What Really Happened At The Suez Canal?

 Susan and I found this video quite interesting. Bank Effect and Finger Traps!

Tuesday Torque: IL-MO Engine Show Coming Up!

 Illinois-Missouri Tractor and Engine Club will be having an invitational crank-up at Defiance, Missouri at the Daniel Boone Home, Saturday, April 24, 2021! Our friend Gary Bahre is planning to be there with the five horse Falk if the weather cooperates. 

Just A Little Old Widow Maker

 Yard work never ends. Gotta pull this one down by hook or by crook before it falls on one of us. First thing Monday!

                                                                  Back To The Old Grind!

Covid 19 Info You Can Use!

Height Measurement Made Easy; Biltmore Stick Hack

Weekend Steam II: Ffestiniog And Welsh Highland Railway

 Merle, you are giving us a first class railroad trip around the World with your video spotting. Thank You! 

Weekend Steam: Scrapped 34046 'Braunton" And Then After Restoration

 "Here we have 7P 5FA Light Pacific , West Country Class 4-6-2 34046 `Braunton` with a Before and After Restoration vid...first filmed in the Early 1980s @ Barry island scrap yard in south Wales seen in a sorry sight, then some clips of this Year 2013 on some tours in fine form....what a GREAT job done in restoration..i take my hat off to everyone involved"            Thanks, Merle!

He Made It Look Easy!

Our friends Ray and Tom came out to hunt this morning. Tom called and Ray, who has a tag for this season, did the shooting. One shot, done! Nice bird, Ray!  Tom will be back in the last spring season and try to get one for himself. 

 

The Garden Is Up And Running!

                                                                          Radishes!

Pour Some Salt On Its Tail!

 We are enjoying wildlife shows morning and evening. Susan has become a real pro at calling in barred owls, and that is just a little spooky when they fly in and talk back to you. This morning a hen turkey was scouting around the house. She took off at quick trot when I stepped out with the video camera.

Brassman Bart: Esprit du Corps March by Sousa

Tuesday Torque: Aumann Auction, Coming Right Up!

 Click the link and have a good time browsing through the online auction catalog. There is some good stuff in this auction, but bring your big-boy checkbook!  AuctionLink

Schindler's List, John Williams; Simone Lamsma, Violin; Davida Scheffers, English Horn

When Spielberg asked John Williams to write the score for Schindler’s List he showed him an early cut of the movie. Williams stood up and walked out of the screening room. He came back in a few minutes later crying and said “you need someone better than me to write music for this.” And Spielberg said “I know, but everyone better than you is dead.”

Cabbage, Broccoli, Onions, Radishes, Lettuce And Potatoes Are In

 Tomorrow, asparagus crowns! Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: Strasburg Ghost Whistle

 Hmmm. Green board, train backs through. Don't worry, it's a tourist railroad. Thanks, Merle!

Weekend Steam: Doughty Valley Steam Show, Charm, Ohio, 2010

Featuring a 110 Case on the sawmill.  Many Thanks, Merle!

 

Egrets Visited Today

 The pond provides entertainment throughout the day. Deer, geese, an occasional coyote, and ducks have us reaching for binoculars regularly. These snowy egrets are a treat to see, and they will probably be gone tomorrow.

Daily Chainsaw Rehab

Brassman Bart: Tiger Rag

Tuesday Torque: 5 HP Hornsby Akroyd Oil Engine

 Great Pick, Merle! Thank You! Chris Eppings description should answer most questions that viewers may have. These oil engines were designed to burn heavy oil. 

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"You are viewing a very historically significant engine. This oil engine, built in Grantham England was designed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart. An Englishman, Akroyd Stuart designed and built the worlds first successful oil engine. His engine was patented, built, and successfully run a year before Rudolph Diesel ran his first engine in Germany. Akroyd sold his design to Richard Hornsby Co and they produced engines based on his design for many years. The blow torch on the head of the engine is used to heat the bulb for starting. Once under load, the engine would produce enough heat to maintain the temperature required for ignition and the torch could be removed. Fuel is controlled by the length of the stroke of the fuel pump as well as the valve connected to the governor which bypasses the fuel back to the tank rather than injecting it into the engine. The engine is very well constructed with bronze bearings and heavy castings. "

Yard Work, Yard Work, And More Yard Work

 We are doing lots of pruning and cutting in addition to gardening and mowing already. Sharpen with every refill. Look for bright spots and make them disappear.

Back To The Old Grind!

How We Got Through The Winter

 I bet we have watched this video at least once every day for three months. Tchaikovsky was cruelly criticized by a critic when he wrote this, including the nasty remark that "you can smell the vodka." Well, wake up and smell the vodka! I remember the first time I heard this when we were taking the kid to Carbondale every week for violin and orchestra, and it was a real jolt. One of my favorite pieces. You gotta wonder how the male virtuosos are able to perform this piece dressed in a monkey suit. Pour a cup of coffee and buckle in before you hit Play!

Weekend Steam II: Sawmilling With A Case 110 At Pinckneyville

 Great Pick, Merle! This video has some shaky moments, but in a heavy crowd that is expected.  It is worth watching. The belt pops off the Case, and you will see that lumber is stacked next to the edger, which is used at the end of the video. The mill at Pinckneyville sure could use a log turner. You will see the guys turning the log down 90 degrees at the 4:30 mark. That is a good way to give the whole crew hernias. Standard practice is to turn the log up 270 degrees so it doesn't fall off the carriage. Lacking a log turner, you use cant hooks. Big logs can be a challenge, and trying to catch a log coming off the carriage should not be part of the equation.

Weekend Steam: Photos Of All The Big Boys!

 The only one I have seen in person is 4017 in Green Bay. Thank You, Merle!

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https://prrt1steamlocomotivetrust.org/​ - Please help fund the T-1 Trust! They are a wonderful organization, building an advanced new 4-4-4-4 T-1 steam locomotive from scratch! One of the most viewed Union Pacific Big Boy videos on youtube! This is my photo collection of all 8 surviving Union Pacific Big Boys today. 4004, Cheyenne, Wyoming 4005, Denver, Colorado 4006, St Louis, Missouri 4012, Scranton, Pennsylvania 4014, Cheyenne, Wyoming 4017, Green Bay, Wisconsin 4018, Frisco, Texas 4023, Omaha, Nebraska If you enjoy my videos, feel free to like, comment, and share! Thanks for watching!

Iron Skillet Update

                                                                    It's working great!

Iron Skillet Rehab

Susan is needing another iron skillet in the kitchen, so she sorted through some we had stashed in an outbuilding and found one she liked. It was dirty and rusty. She washed it, but it was still mighty nasty. I put some good white oak pieces in the stove, put the skillet on them when they had charcoaled up nice, and opened the draft.

The rust crumbled up nice and the stink was gone after the coals were burned down. I started washing and was amazed by the dark rust that came off. 

 

I finished up with a stainless mail scrubber. It looks like a good one. 

 Seasoned with beef tallow and ready to go to work. We will have to post pictures of food next!

Brassman Bart: Gladiator March

Tuesday Torque: Wheel Horse Re-Works

 Wheel Horses should get more of these conversions. They have a heavy duty trans-axle and a good frame. We used a  Wheel Horse for many years to mow our lawn, and now I sorta wish I had kept if for a retirement project. Oh Well. The first one is a Bradford engine, and the second one is an IHC. 

A Double For Monday!

Susan and I were in Mt. Vernon and whipped into this filling station to have a gander at this neat setup. The guy with the beard had just acquired these two Fairbanks-Morse engines and two grinders on a nifty wagon. These were in an estate auction near Louisville on the Indiana side of the Ohio. He's ready to get Back To The Old Grind!

 

Weekend Steam II: Pomona, California

 Thanks for the museum visit, Merle. We are getting better at traveling vicariously!  I figure I will never get to California again, so this is a nice little trip.

"Steam engines on public display in Pomona, CA. These giants are among the last surviving examples of their kind. The bell and whistle in the Santa Fe 4-6-4 Hudson are operable. Some of the engines on display have working bells/whistles, which are all fed by a large air compressor at the station."

Weekend Steam: Steaming Up The 7 1/4 Inch Feldbahn

 This video is a whole lotta fun, from rolling out the little tank engine to backing into the shed after a fine outing.  Many Thanks to Merle for finding this one!

Quick Method Of Taking Down A Springpole

 Wood floating up in the air isn't really a trick. The trick is getting it down, and if it is in a place where there are people, you must bring it down. In this instance, the top of a tree we cut was being held up by an understory black walnut, and that tree was made into a springpole by the weight of the wood it was holding. Springpoles and extreme leaners need to be cut in special ways so they don't break and smack you in the face, so I did a face cut, a vertical bore cut to establish the hinge, (The walnut was too small in diameter for a conventional bore cut.) and a release cut. Chainsaw trainers will teach you to repeatedly shave the compressed side of a springpole, and that is fine on sapling size trees, but when they become large saplings or bigger, shaving and nicking can become very tiresome, and fatiguing your arms while running a saw is a bad thing. I have been using this vertical bore cut method of dealing with springpoles for several years now, and it works for me every time. On small diameter trees like this little walnut, as you punch through, the tree will settle a bit and pull your rpms down a bit on the saw. Be ready for that, keep it wide open, and pull back a bit, then finish. Pull out and sever the backstrap.

Dope Out The Compression And Tension When You Buck

 You need to evaluate downed trees and limbs before making your bucking cuts and figure out which side is under compression and which side is under tension. A stem that is suspended on both ends is easy to dope out, and with no side pressure, this is an easy job.

More Fun With Fire!

 Back in 2017 we had this tree taken down with a backhoe because it was hollow and leaned severely. We worked up the easy parts for firewood and the big old hulk was just lying on the north side of they yard looking ugly. We will be cleaning up the remains for several days and then till and seed this spot. 

A Couple Of Simple Drops

 Here are a couple of simple pole sized trees to drop. If you thin your timber you will be cutting many trees of this size. They are great to work up into firewood, and just need to pass through your splitter one time. Evaluate where the tree wants to go by its lean and weight, and aim it that direction with your open face. Bore it to make the back of your hinge, and then cut out through the backstrap. Remember to escape from the stump as soon as you finish your release cut.

Brassman Bart: The Spring Maid

Fun With Fire!

 Susan and I burned off the dam on our pond today. We have to burn it every few years to discourage trees from growing on it, and it went quite well today, with a southwest wind of 10 to 15 miles per hour to help it burn and to move the smoke. It wasn't quite as hot as we would like, but we can use herbicide to kill off the trees that did not get burned. We don't get up and go to work; we are surrounded by it!

Tuesday Torque: Chris Epping Shows Off A 3 HP Victor Vapor Engine

This engine will have you scratching your head! I will need to watch it a few more times before I can comment with an intelligent question!

Good Comparative Info From Who_Tee_Who; .22 LR HP vs. .380 ACP HP

 Who_Tee_Who is a regular guy who is making videos regularly for his YouTube channel. He has been doing many of these videos with clay blocks instead of the ballistic gel that other channels use, and I really like seeing the results. This is gonna be a real fun video!

Finally, Some Spring Weather!

We had several wet, cold days but the weekend was good, and Monday is going to be nice. We are enjoying the flowers. 

 It is nice not having to bug out in the morning and go to work five days a week, but on the other hand, we are surrounded by work!  Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: Abandoned Narrow Gauge Railway in Flintshire Wales, UK

 This is an interesting place to visit. One of the commenters did some research and this was evidently a railway used in lead mining, and finally to move munitions in an ammo dump during World War II.  Click the video over to YouTube so you can read all about it. I love seeing old iron, and since retiring four years ago I am not seeing things in the wild like I did. Thanks for another great pick, Merle!