RedNeckGeek
Super Member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
- Messages
- 8,753
- Location
- Butte County & Orcutt, California
- Tractor
- Kubota M62, Kubota L3240D HST (SOLD!), Kubota RTV900
Good Morning!!!! 62F @ 8:30AM. Sunny. High 78F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Sewed a couple buttons on during yesterday's power outage, then moved outside to catch up on the kindling situation. I collected all the chips when I put up ten cords of firewood back in '13, and filled up a 3'x3'x4' Knack box with them. Finally made it to the end of 'em last winter, and with about five cords of wood still remaining, there's no need to split and stack more. It was time to try out the new Kindling Kracker. I went out to the wood yard and found a nice 12" round about knee height, and used a portable drill and a couple of lag bolts to mount the Kracker. While down at the yard I also found several 6"-8" long rounds of oak to add to the too big pieces that remained in the kindling box. Started off with a 2 pound maul for a hammer, but it got too heavy pretty quickly. Switched out to a 16 oz. ball pein and it was just right. I like the kindling small, as small as pencils, so it took a while to get a pile going, but by the time the power came back on at 1PM, I had about a bushel made. Not enough to get through the winter, but enough to get a good start on it. I learned that the twisted live oak chunks are miserable to split, as they are also full of knots. In fact I can't think of much nice to say about live oak. The twigs and leaves are sharp and tangle together, making it difficult and sometimes bloody work to limb them. All the wood is curved, which complicates splitting and stacking and loading the fire box. And when it finally burns, it smells like a skunk somehow got in there with it. Unfortunately, the majority of the oaks here are of that variety.:confused3: Anyway, I figure two or three more sessions and I'll have a nice supply put up, and can then take the rest of the winter off.:laughing:
The bumpers for the van were supposed to be delivered yesterday, but when I called the trucking company they said they were still waiting on authorization to change the incorrect address I informed them about last Friday. The shipping broker corrupted not only the address, but the phone number as well, and this time when I explained the situation, the gal on the other end was able to make the changes. Just got word of that this morning, but now the bumpers have to be shipped from Sacramento to Redding before they can be put on a smaller truck and sent here. The funny part is that the bigger truck will pass within a few miles of here on the way to Redding, and I have forks on the tractor to unload the thing.:muttering::duh:
Finished wrapping the wiring harness on the old BMW yesterday, and will get everything tucked under the frame tubes and reconnected today. Then I plan to spend some time on the Vanagon wiring harness for the engine, as there seems to be a problem with the Vehicle Speed Sensor signal. The van seems to trigger a rev limiter when it hits 67 mph in 4th gear, and from what I've read that means that the VSS isn't working or isn't connected correctly.
Sewed a couple buttons on during yesterday's power outage, then moved outside to catch up on the kindling situation. I collected all the chips when I put up ten cords of firewood back in '13, and filled up a 3'x3'x4' Knack box with them. Finally made it to the end of 'em last winter, and with about five cords of wood still remaining, there's no need to split and stack more. It was time to try out the new Kindling Kracker. I went out to the wood yard and found a nice 12" round about knee height, and used a portable drill and a couple of lag bolts to mount the Kracker. While down at the yard I also found several 6"-8" long rounds of oak to add to the too big pieces that remained in the kindling box. Started off with a 2 pound maul for a hammer, but it got too heavy pretty quickly. Switched out to a 16 oz. ball pein and it was just right. I like the kindling small, as small as pencils, so it took a while to get a pile going, but by the time the power came back on at 1PM, I had about a bushel made. Not enough to get through the winter, but enough to get a good start on it. I learned that the twisted live oak chunks are miserable to split, as they are also full of knots. In fact I can't think of much nice to say about live oak. The twigs and leaves are sharp and tangle together, making it difficult and sometimes bloody work to limb them. All the wood is curved, which complicates splitting and stacking and loading the fire box. And when it finally burns, it smells like a skunk somehow got in there with it. Unfortunately, the majority of the oaks here are of that variety.:confused3: Anyway, I figure two or three more sessions and I'll have a nice supply put up, and can then take the rest of the winter off.:laughing:
The bumpers for the van were supposed to be delivered yesterday, but when I called the trucking company they said they were still waiting on authorization to change the incorrect address I informed them about last Friday. The shipping broker corrupted not only the address, but the phone number as well, and this time when I explained the situation, the gal on the other end was able to make the changes. Just got word of that this morning, but now the bumpers have to be shipped from Sacramento to Redding before they can be put on a smaller truck and sent here. The funny part is that the bigger truck will pass within a few miles of here on the way to Redding, and I have forks on the tractor to unload the thing.:muttering::duh:
Finished wrapping the wiring harness on the old BMW yesterday, and will get everything tucked under the frame tubes and reconnected today. Then I plan to spend some time on the Vanagon wiring harness for the engine, as there seems to be a problem with the Vehicle Speed Sensor signal. The van seems to trigger a rev limiter when it hits 67 mph in 4th gear, and from what I've read that means that the VSS isn't working or isn't connected correctly.
