Making it through another year, '23-'24

[Old Greenhorn]

 :D :D :D
 Yeah, well it's funny you mention that, I have been considering MAYBE building one. I do have some resources in that department though. As a matter of fact I am sawing out an order now for and 8x 10 woodshed. I could maybe do one for myself someday..... maybe.

[Old Greenhorn]

Last post I said I was going to work at the mill Saturday to give my back a little rest. What was I thinking? Yeah, 2x12x12's in wet hemlock are always easy on the back right? :D ;D It was pretty hot too. Got home and had lunch around 2 then yanked a few RO logs off the log pile to buck up for firewood. But it was still hot and I was waning in the energy department.
 I ripped down that slab and messed around with trying to flatten each half, but ran out of time. I grabbed a shower and we headed to Bill's for dinner. We got home kind of late and I overslept this morning with a slow start at around 10am. It felt like a 'domestic day' So I pulled up all the garden cloth from last year, emptied the compost bin on the garden, rototilled it all in and panted the tomato plants (Beefsteaks, I love 'em). I got out the hose from the water tank and hose off the lawn furniture after watering the garden, also washed off the lawn tractor. I mowed the front and back lawns but man it got hot out!
 I went back in the shop (10° cooler) and tried again to plane out those slab halves without much improvement. So I just went and glued them up as is, it's a LOT better than it was.
This is before planeing and glue up:



 

Pretty ugly, right?


 While I had the planer running I planed out some pine in 1x6 and 3/8 x 12. I had in mind to make some crates like Howard and Don P make from time to time. SO I finished up the day making the box ends and cutting up strips. I think I'll pick up one of those pneumatic staplers at HD and try a few. Just getting my feet wet. I will make a few 6 pack carriers just for fun or give away.
-----------------
 SO Bill called me early yesterday morning and I figured something was up for a 7:30 call. He had been talking to our fire chief who was asking him to bring some equipment to the 'Touch a Truck' event for kids and families the FD is putting on next Sunday. Since they have a big field, they are also trying to get local crafters and set up some booths and sell their stuff. No fee for vendors, they just want to make it a fun community day for folks to meet up with neighbors. Bill thought my wife Pat, and/or I would like to come over and set something up. Later in the day I ran into the Chief's wife who is the dept. secretary trying to recruit vendors. She made a hard, but pleasant pitch, hard to say 'no'. I figure 'what the heck'? SO if the weather holds, I will bring some stuff over, set up a canopy, and my wife will do the same. I don't expect to sell a thing, but 4 hours sitting in the dun catching up with neighbors cant be all bad, right? On the other hand I had a bunch of years in the department and they are still trying to get me back in. I really don't want to hear every member that still knows me come by and make their pitch for me joining back up. That ship sailed, they got a piece of my soul that has taken me years to get back. I have no regrets and would do it again if I were younger, but I am done. I just wish they could accept that. So really, I don't want to have a lot of 'those conversations', but if we can avoid that, it could be a fun day or at least, not suck. ;D
 Technically, this is my 'first show' but as low key as it can get. I have started pulling stuff from upstairs and piling it by the door in the shop.  I'll have to see what I can get in the truck. I am not bringing a trailer.
 Tomorrow is another day and in particular this is the one where we honor those who sacrificed their own safety, well being, and in many cases their lives in the defense of our country. This debt can never be repaid. and it fall to us to honor their contributions to maintaining our way of life and our great country.
usflag

[aigheadish]

Sounds like a neat event, Tom, I'll be interested to hear how it goes.

[Hilltop366]

Tom you need a Tee shirt that says "Retired...Don't ask." so when someone starts trying to re-recruit you just point at the shirt and smile politely.

[WV Sawmiller]

Hilltop,

  Tom would not want to do that. He may be retired but if the right job is offered he might want to go rejoin the labor force. I scan my job offers daily I get on my e-mail. One of these days that "bikini inspector" job is going to be there and I'll be hanging up my chainsaw and parking the mill. Of course that kind of work is seasonal so I might return to sawmilling in the cooler weather.  :D

   I bet Brandi is still looking for a "Buns inspector" job and she could be coaxed away by that. ;)

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I won't get into it, but the FD is all volunteer work for which you get unlimited and unscheduled hours with all the overtime your body and brain can take. Now that I am retired I need that time to make money to buy food and stay in our home. That come first. I am tired of having to explain myself to these guys over and over and feel it shows a total lack of respect for me and what I need now, so I get annoyed. 'nuf sed on that.
----------------------------------

I'm doubt this show will be much of anything, but I am doing what I can to get ready and make a decent showing. I am working on this sewing machine table slab top thing and don't know if it will be ready in time, but I need to get it done anyway. Part of that includes using some 5/16-18 threaded wood inserts to get a good grip on the support shelf and stringer. I will be using 1/4-20 from RiteLeg for the top, but I need bigger ones for the other stuff and noted that home despot had these in stock. So I grabbed some the other day. This morning I went to locate and install them and came to learn that they are not like the ones I get from RiteLeg, those have a hex socket to drive them in with and are very easy to use and install straight. These ones from HD have a screwdriver slot in them. >:(


 

With all the screwdrivers I have, there are none wide enough for this gizmo. I had one that was close, but as hard as I tried I could not get these things to go in even close to straight. I tired drilling a pilot to start it but that didn't work either. Finally I gave up on using them at all, but when I tried long wood screws, they just weren't cutting it as far as being secure goes with the tapered holes in those Singer Sewing legs. I got entirely frustrated and did other stuff for a break from it.
 SO I had lunch and sat down to think about it and decided the way I was trying to drive these things was just wrong. I needed to hole them securely and square. So I went out in the shop, cut the head off a 5/16 bolt and screwed a locknut on it as a stop. Thusly:


 

 Then I chucked it up in my drill and drove it in at slow speed.



 

 It worked pretty perfect. Once it was home, I backed off the locknut and unscrewed the stud from the insert. I will have to order some of these inserts in the proper size with the hex socket and just keep them on the shelf. I use a bunch of 1/4" which I get from Ritleg, but would also like to have 5/16 and even some 3/8 just for future needs.
 BTW, all of these inserts I got from HD needed to have a tap run through them because they had burrs inside them from the slotting operation. That ticked me off, sloppy work. SO yeah, I am not a fan of this design. Even with the stud driver I made, they still don't drive dead straight. The ones from RiteLeg have a small pilot on them that centers them up in the hole and every one goes in dead square.

 Anyway, in my small mind I saved the day and happily went about sanding and finishing these pieces. I need these done before I can put the legs together and finally mount them to the table top (locating the inserts in the top). It seems my urethane isn't drying up as fast as I would like and I am trying to squeeze what I can out of this partial gallon I have left that is nearing a year old, screening off the skin and thinning with mineral spirits. Hopefully tomorrow I can do a light sand and put on final coats. I had to order 5/16 brass flat head bolts for this, could not find them any place locally, and I really tried. Hopefully they will get here in time for assembly Saturday. If not, oh well. ;D I would like to have it for Sunday, but if not, so what? I have been doing those after dinner sessions in the shop to try and get a bit more work done as I pull out stuff for this show that may need cleaning or some touch up work, or pricing put on it. But I have to keep in mind that my expectations are very low for this and if I make 50 bucks it will be more than I thought. It's a lot of work for little or no return, but I need to go through the motions and kind of see what I need to do actual shows and sales. I gotta make some money for a trip I want to make to Georgia next April or so, as well as Booneville in August, in addition to the tax bills etc.
 Tomorrow is another day.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well it was a day, for sure. I was up at 5 am and started packing the truck by 6, done by 7, came in and cooked breakfast, left for the show at 7:50 and arrived at 7:57. ;D This was good because the truck was LOADED and I was afraid the vibrating would cause some damage to my pieces. Pulled is and got directions to 'my spot'. Got 2 different spots from 2 different folks  :D. Typical for an FD operation, so I got that straightened out and tried to drive in the easy way, but some bean brain and parked a giant Terex Skidder bucket truck where I needed to go, so I found another way in. The wife arrived and pulled in next to me and we both began setup. While doing that I saw somebody had fired up that Terex to move it, it was Bill in the cab  ;D. He can operate anything and when he showed up, I assumed they asked him to get it out of there. He drove it around onto the field, dropped the blade and then wandered over to say 'hi'. I thanked him for moving that machine. Turns out, it belongs to him now. He bought it yesterday and had it delivered to the fire station early this morning. Nice machine, this one sure isn't clapped out at all. Everything is tight and no leaks.


 

 It's got VG rubber too.



 

It was a big hits for the kids too. ;D Well at least those who could climb up in the cab.
 As for 'the show' aspect, I set up a small booth:


 

And my wife had the booth next to me:


 

 It was an easy day, my wife brought a short load, it was only 4 hours and not really billed as a 'craft fair'. She sold a few things, I only sold 2, and 1 of those was something she made and asked me to see if I could sell it for her because she was tired of carrying it around. It drew the most interest and I almost sold it twice before somebody laid down the cash. I also sold one of those 6 pack crates to the same person. That was it, but it was above my expectations anyway, as I had none. ;D I did have one woman that fell in love with that sewing machine table. She wanted it for a TV stand but need to measure in her apartment and see if she can fit it and it's the right height. She came back twice to look at it and ask questions. She is local and I know her daughter and SIL better than her. I told her I could deliver it later if she wanted. I did get a lot of compliments for the nicest, or most impressive booth there, but really, there were only 5 vendors total, so.... :D I did learn a lot about what I need to do to improve my setup and making it more manageable and also about the booth size I really need.

I saw a lot of old friends and nobody tried to talk me into anything. I guess we have finally put that to bed. Lots of the current members don't even know me. A lot of members I saw today I have never met. During close up, a woman at the booth next to us got hit and was in a lot of pain from a flying easy-up. She had pre-exiting back injuries, I didn't see it happen, but as usual, everybody in the area started hollering for me. I swear I am still the crap-magnet. So I started working with her and realized she needed transport, I looked around, saw my son, and told him to go get the Medics. There were several on hand, so I let them take over and slipped away. They had her packaged and transported in short order.
 Packing up for me was an issue, too many folks trying to help and not giving me time to figure out how I fit it all in this morning. So it was a little messy and maybe some stuff got rubbed up a bit. Show closed at 2, I was packed by 2:30, home by 3 and unloaded by 4. Short show, but a long day. We got pizza for dinner and are both tuckered out old folks.

[aigheadish]

Looks like a nice setup Tom. 

That machine is a monster!

[gspren]

   Back to the threaded inserts if you have access to a metal working lathe you could use some 1/2"-5/8" all thread and make some 5/16" and 3/8" inserts and then use a regular tap in the wood to get them in. A few drops of glue and your good.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I currently don't have a working lathe, but your idea is good. Truthfully I am quite happy with the style RiteLeg sells. The wood thread is interrupted so when it is all the way down in the wood, it really can't be backed out. They are strictly for wood. The brass ones I bought for that sewing table job turned out the be for metal OR wood use and they had a 1/2-13 on the outside and 5/16-16 in the ID. Yeah I could make them but even with a running lathe, it's quicker and easier to buy them. Now if I ever need say 100 pieces for a project, that would be a totally different story. :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, lemme see... I have been doing some oddball stuff the last couple of days, it's gotta get done at some point. I split a trailer load of wood and got it all stacked then I pulled some more logs and did some bucking. I pulled a couple more logs and bucked those up yesterday and was pretty shot by the end of the day. That fire smoke has been fairly distracting and maybe makes it a little hard to work. It was bad here yesterday afternoon. Today just steady all day, visibility was about less than 2 miles. Breathing is a little rough when you're working hard.

 Today, I re-registered my trailer online, so that's done. I bucked up the rest of the logs I had out and played around with some 24" diameter RO cookies to see how they come out when they dry. I cut these on a diagonal just for something different. I went to town and got some 4' chicken wire to put around my tomatoes. If I can't catch or shoot that ground hog, I will keep him out somehow. So I spent time getting that up, but Bill stopped in to help me for a few minutes with another job. I needed lifting hands for 2 minutes and that's all it took to get the ladder rack on the truck, he took off and I clamped it in place. Then I finished up the chicken wire.  I had to run out for a Festival planning meeting, got there and found it canceled, so I got the publicity stuff I needed and headed back. Took a short break and then decided to gather up the tools to install that ladder rack properly. One thing led to another and after an hour or so all the holes were drilled and filled with bolts and everything was lined up. Done by about 6:30. I never did get lunch today, too busy.
 I have no photo of the chicken wire. ;D Here is the next load to split, I am guessing it will be a full load on the trailer, maybe more. Diameters run from 24" on down to about 12". Good stuff, RO and WO. They would have been sawlogs. Oh well, I need heat.



 

 The rack doesn't look bad either.



 

 I got the rack from my SIL when he got a new truck last fall and was going to junk this rack. These things ain't cheap. My thought was it would make bringing lumber home from the mill a lot easier.  But since I did that show Sunday, I realized I need more room in the truck so things don't get banged up. Having some shelves on top of that rack I can hang benches on would make things a lot easier, so that part is the next project. I am also missing the tool box to keep my saws out of the weather and sawmill tools, etc. So I am still searching for a box solution that isn't $700. . Anyway, the rack is mounted now and I can move forward. I am looking at some shows, both that are still on my list are in September, I'd like something in the first half of the summer if I can find it. 
 I really have to get down to the mill, and it's already Wednesday. But I still have this dull headache from the smoke that distracts me. At least I got a few things off the list today.

[Ljohnsaw]

Yeah, the smoke from wildfires can get old real quick. I think the last 3 out of 5 years here we had several weeks of bad smoke.

Nice rack. Hit CL for free truck boxes.

[thecfarm]

I just bought a Tundra which has the same rack on it.
I don't haul much, so don't really need it, but it's not in the way either.  ;)

[doc henderson]

Tom, how many mushroom logs can go up there?

[Old Greenhorn]

None Doc, they are too short and will fall through the big hole in the middle. :D
 John, free boxes? Not hardly around here. I can find plenty of used saddle boxes like the one I already have, but nothing like what I need or want. OTOH, on a whim I checked Fleabay and may have found something that will do.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

  If you need help I can convene the design committee to help redesign/modify that ladder rack to hold a big load of mushroom logs. I am sure a good bit of welding and bracing material will be required and due to the height we will likely have to include some outriggers so the whole truck does not turn over from being so top heavy. I see drop down ramps and some winches in your future to roll the logs up that high. When we finish I am afraid the weight may be more than your current truck will handle so be prepared to make an upgrade and transfer the whole system to the new, heavier truck.

  Anyway, just remember we are here to help. :D

[doc henderson]

I am seeing a cover to keep the rain off, and maybe a vending machine mechanism, so folks can buy right off the truck with use of cash or a credit card, even in the off hours.  maybe a light beam that can project a two man saw into the sky for when Tom needs to sell logs either before they get too old, or if he wants cash for a project.  Just like the bat signal.  will need a hot spot so people can report real time tree removal so you can go pick up the logs.  may need a conveyor so the loading is easier from the ground.  It will need a auto stacker.  a computer inventory system so you can check inventory and also check your bank account.  Let us know if you want any help.  

[WV Sawmiller]

   I thought about adding a fold away loading arm with a padded grapple - we don't want to damage the bark on the logs - to lift and place the logs. I figure that will be a real time and labor saver. I am pretty sure the loginator will fit in the bed of the truck under the suspended load in case Tom needs to go ahead and inoculate the customers logs when he gets on site. I guess he will have to come up with an additional rate for this service. I would think it would be better if the customer provided the spores so they cannot blame Tom if the mushrooms don't grow or the wrong species of mushrooms grow. We would not want Tom being dragged into a court case because the customer was growing illegal "happy" mushrooms.

[doc henderson]

I like the grapple, and Bill prob. has some old parts laying around.  The vending machine could have options for plain or inoculated logs.  the loginator would be incorporated into the vending apparatus.  logs could be just drilled and inoculated or not.  the chips from the drilling process can be fed into a gasifier vis and auger to power a generator, so Tom can listen to bluegrass music when he is there to service the self serve dispensary.  the logs could remain full length on top, and cut to the specified length by the vending process.  the whole setup can be painted "brown".  

[Old Greenhorn]

Geez, I just stepped outside to stack wood for a few hours and look what I come back to! :D With friends like you guys, who needs enemies? But really, I appreciate it, but thank you, no thanks. I am fine and can screw this up all by myself. ;D Besides, I am sure the committee had more important tasks to work on that would benefit humanity better then this project which doesn't even exist.
 I have thought long about making a grapple for picking logs in the woods, and if you guys recall, I put a winch lift on the trailer when I was doing lots of logs but haven't used it since. The issue with that was time. It's hard to make anything that is faster than just picking them up by hand and loading. You can only do one at a time. So whatever gets made has to operate very fast.

 As for the truck setup, I think I have a solution worked out. I just have to decided between a 44" long box or a 48". That will give me a place to leave saws, tools, and gas/oil out of the weather. I'll probably pull the trigger on that today, later. 

[doc henderson]

Don't worry Howard, He will come around.  He just needs to decide on a color.

[Old Greenhorn]

Short report for today, I stacked that overloaded trailer of wood. RO is heavy! Had lunch around 1pm and when I went to adjust my chair at the table a pain shot up, down, around, and all over my lower back. It was a screamer this time. SO I'm a hurting dude right now wishing the advil will do something, but alas. ;D I am out of logs again anyway. I think I need 3 good trailer loads to finish the house pile up, maybe 4, and 2 or 3 for the shop. But at least I am pluggin' along.

 So I knocked around with other piddly stuff, and after reading the above 'helpful suggestions' I thought I had better work on that a little bit and get a solution lined up and in the works to hedge off any future 'help'. I had decided a couple of days ago to put a plain rectangular toolbox up on top of the roof rack, but it took me a while to find one and also figure out the right size to hold my 'basics'. Those basics are a small toolbox, two chainsaws, some ratchet straps, a few chokers, a grease tube, gas and oil cans, ax, etc. Basically anything I don't want in the cab. SO I found a box and settled on one 49"x15"x15" (LxWxH). I ordered that this evening from fleabay for $180. and yeah it's a cheapo, but it will work. Now I need a nice board to stretch across the rails, clamp on with u-bolts, and screw the box down to. I found a bench seat I made out of pine a couple of years ago and had to abort because it warped. It stood in the corner waiting for a use, I found it. ;D So I cut it to length and re-sanded a bit then put a coat of oil poly on one side.. That will work just fine, about 1-1/2 thick, and HD has the u-bolts in stock. Hopefully the box gets here by next weekend. In the meantime, I have an idea to work on for hanging racks for my benches and tables, but I will have to mill up some lumber for that first. Don't worry guys, I've got this.  ;D

[Old Greenhorn]

Lemme see, where was I? Oh yeah, messed up back (again). SO Saturday I got down to the mill for a little bit just to get back into it. I just did one large pine log, 12' 6x6's can be a bit to lift and stack and I was too lazy to use the toolcat with the grapple, so I just humped it over. also did  a load of 2x4's. I could feel the back getting worse so I did the slabs and headed home.
 Sunday I did that hard maple tree, getting it out of the swamp (refer to the 'daily firewood' thread for more). That didn't help my back much and it was a sweat filled day. From Friday through today I worked on the shelf that is going on the truck rack to set the toolbox on. I was adding coats of oil based poly to harden it against the weather a bit.
 Today I drilled the holes and mounted it up after putting some finish inside the holes.



 

 I have to trim the bolts, but I will wait until the box comes and I make sure it all fits up right. If you notice in the far end of the above photo, there is a board along the front edge of the rack. This is a test, it's just quick and dirty and ugly as sin. I since I put the rack on, I noticed a low pitched noise that is really annoying over 55 mph and pretty bad as 65. I reached out and grabbed the rack when I was doing about 60 and it was vibrating like mad. So I thunk on it a bit and have a theory that it is caused by the fluid dynamics around that bar at speed. So I grabbed a board and cut it off at 48" then put 2 u-bolts in it at a 45° angle. I want to see if this changes the dynamic. I have not tested it yet, but if it works I will pull it off, plane it out and paint it or something to make it look a little better. I really don't want to live with that noise.



 

 I have more coming on this rack, just phase one now, Phase two is just starting in the concept stage. Yes, I did forgo the input from the committee and because of that I had to make a change on my own. I was going to mount the box cross wise, just above the back edge of the cab. But then I realized that I would not be able to put long lumber or ladders up there, the box would be in the way. So I flipped it by relocating the floating stringer bar to hold the same dimension and mounted it as you see. This will give me easier access to the box also. Over the cab was a bit of a reach to be lifting saws and tool boxes in and out of. The box is 15" tall.
------------
 I would have gone to the mill today, but rain was predicted and we did get some short sprinkles when there was none showing and the radar. Besides, my back is not back up to snuff quite yet. Probably a poor decision, but my back needed a day off.
 Tomorrow is another one.

[doc henderson]

cb antennas mounted on the board in the front?

[aigheadish]

Tom, I've got some back issues as well and it's no fun. My brother in law suggested one of those foam rollers and though a bit painful to use, it seems to work pretty well. They are cheap and so far I've only had to spend about 1 minute at a time on it rolling back and forth (slowly and gently) to ease my pain and straighten me out some. Maybe worth a try...