Did something dumb today.

[rusticretreater]

Beyond all help?

I once took a auto part core to AutoZone when it needed to go to Advance Auto one block over. 

[Don P]

I don't know, the man cave is in the back of beyond. I decorate it myself, kind of late "beyond the pale".

[beenthere]

Reminds me of a close friend who had a sporting goods store in downtown Madison (State St.). Hired college students for store clerks. A customer came in and asked a young female clerk if they had cups. She responded "No, but there is a Steep-n-Brew next door".

[Magicman]

My farm/sawmill banking account is at one bank and my personal account is at another.  I carried a sawmilling check and deposit slip to the wrong bank.  She looked at it, looked at me, and asked; what do you want me to do with this? 

[hilltopper46]

We have a number of gas station and quick stop chains in the area.  Last August I tried to redeem my "birthday points" from Speedway at the local Kwik Trip. It had me and the clerk both scratching our heads for a few minutes until we read the not-so-fine print.

[Tom King]

It's amazing how sensitive spending time in the great outdoors can make your sense of smell.

We used to go on week and a half backpacking trips in mountains with groups of Boy Scouts.  When we came out, we could smell what laundry detergent and fabric softener people used as they approached us from 50 feet away with no wind.

[caveman]

My turn, again.  After lunch John and I went back out to edge a pile of flitches left from this morning's sawing.  He went to grab his earmuffs and they were not anywhere to be found.  I mentioned that I'd seen them on the flitches before lunch.  I found them after I had smooshed them with a telehandler tire.  They must have fallen off as I was moving the pile on the forks back over to the mill.  His earmuffs were nice, comfortable Husqvarnas.  Mine are cheap but relatively effective but not nearly as comfortable as his.  I had considered getting some like his until I saw the price.  I may buy two pairs when I go get his replacement set.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

  Was the 50' away because that is as close as they would get to you after you had been spending a couple of weeks in the woods? :D

Lynn,

  Your bank story reminds me of a few weeks back when I went to make a deposit in out local bank to our checking account. We have used a credit union for 40 years or so and have our retirement checks auto deposited there then write a check from it to our local bank as needed to keep a better handle on our funds and to use local businesses. Anyway a few weeks back I forgot and wrote the check for deposit on the same account. I.e. "I can't be out of money, I still have checks in my checkbook".

  When the lady saw the check on her bank and asked me what I wanted to do with it I realized what I had done and came back the next day with a check drawn on my credit union account instead. ;)

[Magicman]

I write myself a quarterly expense reimbursement check from the sawmill account and deposit it into my personal account (which is different from PatD's household account).  Kinda strange managing 3 different accounts.  :   Many times at Walmart, etc. I am separating out the sawmill/farm items in the shopping buggy before or during checkout.  I maintain a business CapitalOne credit card and have a business account with Amazon, although I defer to eBay whenever I can.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I have a business credit card I use for most business expenses. I also separate out items in my cart for personal or business and pay from them with the appropriate card or check.

[Southside]

WV your check writing adventure sounds a bit like kiting. I wonder if the teller was getting ready to fill out one of those adverse event reports to the feds on you.  :D

[WV Sawmiller]

   There was no harm done but I sure felt silly at the time. :

    Trust me - I have done many dumber things and have the scars to prove it. ;)

[scsmith42]

Well, I sure did something dumb yesterday.  

It was time to touch up the roads on the farm, and some dump trucks were bringing in 60 tons of ABC road based to spread and compact in the bad places.

Typically I'll have them chain their tailgates and spread, and then I go over everything with my motor grader.  Now my motor grader is one of the older pieces of equipment here on the farm.  It's a Fiat Allis 100C model from the early 1980's.  I typically only use it once or twice a year.

Coming off of the recent cold snap, I've been dealing with a lot of fuel issues here on the farm, especially on the diesel equipment that does not have some type of block heater.  So when the motor grader wouldn't start, and I did not observe gray smoke coming out of the exhaust when cranking, I immediately thought gelled fuel.

After running the batteries down, replacing the fuel filter (two trips to town to source all three filters), blowing out all of the lines, hooking up a battery charger and a few hundred feet of extension cord to reach the machine, the grader still wouldn't start.  So I decided to give up, reassemble everything and then use the loader bucket on the backhoe to smooth over the fill.  I hooked the throttle linkage back up to the fuel pump (had to remove it to get access to some of the fuel lines), and it was only then that I happened to notice the "other cable" running to the injection pump.

Aw crap!  The idiot (me) that was trying to start the machine had never pulled the shutdown cable back out!  (I leave it in the "shut off" position so as to discourage theft).  The 100C is different than most diesel equipment in that you push the cable in to kill the motor, and pull it out to let it start.

Pulled the cable out, and the machine started right up.

Sigh.... that was a wasted 3 hours...

[Bert]

I leave the shut off pulled out quite a bit on the skidder. Your "theft deterrent" theory is way better than me though. I'll be honest, pull the cable and don't want to spend one more second on the machine. Next day, crank and wonder why it wont fire.

[moosehunter]

Last winter I was hearing an intermittent clunk when shifting forward - reverse in the back of my Kubota. I looked and couldn't find anything loose. I thought the wheel was loose but didn't see any sign of slop. 
Yesterday when I heard it I  decided it's gotta go in the garage so I can figure it out. Lugs were loose. Egged out the holes. New hub and studs/ bolts required. I shoulda put a wrench on it last year when I first heard it!
mh

[firefighter ontheside]

That could be expensive.  My rims on my kubota are rusted around the valve stems.  $800 per rim!!

[Don P]

I'm not affiliated but the new Shoup catalog came today so its in my mind. I cracked the lug holes on the skid steer and got bolt circle repair plates, and they also had the somewhat odd rim as well.

As far as in keeping with dumb things. A skid steer doesn't have time to egg out the holes if the lugs get loose. Because you are twisting all the time when it comes loose it starts flexing and cracking around the holes. Keep them tight and the tires up to keep trash out of the beads

[moosehunter]

Luckily the center of the wheel is separate. $310. Could have been a lot worse.
mh

[Resonator]

FFOTS, I'd look into welding washers around the valve stem hole and/or putting in tubes before I'd spend $800 a rim.

[rusticretreater]

Yeah, I would weld the old holes shut and drill some new ones and tube it.

[Crusarius]

Just make sure you dismount the tire before any welding is done on a wheel. otherwise, the wheel and tire WILL blow up!!!!

[Magicman]

My old 1974 John Deere has valve stem boots and tubes.

[Don P]

Say that 5 times fast  :D

[Magicman]

that, that, that, that, that. 

That is as fast as I can go.  :D

[firefighter ontheside]

So, my tractor has tubes.  The tubes were supposed to have been filled with water/alcohol for weight and the tubes were supposed to protect the metal from rust.  Either the fluid didn't really get into the tubes or the tubes ruptured at some point.  I'm afraid to see the damage.  I'll have to take it somewhere to get the work done.