Sawmill NAMES ???

[Captain]

As much as we have all heard about WANDA, we probably can assume that the relationship that Arkansawyer has with his sawmill is filled with affection   and admiration.  It makes you wonder where that name came from....

So it made me wonder, how many of you folks have named a piece of equipment? How long does it take to do so? To the male operator, are all favorite pieces of work equipment genderized female? (mine seem to be ;))

I am struggling with a name for my sawmill, don't tell my wife I've got another lady in my life....

Captain

[Neil_B]

When I first met my mill, she was a real b**ch. But I've grown to love her ;). Still haven't got a name for it though.

My father-in-law named my wood furnace "Big Bertha" cause she'll eat just about anything. ???

[dail_h]

   I generaly name stuff,it takes some time for the personality and relationship to develop.Some are less than complementary

[Percy]

Hmmm...maybe Im odd but I name my stuff non gender specific.Go either way . I havent got a name for the new mill yet but the edger is named JACK The Ripper(Jack for short), the bobcat is named ROBERT and my leafblower is named B.J. ;D. I have a green stratocaster(guitar) that I affectionatly call BOOGER....I call the pickup P.O.S.T.(short for...PIECE OF SH*T TRUCK).

[woodbeard]

This is "Old Fritz" He came to me with that name scratched on the filter cover. He is sitting here on Frank N. Truck ( not a monster, but assembled similarly .)

[Jeff]

We had an old jeep Cherokee that we just sold this spring. We had it for 9 years. It was given its name way back when by a neighbors grandchild because of the noise it could make. It came to be know by this name to all of the neighbors.

They called it ah-oo-ga  

[dail_h]

   When I worked at the flooring plant,everyone called the littel WMLT30 breadnbutter cause thats how I made my bread and butter.I also had a 1970 1/2 ton shortbed pickup that one of my kids named Nessie cause it was seamonster green ,the name stuck

[ARKANSAWYER]

 :D :D :D ;D  Well now!  Most everything on the farm has a name here.  The trucks, tractors, boat, cars, and most of the equipment as well as the live stock and kids have names. :
Wanda May (WM) is the mill, Egor is the edger and Nancy Belle is the big tractor.  Red Chickey Chick is the red rooster and one should watch their back and small dogs if he is out on a chicken run.  If we name something it means it has become ours and we try to take pride and care of it. It becomes personal.  Now some live stock do not have names and the kids can tell where that critter will end up.  Just the ways of some simple people in the hills.
ARKANSAWYER

[Bibbyman]

We don't have names for any of our equipment. But we have named most of the places and features of the farm.

We have "Mad Cow Ridge" where one of our half Jersey and half Polled Herefords had her calf and would not let anyone within 30 yards of it.  We have "Big Buck Ridge" where the big ones hang out and "Deer Valley" where we see them cross.  "Hidden Valley" is a little valley that is almost closed off at the lower end by two ridges pinching in.  (We sometimes call it "Spring Valley" because there is a year-round spring in it.) Then we have "Walter Road" - a logging trail that Mary uses to ride Walter the mule.  Then we have fields called; "Upper Bottom", "Lower Bottom", "Big Field" and the "New Ground".  

There is a patch of full grown sycamore and some walnut in a area of the "Big Field" we call the "Brush Patch" because some 60 years ago it was planted in corn but later was taken back by brush.

The names are not much use to anyone but the close family.  But as we are always out and about for some reason on the farm,  it helps us communicate just where we are going or where we've been.

[DanG]

All our buildings have names. We have the mule barn, the long shed, the cane shed, the shop, the cow barn, and the cement barn.  The little abandoned sharecropper's cabin is called, "The little abandoned sharecropper's cabin."  I suppose it was once occupied by a little abandoned sharecropper. :
The only equipment name I have right now is "Rhoda Tiller."

[Bro. Noble]

We name all our cows------there's Stupid #1,  Stupid # 2,  
stupid # 3 etc.  Our three dogs have names----- dog, dog, and dog.  You can probably guess what our cats are named.

I am thinking about naming our log truck Teddy Roosevelt cause it's a rough riding SOB.

Noble

[solidwoods]

The knukle boom truck is BIG YELLOW
The backhoe/forklift is CRACKER
The tractor is SMOKEY
Mill is MILL

JIM

[Jeff]

hey Noble, you call your cows the same thing I call my dogs, only they are all considered equally stupid.

Tammy hates it when I say com'ere stupid. I've told her time and time again I meant the dog...

[Furby]

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[wiam]

We had a steer named Hamburg.  Now we call him good hamburg. (I know. I know, back to food again)  We also have a cow named Ugly.  When she was 6 months old she got pnomonia and her ears froze so she only has have her ears.  dehorning did not go well and she ended up with a short nub on one side that is longer than her ears. But I forget why we call her Ugly.

Will

[Dugsaws]

Noble,
 That sounds like the names of our cows, but that is only when I am being nice to them

[Bro. Noble]

I forgot about old ''killer".

When Mr. and Mrs. Whitepe came to visit,  Becky was helping milk.  She was putting the milkers on a cow and I told Perry he otter get a kodac of Becky putting the milkers on 'Old Killer'.  He took the picture and still doesn't know if that's her name for real. :D

Noble

[Percy]

This dont have nuthin to do with naming stuff but reading this thread reminded me of this old joke so here goes. :D :D :D

A city slicker drives out to the farm to visit and spend some time with an old freind he hasnt seen in years. As he is pulling up the driveway, he noticed a three legged pig walking about. Anyhow, when he see's his old freind, he forgets about the pig. They have a great time over dinner discussing old times. After dinner they continue their reminissing on the front porch. After a bit, the three legged pig walks by and the city slicker asks "What the hell happened to that pig??" The farmer says " That is the most amazing pig ever!! Five years ago, our house was burning down while we were all asleep in it and that pig busted thru the front door and made such a rukus that it woke us all up and saved our lives. And last summer I was on the tractor out in the back forty and the sucker tipped over and pinned me to the ground. I was surley gonna die and even had started to scratch out a will on the fender of the tractor when that pig comes outta no where and starts to rooting the dirt underneath me and basicly freed me from a slow death." The cityslicker says 'Wow, thats quite a pig, but still dont explain the three legs." The farmer says, "Well. a pig that good, ya dont wanna eat him all at once ya know." :D :D

[Mark M]

Our cats are named: Zippy, Zappy, Alex, and General Sterling Price. Alex is the one I cut the tail off of with the saw and cloned.

Mark

[Patty]

All of our animals are named...even the ones we eat. Our pigs have names like Pork Chop and Hammy, so meals at the Folkerts' are like...yum Hammy tastes pretty good tonite. Percy's story reminded me of our 3-legged pig, Priscilla. We owned a restaurant when she was around and she got all the food scraps. She was so spoiled that she wouldn't touch her corn unless we poured gravey over it. :D
The chickens used to be named after all my aunts, Maxine, Esther, Edna, Arlene, Doris etc., but as time went on and they were replaced, I couldn't keep them straight...now they are all just called "my girls", except Whitey the one legged chicken.
The cats and dogs are all named appropriately...Cole or better known as "black dog", or Sid the cat short for "Sid Viscious & the Sex Kittens".
We haven't ever gotten around to naming the equipment anything more than the Ford or the SUV, or JD the tractor...pretty dull, I know, but at my age I have trouble remembering my own name much less everything else's. :

[Bibbyman]

We've liquidated all the livestock on the farm to give more time to our sawmill work.  But we had lots of animals with names.

We had Walter the mule named after my granddad.
And Hattie the mare horse that was named after Mary's grandmother.
And Reba the Brown Swiss cow that was named after Reba MacIntire the singer because she had a red topknot.
We had Marlin the horse that was name after the Marlin 39m 22 rifle she traded for it over my protest.
We had a long string of dogs named after nuts - Peanut, Cashew and Hazel come to mind.
We had a wolf named Lobo and a buffalo named Rosa.



Mary on Walter.  Click on picture for more pictures of Walter the mule.

[OneWithWood]

Let's see. . .

The '84 XJS is named Fritz the Cat
The 97 XJ6 is named Jade
The '86 F250 4x4 is Bertha Butt
The JD670 is The Green Machine
The JD450CA crawler is Old Yaller of the Big Lemon
depending on its operating condtion at the time  :
The Stihl 038 is named Grunt
The Stihl 440 Magnum is named Whiz
The WMLT40 has not been used enough to earn a title at this point ???
The dogs are Baron and Chester
The cats are Caesar and Frisky
My wife and I seem to have multiple names depending on the circumastances ;D

[Jeff]

We name places in our hunting woods. Paticularly blinds and hunting spots. They may be named after the person that hunts there most (Uncle Ron's Blind, Lynda's Blind, etc) the type of blind (trap door blind, the condo, railroad spike tree (OH NO ))) Or the area. (The flats, over east, the ridge, the pipeline, the powerline, the killing fields, the cuttings, etc)

[Kevin_H.]

My mill does not have a given name, But I have called it many things depending on how it is cutting ;D

That reminds me I need to order some parts... ;D

[hawby]

Like Jeff, we name our huntin' spots. There's Marshall's blind (Marshall has been dead for ten years, but he killed more deer from that blind... He was 87 when he quit. Actually the blind is gone too :D :D) Pike's peak, Hell's Canyon ( A ravine full, I mean FULL of multiflora rose), the thicket.

We've got "Big John" ( JD 4020) and "Little John" (JD 720). Dad and I have different names for the JD "A". Mine is "&^$@*  Armbreaker".

The Mill has not gotten a name yet... but "she'll" earn one yet, I am sure. Funny how we do name inanimates.

hawby

[Mark M]

So then Bibby - when you say you liquidated your farm animals does dat me you ran them through the blender? I used to know a Chinese fellow who talked about wok-ing the dog. :D

[Bibbyman]

We've got names for places that ain't even there yet everyone (local) knows where you are talking about.  

One place,  Keggensville,  had a small store and a couple of homes.  When the little coal mine played out, probably a hundred years ago, everyone moved away.  One by one the buildings all disappeared.  When I was young,  I could still see some stones used to hold up the building footers but they too were removed.  Now, there is just a field.  But beware,  ask directions of anyone and they'll likely to include reference to Keggensville.

Then there are the Twin Churches.  I've never known there to be a second church but apparently long ago there was another across the road from the one that is there now.  Yet,  "You go down past the Twin Churches and turn right...".  (Wonder how confusing it would be if the other church somehow ceased to exist?   Would you still go past the Twin Churches when there were none?  Probably.)

Broken Bridge is no longer there.  It was a big iron bridge about 100' long.  It's approaches were wash out in a flood.  The county never fixed the approaches so it stood straddling a good size stream some 20' above the water for some 50 year.  Eventually,  the county did come out and take the bridge out.  Too many kids were partying there and climbing on the old bridge.

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

"Liquidated?"  No,  mostly I came home and they were gone.  For a number of years,  Dad and I ran a herd of cattle together.  I had the land and he keep up the fences and such.  Then he had bypass surgery and it was clear he could not care for the fences and cattle so he sold his.  As Mary was home and so was my youngest son (full grown),  I turned the cattle over to them.  All they had to do is throw out a few hay bales each day in the winter and watch for new calves in the spring and hunt them down if they broke out.  Well,  they broke out a couple of time and they got in the habit of spending the night in the log yard and sawshed.  They were not neat overnight guests and always left a mess.  One day I came home and the cows were gone. Mary had her little brother come over and take them for a ride.  They must have enjoyed the ride, as they never came back.

Last fall I came home and Mary was going through what she had done, who had came by, and so on.  Then she added;  "And I sold Walter and Marlin." (The horse and Mule) WHAT?  Said she had no time for them anymore.

One of these days I expect to come home and find she don't have time our use for me.

[Captain]

Okay Arky, WM...Wanda May....that explains a lot ;)

I think its time for a shiny Stainless Steel and Aluminum Peterson WPF
Wanda's Pretty Friend

Captain

[DanG]

Bibbster, you said she SOLD Walter and Alpo...er...I mean Marlin.  To me, that indicates that someone offered her something in exchange that was worth more to her than the possession of the beasties. You just gotta make sure you're worth more to her than what someone else would pay. I think if you keep her log deck full, and rinse the dust off the Buick once in a while, you'll be ok. :P

ps:  You might want to come up with a little breakfast, once in a while, just to make sure. ;D

[dail_h]

   MULES
   Now theres a royal beast for sure.A horse is brick dumb,but a mule now they being creativily lazy will figure out some of the durndest things, and they're more loyal than a good dog.I know I'm gonna be in trouble with all the horse people but ive been in trouble before

[Frank_Pender]

LIke some, we have named over 40 some areas of the
Tree Farm sor the convenience of letting folks know were we are headed or going to be working.  (Wild Cherry Ridge, Springs, Culvert Draw,  Salamander Pond,  Springs Road, etc.)  Only got one big critter left, a blind horse and it is going soon.  The wife has a mini horse and donkey she like and Ihave to care fore.   ???   Of course the dog, a 200 pound St Bernard, now die of cancer.   :'(  the wife is coming close to deciding to put him down next week.  (Her call on that one, of when and if.  None of theequipment has a name other that the brand, John Deere, Gator, (mine and hers), D 5 etc.

[DoubleD]

My uncle called my old tractor Paperino because it's coloured in a bright orange. Paperino is the Italian name of Donald Duck :D

[beav]

     My Woodmizer sore mill has been known as big beav for close to two decades. Beavers fascinate me. :D

[jpgreen]

I still have my 39a that I bought in 1970 on layaway doing yard work at 11 Bibby... 


My Kubota's named "Sea Buiscuit", or the busicuit for short..  ;D

My SkipJack boat's named "Lil' Skippy".

I think I'll name my Woodmizer "Ellwood"..  :D

[Jeff]

My Mill has two names.

Slush-Mizer
Food-Mizer

[jpgreen]

 ???................. :D

[Luckyfarmer]

I have all my fields named, who ever owned them years ago are their names.  This works great for all the family and hired man 8) :D ;D

[oldsaw]

Nice recycle job on this thread.  It even has a Mark M. post...fitting that "Stinky Peterson" got in on it.

Well, my youngest son, Noah, I started calling "Stinky Peterson" before I knew Mark M, and now I'd feel bad if I quit.

I sort of call my 066, "the beast", but that won't work in a short while, I found a 3120.  It may have to go to "Beast Jr"...maybe just "Jr."

I used to have a '64 Galaxie named "Edna" after her prior owner. 

My dogs are "dumb dog" and "stupid".  "Stupid" likes to chew stuff, "Dumb dog" just wants to go outside all the time. (Their real names are Buddy...bought the day Buddy Ebsen died...loved the Beverly Hillbillies, and Honey, who, besides "stupid" also goes by "little bit".

I've started referring to my LogRite cant hook as "the big stick".

On the farm when I was growing up, we did have a field we called the "milo ground", site of a crop choice disaster.  Dad will no longer refer to it as such.  However, since it has been called that for over 30 years, change has been slow, and for me, who only makes it home every couple of years, not happening.

Mark

[dail_h]

   My mill is now called "Nevermiss",the reason is readily apparent by the chewedup dogs, and the bucket of sawed off nails that holdes my denailing tools ;D

[Chris Burchfield]

     Having first hand and in person/machinery/face to face meeting Wanda, she is quite a Lady. She responds only when directed to. Arky introduce me properly. She seemed not to mind as I tailed removing boards. It is my understanding you brush a woman around the work place and she's screeming sexual harasment. Wanda seemed to understand working so close with men. Arky didn't relay the story of WM, Wanda May. I interpreded it much like people name a boat. Arky pays close attention to Wanda's needs and provides the same. Not like a wife. My wife does not seem, she is and demands high maintenance. After meeting Wanda, and she did not mind I took my brand new mill by to meet and learn from the Proffessor, I saw the need to name my new mill.
     My dad's father, was a blacksmith, wheelwright, farmer, father of 3 girls then 6 boys. My dad became a machinist on his off days and Driver for the Memphis Fire Department retiring after 30 years as a Captain. Two years into retirement, dad was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. The family and dad went to make arrangments as time of need was approaching. We were looking at caskets. Mom said this is a nice looking one, (in metal.) Dad said, "I like wood. My family always worked around wood, I want a wood casket." And that's the way it was.
     Getting back to naming equipment, like a boat, I think the name should be a she/female name. I do not know why ships are not named Robert, Hugh or Elroy. I think it's just right. After speaking with my mother indepth but, within her grasp I used inheritance money to buy my mill. As my father was named "Glen," I have named my mill "Glenda." My Uncle, next born before my dad built his first mill (circular) after WWII and his attending college on the GI bill. The next mill he built was a gang band mill. My Grandfather built eight wheeled log wagons and farm wagons for farmers in his community. One Uncle became a forester and a cousin did the same, both in Mississippi. I think my dad is glad and proud my mill is named after him and that I am working with wood.

[customsawyer]

Good on ya chris.

[jpgreen]

Maybe Wanda and my Ellwood could get together. 

After all she's a bit younger but far more experienced...  :D

[DoubleD]

Yes Chris I am sure

[Jeff]

Slush-Mizer




Food-Mizer

[jpgreen]

THAT... autta make it to the Wood-Mizer hall of fame..  ;D

[leweee]

   I generaly name stuff,it takes some time for the personality and relationship to develop.Some are less than complementary

and DanG ain't the offical cuss word around my mill

[oldsaw]

Okay, Jeff.  Makes much more sense now.

Mark

[highpockets]

The mill's name is Sweety Pie if she is running good.  If not I have another name the son of something.


But Bertha here is always Bertha. 

[dail_h]

   HP,
   Ole Bertha looks like a new generation logger's dream

[derhntr]

Well my little JD is called Deer some times that name can get you in to trouble though.  Couple summers ago the wife asked what I was doing that day, said I was going out and play in the yard with "my deer" I headed out side well wifey came out in some black string thingy she must have thought I was going to play with "my dear", don't remember getting much work done that afternoon ;)

[ARKANSAWYER]

  I would bet that if she knew you told that story you would not be getting much sleep to night.   :D :D :D

[customsawyer]

I think that I know why we give them female names. First you care so much for them. :'( (just in case the wife reads this) Second I don't think I can remember anything but a female to get me as agrevated as my mill can on those few days when it isn't going right. :D

[ARKANSAWYER]

  And all the Brothers in the back said "AMEN!"

[MULE_MAN]

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[dail_h]

  Custom Sawyer apparently ain't never had no 'sperence wif a haybaler havin a "spell" ;D ;D ;D >:( >:(