Good morning!!!!

[check]

Here is Jasper, enjoying his full winter outfit.

 

[PJSprog]

5°F and clear skies this morning, going up to 26° today. One day cold snap. Supposed to be near 50° Saturday and Sunday. The garage was a balmy 26° this morning.

Walked out to the chicken coop last night without gloves. That was a mistake. Hands were seriously in pain by the time I got back to the house. Wife didn't get out there yesterday to get the eggs, and it was in the teens most of the day, so they were all frozen and cracked.

Good luck with your back issues, Drew. I compressed a disc in my lower back when I was 22, and it still gives me trouble once in awhile ... this week being one of those times. There's nothing fun about back pain.

I missed the F-150 earlier this Winter by about 1" while clearing snow when the angled rear blade dug down and caught under the gravel causing the tractor to slide sideways. Not pleasant to think about what the corner of that blade would have done to the side of the truck. Can opener comes to mind. I also dug a bit of a trench in the pasture a couple years ago when I thought I had the rotary cutter leveled, but didn't. The side I wasn't looking at when I lowered it dug for about 10 yards before I noticed it. Stopped doing the eyeballing-on-uneven-ground method after that.

Stay warm today, gents.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG, what do you use to weld your saw blades?

I silver braze them. Found an article, I believe in Home Shop Machinist magazine, that described a two part fixture that seemed within my capabilities to make. One part is a slot angled such that the end of the bandsaw blade is presented to the sander belt to create a bevel which increases the surface area of the braze joint. The other part is a shallow slot over which a pair of clamps descend to hold the two ends of the blade in alignment for brazing. There's a U shaped slot cut out in the middle so that the two blade ends are suspended in the air, allowing the heat from an air/acetylene torch to reach both sides. The clamps are also handy for holding the blade while using a little hand held belt sander to clean the excess braze material off the broad sides of the blade. I was very suspicious that the braze joints would be strong enough, but so far at least, as long as I do a good job with the grinding and cleaning and fluxing, if the blade breaks, it's never in the braze joint. If I can remember, I'll get a picture of it posted so you can see what I'm talking about...

I've been keeping my eye out for a blade welder for many years now, but they very seldom come up on Craig's List. Most are mounted on large industrial bandsaws, the kind I'd love to have and don't have the room for. My bulldozer neighbor has one of those, with a 3 phase motor in it that he can't use because he doesn't have a phase converter. I have a feeling that saw may end up in my new shop if I ever get around to building it. On loan, of course, just in case we ever get around to building him a phase converter.:laughing:

 

[RedNeckGeek]

And for sure some choice words berating oneself... I believe mine were Oh Fudge.

Conjures up a mental image of a little bespectacled boy holding an empty hub cap. Words made famous by the movie A Christmas Story.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I backed out got some dirt, scrubbed the scratch out and all was good.

I learn something new every day here. Thank you, Don! I left some scratches in the driveway when I moved the generator, and now I know how to hide them before one of my buddies sees them.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 45F @ 6:30AM. Partly cloudy. High 67F. Winds light and variable.

Wow! That's some cold weather, Bill & Thomas! Bundle up!

Found some 2x2 lumber in the scrap pile and made some longer stakes yesterday, but 2' still wasn't long enough to get a laser plane through both rows of post holes. So I'll dig around summore...

Went to the Home Depot in Oroville yesterday, and now I understand why they stock things that the Chico store doesn't: the building is a LOT bigger. And yesterday it was packed! Picked up the stuff I ordered, and snagged some more electrical conduit, but forgot to get the pipe for the propane, or the rebar chairs I need for the concrete jobs. Or the 2x6 lumber for the forms. Something about crowds just drives me nuts, and I had to get out of there.

Still no word from the insurance guy on the van, so this morning I'll call a number on a flyer I got in the mail. It promises homeowner's insurance for fire survivors, too, but I don't believe in the tooth fairy anymore, either, so I'm not overly optimistic.

On the other hand, the propane guy has been in touch several times about today's visit, asking good questions so he's prepared when he gets here. The new tank will have a wet tap for filling propane bottles, and I'll get to take a look at his tank monitor gizmo. I'm not sure at this point that what he's bringing is the same thing I've seen online, and he's talking about a $200 installation fee...

TGIF gang!:drink:

 

[daugen]

planted the two last flats, poppy seeds so small too hard to pick up or deal with, they get sprinkled in late March outside.
listened to Crosby Stills and Nash cd while planting, always makes you reminisce.

filled seeder full of tiny snapdragon seeds fell off counter. Groan. That took a while to pick up with my finger, thankfully it must have fallen
fairly horizontal.

found some rot, likely old termite damage, in small shed. It's on the list.

 

[hawkeye08]

40F last night when I went to bed.. not much change over night..

Talked to my wife last night, her sister had surgery on broken leg (pinned it) yesterday, probably surgery on pelvis today.. she was in good spirits and doing well considering. FIL has some internal bleeding they are concerned about, scans did not find it in torso, so they think it is in broken leg area perhaps.. wife and at least 3 of her siblings have to be there at 9am today. Either FIL will be able to consent to surgery or siblings will be able to. He wants the surgery so that should go smoothly...

The sister that was driving the truck (pickup, they were making a run to dump) is also the primary caregiver for FIL so they need to figure out care when they get released from hospital. Wife is planning on heading home after surgery today and then we'll have to return next week likely for a few days.. Thanks all for the prayers.

For those wondering how it happened, the dump was closed, so they turned around and were headed back home and when they pulled onto main road, SIL did not see the other vehicle and pulled out in front of him. They were not able to use jaws of life to extract due to a gas can inside cab. It took hours to get them out, FIL first on passenger side, then SIL out passenger side. SIL was pinned against center console with her head sticking out where the windshield normally is.

No word on how the other driver is, have not seen anything on news feeds for that area..

Thanks again for the prayers and positive thoughts. It does make a difference.

Stay safe, prayers for all.

 

[daugen]

Hawkeye, more prayers for family, sounds like a horrible accident.

And no matter how careful you are, in the right or in the wrong,
unless you are in a modern safe car with your belts on, and even then...car accidents are frightening and painful. And life changing.
A few of us have been firemen and EMT's and have seen this close and personal.
Always pays to look both ways. And whoever is driving focus on the road, not your phone.
Safety is a really good idea and Hawkeye's family is hurting because of it. Really sorry about that.

I'd like to see this taught in driver training:
No rolling stops
Use your turn signals far enough in advance to show intention, not completion
Look both ways at stops, even twice
Turn your lights on when raining or dark
Stay out of left lane unless passing
use turn signals when passing
watch for pedestrians, motorcycles and runners, Share The Road
never ever drive without seat belts on

but we are human and don't drive like driver instructors. This is where I am thankful of driving a semi one summer during college.
What an education and amazing how cars would just veer in front of you less than a car length away. It was Defensive Driving 101 for me.

It's also when my neck first started hurting me it was on such a swivel.

not a lot more planned for today. My turn for energy conservation.
Don't forget to tell your wives Happy Valentine's Day. Good opportunity for a smooch...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Good morning, brace yourselves. The temp here is -30°F and the high will be 3. Wind N 3 mph. Mainly sunny.

I don’t ever want to be where it’s that cold.