A Rare Engine, Shared By PileOfIron

PileOfIron just posted a video of a 14 HP Hagan engine, manufactured at Winchester, Kentucky. Take a good look at the carburetor. The Hagan carburetor has a pulley turning inside, which powers a continuous loop of chain that dips to the bottom of the gas tank. Air flows over the gasoline-wet chain during the intake stroke, providing a fuel-air mix to the cylinder. It is one of the most unusual designs you will ever see, it's rare as can be, and is one of the most coveted engine brands among collectors.

Send Your Scans In For The Postal Match

Don't forget to send the scans of your targets to the Conservative UAW Guy for the April Mr. Completely e-Postal Contest.  Send it in, even if you think your score is too low.  You can see by this target of mine that I am no threat!

Be on the alert for the May Mr. Completly e-Postal Contest, hosted by Danno's Sand Castle Son, at the Smallest Conservative and Sand Castle Scrolls.

Almost Missed It...

...We posted this original acoustic version five years ago. Spring is finally here, and it's a good time to listen to it again.

Lazy-Bones, Laying In The Shade...

...How you gonna get your cornmeal made? Well, this is asparagus, not corn, but it looks like Skipper has it made in the shade. Life in the country seems to agree with him. Photo Credit: Mrs. True Blue Sam

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield

OK, Ruger fans, this one will get your attention.  The Ruger being auctioned off this week for HAVA is a very fine example of a Number 1 Medium Sporter in 45-70.  Ruger's writeup: "Up for auction is a No. 1 Medium Sporter, single-shot rifle serial number 132-76724. It is a 45-70 Gov’t caliber, and the testfire date is February 6, 1986. It has a beautiful American walnut stock with a satin finish and a red rubber buttpad with the Ruger eagle logo. The pistol grip and Alexander Henry-style forearm are hand checkered to a borderless design, 20 lines to the inch. Other features include a hammer-forged 22” barrel; quick detachable sling swivels; adjustable folding leaf rear sight mounted on a quarter rib with a ramp front sight base and dovetail-type gold bead front sight. The rifle is being sold “as is.” The purchaser assumes all liability for its safe and proper ownership, storage, use, and resale. The No. 1 rifle will be shipped in the box it had been stored in along with a set of Ruger scope rings, an appropriate instruction manual, some original paperwork, and a yellow cable lock. The rifle is a part of the Ruger factory collection in Southport, Connecticut. A Certificate of Authenticity will be mailed to the winner of the auction. Note: the winner of this auction will be responsible for paying the Federal Excise Tax."

There aren't very many animals in this world that cannot be taken with this rifle when it is properly stoked, and it is beautiful to boot.  Click Here or on the photo to place your bid.  This fine example of firearm manufacturing sells mid-day on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.  100% of the proceeds go to benefit Honored American Veterans Afield.

Happy Trails For Some Lucky Person

My college roommates had a '55 Pontiac (Three On The Tree), and we enjoyed many a happy mile in that car.  I think it is still in captivity, but no longer running.  The Mrs. and I ran across this fixable '55 in Carmi, Illinois the other day, and it brought back many pleasant memories.

The body looks pretty good on this one, but the windshield and the passenger side glass need to be replaced.  The hood ornament is missing, but that shouldn't be too hard to find, what with the internet nowadays.

The chrome that is still there looks good, and the sign says the engine runs.  It's practically a showpiece already!  Buy it, and in a few years you can thank me for the memories.

Strength For Monday Morning

Corn Bread and Fresh Buttermilk! That's combination that will sustain you for the start of the work week. Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola

Rhapsody in Blue is in my 1920's record collection, but the old Brunswick would do this composition a serious injustice. This video has no notes to describe the transcription, but I suspect it is copied from an RCA CD, because this was re-published along with many Victor records from the 1920's, back when CD's were still new-fangled. I have gone to sleep many nights listening to this music from a CD player; without a crank on the side. I'm not totally stuck in the first part of the last century! Enjoy it, before YouTube pulls it for copyright violation. (PS: I even convert old records to mp3 files, just to save steel needles!)

Weekend Steam

A daily parade of traction engines and old tractors is a countrywide tradition at old engine shows, and shaky videos of these blessed events are all over YouTube. Here's a good one from Maryland, courtesy of Bulldog2HP.

Crankin' It Up: Mother's Day Is On The Way

This is a two week warning for you in case you haven't already put it on your agenda. Songs about Mother fell out of popularity a long time ago, mostly because of Sigmund Freud, and Al Jolson was one of the few who just didn't care what people thought. He witnessed his mother dying when he was just a little tyke, and he never quit singing his signature Mammy song. This one, by the Peerless Quartet is a new one for me. It has been lurking in the back of a filing cabinet for decades, and Brat and I cranked it up for your gratification today.

April e-Postal Final Weekend

The final weekend is coming up to shoot the Mr. Completely April e-Postal Contest, over at the Conservative UAW Guy's blog.  Go, print your targets, and go to the range!  You know you need the practice!

Engine Shows Will Be Here Soon!

April will be over soon, and steam and gas engine shows are just around the corner.  We shot this little video at Evansville in June, 2012, and we plan to go again this year.  You can click on the Farm Collector Show Directory (under Stoke Up!) in the sidebar to look for shows in your neighborhood.  Click Here to see what is available for you mechanical gratification in May.

Not So Fresh

I've always been amused by the term "Barn Fresh."  I guess some protection from the elements is better than none, but many of those Barn Fresh projects offer false hope of an easy restoration. 

Get a load of those 2 x 6 props in the doorway.  Been There, Done That; I'll be doin' that again.  When you have an old barn you always have something to do.  I am a bit tickled to see a barn that makes ours look good.

Not My Favorite Tree...

...but beautiful nonetheless.  Baby hackberry leaves.

Are Your Chainsaw Chaps Bulletproof?

My inquiring mind has wondered about this for a long time. These chaps have a couple layers of Kevlar fabric to protect legs from chainsaw cuts, and Kevlar is used in bulletproof vests, so chainsaw chaps ought to be bulletproof; right? Watch the video and be amazed, or maybe disappointed.

 Update: Here is a YouTube video from Bailey's that demonstrates the cut resistance and saw jamming capabilities of high-end chaps. These are six ply, with both Kevlar and Polyester fibers. 

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield

Ruger has a special gun this week; an engraved Red Label Shotgun from 1995.  They don't make these any more, and the bidding reflects that. Click over to bid, or to simply be amazed.  It sells Wednesday, April 24, so don't delay if you want to buy this beauty.

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse...

...Yep, it's Earth Day, so we're recycling today.  Here's what we posted last year.  It's always fun to watch a tree tip over.

Let's Pound Wedges!

We had a pin oak in the yard that grew uglier every year from an old injury. This tree wasn't very old, but pin oaks grow fast, and get big fast. It was leaning toward the security light at the end of the driveway, and the back weight was getting worse every year, so it became a wood cutting project over the weekend. Here's how it went.


 

Monday Morning Is On The Way

Back To The Old Grind!

NOT A Victrola; And You Can Sing Along!

MechanicMusic posted this great song on his player piano. He's up close with the camera so you can sing along with the roll!

Weekend Steam

Bidone1967 makes great videos; he uploaded this one last month.

Crankin' It Up?

Yes, you will have a Crank Up. It's uploading to YouTube, and will be done around Midnight. I will post it Saturday morning while I am having my first cup of coffee. You can go to my YouTube Channel after Midnight if you can't wait. We had a busy day. I did some work for the boss, even though I am off on Fridays, and we took two cats and Skip to the vet at the Jefferson Animal Clinic. Bart is the cat who had two strokes that I witnessed, and he had to be examined to renew his heart meds. Hank, a cat who is around twenty years old has been having problems. The most likely explanation is bladder cancer, and we had already made changes to accommodate him. He is a special case, and we will keep him going as long as we can. Skip needed his lepto-parvo-rabies-lodging? vaccine. It is called something like LGBT or Bordello I think. His weight is down from 18 lb. 6 oz. to 14 lb. 13 oz. Carrot snacks and lots of running have really changed the little dog. When he runs hard he looks like a little steam switcher going 80 mph. See you tomorrow morning with Brat Cat and two sides of a 1918 Victor record.

UPDATE:  Here it is:
A couple of nice dance numbers by Joseph C. Smith, from July and September, 1918. Brat was hungry for attention when I came home today, and he jumped up on the Brunswick as soon as I went to the tripod to set up the camera. He's a joy. These songs were recorded before the end of The Great War, so they are definitely pre-Roaring Twenties, but they are a noticeable break from the early Twentieth Century songs.

One Chunk Of Firewood To Cook Your Supper!

You can make a stove out of dry firewood by borecutting with your chainsaw! This one is made of dry persimmon, which was difficult to light, but it finally burned well. Next time I need to try oak and hickory. I recommend doing your cuts while the wood is green, and easier to bore than a dry chunk of firewood. Allow it to dry for several months before you use it. Be sure to make cuts on top that allow smoke to escape.

Thousands Of Acres; One Tree At A Time

One of the many tree planting projects happening in Southern Illinois this spring. The fellow on the tractor is a retired university extension agent, farmer, and tractor collector. He has planted hundreds and hundreds of acres over the last twenty years. He will put around 200 acres of trees in the ground this month; about 90,000 seedlings.

How Rough Was Your Monday? (I Saw Dead Cars.)

 Do you ever feel rough around the edges at the first of the week?  I saw this used up old hulk Monday, as I headed out to a tree planting project.  I felt a bit like I was poaching, shooting one from my truck instead of slipping up on it in the woods.  I actually recognized this old bus; it used to haul pigs from farm to market, and you didn't want to follow closely on the highway on a hot, humid Illinois morning.  I don't know if this old Chevy is really most sincerely dead, but that's how I'm labeling it.  I suspect it has been dragged out to send to the scrap yard.

Did You 'Buy A Gun' Today?

April 15 is Buy A Gun Day, and if you didn't do the right thing, here is the next best thing.  Register with Mr. Completely to attend the annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno, Nevada, save up your pennies to buy raffle tickets, and win the Ruger .357 Stainless Blackhawk.  It's a good time, for a good cause; raising money for Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT, which provides voice activated laptops to wounded soldiers.  If you don't have a Blackhawk, you need one; if you have one, you know that you want another, so mark September 5-8 on your calendar, and go to Reno!

Lightning Strikes!

Another Day, Another Stray.  Oh Well, or words to that effect.  He's a wild little thing that has been begging food and disturbing the resident pets.  We can't grab him yet, but we are getting closer.  I am guessing that he is a Schnauzer-Cocker mix; a Schnocker?  We have dubbed him Lightning, because he is very fleet of foot, but Skipper can catch him when he wants to, and he has nipped him a few times

Hey, Charcoal Burners! Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield!

Ruger's auction for Wednesday, April 17, 2013 is this black powder Old Army Revolver from the first few months of production in 1973.  Click Here, or on Ruger's photo to go read all about it.

Pick Up Sticks

We stayed busy with yard work over the weekend.  Mowing, chainsawing, splitting wood, moving wood into storage, and brush into the woods, has us ready for Monday so we can get a bit of rest.




We planted this apple tree in 1978 in memory of Cousin Imogene, who was taken by cancer in 1977.  It had been declining for a few years, and the drought last summer finished it off.

Ready, Or Hardly Able?

 Back To The Old Grind!

What Do You See?

Click the Pic.

Not My Victrola

From EdmundusRex:

Weekend Steam

Now that winter is mostly over and done with, it's time to start thinking about engine shows. This video is a good example of the history in motion that you can enjoy at steam and gas engine shows. The Avery is a double-simple engine, so it makes a racket very similar to a steam locomotive when it is pulling a load.

Crankin' It Up

Harmony record number 21-H, recorded sometime in 1925. Violinist Alec Sander.

Meltdown

All that's left to linger on...

I See Dead Cars

                                                                            It's well hidden.

You Need A Blackhawk...

...and I know where you can score one!  Special arrangements have been made with Ruger to have a Stainless, 4 5/8" Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Magnum at Gun Blogger Rendezvous VIII, Reno Nevada, September 5-8, 2013.  Blackhawks are great for recreation, hunting, varmint control, and self defense; especially as a house gun.  The Blackhawk in the video has been my companion for more than thirty years, and I like it more every time I shoot it.


 The Rendezvous is less than five months away; Click Here, the Gun Blogger Rendezvous icon on the left side of this page, or click over to MrCompletely for more information about the Rendezvous. The big question is; Will Kevin finally win a gun, or will Molly take home her third Ruger? You have to be there to win, so mark it on your calendar!

How Do You Like Them...

...Mayapples!  Yep, Spring is really here!

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield

This Stainless Speed Six .38 Special is the prize lined up for April 10, and bidders are extremely active on this little beauty.  Check It Out Here, and do the figuring for your top dollar.  100 % of the proceeds go to Honored American Veterans Afield.

Set up an account with GunBroker if you haven't done so, so you can hop in and place bids on special auctions like these, or to shop for other firearms that you might be interested in.

Bring Out Everything That's Dull..

...and don't leave none behind. Back To The Old Grind! by VictrolaMan

Not My Vicrola II

We cut a mess of wood today; brought this to mind. The last routine that Moran and Mack recorded, in 1929. Courtesy of VeryCoolSound.

Not My Victrola

CatsPajamas1 shared this great Al Jolson song. We worked outside in the sun today, and it would have felt great to lean back against a tree and have a snooze.

Crankin' It Up

Brat and I celebrate the belated arrival of spring weather with this delightful Irving Berlin song from May, 1922.

Patience, My Little Fan Club...

...My computer has not wanted to talk to my video cam tonight, but I finally moved the latest 78 rpm record into the hard drive, and made a video, which is now uploading to YouTube.  I will post it Saturday Morning, as it is now past my bedtime and it has an hour to go on the upload.

Oops,...Must post a steam something...

Stopped at the Fairfield, IL WalStore today, and scored a box of Rem 125 gr .357 Mag, and two boxes of 12 gauge 00 Buckshot.  Went to Wayne-White Electric Co-op annual meeting and had a great pork chop dinner.  Eliminated TWO rogue possums making an attack on barn cat kitty chow. G'nite.

Making Wood In The Good Old Days

One from my cache of photos from Carl and Bessye Hornung is this great shot of some fellows bucking firewood with a steam engine.  Unfortunately, no information is on the back of this shot...taken by Carl way, way back in B.C. (Before Chainsaws).

March e-Postal Results Are Posted At Mr. Completely!

CLICK OVER to Mr. C's blog and check out the entries in the March 2013 e-Postal Contest.  Mr. C had a good turnout, and nobody shot a negative score, which would have been easy with the March target.  Billll (of Bill's Idle Mind), and Carteach (of Carteach0) shot the highest scores with rimfire/iron sights; and Mr. C shot a perfect score with his HighStandard/OKO rig.

Billll, Carteach, and Zeke have taken on hosting duties for this year, and I am still looking for a couple of hosts for October and November have hosts for every month now!  Here is the schedule of e-Postal hosts for 2013:  New hosts this year are Sand Castle Son, Zeke, Billll, Carteach, and Mrs. True Blue Sam.

March:  Mr. Completely

April:  Jimmy B, theCUG

May:  Sand Castle Son at Smallest Conservative and Sand Castle Scrolls

June:  Zeke of Engineering Johnson

July: Billll of Bill’s Idle Mind

August: Carteach of Carteach0

September: True Blue Sam, right here

October: Susan at Mrs. True Blue Sam

November: Danno at Sand Castle Scrolls

The Conservative UAW Guy is the host for April; click over to his blog to read all about it and to print the target.  The weekend is coming up, and Spring has finally arrived!  You need a trip to the range!

Win One Of Two Winchester SX3 Sporting 12 Gauge Shotgun!

                                             Photo Courtesy Winchester Repeating Arms.*
UPDATE!!!!!  The raffle for these two Winchester shotguns is Friday, April 5.  A few tickets are still available, so contact Danno TODAY, and overnight a money order to beat the deadline!

Jump in and buy some tickets!  Click one of the links to Sand Castle Scrolls and help the Sand Castle Son.

Danno's son is an active young shooter, and the club he belongs to is raffling two extra nice Winchester shotguns.  They are limiting ticket sales to 1000, making your odds of winning very good.  All the information is over at Sand Castle Scrolls, so go there, and order a pile of tickets from the Sand Castle Son.  Danno has a list of links so you can study Arizona's Scholastic Clay Target Program, and The Rio Salado Target Terminators, and other necessary information.  The drawing will be April 5, 2013, and you do not have to be present to win.   Go, Read All About It, and Buy Some Tickets!  It's for a good cause, and you have a good chance of winning.

Daily Shows, All Winter Long

We have been enjoying the comings and goings of geese for most of the winter.   They get used to our activities around the yard pretty quickly, and learn to ignore the dogs, too.

They are either feeding or expressing an opinion of the people watching them.

Last year, two settled in and raised six goslings.  Two have settled again, probably the same ones who stayed in 2012.  The goose family learned that they could walk across the yard, around the house, and graze in the garden, and that was a problem.  Now that we have a Schipperke to provide security around the house, I think that the garden will be safe.

A Couple Of Easy Ones

Back in 1992 we planted a couple of acres with a mix of oaks in this little field, and in 1993 we interplanted black locust to provide nitrogen for our young forest.  That has worked out well, speeding the growth of our trees, and resulting in straight, naturally pruned stems.  The pretty little walnut in the center of this photo is a volunteer that popped up, and it was just running into the underside of the black locust crowns, so we released it over the weekend.  It's a beauty, and in about sixty years it ought to be ready for sale.  The black locusts will go in the barn and be ready to provide heat for us next winter.  These were easy drops; both with forward weight into the trees, and away from the yard.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield

Ruger keeps setting them up, buyers keep taking them down, and every penny goes to benefit veterans.  This Wednesday, April 3, 2013, This U.S. marked Mk III .22 Long Rifle pistol is the prize. These pistols are very popular with collectors, and vets benefit from the collector value. 

This Stainless Speed Six .38 Special is the prize lined up for April 10, and bidders are already active on this little beauty.  Check It Out Here, and do the figuring for your top dollar.

Set up an account with GunBroker if you haven't done so, so you can hop in and place bids on special auctions like these, or to shop for other firearms that you might be interested in.  I recently was able to pick up a very nice .357 barrel for my Contender pistol, and because it was (very slightly) used, it was sighted in very closely for my pet load when I put it on my Contender frame.

...And, getting back to Ruger; my favorite gun maker has donated a boatload of money over the last few years with these auctions to help our military veterans.  Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT has been one of the beneficiaries, and that will continue this year.  Stay tuned to this blog, Mr. Completely, and Engineering Johnson for news about Ruger and the annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous.  You definitely will want to attend!