What did you do today?

[Stormin 9,981]

   Last Tuesday my mate from over the border came with a 5'x10' trailer load of timber. All free. Should keep us going till winter at least. Thursday I thought I'd better tidy the wood yard up a bit. So spent a little in the morning splitting some that was splitter size. In the afternoon fitted some barriers I'd repaired in the cubical shed at the farm.

  Yesterday put some of the smaller timber through the saw bench. Today cut up some of the bigger stuff. I'll maybe do some more tomorrow and that should fill the fire ready log stores up.

   Youngest daughter called and went home with some decent sized timber to make coasters out of. SiL cuts up slices and she burns patterns and lettering in them. Some are mug size and some dinner plate size.

  Today I also took a load of rubble away with the Sears and trailer for a neighbour. Put it in some bad ruts in the bridleway.

 

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Have some working Fun with the Beast today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We get a Big 1000 litre Tank - planed as Rainwater reservoir for the Shed.

I have to moved it with the FEL Fork to it‘s new Interim place until we can install finally.

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,626]

BBT, her mom and I spent a couple hours working in the forest. Limbing up some trees we felled a few weeks ago. Cut some stuff to 15 or 16 inches. Made 2 brush piles. 

Where we're working is just off the backyard area. Part of a clearing project we've been doing for a couple years. 

When we're done we'll be able to see down to a vernal pool. Watch the deer and whatever else wanders through. 

 

 

I got a chainsaw with a Wheelhorse parts pile.  Had only a small amount in the whole deal and sent some parts out for Redsquare members. 

@Stepney and I took a jaunt to get the stuff. 

 

That saw... Echo CS 345...  Best limbing saw I've ever had. 

[8ntruck 7,016]

 @ebinmaine - what do you do with your brush piles?  Hopefully, I'll be making some on my 20 acres in Ky. later this spring while I start clearing for a driveway and building site.

 

I'm planning on renting a skid steer with a forestry attachment for the initial clearing passes.  Might not have much brush left after that.

[ebinmaine 67,626]

55 minutes ago, 8ntruck said:

brush

Until this year we'd been leaving them in selected out of the way locations. 

We're allowed to burn brush here most of the year but it's quite time consuming having to stay right with the fire for most of the day. 

We stopped burning maybe 3 years ago. 

 

It's fine to have a pile or 3 around because the birds love them as flight cover. 

What with us processing a little more wood per year there are more brush piles (mostly down in the forest) than I'd care to keep looking at. 

 

I do have a chipper that's powered by an 8.5 hp Briggs. Well underpowered....

It ... Works. 

 

I picked up a Mckissick chipper shredder. It was on a green machine so @Stepney has graciously agreed to let me use his own Mckissick mount as a pattern to modify mine. 

 

That'll most likely be put on the C-160. 

Bigger capacity. Near twice the power. 

 

Should be a blast. 

 

I'll have layers of shredded branches all over the property. 

 

[8ntruck 7,016]

 Twice the horsepower, twice the fun.

 

I did some exploratory floor covering replacement work today.  Peeled up a few of the 10 year old Amtico vinyl floor tiles today.  They came up ok, but there was old adhesive left on the under payment.  I wasn't planning or replacing the underlayment in the kitchen, so I tried a few things to remove what was left.  A 50 grit belt on the belt sander la died about a foot and a half - no real surprise there.  Ended up using a putty knife and a heat gun.  That took the ridges out of the old glue, removed most of it, but left a thin coating still on the underlayment.  A test patch with the new glue and small piece of tips turned out well.  The tile stuck and part of the under payment pulled up with the test tile when I peeled it off.

 

Has anybody else been down this road?  If so, what did you do with the adhesive left after pulling the old tiles?

[Pullstart 62,912]

On 3/27/2021 at 4:25 PM, 8ntruck said:

 @ebinmaine - what do you do with your brush piles?  Hopefully, I'll be making some on my 20 acres in Ky. later this spring while I start clearing for a driveway and building site.

 

I'm planning on renting a skid steer with a forestry attachment for the initial clearing passes.  Might not have much brush left after that.

as long as they aren’t in the way, they make perfect cover for rabbits.  Yum!

 

 

[TJ5208 1,824]

Probably going to work on ole red ride my bike and eat. It is nice here in blocher

[Pullstart 62,912]

Jada and Rylee have debate projects for the last quarter of their year in science.  Ironically, they both have topics against oil/gas in one way or another.  They are seeing how there are pros and cons for every topic.  Today we used some nails and tubing scraps to build an Alaskan Pipeline model for Rylee’s debate.

 

 

[TJ5208 1,824]

Looks interesting hope it works out 

[ebinmaine 67,626]

4 hours ago, pullstart said:

as long as they aren’t in the way, they make perfect cover for rabbits.  Yum!

 

 

Near zero rabbit population around here unfortunately

[Pullstart 62,912]

8 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Near zero rabbit population around here unfortunately

maybe you need more brush piles!  

 

wolves?  Snakes?  

[ebinmaine 67,626]

12 minutes ago, pullstart said:

maybe you need more brush piles!  

 

wolves?  Snakes?  

No wolves around. 

Our snakes are not big enough to eat even a baby rabbit.

 

However, we do have a very healthy population of coyotes. Foxes, coons, bobcats, fishers.

 

I was reading somewhere that whatever type of terrain a rabbit prefers in New England is slowly disappearing from Southern Maine...

[Handy Don 12,237]

 

On 3/26/2021 at 8:32 AM, pullstart said:

As far as toilets go, I’m a big fan of the rubber wax rings.  They make service work a whole lot less messy!  I install one even with brand new toilets that come with their own wax ring.

Plumber showed me these a while back and I've used them ever since. Worth the extra couple of bucks.

[Handy Don 12,237]

11 hours ago, pullstart said:

Jada and Rylee have debate projects for the last quarter of their year in science.  Ironically, they both have topics against oil/gas in one way or another.  They are seeing how there are pros and cons for every topic.  Today we used some nails and tubing scraps to build an Alaskan Pipeline model for Rylee’s debate.

  

Very neat.

I also did an Alyeska pipeline project but it was about the technology as it was being built (yeah, ancient times). I thought the gadgets that chilled the support stanchions so they wouldn't melt the permafrost were pretty amazing as well as the pipe insulation itself. Also, their motorized machinery (trucks, excavators, etc.) didn't have ignition keys so they couldn't be shut down accidentally and freeze up. Some trucks ran 24-7 for three or four months at a time. Welding introduced extra thermal stresses because the pipe was so cold, potentially making it too brittle.

Lots of recent material pro and con about the tar sands oil pipeline from Canada could help inform the debate participants, too.

Good luck, Ladies!

[ebinmaine 67,626]

I had a friend of a friend from Massachusetts that somehow or another ended up as a contractor on the pipeline in Alaska back in the '90s.

 

Living here in Maine I've seen temperatures - 26, - 27 without wind chill. That's pretty brisk. Don't get me wrong.

They were talking about ambient air temperatures from 40 below to 60 below without even counting any wind effects. I don't even comprehend cold that cold and I hope I never do. 

They were telling how 40 or more minutes of every work hour was spent in the procedures of warming up. 

 

 

[Mickwhitt 4,642]

Made a start on putting in a new rear door so we have a way out from the kitchen into the rear garden. 

Breeze block internal wall and brick exterior.

Going to give the sawzall a go with a carbide brick blade in. If not it will be a diamond grinder job. 

Moved the cupboards and put in a lintel in the outside leaf of the wall. 

 

[Mickwhitt 4,642]

Easter Bank Holiday weekend so typically, its bloody cold, the diy stores are rammed with people and I have this door job to do.

I will sort the indoors work out today then I can move outdoors when it warms up.

I think I've got all the materials and tools I will need but Murphy will doubtless intervene and have some fun. 

Picked up another little steelwork job looking at making a small iron gate for a lady. 

 

[Mickwhitt 4,642]

Mrs W making holes in the wall.

You gotta love a woman who can handle a hammer drill.

 

[ebinmaine 67,626]

17 minutes ago, Mickwhitt said:

 

You gotta love a woman who can handle a hammer drill.

 

Seems that'd be a good idea lest she points it you....

[Mickwhitt 4,642]

Couldn't tempt her into having a go with the sawzall though. With a brick blade in its got a decent kick on it.

Next job is to remove the block work and get ready to cut the outside leaf of bricks out to form the doorway. But I will wait till we have the new door to do that.

Its much narrower than a standard door but its just to give us easier access to the rear garden.

 

[Stormin 9,981]

9 hours ago, Mickwhitt said:

Easter Bank Holiday weekend so typically, its bloody cold,

I will sort the indoors work out today then I can move outdoors when it warms up.

 

 

 

I thought you were a Northerner, Mick? Going soft over there in Tykeland?

[tom2p 2,394]

On 3/27/2021 at 10:04 PM, 8ntruck said:

 Twice the horsepower, twice the fun.

 

I did some exploratory floor covering replacement work today.  Peeled up a few of the 10 year old Amtico vinyl floor tiles today.  They came up ok, but there was old adhesive left on the under payment.  I wasn't planning or replacing the underlayment in the kitchen, so I tried a few things to remove what was left.  A 50 grit belt on the belt sander la died about a foot and a half - no real surprise there.  Ended up using a putty knife and a heat gun.  That took the ridges out of the old glue, removed most of it, but left a thin coating still on the underlayment.  A test patch with the new glue and small piece of tips turned out well.  The tile stuck and part of the under payment pulled up with the test tile when I peeled it off.

 

Has anybody else been down this road?  If so, what did you do with the adhesive left after pulling the old tiles?

in one area that I removed old vinyl floor and adhesive - I had to go over it with underlayment 

 

in one other area I did - had to cut out the floor and put down new plywood  (screw and glue) 

was not able to remove the old floor / adhesive and then go over it 

 

especially when installing sheet vinyl - the floor has to be almost perfectly smooth because issues / imperfections with the floor will show through the new vinyl floor 

 

[tom2p 2,394]

On 3/31/2021 at 7:23 AM, ebinmaine said:

I had a friend of a friend from Massachusetts that somehow or another ended up as a contractor on the pipeline in Alaska back in the '90s.

 

Living here in Maine I've seen temperatures - 26, - 27 without wind chill. That's pretty brisk. Don't get me wrong.

They were talking about ambient air temperatures from 40 below to 60 below without even counting any wind effects. I don't even comprehend cold that cold and I hope I never do. 

They were telling how 40 or more minutes of every work hour was spent in the procedures of warming up. 

 

 

my father was stationed in Alaska in service ( US Army during Korean War )

 

during periods of the winter the vehicles ran non-stop - 24 hours per day - never shut off 

 

we found some old Army pictures not long ago - including one picture of a group of guys standing in front of a small truck / transport vehicle - guys with no emotion or expression on their faces 

 

turned the picture over - written on the back:  

'boy was it cold'

 

lol

Edited April 3, 2021 by tom2p

[Pullstart 62,912]

Spent the last few nights getting my brother inlaw’s new dirt late model ready or the season.  That wrap job, fire suppression system and working on the trailer really paid off!