so waht ya doin today?

[JonB]

It was a nice cool 59º morning, so I cleared the brush from the Busted Giant White Oak I was talking about.
I attached a few thumbnail photos for your enjoyment (click to see larger versions).

It's suppose to be cool tomorrow morning as well, So I think I'll bring the big saw and see what I can cut up.

 

[Gary]

It's a shame to lose one that big, but it will make excellent firewood.

 

[Rally]

Be careful Jon. That top laying in the smaller cluster will be hard to tell where it's going when you take some of the weight off those limbs. When I have to cut a mess like that I either winch the trunk clear or pull the top out of the cluster. I like to know where the weight is going.

 

[fiver]

I second that suggestion, it would be all too easy for it to roll the wrong way.

 

[Ian]

The trunk is a spring-loaded trap, too, not fun.

 

[Pistolero]

That's what is called "a widow maker" right there.

 

[CZ93X62]

Hard to say who door-knocked and claimed to be "the census taker". I don't answer doors much, unless someone calls ahead. I asked Marie if anyone came around at census time 2010 in Ridgecrest--we don't recall. U.S. Census Bureau might be getting early info about lot/tract/zoning, but that is usually tax assessor stuff. Maybe some County wonk was being cute, though there are laws about impersonating U.S. Goobermint employees. Most people follow them, I have heard.

If I do answer the door to unanticipated parties, I tend to be a mite confrontive. Not ferocious, but I can smell liars at 338 Lapua ranges. I tell Jehovah's Witnesses that "We are a Roman Catholic family, so our cult and yours don't get along. Try the drug smugglers next door, or the human traffickers across the street. Both places would love to meet those little girls you brought along."

Those JWs really need to call ahead next time around.

 

[Winelover]

John, I thought you had a gated entrance? In Texas a fence and closed gate means "no trespassing", figure it does in AR too.

I do have a gated entrance with signage up there too. Because of deliveries, the gate is open from dawn till not quite dusk. Gate was shut and locked when law enforcement came looking for the escaped felon, a couple of weeks ago. They didn't even attempt to knock on the door, when they came traipsing though the backyard.

In Arkansas, property can be posted, two ways. With signage or by marking trees with purple paint. I use both, signage at the entrance of the private road and purple paint on the property boarders. Private road signs are red backgrounds with white letters. Public road signage has green backgrounds with white lettering. My street sign is aptly, red and white. However, I doubt if 50% of the public is aware of that fact.

When the new garage was built, this Spring, contract assessor showed up unannounced. Signage didn't deter him.

BTW, still waiting on the contractor to install the automatic gate. Called him a couple of weeks ago, said he's behind on his work. No matter, there is no deposit involved. He'll get to it eventually. I have a manual gate till then. Everyone we know, complains about getting work done in a timely manner, around these parts.

 

[Bret4207]

Parts for all my broken stuff is dribbling in. Got the skid steer engine buttoned up last evening. Read up on the air gap for the coils, used to be something like .020-025. Now it's .008-.012. Got the side x side back, another debacle. Did find a Suburban just like I want, more or less, for sale along the road side- 3/4 ton, 4wd, 454, leather. This one is supposed to have 122k on it. Sadly, it's got some serious rust and judging by the joy stick hanging out of the dash it was plowed. For those that live in sunny, warm climes, "has been plowed" is a death sentence for a used car/truck up north. That means someone hung a snow plow off the front and put a million miles of wear on the tranny, drivetrain and frame pushing snow around for years. Too bad, I could almost live with the rust.

 

[Intheshop]

Have said it before.... if I was younger,and hungry would get into building/repairing scopes. Buy the lenses and seals,make just about everything else.

And,if obstinacy wasn't one of my stronger foibles when it comes to certain things.... would stick the bore sighter on this Luepold and check the clicks on the grid.... cross referenced on target. And yes,I excersized the knobs past and came at the adjustment from the correct "side"... minimizing backlash. This particular design has a lot of stiction that "seems" to only be resolved by shooting.

 

[Intheshop]

Want to check or qualify a bullet's roundness,and diameter(within certain reservations) before and/or vs,after?
Look into master or setting,ring gages. They can be made and for our purposes on bullets the usual criticism(ho made) of surface finish isn't quite as critical as it is within the inspection industry. Important yes,just don't let it stop you from trying. Heck,snag the appropriate drill and adjustable reamer and have at it on a drillpress on say a pce of 1/8 or 3/16" mild steel. Check diameter with pin gages....

 

[Intheshop]

Side or tangential benny to above is an expedient bore ride,nose sizer.... use your drill press as the driver/press. Going with a thicker,say 1/4" material your probability of a tapered hole goes up by some calc'd degree that is only there to bore(ha) the snot out of you but....... you're on your way towards changing the angle or degree on the nose. As a ring gage,you sorta "don't" want a taper. Soooooo, try to make it as a ring gage first,if you find it has a taper,use it as a sizer.

 

[waco]

I just fired up the lead pot and I’m actually going to try my hand at one of my older Lee molds. It’s a 431 200 grain round nose flat point. It casts a little on the small size but I will be powder coating these to hopefully get them up to 431 possibly 432 for my marlin 1894 lever action.
I also grabbed another two cavity lead mold and this one is the .311-100 grain plain bass round nose mold. A good little Plinker for 3030s and 300 blackout.

 

[JonB]

Wood cuttin day 2
It was another nice cool morning...the last one for a week or so, according to the weather talkers on TV.
=====
I cut everything I could reach without a ladder. I don't use a chainsaw on a ladder !


Here is one hangup, Oak branch wedged in a Elm crotch. Now there is just one small elm branch holding it, there was a larger elm branch in the way too, but I cut that off. I didn't plan to cut the larger elm branch all the way off, but I got a surprise when the saw reached the half-way point. I was lucky to have some space to get out of the way ...or I could say I was smart enough to make sure I had space to get out of the way.


You can see the larger elm branch on the ground...and I got that strap hooked up.


This is another hangup...I made a double cut in this vertical oak branch, hoping it breaks when I pull it. I wanted to make several cuts, but it was kind of scary cutting with a multi-ton log above me. and I already had the one surprise when cutting the elm.


Getting ready to pull with the 2wd wonder


Many tugs, and the branch ain't moving.
While this dry soil looks like regular garden soil, it is soft Peat soil. The truck sinks in, even when the soil is dry.


It's down, well part way down...better than nuthin'


You can see the busted small elm branch (far right) allowing the big branch to come part way down.



Here is the other hangup, it did bust nicely where I made the double cut, again I sure wish it was cut multiple times, I think it would have made it all the way to the ground, because as you can see in the last photo, the Branch is no longer connected to the stump, it's just kind of sitting there.




So, my next plan, for the next cool morning, it to repeat todays activities and hopefully the same success safety-wise.
Cut everything I can reach and Pull, Pull, Pull.
If we get rain, there is no way I'll be driving on the peat soil, so I may try a winch, but I only have a light-duty Come-a-long, But since there isn't much holding anything anywhere, I shouldn't need much, maybe it'll fall while I'm cutting it? I need to be sure to be watching for that...maybe I'll see if there is a place I can chain it to another branch?

 

[Rick]

Chainsaws and ladders are as bad a mix as vehicles and booze.

A few years ago I had several fairly low branches that needed trimmed off but couldn't reach them with the saw from the ground. Figured a tree company would be cheaper than the emergency room so I called one. He came out, looked around. I told him you don't need to clean anything up, just cut the branches off & leave them. The job wouldn't take him an hour unless he stopped for coffee in the middle. He says he wants $300 for the job. I probably didn't make any friends when I told him I don't pay my doctor $300 an hour.

I went to the local Stihl dealer and what ya know, a pole saw is $300. SO I broke even, the branches are down and I spent $300 . . .Except I still have the saw and have used it many times since, here and over at Winelovers place. All for free I guess.

 

[smokeywolf]

I bought an electric pole saw about 4 years ago; paid for itself the first month I had it.

 

[Ian]

I told him I don't pay my doctor $300 an hour.

No kidding. And your doctor has even more expensive insurance than any arborist.

 

[Pistolero]

Free tools, always has been my justification.

I cut up a high, large diameter tree broken like that, and one big branch holding it years ago after an ice storm.
Lot so slow and careful work, and a certainty where it was going to flop when it did flop. Not fun. Get it much
wrong and it's going to hurt.

 

[Intheshop]

1985 Toyota 4 runner,5 sp.,still had the solid fr axle. Bought it for wifeypoo with 10k miles on it. She put another cpl hundred k on it.... in the time she had it,they went from vinyl interior solid axles to.... yuppy wagons. Sold it for almost what I paid for it,still bone stock.

ANYHOW,that was the finest woods crawler me and dad ever used for firewood. We'd throw enough pcs in the back to get the stance right,along with pulling chains and our matched pr of Homelite XL's. Go into the woods,saw a tree,hack a few limbs then drag it up to the house. We'd have thermoses of coffee,spent many a Saturday riding in that thing looking for trees to drag.

 

[Rick]

I bought an electric pole saw about 4 years ago; paid for itself the first month I had it.

Electric? You'll soon need to stop thinking like a city slicker, any idea how many extension cords all that acreage will need?