Old Threshers At Mt.Pleasant, Iowa...

 ...is happening now through Labor Day. Likewise, the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Show at Rollag, Minnesota. There is more to see at either show than you can take in during one visit.

A Heavy One, With A Minor Inconvenience

Here's a big one I took down today. It would have been easy to go with the weight, but I needed it to go in a hole I had made, and not on trees that I want to save and grow. While I was pounding wedges, the wedge that held the head tight on the axe handle popped out. I had made it from a section of plastic wedge, and it did not stay put. As soon as this video is uploaded I am going to reattach the head with Plan B.

Every Tree A Lesson

Tuesday Torque: 1913 Titan 45 Horsepower Tractor

 Your videographer screwed up just a little bit. The guys were dinking around with the pony motor, and shut it down. Meanwhile, steam engines were going by behind me, so naturally, I turned around to shoot video of the steamers. Then I heard the Titan rolling over. It was catching when I got the camera back on it. Oh Well, or words to that effect. 

Buzz Sawing, Pinckneyville, Illinois American Thresherman Show

 The engineers burn both wood and coal at Pinckneyville, and much of that wood comes from the slabs at the sawmill. This is how it is processed to be firebox ready.

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam III: Pinckneyville Engine Sampler

 Susan and I made a quick visit to Pinckneyville, spending most of our time on Gas Engine Hill. These are the steamers we saw in action on our walk in and out. 

Weekend Steam II: Millersburg Ohio Steam Show

 Thank You, Merle!

Weekend Steam: Engine Shows In Full Swing

 No idea where this one is. Little engines are fun to watch, probably are not appreciated sufficiently. It takes time, skill, and plenty of money to build one of these. Occasionally you will see a 1" = 12" scale model, but those are really tough builds. 2" = 12" is big enough to pull you on a little cart, but the 3" models are nicer to operate. 6" = 12" models of Case 65 HP engines are very popular, and they can run a buzz saw or shingle mill with ease. I still think that Kory Anderson's Case 150 is the best traction engine model ever built. 12" = 12" of the biggest traction engine ever built is a model that will probably never be made again. Thank You, Merle!

It's not what you usually picture when you think of scale models!

Genie Garage Door Opener Major Malfunction Cured!

 

One of our Genie openers refused to run. It would start and then reverse immediately, whether going up or down. The rheostats that adjust the power limits made no difference when we adjusted them, so we removed the cover and looked around inside. Mud dauber wasps had stopped the "Optical Interrupt Wheel" from turning. If it does not turn, the motor immediately reverses. It is part of the safety built into a door opener. The mud dauber nests were removed, the wheel was re-installed, and now the opener runs again. That was an easy fix!

Safety Rules Save Your Skin, Save Your Chin

Remember to always get away from the stump when you turn a tree loose. Bad things happen at the stump! Wood slings back from treetops that your falling tree contacts, and trees can make unpredictable moves when the hinge breaks.

Dusty's trail camera caught me walking by, and note that the bar is behind me. That is where you want the bar if you trip and fall, so you don't land on the sharp teeth.There is a safety rule for everything when you have a chainsaw.

 Some decisions are easy no-brainers, and some require a big-boy hard hat. I will have to get up in the woods this fall and make firewood from this pecan. No smoke smells finer than pecan!

Tuesday Torque: Starting A 10-20 Titan Tractor

 Making the leap from horses to tractors had to be a perplexing task for many farmers. Today we just climb on and turn the key! Many Thanks, Merle, for spotting for us.

Remember To Make A Plan For Every Tree,

 ...First step is hazards. Final Step is Escape From The  Stump.

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam: Steam Show Tradition

 Thank You, Merle! Susan and I got to Pinckneyville yesterday just before noon, and all the whistles blew before we were out of the parking area. You need ear plugs if you are in the steam area when noon comes around. 

Weekend Steam: Advance Engine On A Baker Fan At Pinckneyville, Illinois

 We had a beautiful day to visit the engine show at Pinckneyville, Illinois. We visited some of our engine friends and had a great time watching engines run. This nice Advance engine made some good stack talk on a Baker fan.

A Bit Of A Back Lean, Then It Hangs...

...But I got it down! Nipping the hinge let it roll over, and then it went down to the ground. I needed both hands on the saw, so the nipping is off camera.  It's a bit risky, and can trap your saw's bar, but when the crown is supported on one side, it usually works to bring the tree off the hangup.

Double White Oak

This one is a bit wolfy, and is surrounded by nice, straight white oaks, so down she goes! The bar just barely reached through this one.

Happy Hornets?!

 These bald faced hornets were sure having a good time lapping up sap from a bur oak stump. They reacted if I moved up within about six feet, so I stayed back. Don't hack off a hornet! Usually when you see this many at once you have a problem. I am extremely glad that I saw them before I stumbled into their midst!

Tuesday Torque: Fairbanks Stack Talk

 There are many steam and gas shows every weekend now, and we hope to get over to Pinckneyville later this week. Look up what's available in your neighborhood and join in the fun. Many Thanks, Merle, for spotting the video!

Effervescing Elm!

 I was sure glad the little camera was in a pocket today. This is one of those weird things you run into sometimes. I dropped this elm and water started bubbling out of the stem. Very strange. It must have a wound above that let fungus in, and now it is fermenting sap. Pretty neat!

Don't Get All Pushy....

 ...until you have made a proper face, with a hinge of the right thickness. The hinge wood is too thick and this tree barberchaired when it was pushed. You might as well do an oil change while it's up. Back To The Old Grind!   (Copied off the Internet, brought to our attention by Eaton Rapids Joe! No attribution was with this photo.)

Weekend Steam II: Union Pacific 119 and Jupiter, At Promontory Point

 Merle sent a video of the 119, so I went looking for more. Susan and I were there many years ago while on a western trip, and these engines are the real deal. There are modern improvements for safety, durability, and operation, but they look like the 1860s. Many Thanks, Merle!

Weekend Steam: RGS 20 At The Colorado Railroad Museum

 Merle spotted the RGS 20, and engine new to me. You can see it in operation this weekend. Hit the road! Many Thanks, Merle!

Tend Your Deer Stands!

 This deer stand is now a permanent fixture!

See Bull Springs! (No bathing, no imbibation!)

Maybe you've never heard of Bull Springs, in picturesque rural Dahlgren Township, so here it is, so you can put it on your bucket list, just in case you decide to vacation in Hamilton County, Illinois. Maybe it's true, maybe it's bull-oney.

My Campaign Against Forked Trees!

We are working on Bull Springs again today, and the first thing I did was walk in along the northern rows, looking for some school marms I saw when I walked out last time. They are bigger than the single stem trees, but I was able to find space to put them down without hurting any other trees. Good Times!

Tuesday Torque II: Kory Anderson's 150 Case At Burnett, Wisconsin

 We usually post internal combustion engines for Tuesday Torque, but today we have the big Case 150 performing in Wisconsin at an engine show. There's no torqueier steam traction engine than the Case Kory built, and any trip it takes out of Andover, SD is news-worthy.

Tuesday Torque: Small Engine Flywheel Trick

Remember this trick; it's a good one!

Once In A While You Get Lucky

How Many Times Have You Heard...

 ...Don't wrap the rope around your wrist/hand? Someone missed that.

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Back To The Old Grind!

Case 150 At Burnett, Wisconsin

 It made the trip safely!

Weekend Steam: Case 150 At Burnett, Wisconsin!

 Kory Anderson moved his big Case 150 from South Dakota to Wisconsin this week for the Dodge County Antique Power Club show. The show runs August 4 through August 6 at W 6505 County Road B, Burnett, Wisconsin. CLICK HERE for the club's page. 

Travels With Tristan, SUV RVing: The Great Empty

Susan Found Work...

Susan is canning every day. There are six buckets/baskets of tomatoes she brought in today, plus green beans, peppers, and egg plants. 

 

Yellow Jackets, Hornets, Horrors!

 I have not run into any yellow jacket or bald faced hornet nests yet this summer. Those things give me chills just thinking about them. Wildland fire fighters have a saying: "Don't piss him off!" They say that whenever a yellow jacket inspects someone. One swipe with a gloved hand in an attempt to drive it off can result in mayhem, and everybody scatters, hopefully away from a responding horde. Nasty little blighters!

Well, you don't need that much gasoline, and you don't have to light it. Wait until dark when all those nasties are in the nest, put a little gas in a bottle and stick it in their hole. Walk away. 

Tuesday Torque: Flour City Engines And Tractors

 Go north, young man! This brand was made in Minneapolis, and we don't see these in Southern Illinois. Big wheat fields, elevators populating the plains, and flour milling operations are all part of a culture that gave us huge prairie tractors and machines that helped feed our country a century ago. Many thanks to Merle for the topic.