Making it through another year, '23-'24

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah I got one corner on my foundation that takes some water in during heavy rains, I should really get on that. ;D
 Over at my parents house they have a real foundation with 3 sumps spread around. It got to the point they couldn't keep up and I realized they were just pumping water out and it was finding another path back in.
 So I spent 3 weeks or so hand digging a 2' deep trench about 150' long to where it dropped over the bank. I put in 4" pipe with a few cleanout/snake points. Been working perfectly for over 15 years now. For our house that's just not a workable deal.

[Old Greenhorn]

I'm starting to feel like a one trick wonder. Seems like each day I can get one thing done that matters and then fill in the rest with a bunch of little stuff that has to be done, but is simple and not very physical. Monday I took the planer apart, ordered bushings, and dried and folded some moving blankets, then hun more wet ones up. 
 Tuesday the bushings came and I got them pressed back in and the planer back together and ran a test 2x10 through it. Planed out great. The Woodmaster is slower and less power than the Delta, but it seems to give a better finish. I should look into this more. ;D
 Today I decided to move the lights around upstairs to clear ceiling room for cutting as new and bigger access hole into the attic near the front end of the shop (the existing hole is near the back end). That was a lot more work than it sounds like. Everything is tied in with 1/2" emt, so I had to work in half dark with some LED lights and do some major rerouting of about 3 lines and 1 two lamp fixture. Working on a less than 6' ceiling and also a 7' ceiling. It took me all day pretty much, but it's done and cleaned up. I also folded some more dry moving blankets and the side walls from the canopy all of which were soaked. Today is the first sunshine since last week. The attic kiln hit 94° and the humidity dropped into the 30% range for a bit, but I know the days are numbered. There won't be many more hot days up there. 
 I am going to do this about the same way Howard is doing his shed. Put in a work day on it here and there after I have time to assemble and cut the parts I need and collect the hardware. So step one, moving the lighting around, is complete. Next, the plan is to make some lumber to put in a floor in most of the attic. I have 6" of insulation up there and the trusses are made of 2x4's so I have to raise those 2x4's up to a 2x6 before I can put down planks for the floor. I have a plan for that. I also have to make some framing for the hole and some trim, then a cover or door. Not sure how I want that cover/door to work yet. Once I get the floor in, I am going to make some simple covers for the gable vents and see if I can drive the heat up more on cooler days or keep it from cooling off so fast in the evenings on hot days. It's all an experiment for me and should help with my learning and understanding of how and why this thing works. Even if it didn't work, it's a great place to store lumber and I really need that badly. I want to get that hole and floor done so I can a lot of wood up there before cold weather to use during the winter. Next year I will have a better 'workflow' on this stuff and get a bunch dried in the summer months. The pine I put up there 2 weeks ago at 26% MC in now down to 16% and the thin stuff is down below 12% (crate slats).
 Tomorrow I think I will head to the mill and work on the dust blower system. I need to get back to making lumber. Friday afternoon I have to go over and help the wife set up the basics for her biggest 2 day show of the year.
 One day at a time.

[doc henderson]

remember, even a 20 ° increase in temp over atmospheric will dry lumber.  also, in the winter when the sun is far, the wood stove is blaring and will accomplish the same thing.  should be putting the blankets up in the attic to dry.    also getting the one thing done and a bunch of little thigs adds up to a two-hit wonder. 

[SawyerTed]

Remember the idea of synergy - The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  Some believe that the little stuff adds up, that's true if the little fill in stuff is viewed individually.  Not every task is big stuff.

When taken in a whole view, it all combines to make a good life.  Not much use in doing stuff that's not in alignment with that goal.  

[Old Greenhorn]

True Doc, but my observations from last winter tell me that once the weather cools off I won't see much over ambient if even that.
 I am most curious to see what happens when I install covers over the gable vents. In the spring and fall I can close those around 5pm when the sun begins to see and see how long the heat holds in and the humidity stays low. Open them back up before noon or when the temp passes ambient. In the winter probably leave them closed most of the time to keep the winds from cooling things off, might also help shop temps in general. If it turns out to be viable, I could invest in temp controlled vents, but need funding first. Those openings are about 16x 20" or so and one faces the prevailing wind. Also looking for a remote temp/humidity monitor that tracks highs and lows, but it needs to be cheap right now.
 One day at a time.

 Yeah Ted, I am hoping it all adds up at some point. Pretty much all my fill-in stuff are things that need to be done so that I can keep doing whatever it is I need to do. Like fixing that planer. It's been dead for nearly a year now. But in a couple of weeks when I want to run a quick board, it will be handy and ready to run. Now if I could just get my work bench cleaned off. ;D

[doc henderson]

It is too bad the insulation could not jump from the ceiling joist to the roof in the winter.  Is your roof black?  

[SawyerTed]

Tom, sometimes I'm guilty of imagining that others don't have to do the little nuisance tasks or fix stuff.   We don't talk about that stuff much.  But I guarantee everyone does them or things fall apart around them. 

If it helps, I mowed the yard and did the trimming today.   On top of that, I loaded the dishwasher, started it and folded two loads of clothes. 

I just came inside from trimming shrubs to get a cold drink.

Yesterday, I put new batteries in two generators and connected battery maintainers on them.  In addition, I sharpened 7 sawmill blades, swept the shop and put air in vehicle tires.     

Tomorrow, I get to reinstall the toilet in our primary bathroom aka last one remodeled. The wax ring-less flange connection hasn't lived up to its hype.  

Pretty mundane stuff that most of us do.  

Granted I haven't been dealing with the water disaster you have been.  

[doc henderson]

I can have 5 days off and most of the stuff gets done on the last day.  still gratifying.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

 You have to get used to this retirement gig and learn to pace yourself. If you finish all your projects you won't anything to do and your wife will notice and she will find things to occupy your time for you and they will not be things you enjoy as much as if they were projects you came up with. :D

  I started my day out by unplugging the fridge in the barn and removing the ice in it and putting a fan on the freezer to defrost it while I rode up the hill and trekked several hundred yards to my shooting house put and up and set my feeder and put about 60 lbs of corn in it and got it going. I took a break and went to the mill and removed the power feed and moved a cam follower bearing over so the chain runs straight over it and hope that helps resolve my intermittent power tripping problem and my blade guru came by and picked up a batch of bands to resharpen. I moved the lumber off the last 2 stacking pallets into vertical bin storage now I just need to move the pallets and such out and I can start on the floor of the last bay. Then I went back to the barn, wiped down the defrosted fridge freezer I started the day with and turned it back on. Nothing earthshattering all day but now I'm ready to start a similar day tomorrow.

[Old Greenhorn]

OK guys, I get it, thanks. I guess I just needed a little reminder. I just don't have the energy to go all day like I did just 3 years ago and it bothers me. This morning I helped the wife load up for her show this weekend, we set up the bones tomorrow and it looks like we'll do it in a rainout. After that I headed to the mill to work on the dust blower thingy and I heard Bill mucking about up by the shop, so after realizing he had not dropped off the hose I needed I headed up. He was unloading his trommel screener and hooking up his trailer to take the tracked off road dump truck to a septic job he is doing on a very steep site. Must be a big job, he has 70 grand in sand coming. One of the few times I have seen this machine moving about.

Trailering up the tracked off road dump truck - YouTube

 Then we took the hose off the slabmizer and I hunted around for some adaptors, then headed down to the mill again. Got everything hooked up pretty easy and it tested out fine. I stopped short of grabbing a log, I didn't want to hassle with swapping out attachments on the toolcat today. I know it will work, that's all that matters.

LT50 dust exhaust - YouTube

 I came back to my shop and piddled around with some stuff trying to figure out what wood to use for another upcoming commission job. I started a fire in the shop stove because it was a bit cool in there. I am still burning junk from the splitter area. The attic hit 90+ by 2pm but then started cooling when the clouds rolled in. Some sprinkles came down in the late afternoon.
 Tomorrow is another wet one.

[thecfarm]

  Must be a big job, he has 70 grand in sand coming.    
 

70 grand!!!!!!!!!    
Is that for a small town?

[Old Greenhorn]

I don't know. He does some bigger jobs and that number never really registered in my head when he said that. Maybe I miss heard. But around here we have to use a special approved sand in septic systems and it is pricey. Ask Bargemonkey, his quarry is certified to supply that stuff and there aren't many sources around for it.

[doc henderson]

That must be the discharge hose off your sander.   :D :D :D

[Bert]

Tom, sometimes I'm guilty of imagining that others don't have to do the little nuisance tasks or fix stuff.   We don't talk about that stuff much.  But I guarantee everyone does them or things fall apart around them.

Ive often pondered what it would be like to live on a 1/4 acre lot in a subdivision and not always have something that needs fixing, oil changed, tire plugged, battery charged, painted, sharpened, greased etc etc etc. Sounds so peaceful.

[aigheadish]

70k worth of sand is a lot! 

If it is encouraging to all you guys you make me at only 45 years old feel like a lazy bum! Granted, I kind of am, after a day of looking after a bunch of people at work I like to come home and chill out. 

My wife is a small bite kind of woman. She gets home from work and does about an hour's worth of whatever project she's got going at the time and the amount of stuff/projects she gets done is incredible. She usually tells me of something she'd like to start and next time I look at what she's messing with she's transformed something big and neat.

[mudfarmer]

I like that crawler dumper! Interesting that it has basically a Bombardier undercarriage/track system rather than mini excavator style that most have, must be a little older. ASV made one with their suspension undercarriage and much higher top speed than any of the others but it never seemed to catch on and then they got bought or whatever.

[Old Greenhorn]

Mudfarmer, it's called a "Go Tract" and he got it nearly exactly 2 years ago. I debuted it HERE (see replies 303 and 305). IIRC it is related to the Bombardier in some way, either a partner or a copy or something. There was another thread somewhere else, where others, more knowledgable provided some insight, but I can't find the thread. This one was built mainly for snow and I think it came from a ski center. Got plenty of git up and go. These are also used by line crews for running lines through swamps and such. It's a niche machine for sure, but when you need one, you need one. This job he's got now he probably could not do without it. He says it's a very steep hill (he didn't say 'scary' but he never does, at least not yet, his guys on the other hand...). ;D
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Austin, when you have 2 kids, a job, a wife, and a house, you have a full plate. I did it for a long time and like to think I earned my time now. You saw my shop. Would you believe it sat there for nearly 30 years with me hardly ever going out there and doing anything. The only time I used it was when I HAD TO. Like fixing broke down cars in any and all seasons, or a jumping off point for cleaning up after blizzards. Nothing else. I never had time, kids, work, and getting by came first. SO it's a bit different deal. OK, it's a very different deal. Your time will come, stay healthy and raise good kids until then and it will be a sweeter existence. 
____________________

 Well today the rain started in solid at 6am on the dot and it was a solid rainout. The wife was chomping at the bit to go get the basics set up for her booth. She has lots of racks, shelves, tables, and 'STUFF' to put her merch on and 2 canopies. It took all my diplomacy to hold her off until 1pm. I was focused on the radar and thinking we might get lucky if we held tight until 1. We did and set her stuff up rain free.  Still not a pleasant day, but we got it done, drove the 15 miles back home and loaded all her merch in her van. Her show booth and approach and mine are polar opposites, but then the merch is also very different. Also, this is a very big show, 2 days, and costs her about 500 bucks to do. Over my head for now. She has a hired helper for tomorrow and Sunday. I will go over at closing time Sunday and the merch goes in her van while the racks, tables, and canopies go in mine. I am hoping this is her last year at this one. She is retiring from shows and everything she has is 50% off. If she doesn't clear a lot out this year, she is gonna do it next year again. >:(

 No heat in the attic kiln for sure today. I did keep a fire in the shop burning up junk today just to hold the dampness off. I have some RO boards I brought in yesterday standing near the woodstove to dry out and see if I can use them for a project. Tomorrow maybe I can get something done. Pat will get on the road at about 6am.
 Looks to be overcast most of the day tomorrow, but I am hoping for heat in the attic. Also gonna be cool, 68 for the high, but I need to get working and producing something, lumber or projects, something. It's another day, right?

[Old Greenhorn]

Found that other short thread Mudfarmer, HERE.

[mudfarmer]

Thanks! I need one yesterday for a few jobs but would sit most of the time right now and no interest (no pun intended) in a loan on a machine that is not paying for keep. Someday hopefully comes some day, right? ;)

[Old Greenhorn]

Boy howdy, I am a hurtin' pup today. The back is messed up again.  Doing my own show last weekend with all the unloading and reloading, then the wife's show this weekend kind of did me in. This past weekend was my wife's biggest show of the year and she packs heavy. She has a 10x20' booth, 2 canopies, multiple tables, racks, stands, and other 'stuff'. Just handling the Canopy sand bags (about 70# each) and cement blocks to hold the canopy down was enough to pop the old back out, 4 times in and out of the truck and waddling them to where they needed to be. Humping all the other stuff didn't help. This show she has been doing for about 20 years and has a bit of a following of folks who always come by and buy stuff. She is trying to retire and has everything going for 50% off marked prices. So her sales were pretty good because some customers were stocking up, knowing it might be their last shot. But she still has a lot of stuff left. She is talking about coming back next year. >:(
 SO between that and trying to poke through my crappy lumber piles looking for usable wood and pulling out some 8/4 12 footers to bring in the shop somehow my back gave up. I am still emptying 2 dehumidifiers in between and around the clock and that is getting old too. So I have been trying to do more thinking than heavy work today, but I did pull some more lumber for another job. I did take a pass on pulling the chimney down for it's fall cleanout, I'll wait a bit on that. We did unload the truck and van today (which put the coup de grais on my back).
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 Normally I would just limp along for a day or two and take it light, but I have a young buck I agreed to mill a 'special log' for several months ago. I went and fetched it back in June or July and it has been sitting at the mill since. My arrangement with him is that we will mill the log together and he is going to do all the grunt work while also helping me make the call on what we get out of it so that he understands what he got and why (his hopes are very high, mine are not, for what he needs). In turn, whatever time I have into this project, he will give me back in his labor. This will allow me to get another shed order milled up quicker, I hope. Then I have to mill up some stuff to put a floor in my attic/kiln and a ton of 1x10's for siding on Bill's shop to finish closing it in before winter. All the windows are in now and there isn't a lot more work until battens start going on. Beyond that, I realized over the last 2 days that wood is my weakest issue in my business right now. When I started focusing on making stuff, I stopped milling stuff for myself and I did not take as good a care of the wood on my drying racks as I should have. This is now hurting me big time. So I need to get some of my logs to the mill, slice them up, and get them on the rack for at least next year. But this time take care of them. So I have that figured out, now I just have to do it. But first I have to mill all this other stuff.
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 The other thing that's been on my mind is the issue of an enclosed trailer. I have been weighing whether it is 'me being me' and wanting to jump on every new idea I have, or if it is the right and best decision for what I want to accomplish and where I am going. I am really living with a very poor financial condition right now, so pennies matter and I have to make things pay out. But under careful consideration, I realize this trailer, if I can find and acquire one is the absolute right way to go. It gives me year round storage for finished stuff, which means more room in the shop and it also makes it a LOT more easier to do shows, saving me moving the stuff down, loading, unloading, and moving the stuff back upstairs. So yeah, a no brainer. But funding isn't there.... at all, for the moment. But in parsing this all out, I have been talking with Pat about it a bunch.  She's been doing shows for over 20 years and knows the deal. I was trying to get her to fins a flaw in my logic, she's good at that, but she agrees. In fact she is offering funds from her business as a loan, to get that trailer. I don't want to do that (unless the perfect trailer shows up) and try to make this work on my own.
 So three goals, mill more lumber, bring in more money, and find a trailer. Seems simple right? Just do it.
 Tomorrow's another day, just get on it and hope my backs gets better, right?

[Old Greenhorn]

Well yesterday the young fella showed up about 9am as promised and we went down to the mill and his education began. ;D I walked him through every step and he was fully involved. We had quite a to-do just to get that 'part of a tree' positioned and take the first opening cut. I could have milled two regular logs in the time we used before running the first slab off. SO it was a learning experience for him about what 'quarter sawing' meant and how it is done, which led to and understanding of why he had to make tough choices.. Frankly we wound up with a mess of odd chunks, but he says that is what he needs for his "project" so I am good with that. We loaded it all up on the forks and drove it out to a remote-ish section of the back 60, set it up on bunks, stacked, stickered, weighted and covered with galvanized roofing sections. Then we came back to the shop and he helped me run all that 8/4 stuff I had pulled through the planer to clean up the outsides and see what I had. He learned more about what happens to those pretty knotted areas after they dry. It brought home some of the lessons I was trying to point out as we milled his wood. Looks great right after the milling, but a lot different after a 3 years of air drying. ;D So he left happy and owes me about 8 hours of labor. We found no metal in his 'tree', which was a shock to me, also no rot holes or ant pockets, clean wood wit a bit of nice spalting starting. So that was yesterday and it didn't do my back any good at all. I was in agony last night. I need better Advil. BUT the attic/kiln hit 104°, so that was very cheering for me!

 Last night at dinner Pat mentioned she ran into an old friend working at the Library whose family we have known for well over 30 years. Their kids and ours are the same ages, they used to swap baby sitting days when the kids were young, we intersected at School events, kids sports, Scouts, and everything else. The gal (Betsy) asked pat how and what I was doing since I retired and Pat gave her a short story and gave her one of my cards. Betsy said she would look at my website and maybe give me a call. Well I just took this whole thing as a 'yeah, sure, maybe' kind of thing that was one of a hundred other conversations just like that and figured if she calls, she calls and I will deal with it then, if not, well it's the same as those hundred other conversations and no big deal. At least the word is passing around town and something might hit someday. You guys know the deal with word of mouth, it just takes time and you can't push it, just wait.

 So today I was really going to take it easy on my back. I started early-ish and got up on the shed roof (yeah I know, mandatory caveat about ladders and old guys, I got it) and I fixed a small hole from a winter felled branch through the roof. Easy fix with the shingles being at their melting point and I could separate the tar/glue to slip a new shingle in. I will wait until I see that it sealed before I nail in a plywood patch on the inside of the roof. It should be better than good. After that I got a call from Betsy. Since I was laying back today and my stuff is arranged in the shop after the last show to make sure it's clean and dry, she came over and looked at everything. I was hoping I might sell a small item or two. She had seen some stuff on my webpage that had sold at the prior shows which she wanted. After an hour or so she had picked out a bunch of stuff to spend her 'egg money' on plus a couple of items she really wants on her next visit. 3 small bookshelves, a mirror, and that nice bench with the Ritelegs on it. Later she also got 2 of my 6 pack caddies. She left and came back a few hours later with her checkbook. For a day when I had little idea what I was going to do, I wound up taking in an SGU plus a bit, plus, on her second visit she gave me a commission job to make a couple of tops for some exiting welded table legs. In between her visits I rough sanded a couple of pine slabs I think I making benches out of. Since I have actually been selling more than just small stuff, I am running out of stuff to bring to shows. SO I have to get cracking on some 'stuff'.

 All in all , not a bad day for taking it easy. As a bonus, the attic/kiln hit 107°. Last time I checked, the pine up there was down to 16% or so. It started at 28% 3 weeks ago. It's 82 out there now and the RH is 20% below ambient. I am encouraged. ;D

 Now to figure out what wonderous thing I can do tomorrow without trying. :D

[aigheadish]

Sounds like you need Pat to start shilling more! Great news and it gives you a reason to get that creativity flowing again for new projects!

[Old Greenhorn]

Honestly, those little networking conversations happen all the time. I would say only about one out of a hundred or more turns into even a slight inquiry. I often get old acquaintances who ask if I have 'this or that' thing and I say sure, c'mon by and I'll load you up, often at no charge. Even those folks mostly don't pull the trigger and follow through. If they can't show up for something free, well....
 But once in a while even a blind squirrel finds a nut...

[Old Greenhorn]

Back during my PRD (Pre-Retirement Days) I hated it when I went to work with a clear plan of what I had to get done that day and I barely got my coat off before somebody was in my office with a crisis that demanded full and immediate attention and derailed my entire workplan for a full day or more. It would mess up my overall timeline, hitting project goals, and generally make me cranky and unhappy, to say it in the nicest way.
 That was then. It just dawned on me tonight that what drove me crazy then, makes me smile now. I embrace the unexpected change in direction. Today my 'plan' was to do the full fall maintenance on the shop chimney. Pull all the single wall pipe down, clean it, clean the double wall section thru the roof and order any new parts needed to make it 100% before the cold days come in a week or two. I never got to it. Hopefully I will tomorrow. Oh well. :D
 Late last night I found out Bill got hired to do the site prep work for a new home lot 1/4 mile down the road. He cut in and buried the electrical service line yesterday and cleared trees for the driveway. Today they were building up the construction driveway and Bill asked if I wanted to come down and pull mushroom logs off the trees he cut yesterday. So down I went and in between working with Mike to layout the driveway while he did all the excavator work and Bill hauled in material, I cut about 29 logs and loaded them up. I did a yard run for some 3/4 conduit for a driveway light they had to trench in, and did the lunch run and a few other things. The basic work driveway got done, and eventually I became useless to the task at hand, so around 2pm I headed back and unloaded and stacked my logs. The heavy wok pooped me out, for sure.
 I did a run to the bank and was going to start on that chimney around 3:30 or so, but I sat down for just a few minutes and woke up a half hour later pretty groggy. ;D So I did a few other small things and called it a day. Early to bed tonight.
 Tomorrow I'll see about that chimney.
 OH, and the attic hit 100.5° today. From here on out I expect it will decline rapidly.

[Wlmedley]

Tom,I have gotten to the place where I remember what I was wanting to do each day about bedtime so I came up with a solution that works pretty good for me.Anytime I think of something that I need or want to do that's not an emergency I write it down on a pad that is laying on the kitchen table.When I find myself wandering what to do next I look at my list and pick something that matches they way I feel at that moment.When finished I mark it off.The list is never completely marked off and that doesn't bother me a bit. :laugh: