Recent Posts

1

Timber Framing/Log construction / Re: Another pavilion build?

« Last post by Jeff on Today at 10:40:28 AM »

Now that is kinda what im thinking.  How do you fasten your upright ppsts to the sills?

2

Forestry and Logging / Re: Birch Regeneration

« Last post by Plankton on Today at 10:36:30 AM »

Around here alot of our old clearcuts or heavy thinning have come back to dense black birch stands hasn't been long enough to see what will eventually happen but they are almost a monoculture. come In right along with the Blackberrys etc.

3

FOOD! FOOD! FOOD! / Re: The Meat Curing Thread

« Last post by kantuckid on Today at 10:33:03 AM »

How I am not sure but I do know that spinach can be used to cure bacon.  USDA inspection forbids it because - get this - no nitrates are present..... You know, the bad stuff in bacon. Whose team are they on again?

That meat cure fight began in full force years ago in your state of VA with the country ham thing as Smithfield is or was based there back then. As I recall Smithfield went to court with the feds arguing that it wasn't really a country ham is cured with Sodium nitrate and nitrite-which has some credence IMO. If a country ham is sold within a state it's OK to produce them the old ways using salt, smoke, etc.. Across state lines the feds come into the game. KY has the state fair ham competition which some are not sold out of sate. One things is safe to say- neither "real" or a "make believe" country ham as sold under federal stamps is even close to healthy for us. We like them byt stopped buy one every holiday. Our compromise used to be buying some sliced country ham at Walmart deli but quit that lately as all my family likes bacon better-unhealthy as well huh?
We processed bacon where I once worked and also seems in my senior mind that it got a soda wash sometimes for mold? Our bacon was very similar to the popular Wrights bacon we buy now-along with Oscar Mayers.
A big thing with bacon is the grade and the position your pkg came off the slab itself. I used to cheat when I ran the packaging room(where the bacon slicers were along with much more) and I'd get the best part but I also bought 5lb pkgs of scraps telling the girls to save me a good one.
I now go through the pile at meat shelves to get the right meat vs. fat ratio.
People fret over nitrates and thus we now have some no nitrate sausage products. Walmart sells a good one in Andouille but hard to find in stock lately. Thing is that processed meats are not so healthy between the fat % and the sodium then throw in the nitrates which are a poison of sorts. My neighbor thinks a bologna sandwich must have a 1/2" slab on it or it is not good.  I buy mine thin sliced so I'll live forever...

4

Forestry and Logging / Re: Birch Regeneration

« Last post by barbender on Today at 10:21:10 AM »

It think in our virgin Minnesota forests, there was a lot of yellow birch. It seems to have been a somewhat important secondary commercial species at the time. I'm not sure why, but it didn't seem to reseed and come back as it is pretty rare. Some harvest sites we'll see it, it is typically deserved in the contract. A lot of our harvester guys don't even realize it's a different species. I'll ask them, "are we supposed to be cutting the yellow birch out here?", looking at a grapple full of harvested yellow birch. "What yellow birch?"😂😂 In fact, I've never been able to get ahold of any yellow birch logs to put on the Mizer, the stuff we cut is typically poor quality. There is a apparently a lot of it laying at the bottom of the harbor in Duluth, where there were large sawmills back in the virgin logging boom.

5

Chainsaws / Re: Not Sure It's The Ethanol... Discussion

« Last post by charles mann on Today at 10:20:59 AM »

@Spike60 they are a stihl, echo and kohler dealer, plus a mom and pop ag/feed and seed store. The husq dealer is further out from the house. When i went to speak to them the first time to get a carb orded, they told me the same timeframe, 1 wk. and i inquired as to why so long for a husq carb, a d was told jonesred isnt a husq, but a completely different brand. I said copy, walked out the door and went back to the feed and seed store and wont go back or recommend the husq deal. 

6

Sawmills and Milling / Re: Edger diesel to electric swap

« Last post by PAmizerman on Today at 10:19:14 AM »

26hp cat diesel

7

Firewood and Wood Heating / Re: FIRE DOOR GASKET

« Last post by kantuckid on Today at 10:15:05 AM »

So many places it's a tough answer. Some sell bulk off the roll by the ft, others sell brand/model kits, on & on & on...

8

General Board / Re: router table build, what do I want?

« Last post by firefighter ontheside on Today at 10:09:43 AM »

I bought the Triton 3 horse router which can be used without a separate lift.  You can change bits above the top with a handle that you place thru the top.  It's an expensive router bit in total I paid less than motor and lift would have been.

My table is made from 2 layers of mdf and then wrapped with oak.  Then I laminated it with a piece of formica.  Works great.  I built the fence with plywood for the structure and some hdpe for the faces on the front.  Definitely you want to build dust collection into the cabinet and the fence.

 

 

9

Tree, Plant and Wood I.D. / Re: Hickory nut ID tool

« Last post by kantuckid on Today at 10:09:38 AM »

Recently I picked up a bunch of smaller slick bark hickory nuts with a grand daughter in our woods. They are varied species of hickory. We also have many large mature shagbark hickories, none of which ever haver any nuts to harvest for me or the squirrels? Why don't my Shagbarks ever have nuts? They are healthy, often fairly close by for pollination and mystifies me! Before we bought this land we rented an old farmhouse maybe 6 miles away that had a big shagbark which yielded large tasty nuts. I've also picked up smaller nuts that were even better flavored than the big ones.  
I disagree with the link that the largest hickory nuts have the better flavor. I used to pick up small hickories on a campus that were by far the best flavor of any I've found- the university cut it down as people complained about the nuts on the sidewalk?  As for pecans that's a personal preference choice. 

10

Forestry and Logging / Re: Birch Regeneration

« Last post by SwampDonkey on Today at 10:08:36 AM »

Our veneer buyers here were always Americans, Columbia Forest Products being one, Miller Veneers another. One other bought the short birch. Those buyers always paid more for maple. They buy yellow and white birch also though, but could be $1000 bucks less compared to maple for the top stuff. We do grow large white birch up here. A lot of my travels including the west coast, I never saw a white birch bigger than 10", compared to 30-40" here in old growth. And we lost a lot of big white birch in the 40's to the die-off, well documented. Seen lots of cambial worm damage in sugar maple, it's live wood that heals and leaves a brown streak, not stain. The 'worm' is a fly larva. On my loom the wood is maple, and veneer quality, but I can see worm tracks in some pieces. She's all clear wood, no knots or heart stain.

11

Sawmills and Milling / Re: Edger diesel to electric swap

« Last post by muggs on Today at 10:08:19 AM »

What hp do you have on the edger now?   

12

Sawmills and Milling / Re: 1.25" vs. 1.5" bands.

« Last post by barbender on Today at 10:08:06 AM »

I've not had that problem, Brandi, with any of the .045x1.5 I have ran. I didn't notice any difference in sharpenings between them and .045x1.25 blades. .055" blades are another matter altogether, I usually only get 2 or 3 sharpenings on those beasts. I really don't like using them, short flex life on the 19" wheels, they are a pain to handle as they are heavy and stiff. But when you want to turn up the feed and saw dead straight, they are the ticket.

13

Chainsaws / Re: Screw Inserts Stripped in 372XP Housing

« Last post by kantuckid on Today at 10:04:00 AM »

The "fix" is dependent more so on how much material surrounds the damaged area than the fact that there are inserts designed for use in plastic (which there are as you've learned) so I hope your lucky to have some playroom around the damage. 

14

General Board / Re: Dating Viking Settlement in Nth America with wood scraps

« Last post by barbender on Today at 10:02:33 AM »

I definitely married up! That is one fine woman God gave me, in so many ways! I'm pretty proud of her, after choosing to be a stay at home mom and homeschooling our kids, she finished her bachelor's degree online and is now working on her Master's. I call her my "Sugah Momma" now, we're working towards my goal of being a stay at home dad😁

15

FOOD! FOOD! FOOD! / Re: Veggie Garden 2021

« Last post by SwampDonkey on Today at 10:02:29 AM »

I do have a wild vine on the back of the lot, probably 30 feet up into the trees. About 2" where it comes out of the ground. I know birds brought that one here because there wasn't any on the place years ago. But they always grew in the river valley so no surprise.

16

The Outdoor Board / Re: Ups and downs with a boat.

« Last post by firefighter ontheside on Today at 09:59:19 AM »

Raining and storming all morning.  May be able to go out later.  Here's a few photos from yesterday.

 

 

17

General Board / Re: Finally took delivery of my mini excavator

« Last post by Patrick NC on Today at 09:58:56 AM »

With a thumb it will definitely be a handy machine.

6’ should be plenty deep for any riff raff

Just owning a mini excavator and a pistol is plenty of deterrence.

6' is plenty,  but if you go 10 there's room for any other riff raff that might show up. Real estate is expensive.  

18

Chainsaws / Re: Screw Inserts Stripped in 372XP Housing

« Last post by Tom King on Today at 09:57:25 AM »

If I can drill, and tap the next larger size, I'll choose that over Helicoils.  Helicoils require a larger hole than drilling for the next size threaded hole.

19

General Board / Re: Finally took delivery of my mini excavator

« Last post by Patrick NC on Today at 09:56:41 AM »

Yep. 11,200 as equipped.  Max lift is 5400lbs over the blade. 4000 over the side.

20

Sawmills and Milling / Re: Skid steers

« Last post by barbender on Today at 09:55:56 AM »

Jake, do you like to screw around?😂

I'd like to try out that new Case, it looks like an animal!