Tuesday Torque II: Portland, Indiana

 Here's a quick visit to the Tri State Gas Engine and Tractor Show, by Engineering Johnson.  Many Thanks, Zeke!

Tuesday Torque: 1916 Emerson Brantingham Model L

 At Greenville, IL, by Someplace or Another. Thank You, Merle for the link!  It took a while for people to figure out what a tractor should look like!

BTU Obsession!

 

                                     Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: Achensee, Austria

 

Note the cog that is visible under the belly of the engine. This loco is meant for hitching to a rack and pulling a steep grade.  Many Thanks, Merle!

Achensee, Austria link

Anatomy Of A Chainsaw Accident, How To Avoid Becoming Newsworthy

Note that Timber Kutter eliminated most of the hinge when he cut out the center. Taking out the center is a useful tool, but you must leave enough hinge for safety. The yellow-poplar hung up and then rolled when one end of the hinge let go.  Timber Kutter remained by the stump and when the tree rolled off the stump it landed on his saw. An adequate hinge, or making his escape from the stump would have prevented this accident. There is a list of 25 chainsaw safety rules on the left side of this blog. It is good to review them once in a while. Many of them carry the death penalty if you ignore them! I made the video below to review your falling plan. Every step is important.

Poetry In Motion...

 Steamboatin'!

Thanks, Merle!

Light Show

Susan and I stayed up late last night to see the eclipse. The sky was clear and the stars were bright, magical! The 90% eclipse was spectacular, with the un-eclipsed portion of the moon looking like an ice cap.  Early this morning before the full moon set, it was showing through alto cumulus clouds, and making a subtle red ring around itself. Really nice!  I had a little conversation with our barred owls as a bonus.

What's Inside A Knobby Log?

Wednesday Windage: Shot 15 Times, Shot Back, Survived!

R.I.P Dolly

Tuesday Torque: 10 HP Baveu Engine

 Merle found this one on Facebook, and I cannot find it on YouTube at all! This must be an extremely rare breed of engine. It's brief, so look close and fast to pick up the details that we like to see.  Many Thanks, Merle!

Be Like The Ant

 We aren't fiddling around. Winter is coming!

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: Vintage Shots Of Number 2 Mogul

 Number 2 and Number 6 Mogul locomotives came to Mt. Pleasant in the early 1960s as the first engines for the Midwest Central Railroad. Number 6 is the larger engine, and it still sports its original cabbage stack. Number 6 has gone through extensive restoration and is the primary people mover.  Number 2 was also a cabbage stack loco, but it was changed to a diamond stack early on, probably just for variety's sake, to distinguish the engines from one another. Number 2 was used for many years to pull trains around the grounds at Old Threshers, but has been down for many years, in need of major boiler work.  Here's a shot of Number 2 around 1970. 

The grounds have been rearranged since this photo. This is on the north end, just south of the north depot. The traction engines were all on this end of the grounds at that time, and threshing was done here. You can see some kids playing in a straw pile, and a stationary baler is barely visible, peeking out of the straw. 

Here's Number 2 in 1985. I think this is just about the end of the run of Number 2. Rebuilding it has been a topic for many years.  I hope one day it happens. 

Weekend Steam: Kinsey Chime Whistles

 Thanks, Merle!

Corn Harvest Has Begun!

Easy Black Oak Snag.

Wednesday Windage: Budget Friendly Plinker

 Thirteen round magazines! Eighteen round mags avaialble! Illegal in Illinois because of the threaded muzzle. 

 

Tuesday Torque II: IHC Titan Prairie Tractor At Pinckneyville

 This video is from 2025, and I am sure there will be new ones showing up on YouTube in the near future. This tractor is darn near priceless. It is extremely rare, but the Threshermen run it at every show. Vid by Someplace Or Another.

Tuesday Torque: This Ford Ain't A Ford!

 The story is  that some entrepreneur had an employee in his shop with the surname of Ford, so he tried to sell tractors with the Ford name, figuring to make a fortune. The tractors were so bad that the scheme soon failed. The Nebraska Tractor Tests came about as a result of this sad little tractor.  Thanks, Merle!

Great Safety Reminder From Living With Wood Fires, in the U.K.

 Accidents are unplanned events. You must plan and prepare to avoid them. A full comp .375 chain has 10 teeth per foot, and at 45 miles per hour, the chain can cut you 660 times per second. Big, Bad Cuts! Take a class, use your safety gear, plan every cut.

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam III: Our Modern World Could Not Exist Without The Steam Shovel!

 Thanks, Merle!

If you like steam shovels, you really should plan a trip to Rollag!

Weekend Steam II: Roll Veneer Mills

 You probably have seen roll veneer being made if you have been to a few engine shows. The mill in this video actually came out of a box and basket factory in southern Illinois. 

Here is the primary product made from veneer peeled off of a spinning log.

Ten And A Half Years Ago...

 ...was our big break-in. Yesterday I found another piece of glass in the driveway from that night! This surely has to be the last one...

Weekend Steam: Pinckneyville Weekend!

 Susan and I aren't going this weekend, but you should if you can. We always have a good time, but the heat got us down this week and we are not up to it. Here are a few videos from years past.

Susan and her mother. Patti left us eight years ago. 

Definitely not for row crops!

Always plenty to see!

Running Slow

 The temps were still in the 90s at Pistol League, and I had been hot during the day. I was running slow. I usually shoot five plates in the 5 second range, and this time it was always 6-something. I did have two runs under 6 in my final turn. No missed plates, but I did have to go back a few times before the stop plate.  The sun is setting earlier every week and we will soon be driving at sunset, so Pistol League is nearly over for us this year. 

Great Plains Windmill Service

 Now you know who to call for all your windmill needs! I was terrified of the thought of climbing these when I was a kid!

Eastern Fence Lizard

 

  

This little guy lives in Susan's garden. Makes me think of a horned toad. Not skink like at all

Wednesday Windage: Respect The .22s!

 Who-Tee-Who is not a typical gun writer, and he puts out a lot of content every week. He shoots, he hunts, he spends a lot of time in his favorite gun shop, and he will give you plenty to think about.

Tuesday Torque: Many Shows Out There Now!

Here's a little sampler from Someplace Or Another, chosen by engine friend Merle!

American Threshermen   Sycamore Steam Show  Central States Threshermen Show   Old Threshers  James Valley Threshers  Western Minnesota Steam Threshers

Leaky Logs Won't Blow

 They get it, but it takes a little work at the end.

Back To The Old Grind!

Making Wood For Winter: Big River Birch, Dropping And Bucking

 I think this is the final firewood tree that the power co-op topped. Now that they are all down, I just have to pick up and split these, and stack them in the barn. I am splitting small so they can dry quickly.  We put a set of forks on the tractor's loader, and it sure is useful. I can put a big load of rounds in the bucket now, enough to fill the Kubota RTV after I split it all. Anyhow, here's the drop, and then most of the bucking. 

Weekend Steam II: We Were Talking About Steam Shows....

 ....So here are a few shots from years past.

Harold Jarvis and Zeke in 1987 at Old Threshers.

Zeke and me on Mr. Oberman's Port Huron in 1987.

Number 2 Mogul in 1985.

Zeke at Boonville, 1984.

Zeke at Bluford, 1988, with Cornelius Bergbower's T Roadster.

John Jarvis and William Seyb discussing the 18 HP Advance Rumely, 1967.

Freshly rebuilt Number 6 Mogul, 1987.

 

Weekend Steam: Brenda Stant, Engineers and Engines Magazine Hits A Home Run!

Sixty years ago Stan Mathews of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa went to California and brought back the Number 9 Shay Locomotive from West Side Lumber Company. The current issue of Engineers and Engines has an in depth article about Number 9, and if you don't already subscribe, you need to call Brenda and start your subscription. The article is packed with photos and history that most people never learn. Number 9 has been hauling passengers on the Midwest Central and the Georgetown Loop for more years than it pulled logs out of the California forests.   

I was just 15 years old when the Shay arrived at Old Threshers and the Midwest Central. I was so thrilled that I paid $10 for a share in the railroad and got a lifetime pass, which I still have, just in case I get back to Old Threshers again. I even rode around the grounds once in the cab with Stan Mathews at the throttle. 

Here's your info to subscribe to Brenda's wonderful magazine:

While you are on the phone with Brenda, be sure to purchase the new steam engine calendar for 2027!

Engineers and Engines is my primary source for keeping up with the shows that are around us. Next weekend is American Threshermen at Pinckneyville, and Pontiac and Sycamore shows happen soon. Old Threshers at Mt. Pleasant is September 3-7. Boonville, Indiana will be coming up October 10. 

Zeke and me with Number 9 in 1984.

Poles Are Different To Drop...

 ....Not necessarily difficult, but the top way up there has a lot of leverage to pull the tree over. Take that top off and the normal hinge does not work as easily. This was mentioned one time in the several classes I had, and I never forgot it. You will remember it, too after watching this video.

Wednesday Windage II: Road Rage Over A Parking Spot!

 How many lives were wrecked? This was completely avoidable!

Wednesday Windage: Savage 220 20 Gauge Rifled Slug Gun

 Who-Tee-Who tests out a brand new slug gun, and it is impressive. One thing I do is knock the turrets with a knuckle a couple times after adjustments to settle them in. Sometimes it makes a difference. Before I learned that I had a Bushnell scope that drove me crazy. It would take a couple of shots to settle adjustments, and by then I had over corrected. Whether a scope needs it or not, I do that to avoid frustration.

Tuesday Torque II: IHC Market Ploy

 IHC made push rod engines that ran fine and were economical to purchase. They also made Titan and Mogul sideshaft engines that were much more complicated, and more costly. They had a market for them, along with the larger market for push rod engines. The expensive ones still have a market today among collectors. It seems that quality always will sell. Thanks Merle!

Tuesday Torque: Large Ship Engines

 Low RPM, Huge Torque. Thanks, Merle!

Illinois Squirrel Season Came In August 1.....

 ....and we have heard nary a shot. Folks don't hunt squirrels nowadays. The revival of a deer herd and antler madness seems to have killed off the desire for silently slipping through the woods, honing fine shooting skills, and rodents on the table. Oh Well, Back To The Old Grind!

The furry vermins eat in peace and drive our dogs nuts!

Weekend Steam II: Beading Flues

The flue roller turns as the tapered center is pulled in by threads. Beading was not always done, but it sure makes an operator feel more secure. 

Out in the field, rolling and beading were both done by muscle power. Air hammer makes this task much easier! Thanks, Merle!