Making it through another year '21-'23

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   The definition I found was for a process that was a little complicated and inefficient but eventually worked. That made sense when applied to the sentence where you used it.

    I'm safe for a while since her birthday was last week and I can always remember it is a week before our youngest GD who is a Twofer baby and was 3 y/o on 2/22/22. :D Of course there is that pesky anniversary looming up ahead in July (Or is it June :).

   I started to say I did not know which was worse - the sleet or the rain and flood warnings we are getting then I remembered and agree that the sleet is worse.

   Take care, how is the ear, keep us informed.

[GRANITEstateMP]

Tom,

When we are out treating and plowing roads, I try to keep my radio scanning between our highway trucks and the county dispatch.  If there is a call in town, we try and make sure they have as clear a shot as possible.  Sometimes we'll send a one ton to open up the drive for the fire/emt. You never know when it'll be you(me) or a loved one in need of that extra help.  So far it's worked out pretty good

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, we all have to work together, and usually do. The incident I talked about above happened at the height of a storm when the crews were just trying to keep the main lanes open. The location was on a short cross street which would have been done much later. There happened to be a guy in a 1 ton less than 1/2 mile out and he zipped over and had the place cleaned in no time.

 Still for those 2am structure fires on clear cold nights, few of the Highway guys are on the road and they have to dispatch a special crew which takes time. When the dump tank is leaking water and it's freezing instantly and nobody can stand up, it sure would be handy to have something on scene.

Howard I am glad and relieved your memory remains intact in spite of any unwanted suggestions I may entered into it.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well it's been about a month since I was told they finished up the videos on last summer's mushroom project. I have been trying to find out when they would release them to the general public, but nobody is answering my emails. Today I was looking something up and found they are actually released on the Cornell pages already. I am not big on self promoting, but I know a lot of folks here ask me about them and followed along through my trails in that project. They did one main 8 minute video, and broke out several other shorter ones, for a total of 9 videos with some details.

Here is the link to the full page.

If you don't want to go there, here is the overview video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siDe94Nw9-8&t=221s

And here is the breakout video that I did:

Sustainably Sourcing Shiitake Logs - An interview with Tom Lindtveit - YouTube

I did manage to evade any 'board smoother' type quotes as far as I know. ;D I will say, when the guy asked me to sit on the tailgate and explain briefly what I was doing and how, I had the 'board smoother' thing in my mind and was scrambling to come up with words that would work. I was working off the top of my head and did the best I could.

It is what it is. Moving on now.

EDIT: Not sure why that first video is not previewing here, but it works as a link, sorry.

[doc henderson]

good info, and you did well.

[Old Greenhorn]

good info, and you did well.

Accidents Happen. :D :D :D ;D

[doc henderson]

 

[Old Greenhorn]

Heh, I noticed a little while ago what I was wearing in that video. So I went on the Madsen's FB page where they have a photo of their suspender display in their shop and put a comment along with the video link saying that I should have thought to ask for a sponsorship to get a clean pair of suspenders. They probably won't even see it, but it gave me a chuckle.
 The hat I was wearing (on purpose) is from my friend Steve Marin's radio show (Unreal Bluegrass). He had sent me a new hat a while back, but asked for a photo which he gets from celebrates that he sends hats to (like the Steve Martin everyone else knows from movies and such). I never got around to doing the photo, so I wore his hat for the video. But I probably should have worn the new, clean hat. ;D
 These are the ways I amuse myself. What can I say? ;D

[WDH]

You did good and not everyone can have tree smoother fame. 

[Old Greenhorn]

"Father forgive me, for I have sinned. It has been over 12 hours since I caught up on all the threads on the Forestry Forum...."

Yeah, I blanked out today. I have been dreading updating my website for months now (6?), knowing I would have to update all the plugins, fix the stuff that got broken from the new version 'upgrades' then make the content changes that were needed. I took a look last night and decided (wisely) to wait until this morning when my system was full of coffee instead of beer.

 I was right, it killed the entire day and I never looked at the forum once between 7am and 7pm. But it's fairly good now. I will never get it the way I want, but I got most of the stuff added that has been on my mind. Mostly it was mushroom log stuff because what I had up there was done when I barely had a clue. Now that I have a little more of a clue, it needed to be improved. Plus, we are entering the new season. I also added a lot of references to the last years activity. I still have some other things I would like to do, but for now it is floating along OK. I don't get a lot of traffic there, but the way I use it, I don't need much. I meet people for one reason, they want something, but I also have other stuff to offer. So when they get what they want, I refer them to the website for other stuff I can do. I get questions all the time, and I put the answers up there so folks can go and read it for themselves. Somebody may hear me on that radio show and they go check out the link. It saves me repeating things verbally. I use it for education of my clients. FB stinks, so when I make a FB post, I include the link to the website with the full information. So yeah, I needed to get it updated as I go along and learn stuff myself. It's a lot better now.
 Since I get mushroom log questions here often enough, here is the link to the main page for that. After I was all done, I realized I forgot to put up a page for the one question I get asked most often and deserves it's own page "What the heck is a mushroom log?" That's for another day, I need better photos. I was waiting for Cornell to release all those videos, and now that they are out it was time to get it done. By the time I was finished, I didn't even know what day it was. I thought it was Monday.

 Danny I realize that the entire 'board smoother' thing was not at all of your doing, just a reporter who had no clue and made stuff up and a video editor who had less of a clue. But I have been in that situation several times and know that there is no coming back from it. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. When I did that interview I was told to 'just talk and describe what you are doing'. They did not tell me they were going to do that interview. They said they were just coming to shoot footage of me harvesting the logs. My concern was that I had no idea how they would edit that. Like you, I talked for a lot longer than what made the final cut and covered several aspects not included in the end. I had no idea what they might do in the editing process so my mind was racing to choose words carefully to avoid the possibility misinterpretation. Honestly, I didn't think they would use any of it. There are things in that video that bug me EVERY time I see them and they drive me crazy. I kick myself every time. But, I know that's just me and nobody else (well, maybe one or two folks) even sees the things that bother me. Most of those folks hang out here, so I'm not concerned. That particular day was the ONLY day I had saw problems for the entire month of cutting is all I got to say about that. ;D
 I lost a day on this today, but tomorrow is another one. If this dang ear would break open, I could be back at the mill, but I don't want to risk it yet. But, I'll get something done.

[Old Greenhorn]

3 more days with not much done. I have lots of outside work and am told more orders coming in at the mill. I just can't work outside with this ear. The cold air on it is no good, wind is even worse, and I have wound up in trouble doing that before. I can't risk it. Monday, since I had hammered on the website all day on Sunday, I kept at it and did another new page. I get hit with the same question about 5 times a week, every week: "What the heck is a mushroom log?" so I added a page just to answer that. So now I have a page I can send folks to directly. I am thinking about getting cards made up with a QR code just for that purpose. That's been something I was meaning to do for 6 months. I also drove to town to pick up some spray on water based urethane and found the shelves bare. In fact, I had a couple of things on my list and they had none of it. If I hadn't picked up beer while I was in town it would have been a total waste of gas.

 Yesterday I added another page on the site I have wanted to do for quite a while. Obviously I am about the smallest business one can have, so if I 'endorse' another business, group or other entity, it doesn't mean much at all for them. But from my perspective I search long and hard to find resources and suppliers to help me. When I find a company, big or small that really delivers service or quality products, I like to let other folks now about it. It's a way to recognize people and companies that still provide good value for your dollar, or time, or whatever. It took a while to collect the art, write the words, and get the formatting done. But I'm glad I did it. You have to thank the people that help you along the way.

 Today I had one more thing I thought I would do on the website, but the muse was not with me. I got involved in that 'Yellowstone' series a lot of the folks talk about here and this morning I finished off the last and only season I have access to. I can't find that new one on any of the sources I have. I am not a big TV watcher most times. So I decided to bring some finishing work in the house (breaking my own rule). I have something small I wanted to try that water based urethane on. So I had a can of brush on stuff and set myself up with these small pieces inside a carboard flat box. In a 75° room it sure didn't take long to dry. So I got in a few coats on both sides during the day. Whoopee, big production day. >:( But something is better than nothing. I seem to be in a funk. Sitting here watching the work load stack up is making me nuts.

 Tomorrow is another day.

[Ljohnsaw]

I also drove to town to pick up some spray on water based urethane and found the shelves bare.

Yeah, I found that problem as well looking for spray on polyurethane.  Only 1 can left.

Right now I'm having a bigger problem.  The national chlorine tablet shortage is alive and well! >:(
I go through about 60 pounds a year.  I typically buy 100 pounds (two tall buckets) from mail order.  That runs me about $150 in a normal year.  Two years ago, I got in just before the shortage at $190 ($1.90/pound).  Right now (IF you can find it), it is advertised at ONLY $5.19/pound.  So a 50 pound bucket is $259.  Insane.  If you buy smaller quantities (that are available in the stores), you're looking at $6 to $7/pound.

Edit:  I Googled "Why chlorine tablets unavailable 2022" and hit on one site that says there is no shortage.  They have plenty available at $12/pound!

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   Sorry that old ear is still bothering you. Maybe those big old hoop earrings are catching the wind. :D (Sorry, the devil made me say that.)

   I like the idea of endorsing good vendors. You just never know - an endorsement from a one man business may mean more to some folks than something from Wal Mart, Chevy or Ford or such would to other small businesses.

[doc henderson]

I have been ordering my Minwax poly on amazon and get 20 cans at a time, so they fill a box perfect.

edit:  I just checked, and it is available and would receive Monday if ordered soon, but up $2 a can, to $11.98 from $9.96 a can.

[Old Greenhorn]

The brush-on seems to be working OK. I just have to find an easier way to do a light sanding on those little pieces. Hard to hold and not flex. ;D
 Next time to town I will check Lowes. I don't use use spray-on stuff much at all and wouldn't want all those cans to store. I was thinking of trying to use the HVLP sprayer to apply the stuff, but right now I am just doing a dozen or less at a time trying different things.

[doc henderson]

I use toolbox rubber drawer liners to hold small stuff to sand, with very fine paper 220 to 320.  could try a little air brush sprayer.  the big issue for me with little frequent products, is the waste of material each time you have to clean a sprayer.  so, I use cans.  For big projects, I might brush a few coats till the grain is filled, and the dry areas sealed, then light sand, and spray the final coat.  I have used HVLP prayers, but it has to be a big project.  the final coat lays out nice with a thin coat compared to the first few coats. with ERC then it also helps add more finish to the areas like knots that seem to soak up a ton.

[thecfarm]

I did not know what mushroom logs was either until about 5 years ago, someone came to me and wanted some. 
I forgot how much I asked for them. I know it was a good price, the people I was dealing with always want something for nothing.
Now if they have it, it's worth top dollar, but if you have the same thing, it's worth bottom dollar.  :D
I cut the trees beside the road, and he loaded them onto the truck. 
Quickest money I ever made.  ;D  
But that was a one shot deal.

[Old Greenhorn]

It's nice to be able to say that yesterday was a pretty good day. At least much better than most in recent weeks. The pounding of my heartbeat in my ear was barely noticeable except under exertion and I resolved to get outside and get something done. (Today I can't hear my heartbeat at all but I assume it's still going.)

 Before the Ice Storm hit several weeks ago I had gotten offered some logs off of a lot clearing job. Bill had dropped the trees and pulled them out whole so as to save the branch wood for me. I had gotten one load of logs on that first day, but then the storm came and threw everyone out of whack. I did get to meet the property owner on that first day and was OK to go back anytime and get the rest. He's a state trooper and knew where I lived because he interviewed me a few months prior during an investigation. Nice fella.

 Anyway, I was long overdue to get that stuff out of there and was told nobody would be there but the well driller, who it also turned out I knew but hadn't seen since he was 14 years old (about 35 years ago). So I loaded up and went over. Nobody was there. I marked, cut, and loaded. Got a little over 20 logs out and cleaned up my mess. The property owner showed up and we chatted a bit. He was going to cut up a red maple blow down for his Dad's firewood, so I grabbed my saw and gave him a hand. Took all of 10 minutes and he was happy for the help and company.

 I headed home and unloaded, then had lunch. I headed down to Bill's and they had pulled the edger into the shop. Bill took off to grab a load of logs from a recent cut and Mike and I took off the re-sharp blades, installed the new shoe we had made to move the sliding blade, then put the new blades on. We couldn't test it because the blade bolts were shot and I didn't want to torque them at full value until we got new ones. One bolt I really had to mess with to get out and I didn't want to go through that again. Anyway, the machine has all the repairs on it now, all new belts, oil change, blades, etc. When the bolts come in Monday we should be ready for a test and a final grease job all over.

 By then it was nearly quitting time, so Mike closed up and headed home and I went down the hill to watch Bill unload a full pile of very nice straight 25' EWP logs up to 30" diameter. He said he only took that job because he was afraid I might run out of logs to mill. ;D I told him he could mill those logs up himself the day after my funeral. :D We got enough logs to last "a while". (for reference, see the video a few pages back in this thread.)

 We parked the log truck and drove up to the house to have a beer. I ordered the screws for the edger. We talked about going to Woodsman days (Boonville, NY) in August and I asked if he wanted me to take care of any reservations. Places to stay can be rough during that week. Years ago he found a private place where the owner rented out camper spaces right outside one of the gates. He found the guys number and gave him a call, leaving a message. Hopefully it will be a few of us going for the whole weekend. I headed home just as the sun was setting barely on time for dinner.

 So a much better day all around. SOMETHING got done. I have enough logs loaded for my next order, which I have to deliver, but no rush. They need them for April. Today is solid overcast and I am not sure I want to head to the mill. That deck is packed with logs waiting for me. We are entering mud season in earnest now, it seems. It's gonna be warm today (40°), then 60 tomorrow with rain. I will think of something to do today inside, I believe.

 The ear is still plugged, but I am feeling better now that I am moving around and worked a full day. I'll try to keep that going. I am excited about Boonville. That was a prime thing on my hit list the year I retired and I have been waiting 2 years to make that happen. Gonne have to focus on padding the bank account between now and August. ;D

 Let's see what today brings.

[Old Greenhorn]

I had a lazy weekend. The ear is getting much better daily now. Hearing is still reduced but some sounds now make it through so small improvements tell me it is nearing the end. Another week I guess.
 I spent time in the shop yesterday because I could easily get it up to 60°. I put a few coats of finish on some small stuff and worked on a new idea that struck me. I'll pick up on that again this morning and hopefully the hardware I ordered will arrive today. Just a silly little whim of an idea that plopped into my head. Like many other ideas I have, I am making a few to see if I can do it and how it looks.
 Expecting a rainout this afternoon, so I will likely lean into shop work more.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   Sorry to hear the ear problem is not over yet. What kind of treatment are you using, if any? Is it caused by an ear infection or fluid behind your ear drums or such? 

   When my son was a couple of years old he had fluid in his ears and they put some kind of tiny tubes in to drain it and it healed up quickly afterwards. I think they said the fluid was like glue and if not drained it would dry up like a tube of glue that was exposed to the air.

   My wife used to get ear infections when scuba diving in the Red Sea in Saudi but the local shops had some kind of antibiotic ear drops with a pain killer they she used and they worked real well. Apparently they were not available in our local pharmacies.

   I hope they clear up soon and completely.

[doc henderson]

we have them here but not over the counter.  cipro Dex is an antibiotic, and a steroid.  they took antipyrine benzocaine off the market as a drop to numb ears in minutes for pain.  not enough research but had been on the market for 50 years.  hard to get people to sign up their 2 year olds for drug studies...go figure!

[Old Greenhorn]

The ear is coming along fine, thanks Howard. This is just a very slow process. I think the steroids helped shorted it a little bit and this time around I did not go through the days of pain I usually experience at the height of it. I can hear out of it now, but low tines don't carry through well. That will come back too, it always does.

 Yesterday I got more done on that small project and got the hardware and put it on. Looks OK, I guess. A lot of time spent on small objects, but it was for fun anyway. Just a whim of an idea.

 Today I resolved to finally start the painting on those log inoculation tables I built. I hate painting. Dang things took all day, in fact I lost track of time and was nearly late for dinner. (You can read more of that in the 'did something done' thread.) Did I mention I hate painting? Running out of paint (full gallon) was just the icing on the cake. Now I have to get another gallon (custom mixed, at 45 bucks, the first gallon was 9 bucks off the 'oops' rack), but I still have to make 4 more drilling stands and paint those too, so what the heck. It was a lot more surface than I expected and with a 4" brush it took a lot longer than I expected.

These are the tables, about 3' x 6' and all the shelves have trim edges to keep things from sliding off.


 

And these are the horses, one at each end end of the tables, asymmetrical:



 

The unfinished one is in the background.

I'll be honest, it's gonna kill me to lay out that money for a custom color in a higher quality sealer, but the final job will look good and have the right stuff on it. Still buying paint, of all things, Geez! Did I mention I hate to paint stuff?

 Tomorrow it's supposed to snow, but I'll get down and get this paint bought and finish up the one horse left, then do the spots I missed because as you know, I hate painting (I may have already mentioned that).
 But it's another day, right?

[Nebraska]

Didn't realize these mushroom tables got custom paint jobs .. 8)

[Old Greenhorn]

Didn't realize these mushroom tables got custom paint jobs .. 8)

I didn't either. :D

[Hilltop366]

Now that you have a design figured out it would be easier to make a cut list and paint the pieces before assembly.