' stalk to drop when the ground firms up and we drag in some mats to land it on. It's a biggun'. I spent the last two days, after a rain day off, to slowly buck all the stuff we dropped and load it in the mule and move it over to the splitter. The lawn looks like moon craters all over from the impacts, some 18" deep and now full of water. I finished that up today except for the largest leader which is about 25" diameter. That will be another day, then I have holes to fill, lots of them. There is also a fair pile of brush to chip up.

 As I am now filling in for my crew Chief while he deals with his family emergency, I will drive out to his house tomorrow and pick up a truck load of stuff, then bring it up to the festival site. The route will take me right through downtown Conesville, so I have to check and see if Barge is in town. That will probably kill most of the day doing the long loop around the mountains. I have been working the phones, emails and other stuff trying to pick up the slack for the festival stuff, still waiting for responses on some stuff. Also checking in with other close friends in our circle to see if they have any direct contact or info, but not much joy there either. 

 Tomorrow is another day and these days, I am taking one day at a time.

Tom,I hope your labor trade goes well.Seems like when I help someone out they forget about it pretty quickly or their time is a lot more valuable than mine   :laugh:.

Nah, it will be fine. I have know this young man since he was about 14 and he id around 20 now. He actually asked me if he could come and help me at the mill so he could learn. I have no discussed the barter arrangement with him yet. He just likes to learn things and I have yet to see him take on a project, no matter how far fetched, that he hasn't completed. I have no concerns. He certainly pulled his weight on Sunday without any prompting, follows instructions to the letter. It's all good.
 The thing with me is, when somebody truly wants to learn, I don't think about money so much, if at all. Just having company for a day would be nice. I would however, not have it cost me too much. ;D

I think I remember the tree you took down Tom and yeah, that's a biggun indeed! Well done!

Well as far as that tree goes. Here's what we started with:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230619_083048380_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1687218760)
 

And here is where it stands now:


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230705_160307212.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688587889)
 

 We are gonna leave it like that until the ground gets good and firm, and it looks like that will be a while. Even if it did fall right over now, it couldn't reach the house. It did take me three days in shifts I could handle to clean up all the leader cuts and get them to the splitter area. I still have the one big one in the photo on the ground to do that is about 24" diameter. But that one hit so hard it is 10-12" below grade now. ;D I have other stuff to do now and have had to shift from plunking along to going full bore.
--------------------------------------------------
Speaking of that. I am fully involved in taking over the crew chief's job for my buddy along with another fella. We have so far navigated the management approval process and I have been working on communicating with our crew members on what's up and trying to get coverage for our 9 hour overnight shifts which is a lot like working in an E/D. Either it's total boredom, or you are slammed all night long. Every time I have done it in the past I have gotten a maximum of 20 minutes sleep before the stuffing hits the fan and we are running all night. Once It turned into 72 hours with 3 hours sleep for me. But  others mostly have boring nights, or one or two simple jobs., but for me, well I am a crap magnet, always have been. :D Anyway it is always hard to get folks to step up. I have more spots filled than I have vacancies, but still have some slots. The other shifts will fill in easy, but everybody wants the morning shifts so they can get to the better music later in the day and evening. Busy times for us are NOT the morning shift, it's afternoons and evenings.
 Anyway, that's my problem and between communicating daily with my co-chief, answering emails, working on schedules and doing some arm twisting, it has kept me very busy. Then of course I also have my packing to do and collecting everything on my list. Everything from eggs to beer, ice, tarps, tents, stoves, etc. I still have to set up a full camp for my friends I am hosting from KY, but I will be living in the EMS trailer so they have access to me 24 hours. Kind of like the worst of both worlds. ;D Anyway, it seems to be coming together, it's just stressful. I am wondering what the ambo count will be this year, that will tell you what the tone is. Usually it averages about 6 runs, but some years as high as 21 runs.
 I have to go over my list again, but I pretty much have it all collected now I think. I will do partial packing tomorrow of the trailer, loading up the Mule and getting it snugged down, then load the mules and bind all that down. Then I'll park the trailer, ready to go. Then I have to pack for VT.
 Friday morning we leave for VT to spend a night at my cousins. We will be keeping company with my cousin's Dad (My oldest 1st cousin at 93) after Grey Fox, and this visit is just for us to get all the details figured out, like his meds and times, foods he eats, phone numbers for Doc's and other local family, which hospital is treating and how to get there, etc. The we return on Saturday and Saturday night (weather dependent) I will load up for Grey Fox. I MAY go over on Sunday afternoon, but we will see. I sure would like to get my friends campsite setup ASAP and be able to concentrate on all the work I have to get done. Monday it really gets rolling and by the time the gates open at 7am Wednesday, I expect to be pooped. :D It will be what it will be, but we will all be thinking about our friend and his family who we all know well and praying for them and hoping for closure for them. They will be surely missed here this year.
-------------------------
One day last week when it was raining, I was in the shop and thought I heard the bucket truck/skidder in my driveway fire up. So I walked out and saw Bill climbing out of the cab, then I noticed another truck, then I saw the State Trooper's car out in the road. (See the photo) Color me confused, right? Turns out, Bill was playing a little joke on another neighbor to park the machine in his (well groomed) driveway for a few days. He knew the guy's wife would NOT think it was funny. The Trooper is a local friend who just happened by, so he gave Bill an "escort" down the road. Stupid, funny, and fun all at the same time.  The truck was back in my driveway two days later. The wife was NOT amused. ;D

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230628_161346684.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688587866)
 
---------------------------
Today I did about my 3rd and final errand run for packing and picked up beer, fuel and some other stuff, and grabbed the odd incidentals still missing from my list. Then it got hot and pretty humid so I took lunch and chilled for a bit thinking I would run to the mill and do that last log I needed to finish Bill's fence order and have it off my mind. Well around 2 I heard him drive by headed home. A bit later I went down to at least find a log to mill and I ran into him. He was just loaded up and headed out. @thecfarm (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=436) you may want to pay attention here: Bill has worked out a model for these big rocks. He got paid to remove them from a lot clearing job in town. He could have hammered them out to gravel, but instead, he trucked them home, held them for a bit, and is now selling them off to a new site prep job for some sort of aesthetic landscaping.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230705_145817405.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688587865)
 

 Bill has a big pile of 'inventory' he is collecting and reselling. I always had thought it was a big rock pile near the corner of his driveway, turns out, it's his showroom. :D

I went to the mill dropped off blade lube water and hunted up a log and with clear blue skies and one cloud, it started raining, big drops. That sure kicked the humidity up a notch or 3. SO I headed home an within 1/4 mile I had the wipers going full tilt. Got home and it was barely sprinkling, then it started in here.  The weather station a mile away recorded no rain at all. Weird.

-----------------------------------

 Anyway I have been working through my funk and concern for my friend and trying to get things done. When I have nothing else to do, I sit at my computer and scan some of the drone footage looking for a needle in a haystack like a hundred or more other folks. The search continues, they are not letting up. None of us are. The big fear is, there have been several before lost in this same area that were never found. Nobody wants that this time. We have to find him, one way or the other. Nobody wants to let this family down. This is tough.

 Well, tomorrow is another day and it's already laid out for me, weather be damned. ;D

I could retire right now if I could sell my rocks!!!!
I just want to get rid of them. free!!!!
I've been working around some of them for 50 years.!!! Some I was able to move and get them out of my way. 
I have big ones, 3-4-5-6 feet across.  

I had an industrious client friend who went up into Eastern South Dakota/ Western Minnesota to pick up rock from farms up there. Then hauled it to landscapers down this way to the city. ( Omaha area)  We really don't have any rocks.. It was profitable his former hired man has  kept the business going after he passed away.

Well I got that order finished off on Thursday for Bill. (An hours work and I was soaked to the bone. A two shirt day.) Came home and did some more prepacking, didn't pack for the VT trip until 20 minutes before we got on the road Friday. :D Went to VT and spent the afternoon and evening Friday learning about caring for my cousin (93) and his specific needs and habits. Also spent some quality visiting time. Headed back home this morning after a few hours of he most pleasant porch sitting and chatting on a gorgeous, clean clear morning in the lower mountains of Vermont. 
 We left around 9:30, stopped at my favorite flea market, nothing special this time for me. Got home, unpacked and had lunch, then started loading up for GreyFox. That went quick. Answered festival emails and phone calls handling more details. I forgot all the festival calls for emergency medical help get forwarded to the crew Chief's cell phone as well as the medical tent. So I dealt with that and more newbie inquiries from first time staffers.
 I confess I am beginning to stress about getting everything done and working right, a lot of people depend on it. I have done this for 11 years and never thought about it, but taking the lead puts a different spin on it, as most folks can guess. So having gotten my packing done today and only needing to hitch the trailer before I can go, I moved my schedule up a day and will go up tomorrow and try to give myself time to deal with the stuff I don't even know about yet. Worst case, I have enough time to get it all done, best case, I wind up with spare time, which I could really really use right now. ;D A good dal of the staff already know me, but as a crew chief it's different and I have to build some relationships with folks I may need help from at a critical time. We are basically running the largest town in the county for that weekend as we outstrip every other town's population by a far piece. :D  The goal is to not strip their EMS resources. ;D
 I'm am sure this is going to work out just fine, but many great artists have told me that you should be nervous before you go on stage so you give it your best. It's a weak simile, but the best I can do. :)

I'll be back a week from Sunday and have 12 hours to unload, re-pack, sleep, and head to Vermont to keep my cousin company for 5 day while his daughter and hubby get some personal time to relax. See you guys whenever I have time.
 Tomorrow is another day, right?

Your a good man Tom for stepping up for your friend and your family, safe travels.

No, not me, just another guy. But it has always rubbed me wrong the number of people who come around when a friend is in a bad pinch and say "whatever you need, just call me". But when you call them there is always some little excuse as to why they can't do just what you need when you need it. (It's happened to me a lot.)  That's has always rubbed me 'poorly'. I try not to do that. I make a promise to somebody, I keep it, that's just the way I am. All the way, because I promised. Otherwise my friendship is not worth anything, in my eyes.
 My crew Chief and I live a distance apart, we don't interact during the regular year except through common friends are there is a lot of overlap (Ski Patrol mostly, I know a lot of his crew on the mountain, several were on my EMS team a the Fire Department and it's how we hooked up a dozen years ago) and some random text messages out of the blue. But we have the fire service, EMS, leadership in our communities doing tough and thankless jobs we laughed about in common. I have been to his home/farm to celebrate life events, birthdays, retirement, etc. I know his family, watched his kids grow up into useful and successful, productive adults, and shared in their joys (sometimes with a bit of jealousy, I will confess).
 What kind of friend would I be if I didn't do every last thing I could possibly do for his family in their worst possible period of tragedy? What is the point of sharing the joy if you do not also share the tragedy? Walking away or turning your head and saying you are 'busy' is what cowards do. I can't do that. At my age, I am not the man I wish I was, or I would have been on a plane out there 10 days ago with my gear and had my boots on that mountain along with all those young folks doing the job right now, or cooking for them, cleaning up, helping with logistics, or whatever they need. This thing is truly tearing my heart out. To loose your son? I can't imagine.
 This is what I can do, and I feel I am coming up short, but I knew doing this would lift a small piece of his burden. I hope I can fill his shoes well enough to keep people safe or our crew safe. We've never had a death at the festival, but we have come close a few times (and had some babies born too) and pulled off a winner (one was on my watch and that was stressful for a full year after with a long recovery that took years, but we saved her). I don't want to break that winning streak.
 I'm just doing this for my Brother in the service, that's all. I'm keeping a promise. There is nothing special or noble in that. It's just a promise is all. No big deal.

Your honor shines through your actions. It is respected..
 Good on you, this world would be much better if more would treat things as you are. :)

Well just a little update because I am posting on the phone. Loaded all the last minute stuff this morning like ice and some food (forgot to grab my lunch, it's still at home). I got to the farm around 10:30 and got right to setting up the tipi. Forecast was for rain in the afternoon and getting heavier through the night for 1-2" overnight. So I just set up the tipi and assembled a cot inside then stacked all the gear on top of the cot to keep it off the ground. That got it out of the truck and out of the rain. The plan is to go back on Tuesday morning and do the rest of the setup withe the canopy stove tables, etc. After the severe weather. So with that all secured and Safeco head to the medical tent where all the supplies had already been delivered by our prefest  crew. Great folks. Tables were there too making it much easier to go through everything and figure out if we were missing anything. It took 3 sessions to wrap my head around it. I should count, I think we have 30 large plastic tubs withe everything from OB kits to head blocks. It's confusing for sure and was packed to make it all fit, not to be sorted well. Glad I had the time to work it out in my head.

It was hot most of the day especially during the tent setup in an open filed. Started raining around 1:30 but by then I was in the med tent which is not quite as leak proof as it should be. Rained pretty good all afternoon and we are now restricting driving anywhere it the hardened main road. This keeps it from getting sloppy. This place will drain nicely if it has 8-12 hours without stress after rain. Any damages that are inflicted have to be repaired.

I got a good handle on things and coming up a day early was the right thing to do. I am settled into the EMS trailer. I'd prefer a good tent, but this is part of the job, I have to be here and available 24/7. It's after 11pm now and I am pretty much alone at this end of the field, everybody is camped about 1/4 mile away and I don't have power yet. Running the trailer off battery and gas for now. I am waiting for the 2 security crew chiefs to arrive, but they are driving up from GA and may not arrive until 2 am, so I'll  see them in the morning. Their trailer is next to mine so they may make me up when they arrive because they will start the generator up.


I expected a lot of folks to come up and ask me today if I new how my friend and his family were doing and I did have a few small updates for them but no good news. What I was not prepared for was how many folks came by to thank me for stepping up. As mentioned previously it was what I thought anybody should do. But some folks make big deal about it. 


So tomorrow more folks start coming in and the pace increases. I will start working on lists of things that need to be done, bought, or tasks better handled by others who are still learning the job here. Delegating takes work too.  ;D

 Tomorrow is another day, right?

Heroes never think they are and good men just do good things.

You are a good man, Tom!

Well just a little post before I hit the rack. I have been learning to make the adjustment from front line provider to crew chief but I admit it is taking some effort. I always felt the need to be part of the immediate solution and it takes a lot to step back and let others doo the work and just standby with support that may be needed. This crew we have is beyond top notch and I am learning to shut up and get out of their way. They do a better job than I ever could. I just intervene when they need support from other groups like security or site crew. The excessive thunder storms have made things challenging with slick gumbo mud and we are all covered daily. Bit we only y had one heat emergency so far when we usually have a bunch. I lost count (and the pool) on the number of ambulance runs for the day today, either 6 or 7, very high. I had guessed 5 for the whole weekend. Last 2 years was 6. The county EMS system is not happy with us. Oh well. 
 This crew continues to amaze me but still I am up at about 6am and hit the rack around 2:30am. Today it caught up with me and I crashed and took an involuntary 2 hour nap Around mid afternoon. I need it and my crew sent me for a time out.  :D

 Time to get some sleep. Today will be another day in a few hours.

Tom,

   Sounds like you are having a great time doing something useful and valuable and helping train and motivate/guide and direct a great team. Keep up the good work but don't burn out.

    It is hard to step back sometimes. I was real lucky in my USMC career to have some great subordinates who were comfortable enough to step up and stop me when I'd start to micro-manage. I had a buck Sergeant on the last field training event come tell me "Sir, we've got this. Why don't you go visit the Colonel and we'll come get you if we need you." I agreed and it turned out to be the best run operation I remember.

   Stay safe, enjoy.

Well, Grey Fox is done for another year and I am in recovery. :D I haven't worked that hard on anything for an extended period for a very long time. I am glad I had someone to share the Crew Chief's job with, because it is a  24 hour job. As I said before, we had a top notch crew that made it easy for me to step back from direct patient care. I didn't handle one patient the whole weekend. We had 251 patient contacts and 10 ambulance calls of which 3 were RMA's (Refused transport). Not bad really and the patient contacts were down significantly from the 350-450 we usually have when it is all hot and sunny.
 When we call an ambulance it comes from the local ambulance company (paid on call) and we also get a paramedic fly car for certain types of calls. We had gotten two different medics on Thursday for 2 different jobs. The first one started giving my staff attitude before his second foot hit the ground and I heard about it later. When the second job came in I made sure I was there and it was a different medic with a bad attitude. I intervened and reminded him he was there for a patient, not an argument. He was welcome to see me after we took care of the patient, which he didn't do because he transported the elderly woman with a fractured clavicle, but I got enough guff from him to know they were very unhappy about our festival and the load it was putting on them. He acted as if it were a surprise, a new thing, and was way bigger than it had ever been. It was none of those things at all, but they have a new supervisor that was ranting about it because it was apparently his first rodeo with a large event. Oh well. :D But it did have me concerned that we were perceived poorly in the EMS community and that IS a problem I had to worry about. 
 On Friday afternoon we had a physch call for a person having a meltdown. It was ugly and near violent and ran it's course over 2 hours which is exhausting for all involved. 2 of our young female nurses ewre on that one and did a great job but I was fearful for their safety, the patient was extremely unstable and prone to trashing about and storming off in all directions. I had 4 of my crew, including me, 2 security guys, a Town Cop, Sheriff's deputy, state trooper, 2 outside ambulance crew, and a paramedic all tied up for that 2 hours. It took a lot of patience and the paramedic was the one ho brought it all home and got us a safe resolution. When we were all done I stayed behind with the medic to compliment him on an amazing job and I also asked him about how we are perceived in the EMS community. He told me we were just fine and wanted to know why I would ask such an odd question. So I told him about the previous day and he got very upset. He asked me for the names of the other medics, apologized, and said he would look into it and take care of it. He said we had an outstanding crew and there were no issues. We had nothing to improve or apologize for and that I should tell my whole crew that. I later talked to the local ambulance crew and received the same response. That made me feel better.
 But the stress of that job and worrying about those two young women really wore on me that day and around 11pm I told the other crew chief I was changing my shirt. (Which is an inside joke meaning I am taking off my EMS shirt, putting something else on and blending into the crowd for a while.) He just said "it's about time, go have some music". So I went backstage and bought a beer on the way up. I listened to a little main stage music. The I saw Jerry Douglas leaning on a golf cart and went over to say 'HI' and we wound up spending about 30 minutes catching up and swapping stories. That did me a world of good, for sure and it took my mind away from the previous event. Then I found myself at the back end of the green room tent. There was a tall attractive blonde woman tending bar who reached through the end of the tent and handed me a beer. I quickly said "Thank you, I could use that, but I am not an artist". She said "Yeah I know, but I do know who you are and what you do, take the damned beer" and she smiled such that I couldn't say 'no'.  She followed that up with  or 4 more in the following hour or so. In the meantime I had conversations with a bunch of people over a bizarre array of subjects and it was a lot of fun.
 Got back to my trailer around 2:30 and tried to post here from my phone and something snapped and I lost the post so I went to bed. The rest of the weekend was routine, just a lot of work. Sunday is the toughest day. I had my own campsite to break down, the EMS trailer to clean top to bottom so we could get our cleaning deposit back. All of the EMS gear to clean, repack and inventory, borrowed equipment to return, plus still treat patients and do our jobs.
 It was supposed to rain all day, which does NOT help at all.  By 7:30 am the rain stopped and some sun came out. My crew pitched in big time and some even helped me break down, and transport my campsite gear to my truck. Inventory and next years supply needs list were created and everything got packed and sealed for transport. Some stayed much later than they planned because they saw there was work to do.
 I finally left the site at 7pm, returned the O2 and AED to the rescue squad (and picked up some more compliments for my crew) and drove home through a driving rain. 
I just parked the truck as it was by the shop, took a shower, caught up with the wife and went to bed, exhausted. I was still very tired when I woke Monday morning, but I unloaded the trailer, un hooked it, unloaded the truck, moved over by the house repacked for VT and we were on the road by noon. That too was a long drive. We got here and I crashed. Tuesday I felt better and played around with a little tree job. Today I started the close-out email to our crew and some other paperwork. I am coming around now and by the time we get home Friday, I should be ready to pull all that gear out and dry it and repack it for next year. But that's for another day.

Yeah, this year was memorable.
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Nice to hear the update, Tom! Changing roles seems like an interesting thing to try to deal with and I'm happy to hear that it went well and that you and your crew were being complimented. Safe travels, man!

Tom; when we met at the Georgia Project, I was impressed with how much your personality fit the role for SAR functions.
Seems you do pretty good in other management functions too, well done! 👍

Well thank you fellas. 7-10 years ago when I was doing that sort of thing daily I could have easily have slid into that role without too much stress. But the thing is I may be a bit rusty, not as able to work 20 hour days and be sharp the whole time, and be a bit slower on the draw these days as well as not having a finely tuned patient care skills as I had when it was a daily thing. I still think I am pretty good, but a bit slower on the differential diagnostics and rapid decision making for acute cases. Turned out I didn't need any of those skills. The other thing is that our crew is unique to the festival. We are the only crew fully staffed with (volunteer) working professionals that must perform to a certain standard of care (which could be defended in court if necessary). This is not a burden anyone else carries and very few even understand or are aware of. So my job is to make sure they have a clear path to do their jobs and explain it to the management when there are questions. I had a few such instances this past weekend and it takes patience and steady words to make it clear what is legally, morally, and ethically correct and proper, as opposed to what the general public might expect. We still fight that mindset of the EMERGENCY! tv show where they expect a paramedic to show up in 2 minutes or less and solve all their problems. Put the whole thing out in the middle of an 80 acre hayfield and congest everything with about 8,000 people, reduce the available communications systems,  and it can get a bit hairy at times. So all of that stuff is floating around in your head every moment. Basically we are running a clinic and an EMS first responder service on the fly from a tent, at the largest town in the county for that week.
 No pressure. ;D :D

 I have just 11 months left until I become a 'former EMT' so it's not likely I will ever do a repeat performance of this job. Besides, I have long been a great second fiddle to a good leader, and just an adequate lead person. I prefer the second fiddle spot, the 'make it happen' guy.

 I have done a draft of our follow-up email to the crew and it is being reviewed and edited by my partner now. I'll get that out over the weekend to them. I have yet to start working on my follow-up to the festival management. I have a bunch of emails out to collect other info and confirm some things I was given. That may take a few weeks. I also need to get any follow-up info from our crew to include. Then I have to type up some reports and shopping lists for next year and after gear is dried and repacked, make a trip out to the real crew Chief to turn all that over. Lastly, I need to get started on my next festival in August where I am always the crew chief.:)

But for now, another day or so in the lower VT hills in perfect weather to rest my weary bones. I am very grateful I am not filling these days on conference calls with lawyers and management regarding some pending lawsuit or something. It rarely happens, but is always possible. Some folks would complain (or sue) if you hung them with a brand new rope. :)

My hats off to you Tom, for the important work you do at those festivals. smiley_thumbsup

I used to attend big multi-day rock shows as a fan years ago. Remember being outside in the heat all day (learned to mount an umbrella to my camp chair for shade). The event staff on golf carts would patrol the grounds, some folks would always have to be treated for heat exhaustion. Saw a female lead singer almost pass out onstage once from the heat too. Thunderstorms, mud, and high winds (seen an empty tent lifted high off the ground once). :o 
Still it made memorable experiences with thousands of people cheering (and singing together) outside in a field at sunset. Good times. :)

Well in spite of how my comments may have been interpreted I really do love the work and have seen a number of the bizarre things over the years that people do in the name of 'a good time'. Kids (and questionably sober adults) body surfing down the middle of a deep muddy road, canopy's flying through the air, flying pigs (a longer story) and other strange things. I have also met a LOT of wonderful people who shared their stories with me.
Case in Point: I was giving a new crew member a full tour of the site on Wednesday and was just discussing this very point about meeting interesting folks when we drive past this gentleman who is bent over and bracing himslf on his knees, so I pulled to the side and asked if he was OK or might need some help. He stood up and smiled and with a Texas drawl he said, "Nope Pardner I am fine, just got some back problems is all and I needed to stretch out those muscles, but thanks an awful for asking and checking on me!" Then his lovely wife stepped over and they told us 'their story'. A 60 something couple from Austin on their second honeymoon and our festival was on their bucket list. They had just come from 3 days in Niagara Falls, and now to the Festival, then onto to other stuff. They complimented us on how nice this festival was and we chatted for about 5 minutes. As we drove off, the new guy asked me if I had set that up to make the point. :D Nope, but it happens all the time if you let it.
Well the fest went on and I had little time to work with the new guy one on one and he fell right into it anyway and didn't need my help, but around noon on Sunday, he and I wound up in the same gator again making rounds and don't you know we run into that same gentleman! He saw us and came right over and I asked how his weekend went, given the rain and the mud. He was just giddy they had such a fine time and he wanted to thank us, as if we were responsible. He and his wife had a blast and they were really nice folks. The new guy turns to me as we drove off and said "Now I KNOW you set that one up, didn't you?" I just said "I'm good, but I am not THAT good." :D :D

You meet the finest people sometimes and that is THE paycheck for me.

I mentioned that Tipi I set up a few times. Long time festival goers know the history of the tipi and it's original celebrity owner, whose family entrusted it to me. Many folks were priveldegd in years and decades past to come and sit in it's shadow and listen and learn and it was sort of a mecca for many folks. Even though Bill is gone, the tipi still draws folks in who come to show it to their friends or kids and relate the experiences and stories they have that are connected to it. People come with newborns and have photos taken and things like that. This year I didn't even stay in it and was rarely there, but I saw a lot of photos popping up on various social media sites. This is one of them and it drew a lot of comments.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/tipi2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1689873889)
 

 If you look close, that is a double rainbow. I thought that was pretty cool. Also note the Dancin' Dave's festival camping trailer in the background. That business owner is a friend of mine, as was Dave before he passed and she wants to use that photo on her business web page once she makes a deal with the photographer.

 Bill would be pleased.

That picture, the story you've told in this post, and the stories you've previously told of the Tipi made my eyes a little wet. Good stuff and I'm glad to see it set up again!

Awesome Tom you probably need that picture in a frame somewhere special.

a miracle to some!

Actually the festival director told me she is having a print of that photo mounted, framed and sent to Bill's wife. Makes me wish I had spent 5 more minutes trimming it out better to make it look tighter. The wind and very heavy rain sagged it out a bit. Here's a another of friends from Maine that have camped next to the tipi for 3 years or so with their new daughter attending her first Grey Fox.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/tipi2023B.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1689961193)
 

 You put the pieces in place and sometimes thing happen you don't expect.
 Yeah, I should frame a copy to keep for myself I guess.

You sure did plan that picture good!!!  :D

Plan?! :D :D
Heck I wasn't even there when it happened. ;D
 I didn't see the photos until a day or two later.

 Accidents happen. ;D

We got home from VT yesterday noon and unloaded the truck yet again. I got to sleep in my bed last night for only the 3rd time in 16 days between the 3 different trips. I am still trying to get my body's 'internal functions' back on a normal schedule. It sure does feel good to be home.
 Now we have until Monday when we spend a night in an Albany motel to put my wife on an early morning flight to Oregon for 2.5 weeks with her sister. Then I get to do what I want at home for a while. ;D

QuoteLong time festival goers know the history of the tipi and it's original celebrity owner

Can you divulge the identity of the teepee owner, or is that a secret? ???

(I don't think Bill Monroe ever lived in a teepee). :D

Oh Sure! It belonged to Bill Keith who I was fortunate to be close friends with and his traveling companion/driver in the last 6 or so years of his life. (Bill also tried to teach me the banjo.) Bill played with Bill Monroe, touring with him for about a year (1963), but then moved on up to solo work and other stuff. Bill would take that Tipi to every festival he drove to, camped, and performed at for over 30 years, most notably was about 30 years at Grey Fox/Winterhawk only missing one or two when he was on long tours. Actually it was his second one, the first one getting destroyed in a microburst during a festival 20 or more years prior. He searched far and wide to find this one as he was very particular about the 2 pole design.
 Bill was a fixture at Grey Fox and the tipi served as a landmark for patrons and musicians alike. I would often meet touring musicians that came to get a few minutes with him to work out the theory or technique on something new they were trying to work out or they had seen Bill do. Bill was an encyclopedia of musical, scientific, and engineering knowledge (Look up the Keith or Scruggs Tuners, his design and patent). Bill's lectures and instruction on the circle of fifths were legendary and went right down into the relationship with the Pythagorean theorem (Try as I might, I could never really grasp it and I sat through it and really tried, more than 20 times). Bill wrote out all the music in the Scruggs banjo book, but that is a long story, and he recorded all the sample cuts and tabbed those out for Earl (who could not read music or tab) for the record that went with the book. Bill would also help any beginners who happened by and asked for some help. He was a generous man with his time. There were many epic jam sessions in the shadow of that tipi through many long nights. The most I ever counted were 30 musicians in one sitting, which included an entire brass section. (Yes, at a bluegrass festival. I still have no idea where they came from or where they went before the sun came up. :D)
 The year following Bill's passing, his son Martin brought it to Grey Fox to show folks that he was still running the tuner business. A year or two after that, they had a family meeting and decided to entrust it to my care and to the Festival's delight, I bring it and set it up every year in the Artist Camping in the same spot Bill always placed it, within a few inches or so. My friend Steve Martin and his Engineer Jerry stay in it with me, as Steve is a festival sponsor and uses the tipi as a gathering spot to do many artist interviews during the Festival which he airs throughput the year or are used for festival promos. This year I did not sleep in it, as I needed to be available in the EMS trailer overnight.
 Now, aren't you glad you asked? ;D :D :)

Thanks for the answer, good on you for keeping that tradition going and making more great memories for fans!  smiley_thumbsup

Yes I've heard of Bill Keith for his signature tuners (as I remember that with a slight turn they do a string bend sound, and then return back to "tuned"). May have even looked at his writings on banjo music 20 years ago when I bought mine. 

THE Steve Martin?! Tom I will have to start wearing my steel toed boots when I read about your adventures. You keep on dropping big names. ;D

Well That's his name, but probably not the one you are thinking of. He does play banjo and does know the one you are probably thinking of, in fact he has interviewed the other Steve for his radio show about 3 times or so. My friend Steve has a syndicated Bluegrass radio show played on several stations through the week. All his interviews are available in his achieves. I have a few favorites, like Tom T. and Dixie Hall. Steve is a former board member of the IBMA. You can find his show info HERE. (https://www.unrealbluegrass.com/) Steve wrote and article for the May edition of Bluegrass Unlimited about Marc Horowitz (another mutual friend, in fact I introduced them years back).

 Sorry for the confusion, I don't mean to drop names, these are just folks I know.

OK, thanks for the clarification. smiley_thumbsup

For those who may not know, THE Steve Martin (the legendary comedian) is also a professional banjo player, and has played throughout his career and recorded with different artists and bands. He also in 2010 started the "Steve Martin Banjo Prize", where he picks a player (or players) who he is impressed with, and choses as the recipient. Winners are contacted out of the blue, and given a check for $25,000... some past winners have gotten $50,000. :o

Funny that whole 'THE Steve Martin', I used to call the Steve I know 'the other Steve Martin' but somewhere along the line I started to feel like it was a slight on the folks who happened to have that name (there are more than a few) but were not famous, as if maybe, they were less of a person, so I just call them all by name without the prequalifier. It just seems fair to me.

 To further confuse things, here is a photo of them both together at an IBMA awards luncheon a few years back.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/SteveandSteve.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1690049662)
 

 You'll have to figure out which is which. :D

ARRGGGH! Resonator, you pushed me down a rabbit hole. I realized I had not been on Steve's web page in quite a while so I just glanced at it, then listened to a couple of interviews that took place in our campsite in years past. I noted that the show which starts airing tomorrow will be with Susan Byer, who owns the 'Dancin' Dave's' festival camping company whose trailer you can see behind the tipi on the left. A great Gal I have known since she started working for the company, then bought it from Dave, who then worked for her, before he passed on. Should be a fun interview (which I almost blundered into the midst of, just seeing the recording equipment at the last second).
 Then I noticed Steve has a photo's page I had never noticed and found a few of me on there. :D I gotta get out more. ;D

Well, I surely didn't get much done between Friday and Monday. I did bring out some grey fox equipment to clean and dry from the mud. Some has to be returned to the regular crew chief for winter storage and some is mine to also be put away. Still have to do the tipi and that a bigger job. Slowly picking away at it.
 Yesterday we went to the Chiro for a tune-up then headed right to Albany for the night. We had a ridiculously expensive dinner at the Cheescake factory (80 bucks for two burgers, 1 cocktail and 2 beers) that was just 'OK'. Stayed in a stinky hotel room where my wife could barely sleep and I got just a couple of hours in (the place smelled like middle eastern body wash) and we got up at 4:30 and were out by 5 this morning. I dropped her at the airport around 5:15 and was back her in town by 6am or so. Great driving time averaging 75, which is rare. 
 Bill parked his toolcat by the shop yesterday, so I will have to get to work moving material and cleaning up as long as it is here. That should improve my mood because I am long tired of looking at the mess.
 It's another day, right?

Starting to get back in the groove after 2 and a half weeks of running around. I did get some work done yesterday, but it poured again in the afternoon and I lost a lot of time getting the toolcat unstuck. Bill dropped off his generator last evening for me to take a look at. It failed on us at Booneville last year and finally refuses to start now. I'll have to get on that, we need lights, refer, etc.  ;D
 Last night it must have all caught up to me and I slept till 9am this morning, very unusual for me. Guess I needed it. I spread some more dirt in the yard after breakfast then loaded my tools in the toolcat and drove down to Bill's. Wasted about 20 minutes trying to find the forks after I dropped off the bucket (he has two sets and I looked all over, finally found them down past the mill by the gravel pile) then found some logs, bucked what I needed to get started and put those on the deck. It was HOT and worse out in the sun. Slow start for me as it always is getting my head back in the game and the heat was a distraction. He needed 4x4's and 1x10's. I made the mistake of grabbing a small log I thought I could get 2 4x4's out of, but could only get one. I don't have reason to grab small logs much, so it was a way to get rid of one. Bill showed up and asked if I had seen the new toy yet? No, I hadn't but I did se the rock conveyor that was new. He said, "yeah, that, but there is a better one you should have seen when looking for the forks." Nope I didn't see it, but it turns out I drove right past it.

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 A nice big Komatsu loader. He says "You're gonna love it, drives just like the toolcat!". I think to myself "I'M Gonna love it?!" That thing is big and he got it for wrangling logs and moving lumber packs, etc. Guess I will learn something new once again. ;D

 So I ran off a couple of logs but the heat was getting to me. Bill wrangled logs and cleaned up the log yard a bit unloading a log trailer and moving junk logs over to the processor. I left a hemlock on the deck that will hopefully give us the 4x4's we need and I'll do that tomorrow morning. Bill gave me a ride home with my gear at around 3pm. I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, made an early dinner (had no lunch) and took a 2 hour nap on the couch.
 Back to the mill tomorrow, it's another day.

I think I am coming to terms with this hot weather adjustment as well as getting used to being a bachelor for a few weeks. I am settling in on 2 meals a day, which suits me better, and I do dishes and other chores mid-afternoon when it's hottest. I got out and down to the mill today a little after 9am and knocked off the 4x4's needed for tomorrow's planned job. I was done by 10 and just starting to sweat hard when I got in the truck as it started raining. I was home and in the shower by 10:30 and now that I am cooled off and in shorts. Now I'm ready to do some shop work as the rain settles in, in a bit. Still have a high heat warning again today with a heat index around 96° and 60% humidity
 I'll try this routine for a few days as long as it suits me, after all, who is watching anyway? ;D :D

The heat continues...for now. Yesterday I just took it easy. I fixed the generator we use for Booneville that Bill had dropped off a few days ago. It wouldn't run right for a while, now it wouldn't start. I took all the covers off which was way harder than it should have been checked everything I could and messed with the low oil cutoff. I tried starting it and it fired up, then I re-plugged the sensor in and it started again with no issues. I put a minor load on it and ran it for 1/2 hour in both ECO and standard modes with no issue. I have no idea what I did, but I can't find anything wrong.
 An hour later Bill stopped in, he needed the genny on a job site, so we slapped all the covers back on and off it went.
 I sharpened one of my saws because I had touched the loader arm cross bar on the mill with it and it was messed up. That's good to go now too. 
 But man, the heat yesterday was miserable and I didn't get a dang thing done. Today should be a little better (only 85) and it is pretty overcast with afternoon rain forecast (great, more water and skeeters). I didn't even feel like sleeping last night and was up past midnight feeling lousy. 
 Up at 5:30 this morning and I went out for breakfast but the place was still not open at 6:15, so I skipped it and just got coffee at the other place. I'll make some eggs here, then start doing something.
 Bill gave me an order for some RO lumber, so we have to pull some logs and get that setup. I also still have a pile of rounds to get split and stacked.
 It's just another day.

Well, since the wife is gone to Oregon with her sister I have been left to my own choices. In the past, that allowed for some 'enjoyable stuff' but these recent years it's just getting through day by day because I have more to do than I can get done. I need to get stuff done and there isn't any time for play. (well, maybe just a little, but not much) So I will confess with the boss away and given the high heat level I did spend several days goofing off and doing light chores after Grey Fox like cleaning mud off of stuff and putting it away for next year. Finally the heat broke and we got some dang nice weather so I jumped back into splitting wood and stacking on alternating days. I can no longer split a trailer load and get it stacked in the same day. I am resolved to that now. Last year I fought it off and had some bad days as a result. This year I am working within it and finding other stuff to fill my day when I run out of sweat. Just get something done every day that I can tick off the list is the goal. Although with firewood, it's the same thing off the list day after day. Never ends, does it?
 When the wife goes on these trips it always take me a while to get in a groove, feeding just myself, working out a daily routine without anyone else here, doing dishes and chores, etc. This year it was faster, I think, than most years. Sometimes I just get in the groove by the time she gets back. Doing better this time, I guess after 15 or 20 years I can adapt to most anything. :D

 Anyway, catching up on wood and having split everything I had on hand, so time to find more, but I have a little bit of wood on the trailer left to stack in the morning. Tonight is the first time I have had dinner at home in 3 days, so that was nice.  
On Wednesday I checked in with one of the neighbors I had not seen all summer, She is well, but been busy with work and traveling. She asked me if I was busy for dinner, so we went out and caught a nice dinner and had a great time catching up and went out for ice cream after.

I wanted to go over the the Ashokan center on Thursday night to catch up with some performers I know who were putting on a Bluegrass camp week there. I did not get to see them at Grey Fox because I was so busy and when I asked about dropping in, they invited me for dinner. Quite a dinner it was: Pulled pork, pork ribs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, green salad and some other stuff. I know the chef, and he asked me if it was a good dinner. I smiled and said "Nope, it wasn't, it was 3 good dinners!" It was more food than I had eaten in a week. The beer after was good too, ad apparently, my cash is not recognized there.;D I got some very high quality catch up time with the musicians I went to see and got a bonus from a fella I didn't know was teaching there and I had not seen in 12 years or so. We sat in a corner and talked for quite a while about personal stuff. Good for both of us I think. All in all, a very fine evening for me and it was well to catch up with key staff at the Ashokan center, as we will be in the thick of it again in another 4 weeks. I did get some business done for the Hoot too, as long as I was there.

Last night I went over to my son's place for dinner (and worked a car accident while I was there, but that's a different story of little interest). I met his (current, new) girlfriend, which was 'interesting'. (actually we met at the car accident first, which again is a different story of little interest.)

Today I got most of the firewood trailer stacked in the morning and then Bill came home after being out doing quotes and I headed to his place. We needed to pull out some oak logs I have to mill up for trailer decking for an order this week. Well, when I go down to Bill's with a simple task to accomplish, it seldom winds up that way. ;D Today was typical.
 So we need a machine to pull logs and all the skid steers are out on jobs so we grabbed the toolcat and as long as we fired that up, might as well feed the OWB, so we did that, and in picking chunks to throw in we came across an EWP crotch that Bill thought might make some interesting slabs for tables or something. So we take it down to the mill and since there was two of us and the crotch was about 35" wide, it took the two of us to figure it out, position it, and cut it up. We brought all the slabs back up by the OWB and put the usable ones in the wood shed to dry and threw the rest in the OWB. Then we grabbed a saw and cut sheet out of my truck and headed back down to find some oak logs (remember those?) We found a couple, bucked off the junk that would not mill out well and queued them up at the mill. While we're finishing up, I heard some gunshots, in fact quite a few. Now there is a neighbor to the NE that I hear shooting al the time, any time of day and any day of the week. There is also one to the SE that is less prolific, but gunfire due east is more that unusual, it is rare. I pointed that out, because I thought it might actually be on Bill's property. I asked "could that be your neighbors from New Jersey?" He listened and said, "yeah maybe, but we need to check it out. it's not 'normal'". Well I would much rather have done that run through the woods in a UTV that the toolcat, but at least we dumped the 1,500 pound log before we took off. ;D
 That toolcat had some issues on some of those knolls and rock piles and we had to run it in 'work mode' but we pulled into a clearing and found a bunch of folks with a bunch of beer and a bunch of rifles and handguns. There were indeed the property owners, so no foul there and we explained why we had come over to check. They were grateful that we were keeping an eye out on the their property and we started shooting the breeze. Beers flowed, conversation flourished, etc. They will be coming to Bill's party next weekend for the first time (I think they can handle it) and it will be interesting to see how they fall into the groove. :D 
 Eventually, we left and stopped to cut up a hickory log that is needed at the local barbeque place, somehow I managed to hit stone with my chain, not once, but twice. Bill laughed, I cried. ;D I am going to have a LOT of filing to do tomorrow. Not very happy about that, but maybe I will get a new chain in Boonville in 2 weeks. I am almost due anyway. Money has been more than really tight this summer, with sales WAY down from last year, but I think I can afford a new chain for 1 saw anyway.

 Tomorrow is another day. I am hoping to deliver that bar finally and have it out of the shop so I can start to get back in fall/winter configuration and get things cleaned up. I haven't parked my Mule in the shop since May. Bill said he will help me move that bar in IF I come down to his place for breakfast. (He does a 'thing' where his Dad comes down every Sunday morning.) OK, I guess it's a fair swap. :D Of course, I have to work it out with the client first, so I guess I should get on that. ;D
One day at a time.

Well, we had another inch of rain yesterday and lost power around 10:30 last night. Was still off when I went to bed and the idiot next door fired up his 5kw generator 50ft from my bedroom window. He does have a proper disconnect switch so he shuts off his main breaker and dead bugs a few circuits in. Doing this, he doesn't know when the power comes back on and he just lets it run. Well, the power came back at 1:30am and he let that dang thing run until 4am when it ran out of fuel. Ask me how I know. >:(
 So I wrote all that up as part of the weather thread this morning, but before I could post it, the power went out again and it (the post) was lost. So after 20 minutes he finds more gas and fires his genset up again. He leaves for work and 15 minutes later, the power comes back on. Generator still running. Then his wife leaves with all the kids, generator still running, nobody home. He makes me crazy. 4 hours later it ran out of gas again. ;D
-----------------
So some branches came down in the rain, one was a little thing that bounced off the garage, no damage, and the other was the widow maker I couldn't pull down after the last big ice storm. I was worried it would swing and take out part of my storage hut, but it came straight down... perfect. A mess, but no damage. A 14" diameter by 25' long leader. So I cleaned up all that stuff and put it over by the splitter for processing. I am on my second shirt and second hat of the day already. 75° and 80% humidity today with about a 30% precip chance.

 I'm already pooped out, but I'll see if I can get a bit more done.

Sounds like a working man taking care of his family.
I don't think he got much sleep either.
But I was not there.

Peter, I am the first guy to lean over backwards to help a working man taking care of his/her family. I've been doing that all my life, ask any of my other neighbors. This guy is just a lazy sloppy guy who constantly takes advantage of his neighbors, never does anything to improve his property or home, and his place is a storage dump. He bought a hound for the kids and puts zero time into training him and leaves him out for hours at a time while he just howls and barks.
 He walks his dog on other folks property so it can poop there, he teaches his kids it's OK to run their ATV's and motorbikes on other folks land "They won't mind if they're not home", and is generally thoughtless of anyone around him. I don't want to get into it, but there is a long list of 'stuff' he has pulled to get me the attitude I have toward him. He earned it, and it's not just me that feels like this, it's universal among the other neighbors.
 It is written: "as ye have sown, so shall ye reap" and this guy isn't even putting seeds in the ground, he's just 'a taker'.
 You're right, you are not here, you'll just have to take my word for it, or not.

I know you're a good man with a big heart.
And would take a lot of bull from someone before you get upset.
Have you gone over to talk to him about things?

I don't live there and don't know.
Some neighbors are just bad, And I get it. 

Well, I wouldn't go that far Peter, but I try to treat people as I would like to be treated, until I have a reason to do other wise. ;D

 Yes, I have tried to talk to this guy more than a few times, but lately have given up.  As an example, they had been moved in for 6 months and his (submersible) well pump quit. he let his family go without for a couple of days before he decided to start working on it. I saw what he was doing and went over and gave him my well guys name. He said he got no money and can't afford that. OK, well I told him to check with his insurance company for coverage, no, he didn't want to do that either. He pulled the pump and everything is covered in our rusty slime, so he asks to borrow my hose to clean things. I run a long line over and explain we are on a well, he needs to keep that in mind and use the water wisely, DON"T LEAVE IT RUN.
 Well two hours later the wife calls me and says "we have no water". I go over and check. He went to town for 'parts' and had stuck my hose i a garbage can to fill and clean parts with. He left the hose running while he was gone and he pumped my well dry. He got back and I am pretty mad, but thinking he is just stupid, so I explain it to him. He says "well, when I get this fixed, maybe I can take a look at yours." He ignored what I said. I told him nothing is 'wrong', he just ran my well dry. He says "must be a lousy well."
 Another time he is working on his car and my son and I are doing chores around my shop. He comes over and asks if we have a battery tester he can borrow. My son had just replaced his and he hands him a brand new one to use. 10 minutes later he brings it back and says "this one is broke, don't work, got another?" Funny, it worked fine when we gave it to you. He fried it.
 Back in the spring he is packing up two trailers with snow machines for a trip up north and he comes over and says "I see you have a 2" ball on your truck, can I borrow that for a couple of days?" I asked how it was that he was loading up all this stuff on his trailers but didn't have the ball to pull them with. He said something about cost. I told him "No, I need that for moving my trailers and doing my work, I use it nearly everyday." "He starts whining and says he will have it back to me by Friday night" (this is Monday). I still say no, I need it for my business. Finally I get tired of the whining and find one I can spare to load him and he managed not to break or damage it.
 He even asked to borrow my son's dump trailer and was pretty insistent about it. My son said 'no', he needed it to run his business and make a living. The guy walked away shaking his head as if we took something from him. He never even offered anything up in trade or rent.
 The generator thing started a year or two ago when he filled that thing at 9pm, the power came on at 10pm and he let it scream into my window all night long. The next day I let him have it and made it clear he as taking advantage of everyone is the neighborhood simply because he was lazy.
 I have tried to tech him how to mow his lawn, sharpen his chainsaw, made hints about all the junks he brings home and piles up, and other things, but none of it takes and he continues to be what he is, which is a parasite.
 I don't like having this relationship, but I have tried everything and I can't change it, so I am done trying. His wife on the other hand, is fairly nice to me (us) and I treat her the same and give help whenever I see the chance. She is clearly not too thrilled with a lot of the stuff he does either, but that's none of my business.

I had a neighbor kid sort of like that.   He expected me to loan him stuff because I hired him from time to time to help off bear at the sawmill.  

Wanted to borrow my tractor, I said "no, I'll  gladly come look at what you want done and operate the tractor."  

Turned out he was going to try to pull hardwood stumps than needed an excavator to remove.  

He wanted to cut firewood, he asked to borrow my best saw.  I told him no but I had one that was sharp and worked fine he could use.  He came back with the chain and bar removed.  He got it pinched but didn't know how to put it back together.  I made him reassemble it so he knew how the next time.  

He asked me to saw some lumber for a deer stand.  I did.  I never saw the agreed upon amount which I had quoted only my cost.  He was a neighbor after all.  

Then his mother started asking for stuff.  I had to tell her no.  She asked why and I told her I was tired of my good nature being taken advantage of.  

Haven't heard anything out of them for 4 years.   :)

Yeah, it's like that. You try with everyone, but some folks only leave you one option when its all said and done.

Changing the subject (because I don't want to dwell on the idiot anymore), I have been just bouncing through trivial chores lately. The other day I bucked up the last big leader laying in the yard from that RO. The trunk will stay up until the ground is frozen. Just bucking the thing and rolling it was enough heavy work for me and I moved onto other stuff, like sharpening saws and after sharpening the shot chain on my 562 I took that off as a spare/stump chain and cleaned up the saw a bit, then put a brand new X-Cut chain on it.
 Yesterday I went to the mill and milled up Oak trailer decking from the logs we picked over the weekend. There was some really nice wood in those logs, but the RO log had an ant pocket and those boards will have to be cut shorter and won't do for the deck order, although a few were fine. There was also a felling crack in one that went 4' up the log further then we thought it would. It was a storm felled tree, I think. So I lost more there. The WO log made beautiful stuff, a shame for decking. So I got out what I could, then went looking and found a nice WO butt log buried under some other logs. It had a rot hole up the butt, but looked like when I trimmed to to 10'6" it would be clear wood. So I yanked it out and bucked it, sure enough a nice clean/clear log. I queued that up on the mill for the next visit. When I finish the deck order I will hack up all the slabs for my own firewood. :)
 Last night I got the wife back. Her flight was supposed to land at 10:50pm, but when I got to the airport, it was delayed about 40 minutes. I don't like airports much. This one is an hour north of us. Not a long drive, but I don't like driving that late at night unless it's a long trip. We finally left the airport a little after midnight and the coffee I drank on the way up was still working fine, maybe too well. We got home after 1am and I had 3 beers, watched a movie and went to bed at 3am or so. One of the cats woke me up at 9am. :D Groggy still.
 Skipped breakfast, did have lunch. It's a heavy overcast, gonna rain any minute, kind of day. I did some chores I should have done before she got home, still have a few more. Then I decided I needed to do something I could point at for the day. I hooked up my skidding arch on the Mule and picked up each of those big rounds and hauled them over by the splitter. Just another thing done and closer to making it into firewood. The yard is still WAY too wet to do any grading and smoothing work where that leader and the others landed. The dirt I put on the holes last week is still too muddy to drive on and flatten, it just mushes up. Patience is not one of my virtues. I want to get it done and cleaned up so I can mow again.
 I should have gone and finished up that decking order at the mill, but was pretty tired and the rain looked to be coming any minute.
 Tomorrow is another day, maybe then.

I feel for you, As hard as you try, They don't help their shelves.
I did not want to sound negative at all. some people you just can't help.  :D :D
I have a hard time on subject now and forget sometimes.
I had a stroke a few weeks back.
My R hand has lost the top half of feeling in all my fingers.
Try to pull wood you can't feel.  :D
I'm not sure where A&P Sawmill will go now.
Please forgive me if I stray.

Funny thing, I just bought $ 25,000 in logs.  :D :D :D :D .

Peter, sure didn't want to hear that this happened to you. Hope you hang in there a gain all you can back, and continue reading and posting on the Forestry Forum. You are an important part of this Forum. 

Quote from: beenthere on August 10, 2023, 11:27:49 PM
Peter, sure didn't want to hear that this happened to you. Hope you hang in there a gain all you can back, and continue reading and posting on the Forestry Forum. You are an important part of this Forum.

Thanks, But you know us tuff Yankees can take a lot. :D :D ;)

I want to get the pics up with the trucks up.  8)
 I'm tired  11,37 pm . and have to go to bed
Got to cut 135 1x10 x16' tomorrow, Not counting the side lumber.
:D :D :D :D 8)

Peter, what ever is ahead of you, I hope goes well.

Peter, I am really sorry to hear this news of the stroke. I sure hope you are following your Doc's advice and not doing anything you shouldn't, but doing the stuff you should.
 Take your time and be as well as you can be. Yankees are tough old birds, but everyone has a limit. Take care of yourself.

good you are tuff.  do the rehab, PT/OT even if it seems it is for "girls"!  @Bindian (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=17364) excluded.  It may seem too easy to do any good, but it will help to rebuild those connections, many fully recover.  If not, you will find new ways to do things not using the failed nerves and muscle, and they will just stay non active.  you have to make the ones that do not follow commands or feel, get back to work.

Peter, I'm shocked at your news!  I sincerely hope you recover fully!  

Peter, part of being a tough old bird is knowing how to recover from a setback. Doublethat on what Dr. H has said and remember you're trying to reconnect connections that the stroke knocked out. 
If you're not gonna do it for the girls then do it for yourself buddy.
 You won't regret it.

Quote from: doc henderson on August 11, 2023, 01:31:40 PM
good you are tuff.  do the rehab, PT/OT even if it seems it is for "girls"!  @Bindian (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=17364) excluded.  It may seem too easy to do any good, but it will help to rebuild those connections, many fully recover.  If not, you will find new ways to do things not using the failed nerves and muscle, and they will just stay non active.  you have to make the ones that do not follow commands or feel, get back to work.

Sorry to hear that Peter.
Doc is not kidding.  I've done PT for both shoulders and the right knee twice after surgery and PT separates the wimps from the ones that get'er done.  Doing PT right is real work.
          hugs,  Brandi

Well, just checking in with a bunch more drivel. Last Friday I finished up the trailer decking order with wood I would rather have passed through a kiln and made something out of, pretty white oak it was but it did have some stress in it that was hard to mill around. I probably milled 50% more wood than the order called for in order to get good clean stuff for the order quantity. Not really efficient, but the client should be happy with it. 
 I went back to Bills in the afternoon to help with some of the prep for his annual party. There is always some 'improvement'. This year we took the tubing framed canopy he had last year which the cover was now shot and we found some 20' sections of steel roofing to screw on it. Perhaps a little overloaded weight wise but it worked with some cross ropes tied in to pull the sides together lie tike beams. I went back and did that Saturday morning.
 The party went as usual and stupid rednecks things happened, so all was normal. We did get clobbered with rain later in the evening and I came home and got 2 EZ-Ups for additional cover. On the way back, through a driving rain and driving too fast, I slid off the edge of the road just a tad. I took out a few of those stupid posts they put up to let you know it a curve and the butt end of the truck got sucked off the road and I whacked a WO with the back quarter panel also shattered the side view mirror glass. Yeah, I feel like a fool and get sick every time I see it. Let's move on. Anyway, the rain kind of damped the party down, but we did have a great time and I came home long after the rain stopped. 
 Didn't do much yesterday or today either really, some chores. The wife is still pretty mad at me. ;D

 This week we are in 'Booneville mode'. Have to get the trailer prepped and stocked with food and whatever, get packed and make a plan to get up there. I'll probably talk to Bill tomorrow and figure out when we are leaving and if anybody else is joining us. Not sure, but we might be camped in a different end of the same property he has been using for several years which will make a longer walk to the gate. Whatever. I have nothing on my shopping list this year after being disappointed last year and given the limited cash flow I have right now, it's just as well. But it will be fun anyway and I am sure I will pick up some do-dads here and there. Maybe I'll find a deal on a 24" bar for my 562, who knows?
 Tomorrow is another day, hopefully I will make something of it.

So another Boonville is in the books. We had a really good time this year even with the rain. Mostly 'my job' there is to walk around with Bill and help him spend his money. Given everything I learned here on the forum, I am getting pretty good at it. :D He spent a bunch. :)
 Bill had a bunch of stuff on his mental list, mostly issues he wanted to find solutions for. He found a new and heavier bar for his M18 saw that should fix his chain dismount problem. Oregon makes this one and it's much stiffer. He demo'ed it on a MS201T saw to see how it cuts and he liked it a lot. That flipping chain was driving him nuts and he uses that saw a lot around his property. In a year it's gotten more use than most homeowners would put on it in 5 years.
 He found one of those screw type splitters to put on his excavators, so we got it delivered to our truck (it weighed about 200#, just the cone and flange).
 We got up there Thursday night and got set up on dry ground, of which there was very little in the place we camp. Had no issues and didn't leave a single mark on the ground when we came or left. The other folks camped there made up for that in a big way, but they didn't accept any help or advice and kept to themselves so.... We had brought about 500# of truck matts to make sure there were no issues on our part and we offered, but they knew better than us. We didn't need them but we used one to shield the generator from the blowing rain. OH YEAH, that came hot and heavy around 2am Friday morning with big time lightening. Friday rained a good part of the day off and on and we had a steady rain when the grease pole climb was going on Friday night. Greased is bad enough, greased and wet is a whole 'nother level. ;D Bill managed to beat the crowd and put together a team again this year and even found the same random gal they had last year doing the anchor position. She was rocked solid again this year. There were only two teams but both managed to get 5 people up there. It would have been better with more teams to help clean the pole. Team Random did a respectable job of holding second place. Here's a sample:

Grease Pole Climb, Boonville 2023, 2nd place team, first attempt. - YouTube (https://youtu.be/LlGCjuIEnAg)

 This year, our generator gave us no trouble at all and we have now figured that it is getting moisture somewhere because thinking back on every incident with it, there was always rain involved. This year we put a table over the top and a truck matt on the windward side and it ran perfect all weekend. There was off and on rain on Saturday morning too.
 Friday I spent a good deal of time watching almost the entire GOL state championship round. It was a good show with great cutters. It made me glad I took a pass on the regional competition last year. I don't need that kind of stress at my age. :D That precision bucking event was way more stress than I would want to have with everyone watching. The limbing event was a first for me to see, never saw that one before and holy cow, you need to have a plan on that one and don't vary from it. Half seconds make a big difference and technique is everything.

 We did a lot of walking around and talking to folks, because that's what you do. Bill spent a bunch of money without my help. Bill's wife, daughter, and Uncle came up Friday and spent the night. We sent them home with a pickup load of stuff on Saturday. Several boxes of blades a bunch of jugs hydraulic oil and engine oil and a lot of stuff I never even saw. Bill bought a case of chains, 4 or 5 bars, a bunch of PPE for his guys, a few pairs of chaps, and every time I turned around I saw him in somebody's SXS going back to our truck with another delivery of heavy stuff. There was two cases of grease, a LOAD of Milwaukee batteries and tools, and I just lost count of all the stuff. Chokers, chain binders, you name it. He put a deposit down on one of these:


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230818_110119213_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1692640048)
 

 It's an Eastonmade 37D, 12 month delivery time. I guess the TW-5 and the TW-6 plus the processor are not good enough. This one has a dragback for eliminating the need to re-lift large stuff for re-splits. That is an issue with the TW splitters, lots more handling on large stuff.
 He also looked at getting one of these for his wife to use at the trailer park she owns and manages on the side. 


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230820_095536526_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1692640055)
 

 It's a cute little thing and would be just the right size for what she needs. He had the guy down to 18k on it. From Saturday to Sunday we managed to fill our truck to the gills with more stuff and I had to fight to talk Bill out of buying this big frame thing to hold up 1/4 cord sized bags for filling. He had already bought a pallet full of the bags (at $4K) 'to try out'. Those will be shipped (free). We bought a used oil fired steam pressure washer that we had to load with a skidsteer. Then we packed a lot more stuff in around it and still had all those truck matts, cases of grease, etc. I put my foot down at the 6' tall rack. :D
 He ended the weekend buying new hardhats for his guys and I nearly had to drag him out at 4pm, but not before we scored a couple of free hats from the Altec guys. (The only freebies I got all weekend.)
 My only score for the weekend was a 24" bar for my 562. I looked at the Husky bars at CJ logging but they weighed a ton. No way was I dragging that around all day. I mentioned it to one of the Husky tech's and he told me to go back in and ask them to find me "X-light Pro" bar. Yeah, that was it, less than half the weight. They had all their regular 24" bars on sale for $52. but they told me this one would be about 20 bucks more. I still thought a great price, but when I got to the cashier, the bill came up a lot higher than I had guessed in my head, so I asked the guy "How much was that bar?" and he told me $120. I said, "well I'm not arguing but that fella right there told me it should be about $70, can you check that?" He says "Yeah, that ain't right, I know it's a light bar and is more, but not THAT much more, lemme fix this." So he re-scans it, then starts whacking buttons on the register, then calls one manager over, then another, they all have a conference and leave, the guy is still trying to figure out how to ring this up and I am patiently waiting to see what it really costs. I never found out. He finally says "you know what, That's looks like a fifty two dollar bar to me, and that's what it's gonna be, OK?"  :D I wasn't going to argue (because I'm a nice guy). So I got a heck of a deal (I think). The husky tech told me these are made by Sugihara for Husky. Funny thing was, last night I tried to find this bar online. I just wanted to know the real price. I can't find them at all. I can find the X-tough Lite Pro, but that is a different bar with a replaceable tip. This one is not replaceable tip and I can find it nowhere. Maybe it was a short run before they switched, but I doubt I will ever know. ;D
 Now I gotta stick it on, see how it runs and stop worrying about it.
 On the way home we stopped at a shoe store we found along the road last year where I lucked into a nice pair of boots for knocking around that have held up well. Bill wanted to get a pair and I wanted another. Of course, that model is 'discontinued'. So we both found others and I got a pair of moccasins for around the house and yard that were also on sale at a cheap price. Get to the register and Bill wouldn't let me pay. His reasoning was that he buys new boots for his guys every year and has never bought me any. No point in arguing with him, but I tried.

 It was a great weekend, I got the see a chunk of the Women's competition on Saturday and a bit of the Men's on Sunday. Missed the hot saws though, but I did hear the announcer giving out the prizes and he said they had 14 saws in the competition and only 7 of them managed to have a time, the rest were no starts. That's gotta hurt.

 I stopped in at the LogRite booth frequently, actually I had to pass it on the way in, so why not? It got to the point Tammy would just say "are you here AGAIN?". :D ;D They were showing a new beam cutting and slotting jig system (https://ctpostandbeam.com/connectors?utm_source=GoogleAds&utm_medium=GoogleAds&utm_campaign=Connectors&gclid=CjwKCAjwloynBhBbEiwAGY25dAy7NEDqiV921zCL1mRBaFrkpt2c_xRBjqn59BGkzAiz8hfOpiwF0xoCIOsQAvD_BwE) that interested me more than a little. Mostly for post & beam work, but I could see it apply to timber framing work also. Nothing about that on the webpage yet, but I am sure things will be coming out soon. I thought it was a slick setup for getting very clean, square, and straight cuts.

 On the way out of town, we scouted a new camping spot with positive results. We'll see how that goes. The new spot is closer to one of the side gates, easier for carrying things in and out.

 All in all a fine time and it gave me a 'freshening up' that I think I needed. I came home more rested than when I went, which is unusual, but I'll take it. I went down to Bill's this morning and got the rest of my junk out of the truck and trailer (but I probably missed something, I always do). Then we went food shopping for the month, long overdue. I'll go back and give him a hand unloading his stuff and getting the trailer put up for the year. Yes, a very pleasant weekend indeed. Now I have to get ready for The Hoot this coming weekend and head over to do pre-setup on Wednesday.

 I will note some other stuff from the weekend in the appropriate thread as I have time. Today is still another day and I have stuff to get done.

HAH! Funny thing on that bar I spoke of in the previous post. As I said I can't find any info on it out on the web, but I stuck it on, with the new chain, gave it a quick test and of course it cut fine, but then the saw ran out of gas. As I was re-tensioning the chain (I don't know why, they always go loose on the first cut with a new mount up) I noticed there was a sticker on the side of the bar.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/deal.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1692653776)
 

 Now I still don't know if this is a current bar, or one that they rushed to market then modified into what I can find now on the web, but I figured "what the heck?". SO I went and filled out the info they wanted and we'll see if I ever hear from them again. The preliminary survey just had questions about their website and how it suited my needs (not so much) and did I use it to see what the trends were on new equipment I could buy from them (not really). So I'll use the bar and see if they actually do send a follow-up survey.
 Yeah, I know, they are sending the survey out to a 'limited number' of folks, and they are only giving away 4 chainsaws, but heck, a choice of a chainsaw of MY choice?! That's quite the offer. But I have no idea how long this bar has been sitting in stock somewhere.
 
 BTW, I weighed my saw with the stock Husky 20" bar on it and whatever fluids were in it. It was 17.75 pounds. I changed the bar and chain and re-weighed it. It was nearly exactly the same with the 24" light bar at 17.80 pounds (by my scale, which might be off, but it was a comparison weight). So I got 4" more bar for no weight penalty. I'll take that all day long. Now I have 18, 20, and 24" in my regular saw rotation. I'm happy.

I like the look of that wide Eastonmade conveyor. I think it shows a lot about Bill that he buys his guys new ppe and boots.  Even better that you got a pair of safety moccasins too ;D Glad you guys had a goid trip

I don't think got the conveyor with the splitter, he has several and likes rubber belts. The Easton ones are pretty noisy. I just have to check and make sure he got the dragback option now that I think of it. I just watched their video and that thing moves wood at a high rate that even an old man like me can keep up with for several hours.

Eastonmade; RED OAK+BOX WEDGE=PRODUCTION!!! What's Your Favorite Firewood? FASTEST LOG SPLITTER - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqaAcLcEovw)

As for the PPE, actually OSHA requires that employers provide PPE. All the companies I worked for tried to wangle a cheap way out and would give you a 'shoe allowance' or something. The problem was good shoes were $180 and up and the company only allowed you $100, so the rest came out of your pocket. Bill just pays for the boots that the guys want and fit well. He is pretty demanding on chaps, ear protection and such. He really thinks it's stupid not to wear the gear you need. He's even called me out a time or two when he saw me doing something that may not have been a good idea. He's always polite, but serious about it. He just doesn't want to see someone get hurt. Not that he hasn't got hurt many times over the years, but he doesn't like to see it in others. He believes there is no point going cheap on stuff that can save a person or make the job safer or easier. Going cheap just costs more in the long run. Its too hard for him to find people that stay and work, when he gets them, he takes care of them.

That's a nice splitter.
I know the name of that Logrite tool he is using too.

Tom,

   Any activity on the pet cremation boxes?

Well Howard, I've sold a few but not a lot of activity. I'll probably do another short run to build stock when the weather gets colder and I return to the shop. I haven't worked in the shop all summer, been doing other 'stuff' and contemplating my next move. ;D
----------------
 This past weekend was The Hoot and I had a good time there, but of course was working the event, so that means being available and handling any medical stuff that comes up. Usually I manage to get to bed around 3 am (sometimes 4am) and get up around 7:30 am or so. It's not a lot of 'work' but this year we had more of the interesting stuff like partial thickness burns, sprained ankles (with all the pretty colors), more than a few bee stings, and other odd maladies, as well as all the little (& big) kids with boo-boo's that needed band-aids. I had a short crew so wound up picking up the slack for a good part of it. But I did enjoy my favorite sport, which is meeting and talking to interesting people. This year, very early in the show on Friday I met a nice young lady from WA who flew across the country just for this festival to meet someone she had been listening to on a podcast for a year now, a friend of mine. I learned she was a US Army Vet (an Lt.) and her MOS was in the MP's. She left the service after her hitch having been disappointed in that branch. Anyway, a lovely young lady and I enjoyed talking to her here and there through the weekend. I expect I will see her again, I just have that feeling. Meeting her and talking with her was the highlight of my weekend. Of course there were a dozen others I met and enjoyed as well as many folks who come by just to say hello every year. It's a good recharge to see familiar faces and touch base. I got home around 9pm last night pretty tired.
-------------------
 So there's a show that's in the next town I have been thinking about doing all year, but I procrastinated too long I think now. I just don't know if it will work for my stuff. Any show is a lot of work and time. But I know a couple of folks who do it and do well. I've run into one guy (the chainsaw carver a I mention from time to time) and he is pushing me to do it. Ran into another guy over the weekend and he said the same thing. So I sent an email off tonight to see if I can still get in. I'll follow that up with a phone call tomorrow. If that happens, I have some work to do to get ready because I only have about 10 days. There's another show a week or two after that I might also try to get in to.
---------------------------------
 In the meantime it's back to firewood and some milling. Tomorrow is another day.

Firewood....yikes.  For some reason I haven't gotten to mine yet, I have good intentions of being done by now. Going to have prepay some propane too. Hard to believe it will be below zero, when we've had as much over 100 stuff lately...

Yeah firewood, that never ends it would seem. Monday I got little done, but putting away the Hoot equipment and some tiny chores.
 Yesterday was pretty good. I called about that show and they have a spot for me! So I filled out the paperwork, wrote out a check, and dropped it at the post office. Then I went to the bank, then town and picked up essentials we needed, brought those home and went to the mill where I cut up all the hardwood slabs into firewood (for me) size and heaved them in the truck. Worked up a good sweat with the humidity. As I was leaving Bill was coming back to the yard with his smaller dump truck for another load of small round rock for a job his crew is on. So I gave him a hand transferring about 3 yards from his big dump, which is loaded, to the small truck with his new loader, then headed home. I had lunch then unloaded the truck separating the slabs that need splitting and throwing the smaller stuff right on the stacking trailer. After that I got a call inviting us to a pot luck dinner over at Mike and Ruth's place (The artists who put the Hoot on), sort of a senior staff social get together. My wife wasn't feeling well, but I was going. So I mowed the lawn to finish out the day and hopped in the shower (in so far as I am able to hop). Had a nice time at the dinner just relaxing and chatting with folks. Lots of kids running around, etc. Got home around 9pm and did some household chores before bed.

 Today we have the boys for the day, not sure what I will be working on yet but I have to start getting my head in the game for this show and see where I stand. Time to get myself organized. Tomorrow is a lost day work-wise. I will be driving out to drop off stuff and visit with my Grey Fox crew chief about an hour west of here. I think enough time has lapsed and maybe we can enjoy a lunch or something. The summer is waning away.

Well I went out to see my crew chief from GF last week and it was a bittersweet meeting we talked about a lot of stuff regarding a lot of things and I won't repeat any of it here, but it was good to catch up and see how he was doing. He has a beautiful place and we ate some of his last cow for lunch. ;D
 We had a fire Saturday night and invited a mess of folks over, but somehow only Bill and his little girl made it. No matter, we had a great time and little Inga kept us engaged between other conversations.
 Sunday I went over to Bill's and we pulled some Red Pine logs from the woods for an order. A client also showed up to pick an order I willed 3 weeks ago. We did some other stuff, and when done I returned home soaking wet. My jeans were even soaked through to the point that the sawdust just stuck to them. That shower sure felt good.
 Now I am in 'show mode' trying to figure out how to make this work. With the heat this week it's been hard to get much done before I am soaked. I spent this afternoon making a little (ugly) stand to hold up one of the mirrors I made because I lack 'a wall' to hang stuff on. I'm concerned about the weather. I have a 12x12 booth but a 10x10 canopy and the forecast is for some rain during the day. I'd hate for my stuff to get wet and I have a lot of stuff to set up. My 'booth' is not going to look anywhere as neat and tidy as WV's, but I will give it a shot. Packing the truck and fitting it all in is also on my mind. Ah, doing shows. This is something new. I admit my confidence is low on this thing, but I sure could use the sales, I just don't think, for all the effort, there will be any sales that make it worthwhile. But who knows? Gotta try, right?
 Tomorrow is another day.

   Good luck on the show. I am sure your set up will look better than mine. Enjoy.

Actually Howard (I can't find the posting, I looked) you showed some photos of a show you did a show a year or so ago and it really struck me how clean, simple, and subtly elegant your setup was. I made a note to myself that it was something to shoot for. Mine will be overpacked, cluttered, and confusing, but I am trying to get as much different stuff out in view as possible. 
 As a for instance, I recall the simple but very effective rack you made for your wife's photos. That inspired me to make a brochure rack yesterday and work away from the plastic ones you can buy in Staples. I added a business card holder on the front this morning as an afterthought.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230907_171009657.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694122847)
  

 That was pretty much made from scraps I had as a spur of the moment thing, but it was the photo rack that brought it to mind. I can make other 'display supports' to show things and conserve space in the future, but I am dragging my feet to see what sells and focus in on that.

 I can't make enough clean space in my shop to lay out and set up a 12x12 booth and fiddle with stuff. But I did drag it all out and parse the space in my mind to see how much I had, I think I can just fit this in and am relying a little on having a space 'fudge factor'. 

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230907_171018056.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694123190)
 

 I called the gal who is 'the big boss' of this event which also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the town's founding (1823 for those poor at math). I wanted to make sure they got my check and I was good to go. We had a nice chat and discussed the possible poor weather. I mentioned some of my apprehensions and she told me they could be a little liberal on space and 'perhaps' depending on my location, I could add a second canopy behind my first one to make sure my stuff was out of the rain. I know the general vibe here and it's laid back, so I am going to keep a smile on my face and do the best I can. If I sell one decent piece I will be happy. If I sell enough small stuff to cover the costs I will be satisfied but just as poor. ;D
 I have been stressing over this for a week now, hoping I get lucky but fully predicting a waste of time, effort, and money. I realized in the middle of last night that I only have a couple of chances to do shows that fit the demographic I cater to. This is one and the other is in 2 weeks and an hour west of me. Better get in it now or think about it all winter. So I called today on the other show and got in. Now I have 2 shows booked and if nothing else I will get an idea if this is a viable market for me. The one show (of my preferred 3) I really wanted to do was in a smaller town in the center of the Catskills that draws a LOT of second homeowners, but they haven't done that show in 3 years now. COVID broke the momentum and they never got it back, I guess.
 Tomorrow afternoon I will head over and setup the canopy and see my spot and figure out what I can do with it, or not. Then I head home and pack the truck. I will get there at first light Saturday to set the booth up, then we shall see what happens. If nothing else, I expect to see a lot of folks I know.
 Tomorrow is another day and it will be different, for sure.

I hope it goes beautifully for you Tom! Looks like a pile of nice stuff!

good luck!  I hope it is a mix of sales of stuff you have done, and some custom work that you can crank out, or work on this winter.  The coat rack as an example.  If I saw someone looking but not going for it, I would jump in and let them know that any custom size or shape or wood is available on request.  I am sure you know how to work the crowd. :)

Tom,

 Look at post #312 in Watcha Making and and see if that is one of the photo display boxes I made. I made several. I think the bottom, back and ends are made from a dressed 1X12, The ends are cut at angle from 12" to 4" then about a 1/4" dado was grooved in the inside of the end pieces about 4" apart to accept a thin partition from a board I planed down that thin. I made two partitions for 3 separate bins inside for different photo sizes. They are 24"-30" depending on my mood and available boards at the time.

 Another rack I made is certainly not elegant but displays a lot more pictures is here:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/38064/IMG_3302~0.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1694180000)
 
It is just 2- 2X4 uprights with 3' long 2X4 feet screwed to the bottom for feet with a couple of braces. The horizontal racks are just 1X4's with a 1/4" grooved dadoed in with a table saw about an inch deep to accept small photos. It is soft spruce and I just screw it together and take it apart at the site. I could not find a picture handy of it in use. The only problem I have with it is the spruce is still weeping some sap which gets on the plastic covers of the pictures. I put a bench or 2 crates under it with one of the boxes on top to show the larger photos. I also remove several and lean them against the uprights, bench/crates, etc.

 Good luck and keep us posted. I hope you sell out and take a years worth of orders for more.

Quote from: doc henderson on September 08, 2023, 07:27:52 AM........  I am sure you know how to work the crowd. :)

From my previous lives in doing industrial shows and also doing a lot of customer service work, I like to think I am fairly good at this. This show does have the added benefit of being right in the home county and I will see folks I have not seen in many years as well as a lot of neighbors and such. It's always a slight help to be perceived as a 'local old guy' I think.
 But it will be what it will be and we just have to see. I am setting my sights low and hoping to be surprised. Now that I am booked into 2 shows I will have to give it my best shot and then have the winter to re-think this whole deal.
 We lost power last night and didn't get it back on until 9am. That messed up our morning routines. I am going to make something to eat, then load a few things I need for the booth basics, run over and get settled in. Then come home and pack the truck.

Howard, it was that photo in the same thread reply #343 that stuck in my head, but now that I have found it and looked at it again it does appear more loaded than I recalled. Looks a bit like my booth which feels even more packed in. Maybe we should start a thread on just doing shows and sale type events?

Tom, you did a great job on building a Mushroom log Kingdom, to the point it seemed to become a business.  I am sure you can do this.  with two shows, it will help to build momentum one after the other.  as well the organizational time you invest will benefit two events. 

It will be what it will be Bryan. :D
 I drove over there around midday today and found some road closures along the way forcing me to take the scenic route, remnant's of last night's storm cell. I setup my canopy and met one of my 'neighbors'. Turns out he is the guy my wife likes to buy maple syrup from and he knows my daughter well from church and other stuff. Nice guy. My booth is tightly restricted on all three sides, so not a lot of room for 'stretching' I have a 4 foot chain link fence right behind me and booths on both sides, plus I am against a 24" EWP. It is what it is. So I set up what I brought, not much, knowing there is more weather coming in tonight.
 I came home and started packing the truck. It took me 1.5 hours and I was soaking wet when it was done. The bench rails worked out pretty good for adding carrying capacity.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230908_155403549_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694207778)
 

 I put the benches in pairs, one up and one with the legs down and secured them that way. That worked fine, but it was a bit of a struggle to get them up there alone. Before I put the benches up, I filled the topside toolbox with stools and other smaller stuff. Then I put the rest of the stuff in the box area and only have a few items on the back seat. It's packed pretty tight.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230908_155349357_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694207774)
 

 It's not the best packing job I ever did, but the heat was really getting to me and another front was coming in. As you can see, I backed most of the truck in the shop to get it out of the weather for the night. We have big wind now and I just heard a dispatch for a transformer explosion about 3 miles from the park where this show is. I have a feeling I may have a trashed canopy when I get there in the morning. I'll deal with it somehow. Glad this one isn't hitting us directly, just sliding by to our southeast.
 When I was done I came in and peeled my clothes off and took a mandatory shower.
 I'll take it easy tonight and try to hit the rack early. I sure would prefer to get out there at first light tomorrow and have plenty of time to unload and set up, then just relax and wait until they open. From the layout I can see a real log jam of trucks trying to unload and setup on small aisles, so if I can get my stuff on the ground and the truck out of the way before others, it will make it easier on all of us. I am just having a hard time setting an alarm, let alone setting it for 4:30am. I stopped doing alarm clocks when I retired and have since only set it once to get to the sawing project. (And yeah, 3am to make a flight was worse than 4:30am tomorrow.)
 Tomorrow is another day, and it will be interesting, one way or the other. :D

Best of luck to you today. :)

Man Tom, I bet your good a tetris!  Good luck, hope most of the weather misses you

Tom,

   Your benches have a much better finish and more work in them than mine so you have to take more care with them than I do with a simple Tung oil finish at best. I have some unfinished ones I load on the bottom of the trailer top down as there is no finish to worry about. I typically get 3-4 benches across a 5' wide trailer (4 if straight, 3 if curved). After that I load them with the legs staggered on top, cover them good with cheap HF moving blankets and put another stack face down on top of that then stagger some more with the legs down and often put a long one or two across the top with my long photo stand to tie them all together and strap them all down good with ratchet straps. I take 12-15 benches with me and usually have a raised bed planter or toilet box for my composting toilet on the trailer. I can usually squeeze a few bird houses and crates in the voids between the benches then I toss any loose items remaining in the back of my pick up.

   I'll admit I do sort of look like the Clampetts heading to town but it works. Have a great time.

Well it was a very long day indeed. Got up at 4:30, arrived on site at 6am, pulled in, unloaded, and had the truck parked in the lot by 6:40, which was the goal because the spot I was in would have me blocking anyone else from coming or going, so I got there in the dark to unload and get out of the way. I took about an hour fiddle farting around to set things up, then got a breakfast sandwich and relaxed. It kind of looked like this:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230909_083520880_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694345840)
 

 Very cluttered, but made it work. 


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230909_083549061.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694345839)
 

 My friend Hoppy, the chainsaw carver showed up at 7:30 so I helped him back his 'bambulance' in and unload. He brought 20 pumpkin carvings and had even more mushrooms than that. He has another 50 back in his work tipi not quite done yet.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230909_075801543.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694346321)
 

 Hoppy can be seen in the back right of that photo. He's quite a character. He left the show with only about 4-5 pumpkins and 6 or so mushrooms. He always sells most of his stuff quick because everyone knows him and a lot of folks pre-order, then pick up at the event. I think he sold about 6 pumpkins and a couple of mushrooms while he was unloading and before the show actually opened. He always has a good day and so many people want to talk with him that I can rarely get a minute of his time to check in. He will not be doing this one next year and he suggested that I ask to get his spot, as it would be better for me. He will be going to a major carvers and rustic furniture show up in the Adirondacks next year. It's been on 'his list' for years. So he offered me his spot. It was Hoppy that talked me into doing this show when I was waffling. He's a good guy.

 I did pretty good. I sold the sewing machine leg table (1st photo, right hand side), a bark on RO bench, 2 cheaper cookie campfire drink tables (2nd photo, bottom edge), and about 6 of those device stands. I actually had two women 'discussing' which would get the sewing leg table, both wanted it. One bought it and the other gave me a custom order which I sketched up and got her approval on when things got slow. I also sketched up another concept for a sign mounting that I had an on inquiry last week. That client came by in the afternoon and we went over it and I have the go ahead to start working on that. I had many inquiries about special orders and one local who seemed very interested in having me make her a large bar top, 3' x 8-12' but she didn't want to discuss it there, said she would make an appointment with me.

 I gave out a LOT of cards! I had to run to the truck and dig around for whatever I had to refill. I will have to order more today. I got a lot of nice compliments, the best of which was the woman who told me I wasn't charging enough for my cherry benches (waterfall edges, blind spline joints). But she didn't buy one. >:(

 The weather held but just at dusk they came around and advised the vendors not to waste any time packing up, a storm was coming. I knew there was no way I could 'hurry up' being landlocked in, I could not get my truck in any way to load. My SIL is 12 minutes away and he came back to help me load. I staged my stuff in load order and waited for other booths to pack and leave, then I could bring my truck in and park right where they were, out of the way. With his help, the loading went quick, if a little hap hazard. Maybe 20-25 minutes (I had less stuff  :)). So he left and I checked the radar and it had pretty much cleared, as it often happens here, when the storm system hits the hills, it can split and dissipates rapidly. We got some sprinkles, that's all. So I used the rest room, which I had put off way too long ;D, and bought a beer to have while I watched the fireworks. I left just as the big crowd started to file out and got home around 9pm. The truck is under cover in the shop and now I have to unload, inspect everything, and get ready for the next one.

 As expected I saw a ton of folks I knew and met a lot of new to me folks and shared a lot of stories, so it was a very enjoyable day. My grandsons and extended family were there for a good part of the day, as was Bill and his family. This is truly a large community event with a car show, frog jumping, rubber duck races, BB gun range for the kids, and lots of other activities. A place where families can go for the whole day and it doesn't cost them a couple hundred bucks to do it. Most of the stuff is free or just a cheap materials fee like a dollar or two. Plus the vendors of local made stuff, food, and information booths. My musician neighbors Mike and Ruth who are usually on tour and have not made this event in many years came by to enjoy the day. Mike brought his long neck banjo and when the band wasn't playing in the pavilion, he sat on one of my benches and picked out a mess of tunes. I had the only booth with live music. :) Ruth said, next time, I should bring an unfinished slab and she could do some clogging while Mike played. A good time was had by all and I made a few bucks. I hope the next one is as good.

 I very much appreciate all the good wishes you guys shared above. I admit I was pretty anxious about the hassles of doing this and whether it would be worthwhile at all. Things worked out fine and through asking questions I may have gotten a little better idea of what folks want. I also learned that there is a benefit to having a couple of large items in your booth with a sizeable "SOLD" sign on them. Folks seem to realize others are buying and if they see something, maybe they should get it now.

   Great to hear and nice to see. I still have 2 Sewing machines to make up into tables and haven't gotten around to it. I get co-located with the chainsaw carvers around her often and they are a great bunch. Glad you had a good time and gave out so many cards. That is the main thing I do at these events is talk and give out cards then I pick up sawing jobs months to years later from them. Glad to hear you missed the storm. Keep them posts a'comin.  

Well Howard, you know the Clampets were millionaires.

@Old Greenhorn (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=42103) You have some very nice looking products there and happy for you that the show was productive! I have one or two old sewing machine bases and you have given me some great ideas. Thanks!

Very nice 👍 good to have a little "walking around money" too! Maybe we can guess the answer to whether or not you will do more shows?  :)

Well, I wish it was 'walking around money' but it ain't. Sales have been slow this summer and few orders coming in for my work these last few months and I am scrambling to pay the taxes and insurance bills for the year. All that will go right out the door shortly and a bunch more. >:( I spent too much time doing firewood after coming up short last year.

Yeah, If I could count on some sort of activity at these shows I would adjust to do more of them, the issue for me is, there are very few that match my demographic. These two I am doing do match well, others not so much and those I would need to make a bunch of the less expensive stuff and a lot of it. I won't do indoor shows, that doesn't fit. I am not the guys that makes neat little jigsaw work thingies to peddle or just birdhouses. What I make takes storage room and I ain't got much in the shop.
I also learned this weekend that my new system of packing the truck works well enough for getting the stuff fitted in. The downside is that I am up and down in that truck bed 10 or 15 times lifting those benches over my head to get them on the ladder rack. Load up Friday, unload Saturday morning, reload again that night, then unload again this morning and my legs are mighty sore tonight. That's not a good plan, I can see that pretty clearly through the pain tonight. ;D It takes a bunch of time and it pus potential wear on all the goods. I have one bench that I have to do repair re-finishing on and I have no idea how it got scarred. After the next show I have to carry all this stuff back upstairs and pack it in for the winter.
So I have been thinking it through and the best solution I can come up with is an enclosed trailer I can leave my stuff stored in there and fill it through the winter. It's always loaded. It's close to the ground so I can just unload and reload at the show and park it when I get home. I can make dedicated fitted racks to hold benches and other stuff so it is unscarred. I spent some time searching today and it looks like it would run me $3-5k for something around 5x10 or 6x10, which I think is right-sized for me. Given the income stream now, it's a pipe dream anyway but it's something to think about. Just another bump in the road, but yesterday was helpful and tomorrow is another day.

My 6x12 single axel enclosed trailer has proven to be a very versatile size. Slightly longer than my 5x10 open trailer the extra length makes backing easier.

Tom,

  I wonder if you could get a trailer made from an old truck bed and just put a cheap fiberglass camper shell on top instead of the box trailer? Then you could remove the shell to load and unload then put it back on to store or cover it?

Naaah - it would probably be too hard to lift the shell off and hard to reach the clamp downs on the front with the trailer loaded.

  Or make a simple removeable frame to fit a 5X8 or 5X10 utility trailer that you can cover with a trap and do the same thing?

Well Howard, that is always my first thought: "How can I do this with what I already have?" So I started there, but it didn't take long to talk myself out of it, maybe a minute or two. :D
I have a 5x10 trailer which I use for moving the Mule to events a couple of times a year and when I do higher quantities of Mushroom logs or moving smaller logs. Not used every week, but used much more than a few times a year for sure. So I would take that out of the game, second I would have to build the box, and that has costs and time and complications. It HAS to be weather and bug proof (mice too) in order to keep the goods clean and dry and undamaged by any critters or decay. It also has to do that at highway speeds, not just sitting here. Lastly, this has to handle the snow loads we can get with all the frozen crap that could be sitting on it through the winter months of freezing and thawing. Add all that up and it is more efficient for me to work for the money and buy what I need than to try and build it myself.

gspern has a good point. I was thinking 'small, but big enough' and he points out the handling which I forgot about. 2 more feet gives a lot more room, and I could make a few larger heavier piece that I would never do now to bring to a show. I could also make decent quantities of the smaller cheaper stuff and stock them on high shelves to pull out as they sell, which I can never think of doing now. AND, I could take naps in there when it's slow. :D ;D

In any event, the cost of entry for this is at least 3 grand, so I have to start working on that angle before anything else.

Your booth looked great Tom, I'm happy to hear you made some sales and leads too!

made me want to buy something.  the trailer would be great, and you can just keep your eyes open, and it fall into place.  maybe let Bill know to look for a good deal.  used may be less.  we sold a scout trailer we no longer needed for 2 K.

Thanks fellas.
 Yeah, my plan right now (with zero dollars to work with) is to just keep my yes open. I did this with the Mule ($500) and then the Sawmill ($2k) and they worked out, but it took a year to find them, just looking every couple of days. Then one day it pops up and you jump on it.
 It's funny Doc, but about a year and a half ago a buddy of mine was changing the stages of his life and had a 14' enclosed trailer that only needed a little bit of work and he needed to get rid of it. I told Bill about it and he bought it and uses it to store and transport some of his smaller accessory grading and dressing equipment (his roller, compactors, etc.). That was a little bigger than I need and he has already offered it as a loaner, but as stated in the above plan, I need it year round.
 There is one here in town in a reasonable price range (again, money I don't yet have) that needs a new axle but otherwise in in good shape. If I add in the cost of the axle I guess it puts me up where I could choose from several others for the total cost. I would put in a 7k axle with brakes instead of the 3500 in it now.

 I'll just back burner it and keep looking and keep trying to sell stuff.

Good to hear you had an enjoyable day at the show. smiley_thumbsup
(Any event is more fun with a banjo in my opinion). ;D

Your friend Hoppy is an artist, if you hadn't told us those punkin's were fakes, I would have thought for sure they were real! :o

   I wonder if you could build the box in sections that fit together but are light enough for one man to easily handle that still meets your needs. I heard there is a guy up there who could custom saw the lumber needed to help keep the weight and cost down. ;) That might even add to the ambience of what you are trying to sell and the message you want to deliver/present. That mice proof requirement is a tough one! I guess painting the base with grease or sticky pad material would just pick up road debris. ::)

   I'm still thinking of and will eventually get one of those tonneau covers for my pick up just so I can load up for mobile jobs the night before and not have to wrap and cover everything with tarps. 

    You make good points though and no matter what you come up with you have to look at the amount of time and effort to make and sell to cover the extra costs. Maybe you can barter mushroom logs for a box trailer. ;)

Hoppy started carving when he was 15 or so and he is just a few years younger than me. He truly is an artist and his bears are very well known and displayed in some exclusive settings. My favorites are his 'Grateful Bears' which are cute as the dickens and I think I posted photos back in this thread. Even up close in your hands, when you look at those pumpkin's up close you cannot tell that he didn't take a real pumpkin stem and glue it on. I commented on it and he smiled broadly. He said "When you pick out a pumpkin, what is the FIRST thing you look at? It's the stem and I figured that's what would catch peoples eyes when they buy mine, so I put a lot of time getting the stems just right. The stem sells the pumpkin." Everybody can take a guess here, but what do y'all think he sells those for? Go ahead and guess, don't be shy. This is one of the bears he did for a friend's work. It is coming out of the top of a hollow log almost 4' in diameter. He did this one pretty quick, I think less than 3 days and there is a cub behind her you can't see.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20220801_145042028.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1659402060)

----------------
Agreed, a banjo makes everything better.  ;D :) It was very generous of Mike to do that just for me. He was so subtle that I didn't realize hanging with me and playing was the only reason he brought the banjo. I thought he was going to sit in for a few up in the pavilion stage, but nope, he turned down the offer and he left his banjo with me while he walked around with the family. He brought his favorite long neck that was custom made for him about 5 years ago and has a real skin head. Between the longer neck and that head it puts out some really rich tones in his hands. I'm a lucky guy for sure.

No guess on the price, but I know artist's years ago had a saying: "In order for me to part with my treasure, you must part with yours." ;D

Some banjo trivia for those not familiar with what a "longneck" banjo is...
Back in the late 1950's Pete Seeger (folk musician), wanted to be able to play the blues on a banjo, like the old black blues players did on a guitar. So he took a standard banjo and sawed the neck apart, added wood to make 2 more frets, and put it together. This way it would play in a low E key, but yet keep the strings to a standard "G" tuning. (And use a capo when he wanted the normal banjo sound). It proved popular enough that Vega built a longneck model banjo, and other folk musicians played them in their bands.

2,275.00$   :) just a guess.  Neat story about the banjo. I learned something.

Resonator, you planted a brain worm in my head, as I have talked with 'Grandpa Pete' as we called him, a few times before he passed and cherished the short moments I had with him and I was thinking about him all afternoon as I worked. 
 While you pointed out the his long neck was 3 frets longer I felt I had to point out that it is the 3 frets at the bottom of the neck (which are physically located at the top of the neck near the peg head  :D ). One should note that as you go up the neck (meaning closer to the head or bridge on the banjo) the frets get closer together and it is the frets at the bottom (which again, is near the peg head) that are further spaced. The point is those extra 3 frets are REALLY long ones and it make for quite a reach for the player and big finger stretches on certain chords. As they say "It takes some getting used to". :D But boy, that sound.
 Pete's Banjo's also had an iconic quote written on the Head "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces it to Surrender" and of course there is a story behind it. What I never noticed was he used a special bridge also that is quite unique. Apparently he used this bridge before I got to sit and talk with him, because in his last years he was buying Bill Keith's 'Moon Bridges' because they allowed for more consistent tuning. I do remember Bill bringing some to a gig to re-supply Pete.

 At any rate, in checking my memory and facts, I found this video which was new to me and I thought some others might find interesting. It was recorded about 4 years before Pete passed. So he was around 90 at the time. 

Pete Seeger Banjo Bridge, And Other Stuff - YouTube (https://youtu.be/7gkprOVqjwA?si=eE-Bdx3kTDOHFTRA)

Pete was a heck of a man. He hand split all his firewood he heated with and knew how to farm, grow things well, and built an awful lot of stuff, as well as being very fluent in many manual skills such as boat building and other interesting stuff. I thought of him as a working man's intellectual.

Oh, and I ain't saying yet, but you guys should really enter some guesses on Hoppy's pumpkins, we are all curious and I will reveal his average price after we have a few guesses in. Nebraska, you can vote again and I'll give you a hint and say you were way too high.

Thanks for filling in those details Greenhorn. It's been about 20+ years since I bought my banjo, was going by memory what Pete said in a video on the details of his banjo. I guess it was the late 50's when the commercial Vega model came out. I've never played a "longneck", but it sounds like fun to strum around on. 

Another bit of banjo trivia...
Pete played an open back banjo (no resonator), while Earl Scruggs played a resonator banjo. These two different instruments (and playing styles) forever separated banjo playing into "old timey" (folk), or bluegrass. Also Pete mentioned in his book about a homemade wooden case for a banjo, shaped like a small coffin. Don't know how that would go over with a crowd, though I've found either people love the banjo, or hate it... :o :D

I'd guess about $250 on the pumpkins but mostly curious about the kind of wood he carved them from.

I believe they are all pine and fairly green too. Some of those I lifted out of his 'jambulance' weighed close to a hundred pounds. Keep those guesses coming. I think your guess was pretty close to what I would have guessed.

I was going to guess $50 but will say $100 now.

Quote from: Resonator on September 11, 2023, 07:54:10 PM
Thanks for filling in those details Greenhorn. It's been about 20+ years since I bought my banjo, was going by memory what Pete said in a video on the details of his banjo. I guess it was the late 50's when the commercial Vega model came out. I've never played a "longneck", but it sounds like fun to strum around on.

Another bit of banjo trivia...
Pete played an open back banjo (no resonator), while Earl Scruggs played a resonator banjo. These two different instruments (and playing styles) forever separated banjo playing into "old timey" (folk), or bluegrass. Also Pete mentioned in his book about a homemade wooden case for a banjo, shaped like a small coffin. Don't know how that would go over with a crowd, though I've found either people love the banjo, or hate it... :o :D

I have not tried Mike's long neck, just never had the courage to ask. I took some lessons from him at a music camp and he is a great teacher and I nearly had it (claw hammer) working for me but didn't stick with it (my bad).
 The two camps are "claw hammer" which is open backed banjo's vs, "3 finger" picking, which are resonator banjo's (with a back that echoes the sound forward). Claw hammer uses no pick, just your fingers and the thumb rests on that fifth string as a drone string (the down beat) and it's an easy going pace even at top speed and your index and middle fingers grab the strings you want for particular notes. With 3 finger, there are picks on the thumb, index, and middle fingers and you paly in a roll pattern. Thumb, index, middle is called a forward roll. Index, middle, thumb is called a backward roll. Thumb, middle, index is called an inside roll. The complexities continue. ;D It's a lot like changing the phase order on a 3 phase motor. ;D
 I spent years trying to learn 3 finger, no joy. I went to a camp and borrowed and open back from Mike and worked on claw hammer. That was fun, but frustrating as usual for me. I'll get back to it and start over again when I get a bit more feeble and can dedicate some time. I've been trying to learn for 50 years now, not much point in stopping at this point. ;D
 Long necks are funny. Back when I was playing mando, I was at a luthiers show and saw my first octave mandolin. I tried it and WOW! What great sound and a beautiful instrument. The builder saw how struck I was with it and offered me a deal which was a no-brainer... IF I had the $800 he was offering it to me for. He said it was the first one he had built and the tonality was not what he was looking for, so instead of the $1,800 he usually got, he would let me have that one really cheap because he was tickled at my reaction to it and would not sell it at full price anyway. His sticker said '$1,000'. I had to pass, but really though on it very hard. (The wife would have killed me.) Boy did that thing sound nice.
 Banjos, Bag Pipes, and accordions are al the same in that folks either love them or hate them. I never heard a tune played well on the banjo that didn't make me smile. I have heard a lot that were poorly played and made me want to cry. :D

1 - SGU?

500 to 750 for the bear, 50 to 75 for a punkin!

Since we are on a banjo roll here (pun intended) I have to share this joke Bill Keith told me a time or two. It was my favorite he told. There are hundreds of banjo jokes out there (How do you know if the stage is level? Well, the banjo player is drooling out of both sides of his mouth.) but this one was strictly in Bill's style.
----------------
 SO this club owner had neglected to book a good band early enough for News Year's eve and when it was too late he scrambled to call every agent he could find. Nobody was available for his big night. He was in a deep sweat and finally found an agent who said "All I have left is a duo playing banjo and accordion". 'Oh this is pretty bad' thought the club owner 'but I've got to have a band' so he booked them.  Well New Years came and this band just rocked the house and the patrons had a blast and let the club owner know they had a super time. The club owner was really pleased as well as shocked at how it all went and at the end of the night he gave them a nice bonus an asked if they could play again next New Years Eve. They each looked at each other and thought for a second and then one of the guys said "yeah sure, we can do that. Do you have a place we can leave our stuff?"
-----------------------

 Now you may have to be a playing musician to get that joke, but I can tell you I laugh hard whenever I think about it, and the touring folks I tell it to always laugh pretty hard. I never heard anybody else tell that joke and I think Bill may have made it up himself, but it's just my way of keeping him with me.

I get the feeling that those pumpkins are selling way cheaper than one might expect, so I'm going to throw out $35.

An old banjo player from up the road a bit says "perfect pitch is when you can throw your banjo and hit an accordion".

$125. average

OK, I'll break the suspense. His average price on those pumpkins was around $65 which I think is way too cheap considering it takes several hours to do each one. After he carves all the details he has to sand them all to get a smoother 'pumpkin skin-like finish' then paint them and he uses several paints on the stem to get the right.
 His bears however, bring big bucks, several thousands. The one shown above is part of a massive piece of art done by Gary Mead and includes about 12 different animal carvings done by Hoppy popping out of knot holes all around the trunk, birds, coons, squirrels, etc. When that sculpture does sell it will probably bring $30-40k.

Well, first off: Happy Birthday to Resonator! Hope you are having a great day!
------------
 Sunday I didn't get much done but unloading. By the time I was done my thighs really hurt from dozens of trip up and down in the truck bed for 3 days straight.
 Monday I was really sore and glad for rainy drippy weather. So I worked in the shop. I made 4 more of these for the next show. This last show I neglected to put one on display with the cans in it, this time I'll remember. I have a feeling this show they may move.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230530_171800607_HDR~0.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694562408)
 

I charge 15 bucks for those and I made 4 in a couple of hours.
 Today I was at the mill filling an order with Red Pine which I am no longer a fan of, boy those knots made the blade do funky things. I got more side lumber off then the actual order of 6x6's. I had some issues with the mill that slowed me up a bit but I figured them out and moved on. It was a long heavy half day of work. ;D
 Tomorrow looks like heavy rain in the morning so I'll be in the shop. I want to make a crate for those beer caddys. It will make them easier to load and keep them clean. I've just about run out of dried pine that I can plane and make crates and do-dads out of. I brought home some more today, but it will need to dry a bunch first. I did pull a piece from my own pile at home and brought it in the shop but it has some surface wetness to dry out. I think I might use that for a commission job I got approval on Saturday. (Yeah, Pine)

 Oh, by the way, I did upload a short video of my Booth. I know I had photos previously but thought some might see the video and have suggestions for me.

Olive day booth 2023, WFP - YouTube (https://youtu.be/LCIL1-HEIIQ)

 And tomorrow would be another day.

Thanks Tom!

HBD Res!

Thanks Doc!

I haven't looked but my guess for a pumpkin is 80 bucks at first glance but after seeing you say it only took 3 days to make the bear I'll revise the guess to 25 bucks and they sell like crazy. 

If your salesman game is strong, Tom, I'd say put a tiny sign on one of your benches that says "Take a load off!" and let them sit and peruse your goods while you talk them into buying everything in the booth! Also, knowing the laws/regulations in NY it may be wise to spend some time emptying those cans before you display the carriers. 

That bear is only the top half. I think, all told, Hoppy worked on his parts of that sculpture for 3 weeks or so. 

 As for the cans, I have a sign on it that says "Sorry, beverage not include, display only."

"Free Beer Tomorrow"

(Old tavern sign). ;D

Well another wet day, raining like mad this morning so I got out in the shop early and planed up some wood for that beer caddy crate. Simple quick and dirty stuff with no finishes beyond a quick sanding involved. It looked good and fit great. Then I realized I could pack stuff in in the beer caddys as I packed them.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230913_112539870.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694647656)
 

 The extra merch and stuff put the weight beyond the original design criteria, so I added some handles:


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230913_163340202.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694647632)
 

 It holds 5 caddys and a bunch of device stands and brochure holders. Just very simple crate technology.

 While I was working on that Bill's wife came by with her chainsaws. She had asked last week if I could teach her how to clean, maintain, and sharpen them. She just wanted to drop them off and pick a time/day to get started, so we did her little 37cc echo for a start. Pulled the clutch cover side and cleaned all the up, explaining as I went and showing what to look for. It was filthy so we went over it all and cleaned everything pretty well. I showed her how the chain tensioner works, ho to set the bar on, how to clean out the bar grooves and check for and fix burrs on the bar edges. We pulled the starter cover and checked and cleaned all of that and pulled the air filter. That was in very poor shape but I cleaned it. She needs a new one. Then we remounted the B&C and went through the sharpening process. Lastly we started it and did a test cut or two and I taught her what to look for in her chips. The gas in that saw was old but she was so anxious to get back to cutting with it, she will probably be through that tank in a day or two and have fresh gas in it. She had to get Inga from school, so on her next visit we (actually she this time) will go over that nice classic Husky she has.

 After she left and I did some errands, I got back to work and made a couple of rails to lean up against my show table and display the cost racks I have for sale.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230913_165413744.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694648454)
 

 At first I thought I would just do the two rails as you see them above so that would pack very easy, but then I thought about wind, clumsy folks, and little kids. So I cut some half laps in the back and added two cross pieces which I glued in for a solid rack.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230913_165347788.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1694648599)
 

 The pegs are just pushed in by hand so I can make new holes for different racks I may make in the future (assuming these ever sell). Again, this just leans up against the front of the table. They conceal junk under the table and open up table space at the same time. I'll finish this up tomorrow then find something else to work on. I only have a week to go and I want to give it my best shot. Last show of the year for me as far as I know.
 More tomorrow.

I know there are likely a bunch already on the tubes, but a video, from someone we know knows what they are talking about, of you showing Bill's wife the basics (with or without her there) of tuning up and using the chainsaw would be pretty sweet. I kind of know what I'm doing and what to look for (not so much on engine maintenance) but would love to get that info from someone that actually understands all that stuff and cuts a lot of wood, not some random dude that has a chick in tight pants hold the saw.

Well Austin, I have to confess that I first guffawed at your suggestion. Between all the saw experts here and all the self proclaimed ones on you tube, who needs a video from me? 
 BUT I learned a long time ago to never blow off suggestions I receive here, most have some and some have a lot of wisdom in them and are worth looking into before I follow up or take a pass.
 So I took a look on YT for just videos that used the terms "chainsaw' and 'maintenance' and found several. Some are from manufacturers and some from you tubers. They all take some direction in places I wouldn't go one way or the other and many has half ashed guidance on some particular points that make me wince. I did NOT find any I thought were great overall. Bad info, poor lighting, action not in the camera frame, and misleading instructions showing a lack of understanding, are all things that make me crazy. Any video I make would be just as likely to have this in it. ;D
 I would need somebody holding the camera for me for one of these I think, there are many details to catch and see in order to be useful. I'd also need to clean a work area and get all the stuff together and think it through first. It would be hard not to make it too long, there is a lot to cover.
 But the bottom line for me is doing a video and having somebody like Spike, Sawguy, or Wiemdog, review it and find all the 'issues'. That would be embarrassing. It's a loving, yet very tough and knowledgeable crowd here. :D
 OTOH it would be good for my website and my clients. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll mull it over and maybe when things calm down I'll work on it.

Tom,

  How do you fasten those shelves to the wall?

   I built (But have not been able to sell yet) one similar and I made a French cleat hanger by attaching a narrow board cut on a 45* angle on the back.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/38064/IMG_2525~1.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1694695335)
 

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/38064/IMG_2528~1.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1694695448)

I'm glad to hear you not just say no Tom! You could make it a series of shorter bite sized videos that talk specifically about a certain part too, good for repeat visitors or people you encounter in real life who may want similar knowledge. 

I'm also being a bit selfish, as I trust your wisdom, where, as you mentioned, there are a bunch of videos already out there that either miss information or give misinformation, and I may not know the difference. 

With your safety background I think you'd give good suggestions for that kind of stuff too. "Hey, when you are messing with this, watch out for this part that can bite you." or "If this part isn't right it could cause this, which could kill you." kind of stuff. 

It may sound silly but a loop of videos showing things like that at your booth, could draw some people in too. And, I love the idea of having issues mentioned prior to posting. 

Howard,
 The large one in the photo has pocket keys on the back located 16" apart because I anticipated the end user would want that on studs to hold the weight it can carry. On the two smaller ones, I left them blank leaving it up to the end user, BUT anyone looing at it will get my offer to drill holes where they want and supply large woodscrew or add the pocket keys in where they decide.

 Austin, I'll think about it while I am working today. I didn't quite follow the last sentence in your post though. Can you elucidate on that?

I was thinking for future use, if you had short tutorial videos on chainsaw maintenance playing, maybe on a tablet or laptop screen, while you are at shows in your booth, it may draw some visitors and give you an opportunity to sell something or drum up work. 

I'd stop for a minute to watch a lesson on chainsaw sharpening, if I were walking past your booth. I'd stop anyway to look at your wares, but... 

I dunno, there is a lot of ambient noise at shows and I wouldn't want to disturb my neighbors too much. Besides, Listening to me talk all day would drive ME out of my booth. ;D I realized this morning that this past show was busy all the time and I had very little time to sit when I wasn't talking to somebody. Mostly I was talking to folks. If they hesitate out front I speak to whatever they are looking at. Telling them the species, or where the tree came from or some other trivial piece of info about it. It can, and most times did, open a dialog.

 BTW, Austin, you will be pleased to know I think I finally got my business cards to a readable state. The new box just arrived today.
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Yeah, I understand about the noise just figured it may be another way to get folks engaged, even if it's closed captioned. 

Oooh! The cards look great! I love the font on your email address! 

I like it.  can keep the volume low to pull them in.  or video of the making of some of the product.  It may prompt people to say, " I love this, but can you make it longer or shorter".  makes you seem more of an expert being on video and all.  Is your oldest grandson able to hold the camera?  or daughter/wife?  maybe a next year thing.  all your product and maybe some epoxy stuff.  you could then pull up a specific video if it is pertinent to a question.

Well another day another crate, it would seem. I was on a roll so I figured I would make a 'general junk' crate, this time with a cover for cleaning stuff, stapler, tape, clips, extra cards, whatever. I have them in a couple of other carboard boxes and this would keep them more secure, look nicer, and keep the stuff in the box if I put it in the bed of the truck.
 SO I did that:


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 The one I made today is on top of the beer caddy crate. Also in the photo to the left is the crate I made the other day for the firewood slings. The top on the new crate just slips on, no hinges.
---------------------------
Even a blind squirrel.....

 Yeah, I almost feel like should this be in the I did something dumb thread, but my dumbness was due to an omission, not and act, so here we are.  :D
 I have a new commissioned project I am starting on and I mentioned in the watcha building? thread. So I think I have figured out the finishing process and the building is straight forward, BUT I don't have any dried pine in the shop. I did bring some home the other day, but it's running about 25% MC and will be a while. ;D I only need a few 3' 1x6's for this. So this is burning in the back of my mind and the other day I found an old 1x6 in my own pile outside, but it wasn't covered and that MC is around 23%. It might dry fast in the shop, I don't know how much of it is surface moisture from recent rains.
 Anyways, I hate to have to wait for a project and as I was messing with other stuff upstairs, I walked past the digital thermometer and had a thought to check what the temp was in the attic (it's only 69° outside). How cow, it was 104° up there! SO why am I trying to dry wood in the shop and not use the attic? Dummy. ;D 
 So I grabbed the board I am drying and went to stick it up in the attic and I found a 1x12 that wouldn't even bring up a reading on my 2 pin meter. El-zippo. I have other boards up there I just laid down for flooring, no nails, and I could use those also. I put the new board up there to dry. By the way, max temp in the attic this summer so far is 138°. Last summer it hit 141°.
 So I think I have enough to get this project going and done.
________________

 Oh, but wait, there's more. As I am typing this post, the sign I have to mount got dropped off. It's 24" diameter alright, but also 1/8" steel and weighs between 8 and 15 pounds by feel. It's a bit too heavy to safely go in the design I had in mind. I will either have to re-design or make it from 6/4 boards minimum. I done gotta ponder on this s'more.

   I can hear Tom now "Honey I'm up in the Kiln, I mean the attic." :D

Well Howard my wife rarely comes out to the shop, her legs and hips bother her a lot. It takes a bit more to get her to go upstairs. But yeah, I should let her know if I am working in the attic or she will never find me until I am down to 12% MC or so. :D Of course by then, she could bury me in a shoebox, so there is that. ;D

 Doc, there is just something about having a video screen at an outdoor craft show. Seems to 'slick'. Plus there are the logistics. a tablet screen (ones I can afford anyway) are pretty small and a small TV size might be better, but either way I need power for that and would have to go with 12V. That's another $150 or so, plus a battery or some sort of supply. Also, the TV will take up table space and I am wondering about whether it can be seen or not in the ambient light. It's pretty bright outside y'know? ;D

 It's something to think about over the winter and maybe work on. I have about 18 videos building that bar, but I tried to hold them to under 20 minutes each. I guess that would be a start, but I don't know. I mean, my videos are pretty crude because I don't go into that fancy stuff with catchy titles and flashy do-dads. I dunno, I'll think on it. I wonder if you guys are setting me up. ;D :D

I considered the "too slick" part, as well, as a downside. I'm thinking gutter guard salesmen... I'm certainly not trying to set you up for anything, just thinking of ways to attract people or keep people at your booth longer. 

I love the idea of videos of the projects you've got sitting there themselves, but I'd suggest extremely heavily edited or time-lapsed to keep them around 2 minutes long. I totally understand the logistics issues too and the kind of wierdness of having a TV at an outdoor booth. I think if I did it it would either be closed captioned or no voice track, very short videos, and maybe some QR codes printed out nearby of the longer versions of the videos...

Ooh! Idea! Little QR codes ("Watch me make this!" with the QR code?) on your pieces themselves that could call up the "making of" videos on passers by's phones! I hope folks are doing this already, and if not please steal the idea, I think it's a very neat one! Who needs a tv when everyone has one in their pocket.

I prefer to rely on my bubbling cheerful personality to keep folks in the booth. :) Maybe I shouldn't? ;D

 The 'watch me make this' idea isn't bad at all, but I would have to make videos of everything I make and that is a deal killer. ;D However, doing shows and having a 'pitch' worked out is an iterative artform in many ways. You have to figure out what folks know and what they don't and then fill in the blanks for them. After a while you find yourself speaking to a few points over and over again that you receive positive feed back on. It is those points you then focus in on and work out clear and concise ways to explain those. I found this past show I was doing it a lot on two particular points: A) Most folks don't notice the waterfall grain pattern in my better benches and they would OOOH and AHHH when I pointed it out and explained how it is done, 2) The blind spline joint cannot be seen at all and takes some explaining, nearly every time. Folks won't even know they are there unless I tell them and would walk away thinking it is just a glued joint or has well hidden screws. I should make a video of that joint the next time I do one and also make a show sample of a dry joint I can pull apart.

 On the backs of my business cards is a QR code that brings you right to my website. When someone has detailed questions about anything I hand them my card and point out the code and tell them they can find a lot more detail, videos, and photos on my web site. Very few shows I do have decent cell service on site. We are in the Catskills, it ain't happening. :D So watching videos over a flaky signal in a non-starter. This is why I instinctively went with analog information such as brochures (I have 3 different ones) and signs.
 BUT those QR codes on specific items I could use because many of the higher end ones have their own photo spreads (on my website) I could send folks to.

 This is a helpful discussion.

Well it should go without saying, but I will say it anyway. Y'all are a bad influence on me. :D Well, maybe not bad, but an influence none the less.

 I pondered on those suggestions made in the preceding posts and then I thunk on it for a bit overnight. This morning I sat down and made some 'information posters' (just 8x10") then laminated them. I made one with a short explanation of what a blind spline is, one for waterfall edges, one for custom crates, and one about ordering mushroom logs. They all include some photos to aid in the explanation. I'll hang these around the booth and put a couple on the benches.
 It will be interesting to see if these generate any further discussion.

Tom,

did you include, in small print, that the preceding. was approved by a panel of experts from the Forestry Forum Design Committee???

Yes, in very small print. So small in fact that civilians and flatlanders can't even see that anything is printed in that spot at all. :D ;D

Well, this may seem pretty off-beat and pipe dream thinking but Friday morning I stickered stacked a little bit of wood up in the attic. A lot of it was around 26%MC. Most of it was EWP and one piece of ERC at 16%. Today I thought to move my shop remote temp/humidity sensor up in the attic so I can monitor it from my desk here in the house. Outside temp only hit a high of 72 for a little while today, the shop stayed around 67. The attic hit 94° and the humidity was 50% as opposed to 68% in the shop and 70% outside. The sun has been off the roof for 2 hours now and the temp is down to 78° and dropping. I checked the MC on some boards today and they are already showing 18% on the two pin meter.  So I am going to watch this.
I know the daytime heat is going to sort of 'cook' the boards, mostly on the surface, but I am also hoping the overnight cooling allows the board to equalize a bit and move moisture to the outer surfaces, then the next day about 8 hours more of cooking. It may be an odd way, and half ashed but I am hopeful this works to get that wood dried out. I know the stuff I took down the other day still will not register on my 2 pin meter and it planed up beautiful.
As my attic is 40' long, I am thinking of popping in an access hole near the other end so I can load boards up there from 2 ends. It also adds some storage but I am not going to try to load it up with oak. :D EWP and ERC are pretty light when they dry out. I'll have to cut some stuff for flooring once I get another hole in.
Anyway, it's something else to work on. I don't think this will work well in the winter, if at all. I had monitored the temps up there last 2 winters and they are nothing to get excited about. That's why I never pursued the heat exchanger idea to grab attic heat and pump it into the shop.

You might consider loading from one end of the attic and unloading from the other.  In the interim, moving lumber through drying stages.  It won't be much anyway but it could be a stream of dried lumber.   

It crossed my mind Ted, but I don't want to be moving it from one end to the other and I sure don't want to load up wood from just one end and then either have to lift it over and past what's already there, or do the same to get it out. It's tight up there between the trusses. Not a friendly space to work in at all.  ;D I would likely leave wood up there until just before I was going to use it in something, it's for me, not for sale. I am getting short on project wood and the reason is, I don't have a place to put it, so am reluctant to mill it. This would help with a bunch of that for the routine sizes anyway. I can't see myself humping slabs up there and there is a limit as to what I want to put on the trusses. It's something I will keep and eye on and get out of it what I can. Dry indoor lumber storage is a real issue for me, and this will certainly help. The drying makes it even better. Gotta work on some flooring first.

 I note that at 8:45 tonight the temp in the attic just dropped 1° below the shop temp, but the humidity is still14% below that of the shop. It's interesting to watch.

basically, a solar kiln, without the clear glazing.  I bet in the winter it will do ok, if the attic temp is 20° above ambient.  Mention to Bill and maybe your son, that you could build a solar kiln, if only you had some hand me down insulation.  that and the sealant paint would be the expensive stuff for a guy with a sawmill.  build a DH kiln, or solar, and have a place to store the extra wood.  Paint it "brown"! :)

Yeah Doc, I'd like to do that. It's one of the reasons I wanted to work on filling in the swamp this summer so I had a place for it. BUT that can't happen until the water table drops. Besides, my reality is that these larger projects are rough on me and I lose drive on them. I just came in from the shop for breakfast and looked at what I would need to add that other access hole to the attic. Funny how the list grows quickly. ;D. I have to move a conduit, relocate a light, then start on the hole. I have to make some rafter risers (12 at least) so the floor does not compress the ceiling insulation. Then mill and install the floor and build a sliding ladder to get in and out. I should put some basic lights up there also. I guess it will be a winter project, but boy it gets cold up there in winter time. ;D
 Now that I have a remote temp and humidity gage I am watching the behavior closely and writing it down. The low overnight was 50 (while it was 54 outside) and the humidity went up to 75%. The sun just hit it around 9:15 and the temp is up to 57.2 right now with 77% humidity. Outside is 63 with 69% humidity. The attic temp has gone up 2.5 degrees in the time it is taking me to type this. Time will tell, but when I watched it 2 winters ago the attic temp at best only got a couple of degrees warmer than the shop at the hottest part of the day and tat was rare. Might change if I closed the two vents.
 Anyway, it's something to play with.

The thing about larger projects is if you wait long enough before you start you can usually lose the enthusiasm and interest and not waste time and money starting projects that you probably won't finish.  :D :D ;D

QuoteThe thing about larger projects is if you wait long enough before you start you can usually lose the enthusiasm and interest and not waste time and money starting projects that you probably won't finish.

Thats probably the best advice I've ever heard!

Well this is one of those projects that I can do in pieces without upsetting the apple cart very much. As for expenses, beyond my time, screws are the only thing I might buy to get it to a functional level, then as I see how it works I might start looking into powered louvers for the attic vents. I was not home most of the middle of the day but it did hit at least 90° up there with the outside temps only peaking at 72. I did a spot check and the MC is still dropping on those boards. The one that started at 26% is down to 18% now. It is certainly doing something, that is for sure. ;D
------------------------
 Today I went to the mill for a lazy day. I figured I would mess with the blower we plan on hooking up for sawdust control. Bill changed my mind and we decided we really needed to get the pile out of there before we could do any messing around. so we brought down the 10" diesel leaf blower and after a quick and disastrous test, we opted to back in the chip truck. (The bags had sawdust blowing right through them on all sides.)
 But this worked.

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 We messed around for about 4 hours and pretty much got the whole pile in the truck. Little Inga held in with us all day pushing sawdust toward the pickup point and blowing down the mill.


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 I did note that she took a little break or two to chase frogs for a change of pace.


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 I (we) were sweaty and covered with sawdust in every crevice. Bill and Inga were hungry I wanted a shower. :D
 At least we got something done today. Now to get that blower working so we don't have to do this again.

Should of joined her on the frog hunt.  ;D

I didn't want to take my socks off.  ;D

big kids can leave the socks on...it's just not a good idea for the big kids wives to catch you with said dirty socks on in the house!

Does my heart good to see a kid walking/playing barefoot in a big mud puddle, not enough kids now will do that.

We were about 10 minutes working and Bill says, "Hang on, I gotta get Inga, she will get into this" and she came down and helped us figure out rigging the big blower then pushed and shoveled and blew sawdust. She is a lot of fun to watch have fun. She has more common sense than most 20 year old's I know. She will catch frogs, chase chickens, collect eggs, climb all over heavy equipment, find sticks and make 'stuff'. She drives her battery powered 4 wheeler all over the property (with some supervision) and is almost always up for something new like cruising for mushroom trees, she likes to tie the flags on, and she is learning how we pick them out.
 Yesterday she and Bill went to an auction up north. They stopped in on their way back. I asked her if her Dad bought anything good. She said "nah, just boring stuff". Turns out he bought a big excavator because he doesn't yet have one in that size class. She thought it was boring because he already has 5 of them. Last year he bought a peddle boat at the same auction and she was all excited about that one. :D She also liked it when he bought the school bus, which I think is hysterical since she is home-schooled. :D
 She's a doll for sure and I call her the "Shirley Temple of Stone road". Apparently I am the only one old enough to get the reference. She does make the workday go easier, for sure.

I'll tell you what, 4 hours of shoveling wet sawdust into the blower took more out of me than I'd like to admit. Sunday night I hit the rack more than an hour early and I slept for 11 hours. That never happens to me. Monday was a rain out anyway and I piddled in the shop but didn't accomplish much. My back was a tad sore from the shoveling. I am distracted by the upcoming show and watching the attic kiln. I did start a junk fire in the shop and mostly burned some 1/2" think red oak bark that was cluttering around the splitter. Burns pretty good actually. I was trying to get rid of it as junk, but now I may throw what I have on the wood stack. A BTU is a BTU, right?
 Today we had the monthly chiro visit and he fixed that shoveling issue in my back. That lasted for 3 hours or so. :D I went out to my dwindling wood stacks and pulled an RO bark on slab to put up in the attic kiln and make a bench out of this winter. I reached too far and re-damaged my back. Bill called this morning and has chipper blades for me to sharpen, not my favorite thing, but it's bad weather work.
 As I said, I'm distracted by this show. I've been tweaking the display, adding some signs and poster type things, and trying to get my stuff to be as visible as possible. It was nearly 40 years ago when I worked as an applications engineer doing tool shows around the country and everything we did for our booths had to pass muster on how it appeared to a casual passerby and whether it 'engaged them'. I hate to admit it, but I am getting back in that frame of mind and that makes for a lot of minor tweaking. On the one hand I enjoy the challenge, on the other hand it reminds me of that miserable 'stepping stone job'. :D
 At any rate, if this show does nearly as well as the last one it will change my direction a bit and I will focus on shows as an income source which means some adjustments. When I retired and set on this path, this is not what I had planned. I was going to try to make some crude simple stuff and hoped it would be good enough to sell a few here and there. It would use up the oddball wood and give me work during the winter. Now it seems the work is coming out a bit nicer than I thought I could do and the finishes are too. But these take a lot longer and demand a higher price that makes them worthwhile to make and sell. However, it is easier work than trying to make a living running someone else's sawmill and I am aging out on that score a little at a time. So I need 3 things: A) a increased supply of the right kind of wood(s), B) more storage space to hold what I can make through a winter, and 3) A steadier string of the 'right' shows. That last one is the hardest and I have been pondering on that a lot.

 Tomorrow we do the monthly food shopping, so half that day is shot already. But tomorrow is another day and I'll worry about that then. ;D

As predicted, yesterday was mostly shot. By the time I got out to do 'something' it was 1pm. I did note that the attic kiln topped off past 101° yesterday around 3pm. I am watching and learning it. I did get the lawn mowed yesterday, so that was something anyway.  Today I'll get back up there and check the MC's again. Waiting for one board I need for a project, maybe next week.
 I looked more at how I will open up a new access hole to the attic and thinking on how I will re-route the electric and add an outlet in the attic for a light and fan with a switch. I'll have to start looking through my supplies and see what I have on hand, which should be most of it, but there is always some small 2 dollar item that seems to hold things up if I don't check ahead of time. ;D It's all in the planning, but I have other stuff backing up I have to get done first, like lumber orders, chipper blades, and chimney cleaning/refurb. I'll have to sit on my hands on this project until the weather turns.
 Now let's see what I can fill my day with today.

I think I am going to start a new thread titled "Stupid things Old Greenhorn does" where in I list all the stupid ideas I come up with and actually try. For instance, recently we have had the 'beer can thing', the 'attic/kiln thing', and the '6 pack carrier thing' to name just a few. If things got slow, the design committee could come up with ideas to egg me on. Waddya think? :D ;D

 Todays stupid idea was that since burning that bark a few days ago worked out pretty good, provided heat, and got some large bark slices out of the way, I went and picked up a bunch more, split it into stove sized slices and filled a wood hoop with it.


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 It cleaned up about half the pile on the splitter. I figure wood is wood and even though this was a live tree last year, the bark seems to be drying pretty fast and is quite thick. I figure it's good for the damp fall days. Now to figure out what to do with the rest of it.
 I'll think on that thread some more. ;D BTW, the attic kiln went over 103° today with humidity at 34%.
-------------------------------------------

 Speaking of stupid, These delivery drivers that come to our road amuse me. My neighbor across the road has a driveway that drops off the road at a sharp angle to the road. Easy approach coming from the north, but coming from the south one has to make a 160° turn and there is now way to do that unless you are on a bike. Still they all have to try it, and they all have to 3 point the turn (at least). Well, all but this one.


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 I didn't want to embarrass him any further, so I didn't get detailed photos, but his front left wheel is hanging in space over an 18" drop, and the rear right tire is 4" off the pavement. I offered to yank him out (not my first time for this), but he said they had a contract, it was paid for, and the guy was ten minutes away. "OK" I said. The tow driver was a bit miffed. He said it was the forth one of these he had done in 3 days. He hates this contract. They give him a lot of work. :D ;D I told the van driver to use my driveway to make the turn safer for him.
 Tomorrow is another one.

I've burn bark before. Seem like I had some that was an inch thick. Maybe hemlock? It makes heat!! 

Cottonwood is thick also.  dry bark and dry wood have the same BTUs per unit dry weight.

This is in Hanging Rock State Park family campground.   The driver's regular job was driving a delivery van.  

I wonder if she's still driving for a living? 

The maintenance men jacked the car up and pulled the rock out with a tractor and chain.  
br>(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/48503/IMG_1891~0.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1695367492)
 

Some will never get it, [driving]  :D :D ::)

I was a bit nervous going down that driveway in your Mule (assuming it's the driveway I think it is), I think it'd be pretty easy to screw it up in a delivery van, especially if you aren't paying much attention...

OK, I got the truck loaded up this morning for tomorrow's show. I took my time and it took me two hours with some messing around trying different stuff. I sold two large pieces at the last show, so it was a bit easier, but also the crates and things I made helped to consolidate it a little. I usually have the back seat loaded, this time I have nothing there except extra moving blankets. I also moved some stuff around in the shop and fit the whole truck inside and could close the door. I believe it's the first time I have ever gotten this whole truck in. I figure at best, I am driving home in the rain tomorrow and want it all inside for unloading. I am not sure I can do the unloading when it's inside using the floor space, but I'll figure that out later. ;D
A rare view of the truck loaded from above:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230922_135038780.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1695428607)
 

I got 5 benches, 1 coffee table, and a corner shelf up on the ladder rack this time. Looks good now, but in a driving rain, not so much. Also, there is stuff in the bed that will not hold up in the rain and will have to be moved to the backseat on the return trip, or just tossed in the woodstove at some point. >:(
 I piddled around on other stuff and went down my checklist (nearly forgot to bring my change money), but mostly I watched the weather forecasts. They are all over the map, but none are encouraging. I am not one to give up, I have a lot of time invested in this show and I need the sales. One forecast I just saw expects it to start raining around 8am. Complicating things is the show is an hour west of me, which should put us in a better spot, but it's about 1,000 ft higher. High temp for the day will be around 52° and they expect more rain out there for some reason. None of this is going to bring people out, and the overall is not looking good at all. I am fully expecting a bust. The only reason I haven't bailed out at this point is that I can't let myself quit on a plan, which is probably a dumb choice. I have seen these things turn around for weird reasons and if you don't hang in, you miss the opportunity. I know I am going to have a lot of soaking wet moving blankets to dry out, not to mention wet furniture. We won't have dry weather until Tuesday.
 So in more ways than usual, we will have to see what tomorrow brings, because sleeping in is not an option. ;D

Looking forward to the outcome!!

Have a BIG roll of 6 mil drop cloth plastic ready to wrap everything for the trip home?

Ray, I am interested to se the same thing and have it in the rear view mirror. ;D

John believe me I thought about it, but look at that photo above. How do I wrap that stuff up top? I did bring a tarp to at least try to cover the stuff in the bed, but wrapping that stuff on top is dang near impossible for 60MPH driving.


After a fitful sleep last night I woke to find the forecast changed.....yet again. The satellite shows the system is over us, the radar shows the rain should start in an hour, but the forecast is saying no rain here (home) until late afternoon/evening and for the show site around 3pm. The temp is about 50 and quite damp/cool. It is not going to be a pleasant day weather wise in any event. It's got me thinking 'where are my gloves?'. >:(
 So it is what it is and I will stay the course and ride it out. I'll be on the road in a little while.

Good luck and great sales to you...

Either an enclosed trailer or a step van is in your future if you do many shows. In the distant past I had an old bread truck (step van) and it was very manuverable but without 4WD it required thought off the road. I now have a 6x12 enclosed trailer and it's really handy to own.

   I agree - loading on that rack is going to be too much work and risk to you and your crafts. Have a great sale.

    We have an event this weekend at a State Park I'd loved to have gone to but it is 50 miles away and weather is a concern but mostly I committed to help my son cook catfish at their annual church fish fry.

Well midway through the day and I will just say it's not a good weather day, nor a good sales day, but it has been ok for my ego. :D of I could put compliments in the bank I would be on good shape. ;D

Well, I will keep this short. It was not a great day, but not a terrible one either. I sold just short of a hundred bucks in stuff, which would make it a fail. But I did make a lot of contacts and had a lot fo 'those conversations' that will lead to meaningful stuff down the road. This is, of course, part of the goal of doing these shows and this one was smack in the middle of my target demographic. So that part was good. I'll write a bit more about it later, right now I am so tired I can hardly hold my head up.
 Packed up the show just as a driving rain started and hung in there for over an hour. Pretty much everything got soaked except any paperwork I had, which went right in the back seat of the truck. I have moving blankets that weigh about 30 pounds right now. My jacket and hoodie soaked right through past my shirts. I did manage to pack in 48 minutes, which I am thinking is pretty good for being alone and not being sloppy. Working through a driving rain and not getting in the panic mode and taking the time to do it right once is a learned skill, but it is always hard when you are uncomfortable. I drove home and half the trip was more driving rain, the other half it slacked a bit but I had a citidiot in front of me who could not decide on a speed to drive between 45 and 60.
 Got home and got the whole truck in the shop right away and emptied the bed, but had no more room for stuff with the truck in the way. I was shot. I went in the house, gave the wife 'my report' and was going to put on dry shirts and get back to work. Realized I would just get the dry stuff wet, so I stuck with what I had and got back at it. I was too tired to eat dinner anyway. She ate without me and I got the truck emptied, and out of the shop. The I started pulling each piece and drying the water off it. Every piece had to be wiped down and I went through a half dozen towels.
 I have everything spread out on the shop floor, but lots of soaking wet moving blankets piled everywhere. I don't think there is any water damage, but I lost a lot of price tags I will have to re-do.
 Was it worth it for the $95 (well, $65 after the show fee)? HECK NO! Was it worth it for the contacts I made? Well, time will tell on that.
 I've been up since 5, going all day, and right now (at 8:45 local) I feel like it's 3am. I am sitting here in wet jeans and damp shirts and need to move on. Tomorrow is another day. (And yes, that is my version of keeping it short. :D)

   Sorry for the weather and extra work it created but glad you had a good time and positive outlook. I consider my shows such as these as advertising and list them on my tax accounting as such. I often barely make the lot rent/fees but I'll get a profitable job from such a contact months to even years later.

I think the best word for a day like that is "persevered". 
Defined as: "To have continued in a course of action, even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success." smiley_thumbsup

Res, your definition could pretty much be my business plan. :D
 Agreed Howard, I am hopeful the public contact will turn into something, but that takes time. I did pick up a commission at the last show and had in depth conversations about a second one (waiting for her to call me and set up an appointment). This show I had one in depth conversation about details and we will see if she calls me back. I gave out a lot of cards. Time will tell.
 There was also some networking on this one. There was a wood turner down at the other end and we hit it off. We took turns visiting each other during the day. He had an enclosed trailer like I am looking for and gave me some insight as to how much it helped him as well as inviting me to look it over well. We talked a lot about woods and such. I may be making some bowl blanks for him down the road. He was over at my booth when a fella came by to invite me to participate in their show in a few weeks and this fella piped in and said "If we both come, you have to put us next to each other." I do no turning, he does very crude rustic signs and such as well as fine turning so it would be a good fit. But that show was $75 for an outside booth and came with a lot of hassle. I will pass on it this year.
 I also met another fella looking at booths and inviting a few folks to come and do his show, which is about and hour and a half from me. I have yet to check that one out.
 The woman who is the main organizer for the show came by to thank me for coming and invited me back for next year. They had a few cancel but it still covered a 20 acre field nicely. I know the history of this show and would not let a bead day change my opinion. My wife was doing this one 15 years ago. I have been many times myself and it is usually packed. This year we only had a few that drove from out of state because of the weather. Usually its quite a few.
 I was surprised by the number of people that made a point of telling me what nice work I did. It was not just the usual "nice stuff" comment, but more like "wow, this work is really beautiful!". I think that may be because I had little competition.
 As far as it not being a 'winner', I attribute that more to the weather than the show itself. As I said, been at this one many times and the crowd was greatly reduced as it drizzled and rained off and on all day. That takes a slightly more hardly person to attend and consequently they were mostly long time locals who didn't let the weather interfere with their daily plans.

 Lessons learned: I need to make a sign that says "I'll be back in 3 minutes" to put up when I go to take a leak. Being alone, I have nobody to cover for me. Better to see the sign, than see nobody. I should also think about having larger photos of other work I have done in the past, perhaps an album of 8x10's for folks asking about commission work. I also need a larger sign that says I prefer to do custom work to order. I answered that question a dozen times even though I have signage. I also need to lower my signs, nobody looks UP to where I have them around the inside perimeter of the canopy. I could use a larger booth and a larger canopy to spread things out and fit more, but I think that has to wait until I have a trailer.
 Here's a short clip of the field and setup:

- YouTube (https://youtu.be/H8oY_WF49Lw)

 Now I have to start a smudge fire in the shop to help dry stuff. The moving blankets will have to wait until it stops raining (tomorrow?) to get dried on the line. I'll also look into the upcoming shows and try to figure out what I am bringing and what I am leaving in the shop.
 But first, breakfast! :) It's another (rainy) day.

QuoteRes, your definition could pretty much be my business plan.

Tom, I speak from experience. I quit my day job to build a business starting with nothing... (and that's pretty much what I've still got). :D

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on September 24, 2023, 07:46:05 AM.......
But first, breakfast! :) It's another (rainy) day.

Well, no sooner did I hit "post" on that one and the wife comes down and says "got no water pressure, can't take a shower", 'hmmm' says I (that's not what I said) and I go in the utility room to check things. I have water everywhere, running out the door, the carpets are under 2" of water and it's spreading fast. I hear it coming down and can find the source, all my pipes are dripping. The boiler is running full tilt but I see no pressure on the aquastat. I search for a source and finally find the pressure/temp relief on the boiler is running like a garden hose. I shut off the well pump, then the boiler. Yeah, that valve won't close. I have 3 rooms flooded. Put in a service call and start sucking up water. The tech calls back, I give him the details, he asked if I can shut of the well pump. 'Already done'. Can I shut off the boiler? "already done, pressure valve won't close". He says he'll be here in 20 minutes. I start sucking water, lots of water.
 He arrives, looks it over, yep the pressure switch is part of the problem, also the expansion tank is waterlogged. New Tank, new valve, tested, good to go. He is done in twenty minutes and he tanked me for knowing something about my system and shutting off the right stuff, as well as giving him a heads up on what to bring.
 Finally around 10:30 my back needed a short rest, so I made that breakfast. I probably have about 60+ trips in and out emptying the vacuum of about 4 gallons at a time. I am starting to gain on it, but I needed another break and the water needs time to spread to where I can reach it. This will take 2 days at least to get fairly good. My wife's sewing machine foot switches were on the floor and they shorted which made the motors 'try' to run, I pulled those out and got a few 'wake ups' along the way from voltage leaks. I hope they are not damaged, that will be expensive.
 Time to get back to it. Gonna spend my day sucking. >:(

my shop vacs allow for a garden hose attachment.  might save time and back if it can drain to a drain or outside.  I assume you know this since your doctoral thesis was on vacuum vs pressure hoses.   :snowball:   :)

Tom,

  I thought about you at our local flea market while shopping today. I saw someone selling Beer caddies similar to yours (I am sure they copied your design :D) only these must have been for bottles as they had added an old fashioned bottle opener on one end like you used to see on Coke or Pepsi machines. It might be something to consider adding if you ever make any caddies for bottles instead of cans. ;)

At least you were home for the problem!!!

Hate you had a water disaster!  It at least not sewage or flood waters.  

We've had three near misses over the years.   Thankfully they were caught soon.  
One was the pressure relief valve on our water stove, I happened to be sitting in my recliner on our first floor and heard it in the basement. 

I'm hopeful that there is minimal damage.  

Well Ted, last time it was this bad was when the boiler split open. I figure I carted out close to 100 gallons on this one. Ray is right, good thing we were home. I think we stressed the well pretty good and I may have to do some work on that pump relay because of the heat.
 Doc, I don't have a way to gravity drain a shop vac but I do have the fitting on mine. I am using a carpet cleaner to suck the water up, it really pulls right through the carpet. Dumping is a lot faster than waiting for gravity. I think I made between 60 and 90 trips back an forth, probably close to 100 gallons of water.
 Bill dropped off a dehumidifier and I have pretty much vacuumed up everything I can now. I will give the whole thing another good pass in the morning. For now I am pretty pooped out and have to go out to dinner tonight, which I didn't know about until 15 minutes ago. >:( 

 Howard, if I added an opener, I would have to double the price. ;D

I just had some fun with my water system recently too.  I kept hearing the pump relay cycling so of course I was fearing all sorts of stuff like a waterlogged tank, etc.  We have a yard faucet that comes from the well line before it enters the house.  It had been left on. Even though the attached hose with sprayer was closed, it apparently dropped the pressure just enough to cause the cycle.

Then we had a bad thunderstorm and a close lightening strike that shook the house and reset my computer.  My wife informed me at 8 am we had no water and of course she had a doctor's appointment and couldn't shower.  After a few minutes of checking, even in my sleep impaired state, I discovered the capacitor in the well pump relay box blown.  Her appointment was near the hardware store, so I got her to get a new relay controller.  $100.  Back in business a few minutes after I got it in my hands.

Tom,

   Our last flood was a leaking hot water heater. Lots of towels. moved several rugs and carpet sections in the closet, shop vacs, all the fans blowing and dehumidifiers going. The only thing we did not do was fire up the wood heater and we probably should have done that too.

   On the beer caddy maybe you could make an old redneck opener with a carpet tack or nail driven in at an angle. ;)

I had a water heater go here too.  :o  
We do have some rugs in the basement.
But I was lucky!!
No water got to the rugs.  ???
I ran a couple box fans and dried it out that way.

If I didn't have a floor drain in the basement, then I would have a sump pump to take out any unwanted water. 

I have heard that sump pumps and perimeter drains around homes with basements are now code. I think outside of the footings. 

Quote from: beenthere on September 24, 2023, 09:09:31 PMI have heard that sump pumps and perimeter drains around homes with basements are now code. I think outside of the footings.

Been that way in Virginia for years.  Drain tile around the house footers and running 30 feet away from it.  But the sump pump drops the water just outside the house.  I put in a buried line of about 15 feet.

   I have a floor drain in the back corner in the utility room of our basement. It is a trip hazard as it sticks up about 2" above the cement floor. ::) ::) ::)

Location, location, location. If we required floor drains around here we would have even more flooded basements and they provide an easy entry point for ground water with our higher water table and most everything is rock here, not soil. Yes, french drains are popular and useful, but expensive in some place to create. Being the veteran of hundreds of cellar pumps in my town with the fire dept. I got to see all sorts of construction covering 200 years of technology and pumped 'em all out. During hurricanes some homes would see 4-5' of water depending on the specifics of the storm. I did one or two very old (100 year+) homes with dry laid stone foundations where they allowed a trickle stream to pass in one end and out the other, normally, with a cistern as part of the system. The water channel was chiseled into sold rock with planks to cover so you didn't step into it in the dark. But when a hurricane hit, the outflow could not match the inflow and there was 4' of water in the basement. One house we actually got a truck close enough to drop a 6" suction line in the bilco doors and at 750 gallons a minute we could barely keep up with the water that was coming in. Some things you can't fix. >:( Hydraulic pressure is tough to overcome once it gets the upper hand.

 My house (as I keep reminding the tax assessor) does NOT have a basement (because of the rock shelf), it is built on grade and the front of the house is backfilled about 2' high to make it look and feel like a basement. (houses with actual basements around here sell for more money and are only in certain areas where you can actually dig.) The back of the house ground level and the 'basement floor' are at the exact same level, give or take 4". A floor drain in my house would just be a constant problem and make life miserable. If I had a sump for a pump for incidents like this, it would have to be absolutely bullet proof with ZERO chance of allowing water to come IN and just provide a low drain point. Many sumps around here were built with the idea that they would be a collection point for water under and around the basement and pump the water out as it collected. During storms, these were quickly overwhelmed and allowed the basement to take on water. I pumped a lot of homes with fully finished basements, carpets, bars, pool tables, entertainment centers, etc. and 5' of water that came up through the sump or low windows below grade. 
 Geography and construction methods varies all over the world because of geologic, weather, and other conditions. We have our challenges here too. ;D
 I now have two dehumidifiers and a 20" box fan running. I have to empty them every 7-8 hours so we are making progress. They really blew the forecast for evening/overnight and the light sprinkles we were supposed to get turned into an inch or rain through the night. Now the wind is picking up again and temps in the mid 50's, so not a cheerful day at all.

Well they continued with a messed up forecast today and it drizzled all day. We are up to 1.1 inches of rain today and it is just fading out now. Was supposed to be done by 10am this morning.
 I started a fire in the shop to burn bark and dry things out. Looks like all my wares dried fine, but I have two nice little oak bookshelves that seem to have picked up a little twist. >:(
 I did some cleaning in the shop and replaced some of the price tags on my stuff that went missing when they got wet. As long as I had stuff yanked all over the shop I pulled out the woodmaster planer and put the old woodstove in it's place against the wall. I stopped usiong that planer last year when it popped the roller drive belt every few minutes. A quick look told me it was worn bushings, but it was a bit of a deal to take it apart, so I let it sit and used the other one. So today was a good day for that. I rolled it over by the woodstove and pulled it apart. Yeah, those 5/8 ID bronze bushings were worn out to about .650" and were wobbling like mad. No way for the belt to track right. Simple to order from Mcmaster ($2.40/ea) and as long as I was placing an order and paying the shipping, I also ordered a box of 5/16-18 threaded wood inserts for projects I haven't thought of yet. ;D I do recall wanting to use them on other projects in the past and McMaster sells the exact kind I want, just like the 1/4-20 that LogRite sells. These say they are for softwood, but I use them in hardwood just fine. It will be good to have them on the shelf. It will be a bit of a bear to get the planer back together if I can remember the belt tracking and get the bushings pressed in OK, but it will be good to go then, I hope. ;D

 I have been emptying the dehumidifiers about every 5 hours (correction of the above post) and things are coming along, some spots are even beginning to look dry-like. ;D

 The attic kiln only hit 62 today and the humidity was at 80%, so not a lot of help there. >:(

 Tomorrow will be whatever it might be. :D

Glad your water issues are progressing towards better. I have 3 floor drains in my basement and am thankful for being on top of the hill with the water table being 120 ish feet below my feet, it's a trade, we sure don't have much for nice trees.  

I have two sumps in my shop basement.  drain around the inside and outside of the footing.  the dimple board on the outside wall to allow water to go to the drain without creating any water pressure on the wall.  I folded some on the inside where the wall meets the footing and created a 1/2-inch gap air gap along the perimeter of the 32 x 50-foot slab.  It creates a French drain that goes to the drain tile and two whichever sump bucket and pump.  It goes up and out and underground 20 feet downhill from the shop.

Yeah I got one corner on my foundation that takes some water in during heavy rains, I should really get on that. ;D
 Over at my parents house they have a real foundation with 3 sumps spread around. It got to the point they couldn't keep up and I realized they were just pumping water out and it was finding another path back in.
 So I spent 3 weeks or so hand digging a 2' deep trench about 150' long to where it dropped over the bank. I put in 4" pipe with a few cleanout/snake points. Been working perfectly for over 15 years now. For our house that's just not a workable deal.

I'm starting to feel like a one trick wonder. Seems like each day I can get one thing done that matters and then fill in the rest with a bunch of little stuff that has to be done, but is simple and not very physical. Monday I took the planer apart, ordered bushings, and dried and folded some moving blankets, then hun more wet ones up. 
 Tuesday the bushings came and I got them pressed back in and the planer back together and ran a test 2x10 through it. Planed out great. The Woodmaster is slower and less power than the Delta, but it seems to give a better finish. I should look into this more. ;D
 Today I decided to move the lights around upstairs to clear ceiling room for cutting as new and bigger access hole into the attic near the front end of the shop (the existing hole is near the back end). That was a lot more work than it sounds like. Everything is tied in with 1/2" emt, so I had to work in half dark with some LED lights and do some major rerouting of about 3 lines and 1 two lamp fixture. Working on a less than 6' ceiling and also a 7' ceiling. It took me all day pretty much, but it's done and cleaned up. I also folded some more dry moving blankets and the side walls from the canopy all of which were soaked. Today is the first sunshine since last week. The attic kiln hit 94° and the humidity dropped into the 30% range for a bit, but I know the days are numbered. There won't be many more hot days up there. 
 I am going to do this about the same way Howard is doing his shed. Put in a work day on it here and there after I have time to assemble and cut the parts I need and collect the hardware. So step one, moving the lighting around, is complete. Next, the plan is to make some lumber to put in a floor in most of the attic. I have 6" of insulation up there and the trusses are made of 2x4's so I have to raise those 2x4's up to a 2x6 before I can put down planks for the floor. I have a plan for that. I also have to make some framing for the hole and some trim, then a cover or door. Not sure how I want that cover/door to work yet. Once I get the floor in, I am going to make some simple covers for the gable vents and see if I can drive the heat up more on cooler days or keep it from cooling off so fast in the evenings on hot days. It's all an experiment for me and should help with my learning and understanding of how and why this thing works. Even if it didn't work, it's a great place to store lumber and I really need that badly. I want to get that hole and floor done so I can a lot of wood up there before cold weather to use during the winter. Next year I will have a better 'workflow' on this stuff and get a bunch dried in the summer months. The pine I put up there 2 weeks ago at 26% MC in now down to 16% and the thin stuff is down below 12% (crate slats).
 Tomorrow I think I will head to the mill and work on the dust blower system. I need to get back to making lumber. Friday afternoon I have to go over and help the wife set up the basics for her biggest 2 day show of the year.
 One day at a time.

remember, even a 20 ° increase in temp over atmospheric will dry lumber.  also, in the winter when the sun is far, the wood stove is blaring and will accomplish the same thing.  should be putting the blankets up in the attic to dry.   :) also getting the one thing done and a bunch of little thigs adds up to a two-hit wonder. 

Remember the idea of synergy - The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  Some believe that the little stuff adds up, that's true if the little fill in stuff is viewed individually.  Not every task is big stuff.

When taken in a whole view, it all combines to make a good life.  Not much use in doing stuff that's not in alignment with that goal.  

True Doc, but my observations from last winter tell me that once the weather cools off I won't see much over ambient if even that.
 I am most curious to see what happens when I install covers over the gable vents. In the spring and fall I can close those around 5pm when the sun begins to see and see how long the heat holds in and the humidity stays low. Open them back up before noon or when the temp passes ambient. In the winter probably leave them closed most of the time to keep the winds from cooling things off, might also help shop temps in general. If it turns out to be viable, I could invest in temp controlled vents, but need funding first. Those openings are about 16x 20" or so and one faces the prevailing wind. Also looking for a remote temp/humidity monitor that tracks highs and lows, but it needs to be cheap right now.
 One day at a time.

 Yeah Ted, I am hoping it all adds up at some point. Pretty much all my fill-in stuff are things that need to be done so that I can keep doing whatever it is I need to do. Like fixing that planer. It's been dead for nearly a year now. But in a couple of weeks when I want to run a quick board, it will be handy and ready to run. Now if I could just get my work bench cleaned off. ;D

It is too bad the insulation could not jump from the ceiling joist to the roof in the winter.  Is your roof black?  

Tom, sometimes I'm guilty of imagining that others don't have to do the little nuisance tasks or fix stuff.   We don't talk about that stuff much.  But I guarantee everyone does them or things fall apart around them. 

If it helps, I mowed the yard and did the trimming today.   On top of that, I loaded the dishwasher, started it and folded two loads of clothes. 

I just came inside from trimming shrubs to get a cold drink.

Yesterday, I put new batteries in two generators and connected battery maintainers on them.  In addition, I sharpened 7 sawmill blades, swept the shop and put air in vehicle tires.     

Tomorrow, I get to reinstall the toilet in our primary bathroom aka last one remodeled. The wax ring-less flange connection hasn't lived up to its hype.  

Pretty mundane stuff that most of us do.  

Granted I haven't been dealing with the water disaster you have been.  

I can have 5 days off and most of the stuff gets done on the last day.  still gratifying.

Tom,

 You have to get used to this retirement gig and learn to pace yourself. If you finish all your projects you won't anything to do and your wife will notice and she will find things to occupy your time for you and they will not be things you enjoy as much as if they were projects you came up with. :D

  I started my day out by unplugging the fridge in the barn and removing the ice in it and putting a fan on the freezer to defrost it while I rode up the hill and trekked several hundred yards to my shooting house put and up and set my feeder and put about 60 lbs of corn in it and got it going. I took a break and went to the mill and removed the power feed and moved a cam follower bearing over so the chain runs straight over it and hope that helps resolve my intermittent power tripping problem and my blade guru came by and picked up a batch of bands to resharpen. I moved the lumber off the last 2 stacking pallets into vertical bin storage now I just need to move the pallets and such out and I can start on the floor of the last bay. Then I went back to the barn, wiped down the defrosted fridge freezer I started the day with and turned it back on. Nothing earthshattering all day but now I'm ready to start a similar day tomorrow.

OK guys, I get it, thanks. I guess I just needed a little reminder. I just don't have the energy to go all day like I did just 3 years ago and it bothers me. This morning I helped the wife load up for her show this weekend, we set up the bones tomorrow and it looks like we'll do it in a rainout. After that I headed to the mill to work on the dust blower thingy and I heard Bill mucking about up by the shop, so after realizing he had not dropped off the hose I needed I headed up. He was unloading his trommel screener and hooking up his trailer to take the tracked off road dump truck to a septic job he is doing on a very steep site. Must be a big job, he has 70 grand in sand coming. One of the few times I have seen this machine moving about.

Trailering up the tracked off road dump truck - YouTube (https://youtu.be/Z7rAp_ZGVD0)

 Then we took the hose off the slabmizer and I hunted around for some adaptors, then headed down to the mill again. Got everything hooked up pretty easy and it tested out fine. I stopped short of grabbing a log, I didn't want to hassle with swapping out attachments on the toolcat today. I know it will work, that's all that matters.

LT50 dust exhaust - YouTube (https://youtu.be/WaFXtDYWBCI)

 I came back to my shop and piddled around with some stuff trying to figure out what wood to use for another upcoming commission job. I started a fire in the shop stove because it was a bit cool in there. I am still burning junk from the splitter area. The attic hit 90+ by 2pm but then started cooling when the clouds rolled in. Some sprinkles came down in the late afternoon.
 Tomorrow is another wet one.

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on September 28, 2023, 08:14:08 PM
  Must be a big job, he has 70 grand in sand coming.    
 

70 grand!!!!!!!!!  :o  
Is that for a small town?

I don't know. He does some bigger jobs and that number never really registered in my head when he said that. Maybe I miss heard. But around here we have to use a special approved sand in septic systems and it is pricey. Ask Bargemonkey, his quarry is certified to supply that stuff and there aren't many sources around for it.

That must be the discharge hose off your sander.   :D :D :D

Quote from: SawyerTed on September 28, 2023, 02:15:27 PM
Tom, sometimes I'm guilty of imagining that others don't have to do the little nuisance tasks or fix stuff.   We don't talk about that stuff much.  But I guarantee everyone does them or things fall apart around them.

Ive often pondered what it would be like to live on a 1/4 acre lot in a subdivision and not always have something that needs fixing, oil changed, tire plugged, battery charged, painted, sharpened, greased etc etc etc. Sounds so peaceful.

70k worth of sand is a lot! 

If it is encouraging to all you guys you make me at only 45 years old feel like a lazy bum! Granted, I kind of am, after a day of looking after a bunch of people at work I like to come home and chill out. 

My wife is a small bite kind of woman. She gets home from work and does about an hour's worth of whatever project she's got going at the time and the amount of stuff/projects she gets done is incredible. She usually tells me of something she'd like to start and next time I look at what she's messing with she's transformed something big and neat.

I like that crawler dumper! Interesting that it has basically a Bombardier undercarriage/track system rather than mini excavator style that most have, must be a little older. ASV made one with their suspension undercarriage and much higher top speed than any of the others but it never seemed to catch on and then they got bought or whatever.

Mudfarmer, it's called a "Go Tract" and he got it nearly exactly 2 years ago. I debuted it HERE (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=115334.msg1849249#msg1849249) (see replies 303 and 305). IIRC it is related to the Bombardier in some way, either a partner or a copy or something. There was another thread somewhere else, where others, more knowledgable provided some insight, but I can't find the thread. This one was built mainly for snow and I think it came from a ski center. Got plenty of git up and go. These are also used by line crews for running lines through swamps and such. It's a niche machine for sure, but when you need one, you need one. This job he's got now he probably could not do without it. He says it's a very steep hill (he didn't say 'scary' but he never does, at least not yet, his guys on the other hand...). ;D
--------------------------
Austin, when you have 2 kids, a job, a wife, and a house, you have a full plate. I did it for a long time and like to think I earned my time now. You saw my shop. Would you believe it sat there for nearly 30 years with me hardly ever going out there and doing anything. The only time I used it was when I HAD TO. Like fixing broke down cars in any and all seasons, or a jumping off point for cleaning up after blizzards. Nothing else. I never had time, kids, work, and getting by came first. SO it's a bit different deal. OK, it's a very different deal. Your time will come, stay healthy and raise good kids until then and it will be a sweeter existence.  :)
____________________

 Well today the rain started in solid at 6am on the dot and it was a solid rainout. The wife was chomping at the bit to go get the basics set up for her booth. She has lots of racks, shelves, tables, and 'STUFF' to put her merch on and 2 canopies. It took all my diplomacy to hold her off until 1pm. I was focused on the radar and thinking we might get lucky if we held tight until 1. We did and set her stuff up rain free. :) Still not a pleasant day, but we got it done, drove the 15 miles back home and loaded all her merch in her van. Her show booth and approach and mine are polar opposites, but then the merch is also very different. Also, this is a very big show, 2 days, and costs her about 500 bucks to do. Over my head for now. She has a hired helper for tomorrow and Sunday. I will go over at closing time Sunday and the merch goes in her van while the racks, tables, and canopies go in mine. I am hoping this is her last year at this one. She is retiring from shows and everything she has is 50% off. If she doesn't clear a lot out this year, she is gonna do it next year again. >:(

 No heat in the attic kiln for sure today. I did keep a fire in the shop burning up junk today just to hold the dampness off. I have some RO boards I brought in yesterday standing near the woodstove to dry out and see if I can use them for a project. Tomorrow maybe I can get something done. Pat will get on the road at about 6am.
 Looks to be overcast most of the day tomorrow, but I am hoping for heat in the attic. Also gonna be cool, 68 for the high, but I need to get working and producing something, lumber or projects, something. It's another day, right?

Found that other short thread Mudfarmer, HERE. (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=108043.msg1686085#msg1686085)

Thanks! I need one yesterday for a few jobs but would sit most of the time right now and no interest (no pun intended) in a loan on a machine that is not paying for keep. Someday hopefully comes some day, right? ;)

Boy howdy, I am a hurtin' pup today. The back is messed up again.  Doing my own show last weekend with all the unloading and reloading, then the wife's show this weekend kind of did me in. This past weekend was my wife's biggest show of the year and she packs heavy. She has a 10x20' booth, 2 canopies, multiple tables, racks, stands, and other 'stuff'. Just handling the Canopy sand bags (about 70# each) and cement blocks to hold the canopy down was enough to pop the old back out, 4 times in and out of the truck and waddling them to where they needed to be. Humping all the other stuff didn't help. This show she has been doing for about 20 years and has a bit of a following of folks who always come by and buy stuff. She is trying to retire and has everything going for 50% off marked prices. So her sales were pretty good because some customers were stocking up, knowing it might be their last shot. But she still has a lot of stuff left. She is talking about coming back next year. >:(
 SO between that and trying to poke through my crappy lumber piles looking for usable wood and pulling out some 8/4 12 footers to bring in the shop somehow my back gave up. I am still emptying 2 dehumidifiers in between and around the clock and that is getting old too. So I have been trying to do more thinking than heavy work today, but I did pull some more lumber for another job. I did take a pass on pulling the chimney down for it's fall cleanout, I'll wait a bit on that. We did unload the truck and van today (which put the coup de grais on my back).
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 Normally I would just limp along for a day or two and take it light, but I have a young buck I agreed to mill a 'special log' for several months ago. I went and fetched it back in June or July and it has been sitting at the mill since. My arrangement with him is that we will mill the log together and he is going to do all the grunt work while also helping me make the call on what we get out of it so that he understands what he got and why (his hopes are very high, mine are not, for what he needs). In turn, whatever time I have into this project, he will give me back in his labor. This will allow me to get another shed order milled up quicker, I hope. Then I have to mill up some stuff to put a floor in my attic/kiln and a ton of 1x10's for siding on Bill's shop to finish closing it in before winter. All the windows are in now and there isn't a lot more work until battens start going on. Beyond that, I realized over the last 2 days that wood is my weakest issue in my business right now. When I started focusing on making stuff, I stopped milling stuff for myself and I did not take as good a care of the wood on my drying racks as I should have. This is now hurting me big time. So I need to get some of my logs to the mill, slice them up, and get them on the rack for at least next year. But this time take care of them. So I have that figured out, now I just have to do it. But first I have to mill all this other stuff.
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 The other thing that's been on my mind is the issue of an enclosed trailer. I have been weighing whether it is 'me being me' and wanting to jump on every new idea I have, or if it is the right and best decision for what I want to accomplish and where I am going. I am really living with a very poor financial condition right now, so pennies matter and I have to make things pay out. But under careful consideration, I realize this trailer, if I can find and acquire one is the absolute right way to go. It gives me year round storage for finished stuff, which means more room in the shop and it also makes it a LOT more easier to do shows, saving me moving the stuff down, loading, unloading, and moving the stuff back upstairs. So yeah, a no brainer. But funding isn't there.... at all, for the moment. But in parsing this all out, I have been talking with Pat about it a bunch.  She's been doing shows for over 20 years and knows the deal. I was trying to get her to fins a flaw in my logic, she's good at that, but she agrees. In fact she is offering funds from her business as a loan, to get that trailer. I don't want to do that (unless the perfect trailer shows up) and try to make this work on my own.
 So three goals, mill more lumber, bring in more money, and find a trailer. Seems simple right? Just do it.
 Tomorrow's another day, just get on it and hope my backs gets better, right?

Well yesterday the young fella showed up about 9am as promised and we went down to the mill and his education began. ;D I walked him through every step and he was fully involved. We had quite a to-do just to get that 'part of a tree' positioned and take the first opening cut. I could have milled two regular logs in the time we used before running the first slab off. SO it was a learning experience for him about what 'quarter sawing' meant and how it is done, which led to and understanding of why he had to make tough choices.. Frankly we wound up with a mess of odd chunks, but he says that is what he needs for his "project" so I am good with that. We loaded it all up on the forks and drove it out to a remote-ish section of the back 60, set it up on bunks, stacked, stickered, weighted and covered with galvanized roofing sections. Then we came back to the shop and he helped me run all that 8/4 stuff I had pulled through the planer to clean up the outsides and see what I had. He learned more about what happens to those pretty knotted areas after they dry. It brought home some of the lessons I was trying to point out as we milled his wood. Looks great right after the milling, but a lot different after a 3 years of air drying. ;D So he left happy and owes me about 8 hours of labor. We found no metal in his 'tree', which was a shock to me, also no rot holes or ant pockets, clean wood wit a bit of nice spalting starting. So that was yesterday and it didn't do my back any good at all. I was in agony last night. I need better Advil. BUT the attic/kiln hit 104°, so that was very cheering for me!

 Last night at dinner Pat mentioned she ran into an old friend working at the Library whose family we have known for well over 30 years. Their kids and ours are the same ages, they used to swap baby sitting days when the kids were young, we intersected at School events, kids sports, Scouts, and everything else. The gal (Betsy) asked pat how and what I was doing since I retired and Pat gave her a short story and gave her one of my cards. Betsy said she would look at my website and maybe give me a call. Well I just took this whole thing as a 'yeah, sure, maybe' kind of thing that was one of a hundred other conversations just like that and figured if she calls, she calls and I will deal with it then, if not, well it's the same as those hundred other conversations and no big deal. At least the word is passing around town and something might hit someday. You guys know the deal with word of mouth, it just takes time and you can't push it, just wait.

 So today I was really going to take it easy on my back. I started early-ish and got up on the shed roof (yeah I know, mandatory caveat about ladders and old guys, I got it) and I fixed a small hole from a winter felled branch through the roof. Easy fix with the shingles being at their melting point and I could separate the tar/glue to slip a new shingle in. I will wait until I see that it sealed before I nail in a plywood patch on the inside of the roof. It should be better than good. After that I got a call from Betsy. Since I was laying back today and my stuff is arranged in the shop after the last show to make sure it's clean and dry, she came over and looked at everything. I was hoping I might sell a small item or two. She had seen some stuff on my webpage that had sold at the prior shows which she wanted. After an hour or so she had picked out a bunch of stuff to spend her 'egg money' on plus a couple of items she really wants on her next visit. 3 small bookshelves, a mirror, and that nice bench with the Ritelegs on it. Later she also got 2 of my 6 pack caddies. She left and came back a few hours later with her checkbook. For a day when I had little idea what I was going to do, I wound up taking in an SGU plus a bit, plus, on her second visit she gave me a commission job to make a couple of tops for some exiting welded table legs. In between her visits I rough sanded a couple of pine slabs I think I making benches out of. Since I have actually been selling more than just small stuff, I am running out of stuff to bring to shows. SO I have to get cracking on some 'stuff'.

 All in all , not a bad day for taking it easy. As a bonus, the attic/kiln hit 107°. Last time I checked, the pine up there was down to 16% or so. It started at 28% 3 weeks ago. It's 82 out there now and the RH is 20% below ambient. I am encouraged. ;D

 Now to figure out what wonderous thing I can do tomorrow without trying. :D

Sounds like you need Pat to start shilling more! Great news and it gives you a reason to get that creativity flowing again for new projects!

Honestly, those little networking conversations happen all the time. I would say only about one out of a hundred or more turns into even a slight inquiry. I often get old acquaintances who ask if I have 'this or that' thing and I say sure, c'mon by and I'll load you up, often at no charge. Even those folks mostly don't pull the trigger and follow through. If they can't show up for something free, well....
 But once in a while even a blind squirrel finds a nut...

Back during my PRD (Pre-Retirement Days) I hated it when I went to work with a clear plan of what I had to get done that day and I barely got my coat off before somebody was in my office with a crisis that demanded full and immediate attention and derailed my entire workplan for a full day or more. It would mess up my overall timeline, hitting project goals, and generally make me cranky and unhappy, to say it in the nicest way.
 That was then. It just dawned on me tonight that what drove me crazy then, makes me smile now. I embrace the unexpected change in direction. Today my 'plan' was to do the full fall maintenance on the shop chimney. Pull all the single wall pipe down, clean it, clean the double wall section thru the roof and order any new parts needed to make it 100% before the cold days come in a week or two. I never got to it. Hopefully I will tomorrow. Oh well. :D
 Late last night I found out Bill got hired to do the site prep work for a new home lot 1/4 mile down the road. He cut in and buried the electrical service line yesterday and cleared trees for the driveway. Today they were building up the construction driveway and Bill asked if I wanted to come down and pull mushroom logs off the trees he cut yesterday. So down I went and in between working with Mike to layout the driveway while he did all the excavator work and Bill hauled in material, I cut about 29 logs and loaded them up. I did a yard run for some 3/4 conduit for a driveway light they had to trench in, and did the lunch run and a few other things. The basic work driveway got done, and eventually I became useless to the task at hand, so around 2pm I headed back and unloaded and stacked my logs. The heavy wok pooped me out, for sure.
 I did a run to the bank and was going to start on that chimney around 3:30 or so, but I sat down for just a few minutes and woke up a half hour later pretty groggy. ;D So I did a few other small things and called it a day. Early to bed tonight.
 Tomorrow I'll see about that chimney.
 OH, and the attic hit 100.5° today. From here on out I expect it will decline rapidly.

Tom,I have gotten to the place where I remember what I was wanting to do each day about bedtime so I came up with a solution that works pretty good for me.Anytime I think of something that I need or want to do that's not an emergency I write it down on a pad that is laying on the kitchen table.When I find myself wandering what to do next I look at my list and pick something that matches they way I feel at that moment.When finished I mark it off.The list is never completely marked off and that doesn't bother me a bit. :laugh:

My list is in "Notes" on my phone. Seems like I can lose a pad of paper but my phone stays with me.  Makes playing hooky harder I suppose.  

I have a bunch of stuff on a list that I have to do before winter gets here.
Dark by 630 now. After making lumber all day then come in to make supper I'm done.
Last Monday I took the day off and went on a Hot Rod ride. :D
Nothing got done except the smile on my face. 70° with sun.
This Monday I'm going to the fair  The saw mill will wate. :D I have days like that where I come first. ;)
With Ann gone, I find happiness where I can.  

OH, I am a 'list guy' too. Back when I was working and juggling many projects and problems I made it a habit to take 3-5 minutes before I left work each day to make a list for the following day so I had time to think it through overnight and could hit the ground running in the morning. As stated previously, often that list would get blown out of the water and it was a pretty unusual day when I completed the list by the end of that day, but the list was a guide and a goal. I had about half, or more of a 100 person shop I was responsible to keep running and moving along. It's a lot of moving parts and projects.
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These days I have lists in various places. Each has a specific purpose. For instance I have one stapled to the shop wall which I made 4 years ago and lists the things I need to do to get the shop facility they way I wanted it. That list is not near done and I should read it again. Then I have a 'supplies' list on a whiteboard. Anytime I use something and see it is getting low, I put it on the list, 2 cycle oil, 600 grit sandpaper, whatever. Then when I go out, I don't forget anything. It saves a lot of steps. I have lists for quick tasks or chores, lists for things that have due dates, lists for things that are just ideas I should try. When I need something to fill in a time slot I check the lists.
 Even if I play hooky, when I return, the list is still there. I prefer paper or white board lists because my eyes come across them and they serve as a reminder.

 But today I am going to get to work on that chimney for sure. 

Finally got to mark one project of my list of things to do before winter and I'm pretty happy about it.Bought the paint to paint my barn several weeks ago.One less thing  :laugh:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/68995/IMG_2248~0.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1696621981)
 

Love the Barn Bill, it looks great and that barn quilt really stands out nicely!

Well I got the chimney done. It was probably the fastest time I have done it in so far, just two hours or so to do a right proper job. First time I have not had to replace any parts, I attribute that to the new stove which burns much better and it more 'right sized' to the shop. In fact I was so happy that I finally got around to calling the fella that owns the company that built the stove to tell him how happy I was with the stove and to share a little operating tip I figured out last winter. He was pleased for the call and especially for the tip. He said they have been making and selling those stoves for 40 years and nobody ever figured out what I had learned and he would pass that on to new buyers and maybe modify their design a tad. Anyway it was a nice chat and he was pleased for the call. I'm glad I am good to go for another season and that is done with only the expense of a little chimney caulk. Cooler weather is headed in directly. 
 The weather service has spectacularly continued their 3 weeks of busted forecasts today. It was supposed to be a rain out from about noon on today and we got nary a drop that hit the ground. The ground was wetted before dawn, then nothing all day but solid overcast. Actually a very nice day with dry air. Tomorrow they are 'sure' we will have a 100% chance of rain through all daylight hours. Let's see how that goes. :D
 Pat has a show tomorrow, I took a pass on getting an outdoor booth because of the weather. She is inside. No idea what I am doing tomorrow but I might get started on a commission job that is waiting.
 Sunday we are heading up to VT. The gal who bought part of my cousin's property that was their old maple candy factory and warehouse is turning it into an art gallery and the grand opening gala is Saturday evening and the first showing day is Sunday. We like her a lot and wanted to attend and show support for a small art gallery in the middle of nowhere pretty much. Plus, it's our normal weekend for our annual visit anyway. I also want to get in one more visit to my favorite flea market/craft show/famers market before their season closes. I really want to do this show someday if I ever get a trailer to make it do-able. I plan to stop in and visit their office this time and get an understanding of how they do the sales tax thing, since it's in another state.
 And tomorrow's another one....

An art gallery might not be a bad spot to have a waterfall bench or a nifty bar top on display?? Even if it's in Vermont....

Well, this is going to be a long post no doubt, so either grab a glass, mug, can, or jug of whatever you drink, or bookmark it for when you are having trouble sleeping, or just skip over it. ;D
We had our annual visit to my cousin's in VT this weekend although I think we've been there 3 or 4 times this year prior. But we hate to miss this weekend, it's a tradition and we like to compare the weather from year to year. It's been hot, snowy, cold, rainy, and beautiful in years past. This one went from beautiful to cold and damp. Pretty typical. On our way in we hit the flea market in town and I was a good boy and only bought a draw knife I found for $25. which is better than the $50 the same guy was asking back in July. It's an old one with a nice clean blade and solid handle sets. I queried some vendors about how the show was going (Saturday was a rainout, nobody even set up) and just tried to get a feel for doing this market. It's on my list, even with the 2.5 hour haul distance.
 We got to my cousin's house and I was distressed to see orange flagging tape tied around 4 of his biggest maples in front of the house. The largest is over 48" DBH. He told me they finally had to come down because of the threat to the house. They are all well over 100 years old. He's 73 and he played inside one as a little kid (big rot hole). It's a dang shame. Those are my most favorite trees anywhere. He had to take a loan to hire in a crane and they will have to have the power and phone lines taken down. This was probably my last time to see them. Such a shame.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231009_124008154_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1696972305)
 

 All 4 of those trees are coming out.

 We walked across the road to opening day at the Gallery (The 1910 Building, Contemporary Art  (https://the1910building.com)) and enjoyed a private tour. Most of the artists came for the grand opening cocktail buffet the evening before, but we got a private tour. Very nicely curated and arranged. Not exactly in my style, but I can very much appreciate the work and skill. I learned some things about how she makes some of her pieces. No, I did not ask about getting something in there, it's way too soon for that. But maybe someday. The owner, Michele is a sweet gal of my age (Actually, she is 3 months older than me) and over the past several years we have all become friends.
 The other big thing for the weekend was my Cousin Bob and his house. Bob is my fist cousin and he is 93 and has dementia but is a happy friendly guy still. He is living with his daughter (Melinda) and her husband (Bill) who are the cousins we visit. His daughter is just a few years younger than I. My wife and I have become close with them over many decades now and it's why we visit every year, we have fun together. You may also recall I went a cousin's funeral in VT last April and the Service this July, that was Bob's son, my Cousin David who I was also close to. Anyway, the time has come to clean out Bob's house and sell it so he has funds for his medical needs, etc. This is bittersweet for me, and not easy on Melinda and Bill who are carrying the bulk of the work burden. Bob built that house in about 1957 and part of his parents farm. His parents bought that farm in 1940 and the mountain ridge both places are on has 100 mile view due north. I have been visiting that farm and tramping their woods since I was old enough to walk. Higley Hill is the center of the Elliott family in VT, no doubt. The family will still be present on the hill with 4 different properties, but with Bob not there, it won't be the same. But I digress, sorry.
 So Monday Bill and I went over to move out some stuff that needed to come to their house and he needed help. We also broke down some stuff to get it out side for his grandson to take care of later in the week. Melinda had been there several days this past week and filled a roll-off dumpster with stuff. It's been very hard for her to make these decisions, but it's gotta be done. Many of us have been there. Bob insisted on coming with us, and that just made it harder. She didn't want him to poke around in the dumpster and start finding stuff. SO we did the tasks on the list and headed back. While I was there I saw some of the furniture (dressers, beds, and such) and realized that furniture came from Bob's parents house as well as his wife's parents house. This stuff was quite old and quite beautiful even though the finishes were shot about 4 years ago. Much of it I would guess is well over 100 years old and some dressers had marble tops and nice back mirrors still attached. One dresser really caught my eye. At first it doesn't look like much and it's pretty dried out.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231009_110003298.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1696972370)
 

Check out the ray fleck on the sides:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231009_105956182.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1696972457)
 

Now look at the top:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231009_105948631.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1696972258)
 

 With a full refinish, that would look like a million bucks. Unfortunately it is spoken for, but if that family member changes her mind I will get over there with a few days notice to pick it up. I have no idea where to put it, but I can't let that go to an auction house and bring in 50 bucks.
So we did what we had to do and got Bob back home and unloaded. Later in the day it came about that Michele could use some of the less expensive bookcases for her storage, so we went back over with my truck and her SUV and loaded her up. This time without Bob, and Bill and I brought tools to get other stuff done. Also this time, I could look in the dumpster. ;D Because they went back without me and I could take my time.
 I wasn't looking for valuables, I was looking for personal stuff that belonged to my cousin over nearly a century of 'stuff'. Something to have of his in my home or shop. I found a give away mechanical pencil from his long time heavy equipment and trucking business, some do-dads, a post hole digger, and trinkets and a flashlight. Now I like mag lights in general, but this one made me laugh.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231010_161452571_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1696973063)
 

 Hard to read, but the head of the flashlight is engraved "Good chance Bob does not know where this is, Please Return" and on the other side it has his name. This is typical for Bob's humor and I didn't care if it works or not. I took it. (And Yes, it does work just fine.) That was the 'treasure' I was looking for. When I got back I went over and helped Michele move a stack of plywood in her shop, getting ready for winter.
 So Monday night Michele came over for dinner and we had more good conversations and today, rather than leave in the morning when Bill went to work, we hung around with Bob so Melinda could go over to his house and work with the electrician to get some wiring cleaned up. When she got back, just after noon, we hit the road. It was a long weekend and I left a lot more out than you might guess, apple picking and such. Plus a box of family documents that Melinda insisted I take as the family genealogist and I went through just once so far, enough to know there is some neat stuff in there. But we had a good time and are both tired out.
 Now it's time to get back to work, I only have 2 workdays this week, best make the most of them.

Sad to see those trees go.
The place will not look the same.

I agree on the maple trees what a shame. I would sell them on taking the deadwood out and doing some reductions on anything that seemed compromised. And Maybe cable some stuff too? All for much less $$ then removals.   Sugar maples can hold together in a really decayed state for a very long time. 
People are so scared of their trees sometimes its a shame. I consider those landmarks!

Well I agree, but he's made up his mind and it is their house. Yes, deadwood pruning and all that would help, but I could see that he has to do this now. There are other reasons involved. Also, as we all should know, it's very hard to judge 1 tree from a photo, let alone 4.
 The thing that bothers me is the cost he will pay. I am not saying he is being hosed in any way. But if he were in our neighborhood an I did the job with Bill and one more of his guys, we could do the 4 trees in two days or less. Provided we had a place to dump the wood no too far away. We wouldn't take the lines down around them either or use a crane. We would do it as a bucket job, chop and drop until we were down to the stem. The guy that is doing it has good gear, a trained crew and Bill watched them do big trees just down the road, a nice neat, quick job. But he uses a lot of equipment, files permits, etc.
 It's just a very sad end of an era. I have spent countless hours studying those trees, he has spent many many more.
 Scraping out a living in rural Vermont as a lifetime 4th generation local is not always an easy thing when you are surrounded by properties owned by folks who make/made their money elsewhere and have lots to spend. It saddens me a great deal.

Well I got back into the groove on Wednesday and worked all day in the shop on a small commission job. I got all the joinery work done and fitted, plus a coat of the grey wash finish on the front. But my lower back gave out because I was doing bench work all day and I guess the leaning over added up.  Just a simple cross design with half lap joints all around.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231011_150304544.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697193879)
 

 With the sign in it it doesn't look too bad.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231011_150222371.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697193883)
 

 Yesterday(Thursday) I put a coat of wash on the backside. Next I suppose I will take it apart, touch up the spots I couldn't reach, give it a light sand and then re-assess the finish and go from there. I will seal it up with water based poly which will darken it a shade.

 The Luthier's show is this weekend and one of my main events for the year, again as volunteer staff. It is sad, but after 15 years, this is the last one. They are calling it quits. Expenses, staffing, logistics, and everybody's age increasing all added up. Sad to see this one go. It's a major event for high end luthiers around the world. We get them from Asia to Europe each year. I am really going to miss it.
 My job is running the clinics (workshops), these are 1 hour instructional sessions with high end artists so that regular players can sit with them and learn specific techniques, playing styles, or music theory/philosophy in an intimate setting with just a small number of students (5 to 30 people on average). I collect the money, get the artist set up and get what they need, keep track of funds and make sure they get paid, and generally keep things moving and on schedule. We rent a room in one of the restaurants on the Bearsville theater campus for this, so I am not at the main event most of the weekend, but it's only 100 yards away. They start setting up the show on Wednesday evening and all day Thursday, except for the workshop area. It takes a lot of hands. We don't have access to the workshop venue until Friday morning, so I have to get that all set up and ready this morning before 11am. It's fairly easy and sometimes I get a little help. This year they threw in a 'retrospective talk' by Linda Manzer at mid-day on Saturday I will have to re-configure the staging for, then back again for more workshops. That session will be packed, so door control will matter as we are capping it at 55 people with no reservations and they have already had 300 requests for seats.
 Last year we had a couple of requests for a foot riser for some of the players with back issues. I had to improvise and it worked, but as not very elegant. This year I took one of my poorer ideas (a 3 legged stool) and modified it into a foot riser for this purpose.

 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231012_120153664.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697195414)
 

Hopefully this should do the job.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231012_120208588.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697193873)
 

 My plan was to give it to Larry Campbell after the weekend, but he is on tour and not coming this year. I'll think on that some more.

 So yesterday I did the wash job, then modified this stool and put some tung oil on the fresh cut areas and blended it all in. Then I headed to the mill, found logs for the next order and got them wrangled up on the mill deck and did a little cleanup. After that I headed off to the show to check in, pick up my credentials, and get the detailed changes for the year to get my head in the game. As always, there is some stress with making it all happen on schedule, so the changes keep it 'interesting'. ;D My other job at the show is doing 'backstage security' at the big concert Saturday night, which means whatever needs doing, loading in, loading out, help with staging setup, and a lot of hanging around in between. So Friday I leave the house at around 8am and get home by around 7:30pm unless something comes up. Saturday I get to the show around 10am and get home around 2am Sunday morning, then back again at 10am until closing the show and folding and stacking all the tables and gear, so maybe I get home at 8pm, unless I go to the wrap party, then who knows? :D Several times I have helped set up the wrap party sound and staging at a club somewhere else in town, but I'm getting old and the appeal is waning for me.
 Time to make breakfast and get on the road.

My suggestion for future design improvement:  smiley_sidelightbulb
Box it in like a cigar box, add a sound pickup, and your foot riser can double as an el cajon stomp box. smiley_guitarist ;D

I dunno what an 'el cajon' is but I like the Cajon idea and I might work on that. Unfortunately, Larry, who I had in mind hen I made this, is on tour now and is not with us this weekend. I planed o gifting ti to him when the weekend was done. This is our last year, the show is ending. It's just too much cost and logistics to put on for a bunch of older folks who have decades in the industry.
 Yeah, gotta work on that Cajon idea, it's a good one. We had 4 workshops today, and two of the artists were really happy the riser was there. I am taking notes. ;D

It sounded more important with "el" (the) in front of it. Like "El Camino". ;D

So it's sort of like "The Gibson"? :D

Well as expected, it was a long weekend.
 Friday was easy, got there at 9am and left at around 7:30pm. Just workshops all day. The artists that do these 1 hour sessions are all high end pros sharing and teaching some very complex techniques so most of it is way over my head. I am too busy trying to keep the money and tickets straight anyway. But I have gotten to know a number of the artists over the years and that is the fun part for me.
 My foot riser was a hit and used by about half the artists. Many use devices like ErgoPlay, but the foot riser worked fine for those who didn't have theirs with them. Also I noted many of these artists commented with the hundreds and hundreds of playing hours they have in a year, proper posture and holding techniques are critical to avoiding injury that puts them out of work for a while. It's a serious thing for them. Anyway, having it there was more than handy for those who needed it.
 Tony McManus (Scotland) really liked it.
 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231013_124548026.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697581267)
 

 And a very old friend of the Show Tim Farrell (Maryland) also was pleased it was there.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231013_153005298.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697581298)
 

 (you can google both of these guys if you have an interest.)

 Saturday was my long day. I got there at 8:30 ran the workshops until 6pm, then headed to the palyhouse on the other end of town and worked backstage until midnight, then home. Back again SUnday morning at 8:30 for the builders breakfast talk, then another full day of workshops until 5pm, then breakdown and haul out all that stuff. I got back to the main show around 6pm. Then a lot of goodbyes and closing out. I got home at 9pm or so. This is the last one, unless something or someone major steps up to take it over and that isn't looking too good. The builders from Asia and Europe that come this this are the most sorry to see it go. They claim it is the best organized and produced show in the world. I wouldn't know. But it's been fun the be a part of for the last ten years or so.

Monday, as you might guess, I was shot. I slept a little late then piddled in the shop a bit and did some of the stuff on my wife's list. I went to bed early too. ;D

 Today was more 'normal', that is until my phone reminded me that I had a chiro appointment at 9am,  right in the middle of cooking breakfast...SHOOT! I shoved breakfast down, changed clothes and just made it in time for my appointment. Got back around 10:30, changed clothes again, and Bill called needing a hand to hook up his 12" leaf sucker to the chip truck, it's a 2 man job, so that killed an hour or so. He left and I commenced to cutting mushroom log trees, I have 2 orders due this week. I got what I need for the open orders then got home around 1:30 or so, put on some dry shirts, had lunch, rested my eyes for a little, then hit the shop, started a smudge fire and layed on a coat of polycrylic on the current commission job. I should go back out now and move it along, but the tree work kind of wore me out.

 Tomorrow is the monthly food shopping trip to town, then after lunch I have to deliver the larger of those two log orders about 45 minutes west of here. Just another day.

Tom,

   I think you've found your niche market and product. Good luck with the foot risers.

Not by a long shot Howard! First, these guys and gals are all very high end pros and they rely on these things after decades of wear and tear on their bodies. They are a very small bunch and those other devices I mentioned are commercially available and cost between 30 and 100 bucks. Most of these players have sponsor deals and don't buy most of the stuff they need. As one of the artists told me, it was a lovely piece and he would love to have something of the sort in his home studio but couldn't take it on the road. (I would have given it to him but he had an international flight home and couldn't fit it in his weight limit.) They need something foldable and light that will fit in a guitar case pocket.  Add to that the fact that these folks all play very intricate jazz, melodic, or detailed finger picking styles for a sitting position, that not how your average performing guitar player plays, they stand.

 Still, that's not to say I would discard the idea entirely. I could make one or two more a tad higher and just have them around. The one I made was a modified stool last minute deal. For a designed foot riser, I would go no more than 6/4 thick and raise the legs a bit. But I am intrigued by Resonators suggestion and am rolling around in my head how to make a foot riser that would also function as a Cajon. A lot of very skilled guitar players incorporate percussion in their tunes by tapping, thumping, and other methods on the instrument. Getting any decent sound out of a small box with a foot tap is challenging. I will have to do some study on Cajon designs than try to transcribe it to a much smaller package. I am thinking it may be a winter project. I know one touring pro who will likely be happy to try it out and experiment with some tunes on it. He plays guitar, bass, and banjo, but started his career as a drummer. He just lives a mile away and likes to experiment.

 It will probably amount to nothing, but will be fun to play with. I wish I had some very thin Ash planed up, that would be the way to start. I do have some white oak. I wonder how that would work?

Good to hear I got your ideas rolling. Any box will make a thump / stomp noise, it just depends what sound you are trying to create. I've seen acts playing an empty box liquor bottles came it. John Hartford had a board he would stomp on as he played fiddle and banjo.
Remember if you use the names "El Cajon", "El Cajon Grande", or "El Cajon Poco" for branding purposes, you have to give me credit. ;D

Well Wednesday I delivered those Mushroom logs after we did our monthly shopping and some errands in town, which pretty much killed the day. I didn't get much sleep Wednesday night. Family issues on my mind I don't know how to fix and I wound up getting up at 3am for the day. I had planned on working at the mill yesterday but given my groggy state I didn't think it was entirely safe for me. So I worked in the shop and pretty much finished up the current project. I also planed out some cherry for the next one on the list.
 In the early evening Pat twisted her knee and was in excruciating pain. She had a lot of trouble moving around at all, even with a cane for support. SO priorities changed pretty quick. She had a rough night and wound up sleeping on the couch with her leg bent. This morning we called the PCP and through that we were referred to a walk0in ortho clinic in town. They have a pretty slick system and we blitzed through it, x-ray, exam, treatment all done in about 30-40 minutes. They gave her a cortisone shot and she is already feeling relief tonight. So as I said, priorities change and I am now on cooking and dish duty as well as whatever else needs doing until relieved. ;D She has a show next weekend and she is working on a helper for the day. So I did get a little shop time today while Pat was napping. I poured some epoxy and did a handful of other tiny things. Tomorrow will be about the same, I guess. It's supposed to be a rainout again.
 I finally made contact with a potential client this evening after a week of phone/email tag. I met this gal at the show I did back in August and she has some wide live edge stuff 8/4 thick she wants to make a bar top out of. So we had the preliminary conversation today and we will try to hook up next week for me to go look at her wood and work up an estimated cost. Just doing the top should be easy, but the devil is always in the details, right?  It sounds like I just have to flatten it, straight line the edges and glue it up. Then sand and put a finish on it. I'll need the slabmizer for these at about 8' x 18". But lets see what it really looks like first. Not sure if she wants a polyurethane finish, or an epoxy full pour. Big difference in time and work, but we'll see. She is going to send me some pictures, then I'll do a visit. She's about 15 minutes down the road.
 I think I am running to town tomorrow to pick up a HF biscuit joiner. The next 3 jobs I have include flat panel glue joints and the biscuits would really help with the alignment and save me some time. I really don't want to spend ANY money right now, but this is one of those things that should save me some time.
 Tomorrow is another day.

   Sorry to hear about Pat's knee and glad she got some relief and hope it takes care of the problem. I am well aware of those wifey knee and hip problems and you have my very best wishes and condolences. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Well today I had to take the wife to get her toenails done since I had to go to town anyway so I dropped her off and went to get fuel (beer) and then to HF where I have not been in a few months. Like it or not I need to get a biscuit joiner. So I got their cheap one full knowing it has tightness and alignment issues. But I have 3 projects lined up and I need biscuits for alignment. I figured if it turned out I really use it a bunch, I will certainly get a better one later when the work demands it.
 So between the running around I got some work done in the shop. That veterinary sign got picked up and I took in two sets of sewing machine legs in another deal, yet to be concluded. I sanded the cherry boards I am doing minor epoxy fills on for the current major project. It doesn't need much, just securing small knots and minor tiny cracks. I poured on the second side of the boards today and they are curing.
 During yesterdays pour I used the leftover to do a final pour on this mirror and today I cleaned out and fitted the mirror in the back. Tomorrow I will drill the hanging holes and set the mirror.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231021_165858977.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697926573)
 

I also like the way the medullary rays pop out in this piece. It's red oak, live edge, no bark.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231021_165907498.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697926623)
 

Then I tested out the biscuit cutter with a butt joint and a miter joint. I think we understand each other now. ;D Those biscuits sure do make the miters glue up easier.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231021_171545181.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697926654)
 

I might make that mitered test piece into a device stand rather than throw it in the stove.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231021_171607625.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1697926708)
 

 So mostly just piddled from thing to thing but made some things move forward. I did put in a full day, so that must mean something, right?

 Tomorrow is another day, more of the same.

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on October 21, 2023, 06:24:11 PM......
Then I tested out the biscuit cutter with a butt joint and a miter joint. I think we understand each other now. .....

Yeah um, about that. Well 24 biscuits later we may understand each other better now, but I am finding it's quite finicky and had one or two 'fliers'. Also the biscuits HF sells are lousy. Either the cutter is thin, or the biscuits are thick, at any rate I have to sand down the thickness and taper the edges to make them fit with enough room for some glue. If I don't, I have to drive them in and that isn't the way to do a glue joint. Still, they are a big help for alignment doing a bunch of panels.
 I spent Sunday and Monday all day planeing and making up the sides and shelves for a shelf unit I am making from cherry. I am running low on my Cherry boards and trying to make it stretch. It didn't help that I neglected to look at the design sketch because I was SURE the unit width was 12" when it actually was 16". I discovered it today after I had all the panels done. So I then re-did some stuff and adjusted my plan and glued more joints. The killer was, I had the boards available to cut them to the right length in the first place and just screwed up and now that is wasted wood. I didn't have enough boards of the proper thickness to make them over. This is why I'm not a woodworker, stupid stupid mistake.
 So after backing up and re-starting today at a faster pace, I have a bunch of panels with glue drying and some final epoxy touch up fills drying now and tomorrow I should be able to sand and start planning my assembly joints. I know I had a solid 8 hours on Sunday, 9 hours on Monday, and 8 hours today in the shop working. My back is starting to complain about all the time on my feet and the wife is still at less than half speed so I am helping make dinner and doing all the dishes and chores after work. I am tried and hitting the rack early each night.
 Tomorrow she has her sewing group at church which I have to drive her to, then maybe I can get some more work done.
 I did have a new log client come by today and just pick up a dozen logs, but she also bought a Loginator(tm). She will be getting a larger order of winter cut logs in March, but needed a few to get her started learning the process and setting herself up. She saw my work and would like me to make a slab top for a bathroom sink, so when I deliver her logs in March I will have to measure that up and make a plan. She also has some walnut trees she might want to 'get rid of' ;D. So there is another little sale with a new contact and it all helps. They add up. Things are picking up slowly and I am grateful for that. I just have to keep poking a little to generate at least a small sale each week.
 Tomorrow is another day and we'll see how that goes.

Some biscuits just don't  fit right. Sometimes it's the blade kerf that is off but most of the time it's just humidity causing them to expand.  I have had luck just squeezing them in a machinist vise if they are tight. I put mine  in Mason jars and pull a vacuum to help keep moisture away from them for storage. I have also seen a guy machine 2 knurled rounds with a handle that have 4mm spacing like a pasta roller to re squeeze them for a perfect fit. Definitely the cheapest fastest way to reinforce joints.

Well I may just be a grumpy old fart, but I think these things should fit the purpose they were sold for. I don't want to make up a rerolling machine just to make this stuff work as promised. It takes me about a minute and a half to sand and trim 8 of these biscuits. I will just keep doing that until these are gone and then I will try a bucket of the ones HD sells (I forget the brand name, green label). Biscuits really lend nothing to the joint, they just help with alignment for gluing.

I don't use biscuits in the shop, but I copy the idea. Basically small floating tenons that I make with a bench-top planer. Make a strip of 1" x 1/4" hardwood, and cut it into 1" sections. Cut slots into the pieces you are gluing up with a router, and push the floating tenons in with some glue. As I'm making the tenons, I can sneak up on the perfect thickness with the planer, then run as many as I need. 

More messing around than biscuits, but even cheaper. 

As mentioned, the biscuits will swell after they are manufactured. Must store them in a dry, warm place or they just won't fit the slot.
In the slot with glue, they will swell some but make the joint tight.
Can learn that swelling when trying to take a biscuit joint apart before the glue sets up.
A learning process for me when first using the biscuits. Can be annoying for sure.

Just using the biscuits dry (no glue) for long 20' false beams helped the setup time and they did the intended job of aligning the work.
Also, when I found my biscuits not fitting, drying a short time in the oven helped get them back to size.

each method has it pros, cons, and a learning curve.  I keep biscuits in an airtight container with a desiccant pack like you get in the boxed goods from China.  If one gets stuck during glue up, just use the biscuit jointer again and mill it out.

Freud biscuits don't seem to have problems.  Just store them in a sealed plastic bag.  I bought two, thousand biscuit bags when I bought my machine 22 years ago and just now getting to the bottom of the first bag.

I was a helper in a week long craft school and saw the problem of too fat biscuits.  Probably a 1/4 would not go in.  The teacher taught us a trick.  Whack the fat biscuit a couple of times with a hammer and it will slide right in.  Worked great and not much time wasted.  The water in the glue swells the biscuit right back up.

Well, I will rotate thru the brands until I find what's best and available to me. Those HF biscuits I bought because they were there. In a sealed plastic bag and I kept them that way, they are just cheap and the quality varies with each piece. I learned something. It doesn't take long to make the fit and I'll go through them.
My frustration now is with the shelf unit I am building. It just has no snap or pizazz to it at all. It's just a shelf unit. I have to do something more to make it look nice. I should have thought the joinery through more carefully. I am trying to come up with some trim or finish work to put on the front edges. This thing just never grabbed me enough to get the juices flowing. The wood is pretty nice cherry and the machining went well (except for my mistakes, I blundered again today). I looked into veneer inlays but that is more pricy then I want to go. But I am just not happy with it as it sits, not at all. It's ironic, because this is the best machining and jointing job I have ever done, but it's very simple stuff.
Anyway, I got all the assembly jointing done today and if I am in the shop tomorrow I will plop in the holes for the screws, which I will plug when it's all together. I made the plugs tonight, but I need screws of the proper size, which of course I do not have on hand. >:(

If anyone has suggestions for front edge trim on a small shelf unit made of nominally 3/4" wood and measuring 16" wide x 29" tall x 12" deep I would really appreciate it. It might get my brain working in the right direction. Right now I am blank.

For the edge, do you have a few different router bits to route a shaped edge?

Have you posted a pic of the shelf as it is now?

I like a Roman Oge on the underside.

(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/oyYAAOSwXO5fX4Hv/s-l1600.jpg)

No photos yet, it's not put together, perhaps today, but the description was accurate. I used dado joints for the two lower shelves and a half lap for the top.

 Doc I have used that router shape in the past on some cherry trim for small bookshelves to cover/finish the front facing edges.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20210227_164634050.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1614478446)
 

 I am not sure what you mean by 'the underside'? I think I am going to try and call the client today and fall on my sword and find out what she thinks. I was toying with the idea of making ERC edging and shaping it with the router, but I could do Cherry and it will match. I did make a huge mistake yesterday and put a dado in with the side piece flipped the wrong way. So I put one on the other side to match then filled them in with an ERC 'accent strip' as I did the last time I made a similar blunder. SO ERC on the front edge might compliment that maybe, possibly, sort of?
 I dunno, maybe I will finish this off then start over, but I have to find other wood first.

on the bottom edge of the shelf.  it should look more like crown molding on a miniature scale.  so, the top of the shelf is flat out to the edge, the bottom is recessed back from the profile being cut in.  flip the pic. upside down 180°

Got it, interesting idea. But I would like to cover those half laps and dado's showing on the front in some way. I think that was an aesthetic blunder in my design. I'll post a pic when I get it dry assembled. 

Once again I am pooped but today was frustrating more than productive. I was back out in the shop last night and did one more late pour so all would be hard this morning. Got out there early this morning and sanded all the epoxy fills. I tired calling the client to have a chat, but no joy, left a message, no return call yet. So I clamped it up just to have a look and think some more.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231025_101434424.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1698275702)
 

 I really want to cover up those joints. I was toying with the idea of something like this.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231025_101550960.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1698275787)
 

 Doing the joints for that would be tricky, but I think I could pull it off with a few tries. :D I also thought about making some thin ERC to face it with and decided to give that a whack and see how it looks. So I grabbed a couple of boards from the garage but the weather was so nice I really had to get to the mill and cut some lumber. I got a couple of logs done after my debacle you can read about on the 'something dumb thread'. ;D
 After the mill I ran to HD and got a box 'o screws and some different biscuits to try. Came home and setup to plane out the ERC, then cut some off and split it on the TS, then back to the planer to make the two halves the same size, but the planer started then died and remained dead. Checked the breaker, all good, went over to see if the plug wiggled out but saw the cord was black and the plug was pretty hot. Killed the breaker and took the plug apart.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231025_161935424.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1698275662)
 

 Toasted, hot wire burned right off. Well, I had just got back from HD and wasn't going to run right back there. I thought I would change it over to a twist lock, but that means I also have to change the plug on the dust collector which uses the same drop. I could find one socket and one plug, but it took quite a search to hunt up a second plug. Finally I started rewiring around 5:30 but those things always give me fits. As tired as I was, I decided to bag it until tomorrow with a better rested head.
 Some days it just ain't in the cards for me. Today was one of those, tomorrow we will see what we get.

Bushed again. I started back in on rewiring my 220v plug this morning and quickly realized what I was doing was stupid, putting some older style 20A plugs and sockets in and suffering with it to boot. That's a 30 amp breaker and I have already burned up 2 20A plugs on the planer, so I bit the bullet and went to town and got two 30A 250V plugs and a line cord plug to match. 100 bucks made for a pretty thick bullet to bite on, for sure. Those thing used to be 15 bucks. Anyway, those went on clean, easy, and quick and I am back up and running after 2 hours shot. 
 I planed out the ERC strips I was gonna use for the face trim and carefully measured out where I need to center the cross pieces. I cut those to my sketch precisely. I laid them on the unit and realized I missed one by an inch. >:( SO I cut some more off the board, split it again, then planed it again and measured a lot more careful and this time I hit it pretty close. I messed around with this trim work for a while. Then I had to get the cabinet to the next stage so I made a quick template for the drill holes and got all those in and eventually screwed the thing together so I could get the clamps out of the way. Somewhere in there we had dinner and I went back out and fiddled with the trim some more and also did some sanding now that it is all screwed together to match out all the edges. The client finally called me back and we had a chat about where I was and if it was OK with her. She wanted photos, so I texted her those and am hoping she can understand that something 'in the white' does not represent what it will look like when finished. She says she will let me know tomorrow.
 I have in mind some nice ERC face trim to make it pop a little.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231026_185831233.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1698369573)
 

I can't put the edging on until the cabinet is finished glued and screwed. I am cutting the ERC wider than needed and letting some hang over both edges and will glue it in place. Once dry. I will run around with an edge trim router bit to make it all match and just file the inside corners. Once the finish is on I think it will look pretty slick. But I have to see what she says first.
 I came in from the shop sometime after 8:30 and was getting ready to take my boots off and Bill called. After some small talk he finally let out the he had an "emergency order" for some 1-3/4 x 10x 10' boards. I flipped out a little and told him I ain't Amazon or Burger King and you can't get it tomorrow. He laughed and explained it was a carpenter friend who go himself in a bind, made some mis-cuts, and need these 2 lousy boards to bail himself out. He also has a larger order behind it he could wait a week or two for (which still makes me feel like Amazon). OK, I get it, we all get in a  bind sometimes. So I'll go run his boards off in the morning and do some others as long as I am there.
 Pat has a show this weekend and I have to help her set up tomorrow afternoon. I absolutely HATE this show. We have to carry everything about 400' into the building and she brings so much stuff it wears me out. I might have lost my temper a little when we were loading her van today because I am already stressing about busting my butt on this stupid show for the little money it generates, but for her, it is decent and she has done this one for 20 years, so I shut up and do what I'm told. But I don't have to be happy about it, do I? I'm getting old too. She says she is 'retiring and selling out', but when a show is coming up, she starts making stuff she is short on. It's making me crazy. The last show she did was her biggest 2 day show of the year. She said this year was her last year, but while we were packing her up to leave, she was already talking about next year. It's making me crazy. Helping her load in and load out of that show cost me 70 bucks at the Chiro Doc and 2 days lost work.
 Yeah, I know, I am overtired. Tomorrow is another day, I'll start fresh. Right now, I just want to take my boots off.

Anyone going to ask if that is brown paint?  :snowball:

I hope not.

I wonder how that color combination will go together when the cherry ages. How about just a 1/4 thick strip of cherry to extend the shelve fronts to the outside edges with a radius at the corner. 

Well, the Cherry will darken and the ERC will go from the pink it is now to a deeper color also. I have done some cremation urns with both of these woods together and they blend pretty well, but different colors.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20230126_171251160.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1674781429)
 

I'm partial to a bead board molding.  Either a single or triple bead (width of the whole face trim) with the groove stained darker than the rest of the molding.   


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/48503/IMG_2014.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1698412985)
 

Even dado-like groove(s) the width of a table saw blade could give some depth to the trim.

You must have different cherry.  All the cherry I cut from my backyard turns a pretty  deep red after about a year. This is our sofa table and all the boards looked identical when built but a year later the joints all look like crap because of the color variation from my poor sawing job. It definitely wouldn't look good with cedar. Plus in my mind those v intersections just look like a patch job.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34694/20231027_095717.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1698415131)
 

I have used those beads that Ted mentioned in some small projects and helped richen them up some

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34694/20231027_095615.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1698415133)
 

I'm with you SawyerTed on the beaded edge. I personally like running the profile on both the face and edge, really pops at that point. The downside to it is that's not an easy profile to execute cleanly. Any slight glitches when routering and it really sticks out. I've made quite a bit of the double bead and made a bit of kindling in the process  :D

the bead could be applied to a strip but in cherry.  just run it on the sides to cover the dado, and leave the shelves as they are, or a round over.  If the ERC has any drying to do, then it will separate and the joints will not look nice, although they do now.  ERC will turn a brown (midwestern definition) color eventually.

Well it seems it unanimous, nobody likes my idea (except the client). You seem to have some strong opinions on what looks good and what doesn't 21, I also see nothing wrong with your table. So, mileage varies here for sure. ;D
 This issue I have with running beads is that they have to be put on the strip before it is on the face. If I put them on after the facing is on, the intersecting mitered corners are going to look very poor. Likewise I don't care for the look with the shelves not matching the sides if I leave the trim off the shelves.
 Still, I hear you and will have time to think on it, because I am doing that other folks are demanding of me right now and have no time for my own work.

The problem was back when I started sawing @YellowHammer (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=11488) hadn't  started making videos and I flat sawed everything then stacked them like that because of a video I watched on YouTube. Each board had different grain and distance from the pith so when glued up it didn't look bad but after aging the color isn't even. Now I saw around the log and match them up with similar end grain that helps with a uniform color so joints look natural and don't stick out after a year. I learn a lot on the forum. The customer always gets the final word and if they like it everyone's happy. 

Tricky.....would be easier to trim the front if the shelves were set in a bit from the parameter.

the client is the most important person in the equation.  On my first suggestion of a roman oge, I did not realize the shelves were dadod into sides.  I thought even seeing the face of the dado is OK.  It is your ballgame coach!

Hilltop, I'm sorry, probably just too tired, but I am not following what you are suggesting.

Doc, maybe it's just me, but I don't care to see the dado's. I don't know why I didn't think of that when I came up with the design. This is why I'm not a woodworker. You thinkk the dado's are fine, I don't. I think the color contrasts are fine, 21 doesn't. As you say, the client holds the trump card (well I think that the expression, but I don't play cards, so I don't know what a trump card is, I just know it has nothing to do the 'THE Donald'. :D)

 Between sawmill work, fixing the wife's van and helping her setup at the craft show I hate the most, I had no time to work on that shelf unit today. Just as well, couldn't focus on it anyway and this is not the time to make a mistake. ;D I did look for beading router bits but can't see myself spending 50 bucks on a bit right now. Maybe later.
 I got to the mill before 9am to run off the emergency order, but not before doing three other logs I had on the deck. Man those 12' 6x6 hemlock are killing me, glad they are done. Carrying them to the stack makes my knees nearly buckle. I looked up the weight tonight, says they are about 160 pounds, can that be right? I also cut some 6x6 pine, and it was lighter but not a LOT lighter. The 1x10 jacket boards were a LOT lighter. ;D The blower is working really well on the mill and it's great to be able to walk along the backside and not climb over a pile of sawdust. Today, for the very first time ever I dumped a 6x6 off the backside because I forgot to put the stops all the way up. If that was a month ago with all the sawdust piled up, it would have been a bear to get out. Instead it was pretty easy, just go and pick it up. Another plus is at the end of the session, I pull the hose off the chute on the mill head and use it like a vacuum to clean all the residual sawdust off the mill. Now I have to make time to work on a collection system so we can collect the dust, keep it dry, and sell it off. We have nothing bagged now and the requests will be coming in again soon. We are planning on doing firewood 1/3 cord bags to minimize the handling. Mostly it goes to chicken raisers. I don't know what they do with it. Maybe they make powdered eggs? :D

 I'm just bone tired tonight. My biggest victory of the day was that I didn't screw anything up. I just did work for others today, maybe tomorrow I can do some of my own work. The temp hit 78° today and I soaked through my t-shirt twice. Tomorrow should be similar. The attic 'kiln' hit 98° today, so there is still some hope for drying up there. Sunday the temp won't break 50, so here it comes, fall has arrived. I'll be earlier in bed tonight for sure.
 Let's see what tomorrow brings.
 

that is the point.  we all have our tastes and designs.  Heck some guys even trim the legs of benches....  :o on a sawmill!!!!  :D It is all good

Make the shelves less depth than the cabinet (inset) then you can trim the cabinet front independent of the shelves.

Using a stopped dado for the shelves will hide the dado end. (can be used for flush or inset shelves.

Quote from: doc henderson on October 28, 2023, 12:13:46 AM
that is the point.  we all have our tastes and designs.  Heck some guys even trim the legs of benches....  :o on a sawmill!!!!  :D It is all good

Sawing bench legs on the mill sounds like a genius idea to me. ;)

Well genius or not, that comparison does well to point out that we all have different tastes, approaches, and senses of what 'looks good'. The client in this case is looking for a nice looking and solid custom sized shelf unit to hold specific appliances in her treatment office. She did not ask for a 'Tule Peak', or 'Larry' quality piece of furniture. :D ;D If she had, the price would have been 4 or 5 times what it will be and I would have sub-conned it out. ;D

 This conversation has served me well to get me thinking on alternatives. (called 'learning' in the old days.) For instance, now that I understand what Hilltop was suggesting, I can consider that for the next time. Too late for this one, too far along. But his idea also gave me a different idea on how to joint the trim on the shelf edges to the trim on the upright edges to make it look clean. I'll try that as a 'plan B' if I screw this one up.

 Still not sure if I will get back on it today. This is the last day of the current heat wave (78 yesterday). The wind is low, the wife is out of the house, and her craft show 'pile' is also out of the house for today. This makes perfect conditions to get the chimney cleaned out. I'd rather do this now and have it done, so that when she puts away her 'stuff' for the season, I can at least start making evening fires to raise the comfort level in the coming weeks.

 It's a special group here. I often wish we all lived closer (at least for short periods) so we could hang out around a campfire drinking coffee (or whatever) and shooting the breeze, or visiting each other for work projects, or skills sharing, or whatever. I know we get that or rare occasions, but we can't get everyone that would like to be there and those visits are always too short. We are a disparate group with a lot in common. :)

Tom,

   Is that disparate or desperate? :D

   I agree on the get togethers. I call it cross-pollination.

Sounds like a good time up until the cross pollination part!   :D :D :D

   You are a sick man, Ted! I hope you are not one of those self-pollinators. :D :D :D

   

 :o :o

:D :D :D

BOYS?  ....   BOYS!  ... "Knock it off" as my dad used to say. :) :) :)

QuoteI often wish we all lived closer (at least for short periods)

Like the disclaimer. smiley_thumbsup :D

Doc, you know I'm as happy to share ideas as the next guy... :D

Geez guys! Turn my back for a few hours to try and get some work done and this is what happens? Shame! :D
 Howard, I said "disparate group with a lot in common" you might have to ponder that a bit. I typed it slower this time. I did not say anything about and 'pollinating going on'.
 Ted, shame on you, Preachers son an all. ;D
 Doc, thanks for trying to restore order.
 Resonator, my disclaimer was in reference to the thought I had that most of us live where we do by choice and and would not want to change locales. Imagine asking someone from the glaciated north to endure the summers in Grits country, or or have the Grits Group suffer through a northern winter. That just cruel on both sides of the coin. :D
 Now y'all listen up. I am going to go back out the the shop for another hour or so of work, can you guys behave while I am gone? ;D

 :D Tom, everything I learned, I learned it from the members' kids!   :o :o :D :D :D

Just boils down to grits again :o. Seems like we have 3 genders whenever threads head south. southern grits likers, northern grits haters, and closet grits lovers.  Have to write a song about this to sing around the campfire while drinking fermented grits ;D.

Tom I liked the cedar edging. I just got caught up on the thread.  The beaded curved edging reminds me of very nice furniture pieces (very formal)
...but not what seems to be in favor taste wise to dare I say my kids.... as I sit in here in a room with lots of gun stock Red Oak /pecan stained wood. It looks nothing like the gray imitation barnwood, "imagined" rustic look many crave today, but my wife and I like it.  The cremation boxes are well received,  I know they have given some comfort to some pretty sad folks.

Nebraska, I do what I can with what I have. I do like the beaded look and will try it at some point but I thought some simpler would look better here (in spite of popular opinion  ;D) . We'll see what the client says when the moment of truth comes. I am sweating this one out a little bit.

 21, I think there are more than 3 sub-groups, don't forget the 'grits deniers' and the 'closet grits lovers' and others.
-------------

Well yesterday I had a full day in the shop and got a lot done on that unit. I glued on the trim and fitted all the shelf trim pieces then routed it flush all around and sanded everything. I took a break and cleaned the house chimney while the wife, and her craft show pile was out of the house. Good to go for when she puts her stuff away. I went and helped her load out of the show, came home and unpacked the truck after dinner, then went back out in the shop and worked a little while longer putting in fill glue on the trim. Glad to see that order was restored here in my absence. ;D
 This morning I went and sanded all the dried glue off and then put a little 45° edge break on all the trim. I think that will look good. I put on a coat of sanding sealer on all the faces trying to avoid the joints. After lunch I flipped and did the other sides. Later in the afternoon I hand sanded everything, then put a coat of urethane on all the inside facing surfaces. I figured finishing would go faster if I did all the insides before I assembled it. It's much easier to see and work on when it's flat. After dinner I got on a second coat. I know I am rushing it, but I'd like to move this along. I am trying to get one paying project completed each week, and I am now a week behind. Tomorrow I will likely decide which project(s) are next and get started on that (those). Meantime I will also keep moving on the finishing of the current build, but drying takes time, so I can get going on the next 'thing'. In the meantime, I am encouraged by the intiial appearance.


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 Tomorrow is another day and I am glad to see I am averaging 9-10 hour workdays and haven't needed or taken a nap in over a week now. But I am tired by 9pm.

looks great!

I agree with Doc, looking good. 👍 

Well it was looking good. :D
I am having that annual issue of getting my finishes right during the season change and remembering how I did it best last time. Between the temp swings in the shop until we get into full heating season, the high humidity, and my memory lapse I am having to relearn, and lose time...again.
After a promising start Sunday, it got worse on Monday, so I did a lot of sanding but the finish isn't hardening up fully, so sanding is a rough go. I sanded last night again and am hoping I can get back to a better start today as soon as the shop hits temp. It just takes time.

The finishes finally hardened up and sanded easy and quick this morning, so I did that, wiped all the parts down and after it dried I thinned out some fresh poly and brushed that on. It's a little bit better this time and I will wait again until tomorrow and hopefully just a light sanding before I lay on a second coat of very thin stuff. Then I can start assembling.
 To fill the rest of the day I made a start on one item off my long list of 'gotta do's' for the winter season. That was to unpack, organize and repack the lumber rack upstairs in the shop. I didn't unpack the whole rack, but I started pulling oddball pieces, some I milled when I first started and they are VERY ugly. ;D I had some with horrendous taper, sweeps, way out of square, you name it, I did it. :D So I took a half dozen of these pathetic boards and trimmed them chucked any junk split parts in the BTU pile and planed out what was left. I need to make device stands to replace what I sold so I chopped a lot of these junk things into about 4x4" pieces and made a bunch of them, then what was left as usable straight, flat lumber, went back in the rack. To be fair I was surprised to find some nice WO in there that I can make use of. After that I set up the table router and chamfered or radius all the non live edges on those blocks. On some other day I will set up for putting the slot in. Eventually they will get done and finished as I finish other projects. I'll try to pull some boards once in a while and get them planed trimmed and back in. some of them take a LOT of planeing to make useful, but they are well dried and settled, so make good building lumber. Getting them all done will add room in the rack, and when they are done, I can pull and repack the whole thing then plane out the ERC I have over in the garage and get that in the rack or at least a bunch of it. It gives me a good chance to see how far my milling skills have come along. Some of that stuff is brutally ugly. I will have to figure out an accelerated plan for burning or disposing of planer chips. ;D

 Last evening Bill dumped off a dump truck load of logs so I have more bucking, splitting and stacking to do. Just in time for the snotty weather. ;D

Not a bad day today, but not a great one. Progress was made. I have been fighting a badd battery on the splitter and charging, then trying to start it, then repeat, since yesterday morning. Finally got that started mid-morning today, but I had to go to the mill so I let it run for a while, then shut it down. I did a light sand on one of the cabinet sides that needed a better coat (I missed two spots) so I did that this morning also. It looks like I am, as of today, back in full time heating the shop, no more morning fires, I am back to feeding the stove for full overnight burns to keep the building warm. So I was out there at 9:30 tonight packing the stove, lets see if I remember how this works. :D
 It hit about 27 here this morning and didn't warm up past 47° all day. BUT, the sun came out around 10am and when I headed to the mil at noon or so it was a beautiful day. I was making lumber for about a half hour when the clouds came back and it cooled off and got snotty right quick. I finished the pending order in about 4 hours and my fingers were uncomfortable as I cleaned everything up and packed out.
 Got hom around 4:30 and checked my finishes, and stoked the stove. Had some phone calls with former co-workers, apparently the shop is on strike as of Tuesday, so things are getting interesting. I'll be interested to see how this goes. Last time the contract came around, I was involved, but they avoided a strike. This time, it's different and the union is trying to make up a little of what they got screwed out of during the covid years. (Taking one for the team, as it were.) I won't say much except that when I started there they had $28 mil in annual sales. This year they had $58 mil in sales with 30 less people on the payroll. The facility is delivering record revenues to the corporation and shareholders, but they are crying poverty to the union. Whatever, I'm retired, right? But I hate the way these corporations are screwing the working people. The only ting that matters is money, in there own pockets, at any cost. Burns my butt.

 Tomorrow is another day, and I'll be in my nice warm shop working on that shelf unit and might get a visit from one of my former, now striking, co-workers on his way to picket duty. But that's another story. :D ;D

Burns mine too.  >:(
Then the one in charge makes 2.3 million dollars a year.  :o  ???
Plus a company car, plus meals, .........

   Maybe we should have all just played professional sports. ::)

Well I guess it's time for an update whether you guys are ready or not. ;D End of last week one of the grandsons was ill so he got sent home form school and spent the day here. I could see he really was ill, mostly he slept and had no energy. I did my usual odds and ends, shop work, etc. Saturday we went over to Bill's place for our monthly potluck (carefully planned) dinner with them and my daughter and SIL. Lots of hard laughing and good fun. One of the topics of conversation was the upcoming elections and I felt a little bad that I had not done a bit more to help get Bill's name out. He did not seem concerned, "It is what it is" and we will see what happens. Still I was hoping for the best. I thought he had a good shot.  Anyway, we had an outstanding dinner of roast beef, some fancy veggie stuff
 Sunday I did some firewood and put better than half a load on the trailer. Monday I overfilled the trailer but my energy was sapped for some reason and had no interest in stacking it. Almost all the wood is past what we would call 'prime' but it was a load of logs Bill had, and I figured it was better than dumping them in the woods to finish rotting out. BTU's are BTU's right? I'll use it for the fall season and just burn more of it. It's real pithy, but not wet and rotten, if that makes sense. I still have a bunch more to split.


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 So Tuesday I moved the trailer over and started stacking but the energy was still way down. About halfway through I started feeling light headed for no reason. Then I got woozy and had to grab on the trailer and squat down for a minute. No reason or idea why. I was stacking wood, not working hard at all. So I went in the shop sat by the stove and sucked down a bottle of water. Then I went out and finished it off. My stomach didn't feel well since Monday and I just felt 'off'. I think I was enjoying a gift from my grandson. :D
 So Tuesday was election day and the wife and I got off to vote in the mid-morning. One of my old friends working at the polls said the turnout was heavier than he expected for a 'just local' election. Bill got started late in the campaign and I was hopeful he would pull it off. When the results started coming in a bit after 9pm it didn't look so good at all. He only got 15% of the vote. It was hard to tell from the info I could get if we had all the votes in our town counted or not. As time went on I was pretty sure that they were all in. (Only 2 polling places, plus the mail-ins). We had a chat on the phone and I gave him the bad news. (He does not have internet, so was literally in the dark.) Well, at 10:30 when I hit the refresh button again the numbers changed...a LOT. So I called Bill (and woke up his household) to let him know that he was was no longer 4th , but now third in a ballot where the top two are elected, and he was only a few votes from actually being elected. No, he didn't win, but he ran a respectable race and was very close to getting in. This made him very happy (as well as finding out we replaced out town supervisor) and a few other results. He is already planning on running again next year and from what we learned this time, I'm pretty confident we can get him in. Today I started collecting some of his signs for use next year. ;D

 So in between all this other stuff I have been working on finishing off that shelf unit. End of last week I finally glued and screwed to together, glued the plugs in, cut those off and sanded everything flush and pretty. 


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 I started out with my usual issues of lousy finishes and re-doing it all over. But at some point I began to re-teach myself, got the thinning right, worked on my brush techniques and overall approach and it is coming along, very slowly, but very nicely. I haven't been doing much 'backing up' at all, but I have a lot of surfaces and face to do. I am approaching the end though and it's not looking too bad.


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The above photo is right side up, but the shelf is upside down as the bottom dries.  Those ID coins that Doc made me continue to make my stuff look good.


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 Hopefully this will be done by next week, but the finishes are coming out so good I want to continue that and get it all to look like that. The edges are my next focus. Not fancy, but it's a very long way from where I started a couple of years ago. This is almost like real woodworking. :D (I said 'almost'.)
 Ah, tomorrow is another day.

The shelf looks great Tom!

Bummer Bill didn't win, it sure seems like he needs more to do!

I wore and discussed your Woodsman shirt yesterday at work. I currently have a morning meeting and a couple of the guys were asking about it. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to get any new work from these discussions, but at least people are looking.

 Well, just a short(?) update. Added coats continued as time allowed on the shelf unit and I thought I had done the final coat on the top Friday, but Saturday morning it had not dried with a consistent sheen across the top so I did another light hand sanding cleaned it again, and laid on another coat with a slightly thicker layer of poly in the afternoon. I just came in from kicking up the stove for the day and it looks good. Pending a full inspection for unseen drips or marks, I am calling it 'done' and will let the client know later today and arrange for pickup.
 While the finishes were taking their time drying on the shelf, I started a batch of those device stands from some live edge scraps and/or board ends. Doing the batch in fragments between other stuff. Sanding all those blocks was the most tedious and I broke it up over several sessions because my hands were numb from the ROS. They are all sanded now and waiting for a wipe down and finishing. I'll set up a temp table over in the corner where they are out of the way and I can add a coat when drying allows. It will probably take a week to get those finished as a secondary 'thing'. Before I do that I have to use the same corner of the shop to take some photos of that shelf unit before it leaves. No idea how many stands I made and some are pretty funky and might get burned, but there is at least 20+ so I don't have to do any for a while except specials. I have had several requests for LP album stands (for display?) in the same design, but have been hesitating until I know what these guys really want exactly.
 While waiting for finishes to cure and my hands to get their feeling back I started another project, mostly just for fun, but as with most stuff it is a learning experience. About a year ago, my cousin in VT sent me home with a ice cream parlor stool that had no seat thinking I could maybe 'do something with it'. So I've had a year to think on it and since I can't turn wood I decided on an octagon seat pieced together from Cherry and ERC in a patchwork pattern. Started it a few days ago and last night did a bunch more work, still have a few pieces to cut as I work through it. I am finding challenges as expected, but the basic concept is coming along. Photos and more on this later.

 So my friends Mike and Ruth and their band did a rare local gig on Friday night and before I could call them and ask if they'd 'put me on the list', a neighbor called, told me they were going and would I like to go along as their guest? Sure. Mike and Ruth are doing a short tour of gigs in the northeast sharing the bill with Sara Lee Guthrie (Arlo's daughter). Actually more like sharing the stage for most of it. I do so love Sara Lee's writing and singing, it's always a joy. Since she's moved to Austin, we don't see her around here as much, but she came up for a tour with her friends.  Mostly she does her own stuff, but she does throw in one or two of her Dad's songs (she did City of New Orleans Friday night). It was a great gig and a real blast as I don't get out much anymore. When touring folks like these play local they feel very much 'at home' and relaxed so the show is looser, less formal, and you can hear some treats or good stories. They had played south of here the night before and were going to Egremont, MA on Saturday night, then Boston, MA tonight before Sara Lee flies home tomorrow.
 My neighbors had a great time too and got involved in a very long business discussion with the club owner and we wound up closing the place around 2am. I am not used to that and just kind of 'hung out' waiting for the discussions to end. I still had to tend the shop stove before bed.

 Needless to say I was pretty useless Saturday morning and I had two craft fairs I wanted to check out for next year. We got going late but we got 'er done, one was OK, the other, not so much. Then I got home and got some work done. I worked on those stands and the chair seat but was lacking in energy.
 Today we have another show to check out this morning, then I have to get to the mill and see about getting back on that shed order. Bill started pestering me yesterday about it. I guess he has a carpenter he wants to keep busy this week. The weather isn't the best but maybe he can lend me a hand today.
 It's just another day.

Well, yesterday morning I did a final inspection on the shelf unit and my heart sunk when I found a few dried drips that were so fine that I missed them on the first 4 passes. So I sand it and cleaned it and got it ready for a light touch up coat. Then the wife and I took a ride to check out another show for next year. It was pretty cool out, but sunny, so a nice day and the vendors seemed in high spirits. Great location but terrible advertising. I'll call that one a 'maybe'.
 Then we came home, had lunch and I put a quick coat on on the shelf. I loaded up my tools and headed to the mill. The drive is exactly 2 miles, the first mile on blacktop town road, then the second mile on dirt private roads. Well, wouldn't you know it, but even on a Sunday I got stuck in construction traffic a half mile from the mill. >:(

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 Now that's Bill in the middle of the road filling potholes with a shovel. But I couldn't make out who the operator was in the Toolcat.


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 It was little Inga! No, she's not sitting there going 'vroom, vroom!' she is operating the machine and following Dad down the road and following his direction. 6 years old and cute as a button. Now she's an operator. Made me wonder when she is gonna start running the sawmill. :D

 So after I got around the construction zone I drove up to the shop and dropped off his campaign signs I had collected off the roadsides to use for next year. Then I headed to the mill and found the newest 'acquisition':

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 Anybody need a tank? :D Then plan is to cut these old tanks into fire rings, apparently the bowl ends bring big bucks in that format. Who knew?

 SO I got to the mill did some inventory work, and cleaning a bit, then Bill showed up with the Toolcat and I milled up some logs and he went off for other stuff, then returned and helped me cut slabs and close up.

 I came back home and started doing some more work on this idea I had for a stool seat. I wanted to get some more time messing with that biscuit joiner and I also wanted to make this stool up and get it back to my cousin in VT. SO here is the basic layout of the pieces:


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And here is where the biscuits will go:


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 I messed around with that for the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening, then again today. This piece will wind up being a full hexagon. Today I did all the gluing and trimmed it into the hex shape, forgot to get a photo, but you know what a hex looks like. The joints were not perfect and I knew I would have trouble with that, getting perfect 45's is a real problem I have not figured out yet. I knew I would blow it to some degree and today I had to do some epoxy fills where I screwed up. This isn't for sale, it's just a gift and I still think I can pull it off.

 I did do a final inspection on the shelf unit and it is done. ;D


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 I'm pretty happy with the way my Cherry turned out.


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 Tomorrow I will either continue on that seat or be at the mill, or split more wood, or parts of all three. ;D
 Got cold here last night (22) and the shop dropped to 54 or so overnight. I still have not started the house stove, but it's all ready to go. Couldn't find it here on the forum what date I started last year, but I am right around the average start up date right about now. Just waiting until the consistent overnight lows are the case. Tonight the forecast is for a low of 34° which isn't bad. My shop firewood has a lot of crap because I burn anything there and it goes fast without a lot of BTU's. I think I will come up short there but I still have more crappy logs to process.
 Took the wife in for her follow-up visit on her knee problem today. Turns out she has pretty bad tendonitis which is the real cause of her pain, beyond that of the missing cartilage. So now she has to set up for PT, use topicals, and do some exercises for it. The good news is I get to keep working in the kitchen and helping her with whatever she wants. ;D

 Tomorrow is another day.

Tendinitis is better than torn, hope she has a speedy recovery and that shelf project looks good.

Yeah, I'm glad that shelf is done. I finally heard from the client today, she says she doesn't have a day off between now and the first of the year to come pick it up.  :-\ ??? Hmmmm. Guess I could have put that one off to get a different one done. I hope I don't get stiffed. But moving on...

 Today was a mixed bag. Bill called last night to say they were building that shed today and although I had most of the basics done from the bottom up (as they build it), there was still some stuff missing off the order. So I headed down this morning and finished the header beam and the purlins, everything else had already been picked up. Bill showed up around 11:30 and found some stuff I had cut and forgot about that would finish off the siding, so we were done. He loaded it in his truck and ran it off to the crew. I milled out one more junk log to get rid of it and just made 1x6's and some OWB fodder. I started cleaning up and was nearly done. It was a beautiful day and hit over 60° with bright sun and no wind. Bill comes back, madder than a wet hen. Apparently the client talked to the guys building the shed and convinced them is was a 6x8' shed, not 6x10' and they went and cut 2' off of each on the hemlock floor runners just before Bill showed up. He was pretty ticked off because a) they took the clients word for it, and 2) they never gave him a call to check or let him know. I can tell you I was none too happy either.
 So we were in a hurry and we Grabbed a nice 20' hemlock log and bucked it into 2 10' logs, then made 3 more 6x6 runners and some more flooring for the next shed in a hurry, loaded them up and off he went. I cleaned the mill all over again.
 Life has gotten easier since we added the blower and we have been messing with 'next steps. The end goal is to get this stuff into bags he can sell. Containment has been the challenge. At first I just ran the hose out and let it go so I could get some wood made up. Last week we tried hanging the hose in a garbage can and that worked but once the level was halfway up, it would just blow out over the top. Then Bill remembered I gave him one of my Woodstock dust collector covers mad to fit a very specific steel garbage can (which he doesn't have yet). But this morning when I got in the Toolcat I saw two garbage cans and that top, so I set it up and the dang thing worked. 

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231116_132036461_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1700182301)
 
Now we have to figger a way to have it fill the bags we want to use. I just piddle with it a little at a time and eventually we will have a system that works. Then we will change it. ;D
One log pretty much filled a garbage can.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231116_132030691_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1700182452)


Another small improvement that helps a lot are these stone pallets we are using for the new slab sizes. These have been standard around here for almost 100 years.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231116_113137461_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1700182229)
 

 They are used to take slabs of bluestone and after a load is one, the two side racks are strapped together. The sides are on attached, they just drop in the pockets and will pull right out then there is no load on them. They stack easy that way. These are perfect for our 36" slabs. Shorter slabs mean more pieces and one log fill the forks, so I fill these after the forks are full. Just stuff to make things easier.

 Anyway, came home, quick lunch and back in the shop. I sanded the stool seat I am working on, then ran it over the round router bit for the edges, top and bottom.  I layed out and drilled the screw holes, then put on the fist coat of poly on the bottom.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231116_145834762.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1700183465)
 

 I don't know how, but I messed up the pattern and got things out of order. What the heck, I can't undo it now. It was just an experiment. I don't have the wood or time to do it twice and it's a freebie anyway.
 
 I also put another coat of finish on these device stands. Just fill in stuff for shows and some of it is really junky wood, but all from scraps. Sometimes I give these away to nice folks.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231114_152654223_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1700184394)
 

I've got about 40 of them in this batch. Hopefully I don't need to make any for a while. I never really thought these would sell much at all, but I was wrong.

 Tomorrow is another day and I'll be starting on the next commission job.

Well I have not done much of anything important lately, but I am working full days, every day. We did take a few hours off for Thanksgiving and went up to my daughter's place for a nice dinner. I promised myself I wouldn't eat too much, and I don't think I did, but I was still uncomfortable that night.
 I posted some of the stuff I've finished in the last few weeks over on the 'watcha makin" thread. In between all that stuff I have been trying to get together enough wood for the next commission job, a stereo cabinet (no doors). I have some maple and ash I am doing some epoxy pours on the cracks and knots, and some red oak for the top. Doing epoxy means 20 minutes work, then 24 hours of waiting. I might be doing my first 'faux live edge' by joining on a live edge trim around the top, but we'll see. It's a new idea for me.
 So I had time to pull all the wood out of my lumber rack upstairs, add 2 shelves, and put it all back a bit neater so I can see what I have. It's better but I didn't make as much room as I had hoped.
 I reached the painful realization that I just don't nearly have enough wood to do anything of consequence. I have been culling out the junk and making trinkets where I can. I have pulled stuff off my drying racks into the shop and reclaimed some of it, some isn't worth it. A hard lesson in caring for my wood, or not. >:( The last couple of jobs I have been sucking wind for wood. So I need to fix that. I do have some decent stock for making rustic benches and such, but they take a lot of storage room when done.
 So I have been doing a lot of soul searching and know I need to make wood and get it dried. This isn't the greatest time of year for me to do that. I don't even have any EWP wood in stock the make anything with.
 I think I have to borrow a machine and long trailer from Bill, load up my logs and get the down to the mill and make lumber, then fix my drying racks and get the wood going. Perhaps save some money for kiln drying at the end of the winter. $1.50/BF adds up quick.
----------------------
I still have some lousy wood to split and burn. This last load I got is terrible to the point that I don't even want to stack it. So I am splitting it and leaving it right on the trailer parked outside the shop side door and it goes right into the stove. I can't get much BTU's out of it, it needs a lot more air to get going and then it burns fast. I just want to get rid of it before the cold weather sets in. I count it as a buffer, saving my better stuff for winter, but its a lot more work and won't really hold an overnight fire well, if at all. We are already into the weather where working at the splitter doesn't appeal to me. Today didn't make 40° and was damp and overcast all day. Snotty. But I have to get wood split and I have to get logs milled, so I'd better figure it out, right?
------------------------
I have one more show to go, on the 10th, and I don't have high hopes for that. I should have taken in one of those shows in the last 2 weeks. Bad choice. Once I finish this show my income is pretty much done until Mushroom logs start in March. I am still watching for an enclosed trailer to store and transport my inventory in, but that will wait until I have the cash saved up. Right now I need the money for January taxes and insurance bills I know are coming in and I am still a bit short on that. I've got to find a better way to sell stuff out side of the show's and during the winter.

 Ah well, tomorrow is another day and maybe I'll figure it all out then. :D

Tom,

   I was thinking of you and your mushroom logs earlier this week. I leave a climbing stand in the woods all year and when I went to use it this week it was in a maple from last year. As I inched up it I noticed mushrooms in the tree and thought you would be happy with it then it dawned on me - Do mushrooms grown in live trees? Then about 20' up I found the tree had broken nearly clean through but the top had not fallen yet. I very carefully and very quickly racheted myself back down to Terra firma and moved my set up to a good solid white oak. Evidently my tree died since last season and you do not want to use a dead tree for a climbing stand!

   How is the upstairs "kiln" working? Is it still drying lumber as you posted earlier?

There are (in my simple mind) 2 basic types of mushrooms, those that are parasitic (which are many fewer) and those that are decomposers, which the majority of the mushroom kingdom is. Finding mushrooms on growing (live) trees usually means they have 'an issue' and won't last long. There are also symbiotic mushrooms that will grow on live trees and do no damage.
 Generally anytime you see mushrooms on a live tree should give you pause. ;D

 Yeah the 'attic kiln' is still running (as if I could stop it) and I have some junk up there, but in the cold months I don't expect much to happen. High temp up there today was 40 when the sun was on the roof this morning. In the good months, I could do some 'hobby quantity' of wood. but I can't put 1,000 pounds of RO up there. Right now I have mostly interesting pieces of various live surfaced small stuff like little burls and some hollow RO chunks I am trying to find uses for.

 I have not gone up and checked the MC on the stuff up there lately knowing there won't be much progress.

Ann and I went to a lot of fairs and shows, some inside too. We went to one where a man was selling beautiful small stuff like end tables with dovetail drawers in them I don't think he sold much. And yes there were big $$. What I did see was a man who made bird feeders out of canning jars. He hallowed out the wood on the bottom to fit the screw-in lid into. cut slots for the food to come out. I think he cut the glass. Drilled 4 holes in the wood to put a 1/8" dowel in for the bird to land on. The dowels were inside the feeder. Some assembly is required. :D :D If I remember right he had a fixed wire on top with a hook, maybe he drilled a hole in it not sure.
Anyhow, everybody had one in their hand walking around at the show. Everybody loves bird feeders, especially the ladies, and that's where the $$ are. ;)

Selling for $20,00 each. The point I'm making is most people will buy things that are easy to grab and go with it.
Ann wanted one, I said why, we have 100 feeders already.  ::)
Thinking small things move well.

Quote from: Peter Drouin on November 26, 2023, 10:30:08 PMSelling for $20,00 each. The point I'm making is most people will buy things that are easy to grab and go with it. Ann wanted one, I said why, we have 100 feeders already.  Thinking small things move well.

If you are selling at fairs or local markets, that's what people will buy. They don't go to those events to spend $1000 on furniture. The $10 - $50 range is more like it. Cutting boards, drink coasters, paper towel holders, and at this time of year, Christmas decorations.  

Now if you also make higher end stuff, then maybe have a sample or 2, some nice photos and business cards to give out. You might get a lead on a bigger sale. But your plan for the day is selling your 50 bird feeders @$20. If you do that, then it's a good day.  

    When I go to a Flea Market/Fair it is mostly advertising. I may sell enough bird houses and tomato stakes to pay the lot rent and I might sell a more expensive bench or two but mostly I talk to people and give out business cards and pick up a future sawing job or two. It is hard to gauge the effectiveness because often those future jobs are 6 months to a year down the road. But, since I like to meet people and talk I still have a good time. I also meet people with skills to compliment what I do so some may be future suppliers. I also refer my customers to them if they are in the market for what they sell and those vendors sent me some business so it all works out.

I just typed a detailed reply and fat fingered it away. >:( Suffice to say that the 'smalls' are nice extra money but they don't feed the bulldog (or taxman). They do get people in the booth and reaching in their pockets, but man would I have to sell a LOT to make any decent money. I do have over an SGU worth of device stands in the show stock now because they are moving. I am also working on the album stands I keep getting requests for. But all this stuff takes storage space I don't have, so I have to be selective.
 I do shows where the expectations are higher, not flea markets, I pick carefully because any show is a lot of work, it has to pay for itself. I avoid the very high end and we have a lot around here, that charge over $250 for a booth, then charge the buying public admission up to $15. or more. Those are just greedy money makers for the sponsors.
 I did a show in August where I sold a few device stands, but two major pieces and got a commission for a third (which I just finished), plus some other items I was hoping to stop carrying around like 2 cookie tables and a stool. I'd call those mid range items $40 - 60 or so. So I did pretty good at that one for my $40. investment plus time. The next show I did should have been better, but the weather was bad and the public made a poor showing. Still, even that wasn't a loser.
 This last show I have coming up is a crap shoot. Only 15 other vendors and juried. It is a royal pain to carry all my stuff inside and setup for just 4 hours, then carry it all out again. They also jacked the price up after I applied (said it was a typo), but I have an association with these folks and they made accommodations for my booth size (I have the only 10x10, the rest are 6' tables). I'll do it once as an experiment and see what happens. I am not real happy with their publicity so far. Still, I do a lot of 'networking' at these, just like Howard, and sometimes I make out better from that then direct sales.
 If I can find a trailer (and pay for it) then things should get easier and it will open the number and types of shows I can do.

I just typed a detailed reply and fat fingered it away. (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/angry.gif)

 Next time hit Cntrl/Z immediately and see if you can't retrieve it.

I'll be interested to see your live edge addition. I'm considering a giant chopping block for my counter top that I think would like nice with a live edge on the front side, but all the boards of the block will be perpendicular to the edge...

Yeah, well that live edge, if it happens, will be a Hail Mary that could fail in a spectacular way. :D I think I am gonna try it because I've seen some of the stuff Tule Peak pulls off and have been deluded into thinking that maybe I can do that too. :D :D
------------------
Today was pretty good. I didn't get anything completed, I didn't hit any goals, but it was a pretty good day I feel good about.
 As mentioned in earlier posts, my logistics issue has been on my mind a lot. I want that trailer, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon. My stuff is all stacked by the bay door since the last show waiting for the next, and last, one. After that show I dreaded carrying everything back upstairs for winter storage. Well it dawned on me a few weeks ago, that if I HAD the trailer, the stuff would be sitting out there in the trailer and cold all winter, and I am pretty good with that. I think the conditions will be tolerable as long as it's dry and no mice (they like moving blankets, which I use a LOT). It also came into my mind that I have my shed out back which is nice and dry and fairly mouse proof, but it's a mess. I have been meaning to clean it up for 3 years now but I'm always too busy that day. Plus, I haven't been able to close the doors because I have a 'temporary' air line running through the door (for 2 years now).
 So today I made a slightly less temporary airline hookup today and popped a new hole in the wall so I could run it overhead to the shop (which solved another problem of mowing and plowing with the line laying on the ground).


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231127_153715186.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701132045)
 

The air line now runs overhead along with the power line to the tower on back of the shop and is all re-hooked up.

 Now I can close the doors, or open them. :) Then I started cleaning up the shed and it wasn't too hard to do either. I have been stepping over stuff in there for 3 years now and it took me 20 minutes to clean it all up. I even swept it out clean.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231127_153728153.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701132075)
 

First time that left door was opened in 3 years I think, there was junk stacked up on it. A simple thing I should have taken time to do a long time ago. Dummy.
 Now I have plenty of floor space for winter storage and if pressed, a little showroom for visiting clients.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231127_153742074.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701132476)
 

 So now, after the next/last show, I can back my truck right up and unload. That is a small load off my mind.

 I also did some more sanding and further epoxy pours salvaging wood for the next build. It's taking a long time and getting tedious to get it right before I start cutting fitting and gluing, and the client wants it by Christmas. He also added on orders for a handful of LP stands today. Gotta find more wood. ;D

 Lastly, I ordered a new TV for the shop because I was having trouble reading the menus on the current one, it's too small. I found a good Black Friday deal (I think) on a google TV (whatever the heck that is). Also, I don't have a smart TV in the den by my desk. We want to drop cable TV, it's a waste, but I want a smart TV in the den to watch. So I'll take the current shop TV and move it to my den, then replace the shop TV and move forward on shutting off cable. But in the meantime, knowing the new TV was a big larger and not being happy with the location I chose for it anyway, I made up a new mount for the swinging bracket and located it in a better place (I think). Tomorrow I'll move the TV over to that bracket and be ready for the new TV. It's a small thing, I use the TV for company and white noise and I actually hardly watch it at all, just listen as I work. But it is 'company'. Sometimes I do put up videos from famous folks I know to learn me up on sawing techniques and such. I'm retired (even if in name only) so small things I can do to improve my comfort are things worth doing for me. I might try to take that little 17" tv in my den and figure out a way to power it up for shows and run a slideshow of my work. These TV's use such little power these days. I remember back in the 80's setting up a full sized color TV into our booth wall to run our demo videos on with a VCR. That was about 200  pounds of hardware on a shelf 6' off the floor. What a pain! Now, it's a 5 pound TV and a flash drive. I just need to figure out power. Don't know why those 12v TV's cost so dang much.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day, so it's time to start thinking about how I can make the most of it.

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on November 26, 2023, 09:19:11 PMI might be doing my first 'faux live edge' by joining on a live edge trim around the top, but we'll see. It's a new idea for me.

I do them frequently.  It's a way for me to get rid of narrow, hard to sell live edge slabs and a way for the customer to save a lot of cash.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10125/IMG_3319.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701140766)

Out of the clamps this morning and out the door a little while ago.  A countertop that goes behind a bar.  I split a narrow live edge slab and glued half on the countertop and the other half on a shelf that goes above the countertop.  The slab was 10' long and the rest of it went to edge some matching small end tables.  The boards behind the live edge slab on the pictured countertop were all #2 common so all low grade.  Customer will finish and I suspect it will end up looking high end expensive.

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on November 27, 2023, 10:36:43 AM
I just typed a detailed reply and fat fingered it away. (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/angry.gif)

Next time hit Cntrl/Z immediately and see if you can't retrieve it.

Usual reason for that is a long reply lets someone else post first. Then the Forum takes you to a page that say's "Someone else has posted...", but that might not be visible unless you scroll down. Then you see the new posts, and have the option to edit your post, or just confirm your post.  
So when you make a large post, scroll down right after you post, and make sure it went though. 
The other option is to select and copy all to clipboard just before you post. But 99% of the time it's that someone else has posted message. 


 

Quote from: aigheadish on November 27, 2023, 03:03:18 PM
I'll be interested to see your live edge addition. I'm considering a giant chopping block for my counter top that I think would like nice with a live edge on the front side, but all the boards of the block will be perpendicular to the edge...

Let the end grain butcher block "float" in the frame that's holding it. Then you can put any trim you want around that frame. Gluing the cross grain is asking for trouble, but if they aren't physically connected, no big deal. 

Quote from: Larry on November 27, 2023, 10:21:02 PMdo them frequently.  It's a way for me to get rid of narrow, hard to sell live edge slabs and a way for the customer to save a lot of cash.

Yeah, a glue up like that is legit. A bit of epoxy to stabilise those knots, and it's a "solid hardwood bench top", without the huge dollar price. 

I've been putzing around with some salvage cypress and redwood logs, and making some 3 ft wide live edge slabs. But without machinery on site I'm limited to that we can handle. So they end up 4-5 ft long, I'll leave most of them for the log owner to use, but I'm thinking about selling "Table kitsets". Live edge slab, some 3x3 for the legs, and some 6x1 for the apron. Basically all the wood you need to make a small live edge table. 

Thanks for the tips guys. To float does that mean I need to cut a really wide mortise and tenon in the block and live edge respectively? 

Larry, when I made the cutting board for my sister I cam away with a couple 4' or so long live edge strips of Cherry that I couldn't throw away, so yeah, same idea. I'm pretty sure yours looks nicer than mine will. 

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on November 27, 2023, 10:36:43 AM
I just typed a detailed reply and fat fingered it away. (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/angry.gif)

Next time hit Cntrl/Z immediately and see if you can't retrieve it.

No Howard and Ian, there was no way to save that post. Chrome has a magic hot key combination somewhere that instantly dumps the entire application. I hit it by accident when typing and everything was gone. I was only about 1/2 way through the post. You can't fix 'dumb'. ;D

Maybe control D...   :o   :)   :snowball:   sorry Tom! ::)

  My most common problem is I will accidentally paint a large portion of, sometimes all, my text and the next key I hit replaces it all. Sometimes the Cntrl/Z will bring that back.

Usually when I fat finger my post away I don't take the time to type it again.  I just give up.
I too would like to have an enclosed trailer.  The money they want for even old used ones is ridiculous.

Well, another pretty good day here. Got a late start because I am reading a new book and just got it started. Clocked in at 10am and the first order of business was to change out the 4" dust collector line coming off the bottom of the table saw. I had some flexible aluminum dryer hose and galvanized pipe and I changed it to a clear flex line. I sensed it was really sucking like it used to. This is what I found in the flex line and pipe:


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231128_112448216.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701218642)
 

 That might explain my airflow issues. ;D  
 Then I started back to work on the current commission job. I did some sanding on yesterday's epoxy pours, but frankly am getting a little sick of it. I figured it was time I started 'doing stuff' besides wood prep. SO I started on the top. Much as I wanted to avoid the faux live edge, I cam to realize I had little choice, and since Austin wanted to see how it works (or not) I had at it. I apparently got into it pretty deep because I didn't have but a short lunch at 3pm and then my wife had to call me on the phone for dinner. Lost all track of time and I didn't think to take any photos until the final glue joint. Normally I pre the live edge to get all the junk removed before and cutting and gluing. But this time I left it as is until it all together. I figured that would hide any clamp marks and make the blending easier. We shall see. ???


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231128_182323422.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701218720)
 

 Using biscuits for alignment, but this piece has a little twist in it so I have to get creative . I glued the side pieces on first then carefully fitted the front edge.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231128_182208305.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701219229)
 

 It was a little tricky cutting all these and getting the corners of the live edges to come close so I don't have a lot of blending to do, and that came out better than hoped but I messed up on the overall length, which is still in spec, but I wanted a little more over hang than I got. After dinner I went out and glued and clamped that final piece on. Tomorrow more sanding again. I'll also start putting the sides together, more biscuits and gluing. The top is going to get a flood coat of epoxy per client request and I hope I can do this one faster than that bar. ;D Christmas is coming up fast. This wood has issues I am trying to resolve.

 I feel an early bedtime tonight, I'm pooped. Tomorrow is another one.

Will you use a belt sander to blend?

Pete, I use a belt sander to blend the glued edge joints and make things flat and smooth. On the edges for live edge blending especially I use the ROS. You have to be careful working with what God gave ya on the live edge, so you don't mess it up. My 'standards' are smooth and flowing with no sharp stuff sticking out, but as natural as possible and the corners have to be nicely rounded.
 Which bring me to today's observations. As I said in the last post, I was pretty happy with how these edges turned out. I have been drinking from the @tule peak timber (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=25190) koolaid and learning a LOT about how he thinks these oddball things through. Namely and chiefly, there are no rules, do what ever you need to do to make it look the way you want. Initially, that was hard for me to do, but since I've embraced it, it is working for me. :)
 On this top, with the live edge material I had available, I could not get an even live edge all the way around, that is, a border of a consistent width and all 3 sides. So I had to cut the front edge with a taper from 4.125 to 3.625 wide, which seemed wrong, but no. When my skinny piece on the left edge mated up, it was very close, and on the right edge it was dang near perfect.
 Pictures might help 'splain this better. This is the right edge corner:


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231201_092254825.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701473606)
 

And this is the left edge corner:


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231201_092526715.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701473587)
 

And this is the view showing the taper looking from the right side edge.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231201_092709349.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701473732)
 

 I did had some minor blending to do on that left corner, but not much. It came out better than I expected or hoped. Live edges present problems that are hard to imagine until you get into it while also trying to hold dimensions for other reasons, like fit, or client specs.

 So today I sanded the top and blended all the edges, then I put two coats of poly (10 hours apart) on the bottom. I am hoping a third coat will finish that bottom off. I also sanded the glue and epoxy fill off the side pieces, finish planed the shelf boards, edged them, biscuited them and glued those together (2 shelves). Later I sanded those out and did some needed epoxy fills on bug holes (ambrosia beetles, long gone) and bug tracks, it's an interesting piece of wood buried in the middle of one shelf. Shelves are Maple, sides are Ash, and the top is RO. The client would like this for Christmas and I am pressing hard, know that the flood coats on the top and it's edges are going to take a bunch of time. I still have no idea how I am going to attach this top to the shelf unit. I want it removable because of weight and I don't want screws through the top. I was thinking pocket screws up from the bottom, but I know they loosen over time and this Oak isn't the most solid and sound wood I have ever used. Maybe I can find some nice corner brackets or something?
 Tomorrow I get the final sanding done, I hope, then start laying out my dado cuts for the shelves and working toward dry assembly. I'll put screw through the sides in the shelves like the last unit, then plug those hole, so I have to make some Ash plugs also. 
 There are 5 large (for me) pieces in this unit and I am using every flat working space I have to keep them all moving along and juggling them around to better lighted areas. I gotta work on that because I can't run other concurrent jobs with this project. My table saw and the RAS table are also serving as drying, sanding, or working areas. With the show coming up in just a week, I have other small stuff I'd like to get done.
 I grossly underquoted this job for sure. Been doing at least 8 hour days all week on it, yesterday and today were 10 hours. Just hope I can meet the deadline.
 Tomorrow is another day.

Looks pretty darn good! :)

Well, accidents happen! ;D

In my shop I not only believe in miracles, I rely on them. :D :)

Quote from: tule peak timber on December 02, 2023, 09:02:16 AM
Looks pretty darn good! :)

And that is a quote is from "The Wizard"!

Well, in spite of the encouragement I am going very slow these last couple of days. The last two jobs I did with dados for joining or aligning I screwed up and had to do an 'artistic correction' so I have ben approaching this one with great caution. I don't have wood to correct this if I screw it up and no time for 'do-overs'.

 Yesterday I spent the whole day doing the dados, measuring at least 5 times. Then I sand and fitted the shelves, they might still be a bit too tight, but I can take more. Today I cut planed and routed two strips to use for the front edges of the uprights. Since the top is RO and the sides are Ash, I thought the RO edge trim might give it a little pop, but not too much. This was touchy to make it fit right, so I cut the strip a little over width, then routed the fluting on the front, then glued them on and trimmed with a router trim bit. After that I trimmed off the little thin rib that was left standing on each side. I had one side done and the other is still clamped after gluing. There were a few little bobbles I was not happy with, but they 'mostly' disappear with some hand sanding. It will look OK, but I think the profile is a bit too bold and formal. You guys had recommended this bit and form so I bought one a few months ago. It's a whole lot of form to push through, so I did it in two passes. I screwed up the second strip when it climbed on me and got out of register. I had one more piece in the rack I could use, so I had to make another one.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231204_165958439.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701735901)
 

The edges sanded up fairly well.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20231204_170009714.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1701735963)
 

 I also made a template and drilled the shelf mounting holes sometime today and cut plugs to fill the holes after final glue-up.
 Tomorrow I'll start the finishing before assembly for all the interior parts at least. That saved me a bunch of time last time, I think. I am learning some new stuff on this one though, small things. I think I'd like to get back to some more rustic stuff after this, but I have to do a ru of cremation boxes to replace stock. I also got an email today requesting logs for February. This for a client I picked up from that project a few years back where we sailed logs down the river. These guys have been coming back and ordering logs every winter for 3 years now and are a pleasure to work with. They are looking for around 150 logs, so I will have to go scouting and flagging and start cutting in January.
 Tomorrow is another day.

Not sure if you're using scrapers yet but they will do a nice job feathering down an edge like where the slight overlap was and can really cut down on sanding dust. The part I fight with though  is trying to sharpen them. Really  nice flat finish from them and can save money on sandpaper. 

Yes, I do use a scraper but in this case I left 1/16" overhang on one side and 1/8" on the other. A trim router bit made quick work of it, then a fast pass with the ROS and all good. Have to use hand sandpaper on the flutes in that profile. there is no other way around it.

Well I haven't updated since last week. I spent a bunch of time on the show, but that's done and all the stuff is stored in the shed now with room to spare. I will let it sit for a few more days before I go out and restack it with moving blankets. Right now I have good airflow on it to make sure there is no moisture in any crevices. nits grow into lice. ;D
Sometime around the weekend I finally burned and used up all that junk wood I had, about 3 trailers loads, so about a cord of it. Not a lot of BTU's and it needed a lot more air to help it burn, but I went through it quickly (3-4 weeks?) and am now burning decent wood which allows me to control the shop better and hold it at 58-61 overnight, making it very easy to come back up during the working hours. I plan on trying something new this year, in the next week or so, to hold a bit more heat in the building. Last week we never really got much over 30 during the daytime and we pulled down 2" of rain over the weekend, with big wind on Monday cooling things off pretty good.
I think I picked up a bug over the weekend and Monday felt poorly but did the work I had to do, but no work in the shop on the current project, I just could not get my brain working and I didn't want to screw it up. Haste makes waste. So I took it easy. Tuesday started out better and I glued and screwed all the parts together on the cabinet base. I glued/plugged the screw holes and cut the plugs flush and sanded them. But in the afternoon I started feeling really lousy again. I lost focus after I laid one coat of finish on the cabinet side. I had to wait anyway, so I sat by the stove and started looking at a dead EMT run that used to go into my greasepit for the pump, which no longer exists. So a little at a time I started working on pulling that apart and rerouting it upstairs to where I have been meaning to put a quad box since I built that loft. One little step at a time, taking breaks, I got the EMT run and the box wired and installed by quitting time. I was satisfied with that, but really I wanted to install a light fixture UNDER the loft covering a dark area in front of the woodstove. I had an old fixture to use until I find something better.
So today after I flipped the cabinet and did a coat on the other side, I ran a piece of romex back down from the junction box I put in yesterday and put a duplex outlet in between the joists, wired a plug on the fixture and all is good. Not great light, but it's just a fill-in light so I can see things, which is handy. I'll get a better fixture someday not too far off. As I get older, I seem to like more lights.
But still, this morning I didn't feel so good at all, and my Daughter who I had seen on Friday, declared she has covid again. So I took a covid test that we had laying around and it came back negative. So I guess it's just the crud or something.
The cabinet is looking pretty good now.

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I will probably bring the top downstairs tomorrow and test fit it and put the brackets on, but I am not really happy with the edges and might actually re-pour at least two of the edges even though it will add a couple of days in curing time. I'll look at it and think on it more tomorrow.
I also have to put everything back in place up in the loft that I moved out to do the wiring work. It's time for a general cleaning and 'put tools away day' anyway before moving on the the 'next thing'.
But that's for another day, not today.

Free covid test kits are available again COVID Home Tests | USPS (https://special.usps.com/testkits) . With how it's going  around again and many of the previous test kits expired it pays to grab some before they are gone.

Thanks, I placed an order. I see they have extended the expiration dates on many of these kits, but I burned the box from mine so I don't know if it was still good or not. Only expired 3 weeks ago, so I assume it's still good.

Well, the rest of this week has been about the same, I feel lousy with very low energy and yesterday I had a rather disturbing and unexpected lower GI issue come out of the blue.
But I am still getting stuff done, just not as much and a lot slower. I finished off the current project and the client came by and approved it today. Delivery on Saturday.
In the meantime, I am looking forward......

I was going to put this in the 'wood storage; thread but I couldn't decide which of the 5 was the correct one, so I'll just put it here. This winter I have a number of projects to do and stock to build up or replace, but as mentioned before, my lumber supply is quite low. I have a bunch of ERC out in the garage ready to go. So I want to get that into the shop. Some of it I want to resaw into thinner stick for certain projects and I want it all planed before I put it upstairs. I expect to use the majority of this material through the winter. The problem is where to put a load of lumber? Since I am now storing my finished goods out in the shed I have some room in the storage loft but no racks and I really don't want to build a permanent rack that I will be stuck with. SO I recalled some temporary racks we used to use for material staging in every machine shop I have ever worked in. They are stackable and used for staging orders. Those are made from welded up C channel to hold some heavy steel bars. I made these from junky 2x4's and scrap plywood.

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These are stackable.


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So I made 6 of them with the material I had on hand and they are truly ugly, but they do the job. It's hard to tell in the photo, but after and hour or two of moving stuff in and out the set these up, then putting it all back. This is a messy cluttered photo, but maybe you get the idea.


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I'm still not happy with the general setup, I really need to move out more stuff and relocate my table router away for the end of the new rack where it lives. More thinking and that's for tomorrow. For now, I got something done today and I'll take that.
Rain started around mid-day and should rain straight through until tomorrow night.  No idea what I am doing tomorrow, probably more needed cleaning up and putting stuff away, staging that cabinet for loading and delivery, and setting up to plane all that lumber.
I worked on some drawings and BOMS for upcoming projects this afternoon, but the energy was gone at that point. Tomorrow is another day.

Well, Tom, I show up a day late and dollar short I guess.

I really like those racks. Nice, simple design and I think I could use them almost infinitely! I'll need to keep these in mind.

Like that design if I get my barn /shop built I might have to plagiarize them a little. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

Man did we get rain from yesterday through today! 3.75" or so. Kind of made for a depressing day and I am still fighting that 'no energy' thing. Sometimes I can't get motivated to actually do anything until early afternoon. Today was one of those. So I cleaned and puttered in the shop this morning and after lunch. Then the rain finally let up around 2pm, so I moved the truck over to the garage, loaded all my ERC in the truck and drove it around to the shop and flat stacked on some saw horses. I took a short break and though I might as well get started on some of those boards knowing that planeing out a whack of lumber can take a lot out of me and I work up quite a sweat. Well this time, I was wrong. What a dream planeing well sawn lumber. Frist time that's happened. I set for the first board and ran them all through at the same setting on the first side. I only had 2 boards with issues and I brought those two in with no problem. So just about all of them got done on the first side without breaking a sweat. I still have a few thicker ones to reset for and run through tomorrow, then flip and do the second side. Most will go up in that rack I showed yesterday, but some will get pulled and planed to a finished 3/4 and a few will get cutout and go back to the mill for re-sawing into thinner boards. I am hoping to double my usable wood on those as I need a bunch of 1/4" stock and can't see planeing 1" down to 1/4".
I had also nearly forgotten the feeling of running rust brown ERC into the planer and seeing that brilliant rasberry color come out the other end. Instant and permanent smile. :) :) A real 'pick me up'. I don't think I can fit all this in those racks I made.


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If you look in the background on that photo you can see the few thinker boards I have left to do yet. SO more planeing tomorrow, then sorting and more planeing, then re-sawing.
But I have my monthly chiro appointment in the morning so I will do other town chores, like a haircut, beer run, and other 'stuff' so as to save on gas.
One day at a time, right?

Tom, I sawed some ERC for the first time a few weeks ago and it really saws nice.It's a shame that it's pretty rare around here.There's quite a bit the next county over and I know a couple guys that live there.Think I might see if they can locate me a little bit.Planed mine with a electric hand held plane and it came out pretty good.
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Yeah, it's pretty stuff and we don't get much either. I saw how your came out for that playset/slide house. Are you going to put anything on it? I built a potting bench for the wife 2 years ago and I put it in the garage for the winter, but hose it off and lay a coat of boiled linseed oil on it each spring. It seems to help the rain bead up and roll off. I just put it in the garage this afternoon and it still looks good, excpet for all the dirt she spills. ;D

I'm leaving it up to my son and DIL to put something on it if they want to so it probably won't get anything.If they lived closer I would do it.They don't really see the value of wood and what it takes to produce it like I do.

Oh yeah, I get that. ;D

Well, today would have been my friend Bill Keith's 84 birthday, but he left us in October of 2015. None the less I always miss him most on this day because we would always have a Birthday celebration for him on the Thursday closest to his birthday at their weekly gig, with a cake and often some distinguished players would make a trip and sit in the with the band for a few tunes. We had folks come from CT, NC, TN, MA, CA, and even Europe over the years, mostly touring musicians. We had some good times for sure. I just got a text from a buddy who was at all those parties too, and like me, he has been thinking of Bill all day and playing his music tonight. We were blessed to have Bill as a close friend and I guess the blessings continues with these memories.
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I got involve in a decent movie last night and stayed up past midnight, so I slept in this morning and then we went and did the monthly food shopping trip in town. With the late start we didn't get home until 2pm. My energy levels still suck and I am having to force myself to do most stuff. Yesterday I planeed out all that ERC, got it upstairs and stocked into those temp racks I made a few days ago.


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It surprised me that I fit it all in because it was a LOAD on those sawhorses when I was planeing. Yes, one more tier would have been useful, but I got my without it. I held out a few boards for resawing.
Anyway, that was a fair amount of work for me and lots of trips up and down the stairs getting it stored. Maybe that's why I had no go-juice today, I dunno.
I noticed yesterday the woodstove was not breathing right. Too much smoke coming back out the door when I filled it. SO today, I climbed up on the roof and pulled the cap and cleaned it, it was ugly, but not as bad as it could be. I also ran a brush down about 8' or so and broke a lot of stuff loose, which should have fallen right in the stove. Put that back together and back in the shop it seemed to be worse. SO I figured  all that creosote fell into the stove and made enough of a pile to hamper the air flow going up. But I had enough wood in the stove that I couldn't get access to the back bottom area inside the stove (I tried, the shop smoke alarm went off for the first time ever). So I came in the house and waited until after dinner to try again. Now everything had burned down and I did find a pile of junk and maybe a bunch of it burned away in the past 2 hours, I dunno. But I cleared it, refilled the stove for the overnight and now it is drafting well.
Speaking of heat, over the weekend I hung a bunch of moving blankets over the garage doors to try to know the wind infiltration down. That seems to be working quite well as the shop stays warmer overnight, I think. The only time it cools off is when the fire dies out before I tend it. I am pretty certain I do not have enough wood for the winter so anything to stretch it out will help a bit. The downside is, I miss being able to look out the window during the day and I get no solar heat from the sun on the floor, so maybe I will mess with that a bit. The nights are getting colder and the days are not warming up as much. Happens every year.

Tomorrow I have to motivate myself down to the mill, Bill has some kind of one off special log job coming in, a couple of timbers I think, nothing big, for another contractor neighbor. They are bringing in the logs, which is new for me. No idea what species. I also have my ERC to try and resaw, so we will see how that goes. Hopefully we will have good sunshine, which makes it warmer at the mill.
But that's tomorrow and that's another day.

What kind of garage door? Can you add rigid foam insulation to it? Or spray foam?

In 2 days the days will start getting longer!

I have two. Both are wood frame with masonite type panels (heavy). One is 12' high and the other is 7'. Yeah, I could do foam panels but that makes it another project which I don't have time for. Best would be new doors that are insulated, but that's $$$.
I could do something a bit fancier with the blankets. Right now, it's just 'proof of concept' messing around.

    Yeah but what was the "decent movie" you got to watching? ;)

The Gambler Returns with Kenny Rogers, Rebba McIntire, et al. I really enjoyed how they included all of the 60's western stars like the Rifleman, Gunsmoke, and all those series plus the iconic character actors. It was fun to watch again, but I didn't realize it was a two part movie that went several hours.

Hope you feel better today, Tom. 

On those garage doors, my basement door is like that. Wood and Masonite and leaks air like a sieve. Most times the cold isn't a problem because it's just not that cold here. 

But every winter we get some teens and single digit temperatures.  That's when I put up a sheet of clear plastic.  It's just a painter's drop cloth.  I've stapled it up and have taped it.  Now I have some strips of wood stapled to the plastic and I use screws. When I take the plastic down I roll it up on the wood strips and store it.

It can make 10 degrees difference in the basement.  During those single digit times seems like we get a northwest wind that blows right in that basement door.  If our power goes out, I'd get frozen pipes without the plastic over that garage door. 

Tom,

I think you sent your cold/crepping crud east the other day when we got all that rain, been feeling the same darn way!  New rubber/gaskets around the trim on the outside of the doors should help quite a bit, a lot when its windy

I hadn't thought of blankets for my shop doors... I'm in a similar boat where I really enjoy opening one of the doors (8' in the 16' wide opening) to look out at the back yard, but with the cold it's starting to get a bit more expensive to heat when all that just goes right out the door. My doors literally have gaps that birds can (and do) get through at the tops due to the not ideal design, when closed. I wonder if I could toss some big blankets on there that could be rolled up when I'm not in there or don't open the doors... I don't have the nice wood heat, just the electric or some kerosene or propane alternatives.

Attach a tarp or blankets to a long piece of wood, 2x2 or whatever you have. Make a roll up door similar to the insulated curtains on a livestock barn. Attach them into the door frame above and roll down for winter may have to be creative and put them on the outside to deal with garage door tracks on the inside.

Tom,

   I lost my bet with myself. I'd bet you were watching "The Long Riders" which kept me up past midnight earlier this week too. It was about the James/Coulter gang and lots of it was filmed in Ga not long before we got stationed there in Albany. A pretty much ghost town of Parrot Ga was used some and some scenes were shot in a reconstructed town called Westville not far from Columbus where they moved and rebuilt a bunch of 1850's buildings to make a sort of town/museum.

    I watched an old black gentleman making white oak baskets there one time and loved listening to him explain his craftsmanship. He was in his 80's and said when he died he guessed there would not be a replacement as nobody else seemed interested in learning the trade. One thing that stuck with me was he said when you split the wood you always split it in half then split the halves in half and keep repeating. He had a froe and a mallet and such he was using.

   I even had a co-worker, Mike Lackey, who played the Scandinavian horse buyer (Squarehead) in the movie when the gang tried to rob the bank of Northfield Minnesota which was pretty much their downfall. He's the one wearing the top hat.

   BTW - I love the Gambler movies too. Good choice.

Granite, sorry my crud found it's way to you, I hear it's traveling at high speed these days. I have just had to change my frame of mind to think what I have to do the next day before I go to bed, and then force myself to do that the next day. That worked today.
Fellas, the blankets seem to be working and the temps near the front of the shop are noticeably more uniform which is a big plus. I usually only work up by the doors for planeing work that uses nearly the full shop length. I work up a sweat doing that so the cool front doesn't bother me, but I seem to be able to hold the shop temp a little higher than normal with the same burn rate in the stove, so it's a winner. I will live with the darkness/no windows issue for a few months. Any extra stuff I add, like trim or rollers just adds to the weight on an already overweight door. I should replace it. For now, I learned what I needed to learn and I will ponder on further enhancements over this winter and try to make something happen for next winter. A bigger concern is that I mis-figured my firewood and will run short, so I need to put time, and/or money into that. I already have winter orders for at least 250 mushroom logs, so that will keep me working out in the woods for a week or so and I can run the shop on 'idle' holding around 55° or so. Anyway, it's another little project to work at a bit at a time (shop heat, that is).
-------------------------------

SO I really didn't want to go down to the mill today, but Bill had that log coming in and I had those boards to resaw, so that was the project I screwed myself up for today. I got down there around 10 and after a quick tour of Bill's shop extension, I got to work. I had to figure out how to resaw those pieces I picked out into thinner pieces so that I could wind up with clean planed lumber at /14" exactly. I was very dubious of pulling this off without losing 1/2 of that I started with, making it a total loss and stupid idea. But I put up a sacrificial back stop and put a piece of 1" under my target wood held with the clamp. The target board just laid there.
Worked like a dream. I got two pieces of 7/16 or so out of the 1" boards and 3 pieces of 7/16 or so out of the 1.5" board. Any taper or twist from the cut planed right out well before I got it down to 1/4" final. Frankly I was amazed. I didn't loose a single inch of wood. Winner winner! I had a planned that actually worked! Who'd have thought THAT could happen? Certainly not me. As I said before: I don't believe in miracles, I rely on them. :D ;D

After milling I stopped back by Bill's shop to find out about the 'special log' job. Turned out it was a beam, not a log and they just needed and inch or so trimmed off, they ordered the wrong size or something. Bill told me the guy would be there in an hour and not to worry about it and it was a single cut job he could take care of. Not worth me waiting for. His shop is looking good. The ground floor is all closed in with a nice garage door and all the windows are in. He even picked up a brand new waste oil burner that is doing a nice job keeping that big space at a comfortable working temp. It only burns 1/2 gallon/hr and runs 20 hours on a tank at full burn. He has done some cleaning and has 2 skidsteers, a big chipper, and a backhoe parked in there for his guys to do seasonal maintenance work, oil and filter changes, etc. Bad weather day work type of stuff. Things are looking good. The second floor is in the process of getting the end gable wall framed and closed in and the lower half has building wrap all around. Now I just need to mill about 2 trailer loads of 1x10 and battens to side it all over. ;D Things are moving forward and it was my big smile for the day.

After planeing and cleaning up I took a break (and apparently an involuntary nap) and that finished off my day. Tomorrow is another one.

I was looking at my doors for blankets and I'm thinking I may hang something there that act like curtains that I can slide open. I misbuilt the doors to begin with and have a big 2x8 or 2x10 header that is actually pretty unnecessary, but it would hold a curtain rod or big dowel nicely. We are expecting a 60 degree Christmas and weird warm days are not unusual. It'd be nice to still be able to open things up.

Well catching up a little here. First those blankets seem to help a fair amount keeping the shop heat uniform and the temp controlled through the night. It hasn't been really cold, but I have been holding it to about 58 to 61° without much trouble. I fold one corner up so I can peek out at the driveway during the day if I need to. SO I will go with this and expand on it next year after I think it through some more.
---------------
I delivered that stereo cabinet Saturday evening without and trouble. Looks good. Client is happy.
---------------
After resawing and planeing out that cedar last week I refined my sketches and parts lists and started cutting, then getting started on the table router work. I guess I am wearing out that 1-1/4 bottoming router and it is getting dull and ripping a little bit. I ordered a new one, but it won't be here until Friday or so. So I did the heavy routing on the bottoms, but will wait for the new one to do the tops, where I can't tolerate any tearing at all. I'll be running about 20 small cremation urns, 10 large ones, 6 little trinket boxes and 10 larger trinket boxes. The trinket boxes are made from either short cutoffs or cutting mistakes. ;D :D I don't like wasting anything.
Consequently I have a LOT o parts cut:


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This is why I don't like running production. If I've figured wrong on anything I will have a lot of junk. Today I cut almost all of the 1/4" material for the sides and ends.
The next part is tricky (for me) the sides and ends have to be cut exactly to size with the 45° ends so they glue up perfectly. For this I need a sled on the TS and as I have not yet allowed myself time to make one, I decided I had to do that today. I had to go buy some masonite for the bottom and spent the afternoon working on it. It's not quite done and I need to relieve the slides a little to get it to run easy, but the main thing I think I screwed up is the back fence is not square to the cut edge. So tomorrow I may be fixing or re-doing that. I got to the point around 5pm is where I was running out of patience and decided to quit for the day and fill the firewood racks.
I do need to have it right, so I'll start fresh in the morning.
--------------------
One thing I do know is I am very glad the forum is back. I missed my friends here and reading all the posts from various corners of the world. It's hard to keep up with everyone's activities, even harder when the data stream goes dark. We have quite a group here and I missed everybody a great deal even for that short period. I am also sorry that Jeff had to deal with it when I am quite certain he had better things to do.
I hope everybody had a safe and Merry Christmas.

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on December 26, 2023, 07:11:42 PMI guess I am wearing out that 1-1/4 bottoming router and it is getting dull and ripping a little bit

I use a diamond file to touch up router bits as soon as they start to not cut clean, makes them last a lot longer.

The one I have is kinda like this. It is thin so it lets you sharpen smaller bits too.

https://www.amazon.com/DMT-FFC-Diafold-Diamond-Folding/dp/B00004WFU2?th=1

Thanks Hilltop, that's a good suggestion. I should look into it. I have a Norbide stone in my old toolbox I used to used for honing carbide edges when I worked in a cutter shop, maybe I will try that or get one of those new fangled diamond files. :D
I was spoiled because  up until just a few years ago I would bring this into work with me and hand it to a toolmaker and ask him to touch it up for me. It would take about 10 minutes and I'd have a 'like new' cutter. But I lost those privilege's when I retired.  ;D As an apprentice 40 years ago I started out as a cutter grinder and these type tools are 'entry level' simple sharpening jobs, but I don't have those machines in my shop anymore, sadly. With the right machine I could go over all my router bits in a hour or two, wish we had real cutter shops around these parts where I could make a friend. :D

Looking good Old Greenhorn, smiley_wavy smiley_thumbsup

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on December 26, 2023, 07:11:42 PM
   
One thing I do know is I am very glad the forum is back. I missed my friends here and reading all the posts from various corners of the world. It's hard to keep up with everyone's activities, even harder when the data stream goes dark. We have quite a group here and I missed everybody a great deal even for that short period. I am also sorry that Jeff had to deal with it when I am quite certain he had better things to do.
I hope everybody had a safe and Merry Christmas.

You said it well!!!!!

Nice stack there Tom.

I've made a sled for the table saw as well and was surprised at how much trouble I had it with too, and I'm still not sure it's correct.

Thanks Pete, it means a lot coming from you, but it's just stacks of wood, a bunch of 10' lengths reduced to 5-7" pieces. Lets see if it turns into something of use.

Yes Ray, if nothing else the outage served to show many of us where our hearts lie and our time is spent.

Agreed Austin. I thought I had a good process, but I tried to make it too precise I think and it was binding up. Possibly because the table saw slots are not precisely parallel (within .001" or less) and that was bothering me a lot. So after my post last night I went back out and worked for another hour or so and at least got it to move and then cut a test piece which 'appears' to be pretty square. I will check further this morning on that detail, because I can go no further if it is not. So I may have to 'fix that' and I am not yet sure how. I also need to stiffen it up just a bit, then wear it in so it slides smoother. As you can see from my stacks I have a bunch of 1/4" material (about 200 pieces) that must be cut to a precise length with 45's on each end and they all must be as close to the same size as possible as well as square with parallel edges so that the assembled box will fit on the base exactly. Precision fits make for faster gluing and a better box.

So I expect today's work to be a lot of frustration to get it right, possibly backing up a step or two, with not a lot of output. Getting it right is more important than getting it fast at this point. But one never knows until one begins and then it will be what it will be. It's a new day.

Well that last post was prophetic but not in the way I expected. I checked the squareness of my cuts coming off the sled first thing this morning and they looked good, which was a surprise, I even checked it twice.
I should have checked it 3 times. >:(
I cut LOTS of parts all day long, then in the afternoon when checking size on a new size setup, I discovered the squareness was out a little. DANG! OK, I stopped, ripped the back fence off and reset it. That took a half hour and now I was further out of square. So I ripped it apart again, squared up the blade on the saw and did a full and proper reset. This time it came out pretty dang close. I should have done it that way last night, I know. So I angled the blade and reset everything and kept cutting sides and ends.
I had started my day with the less consequential boxes because if I lost a part or two it wouldn't be a big deal. The 'main event' was to make 20 small cremation urns and 10 large ones. The other boxes will be slightly different and for trinkets and such. I am making 10 larger ones and about 6 smaller ones, so roughly 46 boxes all told. (46 boxes x 6 parts/box=276 parts) I also made some sides and ends out of White Oak to see how that looks when finished up. I have not decided what the tops will look like yet, but I can make them later. So when I got to the last item size I was cutting I finally ran into a small issue. The finished size is exactly 5" wide across the 45° edges. Well my stock (off the mill size) was 4.950 or so, which didn't allow for a full cleanup. ARRRGGGHHHHHHH! I had 40 pieces cut for this part. I split the difference and left a small flat on each edge which I figure I will round over with sanding after it's all glued up. Perhaps a roundover bit will do a nice job and take the flat away. I am hopeful. I lost about 4 parts that would not clean up to an acceptable level. I cut well over 200 parts today and the new system is working pretty good.
Tomorrow I will have to make some 'makeup parts' to replace bad parts or ones I am short, but I held material knowing this would happen. I did glue one small trinket box up, just to make sure things fit and my math was good. I also ordered some flocking kits today to try that out on the insides of the trinket boxes. I didn't think anybody did flocking anymore, but I had no trouble finding the supplies. The last time I did flocking I was in Junior High School. We didn't have the proper adhesive then, we used white glue, which was a challenge. :D  Geez, I hope I can remember how to do this. :D
Tomorrow is another day.

Haven't thought about flocking since HS. We just used oil based paint the same color as the flocking.

Yeah, I know John, right? But for this project it might be the 'right' solution. I have a roll of very nice adhesive backed forest green felt 'somewhere out in my shed' that I looked for today. I would like to try to rush finish one of these trinket boxes for a little girl's 7th Birthday present on Monday, but without felt or flocking, it won't look right.
I know I have that felt, but I am going to have to dig much deeper to find it, and I have a yard or two of it, not a small piece. Very frustrating. No idea when that flocking will arrive, but I doubt I will have it by Saturday because it's coming UPPS and that means at least 5 days. 10 bucks each for he two flocking kits I ordered and 10 bucks for shipping. If I do more of this I will go for more of a bulk supply. I would have ordered from Lee Valley, but they were out of stock on the colors and kits I wanted.

Your experience with the sled is one of the several reasons I don't know that I can come anywhere close to being a fine woodworker. Granted my tools are mostly budget models (if that) but I don't know how much patience I have for squaring things up properly. I've tried and gotten close with my miter saw (a Kobalt, if I recall, again budget model at probably 200-250 bucks) but I've also found that when I lower the handle the blade can flex side to side. Seems a bit counter productive to trying to make a nice cut... Maybe I've got something loose or set up wrong but I don't think so.

That is the story for the table saw as well. I have the patience to get things close enough, then I get a bit angry when lines and cuts aren't flush.

doing four 45° angles is a master challenge.  there are tricks.  read about trim carpenters and how they get window trim to "look perfect".  My old boss would lift the piece off the table a smidge (like make 1° from 90°" so only the very front edge of the trim would touch for a tight fit.  with a six-sided box, that is a challenge.  I used to glue up the joints first then apply it to the window, so the joints were tight.  otherwise, any variation in the window to frame would throw things off.

My buddy who does segmented bowls (think many angles and joints) does a ring in two halves, then flattens the final joint edges on a disk sander so it fits tight, even if all the other angles/joints were off a bit.  Tom, I think you chose a tough joint for the edges.  Not to second guess late in game, but for mass production, a dado joint would be much more forgiving.  Are you using tape and folding these up?  how are you clamping?  I have trouble with these sliding and often use a pin nailer.

aigheadish

Quotewhen I lower the handle the blade can flex side to side.

Check that your blades are sharpened and you should not see any blade flex. Same with the table saw blade.
True cuts are awesome, but do take some time to fine-tune the tools.

Doc's trick on the chop saw to have good miter cuts is a good one.

Thanks @beenthere (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=180) after thinking about it I said that wrong. It's not the blade that flexes it's the whole arm, like I can pretty easily twist the arm taking it out a degree or so. When I think about it it's manageable to avoid but if I'm making quick cuts they probably won't be just right.

A excellent resource in building quality boxes in a efficient manner is Doug Stowe.  He is one of the best box makers and has written a bunch of how to books.  I just looked on ebay and there are lots of his books (used) that can be delivered to your door for less than $10.

I'll often make more than a hundred boxes in a year, construction is easy, the design is the hard part.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10125/DSCF9679.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1703818887)

I've made my own clamping system, but they can be made out of wood. 


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Cutting box sides with a sled.  I made twenty or so sleds this spring for students in a woodworking class (not boxes).  I've made a lot before than.  For the base my favorite is 1/2" Baltic birch but 3/4" MDF works well also.  For runners I've been using HDPE that I precision machine.  No seasonal movement but I think quarter sawn hardwood works just as well.
 

As usual, top notch stuff @Larry (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=125) I'd love to come to your shop sometime and take pictures of your jigs and watch you work for a few days.

Veritas (Lee Valley) makes a 4 way clamp like the one Larry has, the difference being Larry's look like a sturdier corner block and the Veritas ones use a nut that will tilt and slide on the threaded rod to quickly position for tightening.

I see the nuts are available separately in a couple of sizes.
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/jig-and-fixture-parts/101377-1-4-20-and-5-16-18-brass-speed-nuts (ftp://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/jig-and-fixture-parts/101377-1-4-20-and-5-16-18-brass-speed-nuts)

Well, Larry you have a nice setup there. I no longer have machines to make those clamps, but I could do hardwood. However my boxes are small and would require scaling down. Last year when I started making these I tried all manner of corner joints including dado's and locking miters. As this is 1/4 material leaving not much wood for edge shapes, I settled in on the straight miter. I use the tape system with cheap clear packing tape. As long as all the pieces are cut precisely and identical, they go together easy and the hardest part is scraping glue from inside the joints. I do have form blocks I sue inside the larger boxes to keep it all square. Really though, the tape holds everything fine and clamps aren't required. so far it has been pretty reliable all around. Now watch me run into problems on this batch. :D
I spent all my time yesterday sanding all the sides prior to gluing and I made a few replacement parts. At the end of the day I had a handful of parts (less than 10%) with small defects I found like planer chip-outs or knots causing an edge to wave. So I laid those out and did epoxy fills on those and will finish those off today. Then I will start gluing in small groups and working on the rest of the routing work on the tops and bottoms.

Speaking of joint choices, I just happened on this video, which is a little long but I got sucked in and learned some interesting stuff. It's well done and reveals some surprising stuff.

This Simple Joint is Stronger Than a Dovetail! - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBzzTT_axhE)

Tom, in routing parts, are you routing end grain first and then routing the long grain sides.  This can often eliminate chip out on the final product.  When I make sleds, I basically use the Ng five cut method to make fence square to the blade.  It works pretty well.  That being said, I only really use the sled to cut shelves and perfect squareness is not important.  For that I use my Incra miter gauge.

Well I like the sled for a variety of reasons particularly with small parts and being able to set up easy stops on the back fence.
I had not heard of this 5 cut method until now and I looked it up and found a good video on it. Good enough to share for others reference:

5 Cuts to a "Perfect" Cross-Cut Sled - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbG-n--LFgQ)

So now I guess I will start over making another sled the right way. :D But I am through cutting these hundreds of parts for this current job, now getting into the assembly stages. Today I feel like I have run about a mile of linear wood through the table router doing all the edges. Yes, I do the end grains first, but this ERC can be so friable, that the only way to really avoid that little splintering out is to have a backer block on it, so I use the backer on all cuts. Then I have the wood defects issues that ERC can be full of, like tiny knots that fall out or chip off edges, etc. So I do a lot of fixing with epoxy on some of the parts.
I work on everything in rotation or I will go nuts. I route a couple of part groups for one profile, go and sand a couple of other parts groups, Maybe cut some makeup pieces, sand epoxy on the repaired parts and at the end of the day I mix a little epoxy and do some pours on still more parts. Now I am also gluing some box sides together but that is tedious, then those have to be sanded the next day. So I'll continue this rotation up until I run out of parts to cut, sand, route, glue, sand more, then finish. It will be a few weeks I think.
Bill just brought back the cleaned and painted frame work for the double drum sander he got last year. So to break up my days, I'll be making parts and putting that back together. I hope I can remember where all the parts go. ;D I also hope I can find all the parts, I have them stowed all over the shop, upstairs and down.  :D  ;D First order of business is the make a new platen and order a new feed belt for it. I'm thinking I had better remount that motor in the frame before I do anything else because it weighs about 150 pounds and I don't want to have to snake that thing in after I begin assembly.
Tomorrow is another day.

Interesting video about joint strength.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10125/DSCF9747.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1703993885)

He made a interesting comment beginning at 13:36 about miter joint longevity which I truly think is accurate.

I just saw a really nice idea for cremation urns on the TV.  They took about a 3 1/2 to 4 inch slab chunk of wood less then 12 x 12. Random shapes were cut and edges rounded. Then about  a 3 inch diameter hole was drilled just shy of the bottom for the ashes. The holes were sized to hold a small succulent in a pot. Really beautiful and looked like art to hold a plant and  not a urn.

Here's something  similar for people I found that splits. https://oaktreememorials.com/products/the-casey-plant-urn-in-walnut-sycamore

Larry, I went back to listen to that part again and wholly agree, longevity just takes time to watch and see. I would like to try those little inserts you use on the 45 but my box wood is only 1/4" thick, so that insert would be mighty tiny. Maybe if I make some bigger ones for other purposes I will give that a try. I like the look.

As for the urns I am making, I wasn't really looking for new design ideas. I make these for a client's request and this is what he wants. Still I could look into other designs but I have to stay within the specs of a certain amount of cubic inch capacity. So I would have to do some figuring to make sure I am within that spec.

Box work, none the less continues. Having most of the parts finished I have begun gluing up the sides. The last run on these was a work in progress and I made some choices that were best not repeated and took extra time. I didn't bore the pockets and put my little ID coins in the bottoms until they were nearly done. Big mistake and a PITA. So I spent the better part of a day just doing that on all the bottoms. I had them spread on every flat surface in the shop drying.


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Yeah, everywhere:


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Then the next day I started gluing boxes and removing the tape from previous glued boxes and sanding inside and out. Last time I had glued the bottoms on before sanding and that was a mistake, sanding the inside to a blind bottom was a real PITA so now I just do all the sanding before I glue the bottoms on, MUCH faster. I just glue the sides and set them on a bottom to maintain squareness while the glue sets up.


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It's tedious doing the glueup with the taping and such, so I do a few a day in between the sanding tasks. I have time and I work all day anyway just jumping between stages and jobs. I lost track of time today and it was 5:30 before I realized the time.

Some time in between doing the box steps (see what I did there?) I switched over and spent some time on the drum sander rebuild. I figure out how to get that motor back in there and did that, then spent about 1/2 hour trying to figure out where the drive motor was mounted. ;D Guess I should have taken more photos? :D


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DANG! that motor was heavy! I am just getting into it and tomorrow I will likely setup and cut the piece I will make the new platten out of. I need a box of screws, so if Bill doesn't order them I'll pick them up when I do my run to town tomorrow. I have a few parts I am trying to figure out where they go. ;D But I am quite sure I will get it all straight. I am a professional after all. :D

Tomorrow is another day.

Boxes look good from here.  :)

Yeah, the box work will continue for a few weeks. It's tedious and I am picky, so I glue a few a day, sand a few a day, and soon will begin finishing a few a day. I thought I would start that today because my flocking kits arrived yesterday and I am anxious to try them out, but...
I started working on the machine first (late) this morning and just got into what I was doing and getting frustrated and working through it and pushing on. A few times I really had to have another pair of hands and even texted Bill to stop by and help when he drove by, but by the time he responded I had it done and had moved on.
Yesterday I did a couple of hours of box work first and then I made the new platen and attached all the hardware and frame. I wasted some time at the end of the day measuring and remeasuring the old conveyor belt then the size on the platen with the rollers on and was having a hard time parsing out what I measured on the belt against what I was measuring on the platen. Also time spent (or wasted) looking up available belts. I could not get the measurements to resolve and decided not to order a belt yet until I figured it out.
Overnight after I thought on it for a couple of hours I decided to put the old belt on and 'enhance my level of knowledge' in the process. Now changing that belt means complete machine disassembly, so doing it twice means about 6 hours extra work. It's not a fun job.
So today I put all the rest of the stuff on the platen assembly and lowered that into the main frame. I hooked up the chain system to adjust the platen elevations and had some issues with that. Probably should have bought all new chain for these drives, but oh well. I had a devil of a time getting the conveyor motor mounted with the drive chain on it. That chain seems to have stretch and will need replacing. I'll likely order that tomorrow. I did finally get that motor up and the chain tensioned stuck a 110v plug directly on the gear motor so I could just run that and get the belt tracking right. So I actually got the belt turning (which honestly was a surprise, I thought it was too stiff and old) and moving freely and it's not too bad. But it's not quite tracking right and since it moves fairly slow it's takes patientience to watch and adjust it.
By this time, Bill stopped in and tried to help me with that tracking, but patience isn't his strong suit and he overtightened the tension on one side to the point that he nearly ruined the platen holes and bent some stuff. I got a little bent when I saw it., but loosen it up and we moved past it. The is a point where you have to just stop, and pick it up the next day. It was 5:30 and I decided to stop. ;D

Anyway, I did get into it today even though I started late. When I sat down for dinner I realized I never had lunch and didn't even miss it, just worked straight through. My back is sore from working on my knees and trying to get that dang motor mounted up about 6 times while just running out of strength. A 20# motor ain't much until you try to hold it up with one hand while lining up bolts and trying to get a chain taught at the same time then just having something slip out so you have to start over.
But all in all, not a bad day, progress was made.


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It don't look like much yet, but I got that drive motor in and the belt moves. It will be a lot of adjusting before I put the abrasive rollers on the top and the idler rollers (3), but one step at a time, get that right, then move on. The way I look at it, a double drum 36" wide sander is worth about 6 grand all day long once you get it working right. Since Bill got this free as salvage, I figure it is worth every penny of my time to make it right. I haven't even ordered sandpaper rolls for it yet. :D When I get it 'done' as far as the rebuild, we will still need to make a dust collection hood because I understand dust control and keeping the dust off the rollers is an important consideration on these things. It's a new animal to me, so learning will take place. But that's why I'm still a greenhorn. :D
I still have to bring in wood for the house and shop, so I'd better get into that because I am loosing steam pretty quick here. I'm tired. being retired is tough some days.
Tomorrow is another day.

OK.  great job.  the drive chain for the conveyor on mine, is not tight at all and sags, and works fine after it engages.  so do not kill yourself or buy a new one thinking it is supposed to be tight. 
It looks identical right down to the crank as my grizzly, so go and get the manual and it will tell all about things like how to wrap the paper, how to adjust the tracking in a methodical way, and what does what to the tracking. 
I bought a new belt for mine and it is nice and soft, and bumpy with little gripper.  I think it was about 160 bucks, but better than the original which I think is what you have.  and yes, getting everything in a plane parallel to the plane of the drums.  I did that after the chain jumped the tracks.  required numerous tries. 
the back drum on mine has felt to make the finer paper be proud enough to sand after the first drum has done its thing. 
find the big 2 x 2 x 12-inch sandpaper cleaner deals.
If it has a spring-loaded deal on the drums opposite the belts, then you will need some little black clips (or fab something) to hold the one end of the paper, and nylon reinforced strapping tape for the other end.  I use 3/4 inch wide, and I bought the dispenser with a handle for tension on the tap, and to cut it. 

 
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https://cdn0.grizzly.com/manuals/g1066r_m.pdf

Hey Thanks Doc, that's very helpful! Yes, this machine is very close to the Grizzly except in the motor mount area and a few other odds and ends. I believe this one we have predates the Grizzly and suspect that Grizzly either bought the design or the whole company when they got into sanders. This one is 36" wide and grizzly only goes 24" as far as I can see. They have a discontinued 36" model and I checked out the conveyor belt (at $765.00) but it is a tad wider and about 15" longer than the one for our unit. I MIGHT think about ordering the dust hood to save us all the fabbing work. It depends on shipping cost. Many of the special fabbed parts are identical on both machines.
At any rate, the belt tracking info in that manual was terse but helpful. I will start fresh this morning. Part of the problem may be that this belt is probably 30 years old and has a 'set' in it I cannot counteract. It just went on yesterday, so letting it sit overnight may have helped. It takes patience.
Today is another day and I am again late getting started. They say 6-10" of white crap coming in Saturday night, so I have to do my winter prep stuff today or tomorrow morning. Mostly getting the Mule ready for plowing and putting the doors back on.

Just a short mid-day update. I figured out the tracking problem. The belt, after sitting for decades poorly adjusted (there was clear evidence that the prior owner had tracking issues constantly and did some patch jobs to try to fix it) this belt is stretched out of shape. The circumference on one side of the belt is nearly 1/2" longer than the other side. There is no way I can fix this with tracking adjustments because the rubber in the belt is hard and not stretchable. So I need to custom order a belt and be done with that issue. Waiting for management/client approval before I make the expenditure. ;D I also have to order that new chain. Doc the problem with stretched drive chain is not that the overall length is longer, the problem is the pitch change. Chains used on gearmotors (high torque) are subject to this, seen it many times. What happens is that the chain actually stretches under heavy loads and each link grows by just a thousandth or two. Those couple of thousandths add up over several links and accumulate into a big enough pitch difference that the chain 'bumps' or jumps. If not fixed it can lead to bigger problems like heavy gear wear to match the chain pitch. The first time you see this issue it can make you crazy because it makes no sense at all. This is an ANSI 35 chain and I have seen it on ANSI 40 chains, never worked with much over 50 myself.
Lunch is over back to work. I did get my Mule prep work done and I have it charging up now. Had not used it in a while and the battery is getting old. A full night should do the trick.

Edit to add: Tell me about that sandpaper cleaner thingy.

It is just rubber.  I can tell you putting a hand full of rubber near a rotating drum with 60 grit sandpaper is intimidating.  you want a bigger one.  the common ones are 1.5 x 1.5 x 8.  Oh, and the first time the paper comes off and the free end is banging on the top you will squint a little as you reach for the off switch.  bam bam bam.  the paper installation you do not want to do often.  I think grizzly has a tech video.  and it is not cheap.  this helps clean the abrasive and you can go on sanding.  all my photos were pics off Amazon.

I get mine at Peachtree Woodworking.  They have a sale about twice a year and I usually  pay about $8 each for the 2 x 2 x 12 ones.
Just wondering  how many  HP that machine is. My 2 foot single drum one only had 3 hp and that really wasn't  enough for anything over 18 inches wide. I only had a double  belt setup and would smoke a matched pair about once a year. That's going to make a lot of fine dust that needs a good cyclone to separate. 

once you get the drum touching wood, only crank and eighth of a turn at a time.  never smoked a V belt, but with others "helping me" sanding cookies, they smoked a switch.  that was building a bench for a fund raiser.

I'm pretty sure that is a 10hp motor, but I should check. It's a 220V needing a 30 amp circuit Baldor motor. I have read much about what just issues these things have which is why I am considering buying the Grizzly hood and modifying it to fit, saving us much of the fab work, but that's down the road. I tried ordering a belt today but the company I tried said they couldn't get me a quote back before Monday. Most of the stocks belts they sell run from 50 to 70 bucks, so I am hoping it's in that range but the gal couldn't even render a guess. As long as it's reasonable I'll order that and some rolls of 80 and 120 grit which seems like a good starting point.
I have also heard about the light cutting issues required, which I think is just fine since we would likely be running wood through after planeing. But, just like life, it will be a learning experience. ;D
I guess it will be a while yet though. The belt will likely take a couple of weeks I am guessing, then I have to completely dis-assemble everything I put together in the last day or two and re-do it with the new belt. Then I have to re-align the platen height and all that. But that's the nature of rebuilding machines. I am glad I put the old belt on against my better judgement because I learned a lot and now push ahead with more certainty.

The 37 inch 10 hp Grizzly G0449 dual drum single phase one requires a 60 amp breaker. Sounds  like someone must have swapped in a 5hp motor.  That will probably  limit it to one drum to get started. Buy good paper and those rubber cleaning sticks will make it last a long time with dry lumber.  It looks like a fun winter project.   

Some folks will replace the conveyor belt with a wide belt sander belt.  I don't know how successful it is but the cost seems great compared to the real thing.  You might check with these guys.
Maverick Abrasives Conveyor Belts (https://www.maverickabrasives.com/products/drum-sander-replacement-conveyor-feed-belt?_pos=1&_sid=724d5a301&_ss=r)

I've been using their Zirconia wide belts and they last forever.

Almost forgot, I had a early 24" Grizzly for a short time and it only had one 4" dust outlet.  You probably need 3 outlets for a 36" machine.

No need to speculate on the HP, it is probably 5 now that I think of it, but I will check the next time I remember and feel like laying on the floor with a mirror. :D
Yes, I am actually trying to order an abrasive belt for the conveyor, they are sold as just that and I ASSUME they are cut and joined with care so the tracking is well controlled. I am looking at 120 grit.
I did check out maverick, but they said nothing about doing custom sizes, which is what, I apparently, need. So I am trying to work with SuperGrit in PA to see if they can help us out.
Getting time to fill the shop stove so I might lay on the floor with a mirror.

OK, just so you guys know, and maybe even feel a teeny tiny bit of remorse, I was just out in the shop to satisfy these inquiring minds here and you folks had and old man laying on the cold concrete at 10pm with 2 different flashlights (needed the right color light) and my best pair of cheap readers trying to read backwards (through my late evening beer goggles) to ascertain that this is indeed a 5HP motor. I hope you all are happy. :D :D :D But I am not, makes me think (know) that this isn't enough to drive two drums well, so it will likely behave like a 3hp on a 24". That does not 'enthuse me'. But I will keep an open mind. :D I don't see putting much 36" stock through it anyway, but I could be wrong.

These sanders also are great for sanding cookies without splitting off the backside, and also for thin stock such as maple without chipping out.  I do down to 1/8th inch.  Tom I would have rough sanded the stock to make your medallions with my drum sander.


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these are the cookies sanded for this bench that someone cranked down too much and let the smoke out of the magnetic switch.

I do party in the front... I mean 60 grit on the front roller and 120 in the back.  still some finer RO sanding after.

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on January 05, 2024, 10:39:14 PM
OK, just so you guys know, and maybe even feel a teeny tiny bit of remorse, I was just out in the shop to satisfy these inquiring minds here and you folks had and old man laying on the cold concrete at 10pm with 2 different flashlights (needed the right color light) and my best pair of cheap readers trying to read backwards (through my late evening beer goggles) to ascertain that this is indeed a 5HP motor.

That is one of the few things I use my cell phone for other than a phone.

It does make a good camera and light for getting info off tags and recording model and serial number for looking up parts etc.

That's a high dollar display unit for those cookies in the back! 

Yes we hired a photo staging company!!   :)  It was for a fund raiser for the Fire and Iron riding club, all first responders.  the lesson was that guys came to help, and despite instructions, they got in a hurry.  It started as a family project to build something and donate it for auction.  we did 7 years.  My cousin Janet decided that she and the women were in charge and the great experience devolved into her deciding the style of bench and telling a group of 8 great guys to come to my shop to help.  I spent the day wrangling and facilitation of the build.  Not what I ever intended, and we stopped doing the project.  It was meant to be a fun project for my Uncle Jerry and Janets husband.  Even though I had said no, Janet told one of the guys whose wife was working (with Janet) that he could bring his 6- and 8-year-old kids and let them swim in the pool unsupervised.  He was adamant they did not need an adult.  That was the last year I did this project.  I have told Jerry we may start again, but it will be top secret and Janet will remain in the dark.  :)  The final straw was having the smoke let out of the sander switch.  There was not enough for everyone to do, and they all thought they were in charge.  I am a patient person and realized all meant well but took all the fun out of the project.  That is Richard's motorcycle in the background.  Oh sorry, did I got off the thread a bit? :snowball: :D :D :D

Your a doctor......of course you have patience. ;D

Nice Hilltop! :D :D :D

Still a nice ride!  The big cookies are obviously part of the bench but first look makes them appear to be leaning on the Harley.   :D

Hope Tom and the rest have been productive today.  It's been a bust here today with cold rain near freezing.  Emily volunteered at a 5k/10k/50k race today (I quit questioning the reasoning for running much less in the cold rain).  I was on my own, tended the fires in the water stove and living room fireplace insert.

I worked two nights, and got a good sleep today, and woke up with opinions.   :o   8)   :)

Quote from: Hilltop366 on January 06, 2024, 04:51:37 PM
Your a doctor......of course you have patience. ;D

Well he certainly has patients, not sure about patience. :D Given the invasion on his shop and home I am not sure I could have endured that without exploding at some point. In fact I am sure I would have 'lost my stuff' on somebody. Your shop is your sanctuary, violation of that is [unforgiveable] (I had another thought in mind, but it won't be fit for the forum). Still it was a good project with a fine outcome, but there are many things that cannot and should not be done by a committee, and that's one of them. Off thread? Of course not!
--------------------
For me today was not really productive, but I got some stuff done. I always get distracted by the first real snow, but these last few years it is always a disappointment. I am not seeing on the radar a storm forming up that will give us the 6-10 or 12" that they predict. We haven't had a foot of snow in close to two years or so. SO of course, I am dubious. We get what we get. But based on the forecast my son, Bill and a lot of the local guys have spent the last few days hitching up plows, loading their spreaders, bringing in salt/sand, and greasing everything up and diagnosing electrical issues left form last year. :D
ME? I just did a few more little things for snow prep and piddled in the shop. I brought a couple of cart loads of wood into the shop (that pile is getting really short) which should take me through tomorrow. I have yet to do the house wood. The Mule is all charged up and the plow is set to go. The will be the first time it's not in the shop. I have too much stuff going on and there isn't quite room, so it has lived outside since April. If we get a real winter, I will move it in making it easier to clean and maintain. Right now I'm just glad the ground is fairly hard where I have to plow.
I did start finishing on some of those trinket boxes and still anxious to try my hand at flocking again. This should be interesting. :D I just hope it doesn't turn into a flocking mess. ;D

Well, just for the record we got 8" measured snow which was really about 10" of heavy wet stuff. I killed most of Monday cleaning it up. The Mule worked well, but it's getting time for a new battery so just to be safe, I put it on a charger just to keep it topped off when I take breaks. The winch pulls a lot lifting the plow.
Monday I ordered new flocking and adhesive to replace the crap I got shafted with the first time and Tuesday morning I got the ship notification, so I guess I bought one of the last cans they had, seems to be a big shortage at all suppliers of the green stuff.
Tuesday we got about 1.5" of snow just before the heavy rain started. I mistakenly did not take a swipe around to get that snow cleared thinking the rain would do it. It did not in most cases and that snow held the rain water in place. The yard is a real mess. We got nearly 3" of rain between yesterday afternoon and this morning. I ain't touching it now, the ground is too soft.
After ruining one of my boxes with that crap flocking I was a little down. Yesterday I attempted to save it with limited results, today I will try some more. I did a few minutes work on another project idea I have, but really have low energy and with the firewood dwindling, the shop is not warm as comfy as I would like it to be.
So I came in the house and decided to get my upcoming logs orders organized in my book and sort out all the emails. I did some follow up emails to clients who had not nailed down their quantities yet and also folks who made the first inquiry but never pulled the trigger. Lastly I emailed a few regular winter buyers to check in and got answers back there too. Some got back right away, one I am still waiting on. I picked up some orders from the older clients who had forgotten the time of year.
All told I am looking at 450-500 logs in the books, so I have my work cut out for me. But I have the clients well informed and they are flexible understanding my weather constraints. I want to wait a few more weeks before I start, hoping it gets colder for a bit. It's just too warm yet. Anyway, that income will put a dent in some expenses and maybe I can keep a little of it on the side for that trailer.
Last week I called for a quote for a custom belt for the drum sander and didn't hear back, so yesterday I called back and got a recording. Tried again this morning and talked with the same gal, she said they didn't have the quote yet. I asked 'if it takes 5 days to get a quote, how long does it take to get the belt?' She said about 2 weeks. My enthusiasm is waning. I did get a quote from Kingspor's for $118.00 but the caveat they put at the bottom of the quote gives me pause:

"The belt is a polyester material with a butt spliced/glue/taped joint.
As mentioned yesterday, we cannot guarantee tracking; therefore, no returns or exchanges."

A follow up email told me it takes them about 4 days to get the belt made. So now I have to decide if I want to go that way, or wait for the other guys (SuperGrit) and see what they come up with. It's not my money I'm spending, but I want it to be right and work because it is about 6 hours to change the belt and get the machine back together.

Today I am still in that funky blue mood. It's grey out, 40° and everything is a sloppy mess. Having a hard time getting excited about anything, but it is another day, so...

Could be worse brother! 

I'm dealing with a cracked waste line to my septic tank...

It started out with a possible rain water drainage/seepage issue has turned into a waste water leak.

Tom!  a couple thoughts.  I know space is tight, but any spot for a second aux. batt for the plow lifting.  also, I think the butt splice, if it has the wire fingers, may have a rod that goes through to connect the ends, and therefore can be installed without taking the machine apart.  may have to cut the old one off.  hang tough!

AWW Geez Ted! That sucks. I've been there and I feel for ya man! You're right, it could be worse! Now I feel a little better, sorry. ;D

Doc, A butt splice will leave a bump in this application and be unacceptable. Besides, you can't use those joints on an abrasive belt. We'll figure it out and get it running. We always have in the past. :) The only way to do this is take it all apart, but I am getting faster at it.

unless they can make it without a bump.  sure, be easier.  My 20-inch planer has an accordion set of plastic dust boots.  I bought replacement ones about 10 years ago.  still new old stock, as I would have to disassemble it.  just sold it to Cardiodoc.  I will give him these although if he ever decides to fix it, he will ask me to help.  for the sander, you have to just remove the platen, and take it all apart if I recall.

Quote from: doc henderson on January 10, 2024, 04:18:01 PM
....  for the sander, you have to just remove the platen, and take it all apart if I recall.

Aw gee, you're funny Doc! For those not quite catching Doc's dry sense of humor here maybe I should 'splain a little.

"Just remove the platen" means: loosen and lift the 180# motor to remove the belts, remove each of the two abrasive rollers, Remove the retaining bars for the elevation adjustment screws, loosen and remove the chain for the elevation adjustments, lift the entire platen assembly off the machine and find a place to put it. Remove tension adjustment screws and blocks on three corners. Remove the conveyor drive chain and maybe the motor because it's in the way. Remove two tension adjuster brackets on one side, try to sneak out one roller, you can't get the other out, the gear is in the way, so figure out a way to to make that 'not be a problem'. Remove two of the elevation control screws and the nuts. Slide the conveyor belt off, takes 2 people, but I have to do it with one.
Then you have to do that whole thing in reverse, make everything fit and align it as you go. Disassembly takes 30-45 minutes, re-assembly takes several hours of fighting to make it fit.

Funny guy! :D :D

I do not think I had to remove the roller.  I found a way to pull it out (I think) without all that.  It did take some time.  let me look.  It was a pain.  you are a machine guy so I know you will do it the easiest way.  the platen is MDF so I took off all the hardware so I could tighten up the holes with glue and wood.

Well, it is what it is and I haven't been thinking on it much these last few days. I have yet to order the new conveyor, not being to thrilled with either of the quotes I got (it's not the cost, it's my confidence is the people I got the quotes from).
The last few days I have been bouncing on little jobs. Glue a couple of boxes, sand a few boxes, apply finish an a few boxes, mess with the flocking on some trinket boxes and I also have a 'non-profit' job I am messing with and spending way too much time on.
It's a long story but a few weeks ago I got a haircut and noticed that the business card display in the barber shop was full and mentioned to the owner that I would like to put a few of my cards in there. She said "Yeah, I gotta go through and cull some out because not all those cards are viable anymore." That was the total of our exchange and I forgot about it. For 15 minutes anyway. On the drive home I began to think about how I would make one of those card displays because it had occurred to me before. I might like to have one in my shop for folks I refer people to.
Well I have all this cedar lap siding I would love to use up and the wheels started turning and one thing led to another. A lot of little pieces involved, a lot of gluing and cleaning. I designed it as I built it and cut pieces. So there is nothing special about this and it's not done yet.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20240112_123853434.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1705110165)
 

I used up a good 3' of that several hundred foot stack I have of partial lap siding strips. :D
These photos are without finish or the lexan that will retain the cards which is all cut and drilled for brass nails.

 
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Anyway, I figured out today that this barber, her co-workers, or employees have cut my hair for 38 years now. I have followed her through 3 different shops until she finally started her own, where I go now. So I figure I would gift this to her and her shop and stuck my Maple card (Courtesy of Old Doc Henderson) on the top just because. That was a last minute add on last night and today. It looks better with the finish on it, I'll share it when it's done.

My attention is drawn these days to my dwindling firewood pile by the shop and I know I am in trouble. A lot of the wood I thought was good solid wood I put up last spring has no weight and is pithy, so everything is burning up fast with not a lot of heat in it. I have less than a cord in the stack left and am just hitting the mid-winter push when I expected to be cranking out a lot of work in the shop to fill the years shows with stuff to sell. I am certainly behind on that score too. Having lousy wood makes me conserve too much and the shop is not comfortable for working, which causes me to produce less, I think. It's gonna get cold here next week and I am going to have to start finding wood quick and get it processed. Seems like I put a lot of time and effort into processing wood I knew was not much good thinking I would just burn it up faster to get rid of it and get a bit of heat. But after a few months I just looed at the stacks and thought I was good, not realizing that most of the wood was junky. I burn more than twice as much junk wood in a day than I would if it was solid and then some. I am just disappointed in me is all. I'll have to stop work and find, cut, and process wood, then I have to take time off to do the mushroom log harvesting.

Ah well, it's just another year and I am just trying to get through it. I got an email requesting a property consult today, so with logs orders and that, things are looking up a little. I'll see where things stand once I get the winter tax bill paid. That will tell the tale for how the next 6 months go.
Tomorrow is another day.

Tom,

   How many different vendors are buying your boxes?

   Good looking card display rack. I'm anxious to see the finished product.

Howard, right now I have two client's for the cremation urns. One is a regular buyer and the other one, well, not so much. I do bring them to shows with brochures and I see a LOT of folks grabbing the brochures. Because a lot of folks have seen them on my table and think they are jewelry or trinket boxes I expanded this year and am making some just for that, which is why I am messing with the flocking. I thought a velvet type lined box might be more appealing (my wife thinks it's stupid  :D ). Anyway, if I am making boxes and I have some odd sized pieces I would rather make them into a saleable item, that burn them. Actually the first trinket box was conceived as a birthday present for a little girl I know, but I have yet to finish it, given my flocking debacle, and her birthday was almost 3 weeks ago. I do have to make a top for it now. I held off making any tops for the trinket boxes thinking I would try to come up with something different looking.

I expect to have the business card display done by Monday night. Needs more finishing applied, then putting on the lexan as a final step.

 
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Tom,

   FWIW the above picture is a sample of a bunch of carved boxes I brought back from Cameroon in West Africa. They are/can be used for Jewelry, keys or Knick Knack boxes or such. One of these I picked up had a few of my wife's necklaces and such in it. I used to keep one on a small table in Cameroon with household operating funds for my maid. She'd take some money out to buy cleaning supplies she needed or replenish common food items I'd used. She'd leave a receipt or note on the table with the change and I'd top it back up.

   Apparently they were roughed out into a box shape from a block of wood then they'd cut a slice off with a table or band saw (Since this was Africa it was probably a hand held coping saw) then carve out the lip so it would slip down into the box after they cut out the excess wood there. The lip is about 1/2" deep. As you can see from the dollar bill for scale they are about 2-2.5 inches thick and the actual storage are was a little over an inch deep. This 2 were masks but I have some that are square, round, ovals, etc. Once the rough cutting and wood removal was done the boxes were sanded, final engraving done then they were waxed or stained as appropriate.

   I don't know if this is something you'd want to play around with or something that would sell at the shows and such you are going to. I suspect they could be quickly massed produced using routers and other power tools I assume you use on a daily basis.

Neat little boxes Howard, but it seems like a lot of time to make that hole and get it shaped up. Also, I have no carving skills at all, wish I could learn, to make tops like that.
BUT...
Your suggestion did give me an idea. I have these maple and RO firewood chunks I pulled from the pile when I bucked them. They are about 7-8" diameter and right now 18" long. The hollow hole down the middle is about 4-5" diameter. They ben drying in the shop for 3 years now and are pretty much done, but I could not figure out what to do with them. Perhaps making a base and cutting them at certain heights could be turned into boxes or tall ones could be an umbrella stand. Interesting idea that. :) :D

Tom,

   Of course the time to make them by hand was not a factor in Africa where the daily wage for anyone who can find work is a few dollars. They would not have to be carved. They also made them that were round or rectangle or square. I'm thinking you just start with about a 3-4 inch thick piece of wood, rough shape it, saw a 1-1.5 inch thick slice off, route out a half inch lip off the top where it was sawed, then route out 1/2-3/4 inch out of the center of the top leaving about a 1/2" lip then route out an inch or so from the center of the box leaving about a half inch wall on the outer edge. Sand, stain, wax, etc. as desired. Instead of carvings some of the boxes have cross grains and other engraving on them. I could see making them out of a thick natural wood cookie if it was dry and no cracks.

   Of course the artists I bought mine from were using homemade hand tools as chisels and such to dig out the wood but many of the readers here have the power tools and skills to make them. It looks like a fun project for anyone with a band saw and a router table.

   They might not sell for enough to be worth the time and effort here but its a thought. I'd bet a chunk of red cedar would make a nice box. 

 Well, I'll keep this one on the list and keep thinking about it. By my reckoning I am way behind in what I wanted to get done this winter season and the firewood crunch is making it harder, gonna get cold in the coming weeks yet. I down to a cord or less and I don't burn wood like MM does. :D Plus the wood I have is mostly junk now. Yeah, I'm in trouble if I want to keep working in the shop. I screwed up bigtime this year.

I forgot to mention the other day that I finally got me one of them glue-bots to try out. Seems ok, but I have been pretty happy with the syringe fitted with a fine tip on it.


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I bought those syringes for field flushing wounds where there is no running water. I have used them more times for 'other stuff' than I have on wounds, but they are mighty handy for all sorts of stuff. The long pointed nozzle is really handy for glue.
I finished up that business card display pretty much. Still needs some more finish work and the reflections in this photo are terrible.


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Actually that photo is really horrible and does not reflect what it looks like very well. It actually looks fairly nice.

I tried a slightly new top design for the small trinket boxes, I wonder if you guys might tell me what you think. I just wanted something different.


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This box measures just 2.5 x 3" for reference.

-----------------------
Funny thing today, I went down to Bill's to talk about a bunch of business and also bring him a nice piece of 1" cotton rope to hang on the 10" log stringer running through his living room. I had to drive through 8-10" of water flooding the end of the town road, and it's not great at his place either. The swamp water is up even with the road and it's anybody's guess which is swamp and which is road in some spots. ;D His little girl likes to climb ropes and do gymnastics and such and I thought the 1" cotton would be easier on her hands then the 5/8 static climbing rope they had. Turns out it was a hit. :) She is one strong little 6 year old. Climbs that rope with just her arms and was having a blast in no time. :D she was just tickled pink with that rope. Makes me happy. That rope was the last thing left of the dingy I had and used as a little kid. Made Dad had bought that rope special just to use for the gunnel trim around the dingy. There was about 10 feet left over after he rebuilt the dingy and he held onto it. When he passed, I found it and hung it in my shed waiting for something special to use it on. Today was the day I guess. Seeing Inga's joy was good enough for me. :)
Anyway, I was at Bill's maybe 15 minutes and I headed back home to the shop, but got near the end of his road and there was an 18" rotted pine top dead across the road about 35' long. For once I didn't have a chain or a saw on the truck. I cleaned it our for last weeks snow. SO I backed up about 500', did a 6 point turn and went back to his shop for a saw and a chain. He was just getting ready to cut his own firewood so he and Inga got in the SXS with his (mighty) Milwaukee battery saw and I grabbed a chain. I really wished he grabbed a gas saw, but Bill is Bill. We headed down and rather than cut it and drag it off, he wanted to cut it into firewood for the OWB, so that's what we did, me, little Inga, and Bill's tenant lady who was trying to get out to work. Took all of 15 minutes to clear the road and load the SxS. Anything for a laugh, at least it wasn't raining. That top was about 35' long and missed the power line by just a couple of feet. It broke off about 20' above the stump and had some good wood in it. Glad I missed it when I drove by coming in. ;D
And tomorrow is another day.

   Thx for the picture of the card hold. T think I'd suggest making it horizontal and see how it looks and works.

HUH?!
It seems a little late for that wouldn't you say?

Its no extra work for me. :D

Sorry, not trying to be rude. I meant you might try that on the next one.

Yeah, I get that.  ;D But I don't intend for there to be another one. This one had a lot of little parts and and lot of little gluing and fitting. If I were to sell this it would have to be over 100 bucks. However, I wouldn't mind having one in my own shop. I try to keep a few cards of folks I often refer people to and this would be a nice way to do it.
No, this was just a gift to a friend's business.

OK, I was looking at the initial pictures of the business card hold and said to myself "that ain't gonna work. All the cards are vertical, you can't read them!" Then I saw the finished product and I think it looks incredible! It's funny that WV saw it horizontally as well. I say keep it vertical!

That little box looks great! I'd like to see the open lid and your adventures with flocking. The girl I'm making an urn for made me a model of what she wants, and it's tiny. Maybe inch and a half square, I'll probably scale it up a bit.

I love the story of your rope and giving it to Inga. I hope, when she grows up, she understands that there is a story there and appreciates it, I have a feeling she will.

Oh yeah, I think you'd mentioned your blanketed doors in this thread. He's my progress. I put the right side up first and over engineered it, kind of. The 2x4 at the top allows lots of air (and birds, there's birds that lives in my insulation, blocked in the picture by the drill press), then I've got a bunch of staples in it, which are probably good, though a pain to remove.

The left side is just clamped up, much easier to change and remove, but the amount of breeze I'm seeing tells me it's not keeping cold air out.

I'll end up taking the 2x4'd one down and clamping it in place and adding a third blanket to close it all up. I'm also seeing daylight through the top of the 2x12 header that I probably need to remove come spring time.


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Tom, you may have thought of this, but you give her a card with a story of what that rope meant to you and the gift of giving it.  I made a rocker for my oldest great niece.  just little benches for the rest that have come.  She ultimately asked very nicely for a bench like all the others.  I wrote and explanation about how the wood came from Nanas house.  a lady she never met.  the wood spans 5 generations.  It should mean more when she is older. 


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It was a standing dead oak that my wife's aunt Judy ask me to cut down in her final week in hospice.  My son William and I did it.  Milled the log and have made many gifts for family from it.


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this is the face we put on the seat of the 4-legged bench without through or wedged tenons, cut in my shop.  she likes maleficent.  She specifically said she did not want the legs tobe cut on my sawmill, wich is amazing for only being about 5 years old at the time to have such and opintion!  Howard. :) :) :)

Doc,

   Okay - now you are busy turning the next generation against a tried and proven process for making benches. I am crushed that a 5 y/o would specifically turn against me.  :( :( :(

    Tell her I am wounded but that it will heal (but there will be a permanent scar.). I hope she gets her wings back.

     BTW - I hope her bench rocks back and forth.

very funny.  she would have felt bad at the time, but she is almost a teenager now.  good luck.  I had not got to pick on you for a while.  I know you must be missing our banter. :snowball:   :D :D :D

You guys have to learn how to play nice. Howard if you need another hug I am here for ya buddy. ;D You haven't misjudged any of my colors in a while so I am sympathetic.
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Austin, I don't think I put pictures on here of the blankets because it really was/is a half-ashed job. I took no efforts to seal the edges in anyway because I need to open these doors sometimes to move pieces in and out. The 14' door needs several blankets and they barely make it to the floor.

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The 7' door on the right was easier but I was well short of the floor on that one.

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This year was jut a test. My doors are pretty well sealed all around and on top, but when we get high winds it can just force it's way through the cracks. In any event, when it's cold I have noticed a lot of thermal transfer through the door because it has no insulation. Most of the shop will be at a comfortable working temp, but the front 15' or so by the doors would be almost 10° cooler. I can say now that this is no longer the case. It may just be 3 or 4° cooler. I affixed the blankets on the top edge of the door by stapling through 3/8x 2" pine strips about 8-10 inches long. This will make removal easier. I may be more elaborate with it next year, but I am calling the test 'successful'.

--------------------
Today I just bounced from thing to thing with nothing special getting done. I was up at 5am because 'stuff' was banging around in my had and wouldn't let me sleep, so I might as well get to work, right? I flocked around for part of the morning prepping and flocking 3 or 4 boxes, and I flocked the inside of the cover for that first box I showed the other day. I'll post a full photo when I get them both cleaned up. I made a few more tops with that new design but I have to do some touching up before I start sanding and finishing. I am getting better with the flocking stuff and it goes pretty fast. The results, to my eye, are quite appealing. I wish I could find a nice little brass ball with a woodscrew thread to use as a button pull in the center of those tops. Everything I find is too big, too cheap, too gaudy, or too [something else]. I'll keep looking and eventually find something.
I also glues up some more boxes and worked on other stages of box building. This is gonna take a while because there are a lot of steps and I want each one to look good. Since I am not a real woorkworker, this takes me time. I just do a little work each day on them and eventually each day a box or two will hit the inventory rack. I still have to set up to drill the screw holes, tap them and order the screws.
I decided it was a pretty nice day and I need wood so headed across the road to hack up some blow downs and came back up the hill just as the wind was hitting 40 and the snow began to pelt down, we had a 20 minute whiteout, then it cleared. I could not get the splitter started, still working with that bad battery, but it's on the charger overnight and tomorrow should be good to go. Of course tomorrow will be 10-15° colder than today, but I am hoping for sun. The next day is snow, of course. Gonna be cold all week. I'll see what I can get split up and maybe grab another load. Seems like there are more than a few trees down that I'll have to check out. Each Mule load produces a couple of days wood, assuming it's burnable. ;D I've been keeping the shop in the low 60's, but that isn't great for drying finishes. Maybe I should start brining stuff in the house where it's 75 in the den. Hadn't considered that before now.

Tomorrow is what it will be I guess.

Thanks Tom, your blanket comments make me feel better about mine. Yesterday, when we were getting the wind, these blankets were breathing quite a bit.


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I had electric heater, kerosene, and propane running at the same time, last night. Today, I've started with electric and torpedo heater. Propane is hot, 900+ degrees, but it's straight up into the ceiling fan and insulated but not great roofline. Kerosene is lovely but you have to be close. Electric is slow but OK, torpedo is heating the room up nicely but also slow. Concrete floor is a huge cold sink, even with a couple rugs.

Fuel is expensive, whether it's the work it takes to get wood or various junk you can pump out at the station. I paid around 240 bucks for a couple weeks worth of fuel. I'd probably rather a fireplace, if I had space.

I turned off the torpedo heater and it's cold almost instantly. Electric is still on. It's supposedly around 10 degrees right now.

Time to put a ceiling in that garage/shop and add insulation above the ceiling. Will make it more worthwhile spending the $$$ on trying to heat with electric, propane, and kerosene which is a bit like peeing against the wind. Your garage door blankets will then have a more positive effect, I'm thinking.

We put 3" of foam board insulation (two 1½ layers) on the vaulted ceiling of our uninsulated camp a few years ago and went from warm by the stove to warm anywhere and so much faster to heat up. Maybe someday we will put some insulation in the walls too but glad we did the ceiling first.

Thinking about it I remember that it snowed while we were putting the insulation on so over night there were parts that had no insulation and parts that had 1 layer and parts that had 2 layers. By morning it was pretty obvious were the insulation was as it had completely melted the snow were there was no insulation, half melted were there was 1 layer and no obvious snow melt compared to the overhang were there was 2 layers.

Yeah, insulation sure helps. I have about 6" in my attic in the shop. but the walls are concrete block and pretty sure they have no filling. But I know the blankets help and they have also helped me realize that I have other areas I could do better. SO it might be a 'project' next early fall. I could make frame panels to in the the windows to cut down on air ingress, and also work on the main man door which I note is leaking a bit. All these things would help and will add up. But choosing my battles is always a battle. ;D
-----------------------------------

Well tonight I am tired, but for a change I think I earned it. :D I got some shop work done this morning and when it warmed up to about 21° or so I went out and finally got the splitter started. So I split up all the wood I brought up yesterday. I brought a couple of wood hand trucks in the shop and filled the hoop then refilled the carts, so I have a bunch air drying by the stove and some still piled by the splitter. I took the Mule back down the hill and there was another top that has been laying for about a year, another maple. Glad the snow is pretty much gone, getting up that little hill through the trees was tough enough. I filled the Mule and it's all really good wood.

 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20240115_151751465_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1705365727)
 

 I brought that up and split all that too. Most of it went on the pile by the splitter, but I did fill the Mule back up and parked it by the back door of the shop.

 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20240115_163311615.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1705365891)
 

 I still have some to get in from the splitter area but I am pout of small storage and moving gizmos.

 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20240115_163342078.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1705365898)
 

 There is still a little bit of ash down where I was cutting and some branches I could take also to clean it up some more, but it's steep and my legs were getting wobbly. I also have the trunk to take down.

 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20240115_151800850_HDR.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1705366041)
 

 It's the stem on the right with the big bole. I'll have to get that bole to the mill, but the rest should be good firewood. It's about 22" or so on the stump. I think I'll try to drag that log out in 2 or 3 chunks. After that I have to go hunting for more wood.
 It never got over 27° today, which along with the partial sunshine, encouraged me to get out and do something. I am also concerned about this cold week ahead, as mentioned, my wood is dangerously low. So this was a 'feel good' boost to collect some decent wood and get it processed. The wood has been dead standing for quite a while, but has all the water picked up with the recent rains. This dries off pretty quick in the shop. SO having the wood stacked by the stove for a day or so is enough to pretty much dry it to a burnable state. It's already burning quite well, it just takes a different stove feeding philosophy. I keep it full most of the time. The wetter stuff on top gets dried out by the lower stuff already burning. Yeah, I know I am loosing energy doing this but it works and the shop is warm. I have the stove backed down to where the shop should be around 60 right now, but it is holding at 65 so I am getting better heat out of this wood then I expected. Between today and yesterday I think I cut and split about 2/3's of a cord, which is like most of a season for Magicman, or about 5-10 days for me. :D I threw tarps over the pile by the splitter and the stack in the Mule because we have snow coming in overnight and most of tomorrow, but it doesn't look like much. I just don't want snow sitting on this wood just after I split it.
 Funny thing, yeah it finally got cold and yeah, I got excited because the cold opens up opportunities for me. So I thought to myself this morning "Hey, maybe the swamp is finally hard and I can get out there with the Mule, or at least walk and work on it!" So I went out there to check it out. :D :D ;D Yeah, um, NO. The air may be a little cold and below freezing, but the ground and surface water are going to take a LOT more time to cool off.  I had to pick my steps carefully and still came out with wet boots and nearly went in over my ankles in a few spots. Probably need at least a week of these temps to even get close to having thick enough ice to drive the Mule over. I feel like I am not going to live long enough to get this swamp cleaned up, leveled off and drained properly. If I can't get a machine in, I can't even start. But that's a different issue. It's just that finally getting some winter weather got me a little excited. Probably won't last long anyway. >:(

 But I take today as a winner so I am hopeful for tomorrow too.

   Glad you had a good day of it. Be careful with that ash. Around here they like to break off about half way up and fall back on you. That one looks to have enough lean to prevent that. Dead limbs like to fall while sawing.

    I split a little wood today by hand. I thought it was WO when I dragged it up but am about decided it is basswood. It is very green but I have a lot of dry ash to burn with it.

    I regret now that I did not go buck and drag down another big poplar log for my shed project yesterday when the ground was frozen and drier. Now we have several inches of snow and no telling when I can get my tractor back up to that site.

Either I mislead, or you mis-read, but either way, no harm. There was zero hazard today, everything I cut was flat on the ground. Down and long dead. The neighbor had been after me to clean that up for over a year, but my 'feelings' on that are another discussion. ;D I wouldn't mind maintaining his woods if he came out and gave me a hand, but that hasn't happened. What I saw today tells me there is bout a days work cleaning up what's come down in the last 2 years on the upper lift, and I have no idea what's happened down on the lower level, 40' below. There is a hickory I could pull wood off of down below that dropped 2 years ago, but that's a challenge with the mule and tough ground to keep your feet on.
At any rate I needed the wood and this was a low as hanging fruit as anyone could find. The stem remaining is not ash, it is maple and has a good lean uphill. It's a fairly good sized log, but I will likely save that until I can borrow a machine to pick it up and drop the good part on my trailer. I want to mill that bole and see what's in it, if anything. I suppose I could drop it and just leave the bole log for another time and take the rest in firewood, but I will ponder on that for a bit. Yeah, I have cut a lot of ash that has gone wonky at the last second, even had one throw an entire top straight back at me after it hit the ground. I am still alive. I never ever trust a dead ash.

Tom,

   My bad. You were talking about ash firewood then started talking about the stem and I thought you were still talking about ash.

   We had an ash fall from my neighbor's place that nearly took out my mailbox 2 weeks ago. I dragged the wood and a cherry top it took out from out of my mail carrier's way with my ATV and cut it up and have used most of it for firewood. The root ball and about 12-15 feet of the 15" diameter trunk are still on the slope and in the days ahead I'll bring a ladder over and climb up and cut it off and salvage it for firewood too. I have another big one stand in my spring run above my house I'll cut too. I'll have to use the tractor and a long cable to drag it down.

@beenthere (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=180) It's hard to see but there is insulation in the roofline and I like the tall ceilings in there enough that for the foreseeable future I won't put a ceiling in. I do need to insulate that front wall area sometime but it's only marginally fun walking around on the roof joists to add the insulation.

Tom, great job on your firewood!

Well, since that last post, on Wednesday, Bill sent one of his guys down with the 1 ton dump filled with nice wood. It was snowing pretty smartly so we duped it right on the side of the shop and I pulled the tarp over it pretty quick to keep the snow off. It is dead dry wood but all frozen with the rains of the prior week. SO once it thaws and gets some airflow it will be in good shape fairly quick, plus I am still burning that stuff I cut early in the week. Still with the over night lows in the tens and the daytime highs not getting much above 17 or so it's a little bit of a fight to get, and keep, the shop at 70 for doing finishes. SO I kind of gave up on that for this cold spell. I've been out there doing glueing and finishes on boxes about 4-6 hours a day, then I bring the work in the house to sit overnight where the average temp is 74 and the humidity is 20%. That does it overnight, out in the shop it takes 2-3 days. SO that is working.
Today I flocked up a bunch of trinket boxes. If the gallery was up, you could imagine a photo of a half dozen boxes or so with nice green flocking right about here.  ;D I left all the flocked up parts out in the shop to dry, I don't care how long they take, they are done. I just have to match tops with bottoms and they are good to go. I have one that goes as a gift to a little girl and the others I will get photos of and stick on my FB page to see if anyone wants them. I still have quite a mess of cremation urns to make and they are progressing a little at a time. I'm just doing one day at a time. I had a request from a sick friend come in the other day and I am trying to figure out how to best help him out. It's a very sad situation and since he asked, it has weighed heavy on my mind. I may post more on that later, right now I am just trying to work it through my head and figure out how to handle this right. Even at best, it will likely be a bit of a cluster, but this stuff always seems to find me. I don't know why.
I like working outside if the sun is out, but when it's cloudy it ain't so much fun because it gets real damp here. So I guess I am just laying back a bit. Hey, it's winter, I can do that, right? This is kind of when I envy the guys in the grits belt, but they haven't had it so good this past week either, so, no complaints from me this time.
I notice forum postings seem to be down quite a bit, probably everyone is laying back while Jeff does his thing and that's probably best. But I thought I would throw and update here just because.
Tomorrow is another day.

OG I like that license plate in the rear window . Need to find me one of them.

Newoodguy78,

Maybe we can get a box of them and split them!

I assume you guys means the one on the right that says "FARM USE"? Funny story on that. When I built a rig for road spraying on the back of the Mule and brought it to a music fest to keep the dust down, the director of the event was very impressed and some time later she saw that sign and got it for me just to 'dress up the Mule' she said. It was on the for a few years and I was trailering it back home from a more distant fest one year and the wind got hold of it and ripped it off. (It was plastic.)
SO I searched for another one in aluminum and found one on fleabay. When I got it I saw it was plastic, so I complained to the seller. The ad clearly said 'aluminum'. They apologized and sent me another one, this time supposedly the 'right one'. Well that was plastic too. SO I again complained and aksked them to at least change their ad and stop saying they were aluminum. Well, they had had enough of me, so they just refunded my money and told me to keep what I had, they didn't have aluminum. I never saw them change their ad, but got tired of playing with them and just used what they sent. At least I had a spare now. I think I put 4 screws in it so the corner can't lift up and catch the wind again.
These are still up on fleabay in many forms from $10-20. You guys can find them there. What I am really looking for is one that is printed in the correct dialect. It should say "FAHM USE". This is a little inside joke because the farm the we use for the weeklong bluegrass fest in July is simply referred to as "The Fahm" by the staffers so a bunch of folks would get a smile out of that one, and that's my job during that week, or part of it. But I don't think I will ever find that sign.  ;D :D

I know those Farm Use tags are a novelty for some.  Just a note to use discretion in displaying a Farm Use plate on a vehicle ATV or SxS operated on public roads.  Every state is different. 

NC doesn't recognize those unofficial tags without a DMV registration and plate. We do have DMV issued farm plates.  Virginia is starting to require a DMV plate for farm use vehicles.  Va won't recognize the Farm Use unofficial plate starting in July.  The fine is $250.

    I am pretty sure you can get the Farm Use plates at any TSC or Rural King and probably at most WalMart or local Department stores around here. I know the farm supply places keep them. In WV I think the rule is you can drive it on the road a certain number of miles from your home.

   I don't think they are too strict on enforcement here. I've been running an expired temporary plate on my truck since the end of August and never been questioned. I even stopped and asked a Highway Patrol to sign a form I/DMV needed to get my tag and title issue fixed 3 weeks ago and he would not do it so I had to get the local Sheriff deputy to do it. Neither were concerned about the tag.

Yes, Ted, I am aware. here in NYS they tap, as heavily as possible, every opportunity to suck registration, insurance, and any other fees they can from the working folks. Farm vehicles here need to be registered and insured and are held to strictly controlled travel routes which you must declare on your application and update if they change. It's ridiculous, as usual. Put the burden on the working people and collect the fees.
For me, it's a bit of a protest because it seems that the ONLY vehicle type you cannot register in NYS is a SxS. You can register a golf cart, atv, boat, trailer, and just about anything else, but not  SxS. The ATV groups do not want the SxS's registered as ATV's because then they could use public trails, and they want to keep them out. So, they put a lot of lobbying money behind that and have been successful. There is a bill pending for over a year now, but seems dead, to fill this gap. I hade a dickens of a time getting mine insured (liability) so I could show proof of coverage to use it at music festivals. But it's not registered.
I talked to a State Trooper Sargent I was friends with and for what I do, and the time I am on the public roads, he said "Forget it" and "If one of my people ever give you a hard time, tell them to call me before they write any paper". For me it's a tiny teeney slice of time in it's usage. Yes, I take a risk, but when you see off-road logging equipment, skidders, excavators, bucket trucks, lull's , and lord knows what else, my little buggy driving down the shoulder at 15MPH won't even get a second glance. ;D Although we get troopers transferred in from urban barracks to here and they behave like they are on the face of the moon until they get the flow of things. :D

-----------------------------

It was 14° overnight and either I set up the stove too early (9pm) or I did a lousy lay because the shop was 44° this morning. Just up to 55 now, and I am tiring of the fight. I'll go out and give it another kick. The last time it got down below 45 was the 1st weekend of February last winter and it was -18° overnight with 30mph winds. I was away and the shop dropped in the low 30's with no fire. Took 3 days to warm the building back up. I try to avoid that.

Just a note of caution is all.  Some who read here may not be aware of the regulations on the Farm Use tags.  It can be expensive.  Highway patrol here has no sense of humor about registration, weighted tags, Farm Use tags, etc. 

Absolutely Ted, the lesson is: ALWAYS know the regulations that cover your locale. In my case I often wondered what would happen if I came across a LEO on one of my 2 minute rides along the shoulder? They can't really write me up for an unregistered vehicle because in my state, that is not a registerable vehicle, in fact, legally it doesn't even exist. They can't write me for un-insured, because it is insured. They can't write me for inspection because there is no procedure for inspecting these things either. So likely some sort of 'operating an illegal vehicle on a public roadway'. If I were the LEO and really wanted to write me up, I would write the tickets and let the judge figure it all out. But of course, any of that is no good for me. >:(
Still I will take my chances with the 'grumpy old man just trying to get by and not hurting nobody' routine. That works a lot of the time. ;D

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on January 21, 2024, 08:40:44 AM
What I am really looking for is one that is printed in the correct dialect. It should say "FAHM USE".

Tom,
You should reach out to my neighbors to.da north, in Maine.  Pretty sure that is the correct pronunciation up that'a way!  :D

Yeah, I looked around up there, but no joy unless I get one custom made. That nickname actually came from one of our staffers who tawks funny. We have a lot of staff from VT, Smashachussets, Maine and those other non-grits states and one gal had a particularly thick accent the others from down south picked up on.
-----------
Well I got the shop up to temps this morning but it took a while for it to settle in and hold. I took all the trinket boxes I had drying in the house and stacked them on the inventory shelf in the shop loosely and just draped plastic over them to keep the dust off. I'll wait a few weeks for them to get good and cured before I bag them to keep clean. So that finishes all the trinket boxes I had in work, but I still have more in parts. I had 7 cremation urns all glued and sanded, so I spent 3-4 hours putting the first coat on all those and the tops. Then did a re-wipe after the finish sat long enough. They are now in the house drying and should be good for another coat by tomorrow. 75° and 20%RH does it fairly quick.
(Imagine yet another exciting photo of ERC boxes placed here.)
I still have to order the screws for the urns. I found a new source and just haven't placed the order yet. I need to drill and tap the holes also which can also be tedious. Frankly I am tiring of doing boxes and will cut it off at some point soon. I just wanted a handful on the shelf in case somebody orders one or two. Then I can build to replace with the parts I already have cut. Tomorrow I will do an inventory, see what's done and then do one more cycle to give me a good starting mix of the two sizes. The small ones move faster than the large ones.
I need to work on something different, something a bit bigger. Maybe a bench or two. Something I have everything on hand for and don't need to buy anything. I just paid the taxes and have to wait until something comes in to start buying supplies again. Watching pennies for a little while.
Tomorrow is another day.

The closest unincorporated community where I grew up and live now is called Frame. I went to Frame elementary school which has been gone for approximately 40 years.We had a fellow in the community who painted Frame Use on the side of his old truck which didn't have any license and neither did he.The law pulled him over once and asked him if he had any ID.He said "about what ".They laughed and let him go on his way.

That's a good one! :D

OG, You could say you're an artist and put "FAR MUSE" on your plate. ;D

Well we are all back together again and I could not be more happy. That was a tough week for everybody especially Jeff and crew, that did a SUPER job!

 So I'll try to do some catching up here. About a week or two ago I ordered some cheaper labels to put on my low cost stuff. I don't want to waste those nice coins and it takes time to put them on things that I bang out in bunches. These seemed to fit the bill, I can stick them on anything.

label_small.jpg

OK, got my first photo in and I think I have figured out the process. I did get the drum sander pretty much back together, Re-installed the idle rollers after cleanup and bearing greasing, polished the main drums and added felt to the rear drum per Doc's suggestion.

sander.jpg

 We (carefully tested everything and I am pleased it runs with the power I can supply. Prior to the rebuild it would blow the breaker every time I tried to start it. Now with new belts, grease, and adjustment it works just fine and is a beast. I heard it load up a time or two on heavy cuts but never came close to stalling or popping the breaker. It's kind of a hard machine to explain, so today I made a short video (not as short as I had hoped, but oh well, I talk too much). Now let's see if I can get a video in here too.


 It sure does make things flat, and it can really take material. We did a 3" short pine slab on Sunday and I wound up taking almost 1/4" off to get it near flat. MAN the dust!

 I have also been working on a few more boxes but am getting weary of doing the same thing over and over, so I am doing them in groups of 3 or so in between other stuff. I started a new top for one of the sewing machine leg sets. (As seen in video.)

 The shop heat has been holding up fairly well, but some days I didn't work out there much because I just didn't want to use the wood to cook it up to a comfortable temp. I did finishing out there, then brought it in the house for drying, which worked well. The blankets seem to be doing their little part also. Now I know it's worth my time to do something a little better for next winter.

 Tomorrow is another day.

nice video.  good to see you and hear your New York accent!  great refurb, and now what width you can sand and even essentially plane.  The sander is how I get my 18 x 24-inch maple to 1/8thinch for coasters and those medallions. 

Looks good!!

Like the sander! If I brought you one of my sugar maple slabs shaped like an airplane propeller, would it flatten it? ;D

Looking at that platen material reminds me of the thousands of commercial doors I used to haul. They were made from a very heavy, thick, particle board that was fire rated. (Finding a used commercial grade door would be a source if you ever have to replace the platen.)
Word of caution, I remember working in a factory running an industrial abrasive surfacer doing thin wood strips, feeding them in multiple pieces at a time. I may or may not have had 2 pieces overlap in the machine, and jam up, and almost set the machine on fire. :-X

If you do ever really overload it, it will cost you a magnetic switch.  about 60 bucks at grizzly.  go slow.  I tried but could never get the smoke to go back in.  One of those learning experiences when I was doing someone a favor who thought I did not know what I was talking about. 

Res, it will but then you would have a propellor with points on ech end and no pitch.  :)

My Kuster would smoke a set of belts if overloaded. Are you using 4 or 6 inch wide rolls?

testing

You passed Bill!
21 What size machine and what size motor did you have? 2 drums? I am assuming it had a pair of belts? I get the feeling this thing will blow the breaker before it toasts the belts. It grunts down, but doesn't slow down.

 Yeah Res, no warranties express or implied on your board. ;D

I did find a photo of that machine when we got it in the gallery. I'll try and see if I can connect it here.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52103/IMG_20220803_201330872.jpg)

OK, well that seemed to work.

3 hp1725 rpm 24 inch dual belts mostly 40 grit. Single drum. Once I got that first smell they would narrow down quickly.  I have several big rolls of 4 inch I have been cutting down  to 2.75 for my new sander. 

Having a hard time replying now. Works when I use edit after the first couple words I just found out.

I've had no issues with posting, I don't know why but I am not complaining. I forgot to answer your other question, I am using 4" wide media on this as per the manual recommendation.

Testing degree symbol (ALT+ 248) 30° here now.

Where did you end up getting the feed belts at?

I researched a LOT on that conveyor. Prices for a rubber/cloth conveyor were up around $600-900 and I would have to order custom and never really got that far. I also learned that many are switching over to abrasive belts and found several companies. One wanted about $120 for a single belt (custom) and that was OK, but then I found SuprGrit Abrasives and they wanted about $41.00/belt, but they had a 3 piece minimum order, so about the same as the other guys, but I got 3 belts. I had a funny feeling talking with them on the phone and it took several days to get a price quote (this belt is 36" wide x 73" long), but I went with them and they sent me 4 belts (billed for 3) in less than a week. SO I also bought the 4" sanding media from them for testing. Now I have to reorder because I only got 10 yard rolls to get started and try out the grits I selected. A couple of days ago they emailed me a clearance catalog with some pretty nice deals in it (like 5" H&L sanding disks, 250 discs for about $50.00).
 Very happy with their service and quality.

I'm so happy I passed that test, but I think my posts only work about 1% of the time.

Yep having similar problem posting from my phone.�

trying again
that one worked and so did the edit

I'm glad you guys are working through it, it's a learning curve. I don't use my phone to post anything but short replies, I guess I will start trying in a couple of days. SO far, it's been pretty good for me, but I did reply to a PM from the midget Doctor with a paragraph and it got lost/dumped/errored out.

Quote from: firefighter ontheside on January 31, 2024, 04:31:14 PMtrying again
that one worked and so did the edit

I am using a regular home computer. If I don't preview my reply first before I post it. The post is completely gone and shows a error. I never had to preview before.�

Now that it's working, I don't have anything to say.

:yellow: dancing-jack  Whole bunch of smiley's reappeared just now. Just happened to be in this thread.  Hope you're warm and dry. 

Yes, warm and dry now, still recovering from the weekend and I was way too weary and sleepy to post last night. So I'll catch this up a little.
 I was tickled to see that just as I left for The Hoot on Friday, the forum issues were largely resolved. AT least, for me, I could check in and read a little here and there over the weekend.

 This is my 11th year doing the Hoot and its pretty routine with some small changes every year to streamline or improve. Set up and breakdown get faster all the time. When I arrived and checked in, the only question I had was where I was sleeping. Normally I grab a bunk in the Long House, which is not private, but is quite comfortable. I only get about 4 hours sleep each night so it doesn't really matter to me. But last year they had a cancellation that they put me in, a nice private room with my own bathroom. This year, I was back to the bunk house until the last second when the boss realized she had a cancellation in one of the brand new mini-cabins they were just building and she offered me that, but insisted I check it out first. The cabin is not finished. It has electric, lights and a temp electric space heater, no insulation yet.

cabin2.jpg

 So I checked and it was warmer inside than outside and thought I would be fine, although I only had a summer sleeping bag. I moved in and it was just perfect.

cabin1.jpg

Then I got to work and forgot about it. It was a typical Friday night with good music, meeting up with lots of old friends and folks known from prior years, some square dancing, good food, etc. After the scheduled shows were done we had about 60 folks settle in the dining hall for a jam that went very late into the night (actually early into the next morning).

jay_Molly Jam.jpg

In the above photo, Jay Unger (wearing the hat) is near the center and just to the right of him is his wife Molly Mason on base. She just got a new hip last week and is doing great. There were about another 25 musicians i that circle, I couldn't fit them all in a photo.

 So all was good until I went to bed at 2am with the jam still quietly continuing. I walked in the cabin and it was the same temp inside as outside, about 20°. This was a little colder than I was equipped to deal with. It seemed that the heater fan had quit although the heater was still working, it wasn't moving the hot air off the heater. Suffice to say it was a very long night and I only managed, perhaps 90 minutes sleep all night. I got up at daybreak and found a couch in a dark corner upstairs in the performance hall and took a 30 minute nap. With all the winter camping I have done at low temps, even below zero, I don't ever recall feeling that cold for an entire night.

 Later in the day I had to run home to do firewood, stoves, etc. and I grabbed another nap, for an hour. I also grabbed some better winter sleeping gear and other odds and ends that might help. When I returned and was unloading the stuff into the cabin, a couple of the maintenance guys came walking up the road with a new heater. We put that in and it seemed to work. I checked it a couple of hours later and it was working, not real warm in there, but warmer than outside. When I racked out at 2am the outside temp was again 20° but inside felt like, perhaps, 40-45° and with my new sleeping clothes I went to bed and didn't move a muscle or wake up until 7am. Nice solid sleep. I was still behind the sleep curve, but I was feeling a lot better.

 All in all a nice weekend with no disasters. I got home around 1pm and still very tired. I did what I HAD to do but not everything I needed to do. I was just too tired to even post here. Now with a full night's sleep I am ready to get back to work and finish unpacking, etc.

 I did read all the posts I missed over the weekend and it's good to hear how everyone is getting on. I think I have figured out that these popup ads I am getting have nothing to do with the forum and I am certain Jeff does not get anything from them. I see the ads that show up in the pages between replies and those are just fine. But when I am posting, every time  a new popup comes up, it takes the cursor focus away from the reply pane and I am typing nothing. Then I look up and see that I have to PUT the cursor back in the reply pane and retype the last sentence. It VERY annoying and I had to do it maybe 20 times writing this post. Again, I am pretty sure this is NOT a forum thing so I will have to figure out how to fix it locally. I have already tried a popup blocker which doesn't seem to work very well, and they are coming from (I think) two different sources.  They flop down right in the middle of what I am reading sometimes. I'll figure it out eventually. I am just glad we are all back together.

 Today is another day.

there are some little boxes in the L upper corner that say left pane, right pane ect.  It seems to change the layout and i think it may allow you to pick where they show up.  I have found little Xs on the ads and can close them and go back to posting.  

Yeah, I have seen and 'adjusted' some, but I get two or three at a time sometimes and they lay wherever they want. Even though I can close them, it still means I lost a full sentence that I have to type over. The ones Jeff are adding to the site are perfect. They get their own space and do not interfere with whatever you are doing. I don't mind those at all. But these just seemed to have latched onto my forum connection somehow. They are parasites.

Looks like a nice time other than the cold night's sleep Tom!

On the note of the new forum I'm still looking for the place that used to be where I could click to see replies to threads I've commented in. Is that still a thing I just haven't found yet? I see my posts but that's not really what I'm looking for. 

Top right just under the "We are getting there" 

Updated Topics

Tom,

    Is it true the most requested song at the Hoot was Five Speckled frogs? It goes -

Five little speckled frogs
Sitting on a hollow log
Eating delicious bugs and flies
Yum Yum
 
One jumps in the pool below
Glurp Glurp
Now there's only four speckled frogs
 
(Lyrics repeat three more times)
 
 last chorus –
 
One little speckled frog
Sitting on a hollow log
Eating delicious bugs and flies
Yum Yum
 
He jumps in the pool below
Glurp Glurp
Now there's no more speckled frogs
Oh Man!
 
   I heard most of the musicians had pre-K grandkids. smiley_smug01 ;) :-\

No Howard, I have never heard that little ditty. My PC is giving me issues right ow and I can't play and get any audio out of you tube videos right now. I'll work on that. The truth is Ashokan is run by longstanding world class musicians who write, perform, compose many types of music. They tend to write their own stuff and they put some pretty good effort into it because they have at least two groups of school kids per week every week through the school year, plus youth summits and things like that. They provide music for all of these events and although it is not all new for each event, it does tend to be tailored to where they are and what they are working on. If you like, I can slip a note off to the CEO of the foundation (pictured in my last post) and ask if they can find a way to roll "five little speckled frogs" into the music rotation. But I have to hear it first so I can speak to it's  composition qualities.

 Hilltop is right and I have been relying on the 'unread posts' button since the other menu went away. I used to use the 'most recent posts' selection on that drop down menu and really miss it so I could read everything chronologically. "Unread posts' is as close as I can come, but it's nowhere near the same. 
 There are a few things I am missing too, but frankly, that's just me and I know Jeff is exhausted (or should be) so I am not listing things I have questions about yet. I know the drill on this stuff and now that he is past the big onslaught, he is likely working on things he wants to 'look right' or 'work right' and I am sure he has a long list himself that he adds to daily or so. Some of these small things we see as users can take several or many hours to fix as an Admin, such as the 'more button' for emogi's. I do notice my reading and posting habits have changed a little because some things I am finding not as easy to do, but other things are much easier. I miss the bookmarks, I used those a lot and it means I have to hunt around to find 'important to me' threads. Also, I had bookmarked a lot of threads that are helpful to me when I have issues with certain things. Even if the bookmark feature comes back, it will take me a long time to find that stuff I have bookmarked previously. I am certain there is no way to bring back the old ones. So I feel a little disconnected on that stuff now. But it will smooth out over time I am sure. Any little bothersome things us users are experiencing are nothing compared to what Jeff and his team are going through. My suggestion is to poke around and find what's changed and try to find a way to adjust your habits and create a new way to enjoy and navigate the forum. The value here is in the folks we have and the wisdom they share. That hasn't changed a bit and I hope it never does. :wink_2:
------------------------------

 It was a pretty good day here today for me. Usually the 'day after' from the Hoot is lost to me and I will confess I slept until 8am this morning, which I truly needed. I spent most of the morning catching up here. The shop came back up to temp easily. Last year it took until Wednesday because of the extreme clod temps it saw when I was away. So I felt well, was caught up on chores and got some work done on the sewing machine legs, but ran out of paint. SO I made a town run and got a little more done and I also did a little work on other projects and reloaded the firewood carts which were empty. In spite of the very rough night I had Friday, this has been my fastest festival recovery. Tomorrow is full steam ahead for general work. The sunshine is very helpful, regardless of the temps. I was getting pretty sick of grey skies after two weeks of it. Very depressing.
 BUT, tomorrow is another day!

Tom,

  Remind me the next time we meet and I'll try to sing or hum the tune to you. It won't be as good as my 4 (almost 5) y/o gd did all weekend but at least you can get the beat right. Trust me - when you hear it enough it sticks with you. smiley_smug01

OK, I get the picture. After several decades in Scouting working at several camps I have a PLETHEROA of these type songs floating around in the back of my brain. All cataloged by age group. I am sure I will hear it before we meet again, but in case I don't, hold that thought. :wink_2: In fact, I think you hit a trigger, not unlike PTSD (but much more pleasant) and I will be running those songs through my head as I try to sleep tonight. So thanks for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSC-gHBU_d0

   I see there are more words my GD left off.

Yeah, I got it Howard, but as I said in the last post I cen't get youtube to work right now, so it will have to wait.

Thanks guys, I posted my question here because I didn't want to bother Jeff and Co. with the question and there are a bunch of you guys reading this that seem to have a good grasp of how the update is going. The Unread Posts button isn't really what I'm looking for but it's an option besides scrolling through "My Posts". 

I've attempted to run forums (very unpopular and unpopulated) but I know what a drag a lot of it is. I'm not in a hurry but was curious if anyone else had found that magic button. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZHc5oK4ITo

Doc,

   I take it that was from the Grammy Awards. smiley_smug01

It was a great campfire song in scouts, but those videos were difficult to understand and generally only good if you were sitting around a campfire.  wanted Tom to have to hum along and have to occasionally stop what he was doing to do the goggle move.

,@#$&*:'!!

I know better than to listen to something like that!  Now I have an ear worm!  It will be with me all dadgum day!

Gonna have to sing I Know An Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly to get rid of it! 

   Sounds like it should make the top ten.

   Reminds me of the time when I was a kid and a fish bait cricket got free and jumped down Miz Elsie's dress. That old lady had some moves in her we never expected to see. She ran the local country store near us and kids came up and bought a dimes worth of crickets but did not have a cage for them so she tried putting them in a small brown paper bag but one got out.

Quote from: aigheadish on February 06, 2024, 07:13:46 AMThanks guys, I posted my question here because I didn't want to bother Jeff and Co. with the question and there are a bunch of you guys reading this that seem to have a good grasp of how the update is going. The Unread Posts button isn't really what I'm looking for but it's an option besides scrolling through "My Posts".

I've attempted to run forums (very unpopular and unpopulated) but I know what a drag a lot of it is. I'm not in a hurry but was curious if anyone else had found that magic button.

Right next to "unread post" is "updated topics" which I believe is only topics that have new replies that you have posted in yourself. If I understand what you are looking for I think that is it.

OK fellas, you forced me to fix my youtube issues so I could listen to these gems. Ted's right, I should have known better. Howard, I have never heard that one before. It's a little on the young side for most of the kids at the Askokan Center, but for Hoots with a young crowd it might fit. Morning shows are always for kids and families. This year we had a group of Uke players that weren't over 7 years old and they were pretty good.
Now Doc's tune was burned in my brain a very long time ago. Campfires and dining hall tunes (always a song after dinner at camp, it's a rule). Rather than be stuck in my ear all day I will likely be running through the repertoire of sings I have not heard in a long time. Such as his one from the 'pre-politically correct era':



My mental catalog used to be pretty long a few years back, but it is getting trimmed over time. Maybe that's a good thing. :coolsmiley:

QuoteI know better than to listen to something like that!  Now I have an ear worm!  It will be with me all dadgum day!

Be careful when someone says: "You wanna know what song has been stuck in my head all day?..." :crazy_eyessmilie:

   Glad to share with you Tom, et.al. My 4 y/o (will be 5 in 2 weeks) granddaughter was gracious enough to share with me and I figured you guys needed the same level of attention.

@hilltop you got it! I thought I clicked on that one on the first or second day that the new forum was up and that it wasn't what I was looking for but upon looking again it is! Thank you!

Tom, I wish I hadn't listened to your tune.  I eat sausage most every day  :wink_2:

:wiseguy: Sorry Bill, I too have two nice patties every morning with eggs myself. Never made the mental connection. As with many of these campfire songs there were often 'alternate lyrics'. For that tune I vaguely recall one about grinding up young scots and cubs and turning them into something better, but I can't lay my head on the words.  The version I do know came out of the Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation, which is now gone. It was the national training center for everyone from Scout Executives, professional Scouters, camp directors, Wood Badge, National Camp School, National Junior Leader Instructors Training camp, National conversation, etc. It was a selective group of non-professional people that were allowed to attend programs there. My Dad took his Woodbadge course there, and I took the NJLITC program as a youth after making it through the interview and selection process.
 At any rate I told you all that so I could tell you this: That version was called "The JLT machine" and had to do with Old Mortimer taking young Scouts and throwing them into his machine 'to never more be seen, for they've all been ground to Leaders in the JLT machine". We used the song locally at Junior Leader training programs and it's that version that comes to mind when I hear the melody. I don't know if they use "Dunderbeck" any more because it might 'scare the children'. :-\ There was a lot of that stuff going on at the last turn of the century which also helped me find the door out and move on, sadly. But I digress.... :) (BTW, if anybody reading this collects Scouting memorabilia, we should talk, I have some 'stuff'.)
------------
 Pretty good day today. I didn't get a lot done and still doing my late morning starts, but I finished painting up the sewing machine legs and put them together, layed out the holes for the table top and installed threaded inserts (from RiteLeg) then got the top prepped for finishing.
 But the fun part was that I have a bunch of cookies with the centers rotted out and I have sanded them flat and put a mirror in a pocket on the backside and sold a few. I have one or two in work, but a bunch more cookies. They take me a long time to sand flat after they are dried (4 years now). Well today I thought to try running a few the drum sander. Because these are chainsaw cut they are not parallel front to back, so the sander takes a little while to get them cleaned up but geeze louise these things come out nice and I just keep feeding them through and taking another pass. With my belt sander I work on one as long as I can, then do more the next day, and it take a while. I did 3 cookies in about 1/2 hour today and they are beauties. I will do more work on them with the ROS down to fine grits because bringing out crisp lines between the rings is what really makes these things pop. I will say that this was a nice project that took a lot more hours than it should, now it just got a whole lot faster. So yeah, today was a winner.
 Tomorrow I am hoping, is another day.

Great now the Sausage machine song will follow me to work today.   :wink_2:

The sausage machine song has followed me since in the early 40's when my father was a scout master and taught me and brothers this song. The tune and the words in this video are what I remember (a bit different from the Eastern version of OGH) and taught my 4 kids, 6 grandkids, and now when I have a chance, to my 8 great grands.
Sometimes I've heard it as Johnny Rebeck instead of what I learned as Johnny Verbeck. Makes no difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y9LNpcVTqw

Well, just a little catching up here. Last week I was kind of pre-occupied with my friend who was in his final days. I went for a visit Wednesday and tried to get back on Friday but it wasn't good timing for him. Saturday I tried again and spoke to his caregiver who said he was about at the end and not really awake much. As we were texting I got a call from some musicians I know who asked if I could help set up a visit so they could play some 'quiet room' music for him. I thought that might be good for him and so did his caregiver and we arranged to be there in 15 minutes or so. But then the caregiver called back and said my friend was not 'up for it' and really no longer knew where he was. We all bowed to his wishes and stayed away. He passed at 3am the next morning. SO he is in a better place now and his suffering is over. I checked in on his caregiver for the next few days because I knew he was wore out. So this week I have been thinking about him and the past years.

 Having a hard time in the shop getting motivated about anything. For some reason it's been tougher to get it up to a comfortable working temp before the afternoon. I think I am just too stingy with my wood. I have been bouncing from project to project not really too interested in anything. I finished up some more boxes but still need to drill the holes for the screws. I finished clean and paint on a set of swing machine legs and they are ready for a top. I worked on the top and am getting near finishing it:

erctop.jpg

 It's just 17x30x1.5" ERC. I just need another coat or two.
 I started another set of sewing machine legs yesterday but these have a lot more parts and screws to clean, it will take a while and is tedious. Not sure what the top will be on that one. Maye Sycamore?

 Got up at 4:30 this morning, couldn't sleep. Stoked the shop stove in the dark hours and it is coming up. So I should keep moving ahead today.

 For a few months now I have been searching for an enclosed trailer for doing shows and checking around pretty frequently. I think I found one last night for a price I can afford. The listing person didn't think it would sell that fast and hasn't gotten the title in the mail yet. So we agreed to wait on that before I drive an hour and a half to inspect it and make the deal. I just hope they don't sell it out from under me, but given all the issues I have had with marketplace, I would not be surprised. Something in the back of my head tells me this may go sideways and I am prepared for that. I am just surprised they agreed to hold it until they get the title. It was only listed for 3 hours when I found it. If I get it, I get it, and if I don't, oh well, there will be others.

 Time to make breakfast and get to it.

Sorry to hear about your friend Tom, it sounds like the music would have been real nice. 

The top you've got there is beautiful!

Sorry about the loss of your friend, Tom.  At least he knew you guys were wanting to do something for him.  

I get like that with the shop too.  No motivation.  Sometimes woodworking is like an addiction and I don't want to stop doing it.  Sometimes its like a job that I don't want to do.  It comes and goes and that's fine for me.  Yesterday was 4 weeks since my surgery and I get to stop wearing this wrist brace tomorrow.  Hopefully that will mean my therapy will ramp up and start working on grip strength.  I hope to go back to work about the first week of March.  I've got several projects that need to get going.  I had ordered Ritelegs for some benches way back in November, but they were on back order.  Of course they came right before my surgery, so I couldn't work on the benches.  This customer has been waiting 4 months.

Tom, sorry to hear about your friend's passing.  God be with his family and friends.  

I too have motivation cycles.   Been going through a lack of motivation period for 5 or 6 days now.  Mostly due to some kind of crud Emily brought home from school it has been hard to be motivated.  

When I get down, I try to focus on small bites.  Some project or task that won't take more than a couple of hours.   Once that's done, if I feel like doing more, I'll start another small job.

Sometimes I have to step back and give myself a little grace.   I can be my own worst nightmare of a supervisor.   

Sorry to read about your friend but glad the suffering is no longer, being close to something like that would understandably drag your energy down. You were a friend to the end.  We are supposed to get snow this evening,  but Valentine's Day's arrival has long meant the days are getting better soon to me. Soon warmer longer days will be here and make things easier and better.

Sorry about your friend Tom. I seem to have lost my motivation also. Don't know really what it is but suspect its lack of sunshine. Anyway spring is not far away and if nothing else I look forward to setting on the back porch and letting the stove go out.

Hey Thanks fellas. Yes, it seems harsh, but I am glad my friend Gary has finally passed. He was lucid up until his last day or so and could hold a conversation through his pain and the meds and share memories, or a song, or a story or a poem (he wrote a lot). I think everyone could deal with his pain, but felt very badly that he was going through it. Once he started fading in and out and was no longer communicative, it was just pain and suffering. All you can do at that point is hope it comes quick. Gary was a neat guy and leaves a lot of happy friends behind, that is, people he made happy to be his friend. He was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame several years ago and knew lots of artists. In fact that pair of musicians that called m on Saturday were in fact Jay Unger and Molly Mason. (You can google them.) They live barely 500 yards through the woods from Gary. They had called Gary to check on him when I was there last week. So I am glad his suffering is done and he is in a better place with a lot of other musicians who were waiting for him.
-----------
 Bill, Ted, and Bill: Thank you very much for those comments. They were super helpful. I had thought it was just me and was really starting to think there was something wrong with me (besides my normal/abnormal issues). Bill your comment about how it sometimes just feels like work was spot on. I have all these little boxes I could be assembling, but when I look at the pile of parts it just feels like dog work and I can't get into it. I don't feel the excitement. Forcing it is getting harder and harder, especially if my fingers are cold. So I just try to get something done each day and be happy with that. I really need to build up inventory. I can't sell it if I don't have it. If I actually do have a trailer lined up it means I can do a bunch more shows this year and try out some new ones. So I need to get my butt in gear. I also have to get out and start cutting logs. I have a big backlog (pun intended). Last year at this time I think  I had 5 projects running together. This year, just 2 or 3 and they are smaller. Restoring those sewing machine legs takes time because I am picky and take them all apart. But I really don't like making 'batches' of anything. Finishing stuff is still slow, but better. My general woodworking skills are getting a little better and faster and more accurate, but I am wondering if I am going too far into nicer stuff and should stick with the more rustic stuff. But I digress..
 I call them 'the winter blues' and seem to get them every year, this year just seems they are deeper and longer. I am really glad to hear that it's not just me. I am sure there is a little bit of a cold or something inside me as I have had a runny nose, sneezing and coughing for the past week, that might add to it.
 Yes, I too am looking forward to that first morning when I go outside to fill the shop stove in the morning and get met by a warm breeze and the birds singing. I may just grab a chair and sit in the yard with my coffee for a bit on that day.

The weather has been a little weird that last few days Friday we woke up to a surprise dusting  of about 1/2" of cold white fluffy stuff. I joked with the wife that it was almost as much as we got from the 'big storm' that was predicted for Monday and talked about for 3 days before. Saturday morning we got another one that was as much or more than we got on Monday and with the consistent cold it hung on much better too.
 I went down to Bill's yesterday morning to get a check and he and Inga and I did some cruising for mushroom logs. We marked a few trees, found marked trees I had missed cutting last year and found some uprooted tree from wind storms that are viable and need to be cleaned up. WIN-win. But is the cruising process we realized that snow was a lot thicker and slicker in some areas, so he had to cut out and go plow a road he has a contract on that doesn't get any sun. SO he and Inga went plowing and I headed back to my shop and did a little of this and that. Some more cleaning and painting on those legs, a fruitless run to the bank (got there 3 minutes after they closed), etc.
 It got down in the teens last night and the wind has been hanging in there for 3 days now, still hitting 20MPH today at points. The shop was at 48° this morning, first time it got below 50° in several months since I hung those moving blankets. Overall I have noticed my overnight temps hold much better with the blankets. I will expand on that next winter. But today, although I heated the shop up to 60 within 40 minutes, it took a while for everything to even out in the upper 60's, mostly due to my again dwindling and crappy wood supply and my frugalness. 
 Moving along, I started working on the top for the second set of sewing machine legs, but I knew this was not gonna be easy. I am running low on decent wood and thought I would use up the piece of Sycamore I had left from the bar job. I paid way too much for that board which twisted like a propeller blade when I got it in the shop. Pretty clear wood, but flat, it wasn't. Still I don't waste anything. I had a 51" board of 6/4 x 11". So I cut that in half and tried to get that sort of flat on the drum sander. I made some progress, but it was getting wonky in other ways. So I set up the planer and planed out the wonky, then sanded again, many many passes. It wasn't perfect, but way better than it was. Now, those sewing legs are never flat and square and always have a little rock in them. SO a little out of flat in the top won't be very noticeable, especially it I can get the top and the legs to compliment each other and push toward a good middle ground. (That's how I sold myself on it anyway.) So I threw 3 biscuits in and glued it up with the best match I could find for grain and flatness. Then back to the drum sander and lickedy split it came out beautiful with just a tiny bit of rock overall on the 17 x 26" top. I think I am getting better at the glued up joints and in this one, between a good glue line and some grain magic, I can't even find the glue line.

sycamore.jpg

 The drum sander is a joy. One side took only 1 pass and done, the other took a few, but not many and since we got the belts tight it does drag or slow down, but boy howdy it makes sawdust! I gotta get going on a hood soon. But boy, the results are worth it.

 I also decided to take a chance and try using my beading router on this one even though it wasn't as thick as it should have been. I finished the edges like this, just for some variety:

IMG_20240218_173220615_HDR.jpg

A very quick pass with the ROS makes that top buttery smooth, but a lot of hand sanding on that edge profile, especially the end grain. Sycamore has an interesting texture before sanding. I'll do another pass on the edges tomorrow, my fingers got tired.

 Now I am trying to decide if I will do something else unusual for me and stain it. That wood is SO white and when I put polyurethane on it, it will just get yellow from the poly. I am thinking something like a pecan color stain might be nice and make that grain pop out. I'd be interested in any opinions or know what other folks have used on sycamore. I do want to finish it with poly on top because it is a general use table.

 As I was coming in for dinner, I couldn't help but think that I have made some progress in this journey. Two years ago it would take me a couple of days and a bunch of thinking and a whole lot more time with a belt sander to make this same top, and I would have never attempted the beaded edges. Today I did it in a few hours between tending the stove, getting in a few loads of firewood for the house and shop, and other chores. This also looks a heck of a lot nicer than my previous ones. Yeah, I have better machines that make the difference (biscuit joiner and drum sander being the major ones here) but I think my brain is also getting a better handle on this stuff. That makes for a pretty good feeling. I might actually be able to do this.
 Tomorrow is another day, lets see if I can do something useful again.

I like the idea of a Pecan stain, it's what all the trim and cabinets in my house are stained so maybe a bit of bias.  ffsmiley It will look good. 

Zero work in the shop since Saturday. Sunday I did a few little things, but spent some tie cruising the woods with Bill and Inga. Monday I intended to start cutting 'shroom logs, but got distracted by the fine day and there was a big mess of dead and downed wood that needed cleaning up so I got a load of hickory, ash, and oak firewood, brought that home and split what needed it. Man! That hickory burns nice and hot! From laying on the ground to in the stove in a hour.
 Yesterday I hit the log work hard and made a few stacks for picking up later, not the numbers I'd want but it's starting that is the hard part, right? I finally had to stop because my legs were getting shot, but after a break and getting back in the truck, I headed back to where I had cut firewood the day before and yanked out some nice dead/dry ash. (Read about the details on the 'did something dumb' thread.) I brought that home, split and stacked it. That burns great too and I left some big rounds to pick up later that I could not lift or fit in the truck. Perfect wood though.
 Today was a lost day. I spent an hour on the phone with a new log customer that wanted 1,000 logs by the end of March. As much as I could really use that income, I just can't do that, but I promised him 100 logs to get started and he will look for other suppliers (I don't think he will have much success, but I gave hi a couple of references). I can't even begin to think how I will find that many candidate trees. This fella seemed to be thinking in an amazon frame of mind, just place and order and get it. I spent some time working him through that issue. smiley_smug01 I'll see if I can do better for him but frankly I am already overloaded and worried about meeting the orders I have on hand. I also spent an hour this evening writing out an 'Organic Certification' letter for one of my farmer clients stating that we don't use any spraying or pesticides on the trees we harvest logs on. That's easy because nobody has done anything with that land for the 25 years before Bill bought it and in the years he has owned it, any controls on vegetation, invasives, or even wildlife are all 'mechanical'.  ffcheesy
 The rest of the day was spent on our monthly food shopping which took a while and after we unpacked all the food, I headed back down to town and did a round of shopping for shop supplies of all the stuff I have run down stock on or supplies for current projects. I did pick up some pecan stain. 
 Speaking of which, I am not impressed. It's very light and so far I can't see a way to darken it. I will try a third coat in the morning but it doesn't seem to be building up. I might bag that idea and go right to 'walnut' and try to keep that light.
 Tomorrow I will head back to the woods and try to hack up some more logs and maybe drop a few trees. I'll see how many hours I can get in and what numbers I can run up. My new approach is to just get the stuff cut up and makes stacks where I am working and leave them on some bunks so they are easy to pick up with forks. Then when I have enough I will zip around the woods and collect them and dump them in the truck or the trailer if I need it. This might help make the best of my time. I am truly sweating this season out. SO I will give tomorrow my best shot.

 Friday, is supposed to be rain all morning which works out because I have my monthly Chiro tune-up (boy, it's needed after getting back on the logs) and he has to do the annual re-assessment for the insurance company, so a long appointment. Maybe I can get in the woods in the afternoon.

 I will say it felt good to have to beautiful days in the woods (so far) this week. I needed to get out of the shop more than I realized. The funk seems to be lifting a little.
 Tomorrow is another day!

you have done a great job of building that business.

Accidents happen.. ffcheesy

You'll have to start hiring soon during mushroom log season Tom!

Tom,

   Have you sold any of the sewing machine tables yet? Just wondering what kind of price range they bring around there?

    I still have 2 in the barn I have not touched yet.

Howard, I have only finished one of these so far, which sold. I have another one done which is going into stock for this year's shows and am working on a third. This is the one I sold:

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It's a red oak live edge top, I think the shelf is sycamore, but it might be oak, I know the stretcher is sycamore. The ones I am doing now will have no shelves. Anyway, I took $225. for that one I sold. I took it to two shows and it was the biggest attention getter at both of them. In the end I had two women heatedly discussing which one of them would take it home. I built a custom cabinet for the 'loser'. :) 

 Not sure if I will be able to bring both of these to shows, I might have to pick one at a time.
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 Speaking of which, 2 weeks ago I found the used trailer I was looking for at a price that worked for me. The owner never expected it to sell within hours of listing and didn't have the title, but had mailed in the paperwork and was just waiting. We made a deal, pending inspection, and I would pay cash and carry on the day of. They said no problem holding it if I didn't mind waiting for the title. I am not in a hurry and was just glad to find what I wanted, and only 1.5 hours away. Well a few days ago I looked and they had changed their listing to "SOLD". I contacted them. She said they pulled it out because they decided they didn't want to sell it after all. Yeah, right! I know dang well they sold it to somebody else who didn't care about the title. So now I am back to shopping all over again. I am SO VERY sick of these low-lifes on marketplace and craigslist. I know I am going to pay more than I want to wind up with something in time for the season and they might make me do something foolish. I am holding off signing up for the spring shows until I find something. It's very daunting trying to find the right solution and make it happen. A small thing for most of the guys here, I know, but it's a bigger step for me.

 On the other hand I had a pretty nice day in the woods. I didn't cut a lot, but I added to the total and grabbed a little more firewood. Tomorrow is mostly lost to rain and my chiro appointment. The rain is just beginning now. Hope it's not a lot.
 Let's see what tomorrow brings.

  Yeah, our rain just started a few minutes ago here. It was getting more cloudy all day while I was sawing some spruce stock but held off till I finished and get everything put away, stacked and stickered.

    Sorry to hear about the trailer. I don't know what else you could do unless you paid and offered a bonus or such when they produced the title or pay part with the rest pending until they produce the title - they probably would not agree to that.

  I've called on equipment like that where I had an hour or so drive, tell them I would be there by a certain time and would pay what was asked if it was as advertised. Then get there and see someone else driving off with it. I had asked if it was still available and they had promised to hold it for me but they lied. That happened with my tractor with both of us showing up at the same time and the seller told us to work it out. I don't know if he thought he would get a bidding war or such but I said I'd pay what I'd promised and not a penny more. The other guy said the same thing. The other buyer and I talked and we flipped a coin and I won for a change and got it but it still makes me mad.

I was at the big Amish  store this morning and was amazed by how their prices have risen this trip. Took a pic of a simple glued up live edge no end treatment end table with plain crossed wood legs painted black.
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OGH you should double your  prices after seeing someone leaving  the store with 2 stacked in a cart. My wife and I were in shock seeing how they were just glue ups. MSRP $729.00 when not on sale for president week in the fine print. About 20 x 24 very valuable walnut. Actually blowing  the pic up looks like cheap Chinese welded legs.

I would love to dou le my prices but nobody will pay that where I have been selling.
 Those are cheaper weld light gauge legs with poor welding. I suppose they are charging that price to cover the cost of adding the end cracks? 😀

It sure is hard to find one of those little enclosed trailers used! I would keep my eyes out for you but it's a long haul and if one shows up it would be me and you flipping the coin. Like a used bumper pull stock/horse trailer, folks will let them rot in the side yard full of garbage before they will let them go  :uhoh: and they are way too much money for me new. Thought about building walls for one of my utility trailers and putting a truck cap on top, no time for it..

Well it took me a couple of months but I have settled in on 6x10' as the proper size for what I need. I don't want it too big so that I can easy haul it as far as VT for some shows I want to try there and there are some passes to get over. 
 I have found some bigger at 12' or more that are reasonable, but it's a balance between driving distance, condition, and cost with these things. Plus, always a fair chance the seller will sell it while I am on my way there, it's happened before. This last one we had a verbal agreement and the last thing I asked was "And you won't sell this out from under me, will you? We have a deal, right/" and I got the response "No worries, all good." A week later they took down the listing without contacting me at all. I am sure they sold it, but told me they took it off the market. Very frustrating. I do have a line on a local one and my friend Bill is going to speak with the owner (now in FL for the winter) because Bill says he is asking crazy money but it's a nice rig. In the meantime, I waste an hour a day searching. I am even considering financing half of a new one just to avoid the hassle, but that puts me in the $5k range and that is hard to justify on an ROI basis for the business I do. At this point I am holding off registering for spring shows until I nail something down.
 The things we do for fun, right?

Tom,

   I'd suggest you try renting one that size for a weekend trip or such and see how it meshes with your needs.

That is a good idea 👍 I rented one to haul a bunch of crates of equipment parts back from Buffalo and it was amazing how much crap I stuffed in there. It was pretty cheap but if you did it more than once might as well buy one. 

Good for you guys, spending my money! ffcheesy
 I have a 5.5 x 10' utility trailer here which allows me to get a good sizing on it. The whole point of having a trailer is that my stuff can stay packed in it between shows and add to my storage space. A rental is not going to help with that, I still have to load and unload each time I rent.
 I am will to alter what I want if the price is right, but I have a good solid target to shoot at. I just need to get it, outfit it, and load it so I can use it.
 Also my available time right now is non-existent as I spend every minute I can trying to get logs cut. Another client just upped his order (for the third time) this morning. I also have to keep making stuff in the shop to put in this 'phantom trailer', and of course there is the firewood thing. So a day 'wasted chasing a lost cause would be something I can't afford at all right now. It should ease up by mid-April, I hope. Of course, then Bill will be hammering me to make lumber. :wink_2:

I will leave you alone, we both better get back to work  ffcheesy ffcheesy

   Spend other people's money? We would never do that. :uhoh:  (Well there was the gravel and floor in a shed I heard about one time...)

   I don't know how heavy they are but I see they have a Pod that is 12' long X 8' high X 7' wide. I don't know it it could be strapped to flatbed trailer or what the rent on one of them would be. Just another option.

    I don't know how you'd get on the U-haul list to buy one of their used box trailers but I am sure they salvage them out somehow.

As to size, I have a 6' x 12' single axle with a drop down ramp rear and a small side door on the right side near the front. I have pulled it quite a bit with a medium sized SUV, Toyota 4Runner, and it pulled and handled well. In some ways the 12' will be easier to back up than a 8' or 10'. No mine is not for sale!

Wow Gary, what is the weight rating on that single axle? 

Well, it's another idea Howard, but it takes me further from the goal and 7x12 is just too big. Those things are heavy too not to mention the trailer I would need. The goal is to pack and unpack a minimum number of times per show and not have to pack and unpack at home. If it's small enough I can park it right in my booth at many outdoor shows. Easy in and out. I'll find something, I have to. It just takes time, persistence, and some money.
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Well I think today was a pretty good day. I think that because my back is pretty sore. ffcheesy We planned a later start because it was pretty cold this morning and Bill had family stuff to do in the morning. I headed down just after noon and sent Bill a text. I brought my trailer down and picked up a load of previously cut logs, then moved and got another pile, then dropped the trailer in an out of the way place to use for staging. I have been cutting and just stacking, or not even that with logs for later pickup. This way I can just run around with the machine and grab logs for a few hours one day. Maybe tomorrow. or another day. The main thing is getting them cut. Collecting can be back breaking.
Anyway, Bill and Inga came around as I was setting up to take a tree in a tricky spot, a stack of smaller 18" steel trusses on one side, a stack of 1,000 gallon gas tanks on the other side and a stack of big 36" trusses on the third side. The tree was heavy enough that it might hurt the other stuff, so I laid it right on the 36" truss tops. Worked out perfect, Bill was almost impressed because he was pretty sure it would fall backwards from what I wanted. So I hacked that up and pretty much left it lay for later pickup. We all headed to the southeast back end of the property where there were 4 trees I needed mechanical assistance with. They were on a side hill, pretty steep and if they went the way they were leaning they would fall over the bank into a (currently) inaccessible area. Bill got distracted by that point and started looking for a trail 'down there'. Next thing I know we are clearing trail and moving the SxS forward a little at a time. ffcheesy All the wood was bucked up for the OWB and I got 3 little WO logs for 'shrooms. They had a load on, so headed out to drop them off, I thought. I went back up to my 4 trees and took the one easy one (I thought). It was bent and leaning out over the bank and a tough swing to keep it up on ground I could (almost) stand on. I wanted to pull it and swing it right over the trail, but forgot to account for the bend in the tree. DUH! Well, I got it to fall, the hinge was perfect and held (I really thought it couldn't with what I was asking) and that tree went right where the notch was. However, because of the bend in the tree, rather than cross the trail it laid pretty much right down along the edge of it. This was more perfecter than I planned. There are some rougher logs to carry out near the butt end, but the rest are right along the road. Accidents happen. ffcheesy While I was bucking it up I couldn't even put the saw down, it would slide right over the bank. I never thought of a saw tether for ground work, but I could have used one today. ffcheesy Still I am surprised I could pull that tree about 90° from it's dominant lean.

As I was collecting my gear and headed back up the hill I realized that I did not take 'the easy tree' which still stood there as proud as you please, I took one of 'the hard ones' I was worried about. I guess everything is relative, now i have an easier one to take. I threw my gear in the truck and Bill and Inga showed back up, they never went back to the house and were cruising trees for me and other stuff (Inga found a neat rock formation and she was planning how to build it into a little shelter, it had stairs and everything!) But Bill didn't have any flagging. I gave him a roll last year, but it was in another machine. So I gave him the one I had and on the way out he flagged 4 more trees. ffsmiley I gotta order some more flagging rolls from  Madsen's and put a roll in every truck he has. ffcheesy I'd better get a sleeve of them.
All in all a pretty good day. I'm tired, but rough count tells me I have well over 70 logs, maybe 80, which is a good start for the first week. My 1st order was small and the client asked to push it out for a couple of weeks, so the next one in line is 200 logs and I am almost halfway there. Then I have a a 150 log order, followed by 102, 40, 35, 40, and 100. But the last one will take up to 1,000, I only promised him 100, plus he wants a Loginator I have to assemble.
So not a bad day and tomorrow is another one, right?

Quote from: Magicman on February 25, 2024, 07:20:12 PMWow Gary, what is the weight rating on that single axle? 

I would bet it's a 3500 pound axle, that's pretty standard for that trailer. I would prefer a sprung axle as opposed to a torsion axle, but I have seen both on the 12's. Seems like the older ones are sprung, the newer are mostly torsion. Taking the trailer weight into account it gives you around 2500-2900 pounds of cargo. Yes, backing and all that would be easier and the room would be nice too for sticking in a 2' x 8' nice table down the center, but fitting a 12' trailer into the booth area with the ramp off the back is pushing it a bit. Plus, for a trailer that size, I would really want electric brakes for going over the mountains, or should I say, for going DOWN those mountains.

    Since its not my money - what is the possibility/feasibility of a good used box truck if you can find one that is reasonably mechanically and structurally sound?  I'm wondering if they might be more readily available than a box trailer?

As bad as finding a trailer is, trucks are worse AND more expensive, plus I would have the engine, drivetrain, extra insurance costs and the whole nine to worry about all the time, every year. You are getting farther afield on this one Howard. ffcheesy Although I admit, your suggestion would help burn up my cash a lot faster, so there is that.

How about a two or a 3 horse trailer. I had a little two horse size before I got a larger 3 horse the sides were closed with wooden slats and it was pretty weather proof.  Weight wise it's pretty close to an enclosed trailer, the 3 horse has two axles. Probably just as hard to find a good one though.

Quote from: Magicman on February 25, 2024, 07:20:12 PMWow Gary, what is the weight rating on that single axle? 

OGH gave a pretty good idea on weights. When I was searching for a new one several years ago I found only a slight weight increase going from 10' to 12' but quite a bit more weight going to a tandem axle. I wanted to be able to haul my Harley Trike behind a SUV not a truck. Since owning it it has proven great at hauling furniture and boxes of "stuff" when we moved and even a few loads of junk to the landfill.

It sounds like I have the identical size trailer/axle which has made many trips to Colorado hauling an ATV, ice chest, and all of our camping gear.  It is a "just right" size for our use.

The 6x12 is a nice size, no doubt and if I find one at the right price I would consider it, of course. I just want to keep the hauling weight as low as possible for those over the mountain run with my 1500. Nebraska's idea is one I had also considered and I've looked at a bunch, but although we have horses and livestock around here, we don't have a lot of that and what I have seen has been parked in a field for 20 years and needs a lot of work. I need something that is weatherproof right through the winter and all or my stuff will get aged and ruined.
 Forgot to mention for the 'rent first' crowd, if I did want to do that, Bill has a 12' that he uses for the landscaping crew setup and I could borrow that for free, I just have to unload the gear, and then repack his stuff in it when I bring it back. Also, I can't mess up his mowing schedule. He also has a 14' unit that I found for him a couple of years ago. Pretty sure he paid less for that than I will for a 10 or 12' unit. ffcheesy

Short trailers are a bugger to backup!

  Yeah. If I had to back a short trailer a lot I'd probably put a ball on the front of my truck. I've seen that done with boat trailers and such and it is much easier to push one into place than back it in. I also found it was much easier to back a 53 tractor trailer than a 6' utility trailer.

And keep in mind Tom if you purchased a trailer for your business, you could write it off on your taxes as a business expense. With money that you would have had to pay to Uncle Sam in taxes anyway, you could have an asset to help grow your business. You could also put colorful eye-catching graphics on the side, advertising that you are THE OG Mushroom Logger! ffcool

I bought a new 6' X 10' many years ago to haul stuff to a second home I was building 300 miles from home base. Only bought new because used were scarce and a time sap to investigate. It was easily to pull, park, and didn't take much room to store. New ones don't normally have roof leaks either..... After I got the home complete the wife and myself used it for craft shows. Put in a few shelves and it was the perfect size for products, tables, and stuff. Really a good solution. We only used it a couple of years and lost interest. Sold it for about same price I paid and it had a few scraps where a guy in a RV backed into the side.
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Time to build one out of wood. :thumbsup:

Tom,

   Do you ever cut and use Buckeye for mushroom logs or do they even grow up there? They are a real soft, fast growing hardwood and when you cut one down, 5-6 will grow back from the stump. They sound like they would be the perfect size for what you describe as mushroom logs -3-10 inches diameter is normal, pretty straight, few limbs and 30-40 ft tall in a few years. Really old ones will get taller and bigger but most don't make it that long.. They are generally considered a trash wood as they are light and not much count as firewood and poor quality lumber.

   I have cut some into 1/2" boards, stickered and dried them and planed them for use as wood burning blanks. 

Well, I am goona be short here tonight. I am pretty exhausted. I have a utility trailer that has about the same axle to hitch distance as the enclosed trailer would and I have no issues backing it up. I also have a shorter one that is a bit more 'challenging'. Jeff and WV, if you are ever in need of a cheap belly laugh, put somebody on a garden tractor with a little garden dump trailer loaded with dirt or stone and ask them to back it in directly over a specific hole. Entertainment for the whole family! ffcheesy
Larry your trailer is exactly what I am looking for. I have some specific questions for you about it, but that will have to wait for a more lucid time, perhaps tomorrow evening if the day is a bit easier than today was. My brain is closing down.
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Today did not go entirely as planned. I did get the wife to her procedure, and they did give her another cortisone shot, then injected the lubricant stuff ( I call it a grease job) into her knee and I got her home, she thinks it is feeling better, but they say it takes a week or more. Then I changed (had to get those lined jeans off, geez!) and headed to the woods. I took the two trees I had in mind, one was another tricky fall that went perfect, and then found another lousy lay tree Bill had marked. It had no choice but the fall on another broken hung up tree, long dead. SO I swung it as much as I could and it still landed on that tree, no surprise, but I managed to miss other ugly stuff. Now I had my tree laying across a gully and except for the butt, most of it was 15' above grade. :wink_2: But as I worked my way up, bucking along, it slid down and what looked to be the tree from heck, turned out to be not so bad and I didn't have to abandon any of it. It took a while and a lot of leg muscles, but I got it all. I left it lay for pickup on Wednesday when it's supposed to rain. So I added about 25 logs to the tally and was happy and tired.
Bill and the boys were working at the shop so I stopped in to say 'hi'. They were just finishing lunch, and when I walked up Bill (magically) thought of this 'emergency tree job' they had to fit in this week and decided I could get logs out of it, so why not now? OK, so they grabbed the chip truck, chipper, and bucket truck and I head home, grab a quick sammich and follow them over. It's a 100' hickory, bad damage (lightening?) 25' up, and yeah it's gonna take out the power pole transformer and wires when it goes, it really badly cracked. 28" on the stump Even as a bucket job it was dangerous to piece down and Bill's bucket wouldn't make the top. We had to rope some stuff down, dropped the rest. We chipped all the small stuff, I got a very full truckload of logs, a bit over 50 if I counted right. I was shot.
On the drive home I realized I had to get the truck unloaded tonight because he has another tree job 3 doors down from me they start at 8am tomorrow, which he offered me to get the logs from. I think this one is mostly oak. I got home at around 4:30, unloaded by about 5pm, then had to do the chores, bring in two carts of shop firewood, restart the shop stove which burned flat out during my unplanned excursion to get extra logs, then a cart full of wood into the house stove and dinner was ready. I am SO tired. Happy to have the logs, but pretty dang sore because for me it was like working a double shift. I wore myself out on those 3 trees I did earlier, then had to keep up with these young guys feeding the chipper and also trying to stay ahead and out of their way cutting my onw logs. They say it keeps you young, right? I am just hoping it doesn't kill me when I get days like this.
Tomorrow is another day and maybe we will get enough logs to close out the first order and start on the next one.

See I told you I'd keep it short. ffcheesy

 Edit to add: Howard, we don't get buckeye here, out of the range. It is not good for shiitakes, but Oyster and Chestnut mushrooms. None of my clients grow those, that I know of. Also, I have only heard of it referred to as horse chestnut or something like that.

   Yes it is sometimes called horse chestnut. The biggest one I ever saw was on the white house lawn back around 1977. I am not sure it has survived the excess fertilization in the area since then. ffcheesy

    It was supposed to be good luck and help rheumatism and such to keep one in your pocket. I am sure my paternal grandfather had one on him when he died.

    It has very thin bark and is a light weight tree but pretty low value. Thanks for the specific mushroom value of it.

Sounds like you got a bunch done.  Long day but  good one

Well I am about as pooped tonight as I was yesterday at this time, but now I have the added joy of legs cramps sending waves of joy through my body. :wink_2:
I am not use to 'working hours' as normal folks think of them, being retired, But the guys start at 8am, so I did my bes to get up on time, do my morning stove chores, and make breakfast and get it down. I drove to the job site, 3 doors down. Nobody there. I came back and did some other stuff, then headed to Bill's. Yeah, they started at 8, working in the shop on equipment PM's, skidder and 2 excavators. Turned out Bill was going to use the skidder bucket that is parked in my driveway, so I came home to do some of my own stuff.
 They came and fired up the bucket skidder and plodded down the road. Quite the sight, that's a pretty big machine with a 75' reach.. We took down 5 big Oaks mostly around 30" on the stump. I figure 90' tall because Bill had to fly out the top 20' he couldn't reach. All in pretty tight quarters. It was a full day job and I bucked a bunch of my logs between feeding the chipper and limbing leaders and such. We stacked some stuff for later bucking. Bill swapped out the skidder bucket for his log truck and picked up everything he could reach, which is most of it. But some is down in the trees and brush and he will go back with a smaller ground machine and grab out the rest. Those guys all left around 5 and I backed my truck in loaded more logs as I chatted with the homeowners. I didn't really know them at all before today, although we always wave.... for 30+ years. They are fine with me coming back for a few days to pick up the rest of the wood. There is a bunch and I can still cut a few more logs, the rest will go into my firewood pile. Likely when we are back in that season and have a Saturday night fire, I'll knock on their door and invite them over.
 I got home around 5:30 but didn't unload, the shop stove and house stove were both slap cold. So I worked on them, had dinner, and need to get back and get the shop stove setup now that it's fired up. Tomorrow is predicted to be a rain out. I'll try to continue to collect logs depending on how heavy the rain is. I still have a lot of logs to cut, and I have logs waiting for pickup all over Bill's woods, plus this last stuff. I only have a rough idea how many I have, but I know I have the first order done. I am gonna be pretty stiff in the morning, I think. Two days in a row like this wears on an old guy.
 Funny little story. Sometime in the late afternoon, the homeowner asked me a question about the job plan and I told him that I didn't know, he'd have to ask the boss and I pointed at Bill up in the bucket, I told him I am just a laborer on this job. He commented that it didn't look that way to him, he says "looks to me like you are outworking these young guys and I can clearly see that you can outwork any 3 young guys on my jobs." I just laughed and laughed, but he might be right, I dunno.  I don't like to stand around and I try to keep moving (so I don't fall down). It's hard because when you are working a bucket job, you HAVE to keep your eyes on the man in the bucket and know what he is doing, when he is doing it, and where that notch is pointed. Bill sometimes gets a tiny bit annoyed with me because I try to keep working while the other guys are standing and watching him. Sometimes he right, but in my defense, when I am looking up into the sun it can be hard to see exactly where his notch is going. And yeah, maybe I cut it a little closer than I should sometimes.
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Little tidbit that occurred to me last night: My best single day cutting logs ever was 72 in a single day, but it was one of the rare (only) times I had a helper with me for the day and he worked well and hard. Best I can count, yesterday between the 2 work sessions (morning in the woods, and afternoon at the residential job) was over 75 logs. Not that I did it alone by ANY means, but no wonder I was tired.
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I do have enough coherent energy tonight to ask @Larry the questions I had last night (although I am fading fast here). Larry, with that trailer, did you do mostly outdoor or indoor shows? Were you able to park your trailer in or next to your booth at the outdoor shows? What sized booths did you mostly get? I ask that to find out how much stuff you displayed at a show, that is, a 6x10 trailer would hold a heck of a lot more stuff that you could display in a 12x12 booth. In general, I wonder if you could expand a bit on how you used the trailer, the types of shows, etc.. 6x10 is the size I am focused on after giving it a LOT of thought. I think you have confirmed I am pretty close. I don't know what number of larger items you had, but I am guessing there were a few at least like benches, tables, or chairs/stools. I am jut trying to get a feeling how you used this and what difference the trailer made for you as well as any tips you might care to pass along. Did you store your stuff in the trailer during non-show periods?

 Tomorrow is supposed to be a rain out, but I am fairly determined to make a productive outdoor work day out of it anyway, unless it REALLY rains. I don't trust forecasts anymore. I will believe it after it happens. 

Well the shop temp is up to 68 and the den here is at 75, so I guess I got both stoves rolling again. Gotta go out and set up the shop stove for the overnight.
 Tomorrow is, after all, another day.

Old Greenhorn, I suppose you drink water while out working the 3 young guys.  :wink_2:
I know we are all different, but water does it for me. Sometimes I work outside at below freezing temps and don't drink water. I pay for it in the night!!!!! I drink a bunch of water and the cramp goes away. Then I am up 2-3-4 times to the bathroom.  :wacky:

Great point Ray, I hadn't thought of it. Yesterday I did well on hydrating, today, not so much. I should get in the habit of grabbing a bottle of water out of my truck along with the saw. I did have 3 glasses of Pepsi at lunch which was some help I guess, but I almost never drink soft drinks because of the sugar and chemicals. This was not a 'have a beer with lunch ' day. So I went with soda. Yeah, I gotta work on the water habit. Thanks for the reminder. I should know better.

I did outdoor craft shows only. Products were mostly cutting boards along with a few smaller wood items. I guess the space was 12' X 12' normally with a pop up tent thing and 3 tables. Only did two a year but these were really big shows with large crowds and 3 long days. Had plenty of space in the trailer but did not store much of my stuff in the trailer between shows. These shows never allowed any vehicle near the booth but I could drive to my spot early, unload, and pull out the trailer to the vendor parking.

Wife did lots of outdoor shows but they were all the flea market type and usually one day. She could easily fill the trailer and never unloaded between shows. Normally I could pull the trailer to the show, unhook, and she would sell right out of the trailer. Might pull out a table or two. It was pretty easy, she enjoyed it, and one might say I did not so I dropped the trailer and split until I got the call to come back.
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You can see all the tubs on the ground and in the trailer.

I sorta wish I still had the trailer as we now have a good maker market with indoor spaces.

Old Greenhorn, I have a jug that I keep with me. Easy for me here on The Farm, it's on the tractor. May not be clean on the outside, but the inside is. Holds a gallon. I also use some of the packets that supposed to help out on certain things you need to keep me upright.  :wacky:
Even at work I keep water going, summer I use those packets too. I get to work, I start the car, winter time, put my lunch in the fridge, reach in the freezer for a half bottle of frozen water, put some water in with it and my day has started.

I can see that for your shows the double doors would be better than a ramp. Most of what I see around here are ramp back doors which is nice for using a hand truck. Nothing is perfect all the time.

My 6 x 12 that I recently sold was set up for 2 Harley softtails and had the 6ft 6 door height that made it easy to load along with more versatile for machinery and things like appliances. The torsion axles have a very smooth ride if you have concern about the contents and brakes are a must if driving in hilly areas. The trouble with a ramp door is that it reduces the load capacity by almost 500 pounds due to the torsion spring, extra latches and door weldment. Bought it in 2002 for $2500. custom ordered to match our motorhome color with the 2 5/16 ball to match everything else I own and sold it in 2022 for more after 20 years of use so they seem to be a good investment.
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Seems like everybody has or had a nice trailer but me. :veryangry: I'll just keep looking and hoping something will pop up. Yeah it IS a huge time suck and very frustrating, plus I am full bore into filling log orders right now and sweating that out. I do appreciate all the feedback because ALL of it confirms that I am on the right track for improving my situation, I just have to find the right one. I hadn't considered the extra weight from the ramp door. I really would like that instead of barn doors. Doing the step up and down with heavy stuff is really rough on the knees, but a ramp, id the rig is in the booth does take up a lot of room. I think when I find the trailer for me, it will have what it has and I'll be happy....until I'm not. ffcheesy I just need to find something.
 Well the previous 2 days caught up with me and it was tough enough unloading the truck from yesterday's haul (about 45 logs). I fully intended to get over and pick up more plus firewood, but it rained pretty much all day and frankly, my legs are shot. I did some work in the shop and took an unplanned nap or maybe two. The 6" round mirrors I ordered showed up today so I could finally test that router template I made. Worked like a charm and the mirror dropped right in the pocket.  So now I can start fishing work on them, as soon as I figure out how I am finishing them. ffcheesy I also did some delicate hand touch up painting on those sewing machine legs around the cast letter. "Delicate' is not my strongest skill, but it came out 'OKish'.
 It got up to 56 today, where it is right now. Supposed to be in the mid 30's tomorrow which is fine with me I guess. But tomorrow's another day.

Careful is not my word either.  :wacky:

Tom, remember you can create your own ramp if the trailer doesn't have it. I'm pretty sure you know where some wood is and even a 3/4 sheet of plywood. It could just slide into the side after you open the door and could be latched into the bottom of the door frame.

Well I posted an update last night, but instead of hitting "post", I hit "preview" then went on my merry way, losing the post. So y'all get the cliff notes version today:
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Mushroom logs are coming along at a fair clip and my legs and back reflect it. This is the pile I have here:

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 That is about 190 in 3 stacks, by size, of the nearly 300 I have cut so far. I have to go fetch the trailer back today after driving around with the Toolcat and collecting logs yesterday up in the woods. All together I have just under 300 logs, so a decent start for 10 days work.

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That's pretty steep ground I am parked on, and hand carrying out logs really killed my legs. The trailer is (ovr)loaded right now, so it's gotta come home and I gotta get rid of some logs. ffcheesy
 I also had a collecting session first thin is the morning to clean up that residential job from the day before, so that is all done. By 4pm my legs were rubber. I sharpened up my 350 and also the 450 which was in poor shape, somehow it slipped past me because I haven't used it much lately. They chain is getting closer to "done" than "new" so I took it outside to see if I got it good enough. I caught a wild hare and grabbed a dead and dried Ash bolt qnd made this in a couple of minutes of messing around.
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 I used to do these once in a while to amuse the kids but it's been a long time and my cuts don't match up very well around the legs. I may put 20 bucks on it for giggles or give it to Inga if she wants it. She is off in FL with her mom on 'spring break' right now.

 Well today is another day....

Cool chair. Even has lumbar support! Front leg looks like it's in a strange place. How many legs?

My guess is there's another front leg that's not visible.

are the three lines decor?  could make a line art pine tree.

You just want to see my ugly work. ffcheesy

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Tom, no one wants to see your underside! :snowball:   ffcool   ffwave   ffsmiley

  A widow lady down the road had some trees cut a year or so back and I went down and cleaned up the wood for the logs and firewood and such. She had a maple stump left that I made a chair similar to Tom's only I left arms on the sides and no legs - just left it on the stump. She said the grandkids loved sitting in it. :thumbsup:

Yeah, those little chairs are about as primitive as it gets. I have made a mess of them over the years and some I left on the stump.
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NEWS! I found a trailer! We made a deal and I should have it here at home tomorrow. More later.

So I fetched back the trailer from the woods today and unloaded some logs to sort by size. After that and messing with the shop stove I came in, had lunch and then for the five thousandth time, I made the rounds on marketplace looking for a trailer. I came across one that was a bit bigger (12') than I wanted and cost a bit more than I thought I could spend, but it looked really clean and it was obvious it was well cared for. OH, and it was 10 minutes from my house. :) SO I contacted him and headed off to town for errands. HE called me while I was in HD and we made arrangements for a visit in 15 minutes. Yup, this guy is fastidious. His garage shop looks like a tv studio with poly covered floors and everything toolbox as neat as a pin.
 The trailer is a '19 and he put in rubber flooring and ramp, LED lights. and full paint inside. To whit:
in.jpg

And the outside:
out.jpg

 We got down to the question. He already had a guy coming up from Long Island if he didn't sell it today. SO I made him an offer and he took it. Done deal. I needed a few hours to get some money moved around, but we discussed and agreed on all the details and I will go over tomorrow morning and get the deal done and bring it home. It's more than I wanted to spend, but it's money I earned and although I am back to low funds, this is a big worry off my back. Kind of glad it's 12'  rather than 10'. Gives me a little wiggle room. It does have the rear ramp, which I did want, and the side door which I think is handy for my uses. 
 So I'll lose a day or so messing with this and getting it registered, then I have to jump back into Mushroom logs. That will replace a bit of the money I just spent. :wink_2:
 Moving forward, I hope.

good looking trailer!

Good looking hauler Tom!
Congrats, and now your weather worries are over.
For the lights inside the trailer, is that a rechargeable power pack just inside the side door? 
Or is it one of those self contained set-ups with a solar panel up on the roof somewhere?

I could live in that. ffcool

Well Doc, outside appearance wasn't really high on my list as a requirement, but it was there. A couple of shows I plan on doing I will be able to have the trailer right in my booth, so I didn't want it looking too doggy. I'm not putting any advertising on it or anything, but if it's in the booth I might hang a banner on it and it will be nice to have extra stock in the trailer to pull from or take someone in to find just the right thing for them if needed. Good appearance is always a plus and this has been repainted from the original silver, but looks to be a pretty good paint job, not a shaker can deal with overspray. Those are aftermarket fenders on there, plastic but pretty sturdy, I think I can stand on those steps. Yeah, there is touch up stuff I can do, but nothing major that needs to be done. I will have to kick it up a notch to get this rigged for spring shows in 6 weeks or so, assuming I can find some worth doing.
 One step at a time, get it home and then finish mushroom logging.

Sorry, just saw those last two posts. Yeah Jeff, the current owner teaches racetrack and drag motorcycle drivers. He uses this to take his two race bikes all up and down the east coast and says he sleeps in it at some tracks.

Andries, yes, that just a booster pack. He says that will run the lights for over a month. He wanted enough light in there so he could work on his bikes inside during rain delays, so he put 4 LED strip lights, said it's like working at home in his shop. There are also 2 dome lights that run off the vehicle battery when plugged in. That booster pack is not included, but I will likely just stick a battery in there and add a little solar panel for trickle charging. Seems like the easiest way to go.

 Tomorrow looks like a rainout, but I just want to get it home and know I can stop worrying about it.

Nice!
Those fenders are the kind boat trailers have, they are sturdy plastic and yes that is designed as a step. They are a common trailer part that bolts on for replacement if damaged.
With a trailer that spacious you'll have so MUCH ROOM!  :thumbsup:

Congratulations.  12 ft is the perfect size for easy backing up and nice tracking. Does it have brakes?  :thumbsup:

Congratulations, good to see it.  ffcool

nice. :thumbsup:

That will make life a lot easier.

Been following your trailer search and was disappointed for you when the other seller was not upfront with their dealings. Most times these things happen for a reason and in my mind you ended up with a much nicer trailer anyway....Congratulations!

Tom, 

With that trailer being a bit bigger than you wanted, its probably gonna take up too much room at your place.  You are more than welcome to leave it with me hear in NH, plenty of trailer parking  smiley_smug01

Congrats on the find, the leds inside will be a great when your loading up in the dark

Tom,

   Congratulations on the real nice trailer. I am sure it will do everything you want it to do.

    My only concern, and this is nothing on you, is wondering if the guy from Long Island was already on his way. I've had sellers do that to me when I was driving a long way and they said they'd hold it till after I looked at it then I'd get there and find it already gone with no attempt from them to call and let me know. Again, that is totally the seller's responsibility and I hope he was ethical enough not to make and break a promise like that and make someone drive a long way for nothing.

  Now you need about 30' of E-Trak along the inside sides and a bunch of straps. Remember, it's only money!

Thanks for all the good wishes guys. It does feel good to have that crossed off the list, but as I told the wife, now I have something else to work on. :wink_2: Oh boy. A little like Jeff's backhoe is how this is working out and pretty similar too, from figuring out where to get the money, finding it, then putting it into service for my needs. So there will be more expenses before we are rolling. First I gotta deal with DMV and pay the dang taxes. ffcheesy

 Gspren, I looked into that e-trak stuff, holy cow! What a quick way to dump several hundred bucks! Yeah, first choice, but I'll take a pass on that thank you. Also I am thinking on this hard, because I (obviously) want to maximize my space usage, but I have to take great care that nothing gets damaged in the process of tying it down (or up). So that part I am thinking through. Believe it or not, those HF screw on D-rings are looking like the best option, but I still have some thinking to do on it yet. I have time. I have got to get back on Mushroom logs and meet my obligations, I have a long way to go yet. The good news is, if I meet all those log obligations, it will nearly cover the cost of the trailer.

 Howard, no problem on that score. He told the guy I was coming in first, and if we didn't make a deal he would call him and he could come up and look it over. But we made a deal, so he called that guy back and let him know. I was concerned about that too, but his guy said he was much happier selling it to a retired local 'old guy' that wanted it to make a living, rather than some other guy for hauling around toys. Whatever, it worked for me. He took my reduced offer right away.

 Granite, I appreciate your kind offer, but it would be a long drive to put stuff in it, or pick it up for a show. But your point is well taken. With my 2 utility trailers, Bill's Skidder bucket truck, the Mule, almost 300 mushroom logs, a mess of firewood limbs, branches, and trunks in 3 different piles all in the shop driveway it is not only looking crowded, it's congested. So in addition to getting more logs cut, I have to get rid of some and do a lot of wood cutting. Glad I have 3 saws, now if I could just find a second back. ffcheesy

 JDGuy, I had the same feeling, almost like a higher power connected me with this one. It was what I needed and looked pretty much how I needed and it was less than 15 minutes drive away. All those things together made it easier for me to pull the trigger on the spot, which I am not good at in any way. It just seemed like it all came together and I should just 'read the signs'.

 Ray, you are more than right!

 Resonator, yeah, they are, but this trailer doesn't have the steel supports that a boat trailer would have, so I can't use that step and don't need it. I think somebody just decided to spend less money when they ripped one off and decided to replace them. I also notice that is 'appears' the set the fenders too low, and if the trailer is loaded heavy, or hots a pothole at speed, the tire can hit the fender. If I get some surplus money and time. I'd like to replace them with the proper fenders and make it right. But we'll see, that's down the road.

 21, it has no brakes. I may add those in the future, but it's a light trailer and hauls easy. I need to drag it around fully loaded to a few shows and see how it does. That's another expense and upgrade job I will wait on.

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 SO anyhow, I did go get it today. We had technical issues with the Venmo transfer, so I had to leave and drive back to my little  town to the bank, get the cash and drive back, but other than that, easy-peasy. It was a rainy day, but light rain in the morning and no big deal. But by the time I got home,  it was raining steady, so after the required 'wife inspection' I did little else with it and worked in the shop most of the day between searching online for hardware for different ideas that popped into my muddled mind.
 I can see now (of course) a lot of little things I need to fix and some that may wind up being more than 'little', but none of those things are big deals, just stuff I want right, like how the safety chains are rigged (pretty hokey), the trailer plug, and a bunch of fit and finish things. I didn't take any photos, the rain was too heavy and you guys know what it looks like anyway. I did try out the interior LED lights off of a jump pack and they do work quite well, so no work to do there, just figuring out a better power supply and a way to keep it charged. Of course, all of the things I want to do are little money suckers that don't add to the bottom line, so I will spread them out and that has a way of letting me parse out what I really need and what will never get done.
 I am just really glad that part is done and I can move on and make headway.
 Tomorrow is another day, and hopefully it will dry up. We got an inch of rain today so it will take a while to soak in and dissipate. The next trees I have to drop will be bigger than I want for mushroom logs, but they have top wood I can use and they will never grow into healthy trees. Sometimes I feel like I cruise around and say to myself "now what could be the most difficult of these trees to take down and in the worst possible location? Oh look, there's one, lets do that!" But those are the trees that need to come out and that's my job. ffcheesy
 I'm just glad we crossed a tiny milestone today.

Tom,

  Congrats again and thanks for easing my mind on that other buyer question. I've been on the other end of that a couple of times and its a real downer. Sounds like this seller was very professional and a generally decent guy.

  My one suggestion is just try to be as flexible as possible when you customize that new trailer because I promise, somewhere down the road you're gonna say "I wish I'd done this different or instead of that."

  Don't forget that ceiling space either. It gets wasted a lot. Maybe hang a cargo sling/net or something up there for storing tie downs, cord, moving blankets, miscellaneous stuff.

One thing you may want to look into if you plan on using it for storage is a top vent cover that let's some air circulate without letting rain in. Those trailers can get very hot inside and hold humidity in the summer if left sealed up. I found that if I left the vent lid opened for circulation,  the lid was always the thing I forgot to close when the rain started  :uhoh:. For cheap e track check your local trailer store because most sell 10 ft lengths for what 5 ft costs online. 

Well Howard, I for one am gratified to know that you can once again sleep well at night. ffcheesy Yeah, I am thinking over how this is going to lay out and doing it pieces at a time. Right now, the logs take a big precedent (income). No I won't forget the overhead space, but it's pretty tight in there for my height, so I might add stuff down the sides, but leave the middle open. I have already whacked my head once pretty hard coming out through the side door.

 21 makes a good point too, I will have to think about ventilating in the warmer months but keeping the rain out. Right now I am just taking stuff as it needs fixing. The bumpers on the rear hatch are missing, so I'll replace those, also the door keeper on the side door needs replacing. All the hinges need oil. I see a lot of loose screws and some caulking that needs doing. I need to re-do the safety chains (a real cluster flock). I am thinking of changing it over to a round plug so I can add a line to charge a battery while driving. As an alternate, I may add a little solar panel and battery maintainer to run a small ATV battery for the inside lights and maybe add loading lights on the side. Some of this will mean pulling the panels off an inside wall to figure out the wiring, fix anything, and add the new stuff, then putting it all back. I plan on building a shelf unit at the headwall to hold crates of my small stuff. By the rear door I will add wall tiedowns for my canopy and tables. They come out first, and go in last.

 Nice things to add would be a rear facing camera and/or a hitch camera. But what is driving me nuts are those fenders. I can clearly see they were set too low and are the wrong fenders. Somebody was saving money. So they gotta go and I need to put the right fenders on it. (another reason to remove the inside wall panels and do it right)  SO there is lots to think about and a lot more to do.

 But first it's getting the firewood bucked up and out of my way, then mushroom logs. I am just glad Howard can again sleep at night without worrying about me working with scurrilous sellers of low ethics. ffcool

Tom, it looks like e-trak is $16.99 for 5' at HF, it was cheaper when I did mine. I used 4 pieces (2 rows) on drivers side and 2 pieces, also 2 rows on passenger side. Bottom row about 18" up and top row I think was 50" up, it's really nice and it doesn't all need done at once. I know it's your money, that's why it's so much fun to suggest. ffcool

Yeah, I did see that, and yeah, you are right, I don't have to do it all at once (thanks for allowing me to spread out the cost, that's generous of you). I agree the E-trak is great for general cargo tie downs, BUT on third thought, I am not certain that's what I need. I have a different tie-up idea in mind and I don't want to pull my bench seats in against that e-trak, even with a pad. It's a bad chafe point. When I get further along, I think you will see what I have in mind and why I have my concerns. I could either have a pretty good idea or a really poor idea, but either way, it will be a weird idea.
 I have 3 product 'types': Benches and bench type things, tables, and table type things, and "smalls' which go in boxes and crate type things. So I am thinking I will build a shelf unit against the headwall to carry the crates and smalls and odds and ends. I will strap the benches to the sidewalls, and strap the tables to the floor mostly upside down. That is my very basic starting plan anyway. It's a process, like Howard's shed, look at all the work we had planning that for him. :wink_2:

Just when I thought I had pretty much seen it all.......
SO Yesterday I am out cutting in the woods and I happened to step on top of a rock that allowed my cell phone to get a signal for 2 seconds and a text message came in. It was from the guy I bought the trailer from. Apparently one of the hundred dollar bills I gave him was counterfeit, bogus, not legal tender, and fraudulent to boot. His bank would not accept it. I had to run out and get that cash directly from my bank because Venmo would not do the transfer and I still had my receipt. So this morning after going to town and registering the trailer I drove back to the seller's place and offered for him to select a replacement note from the two I had, and he gave me the bad bill. We had a laugh over it and I saw he had a brand new 16' trailer in his driveway. When he said he had to get one quick, he wasn't kidding. ffcheesy I wished him luck with it, left and went back to my bank again. I explained what happened and showed my receipt. The same two tellers were on today as Saturday and they remembered the transaction. She checked the bill with that marker thing they use, yeah, it was bad. It didn't make sense to her how it had gotten through their automatic machine and could be redistributed. She ran it through the fancy counting machine and it came up as good. She calls the manager. Manager does the same checks, yup, it's bogus, but the machine passes it every time. (so much for their technology.) So they give me a new bill, AND PUT THE BAD ONE IN THE CASH DRAWER! I am aghast, yes, aghast indeed. I asked if they could accidently pass that back out, being in the drawer, but apparently that slot is for damaged bills, and she said they will likely destroy it. Yeah, thought I saw it all. Also thought I was going to have to eat that hundred bucks. I will be much more careful now with those big bills. I think maybe I will get a couple of those pens
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In other news, I took down a 20" Hickory yesterday and by the time I had all the brush dealt with, bucked it and stacked it, I was pretty pooped. I can only work so fast and long these days. I had also helped Bill for a while clearing the power poles and guy wires at a neighbors place. He took the overhead wires down last fall and put in underground service for her. Still had some cleanup to do, so I lent a hand for a while.
Last night I hit the sack before 9:30. I was wide awake at 2am and couldn't sleep, so I got up at 2:30. I made breakfast at 3:30 and went out in the shop, sanded and put another finish coat on the table I am working on. I messed around with some other stuff. I had an appointment at DMV for 9:45, so I made that and got it done. Another 200 bucks poorer. I should have paid them with counterfeit. ffcheesy But I was fresh out. :wacky: Now I just gotta get it inspected. more $ to the state. :veryangry:
Now I gotta get to work, but I think I need a nap. ffcheesy

Catching things up here. The next night after I couldn't sleep I wound up sleeping 12 hours, which messed me up a bit for the day, but I probably needed it. Harvesting season really mess me up with the heavy work and occasional injuries, muscle cramps, etc. This season hasn't been so bad. I have yet to really hurt my back requiring a day or three's rest or a chiro visit. I am pooped and sore at night, but recovered the next morning. I would love to think that I am getting stronger and better balanced, but I really think it's more because I am being more strict about my limits and when I am pooped I quit, no question about it (except when I work with Bill's crew, then I just have to suck it up and keep up).
 But I have the largest amount of winter orders I have ever had and I put off starting because the weather was so warm. I was holding out hope we would get a good cold spell. I won't make that mistake again. Now I am getting emails form folks way down on my list asking when their logs will be ready. I do everyone in order of when they placed their order, first in, first cut. I make adjustments based on their needs as I can. SO my number 2 order got picked up today by some happy repeat clients (200 logs). I will deliver my number 1 order on Tuesday (40 logs), I am cutting my number 3 order now (150 logs) and might be around half way through it. Then I have 100 logs, 35 logs, 35 logs, and 100 logs. It is a bit daunting when I am already tired, but the money is good and fills the pipeline which has ben dry since August. I want the season to end so I can move on, but I need the money so I can move on. I have to outfit and then fill that trailer with 'stuff'. Todays sale covered 30% of the trailer cost and that's how I look at things, ail that sweat was worth it.

 So I lost half my day with that pickup and the required BS'ing with the client (we talked local history which was new to them, young folks, y'know?), but I did the bank run after they left because I don't want to do it tomorrow. I then came home, oved the few reaming logs off the trailer and hooked it up and dragged it back to the woods for staging. I managed to whack my front bumper on a tree backing it into a slot. I was watching my backup and did realize how close the tree was on the front. Just about every dent, ding, and whack on my truck was incurred far from a public roadway and this was just another one. It['s a truck, not a limo. :wink_2:

 Then I headed down near the mill site. Bill had done a yard tree cleanout yesterday and took all the top wood and put it in a separate pile for me to pick through. I got 30 logs out of that pile, so a pretty good day. I have more trees marked to cut tomorrow. Today was near 50 but with clouds and humidity, it neve did feel very warm. I was gonna let the house stove go out today, but changed my mind. Headed back to 30 tonight which isn't cold, but it's really damp and the stove helps with the 'comfort heat'. I had the shop up to 78 late this afternoon when I turned my back for a bit. ffcheesy Hoping for more sunshine tomorrow, good for the body and the soul and I seem to be able to work more on those days.
 Gotta keep cutting logs, gotta keep making firewood, gotta stay upright, so this are the focus for the next couple of weeks.
 Tomorrow is another day.

Another day, pretty much the same. I took down and bucked up 3 trees for my logs, then spent some time limbing some big pines that were all blow downs in the area I was cutting. This will save Bill a bunch of time getting and in and clearing that area. My work is all focused around getting the logs I need, but at the same time making his property better. This particular section will be opened up a bit and the ground cleared of tons of storm damaged and rotted wood.
The first two trees I did were routine. the third was close to the road right across from the sawmill area and within striking distance of the power/phone/cable lines. There is a 10Kv high line in that group. Bill came in to the shop (on the cliff 40' above where I was working) and hollered down to ask if I wanted lunch he was getting for his crew, or if I needed him to come down and give a push on any of my trees. I declined all offers and we both went back to work. Well I got to tree #3 and it was maybe all of 8" on the stump, but perfect for my logs, I love these but hate cutting them. Not enough room for a wedge if I have to move them. But this one, with a lean in the wrong direction, I thought I could do just like I've done a hundred others. Small front notch, back cut, then just push it over. I have done a hundred or more of these, really, never an issue. Then today... Well I put a shallow front notch in, started my back cut and the tree sat back and I made my mistake. When I saw the back cut closing up I removed the saw. DUMB! Now the tree had room to lean back more, so I stood up and figured I would just push it over... sure. Nope, too much hinge left and I could not fold it over. Now I am standing there, hold this tree vertical and starting to blow out my calf muscles to rock and push it over.   
  Just. Not. Happening.  
    My legs are screaming at me. The saw is still running and lying to my left, so I put my shoulder into the tree and reached down with my left hand and slide to saw over to my right side. The I switch hands on the tree and grab the saw with my right hand, get the bar into the notch, and one hand it to whack a little more out of the hinge. I keep looking over my shoulder at the high line and realizing I am in trouble here. I might miss the high line, but I will surely take out the phone and data. SO with just a tad more out of the hinge I get my back into it, both hands on the tree and I get my feet back and throw everything I have into it. The first rock doesn't do it, but close, the second rock nearly does it, and on the third rock, my legs are screaming and my heart is overloading, but over she goes.
 Stupid stupid stupid. 
It was at that point I realized the wind was out of the east and working against me. It was just a breeze, but more than enough to tip the scales. I left the other two trees in the same spot go until we are back to prevailing winds out of the west or I get a pusher. Besides my legs were shot and I still had to buck and hand carry these logs out to the road edge. That work finished me off. So I just decided to limb off the two big 2'+ pine tops littering the area and called it a day. 8 hours later and my legs are still jelly.  smiley_crying
I did other chores the rest of the day. Supposed to rain tomorrow but maybe if it's slow coming in I can cut some in the morning, or switch over to collecting and trailing logs. I think I have a full trailer load of logs laid out all over, maybe 75 logs. I'll bring that load home and bring out another trailer. Gotta keep moving, tomorrow is another day. Bill has a customer friend that is crying to get his chipper blades sharpened for a job next week, so I may take time tomorrow to do that, but I hate sharpening chipper blades, I really do. It's too close to my past life. ffcheesy

   I tell you 'fore. You no ask help wen need. You get hurt -hurt other. You sit here. Think 'bout wat I say. Next time Bill ask you need push you say yes. You finish -you go way now.

OK Howard, now that was pretty funny. ffcheesy
 I didn't really hurt myself but I surely pressed the limits of what my legs and back could do. I pushed so hard my ears were ringing, I was not going to join the blue flash club that day.
 Today my legs are sore and my back does hurt a bit. I went out collecting logs and filled the trailer with about 70 of the little buggers. It was all 'lift and carry' work and my legs told me to stop. Some I hade to carry about 50' and of course, the biggest ones, around 70 pounds or more, were the furthest away. But I needed to get them done, so I did. Now the rain is coming in, but I have the loaded trailer here in the yard just as the rain started. Shop work the rest of the day, or maybe less. :wink_2:

Clicky - clicky winchy - winchy save you achey backy. (Not so old saying, just made it up). ffcheesy

Good idea Res of course. This area is a huge tangled mess and I have no vehicle access, that's why we are cleaning it up, so he can at least get in there with a machine and grapple. So for this tree I would have had to run a snatch block inside the area and pull from the road. Lots of rigging and climbing around all the downed crap. I thought I could pull it off (well, actually I did) and I just mis guessed. It happens, I survived. Lesson learned. I go way now.  ffcheesy

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Today I was going to sharpen chipper blades, but Bill wasn't at the shop when I got there and I could not find the right blades for the client. I saw that the blades I had last set up ready to grind (after a lot of indicator work) had been removed. I am guessing Bill ran them off for the whiny customer. So he's probably not happy with me.  :veryangry:
I get no cell signal there and I looked for his shop phone but it was MIA. Nothing for it, I had to punt. So I jumped in the Toolcat and picked up the forks and headed out before the rain came in. They are saying heavy rain tonight and I thought since the ground is already soft and the woods roads are squishy already, I best try to get the trailer loaded and out. I had parked it right on top of a seep rolling over bedrock, but the ground around it was soft. So I did that, had to make 5 different pickup and shuttles to get all I had cut over 20 acres and some I still had to hand carry out of the woods to the forks because I ran out of steam when I dropped one tree with big logs, 50' from the road access on a very steep grade. I burned out whatever I had left in my calves. I put 70 logs even on the trailer. I swapped out the Toolcat for my truck, came back and got the trailer and brought it home, it started raining on the 2.5 mile drive. I unhooked, had lunch, went in the shop and put another coat of poly on a table top. Sharpened up my saws and that was that. I was shot and felt poorly and very tired.
_____________________

Couple of things I haven't mentioned. First, with all the cutting I have been doing my skin allergy or whatever it is, has taken off again. I am going through a lot of cortisone cream and I itch all the time. It's all over my forehead which means wearing a hardhat (or any dang hat) is miserable, I have it on my neck, wrists, and my elbow pits or whatever you call them. All in all it makes me very uncomfortable and miserable (and  tad cranky), but I've been working through it. So when I gave up for the day, I came in the house and took a shower and put on fresh dry clothes, then a fresh layer of cortisone again. My skin feels a little less scaly (rough) and it seems to have calmed a bit. But it won't be over until I give the chainsaw a rest for a week or two.

The other thing I have going on has nothing to do with forestry, forest products, or wood. Many know that I am active at a couple of select festivals during the year and Greyfox Bluegrass Festival is the center of my year. I spend a week there working each July, a very large event. Since 2010 I have worked with and for the Medical group. About 30 EMT's nurses, Docs, and others with the right skills that handle whatever comes up with the many thousands of people we entertain during the event, staff, volunteers, artists, and patrons. Last year I filled in for my Crew chief who had a major family emergency. I shared the position with another longtime staffer, but I can tell you it was a rough year for me taking care of my people. Pretty much on duty 24 hours a day for 5 days straight can wear an old man out and it did. We had a few challenging patient contacts that were quite stressful for all involved.
This year, my crew chief will be back in his job and my EMT Cert expires before the event. I am no longer going through the time and expense of re-certing. I am done, time to move on. Some time in the future I may get some kind of lower certification and go back to the med crew in coming years, but after a lot of thought, I felt I needed a break, for at least one year.
Well as it turns out, the fella that runs the VIP camping area is having his first baby and it's due the week of the Festival. So he has chosen to not risk having the first baby born at Greyfox. I tried to tell him we can handle it and we even have a pediatric surgeon on our crew, but he is taking a year off. Well that is a good job and fairly easy, if a little boring and I have camped right next to him for the 7 years he's been doing the job and helped him every year when it's busy, so I already know the job. I thought this would be a good fit, both for the festival and myself. I contacted him and it turns out he was trying for a couple of months to find his replacement, so he was very happy I offered because he knows that I know the job and will be good at it. No training required. So I contacted festival management and asked for the position. Well management has had some adjustments and the owner and director is taking a step back into retirement, so top management all moved up a step. The new person handling mid-level positions is not really familiar with the job yet. So there were a lot of emails back and forth, I had a call with my old crew chief explaining the change, he wished me well, but would like me back at some point. I will still do my Pre-fest work for the med crew and serve as EMT for the pre-fest setup crew handling work injuries etc. So he still gets a piece of me. We finally got it all smoothed out and everybody is very happy. I do technically have a crew chief over me, but it's kind of a dotted line. I am a one man show in this job and pretty much have to stay in the VIP area all the time. That part sucks, but I'll find a workaround. But we are all good after a couple of weeks with lots of emails. Then I get another email inviting me to the senior staff spring meeting at the festival site. Why I am included in this is a mystery, but they think it would be great if I could come. All the the others drive long distances for this meeting over two days (MD, VA, ME, VT, CT, etc.) and I have often wondered what went on. I am just over an hour from the site and really don't want to put in 4 hours of driving over the two days, so I will just give them one long day on Saturday and see if I can get into the flow. From management's perspective, I don't think I really need to be there, but I have a suspicion they are grooming me for my job in 2025 and the senior management has been bouncing around ideas and where I would fit best going forward. I heard rumblings of this last year after they saw how things went with the Med crew. I would really rather just be a second fiddle to somebody.  But anyway, this has been something occupying my feeble mind while I cut mushroom log trees.
Tomorrow is another day and I think I'll just spend it in the shop letting my back and legs come back into shape.

antecubital space. ffsmiley

So noted, thanks. Now lets se if I can remember that. I don't have high hopes. ffcheesy What's a cubital?

Tom,

   You might ask your dermatologist if you are a candidate for Dupixant treatment for your allergic reactions. 

   I had a bad allergic reaction on my hands and feet and finally did a plug test (not right name but they cut out a plug about the size of a .22 caliber hole) and sent it off and came back as contact dermatitis. Not sure exact cause but he gave me a sample shot of Dupixant, I came back a week later for another and my allergy was almost entirely gone. I have been taking it a couple years not but am at the point I take a couple of shots a couple weeks apart only as needed and may go several months with no issues.

   It is pretty pricey but works for me so might be worth asking anyway. Good luck.

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Cubital_Fossa

Howard, My dermatologist, really? Around here if you call to get an appointment with one it's a 6 month wait, then the week before the appointment, they call and cancel you, setting up another for 2 months later. They are all like that here. My wife had a scheduled follow-up for her knee to get a shot we really hoped would relieve her pain, the day before, they put her  off for another month of pain. Not enough of these specialists and it's almost pointless to call and try. SO I don't. I can tough this out, always have before. (OH, and don't roll your eyes at me, I saw that.) :wink_2:
Doc yeah, after your last post I went and looked it up and found a very similar page with the anatomy. Pretty interesting. Somehow I missed that in my anatomy classes.

Tom.

   Okay, ask your GP. PA, or the drug dealer on the corner. Just suggesting it may be worth a try. Toughing it out is over-rated. Trust me!

Well I like my PA, he's a good guy and very thorough and careful. Unfortunately his employer that bought the small local practice is a billing machine. When he does something simple and cheap, they upscale his bill into a crazy amount that even he finds appalling. I often wonder how he is doing. I haven't seen him in about 8 years now.

I carry a rope wire stretcher in my truck  I've used it for many things, mostly to help deliver calves in places my puller won't go, but it  is about as sturdy as a light duty come along and lighter.  Just might be a pack along option so you don't need to be an Armstrong timber jack as often.   ffsmiley

A 6' pole would double your leverage compared to pushing by hand, even longer is better. I've done that more than once when miscalculating a back lean or wind, just cutting a small tree near by but not in the path of the tree being cut of coarse.

A longer pole that is a bit flexible with a short spike on the end would work easier, jamb the pole at a angle between the ground and the tree and flex the pole down so it gets shorter and grips the tree then push up on the middle of the pole to straighten it out, repeat until tree goes over.

I have used the flexible pole method lots before in carpentry too, one time to lift the roof of a 20' x 20' cabin that the walls had spread and the roof sagged. Not sure how much mechanical advantage there is but once the pole was bent I could lift the roof an inch with about 20 lbs of sideways force to straighten the pole. In this case the top was stationary on the ridge and I was moving the bottom along the floor by ramming it with a plank.

The mechanical advantage is huge. Approaching infinity! In my Statics & Dynamics class I took when studying Engineering Science, we delved into that. If you take a cable and stretch it between two poles, like a power line and try to make it straight, no sag. The closer you get to flat, the more tension is needed to overcome gravity.

At a big drop where the angle is 45⁰, the weight in the center matches the horizontal pull at each end, or maybe half. Anyhow, it is a geometry equation that you use to calculate the force - the tangent angle. Opposite over adjacent where the adjacent approaches zero as it gets straighter. Dividing by zero is undefined. But as you approach zero, the result gets bigger, fast.

Flip this the other way around. As you kick the board more in line with the direction of intended force, the force you exsert kicking approaches zero while the force goes up exponentially. Either the object moves or your stick explodes!

Well yeah hindsight is usually better the foresight. ffcheesy Just keep in mind this was a routine tree (in spite of the 10kv high line) that I had done a hundred times and I just blew it.  I had a saw, that's it. No wedges, no driver, no sticks or bars or anything. I made a misjudgment is all. Not sure how I will do the other 3 yet. smiley_huh2 Because  all the local weather stations said the wind was out of the west today, I thought about going back and cutting them and let the wind take them over, but just because the weather station, even within 2 miles or less of here, says the wind is out of the west, doesn't mean that it is actually blowing east. A weather station (actually two) within 2 miles of my house said the wind came from 270 to 300° all day, but I look at my chimney and I see the smoke headed due south at a high rate of speed, then an hour later I see flags blowing due north. SO it is what it is, and the wind today was just nuts.

I got lucky, I'll think on it harder next time. Nobody died, I call that a winner. :wink_2:
---------------------------
Today the wind was the headliner here. No way was I going to even think about getting in the woods. Huge stuff breaking out and coming down, power out for many and a few brush fires driven by the winds. 50mph is kind of rare here, it's a mess. So I did shop work in the morning, but finally had to go outside and load the truck for tomorrow's delivery. I put a coat of finish on a table top, brought in some firewood, then I did a little more work in/on the trailer. But I am still tired, I took my first afternoon nap in over a week, I must still be catching up or healing my back, I dunno.
-------------------
Looks like the weather is taking a turn tonight and after 48 hours of high winds, it's finally dying down, the temp is going up tomorrow and will be in the 50's for the next several days and we will have at least partial sunshine for a good part of it. Some rain at the end of the week, but so far, not a lot. This should be my blowin' and goin' time period to hammer on these logs. But I ain't 50 anymore, I'll do what I can as fast as I can. Tomorrow is lost to the delivery run, but I still have about 80 logs to go on the order I am cutting now. I can't get that done by the weekend, but maybe by next Monday. I just have to keep at it.
Tomorrow is another day.

How To Determine Wind Direction With One Finger - Old Indian Trick (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNo67y_Syt8)

OK - good video.

Reminds me of that the old Indian Word for Poor Hunter or Poor Fisherman is "VEGETARIAN". :wink_2:

Doc I had no idea............... That anybody on the planet did not know that yet. ffcheesy I think I learned that when I was 5 year old as one of my first lessons in physics. Interesting that the guy in the video managed to keep me watching for the whole 6 minutes or so, and one simple point. Something everybody should know.
------------------------------
Howard I am not seeing how you were reminded of that joke, but OK. ffsmiley
-----------------------------

 SO today was one of those rare days when I felt like a regular working man. I was on the road by 8:30 and delivered a load of logs about an hour to the east. I also measured up for a bathroom counter top the client would like made. That will be long term and she is in no hurry. I have to find wood for it first.
 She also gave me a nice little ERC log, about 14" on the butt, 8' long, and 10" on the SED.  Amazingly it has zero butt rot hole! ffwave So I am looking forward to getting this milled up and stickered soon. Not a lot of wood and it might have a lot of sapwood, but I think I can get some nice boards out of it and it was a nice gift. I had a nice drive both ways through horse farm country. Barely saw a car the whole way.

 SO Bill called when I was with the client to let me know they were working around the shop today and if I needed his help pushing some trees, he could do that.. So I headed back and went right to his place, after checking in with him, I dragged the log off the truck at the mill, then grabbed a saw and looked those trees over again. Two carbon copies of the one that gave me a hard time. The wind was still coming from the ENE, not great, but not a lot of wind. NAH! I don't need no stinkin' push!! I grabbed a small wedge and a whacker. I did the same cut I used on that white oak a week or so ago with the wedge through the middle and both trees went over like duck soup. No problem. I was down to a t-shirt when I finished up, sweating like mad.
 So I bucked those up and staged them for later pickup.  I think I am about at 90 logs against my next order of 150. I just gotta keep plugging along. I was shot, so I went up and lent a hand with the cleanup work they were doing, then headed home, unloaded the truck, stoked up the shop fire that dies out and got in the house around 5pm.  Tomorrow the plan is to grab another 3 or 4 trees. I have to see how the legs and back hold up, my back is still healing up.
 One things for sure, I should sleep OK tonight, I'm tired again.

 Tomorrow is another day, and the wind is not supposed to exceed 10mph. :wink_2:

Tom,
   I am concerned that you are not listening but who am I to complain about what others do. :wacky:

    As to why one thing reminds me of another - don't ask. It just happens. Normal is not in my vocabulary.

i also kept watchng thinking there might be a clever something   but no.  It was stating the obvious and thought to be funny.  i was looking for an animated Wylee coyote or something.  did not find it. :snowball:

(525) Wile E Coyote And The Road Runner In "Goner With The Wind" - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuQK5FGGmbs)

  That reminds me ... Oh, never mind. smiley_thumbsdown rayrock

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on March 12, 2024, 08:08:44 PM...........

    As to why one thing reminds me of another - don't ask. It just happens. Normal is not in my vocabulary.

Thanks Howard, that clears some stuff up for me. Actually you and Doc run in similar trenches sometimes. ffcheesy

Reminds me of that country song "I have friends in low places"  ffcheesy

Quote from: 21incher on March 13, 2024, 09:16:13 AMReminds me of that country song "I have friends in low places"  ffcheesy

I resemble that remark.

Yes 21, I have that song on regular rotation in my truck play list. I was singing along with it on my way home yesterday as a matter of fact. Garth has always been a favorite and a fella I know, Pat Alger who is originally from up here in Woodstock had written a number of sings for Garth that he made into hits.
----------------------------------

Well today was another one, last night I was in bed an hour early, couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. Tonight might be the same, or earlier. ffcheesy I started out by sanding and putting another coat on that table top, maybe the last? Then I pulled out all the polishing junk and started buffing up another cookie mirror. I had sanded the epoxy and wanted to see if I could just sand with 600 then go the the buffer and work my way up in shine with the 3 pad system. Works pretty good. I think I'll set the mirror and put in in stock for sale. Not perfect, but pretty good.
Then I went out and split some wood and stacked same. Took a short break, then headed to Bill's. Found out he would really like me to clear my staged wood from the new cut-through he put in so he could unload the log truck there. I thought he put that in for me so I could get in there with a small machine to take out the logs I still had to cut in the back. He did, but thought I would have those logs out sooner (like... the next day?).
So that meant I had a lot of work to do today. Getting the staged logs was easy, but I still had 5 more trees in there I will lose access to when he fills that hole up with logs. He offered to delay or find another way, but I don't want to interfere with what he needs to get done, he already does a lot for me I can't reciprocate. So I had at it. One tree had a oddball log leaning on it, so I had to throw a chain on it and pull it off 'my tree', cut it, buck the logs, and then let the log go back. I had to drop the tree onto the log pile then climb up and do my bucking and limbing. Tight work in a hole and I had to throw my logs out over the log pile. The joys of taking damaged trees in bad places. So that consumed a lot more time than it should for just 4 logs.
The I moved to the next 3 trees in a clump, 2 went down no problem, had to wedge both (back leaners) and I laid them right next to each other for easy limbing, marking and bucking. I will say, this hickory seems to have some really hard spots.  :wink_2:
By the third tree I was breathing heavy and pretty tired. I got sloppy. It had a lot of back weight, I made my notch way too deep. There was no hazard involved and I was sloppy. Got my notch in and just as I was swinging around to start the bore cut for the wedge, that tree just rolled over backwards. Oh well. no big deal, just a bit more work (OK, ore than 'a bit", it was a PITA, but I did it to myself) and back up on the log pile I go. I got 3/4 of that one bucked up, bucked the other 2 trees, and left the remainder of the wildcat tree up on the log pile I have to climb up from the other side to get it off any way and there is all the brush to deal with, my legs were getting like jello. I had to get all these logs out.  SO I started bucking and as nearly done when I heard something funny from my saw like a BRAT BRAT type noise. I thought the muffler fell off (again), I had the 350, but it (the muffler) was just dead loose, leaking and floating back on forth on the bots, so I shut it down and walked to the truck, found tools and fixed it. no sense burning up a saw, and I like that little thing. Then I took the shortcut hike climbing up the hill to get the buggy. Except.. the buggy ( a bobcat SxS) is full of OWB wood and backed up to the OWB. So what's a decrepit and tired old man to do? I grabbed the Toolcat with the forks. Actually a better choice but a tad big and heavy to get into the area I needed to work. But the forks allow me to dump the logs into my truck bed, so there is that. ffcheesy But I MAY have been a little rough on it going over those rocks to get through the hole in the wall. I managed to get all the logs on in one shot, so only once in and out. Got those loaded in the truck and went back and picked up the logs I had previously cut and staged by the road, and loaded them up. The I drove the Toolcat back up and put it back, and took the shortcut back down, loaded my tools and headed home with 44 logs. So that is, in fact, a good day by itself. Anything around 10 logs per hour is good for an old guy, I was in there about 5 hours today.
I got home and unloaded them onto the stack. I just need 30 more logs to finish the current order (#3). I will get the last tree in the same area from the far side access tomorrow (body function permitting) and cleanup that top I left on the log pile (maybe 2 logs max). Probably go back in and dice up the brush a bit more to make it flat and leave it all clean, then move back up the hill into the woods to take a much larger hickory. I don't expect to hit the 30 logs tomorrow (based on the trees), but will get closer. I am again running out of flagged trees. (A couple of days ago I told the client I didn't see anyway I would have them until Monday if things went well, so I guess I am staying a little ahead. Friday looks to be a rainout.) I really did a lot of climbing around today ad my legs starting cramping really bad when I was halfway through this post. worst I've had in a long time and it didn't clear when I got up and walked around. 6 Tums later and I am feeling much better, cramps all gone, even the ones in my hands. ffcheesy ffsmiley This harvest is really wearing me out more than usual. Tired as I am this dermatitis is really raging along. Today it was warm and I worked in a t-shirt with no gloves and my arms look like they are on fire. Now it's full length from my finger tips to nearly my armpits. So after unloading I took a shower and then wiped down once again in hydrocortisone cream (gotta make another run for that stuff, just got 2 tubes last week and one is already about gone). That seemed to help a bit. I can't wait for this agony to go away, the itching, bad sleep, and  raw skin is starting to get a little old. After I finish this order I have 275 logs to go. So at this point, I am more than halfway through, but the logs are starting to show sap movement (contributing to my skin issues I think) and I don't like that. Can't change it though. I don't see any cold coming in the forecast that would make a difference. I think spring is fully hear. (It hit 69.7° today) Now I have to beat the buds beginning to swell. That is the death knoll for the 'winter harvest' season.
As rough as it sometimes may be for me (and it never gets really bad, just unpleasant sometimes) my days are much harder work but it still beats all heck out of sitting at a CAD station making designs and sitting in conference rooms debating which colors should be used on a chart explaining things that don't matter to any human being that will ever see them. Life is better now. Hard work is good for the soul, even if it doesn't do much for the bank account, although that is nice too. :wink_2:
I'm tired, tomorrow is another day.

there are otc barrier lotions that block allergens.  do not know the names.

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on March 13, 2024, 08:49:02 PMI thought the muffler fell off (again), I had the 350, but it (the muffler) was just dead loose, leaking and floating back on forth on the bots, so I shut it down and walked to the truck, found tools and fixed it. no sense burning up a saw, and I like that little thing.

I bought a 350 25 years ago. After 22 years the muffler decided to get loose and after I tightened it the thing would get loose in just a short time. Don't know what caused it but it was really irritating. Last attempt, I put some Loktite on the threads but it's not resistant to heat so I also added lock washers. No problems for two years now.....maybe it knows if it does it one more time it will go on Marketplace.

Don't put it on marketplace Larry, that is SUCH a hassle with all the bozos there. JUst send it to me. I'll give you 20 bucks for it.  ffcheesy ffcheesy ffsmiley :wink_2:

Quote from: doc henderson on March 13, 2024, 09:54:16 PMthere are otc barrier lotions that block allergens.  do not know the names.

Well DUH! Forgot about that. I have a couple of tubes around that I bought when you first recommended it back in '20/21. Guess i should try that today. ffcheesy

remember they are topical...  not per rectum!   ffcool :sunny: smiley_smug01 :snowball: :uhoh: :usa: ffsmiley

Thanks for the tip. :wink_2:

no, it does not come with a tip, it goes directly on your skin!!!!   ffsmiley
you are welcome, good luck.

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on March 14, 2024, 09:33:08 AM

Quote from: doc henderson on March 14, 2024, 09:30:29 AMremember they are topical...  not per rectum!  ffcool :sunny: smiley_smug01 :snowball: :uhoh: :usa: ffsmiley

Thanks for the tip. :wink_2:

  Now you tell me! :uhoh: :veryangry: :wacky: smiley_thumbsdown

Can you spell Supoertory Supozitory Soupozitory Supository suppository ?  :wink_2:

a lotion would have to be frozen to be a suppository.  good luck. ffwave ffsmiley

Only if you take it out of the tube. :wink_2: Either way sounds unpleasant. ffcheesy

  Maybe its a cultural thing but when working overseas the American and British doctors on our projects gave shots and pills while the French doctor prescribed suppositories.  :huh?

Maybe that's why my ancestors left France in the 1600's.  

Maybe that's why my ancestors (Vikings) never visited France, even though they took in a lot of other points in Europe.  ffcheesy
-----------------------------------
Doc, You're a fart smeller smart feller! I used that barrier cream today before heading out and it sure did help. No it didn't keep me 'clean' and the work still had an adverse affect, but nothing like yesterday when all I could think of was getting done and getting in the shower. Today was bearable. I also kept my sleeves rolled down and buttoned and wore my gloves. None of that has really helped much in the past, but today was bearable. And it was hard to keep that long sleeve shirt on given that I was sweating like mad and got pretty wet, but I wanted to see if it would work, and it helped a lot. Temp hit 69.6° here today. I still have nearly 300 logs to go and just want to hang in there until it's done. I guess I should have thought of it, but I didn't, so thanks for the kick in the head.
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I started the day needing 25 logs, plus extras, so 30 logs, to finish the current order of 150. I didn't think I'd make it because I don't have many flagged trees left and the first two I had to do I knew would burn up a bunch more time than average, being in rough locations. The first was that top laying up on the log pile. Well Bill had unloaded the log truck in my access hole that I cleared out yesterday and while he was unloading, he saw that top and it was within reach, so he picked it and laid it right where it was VERY easy for me to work on it. Took minutes to limb it and get 4 decent logs off of it. It took a half hour to drag all the branches to a spot about a half mile away where I could dice them up and dump them in a no impact area where they can rot or grow babies. :wink_2:
 The second tree was back in that hole where my frontal access is now blocked off. But I could get in a back way, just not with my truck. So I felled the tree and hit my (small) target hole right on the money and just missed 2 keeper trees, then I limbed it all up, but didn't buck it. I drove up and swapped my truck for the Toolcat which JUST made it between the log stacks, after I moved some 'stuff'. I threw a chain over the top of the stem, lifted and dragged it out to an easy work spot. I bucked it all up and loaded on the forks, as I was swinging around to get out I landed my eyes on a perfect little staged pile of logs I had cut a week ago, but had no access to get out, so I stacked them on bunks and left them. I forgot all about them. So I put two very full fork loads in my truck and it was overfull. A tad over 40 logs, but mostly above average in size, so the truck was sagging. :wink_2: Glad it's only 2 miles home at no more than 25mph. I unloaded and guess what? I was tired. ffcheesy I needed about 155 logs for the order (I always give extras) and I have about 165-170 in 3 stacks. So I am good. Only about 300 logs to go and I can close the book on this season. Yeah, that's still a lot of logs I have to find trees for. I've cut 400 so far.
 I needed to do a beer run trip to home depot for screws, caulking, and other stuff for the trailer. The fenders showed up today and tomorrow could be a rain out of sorts, so I might as well work on that. I did some piddling on that when I got home. I think I may have ordered fenders that are a bit too narrow, so not happy about that at all. but lets see what I find when I get the old ones off. (Let's not be hasty, I did measure, maybe they sent the wrong ones. I have to check it all out. Maybe it's all good, I just did a quick check and it seemed narrow.)
 Tomorrow's another day, maybe I can get some rest while I am working. ffcheesy

fart smeller.  "you funny" as the Asian kid short round on Indiana Jones would say.  I actually laughed out loud, not just the saying!  ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy

You weren't supposed to read that, I crossed it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKoglNtjq5Y

My Grandmother on my Mother's side like that smart feller one.
Then she couldn't wait for this one. We would shell peas, and someone would drop one on the floor. She would say, their name and say they are peaing on the floor.  ffcheesy
She had a bunch of sayings.
Some would not be good on here.
But as she would say, If you don't know what I am talking about, it won't hurt you and if you do know what I am talking about, it won't hurt you either.

You two guys have 'interesting' senses of humor. That's all I got to say about that. :wink_2:
Yesterday was supposed to be a rain out in the morning and clearing through mid-day, but that was just a joke on us. We got  perhaps .01" of rain in two 10 minute periods, but it was pretty much overcast all day, with just a few pops of sun as a tease. I wore my jacket all day. Still I have needed a rest day, since I have been cutting nearly everyday for a couple of weeks now with little rest time for my back and legs. So I 'took the day off'.
That is, I worked on the trailer all day. Those fenders are driving me nuts, so I started with one side. I got the whole trailer up on blocks so the work was easier although it meant a tall step up into the trailer, repeated at least a hundred times during the day. I pulled off the tire and fender, cut the light wires, and started lining up the new ones.
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That's the old one above. You can see where they put some high class duct tape to cover the old screw holes. This bothered me as much as the fenders themselves. First thing I confirmed was that I ordered the wrong fenders (too narrow). I thunk on it a bit and decided to proceed, return shipping cost and time delay were not appealing. It was my mistake and they should work fine. When I hit something and need to replace them again, I'll buy the right ones. Right now, I need to keep moving, I can't keep this all torn apart any more time than necessary. I identified all the existing holes that would not be reused (all but one) removed the 'classy duct tape' and sanded and cleaned off that area, and when it was dry I taped it off and repainted it. I also filled in all the visible holes with screws and caulk to seal them. There were a lot of 'mistake holes' somebody had drilled and left empty. Water entry points, must fix.
So I marked one fender trying to hit that first hole right on the steel wall stud. This is all tough to do alone and I missed it and had to make another hole. I bolted it up, got it lined up and marked the rest of the holes. Checked it again, then transferred the holes to the trailer and then to the other fender. That part may be risky, but I decided that both side HAD to be identical. That other wall is not open yet, so I can't check. Then I brought them in the shop, sanded, cleaned nd dried them, then painted them, had lunch, then gave the another coat. While that dried I figured out my screws. I used 1/4-20 screws with nuts, washers, and flat washers. (Sheet metal screws WILL work loose over time.) When dry, I put the fender up, transferred the rest of the holes, checked fit, took it off, put a bead of caulking on the fender, and stuck it back up. Tightening the screws was another challenge alone, but I got it done. Then I ran a corner bead of caulk around the meetup just to make it look nice. Although I have to look at narrow fenders for now on, at least it looks better (I think, anyway, YMMV).

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While I had the wheel off I pulled the hub off, just to check and get the bearing sizes. Previous owner said "new bearings, just put in". ffcheesy Well, I don't think so, based on the color and there wasn't a heck of a lot of grease in there and it sure looked like quite a while since that seal was replaced. So I measured everything up, just to be extra sure. I ordered 3 sets so I can just replace them and have a spare set in the trailer as insurance.  This way I will really know when they were new. Also I noticed that bearing I checked was not properly tightened and had movement in and out. So I fixed that and am now more suspicious of those bearings. So just change them and be done with it. The reward isn't worth the risk.

All that made for a full day and I quit at 5pm. I piddled around looking at the lights inside and coming up with a new plan for the wiring on those because I want to do that as I close the walls back up. I need to think on it some more and I have the insulation to do also. When that thing is in the sun, it gets HOT, so I'd like to minimize that if I can. I also want to try to put some adhesive between the aluminum panels and the wall studs to hold them back on, some has come apart. Might as well, while the walls are open, right? :wink_2:

SO back in the woods today and I will see if that 'rest' did me any good at all. I have to keep plodding along. The sap is running and all the red maples budded out yesterday. Not good in the middle of March.

Nice trailer find, it will be handy.

It is my understanding that a tiny bit of play is a good thing on trailer axels or they will over heat easily under load, hand tight on the nut is what I was see recommended.

I tighten till it seems tight and may slow the wheel turning, then back off a cotter pin hole or two on the king nut.

Exactly as I do. Many folks run it up and 'think' it's tight,  but you have to make it tight enough that it is stif to turn (to squeeze the grease out), then back up to the cotter pin hole. It should spin very freely but no shake. The grease, especially a new full packing can give a false tightness. I like lots of grease. Even at today's price, grease is cheaper than steel. ffsmiley

Hmm trailer and optional solar kiln.... ffsmiley
It will be very nice when done. 

One suggestion for the fender issue would be rubber fender flares. Looking online they make them in rolls of different sizes/profiles that can be cut to length, might be able to find one that would work on your trailer. :thumbsup:

Nebraska, I am trying to avoid that. My plan is to sore all my inventory in there, a kiln atmosphere would not be good for that, so hoping some insulation will slow the heat buildup or maybe even (hope of all hopes) keep it cool enough. I am also adding a 15A Power entry port just to run simple stuff like a battery charger or a small heated in the winter. If it's insulated, that may be an option. Easy to put the foam board in while the walls are open, so I'm gonna just do it.

 Resonator, brilliant idea! THANK YOU. That will be another mini project for sure and not right away, but I looked around and I found some material for semi's that I could adapt. I will have to cut off that outer roll down side and that's why it's a project. I suck at that stuff, so I would have to allow a full day for it. I can't do that right now, but something to look forward to so I can get it right. Anyway, great idea, lets see if I can stick with it and maybe by the fall find time to get it done. (or you can kick me in the butt if you think I forgot about it, but I guarantee I will not forget about it, I'm not happy with my screw up). I did a great job putting the wrong fenders on and it's killing me, but I gotta move on.
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Today was a slacker day. After I had yesterday off I had to get back to it, and I took a couple of trees, but nothing to write about, although that heavy leaner was a little exciting when I popped the back strap. I was pooped after humping the logs about 100' to where I can picked them up later. But I have the mindset that I have to get some logs every day. That keeps me making headway, even if some days are slow.
 Not a really warm day, but a nice day with a jacket on. I went for a walk and found 5 more trees that I double marked for Bill to look over and approve or not. Good trees for me though and not in great shape for the woodlot. Also, 3 are pretty close to his (fuzzy in my mind) property line and I am not even sure they are his. Better to be sure. That neighbor is not a bad one and if I make a mistake and cut a couple of their poor trees, it wouldn't take too much to apologize, but I just have no intention of going 'there' at all. :wink_2:
 Anyway, I came home, unloaded the few logs I had, the rest I will have to fit a small machine in to pick them up. I split a little mopre firewood and bucked dome more, and brought some of it into the shop. I'll do more tomorrow. We might have some rain in the morning, but who the heck knows anymore? The radar shows something that may be coming, if it doesn't break up first.
 Whatever, tomorrow is another day whether I like it or not. ffcheesy

OGH, one day this week while sipping a beverage at the VFW with a second cousin I see there occasionally he was surprised that I knew what a "mushroom" log was. He was telling me how he is going to try a couple this year just for personal use and he had just recently read about how to do it. When I said I read about them on the Forestry Forum he said he's heard me mention that before so I told him he'd be surprised what all you can learn on here. You've helped me look knowledgable!

I might have posted this before. I sold a few mushroom logs once. They wanted red oak, but would not pay my price. I said white maple will be cheaper.  Thats what they got. I cut the tree down maybe an hour before they got here. Sawed it the way he wanted and loaded it in a pick up, seem like they only wanted 4 pieces.
This was many years ago.
Kinda like my FIL. He wanted some oak to keep his camper level. Wanted me to cut down one of my good oaks so he could save some money.  smiley_thumbsdown
Just about told him, be cheaper if I just bought them for you instead of cutting one of my good oak so you can have them for nothing.

Well, I am certainly glad I could help make somebody look knowledgeable! I have never been accused of that before. :wink_2: I just wish I could look knowledgeable once in a while. ffcheesy Tell your cousin to make sure his log species matches his mushroom species (compatible).
Ray, yeah, I started out like that. My first log sale was barely even that. When I started to get the word out, I had no takers. Then out of the blue a guy calls me in a panic, he needs "A Log" for a kit he bought for his nephew for Christmas that came without a log. I didn't have anything on hand for  mushroom logs, I was taking orders. He needed it TODAY. SO I checked and I had some red oak from trees we had just removed a few days before. What I had was a little big, but he came over, we picked out a section and I cut him a log.  He asked how much and I just said "It's one little log, Merry Christmas." So he gave me a $20 tip. To be honest, by that point I figured there was nothing happening with this stupid idea and it's time to move on and figure something else out. But in the next 7 months I sold around 1,000 logs a little at a time.
Sales are very hard to predict, and clients don't come back every year because the logs, properly taken care of, will last up to 5 years, But some do because they do workshops and sell the logs as part of their class. But I never expected to be doing nearly 700 logs this winter. (plus the extras I give with each order) That's a lotta SGU's.
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Today I got going on the trailer again. Snotty day, figured I might cut in the afternoon if it cleared. It never really did though. I got the drivers side wall panels pulled off inside and had one screw strip out and give me a hassle. Eventually I got it out without a butcher job. Then I pulled the fender on that side and set and drilled the holes for the new one. In there sometime Bill called and asked if I wanted to go on a hike with him and Inga. Well, I need to show him some trees I marked and see if they were OK to take. So Yeah, but I wanted to finish up the fender and it had started raining again on me. So I got 'er done and as I was cleaning up tools Bill and Inga came by to inspect my work, then we headed to his woods and checked those trees, all were good and marked one more to boot. Then we started tramping around on a piece of his property he hasn't been on much. One thing led to another and we cleared about 300' of old trail that ain't been trod in 20 years. It started sleeting on us as we cleared trail. He thinks it will be easy for me the get in and get a mess of logs off a large blow down still attached and growing that we found.  I am not so sure, that's a thin, steep and rocky 'trail'. I've got my work cut out for me this week for sure. Only 300 logs to go. ffcheesy
Tomorrow.

Tom, I was listening to an episode of From The Forest yesterday and Zahra was talking about the mushroom log class she was setting up. Are those your logs?

Austin, could you tell me which episode you were listening to? I am way behind on listening and not kept up. They record these live on air once a week and post them a week or two after the 'live show' is broadcast. Zahra just joined the CFA last summer some time so she is still working through her first year cycle and probably picking up some responsibility for the other staff. I skimmed  backwards a bit this morning and am back to the first week of Feb. before I hear Zahra on the how. Typically, they do their Mushroom Workshops in either October or November each year. I did the logs for their last 2 years workshops. They do a mushroom walk in the morning (foraging) and in the afternoon they do an inoculation workshop, which I often stay for most of, just to network and answer questions. Sometimes I get a new client. I delivered to one on Tuesday that I met at that workshop last year. I see they have it scheduled in October this year ('24) and I will almost surely supply those logs, but it's too soon for that conversation. John Michelotti  of Catskill Fungi runs those walks and workshop for them. He is a good client, friend, and since we hooked up 3 years ago, I have cut all his logs. He says it's more economical for hi m to pay me.  :wink_2:  Also he likes my logs better than his. ffcheesy
It is possible that Zahra is doing her own thing, but I don't know anything about that... yet. So let me know which episode you were listening to or at least what the main subject was. I don't have a lot of listening time available right now to go through a bunch of 1 hour shows. Maybe I should go do the show again this year, if they will have me and I can find time.

EDIT TO ADD: If you are talking about the last show that Zahra as on titled "Forestry check-in", she is talking in general terms I think. Recorded the first week of Feb.. Many of their workshops they put on themselves with their own people, experts, and materials. The Mushroom stuff as I said is 'jobbed out' to John M. and he takes care of all the prep, materials and teaching work (he is very knowledgeable and teaches around the country and is involved in some of the many developing programs such as the classes for becoming a Certified Forage, I looked into it, very difficult and spread out over 3 days wherein you have to memorize over 200 species and be able to identify lookalikes, not for me, I'm not that smart.) CFA handles the registration and money, he gives them a flat price. So I think, unless Zahra has something new in mind, it's going to be the same as in years past. When I see them at an event or something I will ask.

I have little experience growing mushrooms on purpose.

Will mushrooms grow on oak or maple slabs?  

Almost all of my clients grow Shitakes which grow very well in any of the Oaks, red, white, chestnut, etc. They grow quite well on hard maple and many prefer just that and nothing else. I send those clients to another supplier, I can't guarantee a specific species and I get not much maple. Red Maple is a non-starter, shitakes will NOT grow on Red maple, I don't know why but they have done studies and found that this is the case. I wish a could sell RM, but it's a no-go.
 As for 'slabs' I don't know how that would work because the cut side of the slab will dry out pretty quick. You might get one well timed season out of them. Inoculate in late March, keep in the shade, rain or water occasionally, and get a flush in the fall. The other alternative is to coat all cut surfaces with a god sealant like anchorseal. Mushrooms want sapwood, the more the better. I have had clients try to specify that they would not accept logs with less than 50% sapwood. I say "try" but they don't get far. ffcheesy ffcheesy Sapwood is where all the sugars are that mushrooms thrive on and decompose. It would be interesting to try, but I wouldn't count on it for full production. Also, you need to get them inculated soon after cutting. Dry wood is also NG.
 Did that help Ted?

Yes sir that's very helpful.   I'm not sure I need another hobby but this grow your own thing is fascinating.  

Yes, Tom, it was near the end of the Forest check in, posted 2/15/24. I thought she said it was for CFA but I could be mistaken. I've listened to the episode(s) with the John you speak of and they were quite interesting too. 

I considered growing mushrooms too but never did it. I don't have any of the trees you've mentioned on my property and that'd likely be the only way I'd get into it. 

Yeah that's the one and it will be as I described earlier. It is a CGA event, they take care of the whole thing as far as the public knows, but they hire John for his knowledge and facilities and equipment and he runs the workshop and walk.

 Waht species of trees do you have? I have a list here of about 50 species and what mushroom species they will work with. I am sure there is something you have. There always is. ffcheesy

Well tonight I am beyond pooped, I am dog tired and having a hard time staying awake. I tried a new approach today on my log harvest. We had a handful of nice trees on 'relatively' workable terrain marked at the end of yesterday. Just to see how this idea would work, I figured I'd give it a try.
So far, my method this year has been to drop the trees, buck the logs, then pick them up and carry them out to where I could get the forks under them. Then I take them to the staged trailer in the general area and roll them in 'gently'. When the trailer is full, I bring it home. I cut for a few days or sessions, then take a questionable weather day and just run around with the Toolcat and collect logs. The issue this old man has with that process is that falling the trees and bucking the logs and cleaning up the tops and brush has me sucking wind. Then I have to pick each one up and carry them anywhere from 20 to 50' to the stacking point. This really wears me out, some of these logs are 60 pounds or more and the ground is very broken. Then I go to the next tree and do it all again. 3 trees and I am pretty much shot. I can do more, but if I do I wind up hurting up my back or otherwise suffering. Better to quit 'early' (like when I can't breathe anymore). :wink_2:
So I am not sure if Bill suggested this idea, or I came up with it or we both did, but yesterday when we were walking, clearing trails, talking and whatnot it came about. So Today I tried it and by next week I'll know better how it works.
The adjustment I made to my process is to do little or no log carrying or moving. Just drop the tree and buck up the lengths, hack up all the brush and move to the next tree. The thought is I can usually get closer to the felling location than I think with the pick up machine. We'll see how that works out in the end when I do a full cycle. Today I took two trees in one spot dropped them right next to each other so I could mark both at the same time as I walked along and limbed, then the same for bucking. Diced up the brush and moved on. Got to the next spot and had 3 larger trees about 10" on the stump, maybe 35" tall. One got hung, one bent over a thin white oak and was tricky to free and get that WO back up, but it shot up like a catapult when I released it. Seemed like no real damage. When done I took a minute to catch my breathe again and sat on a rock. I looked around and realized that taking out these 3 trees that would come down in a storm or just break off under their own weight, released 5 nice little white oaks that are perfectly formed that will now get a lot more sun now and have a chance at growing into some really nice trees. That made me feel pretty good. I have also been looking at sections where I cut in the past two years and see small improvements plus the sections look a lot nicer than they did. All of a sudden, the conversation Bill and I had yesterday made a lot more sense. I bucked up 41 logs today, which is certainly above average (30 is a 'good day') working alone, but I still have to collect them.

Yesterday after our 'hike and trail clearing sojourn' we retired to the house for the requisite Guinness on St. Patrick's day (not my favorite, but I admit, it tasted pretty good yesterday). Somehow we got into a review of this mushroom log relationship we have. I have always felt guilty that he won't take any money from me for the logs. In fact I will go so far as to say that I felt like I was taking advantage of his friendship and I really didn't like that feeling at all. In the beginning I wasn't really making much, but I have the price up now to where it pays to do the work, still he won't take money. He smiled and again refused when I tried yesterday. Then he started telling me how happy he is that I am making money and how working together, his property is slowly improving, and it forces him to explore his land, figure out and open up trails and roads, and generally keep improving. In short, he made it pretty clear that he is really happy with how this is going. He figures he is gaining a lot by the time I spend in his woods, and yeah, I do take time to limb up dead and down trees or clean up whatever else I see as I am working, so that when he comes by he can just grab them and drag them out and his cleanup is much easier. I guess it's more of a partnership than I realized and he enjoys it more than I guessed. Go figger. ffcheesy
As I said, tonight I am shot and it will be tough to drag myself out there tomorrow, and I'm not really sure where I will cut next, I took all the easy ones today. :wink_2: SO I don't see a lot of logs ion the next session. Rough reckoning tells me I need about 45 more logs for the next order and the current one is scheduled to be picked up on Wednesday, so I'll lose that day between that and the monthly food shopping.

I also brought home some 1" rigid foam insulation from Bill's and began cutting panels to insulate the trailer, but I jsut ran out of steam.
Tomorrow I will start over again and see what I can do.

Dead ash are what I have, Tom, and honeysuckle. I have some living stuff but it's mostly stuff I'd like to keep standing.

That's a neat story about your relationship with Bill, I really wish I had the chance to meet him while I was there, it sounds like you guys work beautifully together. It's neat that he appreciates helping you and getting out there to explore his land and you are making it better, like opening up the oak trees! He probably like that you keep a few of his pieces of equipment running occasionally too. I'd like to have someone fire up and run around on stuff every once in a while to keep oil and fuel moving and batteries topped up!

Mushrooms need very fresh cut disease free logs. Nothing much will grow in dead wood, all the nutrients are already gone. If you have some live ash that is still healthy (and I have seen some of these around here before the EAB finds them) you could grow Chestnut or Nameko mushrooms on them. Personally I would let the Ash grow and see if it sneaks through the bugs or if it gets killed, take it for great firewood.
 Most of the trees I take have mechanical damage, broken tops that have healed but will never produce anything good, heavy leaners, and suppressed trees that come out as part of thinning. Also trees with old big wounds that have healed but will never let the tree grow healthy. I cut around the wound sections. Yesterday I cut around a wound that was 4' long and 6" wide and halfway thru the tree.
 I tell the 'touchy feely' clients that ask that I have never cut a tree that didn't need to be removed for reasons besides growing mushrooms. And yes, I hug them first. ffsmiley :wink_2:

Today was fairly cool, and partly cloudy, then all cloudy and I kept waiting for improvement because the issue was the wind was SUPPOSED to be under 10MPH all day, in reality, it never dropped down to 10MPH except for a minute at a time. The rest of the time it was 15 to 20mph all day. So while I was waiting for the forecast to come true, I shifted gears and worked on the trailer. Today I cut all the rigid foam panels the fit between the steel studs and the 1" thickness is just perfect. So I got all those done and fitted. Then I needed to put in a power entry port. This is another one of those "As Long as I have the wall apart, I might as well do this too." things. I want to be able to plug it in to run a charger, fan, small power tool or whatever. So I bought a proper power entry port rated at just 15A, which is plenty, with a weather boot and I just need a 2" hole for it. So I whacked the hole in, drilled the mounting screw holes, found proper screws, nut and washers, rather than use sheet metal screws that will loosen and fall out at some point. I caulked everything and bolted it up. then I filed a small notch to accommodate the wire drop angle on the inside panel and started replacing the panels. By 4:30 I has the entire drivers side wall back in place. Tomorrow, early, I have to run to Bills and get more panels so I can work on it while waiting for my log pickup. Then we head out for the monthly food shopping. Lost day, but a pay day anyway. 

No living ash around in my yard, all dead all the time, and it's sad, they were probably pretty one time. 

Keep your eyes open, they are popping up in some areas again and I have seen several 3 or 4" diameter trees. When they hit 6" or bigger, the EAB find them and it's all over.

Well today, being the 3rd Wednesday of the month was our monthly food shopping day. But I had to alter the schedule a bit so a client could pick up their logs. A new client, nice sized order, they brought a 10K box truck and 3 people to load.  ffcool They were here on time at 9:30 and loading went quick. We enjoyed our conversation and hey were out by 10AM. I had run to Bill's before they go here to pick up more rigid foam board to work on the trailer while I waited for them, but they were on time, so I didn't get much done.
 We did our food shopping about an hour later than normal. Unloaded, had lunch and I was freed up by 1:30. By that time the weather had returned to 'snotty', the theme for the week. SO cutting was not in the cards. I went back on the trailer work. I cut the rest of the insulation panels and fitted them. I had to open up the 'wall switch' hole for a 3 bank switch and cut a wire trench in the insulation. I have not thought much about this wiring stuff and what those switches are for. One was existing for two lights, but comes off the truck power. The other will be for the 4 LED strips that are there, but were run off a jump pack with a cigar plug. I want to put a tractor battery inside with a solar maintainer, but that's a little later. I need to finish off the walls first, then make the joint trim and repaint. Remaining is the front wall, which I haven't started and has other stuff I have to tackle while it's open, like changing Sheetmetal screws to nuts and bolts because the sheetmetal screws keep shaking loose. Tedious, but I think that's the right way to get it done for good. The roof/ceiling I can doo after all the other work is done because that will always be accessible. I can't put shelving and tiedowns in until the walls are all done.
 So anyway, I got some work done, collected some SGU's and we have food for the month. I am a little tired tonight, I (we) made the most of the day and I am not exhausted. Not great weather forecast for tomorrow with 20 to 40mh winds. I don' t really care to cut in that weather but I will try to get out there and move forward. I need to clear my trailer and get it staged out there 'someplace'. If I can't cut I will collect logs to the trailer. I need about 50 logs to close the next order and the client wants to come Saturday. That will be a real push for me. Another new client, but this one is 'higher maintenance' than most as I try to train him up. :wink_2: One client at a time. After that I only have 180 logs to go and it feels like this season can't end soon enough. :wink_2:
 Tomorrow is another day and I hope I can attack it rather than the other way around. ffcheesy

Well, I'd like to see what baby Ash looks like, more From The Forest talk I've heard is they have methods to save them now, or at least increase the odds of survival.

You should make the "big truck and people to load it" a contingency of your mushroom log sales, seems like a treat!

Actually my last 2 orders, and any orders over 40 logs I do tell them that. Mostly it's to give them a chance to arrive with a proper sized vehicle. That last load went out at easily 4,000 pounds. You can't throw that in a pickup. Besides, I have to run the counter to make sure they get a fair load.
 They have had treatments for EAB for years, but unless the tree is treated BEFORE the EAB arrives, there is little chance of saving the tree. They also have released these wasps that feed on the EAB, but the damage i already done at that point, and I haven't seen any results from studies in how thy are working. I don't know if it's ever going to be the same.
 I did a property consult about 2 years ago just 1.5 hours west of me and found a couple of nice ash trees, mature, that seemed healthy. A different eco system and not too far from Barge, but further west. All the foresters are saying those will go too, eventually. I warned him that if he wanted to save them, and it was still a small chance, now might be the best time to get the roots inoculated and I gave him a reference contact for better advice and application.
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 Well yesterday was cold and the wind help at 20-35mph all dang day. I waited until just before noon and against my better judgement I head into the woods. I took just 3 trees in a fairly open area where I didn't have to worry much about windfall. Even though I dropped those trees in the direction of their slight lean, it was into the wind, The wind would not let them fall and I had to wedge everyone over into the wind. Just under 20 logs and I bagged it. Stopped at the log yard where the boys were doing firewood and chatted for a bit, then up to the shop. Bill is pushing hard in a gentle kind of way to get me back on the mill to make siding and now a fence job order. At this point I really would prefer that, I just want to be done with logs for a while, but I have to get them done before another warmup. Then I came home and split shop firewood for a while.
 I am not making this weekends delivery, which is ok with the client, I am a week earlier than he wanted, but I have to keep cutting. I have a nearly forgotten chiro tune-up this morning so more lost time. The wind is holding between 10 and 15 mph so that is a big improvement and today's high should be around 38, which is fine with me. Tomorrow they are calling for around 1.5" of rain, so that is a lost day, Sunday should be nicer.

 I just have to keep pushing on for another day. One at a time.

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I was back home in Southwestern Nebraska at Dad's place took a picture of some of the Red Cedar that grows there, just saw it and thought of you.  I need to cut some and haul it home, but I need to saw up what I have first.  I will get a picture that shows the scale better this weekend as I am driving back this evening.  It's an old stand along a small creek drainage that goes 20 miles up in the hills to the north.  

Gee, I have no idea why that would make you think of me. ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy Which reminds me, I have one the get milled up and drying. I have to get done with these dang logs and move to the mill, I'm getting pushed from all over and I need to move along on the trailer work too. Still have the front wall to do, then build a shelf unit for the front (need to mill lumber for it first) and also need to mill up some 3/8 x 2" trim for all the panel joints. Then I'll be halfway there. :wink_2:
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 So today was my monthly chiro visit. He worked on me for twenty minutes and in passing said "you must have finished up our mushroom logs early, you are looking pretty good. Usually you are a mess about this time".  ffcheesy I explained that I was past the halfway point, 500 logs done and about 180 to go. He was surprised. He thinks I am 'settling in and building muscle and working more carefully, and it is all working for me'. So instead of 4 weeks between visits, we are going to 6 weeks, and maybe we can stretch that out. I can call him and come in at any point if I do something stupid, which is only a matter of time. :wink_2:
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Cold and nasty by the time I got home and changed, but the wind was below 10mph finally, so out I went. The goal today was to find/make a trail into a large blowdown that probably has 30 to 40 logs on it I can take. But it's in a tough spot. I thought I had two chances to get in with the bobcat SxS (smallest rig available). So I got to Bill's, threw my gear in the buggy and headed out. I tried the track we did some clearing on Sunday, we didn't think the SxS would fit, and it didn't. Plus I lost the trail and could not make anything out that was workable. So I turned and tried the path I found in, which, at the time I thought would work. We didn't clear that, I just thought it would work. SO I got in there and was getting out every 20-30 feet and clearing more junk, dead stuff and windfall. But I got just so far and could finally see the tree I was working toward and realized the terrain was not gonna allow it. It was on the next shelf up and I could not see a path to that shelf. It looked workable on Sunday. ffcheesy Either that track in a non-starter, or I picked the wrong path. I don't know and didn't have a lot of time to debate it with myself, turned the rig around, got back on the good path and headed back out to the main skid path, then went up the hill and came around from the other side for option #3. I dropped down into the woods from the high side on a dozer cut, got to the turn off into the little path and there was one spot with a very steep short up cut. We we cleared that on Sunday, we could not tell if the SxS would fit, width wise between the trees and rocks. We were pretty sure that in 4 wheel lock, with enough diesel applied we could get it up that hump, then clear sailing about 100' to the goal. But no, I would have beat up the cab and the buggy something fierce. I didn't want to take out the offending tree without Bill's input and then still risk banging the buggy up anyway or getting hung up on the hump. So I was screwed on my plan for the afternoon. So I punted. ffcheesy We have nasty weather coming in tonight through tomorrow. My trailer is already staged in the area, and I had a mess of logs cut that needed collecting. (readers might recall I was trying a new tactic this week, cutting and leaving them lay for collection). So off I went picking up logs. A little more work with the SxS because I have to pick up each log and load it, then reverse it at the trailer, as opposed to picking the majority with the toolcat forks and just throwing a couple on that dropped. But the SxS weighs a fraction of what that 7,500 pound Toolcat weighs and is more nimble and I can get right in op top of the logs where I dropped the trees and don't have to carry them out to the path/trail/track most of the time. So that was the test, could I save my legs from carrying logs to where I could get the toolcat? Well, I am calling it a winner. Yeah, I got in a LOT closer than I thought I could. I had to make about 4 runs to collect all the logs spread over about 15 acres, but overall a bit faster and more important, less wear and tear on me. So yeah, it's nice to add a tweak to the system that helps. They are getting harder to figure out as I dial it in.
 I filled the trailer, both weight and capacity wise. So I took the SxS back, got my truck and hooked up the trailer to bring it home before the storm. If that road going into the parcel washes out again, I would be cut off from the logs until we rebuilt the road AGAIN. I stopped and cleared some debris from the 2 24" culverts. They get clogged with debris and the swamp can't drain and it goes up really fast when we get an inch of rain. We are slotted to get over 1.5" tomorrow, all in. The town road will be awash down there, no idea what the woods roads will look like. I need less than 30 logs to finish the next order.
 I came home and cut up the rest of the firewood on the  pile. It still needs splitting. I also messed with the chainsaw a bit hunting another issue.
 Tomorrow is another day probably, but I have no idea what I am doing. I will decide when I decide. Let's see what nature brings. Either in the shop or in the trailer. Probably not in the woods. :wink_2:

sounds like you are getting acclimated to this work.  good for you.  use it or lose it.  we send some to work hardening, but you are doing that on your own.

Yeah, well about that Doc, since you and my chiro Doc both said the same thing, it was apparently the kiss of death. That log collecting I did Friday afternoon and using the SxS instead of the Toolcat with forks to do the lifting work, did me in. So 2x lifting and loading each log, well, it did me in good I guess. Doing 60 logs in one quick session, I think, is where I went wrong.
 So Saturday dawned to back pain I have not seen in quite a while, walking stooped, a lot of pain, I make funny and involuntary noises, etc. Back to taking Advil every 4 hours. Glad I recently stocked up. With yesterdays rain I was working in the trailer doing insulation, back and forth from the shop all day. Stepping up that 18" into the trailer, and going down again probably didn't help, plus all the work done on my knees all added up to not improve things at all.
 I had hoped it would be better this morning with rest, but no. Worse today. Back out to the trailer but it got worse as the morning went on, I made better progress with no rain, it was a beautiful day, but I was getting more stooped as it went on. So when Bill called around mid-day and asked what I was doing, I said "whatever you want as long as I don't have to pick up or swing a saw". ffcheesy I knew working on the trailer would just make things worse, and things seemed to ease up with walking.
 So I went down and we took the SxS back out in search of access to that big blow down. We got to the point where I turned tail on Friday and Bill agreed, that tree had to come out, so we did that and diced it up for the OWB and threw it in the buggy. (We try to never come out of the woods without something useful.) Then he drove up that steep bank, 4 wheel lock and guns a blazin' he popped over the top like nothing. I hope I can do that when my turn comes. ffcheesy We did a bit more clearing of standing dead EWP which is Bill's favorite for OWB fodder. We filled the SxS up, did a 3 point turn. and loaded up and headed out, back over the WHOOP. Man, a driver has to be VERY fast to roll over that hump and make a really quick turn near the bottom to miss wrapping a particular tree. Glad we had a full load of (albeit very dry pine) to test with. It will be  about 300 pounds different with green Black Oak. I will definitely want to minimize the number of times I have to make that run. Eventually, somebody is gonna miss that quick turn coming out. On the way in going up that hump, you seeing nothing but sky and have no idea where the path goes, just have to guess or remember to sing the wheel at just the right point. But going out all you can see is ground and that tree coming up FAST. It's one of those 'do ya feel lucky punk, well do ya?" things. ffcheesy
 After that I was relieved we found a way in and Inga wanted to 'explore', so did Bill. We followed a creek bed up to the head to figure out the drainages better and found several easy fixes to prevent flooding out a meadow area quite so much and improve the flow of runoff, in some cases back to where we are pretty sure it was 50 years ago, before 'somebody' thought they knew better. In other words a correction of human intervention. Also found another property marker pin I had not visited. Working on my understanding of his lines and I am getting better. This particular area had been burned over more than 15 years ago, accidently by the 2nd owner back in time. I could see the hardwood regen was doing really nicely and it would be a beautiful area to set up camp for someone. Bill is thinking of doing some kind of rustic camping opportunities. This would be perfect for it.
 Anyway, after rambling around for a while my back was feeling a bunch better. We drove back to the house and I followed Bill and Inga to town with them driving the 750 dump and 20K trailer and and excavator to set it for a job this week. Then they jumped in my truck and I drove them home and came back myself. All in all a terrific afternoon with crisp temps, blue skies, and low wind. Could not be better. Then as I left his driveway I saw the truck clock said it was after 6pm. "OH, the wife is gonna kill me". She likes dinner between 5:30 and 6pm. So I humped it up a bit, then remembered, she is out to a movie and a meal with our daughter for her birthday (tomorrow). Phew! Got home, brought in shop firewood and my back had returned to 'messed up' status from sitting in the truck and driving. Pat was not yet home, so no harm. What she doesn't know won't hurt me. :wink_2: I made my own lunch/dinner at 8pm. She didn't eat, still full from the restaurant meal. :wink_2:
 So tomorrow, or the next day I will have to figure out how to minimize my run to get logs from this tree to my truck. I could stage my small trailer up in the clearing near the buggy trail, maybe I will do that. My larger trailer is all full of logs now. I can only get about 15-20 logs on the SxS at a time and weight over THAT trail is a concern. Overweight could put me in a bad spot. I only need a little over a dozen logs to finish the current order, but there are a LOT more logs on that tree and I am not going to waste them. I still have more orders (about 180 logs). Also, I need to get that tree out of the way of the trail that continues right through it. That will make Bill happy, which makes me happy. So I may be working on that tree for more than one day. My eye is seeing about 50 logs in that single tree, perhaps more. It's a blowdown, so I have to cut careful and in layers, there are a ton of spring poles in there to be aware of. Some of it is pretty high too. So it's like eating an elephant and I'll have to attack it that way. It's about a 70' tree with 4 main leaders heading up. Even Bill said, 'hey, be careful on this one' and asked how I was going to attack it. So I'll take my logs, dice up much of the small brush, stack long sticks that make good but small firewood, and save that for another trip later and cut the whole thing off the stump and save out the long big stacks for his skidder to grab sometime, Maybe one to three decent saw logs in there. Either way, it all gets used. I may even take some broom handle material out if the round trip isn't too hairy. When we run that trail right through, it might be easier coming in the other way, but that too is a really narrow path, maybe somebody could get a small ATV through there, but that is down the road, so to speak. (The only person I know with a small ATV in Inga. ffcheesy ) It will be another loop tying to a different road out. All this is what makes it fun, right? "Be a Mushroom logger!" they said. "It will be fun and profitable" they said. "you get to spend all that time out in the woods enjoying nature" they said. Well that is all true for the most part, but..... Then there are trees like this.

 Ah well, tomorrow is another day and yeah, this still beats all heck out of sitting in a conference room arguing about chart colors, hands down, no contest. I try to never forget that, which is pretty easy, it turns out. ffcheesy ffwave

Yup, the kiss of death, that's what it was. Always good to know what you are dealing with. ffcheesy I had a miserable night, nothing was comfortable and a couple of times I tried to move and woke myself up howling.
 So I texted my Chiro earlier and he is going to make a hole and stick me in this afternoon. He is concerned that it is worse everyday, rather than improving. I kind of am too. I am wearing a weight belt and using a cane, so not as good as yesterday for sure. The belt helps keep my back straighter when sitting and that is very helpful.
 Guess I am not getting much work done today. I will have to hit it harder when I am adjusted.

make sure not to exceed 16 OTC ibuprofen 200 mg capsules per day.  If a little movement helps your back, ask you chiro about stretches and exercises.  after that maybe PT.  If it is sore muscles this should help.  If it does not and the pain radiated lower, it may be a disc protrusion.  If certain movements give a stabbing pain, maybe a muscle relaxer.  In liew of that, could take tums.  have you ever tried a back support for when you know you are pushing your luck.  might ask your chiro about that.  I am sure your chiro will have an explanation, but we speak different languages. ffwave ffsmiley :thumbsup:

If they feel it is compression, maybe inversion.?

Well, I believe it is just repetitive strain. There was nothing in particular that is the smoking gun, just a lot of lift and carry without a rest except to catch my breath.
 The main reason I am not waiting and going in today is to make sure it is just more of the same (Tom doing stupid things) and not, as you say something else, and B) to see if we can fix it so I can work and at least finish the current order, which will not take much. I gotta get that done. The weather looks 'iffy' later in the week.
 I am wearing a back brace/support, but it's a little small for me. It does keep my back straight while sitting and has helped quite a bit today, so it's on. It was the only one we had in stock at work on a day when I needed it years back. I ordered a proper sized one this morning and will try that out when I do lift and carry work to see if it helps.
 I would never do more than 16 Advil's in a day. As you may recall I hate any kind of medications and take them sparingly. AT max usage I do 2 every 4 hours, but usually forget or don't have them with me in the woods, so I have never made it close to 16. Probably more like 8-10. 
 I just got out of the shower and that was an exercise in biomechanics taking a lot longer than it should. ffcheesy I'll ask my chiro about all those points you mentioned. Thanks.

sounds god.  good luck.  For what it is worth, I either take four or none at all.  the effects are dose related.  4 every 6 hours hits the max.  If you did you could do 4 pills morning noon and night and have an extra dose available if needed.  the anti-inflammatory effects are a day later.  so, if you cut back each time you get pain relief, the inflammation may remain/return.  not trying to push drugs, but if you take them, it may be best to maximize the benefit.  If you did daily exercise, then your workdays would not be so much out of the ordinary, and that may help.  just trying to help.  

And here I thought taking one 200 mg Advil a day was on the heavy side. Hope you feel better soon and can cut back on the meds. 

Well benthere, it might even be over the limit depending on what other meds you are taking or any conditions you might have. Always good to check first.
 Doc, thanks for the dosage correction. I waited a while and will try 4 now, then another 4 at 9pm.

 Well my chiro is a great guy. He sent me a text he could sneak me in before other appointments at 11am, so down I went. I was real tender going in, he worked on me for quite a while. He said he couldn't tell if I had a bulging disc without an MRI, but he did say 'Holy Cow' when he put his hands on my sacral spine. ffcheesy Everything he did was somewhat helpful, but when he snapped my neck things got a whole lot better quick. That may have been the cause, all knotted on the left side. The spasms seem to be gone. So many bones popped at once I could count them, at least 5. I felt a lot better when I left for sure. I am not near as twitchy as I was before, but I am tender. SO I ain't doin' nothing today. :wink_2: It's tougher than I thought, so nice out and so much to do. But frankly just keeping the stoves idling along is about what I can handle right now. I would just do a little on the trailer, but I know I will get carried away and mess things up. So I'll watch a movie or something.

we watched Oppenheimer last pm.  was good history, but not a real eye popper, other than some nudity.  :uhoh:  yes, ibuprofen can be hard on the stomach and kidneys.  especially Kidney for the elderly on ACE inhibitor BP meds.  enalapril or lisinopril and others.  you need prostaglandin E for stomach lining health and compensation in old kidneys.  do not use any if you do not need it, but don't skimp if you do.  If you are 80 with renal insufficiency and DM, and high bp, not for you.  glad your back is back! ffsmiley

Doc, just read your above post. I was recently put on 10mg/day of lisinopril. That's the only script I take. Anything else I should be be aware of while on this?

how old are you? and are you diabetic? (I assume not if that is your only med) use ibuprofen with caution if your kidney function is OK.  It is one med that should prob. be prescription.  Your doc will do labs each year.  We all lose 1% of our kidney function each year after 40.  that is if you have been healthy.  DM, HTN, and medications are all hard on our kidney.  There are two ways our kidneys compensate for our old age.  one is the afferent arteriole clamping down (like your thumb on the end of a hose) to increase the intraglomerular pressure and increase glomerular filtration rate.  the other is prostaglandin dependent, and it increases glomerular surface area and can also increase GFR.  this is blocked by NSAIDs like Ibuprofen.  age 80 and 30 year of diabetes and HTN, and those two meds can get you in big trouble.  All the really good drugs, have potentially serious side effects.

Thanks Doc, I'll spend the rest of the evening on WebMD looking up all those terms ffcheesy

I'm almost 70, not diabetic but it does run on my dad's side. Far as I know my kidney function is fine. The lisinopril seems to be doing what was expected with the BP. I'm trying to lose some weight and targeting 180.

I only use the ibuprofen when I really overdo my back. Doubt I average 6 pills/month but I'll certainly be careful with them. :thumbsup:

Well since I am on the injured reserve list I had to do something to keep busy and away from stupid stuff. I remembered some video I shot yesterday when we were cruising for trees and other things. So I put this together:


Just some silliness, but I gotta tell ya, that Inga is a ball of energy out in the woods and always makes me smile.

Yep that was cute.  ffsmiley

Troy, old bad kidneys with DM and htn, using ACE inhibitor and Ibuprofen = BAD.  your only 70.  all things in moderation.

Tom, no wonder you get hurt all the time.  good times.

I imagine it's hard to hold the camera when climbing elevator trees.  Tom, you just can't keep up with those youngsters anymore!   ffsmiley

Hope you have patience to let your back heal and that it heals quickly!  

An inversion table has done wonders for my back.  It's the best $100 I've ever spent.  Haven't had to see the spine doctor in 15 years and my chiropractor sends "we miss you cards."  I hope I've not jinxed myself.

I thought I posted that I've used inversion and a back roller (like for yoga, just a foam cylinder you lay on then roll back and forth) and the roller, though it feels like I may die when I first use it, usually tends to give me better results. I don't know, but assume, the roller could make things much worse, so it's probably worth it to keep that in mind, or ask someone that knows something. 

I've used two tennis balls in the same manner as the roller on my back and it's usually helpful. 

Inversion isn't for everyone.  Asking someone who knows is good advice.  A cousin was advised not to use a regular inversion device due to a knee replacement.  I did ask my dr if inversion would cause any problems and she said it would not hurt me. 

My main issues were compressed and bulging discs causing sciatic nerve irritation and inflammation on both sides.   Hanging upside down -inversion - has gotten those discs back in place and restored some space between vertebrae.   Sciatic nerve problems are mostly gone.  When I feel a twinge of pain, I invert 2 or 3 times a day.  Each session i invert repeatedly 3-4 times for up to a minute per inversion. 

Inversion has also given relief for strained back muscles by providing stretching.

It's like having a chiropractor folded up in the garage.  It's in the garage so any family or neighbors who need it can use it.  

That may be part of the problem for me, I don't invert very often. I should set mine up on blocks or something, when I invert my arms, from about my elbows down, start dragging on the floor, and it feels like it doesn't quite work the way it should. 

I will say with both the inversion table and the roller- both make me feel better than I did.

On the tennis ball tip- My aunt is a masseuse and my sister is a pretty serious yoga teacher. Both have shown me techniques, that I unfortunately forget now, with tennis balls and towels that work absolute wonders. I think there are some pressure points involved and strategic placements of the balls or the towels. 

The last time I mentioned inversion to my Chiro, he said he didn't think it would help my issues. I haven't asked since. If I knew somebody with a table I would try it, but I don't know anybody and won't invest in something that takes a lot of room and won't get used over time. Yes, I am trying to give this time. I slept in this morning, that didn't help much at all. Laying down ain't good. BUT I am starting to worry. I HAVE to get these logs done and I can't wait until Friday. Wednesday is rain, Thursday too. But I am a hurtin' pup right now and the thought of lifting logs is a non-starter. Heck I am still using a cane to get in and out of chairs, or get down on one knee to fill my stoves. It would be no big deal at all except for my deadlines. I am not even working in the shop just trying to let it settle down.

 Just to be clear, I do not partake in tree climbing. But I do like watching others much more limber than I.

I was about to suggest and elevator "inversion" tree, but if you do not climb, well...  get feeling better.  can your son or anyone help you in this jam or do you just need to let your clients know things are behind?  good luck.

Usually I can move it out a little. But this client asked for a 3/30 pickup since he placed his order in early January. I tried to get it in a week early, but just missed it. So normally yeah. I will try to move it out. But for this guy, I would really rather not. Plus I still have 3 orders after this one.
 If I am not able to get out tomorrow, even with the rain, I will check in with him and see what we can do.

Tom you are the best judge of what will work for you.   I do hope it's a quick recovery.  

Just sharing because inversion has been so effective for me. I am a believer!  So excuse my enthusiasm.  Maybe it will help someone.  I did ask the doctor about inversion. 

 I couldn't walk without pain, getting up and down from a bed or chair was excruciating and forget doing any kind of physical work or lifting anything.   I had 3 different episodes each lasting months.  Epidural steroid injections gave some relief for weeks to months.  The last injections cost $900.  Pain relievers had all pitfalls we know are associated with opioids.  I never took more than two or three days worth.

I tried everything from chiropractor, different shoes, exercise, physical therapy and even yoga  :uhoh:  

My inversion table came from Walmart, shipped to my door was $115.   

They still sell them for $99.  It has saved $1,000s in injections, doctor's visits, chiropractor visits and prescriptions.  It may have even prevented or postponed surgery.  The other thing is the time and productivity gained.  Absolutely most important is the pain relieved and the relatively quick and lasting relief. 

It folds out of the way but does take a little space.  

Forgive my ignorance on the subject but what would be the difference in hanging from your feet ( I'm presuming that is what you do on a inversion table) vs hanging from your hands on a chin-up type of bar?

I cant explain the physiology but hanging from my feet is different.  I don't get the same results hanging from my arms.  

short answer is weight.  the extreme is hanging upside down on an inversion table for a neck problem, the weight is just your head.  you also do not want to hang by your neck right side up for, I assume, obvious reasons.  so, for neck problems they make a pulley and bag of water system with a chin strap to do in a doorway.  hanging by your legs, has most weight below and putting traction on especially your low back.  not everyone tolerates being upside down.  you may acclimate to it like a pilot and g forces.  the benefits depend on your issue.  If you go to PT, they will have a table that can pull on your neck ect.  It is important to diagnose the problem, or the solution may be for a problem you do not have.  Just like on a sawmill.

That makes sense.
Thanks Ted & Doc.

Quote from: SawyerTed on March 26, 2024, 03:50:11 PMTom you are the best judge of what will work for you.  I do hope it's a quick recovery. 

Just sharing because inversion has been so effective for me. I am a believer!  So excuse my enthusiasm.  Maybe it will help someone.  I did ask the doctor about inversion..........

Well Ted, I am not the best Judge of what will work. If I ever get a chance to try one, I won't pass it up. But I really don't want to spend money on something that won't work for me and takes up a bunch of the remaining space we have in our house or the non-existent room in the garage.  If it works, that's a different story.
 At any rate, this time around it's gonna take a few weeks to settle out. It won't be quick like I had become used to lately. SO I have ben thinking all day about what I'm gonna do. Back in my working days, in situations such as this I would just buckle down and suffer through it, even if it meant working through the night. I won't work through the night on this (that's nuts!), but I will get out there tomorrow, work as carefully as I can and get what I need for this order. It's going to rain, so that will make it even worse, but I think I can do 20 logs or so if I can get the buggy in there.  Not real happy about it, but if I can't keep a promise I am sure gonna have a reason why not. In any event, it won't be fun, but I have to try.

Tom, you need a mushroom logging intern.

This is kind of a joke but with your loft you could make your own inversion space. Bolt a sturdy pair of boots to the ground up there, lace them up tight and fall over the edge! Again, kind of a joke but it could be done mostly safely and more or less at the cost of what you have laying around. You'd want several handles to help yourself back up from inverting.

I'd imagine there is another difference with hanging chin-up style and inversion, though I agree with Doc is saying. I feel a big difference with the weight being distributed through my shoulders, when hanging, and it never feels like it gets to my spine, where inversion seems to pull (or hold, I guess) the hips up while the torso is dragged downward by gravity, stretching the spine out and allowing all 'dem bones to resettle.

Also, inversion doesn't always mean upside down. My table (and I think all of them) have kind of a practice mode, where you only go a bit past horizontal and as you get used to it, and as needed, you can go further and further toward vertical. I've found that even a bit past horizontal can help, especially if your head gets a bit bubbly when the blood heads that way.

you need and electric winch.  use to put things in the loft, or clean a deer, or invert yourself.  make sure you can reach the controls! :uhoh:   If your problems continue and your insurance will cover it, try the PT.  they can try different things and see what helps.  they will do it in a safe way and based on their education, training and experience.  you may need the MRI.  there are epidural injections and trigger point injections if the chiro does not continue to help.

Well really guys, I was in a lot of pain there for a few days and pretty miserable, but I am coming around now, slowly. I don't think anything drastic is needed, I would be fine except for the looming deadline on my mind constantly. I will hold off on the winches and hanging systems for a bit. In fact, I have to say that these recent months I felt have the best I have in a long time.  Until Friday, all my strain recoveries were literally overnight, even the few times I KNEW I did something stupid and would pay for it, I snuck by. That made me pretty happy. I don't know what was different about Friday, nothing stood out as dumb
 Anyway, yesterday afternoon I began thinking about how to finish this order. I stopped using the cane, which becomes a hinderance to healing at some point. I got the new back belt I ordered and that helped better than the ill fitting one. I walked a bit more and found I could bend  to fill the stove without the cane to help me get up. I SLEPT WELL last night! The new dosage of Advil may also be helping. So this morning I am slowly getting my body woke up, doing chores, and then later, in spite of the rain, will head out to the woods and see if I can't finish this order today.
 Bill called last night and offered to cut and collect these last few logs for me. But he already does too much for me and I can't have him taking one of his guys out and paying them to cut my logs. That ain't right. But because of the forecast rain, his guys will likely be in the shop, so if I can't do it, or do it all, I can grab somebody for a little help for 20 minutes. If I get hurt again, somebody is within about a half mile to help. The easiest wood is in the toughest spot to get to, I will try that first. Plan B is to take some of the trees more out in the open, but a bit more work. Whatever I do, I will take it easy and bug out when I hit the limit I need.
 Yes, you guys have my consent to tell me how stupid this is, I don't mind. You've already thickened up my skin pretty good. ffcheesy
 Today is another day and my next post here will tell you 'the rest of the story'.

glad you are doing better!

I'm guessing you don't have any Amish familys in the area? A good 12-13 year old Amish boy would work hard and bail you out for a very reasonable amount, even a 20 mile drive to pick a boy up would be worth it.

Tom
Core strength exercises and targeted stretching has made a world of diff for my back/hip pain. I know I'm not even 40 but I think a good routine would do you well. Get loose for the day, get loose for sleeping. 5 minutes morning and night changed my life. I went from crippled to feeling pretty dang good. 
It's never to late to teach an old dog new tricks and it sounds like you could use 1 or 2.
Good luck pain sucks

I didn't think of a winch! I could use that idea myself! Tie a winch to some boots and lift me to the top of the shop, then give it the ol' back and forth to shake my back out, yeah, that sounds nice!

Chep is right on the stretching and core stuff makes a huge difference. 

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on March 27, 2024, 08:16:41 AM..........
 Today is another day and my next post here will tell you 'the rest of the story'.

So I just got home from the hospital.....













Just kidding, really! Got out there  by 10am so I could take my time and maybe beat the rain. It was drizzling when I drove out in the buggy (SxS). It drizzled off and on the whole time, no big deal, I was not in a rush, between my back and the tree I was working on I couldn't rush anyway.
 I started in one it and took one leader, then while I was taking a break, I shot a short video. I never do videos when mushroom logging, too busy.



 The goal was just to finish this current order, not be a hero. I still need healing time. SO I took two leaders and loaded 22 logs (verry slowwwly). The trick now was getting out over that severe drop with what I calculated later was between 5 and 600 pounds. SO another video just to document the scene for the paramedics.


 As I said, I took my time and minimized the lifting. I did forget 2 things back in my trucks when I headed out: My skull bucket, and my Water. But as expected this only took a short period of time, maybe an hour, then more time to transfer the logs to the truck, then unload at home, so about 2 hours in total. I feel pretty good, just the legs are tired.
--------------------

 Thanks for the advice guys, I am trying to work on remembering to do the stretching exercises but I often forget. It's not a habit yet. I think I will bypass the winch idea of it's all the same to y'all. ffcheesy
 I'll live to fight another day, I think.

I think you just needed to punch it going down the hill, and do the "Dukes of Hazard" yell.  U B alright! :sunny: ffcool rayrock ffsmiley ffcheesy :thumbsup:

I woke up early this morning so I had to watch the videos with the volume turned off.

Did you say "Hey, all y'all watch this!   Somebody hold my beer."?   Could have... ffcheesy

Glad your back is okay enough to do a little bit.  The stress of those mushroom log orders probably isn't good for you either.

Like that quote: "I make just about enough money to pay my chiropractor". :thumbsup:

Res, That wasn't too far off, but a little bit of exaggeration perhaps. I made those for a couple of reasons, first I was working very carefully and slowly and taking breaks, so I had a little time. Second, some of my clients don't understand the issues with getting these logs to them, such as cost, safety, but also delays for weather, conditions, and injury time-outs. They will never be with me to see what's involved. So I figured I would use the video's as an educational tool when needed. I wish it was clearer. I also tried to inject some humor, maybe I missed?
 Ted, I could have but I was a bit nervous and still pretty tender. With all that weight in the back and all the lose junk in the cab. I had to pay attention. You should run them both again with the sound on so you can get full advantage of my inherent whit and knowledge. ffcheesy I still think it was stupid to hold the camera and shoot that, but as I said, it would have made it easier for the investigators to figure out what happened. Yes, you are very astute, the impending deadline on this next order was on my mind all the time and it bothered me to miss a long promised date. SO that took a load off my mind. I informed the client last night and he is happy  :wink_2: BUT he asked if he could put the pickup off to Sunday now :uhoh:. I didn't realize it was Easter Sunday. No matter, it's off my mind and I have 3 orders to go. I am not working today.
 Doc, the first time we went down that 'thing' on Sunday, all three of us were in the cab, but Bill was driving and he did power down the hill and flipped through that quick right turn at speed, we only had a light, but full load of dead EWP in the box for the OWB. Glad I had both hands avail because I needed them to keep my face from planting in the dash. Inga was smart and had her feet on the dash. :wink_2: She was nearly standing on the dash for a few seconds. All I had time to say was "WHOA!" Because of that 'enlightening experience' I was very cautious with a full load of green logs on board. Thinking back, maybe I should have strapped them down. It was also distracting to have the rifle come flying off the back window and smack me in the back. I thought logs were coming through the window. I'd like to see him rake the top off the berm and drag it down to cut the grade just a bit with the mini-ex, but he thinks it will be a lot of fun in the 4 wheelers, flying up and over. Time will tell. When we get it opened up all the way through and around, IF the SxS will fit, I will take the easier way in an out. ffcheesy That dozer cut is so small I nearly drive past it each time I go in there.

Deadlines sometimes are aggravating.

A young neighbor friend asked if I could build a loft type bed for her daughter.   She sent photos as examples from Amazon.  I looked them up.  Prices ranged from $150 - to $300+/- .  No way I could match those prices.  

Since it's a custom bed and I really didn't want to do it, I gave her the "I really don't want to do this price."  She said okay build it!    smiley_thumbsdown

So now I'm faced with a deadline and not much motivation other than the little daughter's excitement.

Yeah Ted, I hear you. Tat record cabinet I made back before Christmas was the same thing. Sometimes customers suck, but customers are also great things to have. Can't win, or is it lose? ffcheesy
--------------------
Well those two videos I posted here yesterday I uploaded to the wrong youtube account. On reflection I also could have done a better job. So this morning I re-edited them to add some 'color', not that anything I can produce would be comparable to anything coming out of the expansive and extremely talented staff at the Hobby Hardwood Studios (Inc). But I am trying. Now uploaded to the correct account, just to clear the record up, here are the correct links (the old ones still stand, but that channel doesn't get much traffic)


And the other one:

Quote from: aigheadish on March 27, 2024, 03:26:14 PMI didn't think of a winch! I could use that idea myself! Tie a winch to some boots and lift me to the top of the shop, then give it the ol' back and forth to shake my back out, yeah, that sounds nice!

Make a video,  I would love to see that.  And remember not to wear the slippery silk socks  ffcheesy.

I think that ship sailed without anyone aboard. ffcheesy

also, remember not to shake your booty, or you may fall out as well!  ffwave  ffcool    :thumbsup: :huh?

Be careful!!!
Both in the woods and on that steep part.

Quite a tangle in that 1st video. Spring pole city. 

Yeah well, these trees are where we find them. Blowdowns like this don't happen very often, but last winter because of the ice storm, about 60-80% of my logs came out of storm damage. Usually I really like these. I generally get a lot more logs out of them than I can out of the pecker poles and I get to work in one spot for a while. Yes, they are a lot more work and those spring poles and working overhead add to the hazards if you don't take a well thought out approach. Because I am no spring chicken, I have time to think it through. I generally pick the leader laying close to the ground and limb it from bottom to top as far as I can get in. Then, on the same branch, beginning at where the branch is 8" diameter, I begin marking on my way to the top again until I get to 4" diameter. At that point I cut it off and begin cutting my 40" bolts from the top back down to that 8" diameter. Anything bigger is firewood. Then I pick another leader and do it again. When I get a bunch on the ground, I back the buggy, truck, or forks in and get those loaded and out of my way. Then continue. This allows me to relieve those spring poles slowly. Once I have all my logs out, the grunt work begins. I buck the remaining big stuff into skidable logs, I cut the under 4" to 2" stuff into pole and stack them or just hack them into firewood length (which I stuff in to the truck corners after loading my logs). From 2" to 1" I cut into 6' or so poles and they go to the Broom shop over at the Ashokan center where they will do cleaning up and sizing as needed. The small stuff gets diced up small enough that it can be easily walked or driven over without notice.
 This particular tree is just a bit tougher because the SxS is the biggest unit I can get in and 25 logs is a very full load. Figuring an average 35 pounds per log, that's over 800 pounds. So I load into the SxS then take them out to my truck a mile away, hand transfer them, then return and do it again. So more time and fuel expended. Then I bring them home and hand unload again to the stack. Best is when I can get my truck or trailer right up by the tree, minimize my steps, and load directly to bring them home ot get the Toolcat in with the forks and keep moving along loading the forks, then I can carefully roll them into the truck or trailer staged a little further away.. I continue to try different techniques and try to think of better ways. Some work, some don't, none are 'wrong'.
 The nice thing about blowdowns is that the rootball remains attached, feeding the tree, sometimes for years, but it keeps it viable until I can get to it or cut a path in. The tough thing is the extra hazards. SO far I have 22 logs out of this tree (2 Leaders) and a bunch more to go yet.
 Also that path out is very tricky and cannot be taken for granted, even just one time would be really bad. But I have had worse, and those are usually the ones where I have to carry each log 100' or more to get it to a transport vehicle. That makes for a short work day, or a very long one. :wink_2: Anything for a laugh and it's a living of sorts. Pretty certain I am the only guy in NYS doing this at this level with a comprehensive work plan. If there is somebody else, I can't find them.

Well, feeling a bit stronger today. Not twingey at all and no problem getting out of bed. Still I took my time this morning, made breakfast while it warmed a tad, did some light stretching, then headed to the woods. Bill was doing road work nearby and using the SxS to shuttle back and forth between equipment and the shop. So I forgo that idea (pulling logs out with the SxS) and just drove my truck up to near the area and walked in with my gear, only about 200 yards.
I took my time and hacked up one of the major leaders, cut both stems free of the stump and limbed what there was. They are ready for skidding out. Funny thing, when I cleared the remaking stuff holding those spring poles down, they barely moved. They were stuck there. I took the one closest to the road for logs, it was bent in such a way I felt it could catch the top corner of a cab on a passing buggy and I took another one.  One was just junk and I cleared that out, but I left the one that arched over the entire trail. I thought it looked pretty cool. Probably has some good logs in it, but it looked cool. I'll find another tree. Also, I want to see if it pushes out buds in a few weeks, it does have a barber chair type split up the side. I cut 24 logs today which is enough in my 'delicate' condition. Next order is only 35, so I should be able to get the rest over the weekend and get them out to a trailer staged nearby.
I have a lot of brush to dice up and I got started on that. I'll finish in the next session there. Also some stuff in the 'yet to be cleared' section of trail going forward. Bill is planning a trail clearing party for Sunday and we will have a handful of guys and kids to try and open some stuff up and through. I might even drive my Mule down there for the 'event'. Since I put a bunch of time into that area, I would like to finish it up nicely. It is already looking a whole lot better after today. There is also firewood to fetch out of there also.
SO I came home and was going to split some firewood. I got a call from friends Jay and Molly, about a mile away and they wondered if I could help them carry out a loveseat from their house and carry the new one in. So I headed over there and it took about 20 minutes to make the swap, no big deal, but they were more like short couches and a bit more heavy than the love seats I pictured. AT 77, Jay is still in pretty dang good shape and Molly just got a new hip back in January and is bouncing around like a young gal again. But for all the music they have given me (actually all of us) over the years, I am more than happy when I can help them with something. Before I left, they were trying to lend me a mandolin to get me back to playing and practicing again. I didn't bite, no time. But that was very gracious. I remember trying out Jay's f-style mando several years ago and being so nervous I might hurt it (or worse, butcher the tune I was playing, which he wrote and won a Grammy for), and at the same time having some celebrity anxiety. Kind of like the first time I sat in Bill Keith's kitchen for a lesson. I felt like a little kid in his all-time heroes kitchen, which I was, but not a little kid. Anyway, that feeling is smoothing out, but it's always there just a little lurking in the back of my head. I'm getting better at it and Jay and Molly are more like neighbors now than celebrities, although they are both.
After some chit-chat I came home and split some wood, just 2 cart loads for the shop (I was out again) and the back was warning me. So I stopped that and went and did a little wok on the trailer. Not much, but moving forward. Tomorrow I may start the wiring, putting in a new trailer plug and wire, installing a breakout box, and maybe getting that front wall back together. It would be nice to get that done this weekend. Then I can finally begin to slowly work on improvements and getting it ready for my stuff. I also have the new bearings arriving any day now, so I'll change those out on a rainy day before I take it off the blocks.
AT least I am able to get some work done now. I am being very cautious and moving on to something else when my back starts to complain just a little. By Monday I should be good. I have a pickup coming at 9am tomorrow, then a delivery to do early in the week, then back to cutting. Only 140 logs to go! I can't wait to move on. So much to do, not enough time. Gotta start looking for shows, and gotta start making more stuff.
But tonight I am just tired, which I suppose is good.
Tomorrow? Well that's just another day.

very good!

For comparison's sake, Tom...

I felt very accomplished today.

I'm 46 years old, I think.

I had the day off work, so Irish coffee and a good nap.

I got up and decided to finally put a foot on the tractor blade, to keep it from falling over upon detach. Welded a few things together.

Then, swapped the blade for the mower deck, and mowed a couple acres.

That was it. 

You're a beast. 

Not really, You are still working for 'the man'. Days off are rare enough and you need to use them for recharge. I'm retired, any day can be a day off, and many are although I fill them doing fun stuff or things I 'just want to do', or sometimes, nothing at all but read the forum and watch movies. You don't have a choice in your rare days off, so you need that recharge time, it's important. I am just having a good time, so it's different.
 Beast?, heck no, I just gotta keep moving.

We are all just trying to keep up with Magic Man.   ffcool

Well, either way you want to say it your tales, here, are inspiring and fun to read about. I'm very glad I got the chance to meet you and ramble around your hood so I understand what you are talking about. @Magicman is on a different level, certainly from me. 

I'll just do a quick update here, I have to get to work before the rain comes in. Saturday I spent the whole day on the trailer, I'll update that over in the trailer thread later to keep things slightly organized. Sunday I spent the morning on the trailer trying to gets the lights working correctly. I also finished off the front wall, sans trim, which I have to make. Between al that I piddled with the mule, charged the battery back up, added oil, and threw the right tools in. 
 Bill has been hinting that maybe I should be using my SxS instead of his. I am hesitant for a number a reasons: power ground clearance, suspension, and stability to name a few. I have yet to put a mark on his and I always back out of dicey situations that he would plow through, because it is not mine and I refuse to take a chance with it. But I thought it was about time I saw how it really compared, plus he was supposed to be having a bunch over for trail clearing and I intended to pitch in. So around 11am I headed down the road. The drive only took about a minute more than with my truck. Turned out the 'clearing crew' all had to do family stuff for Easter. So I headed out to see if I could get the Mule into that tough spot I was cutting. I still had logs to pull out and cleanup work to do. Bill and Inga found me about 20 minutes later way back in and trying to find a path. I began backing  when I came to a boulder field I didn't have the ground clearance for.  So they saw my predicament and Bill pointed out a loop trail I didn't even see, and could barely make out while he was pointing at it. :) He and Inga were on a tiny little ATV that he likes to ride. He looks like a clown in a little car, but the thig goes anywhere. So he zipped up that trail and I followed, much more slowly. He was at the top in no time, I found all the trees that wanted to eat the roof off the Mule. Good thing it's a steel roof. If it was plastic, it would be toast and I would still be out there collecting pieces of plastic all over the place. I thought I ripped off one of my work lights and various other doo-dads and slid along a bunch of trees, but got to the top. It was real dicey getting the last 20' into the flat and I could not have done it if Bill weren't watching and coaching. I had the Mule teetering on two wheels for the most part and there was a hole under the one wheel hanging out in space. BUT, I got in! We loaded the logs I had already cut and talked about what I had left to do. He asked me to cut out that tree that arches over the trail, it does have good logs in it. There is also small firewood to take out when I am done a a large amount of brush to be diced up. He also found an alternate route so I can avoid that whole 'teetering thing' which could have easily gone very wrong. ffcheesy We messed around, Inga did more tree climbing, and we enjoyed the day. Bill headed out over the dreaded 'drop of death' and I turned around and went down the way I came in BUT I took out one little maple pecker pole that allowed me a tight, yet stress free exit from the area. Going down I found some other trees that wanted a piece of the mule and one succeeded in ripping a fire extinguisher off my roll bar and destroying the bracket. We now know, for sure that Bill's SxS will NOT fit up that trail until a few more trees are gone. His is about 6" wider than mine and his roof is plastic. It won't stand a chance. I MAY do a video on the next run, just for laughs.
 Anyway, I came out and drove around to my staged trailer and unloaded onto that. Bill and Inga went back to the shop and she got on her battery powered ATV and they both came and found me and helped. We were in one of the few open filed' areas he has. The skies were blue, the wind was calm, and the temps were in the upper 50's. In short, PERFECT. So we just kind of hung out, chatted, watched Inga running around having fun and enjoying a beautiful day. Then Inga wanted to do some 'wheelin' so they headed out to a swampy area and I followed until the road got bad. When she had gotten stuck enough times, they turned around and headed back out. Inga's batteries were running low. As we headed back to the shop, her batteries finally quit, so we threw her machine in the back of the Mule and headed back so they could plug it in. EV's, ya just can't trust 'em. ffcheesy
 After that, I headed home and worked in the trailer until 5pm, then changed and my son took us out for the Wife's (2nd) birthday dinner with the grandsons.

 Today we have rain in the afternoon, but I think I will take the Mule down and do another session to try and finish this next order. I may pack a lunch and bring my rain gear and see how far I can go and how much I can get done. Tomorrow is much more rain straight through until Thursday evening, so I gotta try to do it now, but the terrain is going to make it slow.
 Just gotta keep on pluggin'. One day at a time.

So Monday after studying what all the weather guessers were saying, I decided to take the Mule down and get this weeks order done and get the trailer out. Don't want it to be stuck on the other side of the washout. Tricky ride in to the site once I hit the woods track, so I thought I would share it with y'all. It's a long video, so get fresh coffee first, or save it for later, or just skip it. It's just OGH doing 'his stuff' again. I also shot it for clients to give them a picture of what getting logs means. It did not come out as well as I had hoped and it took several hours yesterday afternoon, and all evening to edit. The overnight for the 'export' and more time this morning for upload. It is what it is (we can't all be Yellowhammer and be dapper and jaunty):



 It began raining just as I was coming off the hill. I hooked up the trailer to the Mule and drug it all home. Contacted the client and she said a Tuesday delivery would be 'perfect'.


Well, a full day yesterday mostly. They moved up the forecast by about 6 hours and increased the rainfall rate. So I started loading the truck at 7:30 and was on the road before 8:30. I texted the client to apologize for moving things up to beat the rain and gave her my ETA. She thought that was super and was concerned about the rain herself. I grabbed breakfast and ate as I drove. Got there a bit after 9 and she and a helper unloaded in 5 minutes and within 10 I was on my way home with another SGU in my pocket. ffcheesy Nice Gal, farm raised. Told me how much she was impressed with my business and how I ran it. She was surprised by the professional looking invoice I emailed her the night before and how I kept her in the loop, etc. All nice things to hear. She was shocked I did this alone. (So am I.) Anyway, a nice easy delivery. It started raining when I was 3 minutes along on the trip back. ffcheesy
 On the way home I stopped in town and picked up some stuff.
 When I got home I started working on the front shelf in the trailer. I found some 3/8 plywood I have been trying to use up for years. I made a carboard template of the front wall curve and traced out 2 shelves on the plywood and hacked carefully cut them from the sheet with a jig saw. I did a test fit and mostly, they are there, I can adjust more later, but at least I didn't screw it up. Then I went out and found some 1X pine that I milled 3 years ago. It was wet so I brought it in by the wood stove to get the surface water dried off. That happened overnight, and today I will be working on the frame work and fitting everything. Hope I can find enough wood to do what I need. I should have brought more of that 1X material inside. :veryangry: Dummy.
 Looking like pretty solid rain from yesterday through Thursday evening. Hopefully I can get this shelf done and move on. We are getting close to an inch so far and Sunday I set up my rain tank to start collecting water. Figure it won't freeze at this point and it can take a few rain events to fill it, but maybe this one will do it. ffcheesy I should check it.
 Ah well, past to do for me to get to work.

Nice video Tom! 

Do you guys get honeysuckle up there? My woods, even trying to get 5 feet in are impassable, without ripping out honeysuckle. Your undergrowth in non-existent, which I understand is from too much overstory growth? Nothing seem to stop the honeysuckle here. 

Nope I have not seen any wild honeysuckle here and certainly not at the level you 'enjoy'. ffcheesy I doo see it in some yards, but it stays controlled and does not 'take off' for some reason.
 What we have on the ground is lots of rocks, deadfalls, and blowdowns. Yes, it's a pretty high and thick canopy so the ground stays pretty shaded and the lower branches die and fall off. It can be much cooler in those dark areas in the heat of the summer.
 If you go back to the elevator tree video and look in the background when Bill is climbing you will see that it is more open. In fact, there are a bunch of white pine saplings about 5' high in center frame. That area, about 4-500 yards from this last video, was burned over about 15 or more years ago. (Accidental previous landowner fire.) Maybe just 2-4 acres, but walking it I see new hardwood generation now, and of course EWP and Hemlock.
 Out state still holds that 'no fire is good fire' line and will not allow private burning, but they are beginning to come around. They are just in the last year or so doing some controlled burns on state land. Banning burning has really decimated our forests here with choking undergrowth and almost no hardwood regen. Everything is Hemlocks and EWP. Before the white man showed up and 'fixed things' the indigenous population would routinely rotate burn areas for for cultivation and habitat, as well as a hunting technique. This allowed the nut trees to have what they needed to produce very good crops. Then the white man moved in and plowed those open areas for 1-200 years, eventually abandoning farming as a way of life and those fields were reclaimed by the forest, but with no burning to control the volunteer species, they took over and kept any hardwoods at bay.
 There are a few places on Bill's place that burning would provide a good benefit, but there are no laws to handle prescribed burns in our state yet. That will likely take another generation until all the 'conservationists' see the light and allow it to happen. There is SO much ignorance out there, tainted by mystery politics.
 Oops! Fell into my 'no burning' rant without thinking, sorry. Now what were we talking about? ffcheesy

Well I can see that the video had the desired effect but I was surprised that a few folks actually watched it. ffcheesy Catching up since I started the shelf unit. Yesterday I made the frame out of whatever I could find, mostly I ripped 1x6's in half, some were EWP some were read pine, anything that would work. This is by far the most hokey and poorly built thing I have made since I was 16. The leg/frame system doesn't even stand square by itself. ffcheesy But each of the 3 legs will be screwed to the wall, so that will hold it in place and add strength as well. The plywood will be screwed to the under cross pieces doing the same. SO I am very confident, when installed, it will be fine and rock solid......I think. ffcheesy It's just shelving for boxes, how bad could it be?
 Around 5:30pm the power went out, so after a while I took the wife out for dinner and found my truck battery flat dead. No warnings, not nothing, just dead. We took her van and I put a charger on the battery and left it overnight. This afternoon, the charger was at a trickle, so I tried starting it and just got one click and the battery was dead again. Put the charger back on and it was drawing 5 amps. No need to go any further checking alternators and starters. Check3d the date on the battery: 2013. OK, it doesn't owe me anything and is due anyway. I called Bill because he mentioned a while back he gets a deal on his battery's from his supplier.  I went down, swapped out the battery and picked up the platinum version of that battery from AutoZone. Stuck that battery in and all is peachy again. $210.00 and done.
 SO this morning I wanted to get some paint on the shelves to cover up the lousy wood. Well I had some latex brown, yes, really brown, that I bought as a mis-matched color for $6.00 for the gallon a few years back. At the time I thought it was oile paint, it was not. Here's an irony. When I opened the can, it looked like a pink/purple color. At first I thought 'ah, just say NO' but then I thought about the cost of paint and said 'ah who cares, it's just shelves nobody will see anyway and I need to get this done and move on'. SO I stirred and stirred, then stirred some more all the time hoping it might begin to look even a 'little bit brown'. I can hear Howard cackling in the back of my head the entire time and finally resolved to just slap it on and endure the diatribes of my peers.
 Well doggone it! It dried in a beautiful chocolate brown! Really nice stuff. Really nice stuff, too bad it's latex. But I digress. Just as I started painting the wife had come out to work on some of her stuff in the shop and about ten minutes later, the power went out again. She went back in the house, and I set up some battery LED lights and continued working to get a first coat on everything, even got both sides of the plywood before he power came back. With the shop lights back on, I could see my first cost wasn't very good, but I covered it at least...mostly. ffcheesy (This is the point I started working on the battery, then a couple hours later I put on a second coat, with full lighting.)
 The weather continues to be lousy, but at least it stopped raining. Just some tiny snow flakes today and snotty conditions.
 I haven't got a clue what I am doing tomorrow, but I have lots of options. I can't 'install the shelves in the trailer until I re-paint the inside and put up the trim. I have to make that trim and need to do some milling for that, unless I figure another way. Much as I would like to use up this brown paint, I need the inside of the trailer to be white or close to it for lighting purposes. I also have wiring to think through and battery power and charging, etc, Then some other (more conventional) shelves to build and install high up for small stuff. And of course, there are more mushroom logs to get. 
 I got invited the other day to create and teach a module on harvesting and selling mushroom logs for an income stream up at one of the Cornell Cooperative extension educational facilities. This class is for loggers, so I have been thinking a lot about how to put this together and present it. I am also figuring out how to explain what I do, why I do it, and how, as well as how I found a way into the market that works for me. It's been a while since I did lesson plans and prepared slide shows, glad I have lots of time. I am hoping teaching loggers is a lot like teaching Firefighters, because that I can do (and have done) with success. Or at least, nobody hated me when i was done. ffcheesy These are tough crowds, both of them.
 AH well, tomorrow is another day.

BROWN?  Will need to see pics.  smiley_thumbsdown  Instruct the loggers to properly cut the small logs, handle them with care and drop them off at your house.  problem solved.   :thumbsup:   ffcheesy