What did you do today?

[Chestnut]

12 hours ago, Harambe said:

It's my first one. I've got the 2500lb butt log too. I air dry everything . Badly . I might try banding on these.

Banding helps a lot. I use ratchet straps from home depot or lowes can't remember which one, but they were $2 each so if the weather ruins them oh well... It's nice having ratchet straps because I can tighten them as the pile shrinks.

edit: They are $2.54 now. I should go grab a bunch more for the logs I have to mill in the next few days.

[Chestnut]

This evenings saw dust creation.

[Coop]

On your next cut it would be nice to see a pic of your modus operandi! 

[wtnhighlander]

Now all you need is some glue, a press, and Formica(tm)! 

[Chestnut]

Still playing with logs. I ended up scoring one of the nice white oak logs I wanted.

Loaded it the same way as the other logs but at 32"-34" on the big end and 32" x 28" on the small end it, my guess is that it weighs between 2,500lbs and 3,000 lbs.

I tried to unload it my usual way but things didn't work out as planned.

It turns out the log won this battle. I was able to use my ATV to pull it off the trailer otherwise I'd have been pretty stuck. My log yard is starting to fill up. Normally i wouldn't be self conscious about the chain saw noise but i have a decent pile here and it's goign to require many hours of sawing... I'm going to have to make some cutting boards or something to bribe my neighbors.

 

[legenddc]

I was wondering how that hoop would hold up. You going to install another one with better anchors to keep using it to pull off the logs?

Bribery or even willingness to help goes a long way with your neighbors. I'm sure you'll be fine. You can always offer wood scraps for their fire pits too.

[Chestnut]

27 minutes ago, legenddc said:

You going to install another one with better anchors to keep using it to pull off the logs?

I celebrated when it went down. It was too close to the driveway and was always in the way for pulling trailers around my house. I also always got nervous when backing out of the 3rd stall. I have to swing out and often clip the edge of the grass.

The only down side is i need to dig out what ever is left in the ground.

[Tom King]

I would just use a long sawzall metal cutting blade, if there isn't concrete to the top of the ground, and cut it off below the surface.

If you were closer, I'd help you build a log arch for that trailer.  What is the axle rating?

[Chestnut]

18 minutes ago, Tom King said:

f you were closer, I'd help you build a log arch for that trailer.  What is the axle rating?

I thought long and hard about that but moving this large log has me realizing that I don't want to mess with bigger material than this.

Axel is rated for 3,500lbs the all aluminum trailer scales out around 400 lbs. I'd say there was at least 1,000 lbs of tongue weight so at the limits for the trailer.

[Robby W]

I'm sitting on an airplane bored. Hopefully, we are going to buy a house in North Carolina this trip. Then I can bore everyone with the tales of moving and setting up shop. We are leaving most of our furniture behind to save on moving costs, so I will have lots of projects when I do get things up and running. Kinda scary doing this late in life, but I am looking forward to life in a new state and environment. 

@JohnG - I think we are going to be near each other. 

[Mark J]

@Robby W, have you decided how you're going to move your shop, professional or DIY?

[Gary Beasley]

6 hours ago, Robby W said:

I'm sitting on an airplane bored. Hopefully, we are going to buy a house in North Carolina this trip. Then I can bore everyone with the tales of moving and setting up shop. We are leaving most of our furniture behind to save on moving costs, so I will have lots of projects when I do get things up and running. Kinda scary doing this late in life, but I am looking forward to life in a new state and environment. 

@JohnG - I think we are going to be near each other. 

North Carolina is a nice place, you’re going to love it, especially after living in California. What part of NC you headed for?

[Robby W]

On 5/20/2022 at 7:50 PM, Mark J said:

@Robby W, have you decided how you're going to move your shop, professional or DIY?

I am going to let a.miving company do it. Most of my stuff is on wheels, so the just have to stretch wrap the cabinets and roll it up the ramp. I am meeting with the moving company in a couple of weeks to hash things out.

 

On 5/20/2022 at 7:58 PM, Gary Beasley said:

North Carolina is a nice place, you’re going to love it, especially after living in California. What part of NC you headed for?

We are.looking for something in the Yadkinville, Hamptonville, Elkin area. I am hoping to buy in the next week or so. Kinda exciting. 

[Coop]

Speaking of moving, I see that Marc and family have purchased a horse ranch in Missouri. 

[Coop]

I just texted Brendon, a former member on here, for those that have been here that long. He said that he got banned from here  some while back for some reason, which doesn’t surprise me for those days, but sends his regards.

[JohnG]

On 5/20/2022 at 11:04 AM, Robby W said:

 

@JohnG - I think we are going to be near each other. 

Yes fairly close! I much prefer NC to CA. I actually prefer the humidity to the dry heat of SoCal. Funny enough, I’m back in CA this weekend for a wedding. Haven’t missed it and this visit doesn’t make me want to stay.

Do you like bluegrass music? The Kruger Brothers, very skilled musicians from Switzerland, live in Yadkinville and hold a music festival there. Merlefest, a huge bluegrass festival is a bit west of Yadkinville.

 

[drzaius]

13 hours ago, Coop said:

Speaking of moving, I see that Marc and family have purchased a horse ranch in Missouri. 

Ya, maybe. Has he sorted out the forecloser thing on the new property that was messing things up?

[gee-dub]

Reassembled one of those Rubbermaid plastic garden sheds for the third time.  It is at least 25 years old and has never been properly put back together since the last time it was moved.  We get high winds and if it can weasel its way into a gap the air pressure will blow the thing apart.

Flattened the area where it will stand and laid in some pavers.  Assembled with a gap filling adhesive and strapped it tight to cure.  Just being put together right and standing on a solid platform should solve the issue.  The gap filling adhesive happened to be leftover from something and so I used it up.

[drzaius]

18 hours ago, Coop said:

I just texted Brendon, a former member on here, for those that have been here that long. He said that he got banned from here  some while back for some reason, which doesn’t surprise me for those days, but sends his regards.

Good to hear. I think I just about got banned myself back then

[BonPacific]

Had to do some more work on the riding mower today. I installed a new drive belt (the old one finally snapped) and took the opportunity to throw some new mulching blades and a mulching cover on the deck. Turns out the previous owner had installed the old blades upside down.

And then I ran out of gas...

[Chestnut]

It's been a busy few days. I have a couple moments waiting for it to be late enough in the day to run the chainsaw. This was over the last 3 days but still interesting so I thought I'd share.

My grandmother fell and broke her leg just below her hip and both wrists. As a result she has to use a walker and isn't able to care for her garden for at least this year. My mom, dad, and myself went to her house and did some yard work. We also made the path to her back yard wider so she can get outside and see her garden. Her doctors don't want her walking through her yard but it's the one thing she loves in life and we're going to encourage her to ignore her doctors (it's really not going to take any encouragement we just want her to be safe).

Path before

Path After

Most of the plants were wild ginger and brunnera which spread like a disease. We just disposed of those in the compost pile. The remainder of the plants were different varieties of hostas. The 3 that I know of for sure are Segae, Shade Fanfare, and Golden Prayers, there were a bunch of tags but they got separated from their plants so i'll have to search them and try and match them to their plants once they are large enough to ID.

At the time I left, I really didn't think I had dug that many. After planting and getting a rough count I put about 100-120 plants in the ground yesterday.

I filled in a little bed around a birch tree.

Then I planted about 50 up on my hill where i cleaned out about 0.1 acres of buckthorn.

I also have inherited 5 Fern-leaf Peonys which I'm excited about. One of them is quite small.

But the other 4 are quite large. The larger ones didn't take well to being moved and will just look sickly this year but should bounce back and look great next year.

[treeslayer]

You’re a good man Drew, looks great and I’m sure your grandma appreciates all the work you and your family put in, well done sir !

[Coop]

I wish we had the weather for peonies and hostas. 

[drzaius]

1 hour ago, Coop said:

I wish we had the weather for peonies and hostas. 

Both grow very well here. The hostas will spread on their own and I occasionally have to clear them back. Peonies also do well and can be expected to live 60 - 80 years with reasonable care.

Hostas are everywhere in many of the forested areas in the mountains.

[Coop]

The first time I ever saw/noticed hostas was outside of Birmingham during a visit. When I returned home, I found that a local nursery chain that sold them so I bought a dozen of so plants. By the time July and August rolled around, an emergency room horticulturist couldn’t have saved them. My first experience with peonies was when I visited @RichardA and his wife Linda in Tennessee. They had some beautiful flowering plants! I checked the internet when I got home before investing in them.