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It's tough duty, but...

Started by Old Greenhorn, May 18, 2022, 09:57:22 PM

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Old Greenhorn

So I have been working my way out of a funk today and was just trying to do some chores I had to get done. I have a huge pile of rotten junk from firewood prep that has to be burned up. So I started a pit burn and was feeding that in my shop driveway. My buddy/sometimes boss Bill saw me burning as he drove past and backed into the driveway and we talked about a number of things, upcoming jobs, schedules, etc. It came out that I needed a combination whistler and tank gauge for my oil tank. As it happened, he was pretty sure he had one on one of his surplus tanks around his place. He asked if I wanted to some help him look and while I was there, could I help him with a chore? Sure. He does a lot to help me, whatever he needs. He never asks, so...
 SO I drive on down and we check the tanks around the shop, no joy. We jump in the gator and drive west to that 'storage area' and no joy on those tanks either, so we head off into the east 'storage and reclamation area' and some side trips through his new trail plans with no joy either. Back to the shop and we find a hidden tank with the right fitting, but an odd gage. So I take that home thinking I might be able to make my new gauge fit it, but no joy there. In the meantime he had a client coming for an appointments, so he couldn't take time for the 'chore' at that point. I went home and worked on the tank, sent him a text and told him how it wound up. He texted back he was done with the customer and we could do that chore if I had time. I texted I would meet him 'on site' in 5 minutes.
 'The chore' was that he had to retrieve his refrigerated trailer from a client. He has this trailer with CO2 tanks and 4 taps on the side which is normally parked in his yard and used for his annual party in August. It will hold a lot of food and 'stuff'. Anyway, he will loan it out to friends and neighbors for big events and this time it was down to the road from his his about a mile. I thought he was going to pick it up with the truck, but he showed up with the Toolcat and I helped him hitch it up, rolled the wire, etc. and off he went. We got it back to his place and it was tricky backing it in-between the trees and getting it somewhat level. Part with the rear hitch, and partly from the front hitch. Placing blocks and rocks, blah blah. So we set it and were done. I said to him 'yeah, that was pretty easy, and I'm glad to help, out you really didn't need me, did you?'
 He laughed. No he didn't need me, except he needs to get rid of the beer left in the kegs and was hoping I could really help with that. He won't let it go to waste, but has to run the cooler and CO2 to keep it fresh, so wanted to make it gone so he could shut it down. We tested the remaining products in the truck for quality and removed to his kitchen for evaluation. During the ensuing conversation, I let it slip that my birthday was yesterday. (dumb)
 I did my best, but this will take time and persistence over the next few days.
 The things we do to help out our friends.  :D ;D

 As I began this post I noticed a shadow outside my door (so did my cat that was letting out a low growl) and I went to open the door seeing Bill sneak back down my driveway. He had left a case of beer in front of my door for my birthday. He didn't want to stay because he had the little ones in the car that needed to be in bed. Obviously, I didn't need the beer. But it was actually the only birthday present I did get this year, besides my good health. :)
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

doc henderson

Cheers, to health and happiness.  happy birthday!  Doc.   smiley_beertoast
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

rusticretreater

Better get one of those medical elastic elbow braces. Cheers!
Woodland Mills HM130 Max w/ Lap siding upgrade
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2,000,000th Forestry Forum Post

Spike60

How much "work" remains to help with that trailer? Don't suppose that there's some Keegan's in there that needs finishing? :)

I don't usually deliver saws, but I guess exceptions could be made under extraordinary circumstances.

Husqvarna-Jonsered
Ashokan Turf and Timber
845-657-6395

aigheadish

Great story! Bill sounds like a fun guy to hang around.
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

Old Greenhorn

Spike, we don't know exactly what is in there. Perhaps Stella or something, one tap has what I think is wine and Bill thinks is Ultra, which I don't really like, the other one isn't bad, and the third one is kicked. Sorry no Keegan's or I would have gone home and fetched my growler. Help yourself, but bring a mug or something to put it in. The trailer is between the house and the main driveway, use the middle tap. ;D

 Aighead, there's a fair chance you will meet him when you are here.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

JD Guy

Quote from: doc henderson on May 18, 2022, 10:43:26 PM
Cheers, to health and happiness.  happy birthday!  Doc.   smiley_beertoast
What Doc said😁😁🍻

aigheadish

Nice, Tom, I was kind of hoping so!

And, apparently the RV of Doom (what do you name a rental RV? If feels like this journey needs a name) is pulling into town much too late! I could've gladly helped with some kegs as well! 
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

scsmith42

Your post brought a smile to my face!  Thanks for sharing (and happy birthday!)
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Old Greenhorn

Yeah, that reminds me, I have to clean my growler and go fill it up.  :D It's Friday afterall.

 AIghead, since you have a little time before your trip kicks off, perhaps have a quick family meeting and work on that name a little more? ;D Just sayin' maybe you could come up with something a tad more positive or playful? How you refer to it AFTER the trip is over is totally dependent on how it actually went, but how you start out is up to you. Maybe the 'Terrific Touring Tank of '22" or something like that?

 I am sure we will find some adult beverage sources around here during your visit. There are at least 4 micro-breweries within a 20 minute drive of my place. 3 of them I have yet to visit because I've found my favorite a long time ago. :D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Old Greenhorn

Actually as these posts scrolled by again and I read the 'most recent posts' (which is how I manage to keep and eye and what exciting things others are doing outside my immediate interests) I was reminded of a less desirable duty I need to get done.
 Bill has been after me o give/sell/barter him my kegerator which I retired decades ago in the interest of drinking less. (It had limited results.) It's been sitting in the back of the garage since that time and he has his eye on it. He has a full sized tandem axle refrigerated trailer and that is a lot of cooling power to keep running for one or two kegs. We both think that we could get at least two of those new 1/8(?) kegs in there and add another tap on the decorative oak barrel on top and maybe we can fit 3. My unit needs all new hoses and checking for leaks, that's easy.
 The tough part is getting it out. I have to empty a good part of the garage to get to it and there is a lot of stuff I want to just dump and not put back. But my loving wife has 'garage sale ideas' and we have been bickering back and forth about this for years. Every time it comes up, it doesn't end well.  We did some sales a decade or two ago and they really weren't worth the effort, we don't get much traffic here and frankly it is junky stuff anyway. I just want to trash what we should and repack so we have usable space again. I don't think it will ever see a car until after we are dead and gone. ;D
 My back still hurts too much to start today, but maybe tomorrow. I wish there was a 14 y/o neighborhood kid I could hire to help for a few hours.
 Always something to do, right?
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

aigheadish

Yeah, RV of DOOM isn't a good choice but the first thing to come to mind. 

I've been contemplating a little kegerator too. Man, the setup for one right now is very expensive! For what appears to be decent quality I'm looking at around 300 bucks just for the tubes and handle. I've already got a mini-fridge... I also don't have a favorite beer in a keg anywhere, but I'd imagine I could look harder for one. 

Tom, the wife and I are pretty good garage salers, you never know what we may be willing to buy from you!
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: aigheadish on May 20, 2022, 10:53:58 AM
Yeah, RV of DOOM isn't a good choice but the first thing to come to mind.

I've been contemplating a little kegerator too. Man, the setup for one right now is very expensive! For what appears to be decent quality I'm looking at around 300 bucks just for the tubes and handle. I've already got a mini-fridge... I also don't have a favorite beer in a keg anywhere, but I'd imagine I could look harder for one.

Tom, the wife and I are pretty good garage salers, you never know what we may be willing to buy from you!
The unit I have came from a catering operation in the 70's when they replaced it. Actually it belonged to Lufthansa Air at the estate they maintained for whoever was the North American President at the time. They used it for parties and would fly in their beer from Berlin. It had a European tap on it (with the dip tube) which I changed out to the new ones we use here. I guess they aren't cheap now. If/when I get it out, I should shoot a photo before we roll it down the road.
 When you come I will gladly throw the doors wide open and remind you that quarters and single dollar bills will go a long way, in fact I will even offer open ended lines of credit, pay whenever you want, or not at all. You just have to take what you buy and may the lord have mercy on your soul. ;D :D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

doc henderson

get those grand boys, maybe they will take some home with them!   :o
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

Raider Bill

I drank too much when I had them. It was just too easy to draw a beer anytime I was thirsty.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

moosehunter

My kegorater story;
I had one in my garage for a number of years. Old full size fridge, drill hole in door for the tap, side for the CO2 line.
I almost always had a 1/2 keg of Killian's Irish red in it. 
We lived right at the edge of the village, many of my friends had to drive by on their way home so there were extra trucks in my drive most evenings. I'm pretty sure a lot of wives did not appreciate the convenience of my locale!
The local store where I bought my kegs belonged to a friend from high school. I am to this day convinced that whenever I bought a new keg he would put a sign up that said" Grover has a new keg" because I always had the most visitors on those days.
One afternoon I got home from work and tried to turn on the lights and radio in the garage, nothing. Went to the breaker box, tripped breaker, reset, immediate trip. Dang!
Back to the garage to turn off everything, unplug everything. Reset breaker, no trip. I start plugging things back in, you guessed it, my kegorator. After a few tears and making shure the keg was still cold a made some phone calls and said " boys, need some help here" 
We kicked it that night. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes!
That was 20+ years ago. Returnable cans and bottles sense then. I miss the Killian's on tap but my liver is better off.
mh
"And the days that I keep my gratitude
Higher than my expectations
Well, I have really good days".    Ray Wylie Hubbard

aigheadish

Sounds like a plan OGH!

Great story moosehunter! I have some relatives that have either kegs in their fridge, or in their neighbors fridge, or their neighbors brew their own. It's not uncommon, in that neighborhood, to help yourself into someone's garage to grab a pitcher full. 

I certainly know what you guys mean about if it's there it gets drunk. I often find beer tastier and more convenient than a good cold glass of water.
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

Old Greenhorn

Yeah MH I had something similar. My CO2 system has a leak in the valve. Local gas company wouldn't put in a new valve because the tank was well out of test date. Wanted a lot for testing. I finally just cashed it and and went back to cans. But I do miss it for parties. We will get it refurbed at Bill's and I can borrow it back if I have a need. I could also borrow the big trailer if that need arose too. I did that for a reunion and it was great. I stored a prepped big for the roast and all the food for 100 people for a 4 day party. I don't mess around when it's a big affair. :)
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

WV Sawmiller

   I admit I am naive but what is a Growler? I assume it is not my dog Sampson having a bad day.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Old Greenhorn

That's understandable Howard as you don't drink. A growler is a half gallon bottle that you can get at microbreweries to purchase beer in to bring home. You can then bring it back and get it refilled. This is cheaper for the beer maker because they don't have the bottling expense. Kind of like returnable milk bottles, if you remember those. Anyway, folks usually wind up with one or two that never for refilled and that's what I use to fetch beer from friends. I should get a couple more, but the last time I thought of it all the suppliers had a shortage and the breweries were looking for them too.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Sedgehammer

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on May 18, 2022, 09:57:22 PM
So I have been working my way out of a funk today and was just trying to do some chores I had to get done. I have a huge pile of rotten junk from firewood prep that has to be burned up. So I started a pit burn and was feeding that in my shop driveway. My buddy/sometimes boss Bill saw me burning as he drove past and backed into the driveway and we talked about a number of things, upcoming jobs, schedules, etc. It came out that I needed a combination whistler and tank gauge for my oil tank. As it happened, he was pretty sure he had one on one of his surplus tanks around his place. He asked if I wanted to some help him look and while I was there, could I help him with a chore? Sure. He does a lot to help me, whatever he needs. He never asks, so...
SO I drive on down and we check the tanks around the shop, no joy. We jump in the gator and drive west to that 'storage area' and no joy on those tanks either, so we head off into the east 'storage and reclamation area' and some side trips through his new trail plans with no joy either. Back to the shop and we find a hidden tank with the right fitting, but an odd gage. So I take that home thinking I might be able to make my new gauge fit it, but no joy there. In the meantime he had a client coming for an appointments, so he couldn't take time for the 'chore' at that point. I went home and worked on the tank, sent him a text and told him how it wound up. He texted back he was done with the customer and we could do that chore if I had time. I texted I would meet him 'on site' in 5 minutes.
'The chore' was that he had to retrieve his refrigerated trailer from a client. He has this trailer with CO2 tanks and 4 taps on the side which is normally parked in his yard and used for his annual party in August. It will hold a lot of food and 'stuff'. Anyway, he will loan it out to friends and neighbors for big events and this time it was down to the road from his his about a mile. I thought he was going to pick it up with the truck, but he showed up with the Toolcat and I helped him hitch it up, rolled the wire, etc. and off he went. We got it back to his place and it was tricky backing it in-between the trees and getting it somewhat level. Part with the rear hitch, and partly from the front hitch. Placing blocks and rocks, blah blah. So we set it and were done. I said to him 'yeah, that was pretty easy, and I'm glad to help, out you really didn't need me, did you?'
He laughed. No he didn't need me, except he needs to get rid of the beer left in the kegs and was hoping I could really help with that. He won't let it go to waste, but has to run the cooler and CO2 to keep it fresh, so wanted to make it gone so he could shut it down. We tested the remaining products in the truck for quality and removed to his kitchen for evaluation. During the ensuing conversation, I let it slip that my birthday was yesterday. (dumb)
I did my best, but this will take time and persistence over the next few days.
The things we do to help out our friends.  :D ;D

As I began this post I noticed a shadow outside my door (so did my cat that was letting out a low growl) and I went to open the door seeing Bill sneak back down my driveway. He had left a case of beer in front of my door for my birthday. He didn't want to stay because he had the little ones in the car that needed to be in bed. Obviously, I didn't need the beer. But it was actually the only birthday present I did get this year, besides my good health. :)
How nice to have such a friend in most several ways . I had a friend like that back in the north , down here gents aren't so inclined it seems . Cheers and happy beerday !
Necessity is the engine of drive

Old Greenhorn

Indeed. I am blessed in many more ways than I deserve.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Old Greenhorn

And by the way, just in the way of full disclosure. The first time I finally met Bill as a 17 year old, my inclination was to wrong his neck rather than befriend him but that was 25 years ago. :DRough, rowdy and reckless was his style. In some ways, it still is. ;D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Spike60

I'll second that. Billy is unique, refreshingly blunt and first class. Glad to be able to call him a friend.
Husqvarna-Jonsered
Ashokan Turf and Timber
845-657-6395

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: Spike60 on May 21, 2022, 06:39:48 AM
I'll second that. Billy is unique, refreshingly blunt and first class. Glad to be able to call him a friend.
Well yeah, he is unique! And especially blunt and first class. I am glad I didn't kill him when I wanted to. :D :D 8)
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

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