Making it through another year '21-'23

[doc henderson]

mine is a 24-inch grizzly, but to look at yours it is too or the exact design.  I would see if they made that size.  it was about 160 bucks I think, but it never worked right before.

[doc henderson]

this represents mine.  they have some that are called 37 inch as well, and would prob fit yours

g0450_pl.pdf (grizzly.com)

this is for the 37 inch.  not sure of the size or price.  you may have to call.

405 P0449405 CONVEYOR BELT 930 X 2290MM

that is 36.61 inches wide,  about 90 inches long (circumference) so can compare to the other.  

[doc henderson]

ooops looks like $651

[Old Greenhorn]

The one we have looks very much like the photo you offered up, even the handle and some of the sheet metal covers are spot on. But that is a single drum and we have a double drum. However, out belt is 36 x 72 long.
 I think I am going to switch to an abrasive belt for the drive. I will call industrial abrasive tomorrow about getting a custom belt made and also order some rolls for the drums. I was thinking 80 and 120, what do you think?
 If it wasn't such a job the change the drive belt I would try the one we have. It's a bit stiff and needs cleaning, but it might still work. The thing is, it's about 4 hours work to change that belt if it doesn't work. I have to take the whole top of the machine apart and then after changing, everything has to be realigned.
.................

 Well today I got a pretty full day in on it. Everything is now taken apart down to the last bolt. I have bare frames and sheet metal that need cleaning sanding and painting. I am delivering all that to Bill's shop for the guys to play with. They have a big sandblaster down there. I will work on rejuvenating all the working parts. Then I have to make a new platten and get everything re-assembled on that. I am going to go hunting for some uhmw sheet, but I don't have much hope on that.
 Back at the mill tomorrow.

[Andries]

While you're on the sawmill tomorrow, think about your list of folks who manage hockey rinks or contract to replace/refurbish hockey rinks.
The Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) plastic rolls that make up the "boards" are usually up for grabs during a re-fit. 
I looked up your profile, which placed you in N.Y. so I'm gonna guess that you know what I'm talkin' about here.
😋

[Old Greenhorn]

That's a GREAT idea Andries! I never would have thought of that, and yes I do know what you are talking about, when I lived in a metro area I used to go to a LOT of NHL games, but that was a lifetime ago.
 Anyway, I don't think it's something I will have time to pursue for this project. Something I will look for going forward though. The closet rink is 15 miles away and I don't know anybody there. It would take a long time to build a relationship. However I do have a surplus/salvage place in town the often has sheet off-cuts and scraps. I might get lucky there. If not, I have two other ideas I can do with the materials I have on hand. I thought the UHMW would be an elegant solution, but if not, other stuff would work. It's tough stuff, so my first choice. I just need 1/4" sheet stock, but I priced it at $120 bucks. Higher than I want to go for a 'nice to have'.

[doc henderson]

both are dual drum.  the farm stores carry various sizes of slick plastic sheeting up to 4 x 8 sheets.  if you wax the MDF it should be ok.  do not over think.  get a good conveyor.  it may be cheaper to get a custom-made sanding belt but check out the rubber.  what is the maker of your sander?

[Old Greenhorn]

Well Doc, I am not overthinking, just planning the best option. I only want to do this once, changing the belt or platten means a full tear down. 
 For the platten I remembered that I have a fresh clean office desktop that was never installed and it still in the cardboard. I have been moving that thing around with me for 40 years. It is Formica laminated on the top and has plastic trimmed edges I can remove. It is the exact width I need and I can cut it to length easy. But it's just 1-1/8 thick. I need 1-1/4 in order for the roller supports to line up properly with the top surface. There are several way to accomplish, but I thought it would be neat to add a 1/8" layer of UHMW to the top. Plus, that would be easy to replace without a full teardown.
 But if I can't find the material cheap, I will go with another solution. It's not a problem, I was just trying to do a nice job while it's all apart. I figure it will take nearly a day to cut the platten and re-attach the frame, then get the drive roller adjusting slides installed accurately. You have to do this right or there will be heck to pay trying to get it all to run true at setup time. BTDT, now 'do it right the first time' is my rule of thumb. 
 But, I am milling today and scouting mushroom logs for next weeks order I nearly forgot about. ;D

[Old Greenhorn]

Seasonally cool this morning. I loaded up the truck with all the framing and sheet metal from that drum sander and took it down to Bill's shop for those guys to do the clean, prime, paint thing while I work on the mechanicals. I unloaded that and stuck it in the back of his shop. I had to move the loaner UTV out of the way so I took it for a little spin. ;D I like the diesel, it's pretty perky.
 I switched my tools into the toolcat and milled for a pretty good session. It's getting confusing with similar lumber sizes on two different shed kits and I think I may have them messed up. Tomorrow I am going to have to spend and hour or so re-stacking by kit. I am very close to finishing them both, then I start on the third, a different size of course and I am told there is a 4th coming, but he doesn't know what size yet. It's making me crazy trying to deal with the constantly chnaging orders and sizes, but that's the job, right?

 This is the stack for the 4x10 shed:



 

 I think I have too much lumber in there and some of it should be with the 8x10 kit, which looks like this:



 

I only need one 3x8x12' to finish the 4x10 kit, and a little more than that for the 8x10, so looking at the piles I think I have some of it in the wrong stacks. :D
 I'll just throw down another set of bunks and start recounting and stacking by kit. I still have a 6x10 kit to start so any extra will go to that. The only differences in these kits is the depth of the side walls and the rafters and floor decking. But I am sawing for time too. So I might mill deck boards that will be 4' but make them from a 12' log (with plenty of trim) so I get 3 deck boards out of each one I mill. This is how it gets confusing.

 One good little extra to brighten my day. We keep a cheap 110v HF blower down by the mill. There is a likewise cheap extension cord dropped over the cliff from above to supply the little power it needs. But somebody was tossing masonry scrap off a truck and cut the cord up top and did NOT fix it, thus cutting off the little power I needed. I used that blower every day to clean the mill and have been trying to do it by hand for too long long since I lost my power source. I have no broom there. SO today I thought to throw my little leaf blower in the truck and I cleaned the mill pretty well. I also took the opportunity to blow the deck clear and that looked nice, for a little while anyway. ;D


 

 It hasn't been that clean since the slab was poured. :D I just get tired of having those bark chunks under my feet to roll my ankle or trip me up when I am moving something heavy. I did another cleaning when I finished the day. Looking at it makes me smile. It's the small things, right?

 Back to the mill tomorrow and I'll try to sort all this mess out.

[aigheadish]

I wouldn't have guessed there was concrete under there after seeing it. Looks great!

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   I hope they find "somebody" who broke the cable and chastise him most severe for his wanton negligence. ;) :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, we know who it was an I believe he was spoken to (a family member), but it remains un fixed. I don't think of it until I am down at the mill and the break is 40' up the cliff. Maybe today I will bring some stuff and fix it.
I've got a lot to do trying to finish off one complete kit today and re-stack it. We are away for the weekend so I need to get a move on.

 Ideally I should have Bill buy one of these small gas blowers to keep down there. No cords and more power make it work good and fast, and I can do areas I can't reach now. ;D

[gspren]

I have two stihl gas blowers and a milwaukee m18 fuel blower, I almost never use the stihls anymore.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I have a self contained Homelite homeowner job that is perfect for down there. Bill has all M18 stuff and a ton of it, even a chainsaw, but I don't want to have to mess with batteries and a charger down there, it will get damp and ruined prematurely. I will be chasing a battery forever that was needed in another tool "just borrowed for a few minutes". But it is a thought. In this case given the options, I prefer the gas. In most other cases I would prefer a battery unit. But I need good blowing power to clean off that slab.

 Now if the electrician that has been promising to show up for a year ever does come and we get the 100 amp service down there, the situation changes. And if we get the slab poured in that steel building it changes again and I will have a full shop just across the road from the mill. But it all takes time.

[doc henderson]

the electric ones start every time with  pull of a trigger.

[Old Greenhorn]

That's true, unless your battery is dead or somebody cut your power cord. ;D But that little Homelite I have starts on the second pull real easy has moves a lot more air than those battery jobs. Each type has it's sweet spot. But for me, it's not just dry sawdust, it's big pine bark chunks and lots of other stuff that is heavier than sawdust.
------------------------------

At any rate, after all this discussion, I finally remembered to throw some tools in my pocket this morning and I fixed the wire before I loaded the TC and headed to the mill. I spent 2-1/2 hours sorting and restacking lumber because it was getting really confusing with the changes on the fly and I lost confidence in my counts. Turns out I had the 4x10 kit complete except for one 3x8x10 header. The 8x 10 kit is a little more short. No surprises on either one. Moving all the wood, even with the forks, wore me out. I bucked and put up an ugly knarly 24" x 12' pine log. Another one I want to see gone. I got three 3x8's and two 2x8's out of it. One 3x8 finished the 4x10 kit off and the other two went into the 8x10 kit. The two 2x8's were supposed to be 2x6's (my bad), so I have to throw them back up and re-cut them for the 8x10 kit. I cleaned up, blew off the mill (with my now working electric blower) and recorded my tallies, still wasn't sure where I stood on the 8x10 kit. After I got home and had lunch at 3pm, I put all the numbers into my spread sheet and came to realize I am very close to finishing that one up too. I only need to re-cut those 2x6's and cut 2 more 6/4 x 10 x 8' hemlock for the deck and it's done. The rest of that hemlock log will go to the third (6x10) shed. Now I am told there is a 4th shed coming. :D  I did pull a calf muscle today stacking those 6x6x10 hemlock beams, hope it doesn't keep me up tonight. Anyway, I got 3 days off coming.

 Tomorrow we head to VT for our annual visit with cousins and we kill the weekend by sitting around and talking and cooking and not doing much else but visiting or walking in the woods or checking to see if their 100 year old apple trees have any donations for us. Of course there is the flea market too. 8) And the wimmen folk usually find a place they have to go shop (without the menfolk, which we appreciate).

 We'll get home some time Monday, but I have no plans to go to the mill. ;D

[Nebraska]

Enjoy the weekend.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, we are back from Vermont. A simple weekend just 2.5 hours away visiting family and I think it is always the closest thing to a true vacation I can ever get. No running around, just hanging out, doing whatever pops in our heads, and enjoying an area I have visited since I was a baby. Family all around. Aunts and Uncles are long dead but lots of cousins if we want to drive around.
 We didn't.
 We drove over on Saturday morning and noted as we passed through Troy, NY that they have a brand new Harbor freight store. Wrote a note and put it on the dash to stop on the way back. I need locking wheels for that sander rebuild. Got to Wilmington and didn't hit as much of the tourist traffic as we have in the past. Years ago we would stop, but the quilt shop my wife liked has closed this year (probably since we stopped going there 2 years ago and they couldn't get by without her patronage). I don't miss hanging around while she went in the shops being the only oddball in town not dressed like and affluent tourist. (One year I sat on a bench by myself and practiced my mandolin, but a crowd started to gather and expected a show, so I packed up and left, but not before some guy in golf pants and a pink shirt threw a dollar in my case.)
 We headed right through town and into the flea market at the far end. Good stuff and nice conversations with the vendors. Bought some odds and ends from a guy that has lots of cheap 'stuff' that is handy, like 8" funnels, tarps, paint brushes, scissors, bungee cords, all cheap and new. (Scissors this time were $1.50 a pair or 4 for 5 bucks). I also found 2 nice saw sets. One for hand saws (4 bucks) and one for large cross cuts (7 bucks) from 2 different vendors. 



 

Truthfully, I bought them because it's the end of the season, I admired them, and the guys selling wanted to move some stuff out. I also got a little frame that make make a nice table stand for cookie tables (7 bucks again) and very nearly bought a very old porcelain bathroom sink that also had a marble top AND the two marble backsplash pieces for, I think 50 bucks. It was all immaculate, but filthy, but no chips or damage. I could have made a really nice cabinet for it pretty easy and it would work well in my half bath by my desk, but I don't need another project. I enjoy that flea market a lot and maybe some day I will get a spot there.

 Then we headed to my cousins place which has been in my cousin's husband's family for over a hundred years where they had a sugaring business for most of that time until the last 20 years. It's a pretty place. 



 

In the photo above is the house but off to the left of the house is what they now call the warehouse but was the 'factory' where they made maple sugar candies and specialty items for decades in the off season and shipped them all over. The real warehouse was built later and is across the road, but now is an artists (very) large studio owned by a really neat older gal from New Jersey.



 

I had to do a lot of weed whacking around all the gardens when we had the reunion there back in July.



 

The trees are pretty much at peak. 
 In the center of that photo WAAAY in the back at the field edge are some apple trees that have to be dang close to 100 years old. They were big trees when my cousin's husband (his name is Bill) was a boy (he is 75). 4 years ago we filled 5 or 6 five gallon pails with apples in about 15 minutes and my wife made pies, apple sauce, apple muffins, apple cake, and apple breads that carried us for long time. 3 years ago, slim pickin's and poor apples. Last year no apples and the trees looked dead. Back in July they had some top leaves so I thought they might be coming back, and this weekend not one piece of fruit could be found but still a little green on top.
 At any rate, right after we settled in, I headed out back to check the trees with great disappointment. While there I saw that a very large leader had broken off a 100+ year old hard maple and dropped on his field and he had been brush hogging around it. I didn't notice that back in July.  I found my weekend project and asked Bill about it. He said he's been meaning to cut it up, but his bout with COVID a couple of months ago has left him without the energy to take it on. As it happens, I never took my saws out of the truck box before the trip, plus I had gas, oil and my tool bag. ;D Bill said 'ah. let it go, I will get to it and if not, it's not hurting anything'. But I know they like to keep their place nice and trimmed up and I also know Bill has a small battery saw. That leader was 24" diameter and 40' long, the tree was over 40" DBH. 
 Bill had to run to work for a few hours (he's 'retired' like me, so works 7 days a week) so when he left, I headed for the tree figuring it was 20 minutes work and I would just cut it up and he could shove it all up on the stone wall as was his plan with his tractor. He had no interest or outlet for any of the wood and joked before he left "If you find any stuff you can use for mushrooms, take 'em!" As it happens, I have an order due in 5 days. ;D
 So the 20 minute job actually took me 3 hours :D. I wound up carrying all the branches over to the stone fence to give me working room as I cut and had to walk back to the truck, re-fuel, and sharpen the saw (found some barbed wire in the tree). Just as I finished my last cut I turned around and there was Bill on his tractor.  So he pushed up all the chunks I didn't wanna lift and the we just fit the 8 mushroom logs I got out of the tree into the bucket. I also took two cookies that appealed to me.
 That tree had rot going up the branches and at one point as I was cutting I noticed this rooster tail coming off the chain. At first I thought my oiler went crazy, then I realized it was rot water and it was coming off the bottom of the chain and sending a stream of brown water and chips right onto my right leg and filling my right boot. I reacted too late. Soaking wet. I took off the boot, cleaned my sock and went back to work.
 Bill I think, was pretty happy that it was cleaned up, and frankly, that spot looked great, so I felt good. But it was fairly nasty and overcast. It never got out of the 40's all weekend and the wind blew on the hilltop even at night. Down in the 30's overnight. The rest of the weekend was filled with talking about family, aging parents, kids that don't seem to become adults fast enough, cooking meals, watching multiple football games and Nascar at once and other useless but very enjoyable things. I fell like I squeezed in a weeks vacation in a couple of days.
 On the way home we stopped at that HF store, got the wheels I wanted and didn't fill the cart with more than a couple of things I really didn't need. Got home and unloaded by noon and just continued to relax. It hit 60 here today but still fairly cloudy.
 Tomorrow is another day and I will get back to work, it's going to be a busy week.

[Spike60]

And there's a Harbor Freight coming to Kingston.

[Old Greenhorn]

REALLY!? I'm doomed. 
 When and where, any idea?

[Spike60]

Not sure on the location. People are guessing based on what's empty over in Ulster where most of the stores are, but nobody really knows yet.

[thecfarm]

Harbor Freight is putting one in Augusta, about a ½ hour away.
Then there's another about 45 minutes in 2 different directions.
Old Greenhorn, Linens and Things closed up after I got done buying Brenda's cooking items.  :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Well there are an awful lot of empty large retail buildings in town, but they keep building new ones and HF seems to be a 'new building' kind of company, like the fast food outfits. 
 I guess we will just wait and see.

 I am not a big fan of cheap stuff, but in 40 years HF has come a long way and there are certain things they really fill a niche on. SHop towels, cheap brushes, rarely used tools.

[Ljohnsaw]

I just went to HF today.  Kept trying to win a chain fall on BidRL but the idiots kept bidding over list price!  And on CL, they want way to much for 1/2 and 3/4T units.  I was looking at the 1T and 2T models (they have a LOT of different ones.  They look the same so I think it's just the gearing.  The top/bottom hooks are 1/8" bigger on the 2T.  I bought the 2T since it was $84 vs. $64.  I'm only going to be lifting a 500 pound bent so should be good.  We'll see how it goes later this week on my cabin build.

[thecfarm]

The one in Auburn is not new and the one in Augusta is going in the old Sears. I have no idea about the one in Waterville.
So, there is hope.