Ruger Redhawk Disassembly and Reassembly

The Ruger Redhawk is a pistol that is near and dear to me. I have been shooting one for years, and the massive construction really soaks up the recoil when you shoot full power loads, making them tolerable for someone who doesn't shoot hot loads regularly. I usually shoot moderate loads, a bit hotter than .44 Special, but below the listed magnum loads, and pistol novices would have no trouble shooting them in the big Redhawk. Redhawks are made for serious handgun hunters, but mine mostly does plinking duty, plus taking care of varmints around the farm. I often say that it shoots like a rifle, and it has never failed to connect when I shoot at a possum, skunk, or groundhog.

Not My Victrola

Jane Green sings "Got No Time," recorded May 28, 1925, and posted on YouTube by Pax41.

Monday Morning's Coming!

Back To The Old Grind!

Aspect

Aspect is one of the first lessons discussed in forest ecology courses, and field foresters see the influence of aspect on a daily basis. Aspect is simply, the direction a slope faces. The snow on the maple branch above illustrates how quickly the environment changes from the south facing slope to the north facing slope. The direction a slope faces influences the type of timber, the growth rates, plus fuel types and fire behavior.

Forest site types change with soil type, slope position, and aspect. It is common to find red oak-white oak forest growing on the north and east sides of a hill in southern Illinois, and on the opposite side of the hill, with the same soil type you will find post oak and black oak growing as the dominant species. You will find differences just as dramatic in fire fighting. It is common to have hot fire conditions on the south and west sides of a hill when forest litter will not carry a fire at all on the north side.

Weekend Steam

The steam videos this week are YouTube posts of engines in Swiss steam boats. The first one is in the 100 year old ferry boat, Stadt Zürich as it travels across Lake Zürich to Rapperswil.



This engine is in a paddle-wheel boat on Lake Geneva between Lausanne (SW) and Evian in France.

This is beautiful machinery, and the size of the cranks and rods is breathtaking.

Crankin' It Up

This week we are featuring the well known "Hoosier Sweetheart" on a well worn Victor dance record. This is one of those songs that everyone likes, and the previous owner of this record demonstrated that by playing it hard. Jean Goldkette and his orchestra recorded "Hoosier Sweetheart" on January 31, 1927.

How Are You At Parallel Parking?

The 40' X 100' three story brick building is now sitting above its new foundation in Washington, Iowa. I think that the movers and both neighbors probably were nervous during the parking phase of this project, and there is still lots of work to do, setting more jacks, removing the wheel units, and etc. This was a much tougher test than parallel parking for the DMV. Do you need a license to drive a brick building down the street? I guess that would be a BBDL.

Hidden Treasures

I can't resist looking at dilapidated sheds as I pass by them. The shed in this photo caught my eye a year ago because I could see some old iron peeking out between the barely there siding boards, but I couldn't tell what kind of machine the iron belonged to. I pass this shed maybe once a month or less, and every time, someone was following too closely to slow down for a good look. Finally, last Saturday, there was no traffic either way; I stopped, zoomed in, and shot a picture from the highway. When I plugged the SD card into the computer I found that the old iron is a hand-cranked forge blower. Mystery solved. Zoom is good.

Snort, Putt, Snort Snort, Putt

There is a bit of lost motion in the rocker arm pivot of this IHC hit-and-miss engine, but it doesn't seem to mind. This video gives you a good look at the ignitor hardware. Sparkplug ignition is mechanically simple, and electrically complicated; ignitor ignition is simple electrically, and mechanically complicated. And more fun to watch.

This engine was running last fall at the fall show at Boonville, Indiana.

Working On Your Ruger Bearcat

Here are a couple more videos from Ruger with information you can use. I don't have a Bearcat, but I have admired them for years, and may buy one sometime.