Good morning!!!!

[RedNeckGeek]

64F right now and partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 99F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. It'll be into the 100s again tomorrow through the weekend, and 90s all the next week. So much for spring

The hot dry weather and thunderstorms have spawned a series of fires across the state. The latest has been dubbed the Saddle Fire, which has grown from 70 acres last night to 800 this morning. It's burning in the Trinity River canyon north of Hyampom, CA, one of the prettiest places I've ever been. Over 100 people have been evacuated, and Hyampom itself is on alert.

David, hope you're feeling better.

Dab, good you were quick on the draw with that hose!

Larro, hope the dishwasher didn't let you down :laughing:

RS, the barn swallows here came back about the same time yours did. Don't know which I enjoy watching more, their acrobatics, the majestic soaring of the buzzards, or the dogfighting hummers. Never a dull moment in the air around here!

Thanks for the receiver pics. Looks like it came out real nice. Never thought about welding to the box blade face, as that blocks the through hole in the receiver. Ever run into a hitch that was too long to fit? If so, I guess you could always drill another hole in it, huh? I've been buying the receiver tube by the foot, but wonder if I need some of the next size up to make the reinforced lip at the end. I just want to mount my winch in the hitch, not move a house trailer, so I'm thinking it's not necessary?

Drew, it's not how well your cheapie mower works when it's brand new, but how much you have to screw around with it next spring to get it going again. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you...

And thanks for the tip in the hitch cover.

Dave, sounds like perfect weather. Nice payback from last winter, eh?

Another perspective on California's water problems:
California?s Farm-Water Scapegoat - WSJ

They make a good point that the farmers do have options, but the drilling that's going on is leading to permanent loss of the underlying aquifers due to subsidence. That'll have the Central Valley back to desert someday, with not much hope of going back. The article also fails to mention how many acres are under cultivation, but I bet the fraction of land that has been fallowed is very small.

More paperwork yesterday, but getting closer to done. Finished up the day washing one of the motorcycles in preparation for upgrading the lighting system (I HATE working on dirty equipment). Realized how much I miss riding, especially this one that has over 130K miles on it. Lots of miles of smiles...

What do you guys like for restoring faded black trim paint and plastic?

Hang in there, Friday's comin'!

 

[deerseeker001]

56 with Rain showers Today and tonight with a high of 66.The Weathermen are calling for 2-3 inches for Tonight.

 

[DABSGT]

Drew there is still hope!

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[farmer2009]

75 this morning and headed to 93 today. It's hay baling day. Will start as soon as dew is off 10-11. Then ride a tractor till it starts to fall again. I've never baled it all in a day. Out tractor isn't geared right. 3rds to slow and 4ths to fast. Need a gear in the middle. Will have two tractors running today.

 

[daugen]

a hog in a fog...

Don, you are such a poet!
cool picture, can you eat that thing?
are you allowed to shoot it if it's in your garden?

RNG, restore black trim paint on what?
Harley? one of those gorgeous old black and chrome Hondas? DB-9?
not a wax but something that will sink in...how porous is the surface? How weathered?
I've done a lot of this on an old boat, restoring old machinery...and now on my fading Kubota fel arms.
Sometimes the restoring goop might have a lot of abrasive in it; what works on fiberglass sure might not
work on painted metal.

the short answer is I'd try 303 on an inconspicuous spot.

 

[daugen]

75 this morning and headed to 93 today. It's hay baling day. Out tractor isn't geared right. 3rds to slow and 4ths to fast. Need a gear in the middle. Will have two tractors running today.

Time for a nice new IVT model...
you'd only have to raise about six million chickens to pay for it sadly

I loved that pic of the Fendt and the frauleins...

 

[DABSGT]

Redneck I have used this product on plastic works great, saw it on TV and was skeptical by my daughter picked it up for me to try. Only a little in the bottle but goes a long way. Put it on the hard bed cover of my Avalanche and running boards lasted 3 years now.

Don, medication side effects can be tough. Sounds like your dad is on the right path.

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[farmer2009]

Time for a nice new IVT model... you'd only have to raise about six million chickens to pay for it sadly I loved that pic of the Fendt and the frauleins...

You know I'd settle for a 12 speed. One with splitter (like the old TA's) would be real nice. Currently all our tractors have an 8x2. Oh how I miss power shuttle.

 

[dave1949]

RNG, Yeah, it helps take the sting out of winter memories. But, bad weather is like a missed nap--you can never get back what you missed. :laughing:

Are you voiding riding to keep the wind off your face? Maybe a ski mask or whatever race car drivers wear would work? Of course, you will look like someone on their way to a bank heist.

The WSJ article won't let me read it without subscribing. Subsidence is a real problem when it makes surface water flow the wrong way. The article I linked last week talked about pumping water from behind a dam because the elevation had changed to the point that water wouldn't run down the canal below the dam.

Good luck with the fire season.

 

[txdon]

a hog in a fog...

Don, you are such a poet!
cool picture, can you eat that thing?
are you allowed to shoot it if it's in your garden?

I can't eat the hog but I can eat the seeds in the pods that he is eating - I was going to try some seeds this year but I'm too late, maybe I can find some he missed.
No limit or season on feral hogs in Texas. Whipper keeps them out of the yard and the neighbors keep the population down. My wife likes to see the piglets roaming our place. Whipper likes to catch and release them. All my gardens are pig fenced.

 

[Larro Darro]

Good Morning. 0930, partly cloudy, 74F with 92% humidity. Forecast high of 83F with 60% chance of rain today, and a low of 71F tonight. We have had a couple of passing showers this morning, and a longer one during the night. Nice and cool right now.

Margie made it back from her trip last night and took the day off today. I need to run to Marianna to do the shopping, and go to Blountstown to water the lobby plants at work. But I may just "lay around the shack till the mail train comes back . . . . ."

on the way home yesterday stopped at Lowes and picked up shelving lumber. Got lazy and did not rip my own.
I don't understand why wood/tree prices are low based on what is being charged for finished lumber. Everything is 15 or 20 bucks a board it seems. I got to the register and just groaned.

Drew, if you will go to the Jobber {Project Coordinator?} at the contractor's end of Lowe's, he can give you a break on price. I get as much as 25% off on some purchases.

 

[sodamo]

66°f and .77 inches rain last 24 hours.

Be safe
Have a great day

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

 

[rswyan]

Light clouds and 87F @ 14:15 ... chance of an afternoon or evening thunderstorm ... looks like I probably should have left the AC on in the shop.

Used the needle scaler to clean the rust off of the tips of the ripper shanks for the box blade last night ... need to order the replacement teeth from Agri-Supply today.

Spent most of the time up there putting away tools and cleaning up.

Will try to get the splitter moved inside in a bit so I can get the base end of the hydraulic cylinder pulled off to take it in tomorrow so they can match up some o-rings for it. Likely to be a messy job. Hopefully have the parts for the engine repairs maybe tomorrow.

Finally got a call back from the guy at the place that's supplying the sprockets and having the machining done for the Simplicity repairs. Turns out the woman that called from the place a few days had no clue what she was talking about - the sprockets they didn't have were ordered and shipped directly to the machinist. The guy said yesterday I should have the stuff back by this coming Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. We'll see.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable and productive day.

 

[rswyan]

RS, nice hitch, get a little cover for the hole. Now here's where the HF one for a buck (?) will work as well as the four dollar one from Curt. Of course with your talent, you might make your own with your family coat of arms on it. You know, the one that has the little welder, chain saw and tractor on it...

LOL ... thanks.

Probably won't be anything quite so fancy, but you're right - I'll probably build it myself.

Given that I do use the box blade in reverse sometimes, it will just be a short piece of 2" square tube with a plate welded on the end ... to prevent dirt/gravel/etc from getting jammed in the hole

We're on a well here at the house so I can't provide you with any feedback on the cost of municipal water.

On the cost of lumber, two things: labor and transportation ...

And profit of course ...

 

[rswyan]

RS, the barn swallows here came back about the same time yours did. Don't know which I enjoy watching more, their acrobatics, the majestic soaring of the buzzards, or the dogfighting hummers. Never a dull moment in the air around here!

:thumbsup:

Thanks for the receiver pics.

You betcha.

Looks like it came out real nice.

Thanks ... it should work.

Never thought about welding to the box blade face, as that blocks the through hole in the receiver.

True ...

Ever run into a hitch that was too long to fit?

Nope ...

If so, I guess you could always drill another hole in it, huh?

Likelihood is that anything that gets stuck in the hole I will have made ... to fit

I've been buying the receiver tube by the foot, but wonder if I need some of the next size up to make the reinforced lip at the end. I just want to mount my winch in the hitch, not move a house trailer, so I'm thinking it's not necessary?

I've been buying the longer (18" ?) receiver tubes from Harbor Freight and cutting them in half. Then on the end which doesn't have the lip I take some narrow 1/4" flat stock and clamp it to the end, then tack it, then fire up the torch and make it cherry where the bend needs to be and bend it around. Clamp and then tack that ... wash, rinse and repeat ... until I've gone all the way around.

What do you guys like for restoring faded black trim paint and plastic?

Acetone will usually put a sheen back on plastic that has gone fuzzy ... kinda hard to get a consistent surface finish with it tho' ...

Might try sanding it, to get down below the fading, then using some real fine paper (800/1000 ?) for the final.

That stuff DABSGT mentions sure looks like it would be worth scoping out.

 

[300UGUY]

going to be a nice day here, hot but for once I'm staying inside, sort of.
Came home late yesterday after picking up my trim mower from the shop (yes....the call saying it was ready came two hours after I bought a cheapo second mower from Ace hardware, one with a deck so thin I think sticks will dent it) but I like my replacement mower so much, half the weight of the Ariens, that I may use it more. Cheesy little B&S 500 motor, looks like it's made of plastic, probably is. But after putting gas in it, it started on the first pull. Brand new mower, first pull.
No complaints there.

I have a question on the cost of water. Now most of you have your own wells, but those of you on municipal water (I am at the very, very end of the city water line) how much do you pay per gallon of water?
Now I'm sure David/Sodamo pays for water like it was cheap scotch, but what about the rest of you?
My last bill showed about 3000 gallons of usage for about 30 bucks, worked out to .008 cents per gallon.
How does that compare?

on the way home yesterday stopped at Lowes and picked up shelving lumber. Got lazy and did not rip my own.
I don't understand why wood/tree prices are low based on what is being charged for finished lumber. Everything is 15 or 20 bucks a board it seems. I got to the register and just groaned.

Cheap. My wife's shop is in Howell township. The combined water and sewer rate is $17 per thousand gallons, plus a metering fee. This is the highest I know of.

 

[sodamo]

I have a question on the cost of water. Now most of you have your own wells, but those of you on municipal water (I am at the very, very end of the city water line) how much do you pay per gallon of water?
Now I'm sure David/Sodamo pays for water like it was cheap scotch, but what about the rest of you?
My last bill showed about 3000 gallons of usage for about 30 bucks, worked out to .008 cents per gallon.
How does that compare?


Almost right, Drew. Water itself is free, just the cost of plumbing, filtering, pumping, but that's rather insignificant, unless replacing something.

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

 

[KevT]

This is what I have always used in the past on the black trim on my kayaks and trucks. Holds up well and lasts a long time.

Amazon.com: Forever Black Bumper & Trim Dye Kit: Automotive

 

[newbury]

I would imagine so ... I want one bad enough that I even considered Harbor Freight's offering (a little over $2K) ... although I'd really rather have a quality US-made piece.

Back in 2011 the HF one was made by Hudson.

A chainsaw I have ... although it is on the smaller side for handling large timber (Stihl 031AV, 20" bar), as is my tractor/FEL combo (maybe 1200 lb lift capacity) ... the tractor/FEL ain't gonna handle long, large logs ... even shorter stuff is a stretch if it's large. A larger chainsaw is easy enough to come up with, used, for relatively little coin.

But you get all those logs delivered. You could probably move them on the 3point.

<snip>
How do you like it ?

Have it outside ... under a roof ?

What size bed ?

Love it.
Actually inside




I've bought 3 sections total, 18 feet I think.

I think there is a case that can be made for the investment, if one has the need, the time, and the timber.

Buy the unit, take care of it, use it for what you need, and then sell it ... or not ...

Especially when you get the timber delivered to your door.

 

[farmer2009]

Rolled 88 bales of hay today about 20-22 acres worth. Around 10 acres left for tomorrow. It's still about 85 degrees tonight. Did have a small shower move through in the afternoon. Just settled the dust coming off the baler. 30 minutes later and the dust was back.

Drew water here has gone up because of the chicken industry. That's why most of us have pond systems and county back up. But 6500 gallons will run about $65.

Nice woodmizer. What diameter will it saw?