Anyone Else "Just Like to stay Busy?"

[fried1765]

BrokenTrack: That pit run material looks like really nice stuff!

 

[BrokenTrack]

Thanks for the info. I壇 say my RC is a bit rougher shape.
View attachment 655003

Mechanics are good, but the deck is in serious need of help. I do have a plan for this summer, but need to do some practice welding. Most likely I will completely disassemble and rebuild deck.

Cheap mowers just aren稚 available here that I have seen otherwise I壇 seriously consider one. Only 2 offerings on CL locally, 1 for $400 that looks even worse than mine, 2nd a used Land Pride 1860 for $2600.

I might not have chose to rebuild mine, but I just saw that Walmart has a 60 inch flail mower for $1700 delivered to the house with free shipping. I thought that was pretty decent of a price. I mow the sides of the road with a flail mower, so after using that, I told myself if I ever replaced my Bushog, it would be with a flail mower instead.

I did get my Bushog's deck, welded up and painted however. With good weather, I have been hauling gravel instead, but do need to find some bearings and seals and get that project buttoned up. Mowing season is only 1-1/2 months away (July 3rd)

 

[BrokenTrack]

BrokenTrack: That pit run material looks like really nice stuff!

Oh my...yes it is, but I will be the first to say that my gravel pit is my seventh circle of hades.

It has good gravel, really good gravel, but 2/3 of it is below the water table. Because this pit predates 1970 when gravel pit laws in Maine were enacted, I can get that gravel, but I do not have the means too. I really need a Dragline!

But worse yet, it is not big enough in size. It is only 8 acres, or 400,000 cubic yards, so too small to sell commercially, and yet I do not dig enough out of the pit in a given year to keep it really broke open. What I do, is just what my Grandfather did, which is what his father did, and that is dig a little here and there. In between gravel jobs, the pit grows back into trees faster than we can dig out what we uncover.

And you can see this everywhere. That is because in the 1930's and then in 1969, they used a front shovel in the pit. That was all well and good, but they cannot dig below the level of the tracks, so they just drove around pock-marking the whole area with barrow pits. When they hit a big rock, they thought it was ledge and would set over some, but it was just a boulder. But they also suck in how they dig, because they pushed away, and up, unlike an excavator that digs down, and back. This causes the spoils to push up in a heap ahead of the digger. So the whole place is a series of digs and hills. It really sucks because there are so clean faces, but so filled with stumps and debris, that I cannot dig into them with my little tractor. And again, I do not dig enough to warrant breaking open a spot. I need to just bulldoze the whole area flat, and start over!

I cleared the area 3 years ago, and managed to find another acre of gravel, but it too is stump-covered. So that is why I say, this gravel pit area is really hard for me to effectively manage.

But it has good gravel for sure. There is seldom a rock over 3 inches in size, and when you dump it, it sounds like crushed rock as there is so little dirt between the gravel.

This picture shows the quality of the gravel up close. The water bottle gives you a sense of size:



This picture shows you the new gravel bank I discovered when I cleared the area a few years ago. It is about an acre in size.



This picture shows what I mean by how the front-shovels of yesteryear made a mess!

 

[BoFuller]

My wife always kids me about my lists. I have no less than 50 potential projects. I will probably never finish them all, but I keep at it because I cannot stand to be idle. I have “winter” projects, “summer” projects, “anytime” projects, and on and on. Every once in awhile I re-prioritize them, depending on how I feel. At 70 I am still working 10-12 hour days. Just poured some concrete today and I am thankful for 60 lb bags. I do not think I could handle the 80 pounders anymore. Then after the pour, it was tractor time, dragging the roads in the development.

Keep it up, I think it is good for you.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I kind of see it different.

Trying to stay busy is like trying to piss up a rope. I see retired people trying to fill in their day and it's kind of pathetic.

I would prder to sit on the couch or find similar rest, but want a thousand things done, and as such, as long as I am able, I will never find rest.