Weekend Steam: Big Boy In Indiana!

 Knox, Indiana

Argos, Indiana

Days Are Long...

 ...and we can come home before sunset, avoiding deer danger on the road. We hadn't shot at the Carmi Rifle Club for nearly a year, and it was a beautiful evening, with a nice breeze to keep the buffalo gnats and skeeters off of us. I shot with iron sights and was making the five hits in the five to six second range most of the time.  No misses on the times, but out of four rounds I had to go back and pick up three plates that I missed on the first shot. Everyone else who shot last night was using a red dot sight, and that makes you faster, but my thinking is, what type of sights are on your carry gun?  I want to practice with what I would use in an emergency. 

Big Boy Crosses The Missippi!

 

Wednesday Windage: Is The 30-06 Still King?

 

I am a bit surprised that 450 Bushmaster and 350 Legend weren't mentioned. Those new cartridges are popular in Illinois and are taking the place of shotgun slugs. There is a new .40 caliber straight wall that looks good, too. 

Big Boy In Iowa

 Courtesy of Chester!

Tuesday Torque: Svoboda Tractor

 Never heard of it before, but I want one!  Many Thanks, Merle ,for the link and giving me engine itch!

Today We Chop!

      Back To The Old Grind!

Chainsaw Kickback And Your Chain Brake

 I saw a video the other day where a fellow was complaining that chain brakes are useless. He was demonstrating how he formed his opinion by doing kickbacks with his saw with his bar vertical. That launches a kickback right at your face, and luckily, he never made a serious kickback, because a bad one is powerful. His brake probably was fine, and he wasn't hitting wood hard enough to make it set. Sometimes when doing a demonstration you may have to hit several times to get the effect you want, but if you do, you must have your saw turned so it launches to your right, not vertically at your head. A strong hit will swing the saw several feet.  Here's instructor Joe Glenn demonstrating a kickback at one of the classes he taught.

The next video shows me out in the woods to cut up a black oak, and I show how to check your brake to make sure it operates correctly. 

Weekend Steam: When Steam Was King, J.I. Case, 1950s

 Those engines were still young in the 1950s! Today we see hobbyists putting new boilers on engines to keep them running, so it is still a serious hobby. Life is good!

Milo Matthews monitoring the Prony brake being pulled by a Russell engine at the 1953 Midwest Old Settlers and Threshers reunion. Milo was one of the founders, and his son Stan started the Midwest Central Railroad, bringing engines 2 and 6 from the Southeast, and in 1966 bringing the Number 9 Shay from California. I don't think you will find any Old Settlers or Threshers at the shows nowadays. The young'uns carry on!

Weekend Steam: Big Boy Is On The Move!