Staying Busy and out of trouble, 2020-21?.

[Old Greenhorn]

Interesting day. Lots of chores with the Grandson. No excavator work going on next door.
 We plowed out a couple of piles of years of built up bark and wood chips to spread and dry on the driveway so I could burn them later. Dig some leveling very slowly with the light plow on the Mule. We planted the apple tree the boys bought putting in potting soil and the proper fertilizer and some mulch on top. My GS watered the new grass, the tree, and the sod we transplanted.
 My mushroom log client showed up and we loaded and counted logs. He was happy (no photo) but we rally loaded that 1/2 ton pickup. I even sold him a bag of hardwood planer chips.
 In the afternoon The Idiot came home and started up the excavator and cut another 24" DBH oak dropping it into the swap. Some nice saw logs in that. >:( But then he started cutting away on a maple that was leaning at my storage shelter and looked like it had a fair chance of reaching it. His notch faced right at it. I figure he has insurance, he made the choice, lets see what happens. It had a heavy lean. I walked away and went in the shop. I watched him from inside as he whittled away with a very dull chain. 15 minutes of cutting and he didn't have the face cut open when he pinched the saw. I heard some cuss words and saw a helmet fly. :D Finally he asked if I could cut his saw out when I was unhooking my plow. I finished what I was doing and walked over. He had a dangerous mess. The tree was leaning hard enough to close the cut before he had the notch out. He also had a very narrow notch. I really didn't want to cut this saw out, but I thought I might be able to relieve the weight so he could yank it out. Then I re-thought and went back and got some wedges, drove two and opened it up enough for the saw to come out. Then I realized he yanked on the saw so hard trying to get it out that he broke one of the the vibe mounts on the handle and got the top section twisted and disconnected the throttle assembly. I explained it should be an easy fix once he pulled the top cover off. It's an MS-270 and I don't know Stihls. 1/2 hour later he is back on it, with, I think, a different saw. "The one with the dull chain" he said. ;D That saw would not even make dust and he was 10 minutes in the cut trying to finish the notch. (about 2" of wood) Anyway, eventually, the tree did come down and drifted to the side and missed my storage by a far piece. When I asked if he figured where it would land and he started to realize he had no plan and my storage was the target, he started to second guess. "Too late now I said, your notch is done. You have insurance, send it and see what happens. " He freaked out at that and really started to realize how dumb this whole thing was. He said "I'm not insured for tree cutting!" I said "that's OK, the lawyers will figure it out and find the money someplace." He stood there 20 minutes trying to decide, I went back in the shop. ;D When it dropped he acted like getting lucky was part of his plan. He has no clue.
 It's after 9pm and all I hear right now is that bucket pounding on rocks. This is getting old.

Tomorrow is another day.

[Old Greenhorn]

I forgot to mention, yesterday afternoon I got a text from the folks I made the pine bench for, they want another one. Guess I am going to test my new anti-dermatitis protocols and see if I can keep the rash at bay this time. I looked at the parts I had made extra last time and with the warp in the seat, I think I have decided to just make another seat from scratch and use the legs I've already made. I hope this isn't as painful as last time. ;D

[farmfromkansas]

Greenhorn, could you explain dermatitis?  I have some new bumps on my arms, never had that problem before, wondering what I have.  Not poison ivy.

[Old Greenhorn]

Long day and I didn't get much done. ;D
Got up around 4:30 and had some stuff on my mind so was out in the shop early, fed the stove, checked lumber stock, made breakfast, then got out to work. I wanted to attack that bench and see if the rash would pop up as a problem again. I decided I needed to remake the seat section and didn't see any good 2x8's so I grabbed a couple of 2x10's, I cut them to rough length, planed and joined them, then ripped them to size and glued them up. Done and done, washed up and let it set.
I filled up the 15 gallon ATV sprayer so I could water the grass seed out near the road and found a battery for the pump. It's slow, but it works. I had a friend come over and pick up the last half dozen of my mushroom logs. The I got an email from a lady looking for about 20 mushroom logs. :D ;D I explained these are cut to order, all my logs are gone and this is the period where logs can't be cut with the sap running. She's not in a hurry and will take summer cut if I find some. Then I started thinking on sources.
I had a nice chat with Barge on the phone, it's been too long. I might go up for a visit next week Also had a nice chat with NYBHH. I think I will see him on Thursday. It was a beautiful day and I just felt like sitting in the sun and talking to some friends.
The Idiot was out bangin' away again burying blacktop deliveries as they came in. He also cut some more trees. How about if we play "rate this stump":


 


You guys thought I was exaggerating, right? I can't make this stuff up. By the way, he 'felled' it to the right. No, I did not, and could not, watch the whole thing. It takes him 20 minutes to put the face cut it and I got stuff to do. The machine was still slamming around at 10:30 last night. I hope he doesn't do that tonight because I am going to bed early, it's been a long day. But right now he is still at it. I am letting the shop stove go out and the same with the house stove. Lets see how that works out and if the weather holds.
So things are picking up here, the bench build, more milling to get done, some TSI work coming up and possibly some more mushroom bolts if I can line up buyers. (I sent out emails to the contacts I've made over the past 5 months but it seems like none of these folks move very fast  ;D. ) I just have to take it as it comes.
Tomorrow is another day.

@farmfromkansas dermatitis is a skin irritation like a mild rash that can get worse, It is due to a sensitivity to some substance that the body sees as an irritant. Mild redness is a light sign, itching when it gets worse, then a full blown rash that drives you nuts. Cortisone cream helps, as does frequent washing, prescription meds (steroids) if it is bad. In my case it is pine that brings it out. I got it inside my thighs last summer when milling pine in shorts, but I never made the connection. When building a custom pine bench this winter it became pretty apparent and got pretty bad, I had to finish the bench. I made the connection at that point. With the meds it was controlled and it went away after the bench was done and I completely cleaned the shop. But I am wondering now if I am also getting it form hardwoods too, although much milder, just redness, no itching. I use barrier cream before I start work on pine now and wash as soon as I can after. I had red forearms all day, but now they are cleared up. Precautions and washing helps a lot. Just observe and make notes on what you do and when it happens. Knowledge (and data collection) is power.

[Old Greenhorn]

I was too tired to post last night. I am trying to get back in shape for the those 'work from dark to dark' days now that the weather is good. I can feel it in my legs that I need conditioning, too much shop work this winter, I guess. ;D
 Anyway, the night before The Idiot was 'excavating' until after 11:30pm, I had tried to go to sleep at 10am and he worked me up 3 times banging that bucket around 100' from my bed. I have had enough. What he is doing amounts to 3 days work for a good operator, at worst. He is probably on 15 days of beating up this machine in the past 3 months, and 6 days straight in this last stretch, 10-14 hours a day, every day. It is wearing on my nerves now for sure. I heard him tell a neighborhood kid yesterday he is building a 'dirt track with some knarly turns' for them to run around. Great, so when this is done, I get to hear the dirt bikes running non-stop, which we also have now a few hours a day. I will say it is finally looking 'not too bad'. It's no longer a mud pit. But I got a call yesterday from another neighbor asking if I knew what 'that guy is doing over there?' He too had been woken 3 times when he was trying to sleep. We ended the conversation saying that we would both call the PD at 9:05 that night if the party continued. We are both sick of it. ALL day long. But The Idiot stopped at 8:30PM. Finally some peace and I went to bed at 10 and slept through the night. Hope this ends really soon, but I suspect a new chapter is coming.

 Anyway, I got started around 7 yesterday morning and did some sanding on that bench seat taking every precaution I could against the rash. I don't think it's working too well but I have to try. I got the main seat sanded both sides, then put some water on a couple of clamps spots where I accidently crushed the grain with clamps and it is swelling back up nicely. I will do a finish sand this morning, route the radii all around and then set up all the pieces on a temp bench outside to put the stain sealer on. That stuff is nasty! Took 3 days to clear the odor in the shop last time, so outside it goes.

 After that I did the morning watering of all the grass seed a laid down. I using an ATV sprayer tank in the mule to get the stuff out near the road, and the storage tank directly for the grass in the backyard, some stuff my wife transplanted, and the new apple tree. I do them all in the morning, then again in the evening. Then I finished off a Sugar Maple I had on the mill. I am having a lot of trouble milling this time and I don't know if it is the SM being so hard, the new re-sharps I got from WM, or the mill bed working out of alignment. I haven't allowed myself time to check the mill bed, but halfway through that log I changed blades (early, before i think it was dull), reset the blade guide shoes, and reset the backing rollers. It cut a little better and the shake is a little more controllable but not as bad as it was. I will know more when I stick up a RO log next which I know better for cutting behavior. In the meantime I threw another dozen or so boards on the trailer for stacking today and I still have a couple of jacket boards to edge yet. 


 

Funny, but I have been using that LogRite hook a lot since I got it and it wasn't handy when I went to flip the cant so I grabbed one of the wooden ones that was standing there. I immediately knew why I got the LogRite. That dog point that is on the wooden ones always leaves a scar on the wood that shows up bad and in the wrong spot when I am planing and finishing something. The logrite has that foot that leaves no mark and is the BEST feature on that tool. I stopped what I was doing and got the logrite. Guess I need another one.


 

I have to get a better photo of that sometime.

Anyway, I tagged what I had milled, covered the mill, did my evening watering. Off and on during the day I was getting emails form this gal about Mushroom bolts. She is an hour and a half south of me. She is trying to organize a 'group buy' for her area so that she can get a bunch of folks together to share the cost of delivery and use her place as a distribution point. She is trying to get enough to justify my cutting and all the other work. I also got a call from another gal who heard about this effort, asking prices, timeframe, etc. She is 'in' now for 50 logs. I got an email from the other log seller north of me and he mentioned that he heard of a large number of logs needed in Brooklyn, but he could not recall who he heard it from and would try to back track and find it for me. I have heard nothing from the Mushroom folks I sent the email to...yet. I will try again today. I think there is a market here, but I have to figure out how to organize it into something workable. From everything I read hear, and see, so far it has been taken as a 'some extra cash in the pocket when somebody calls' thing. Nobody that I have yet found has tried to make a concerted effort. Maybe there is a reason for that, but maybe they just didn't have the time. For sure, time and a little effort will tell one way or the other. I have wasted my time on dumber things. ;D If nothing else, it is adding a bunch of eyes on my website.
Today is another day. We have 3 boys today, two are going in for eye checkups, the other is on me until 10am or so. I have a TSI job to go map out, some milling to do, and more work on the bench. Time to get at it.

[doc henderson]

to speed up the swelling of fibers if you want, I was taught to use a damp paper towel and go over it with an old clothes iron.  you can control the area affected better.  it will need sanded after.  most things my wife replaces from the house, find a home in my shop.  try it on a scrap chunk.

[Old Greenhorn]

Good idea, will try that next time. I just sanded this morning and all good. Pine is so soft! Geez.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   On the LogRite I have said many times people should think of them as an article of safety equipment. It would be interesting and enlightening I think if we took a survey of how many times someone has had their non-LogRite cant or peavy hook slip and hit themselves in the head or hurt their back or had a log roll back on them or such. The only time my LogRite has ever come loose was when I used it on very old logs with deep punky sapwood and when it did break free it had a mouthful of that sapwood like a bulldog with a mailman's britches in his mouth. The log gave way - not the LogRite.

[Tacotodd]

OGH, you REALLY NEED to send your neighbor to @Spike60 to have him turn the thumbscrews to this neighbor. Just sayin 🤔😝

I know he doesn't normally work on Stihl stuff, but MAYBE he'll make an exception in this case, just PM him first so that he'll have A "proper" heads up. Wouldn't it be justified and justice at this point?

[Spike60]

Well, sometimes it pays to be nice to a stihl owner. Guy came in with a MS180 this afternoon. Needed a chain, file kit, some oil. Could tell he was a little green, so I asked him if he was new to chain sharpening. Yes, but had a buddy who was going to give him a few tips. Still, I offered to show him how his file kit worked in case his friend did it a different way. Very appreciative and came back in to give me a little thank you. He has a local coffee roasting shop and gave some coffee beans just roasted yesterday. They smell great! Can't wait to try it tomorrow morning. Of course, I don't own a coffee grinder. But neither did your typical cowboy in a western movie sittin' round the campfire. So, put 'em in a freezer bag, then use a hammer, rolling pin, whisky bottle. Either way, I'm having fresh ground coffee in the morning. 

[Old Greenhorn]

OGH, you REALLY NEED to send your neighbor to @Spike60 to have him turn the thumbscrews to this neighbor. Just sayin 🤔😝

I know he doesn't normally work on Stihl stuff, but MAYBE he'll make an exception in this case, just PM him first so that he'll have A "proper" heads up. Wouldn't it be justified and justice at this point?

You are plotting here, that is a scary sign, just sayin'. :D Around here we just let things take their natural course, it's better that way and sweeter when it happens. ;D ;D I will guarantee if that saw hits the counter in Spike's shop his first thought will be along the lines of "what did you DO to this saw!?" Then he will head the story of how it got pinched unexpectedly and Spike will figure it out. It's a small 'town' and not many guys are going to bring in MS270's to a husky dealer anyway. I figure we can all use a good laugh and Spike's turn may come up soon.

[Old Greenhorn]

They smell great! Can't wait to try it tomorrow morning. Of course, I don't own a coffee grinder. But neither did your typical cowboy in a western movie sittin' round the campfire. So, put 'em in a freezer bag, then use a hammer, rolling pin, whisky bottle. Either way, I'm having fresh ground coffee in the morning.  

Spike, do you have a blender, that will do a right proper job (clean out the margarita mix first) just don't run it too long or too fast.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, didn't get a lot done today. Got some more sanding in on the bench trying to stretch it out and not do long sessions, but the rash is coming back and is cherry red now. Didn't get to put the sealer on it yet because I found some more stuff to smooth out and fix. I want it right, not fast. Tomorrow I think I will get it sealed before staining. Had one boy for school so that took time before Mom picked him up. Got some watering done, then the other boys showed up. My son was tossing a hot air furnace for a client and asked if I wanted the motor off of it. "YES", so I had to go fetch that. It will be my stake pointer machine when I get to it. Just like what Bruno made pretty much. Cleaned all the garbage out of the backseat of the truck, a winters worth of napkins, sandwich wrappers, water bottles, etc. The youngest helped me get it tidied up. Then I had to leave to do a woods walk with a TSI client. A nice long walk looking over the work, we sat later and talked it through to form a plan. I have to follow up about maybe bringing a feller buncher in if it fits and is available, then we have to make sure it will fit over his bridge. The devil is always in the details. While we were talking I got a call form another guy looking for 40 mushroom logs. ;D I left there just as dusk was turning to dark and it was a lovely drive around the reservoir which is glass smooth tonight with the mountains reflecting in the background. Had some dinner and when I finally sat at my desk it was 9pm. It was a good day. Oh, and the bonus, when I went out this morning that #$%^&^ excavator was gone!
Tomorrow is another one, I have a lot of follow up work, thinking, and phone calls to do after today's work. ;D I do like being busy.

[Tacotodd]

Tom, I don't know how to express to you the joy that I get from you telling me that the excavator is GONE!!! And no, I'm not plotting with Bob, I just believe that this, yahoo should get what's coming to him. But I appreciate your input. If you remember, I warned you about a possible allergic reaction that you might get from long term exposure. But I'm glad that the job is almost, done?

[doc henderson]

you may need a tyvec bunny suit, for the sanding instead of for finish!

[Old Greenhorn]

Todd, the job is not nearly done, but getting there. I put the sealer on it today, so I am closer. 


 
The dermatitis is hanging in strong in spite of my precautions.


 

About time to use the cortisone cream, beginning to itch. but not near as bad as last time. Don't wanna wear a suit Doc, that crazy. Its not as bad as it looks.

As far as the neighbor goes, I believe strongly what goes around comes around. I don't need to do anything to expedite that, it will happen on it's own, probably of his own making. Dad always taught me that people get what they deserve and you don't need to make sure, it will happen on it's own. I was once terribly wronged by someone and I waited 15 years until somebody did to that person what they had done to me, nearly exactly. They didn't enjoy it very much. ;D I had nothing to do with it, having cut off contact may years prior. He will get his, all by himself. Its not my job. ;D

 The other day I was in the house and I heard a 'Boom' outside. I figured the excavator was back and went out to look a few minutes later and found this sitting in front of the shop.


 

A brand new burn barrel as a gift from a friend. I texted him to say 'thanks' and he texted back "look in the barrel?" So I did, and found this:


 

A box which contained these:


 

Very nice mid winter military combat boots with 2 pairs on liners, brand new. They are size 9.5, I take 11 and for some reason, these fit pretty well with the liners, pretty loose without. ;D

Also yesterday, the youngest grandson helped me set some decals on my new hard hat and decided he liked it and wants to wear it while I am working. (yeah, we will work on that down the road)


 

He thinks it needs more 'stickers'.


 

Today when I was ,milling I got a better shot of what I was trying to explain about the logrite design. the way this hooks around the corner of a can't I find really neat and it leaves no marks. a conventional hook has that spike the leaves a dig every time, not the logrite. I think this is dang cool and shows a lot of design skills to think this through. Simple yet elegant.


 

As you can see, I milled some ash today after I finished off some maple in the morning. It seems like all the shake I had in the mil was largely due to the Maple being so hard. I kept the same setup with the shimmy from the maple, put up the ash and had no issues more than 'the normal'.
 Some rain coming in this weekend but tomorrow should be OK, I need water in the storage tank with all I have been using on logs and grass watering I am down to about 100 gallons. Not sure where to start tomorrow. I do have to re-arrange on the drying racks to make room for more wood. I might build a short rack for the smaller pieces I cut off because of obvious defects. The shorts mess me up, stacking wise. I also need to find another place for the stickers. SO maybe a day filled with little stuff to save some steps going forward.
 Tomorrow is another day, I'll figure it out then.

[doc henderson]

If you had the white bunny suit, you could let your neighbor think you work for the EPA, and ask him about all the petroleum based milling he is burying underground near the aquafer.   .  how about welding sleeves or cattle exam gloves.  need to breech contact with the pine resin.  looking good.  I have been organizing in my shop.  and it makes a bigger mess in the middle of it all.  teaching woodworking merit badge Monday night in the shop.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I have some sleeves showed a page or so back that I wear when sanding and cutting. I think I need to wash them though. Right now it looks pretty calm in the morning, but in the evening it's pretty bright. Not like it was last time for sure, so I am reserving the secret weapon. ;D I am beginning to wonder if other woods are hurting this too. I milled some sugar maple logs and I think it may have gotten worse. Yesterday was Ash mostly. I just use the barrier cream and wash after each session. Cortisone at night.
 My shop is a mess, but I am 'diversifying' my work in the better weather and getting outside more. Note that I did the sealing outside and you can see The Idiots pile of junk and storage trailers in the background.

[doc henderson]

you might try the cortisone under the barrier and do it 4 times a day.  Hate to see it get out of control  good luck.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   Is it just pine causing problems or do you get a reaction to other types of woods?

[Old Greenhorn]

I THINK its just pine, but I am tying to figure that out. It may not be.
 Doc, so far it remains under control, but I may take your advice. I didn't know how combing the creams would work.

[doc henderson]

to be specific, not to combine, but keep the anti-inflammatory going in the skin (cortisone) and cover to prevent fueling the fire (barrier).  each time it turns red, you taking a step back.  I know you prob. know this, but hate to see you have to take a systemic steroid so I would be aggressive with the cortisone.  prob. 4 or more times a day.  much less side effects.   8)     :(  ...

spend some time in several applications each dose getting the cort. into the skin, then cover. especially before bed assuming you may sleep more than 6 hours.  and first time in the am.  good luck sir!  after contact, wash well then re apply.

[Old Greenhorn]

Did some odds and ends in the morning yesterday, nothing special because I was kind of tired, but in the afternoon I finally did something to help my drying rack issues. Short pieces really make it tough to get a clean efficient stack and there is a lot of space wasted. Having the bench slabs just makes it even worse. So I decided to use up some more of the box store lumber I had (clearing more space) and build a small drying rack, quick and dirty. I got the main frame and legs done by the end of the day.


 

Today was supposed to be a rain out, but it wasn't raining this morning so I started on the cover. This time I decided to do something a little better, so I put up a raftered shed roof. At some point if I mill up some pine boards or come across some steel, I cover it with that, but for now, this will work.



 

The rain was starting to dribble, so I grabbed a tarp and stapled that on. I pulled that far side down to keep the sun out on the south side. It sure doesn't look pretty and I am still trying to figure out how to maximize the space and get all the shorts off the other racks.



 

It's just 6x8' but it chewed up some more salvaged lumber and some pine 2x4's I milled back in the fall. Tomorrow I will mess around with how to best fit in the puzzle pieces. I have a lot of them. I'd also like to figure a way to put an overhead sticker rack in there and save some more space.  Anyway, it's not much, but another step. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't.
 Tomorrow is another day.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

  I love small sheds and can never get enough. Can you generate some vertical storage in there or how about it you nail a couple of 1X4's to the posts butted up against the  front and rear 2X4's with maybe a couple of hangers in the middle to connect and make a 4" gap there you could use to store stickers and such?

  I got out and checked the plumb on my side supports today. It surprised me a little the 2 front ones looked like they had toed in a little. I'd have thought they would have spread outward. Not a lot but I found it was easy to adjust. Then I adjusted the blade tilt and verified the height to the rails and adjusted 2 of them. Nothing seemed to be out of spec by over about 1/8" but again it was all easy fixes. I have a funeral to attend tomorrow for my 102 y/o neighbor and may saw some stock walnut tomorrow after that.

[gspren]

Do you have any of the places that make the ribbed steel roofing/siding near you? I know of 2 places within 75 mile of me and they sell seconds, short ends and mis-cut or cancelled orders cheaper than normal cut to length. If you ask they may have 17 pcs of green 11'3" and 5 pcs brown 9'5" etc. I've seen some multi colored buildings near their shop.