Recent content by BnRidge

Last year here spring was warm and humid, with the humidity staying consistently high all summer, and lack of late spring frosts. Tick population was 10 times anything I've seen in the past (60yrs). This year they are back to normal, see maybe a couple, all season. Two years ago was a boom year...

This is the last circular saw, router, hand tools project I did. It was fun seeing what could be accomplished. But in 08 building the house changed all that. Once I got power tools all that hand work experience really helped.

The first 30yrs here I used a circular saw, jointer, router and a bunch of hand tools. What was it - spent so long doing so much with so little eventually you'll be able to do anything with nothing. Very nice project you have there. And locally sourced, nice job.

Morning walk on the marsh.

Just for comparison: Width x mph x .12 = ac/hr I have a zero turn, 6ft deck, 1.5hrs at 3.5mph, yields about 3.5 acres. A small part of it is heavy clay, clumps of grass hummocks divots heavy shade, basically grass just barely hanging on. Even with the tires at 5psi its an annoying time to go...

We had an older (50s) grain truck that to lift and lower the bed required engaging the hydraulic pto using the clutch, and pulling a cable to operate the hydraulic valve. Wouldn't you know the cable siezed. So rather than fix it, engaging the valve meant crawling under the truck to extend the...

About 20yrs ago I was in the house attic, grabbed ahold of one of these wires to remove them and was shocked to find out it was still live. After finding the unmarked breaker downstairs I also realized that it fed power to all of the barns and outbuildings. Maybe the whitewash acted as an...

The bituminous friction tape used to join wires then is all but impossible to get apart now short of just cutting the wires off. Any remodel work, like adding circuits, two way switches, new lighting means taking out the whole works and replacing. It's not a bad idea to replace existing cotton...

In the 1840s farm house I stripped one room to the studs and refinished. It had been my old bedroom, and in the coldest winters if I didn't leave the door open it could easily be in the 20s at night(-40outside), with frost on the walls, even with forced air heat. It had balloon framing, horse...

When contractors come into a place to do a job, say replace a furnace or add a kitchen hood/fan, they generally do the job they are called on to do, and all previous work is ignored. I'm currently renovating an 1846, 180yr old farm house. The things piled one atop another is kind of funny...

Morning walk in the marsh. Sandhill crane at sunrise. Same nest and I believe the same pair for many years. Takes a bit of concentration to pick it out, they are absolutely motionless and blend so perfectly.

1) I haul logs to the splitting area, buck them to length, and roll to the lift and up on the splitter. The first time I touch any of it is to split and toss on a pile. 10cord pile. 2) Loader fills the trailer. Stack to air dry. 3,4) In august I bring in 5 trailer loads to fill the garage and...

I managed to produce a little heat on this one. 5 holes, annular cutter, no coolant oil only, heavy enough drill press. $12 for the cutter I could think of as the cost of doing business. $58 material, $12 cutter, way ahead vs dealer cost of $280.

Update, I went ahead and got the bevel edge, PalSteel in Palmyra Wi, $58 for 1/2x4x5-1/2ft. It's 1045 steel, with an induction hardened edge. Drilled 5 holes, plug welded grade 5 bolts and bolted it on. Just an FYI, the existing edge as new was mild steel. Anticipate getting some sort of...

Actually I try to stay out of 4wd as much as possible. Only if the back wheels start to slip. A whole lot of wear can occur though if working on concrete, even if only a small percentage of the time (maybe 5% of hrs), and on only briefly at that. The R14s (fronts) just seem to be a little...