Don't Miss This One!

 This auction is for a fine collection of primitives, and you could even go into the corn meal business!

CLICK HERE FOR THE AUCTION SITE!    Back To The Old Grind!

Bob Smith sharing his milling knowledge, 2017.

Weekend Steam II: Your Chance To Buy An Engine!

 This auction is ending in two days and you might pick it up for around 50 grand. Read the description and be ready to do some boiler work. Many thanks to Merle for sending this one to us! CLICK HERE for the auction site. 

Weekend Steam: Lake Lucerne Paddle Wheeler "Schiller" Engine Room

 I should have included this video a few weeks back with the Lake Lucerne paddle wheeler, but it is well worth watching all by itself! Thank You, Merle!

Most Profitable Tree?

 I visit Quora every day and answer a few questions if I have something good to say. Someone asked recently, "What is the most profitable tree to grow?" Susan and I have had quite a bit of experience in growing trees, and we are heating with trees we planted, plus we have had a few timber sales on our ground. Trees that we planted are now sawlog size, and it causes a feeling of wonder to go out and walk through them. Anyhow, here is my answer to that question. It has had more than 50,000 views in a few months, and that is better than any audience I have on this blog!

This question could take a lot of writing, but I will compress it down. Find land with pole-size timber of good quality already established, and buy it for a reasonable price. Timber buyers don’t want it yet, and hunters don’t realize the potential, either. Work with the advice of a forester to thin your timber and turn those poles into sawlogs. Work with your forester to establish advance regeneration before you harvest. This can work if you will. I have seen dedicated landowners turn young white oak timber into valuable logs in 40 years, or about 1/3 of the total rotation. If you want to start from scratch, planting your trees, again, you must talk to your forester and plant trees that will work well on your site. A two layer approach can give you return on your investment if you start at a young enough age. I have seen people plant black walnuts and cottonwood on the same site. The cottonwoods jump up and make logs fast without hurting the walnuts. Harvest the cottonwoods when they are ready, and then continue working with the walnuts to turn them into valuable logs. Black oak and red oak make sawlogs in about 2/3 of the time of white oaks, so they can be used to double-crop your timber land. Talk To Your Forester! Have a good time!

Fun, Like Mountain Climbing

 Ultralights, powered parachutes, and powered para-gliders are popular, and they look like a good time, but I make myself remember the old saying about mountain climbers. They get way up there, where they can hear the wind whistle through the holes in their head. I don't like ladders, either, but they are a necessary evil. Anyhow, this powered parachute has been flying from a neighbor's place, and yesterday there was a friend flying another machine as they toured the the neighborhood.

Hornet Emergency!

 We had a hornet emergency. We had to set up a dog pen under the back porch, and hornets had built a nest a few feet away. No time to be nice, or wait for winter, those critters had to be dealt with before they attacked a dog, or Susan or myself. You do what you gotta do.

Tuesday Torque: Baldwin Centipede, Diesel Locomotive Teething Problems

Well, Merle, I had never heard of this one. Fascinating, painful history! Thank You!

Sooper Dooper Dog Yard Scooper!

I was holding the camera in my left hand, along with a dog on leash, so I was a bit awkward videoing this one.

These lightweight collapsible rakes probably would not handle all the leaf raking that we do, but they work great for cleaning up after our dogs. They work great for picking up the hickory nuts that fall in our yard, too. Check your local Dollar General Store. Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam: Let's Take A Trip In A Side-Wheeler!

 This is another great one, Merle! Many Thanks!

The Mk IV Is Running!

I think the problems with my Mk IV are solved. When I first got it, it would stovepipe about every third round. I spotted a rough place that was grabbing lead and brass in the chamber, polished that out with valve grinding compound, and then it would stovepipe once or twice per magazine. 

I looked it over again and spotted another problem. The boss on the front end of the guide rod assembly is a stamped steel piece, and it was rough. A spot on it was making a drag mark at the top of the receiver tube, straight back from the bore. I took the spot off with a fine file, then worked it with a diamond hone, and finished with a 1200 grit diamond hone. I took it to Pistol League this week and ran two turns with it (50 plates) and it ran like a champ with no malfunctions.