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I recently milled a couple of 18" diameter 8' long white oak logs on my small, totally manual, sawmill. I quarter sawed the first one. I had never done it before. I did it correctly. It was literally 4 times as much work as plain sawing. Or at least it seemed that way. The boards were gorgeous...

The pines on my property are dying from pine beetles at a faster rate than usual. Some of these are nice 18" diameter 90' tall pines. As soon as I see the tops starting to go brown I try to cut them and mill them. I don't cut them after they're completely dead. They deteriorate fast. (Sadly...

I bought this mower about 3 years ago and it was my first Z turn and really my first riding mower purchase of any sort. I think it was about $4000. I got this particular model for the specs, price and availability at a local dealer/repair shop. It is one step above their base homeowner lineup...

I have a fair amount of Stihl equipment and generally it has been worth the higher price. I have two FS-90 string trimmers. They are solid shaft. They seem very powerful. Stihl says they are their professional/commercial line. I've had them for at least 5 years, maybe more. They have been...

I have a Stihl FS-90R string trimmer. It is a nice unit. A little more than what is needed for just around the house but I use it for other heavier stuff too. Stihl lists it as a professional trimmer for whatever that is worth. The Stihl string that came with it was terrible. Every post, pole...

On our morning walk we came across this massive train car. I've never seen one like it. Five sets of trucks on each end. Massive hydraulics on each end for lowering and raising the bed as well as moving it side-to-side for some reason. Big metal pads on the angled parts of the bed that indicate...

We recently had a severe hail storm. In some parts of town there was serious damage. Where I am some cars got dimpled but not much else. Then the out of town roofers came like a swarm. Constantly knocking on doors. Up on everyone's roof drawing chalk circles all over the place and taking...

The fronts on my Kubota L4400 are worn out. Low hours on them but 20 years. They are R-1s. 8.00x16. Goodyear. I want to replace them. But where do you buy tractor tires? I have a dealership nearby who could do everything but I'm assuming that would be very expensive. Online it looks like...

I wouldn't say I am new to woodworking. I've made several nice looking but not fine built-in shelves for my house that turned out very well. All painted, not stained/finished. These were all using bought lumber. No serious joinery. I am currently making a set of shelves from white oak off of a...

I got a saw mill a few years ago. Mostly for posts, beams, and 2x6 type stuff. But, I'm also sawing a bit of decent hardwood and starting to do some woodworking. I'm not an experienced woodworker but I have a large lathe that I have some experience with. I have a benchtop planer, a good bandsaw...

I built a log cabin from a kit 20+ years ago on a piece of property I own. We go down there just about every weekend. It is very basic. About 900 sq ft. One bathroom, two small bedrooms and a great room with kitchen and dining area. The soil there is terrible and we barely got approved for a...

After 20+ years we are finally getting a fireplace in our log cabin (not our primary residence). It is about 3/4s done. The firebox is masonry. The flue is terracotta pipe. Damper is cast iron.The structure of the chimney is cinder block faced in regular brick. I am going to build the mantle...

I am building a post and beam, open carport down at my cabin. It is shown below. I will use 2x4 (actual) purlins. It will have a 5v crimp metal roofing. My much larger tractor shed that i built about 15 years ago has the same metal roof set up; metal on purlins. When the conditions are right...

I recently got a sawmill. Got some lumber piling up and projects to do. Building a 15' x 30' open sided carport now. Still working on footings. The wood for most of these projects will be yellow pine that will obviously be untreated. My plan is to stain them heavily and, well, that just sucks...

I bought a used Nissan Titan about 5 years ago. The OEM tires were shot and I got a decent price on some load range E all terrain tires and that is what has been on the truck since then. They have been great in terms of towing and okay off road (about what you would expect for an all terrain...

I get my internet service through the local phone company which is the only source other than satellite. It is okay at best; sketchy at times. I use their router which has a built in modem. I get their "high speed internet" which is not the highest speed option. I have no idea what that means...

I have had this Z turn a little over a year. I think it has about 50 hours on it, not sure. It has been great but I looked at the blades this weekend and they are beat to heck. The cutting edges are intact but very dull. The tips are frayed and bent on all three blades. The blades feel cheap...

I have a log cabin where I spend most of my weekends. I built it myself from a kit with the help of friends. It is about 20 years old and when we built it we could not afford to put in a fireplace. It has had central heat and air for about 12 years. Now we have the money to put in a fireplace...

My cabin is on a small country road. It is about 5 miles from an interstate. The road is about 6 miles long and connects two state highways. However, there is another state highway that parallels our road and is a shorter route to both of those state highways. Our road is also in horrible...

I just got a bench top planer. This question pertains to when to use it. I have some rough cut white oak planks. Most are a little over 1 inch in thickness. They were cut about a month ago and have been stacked on stickers in my basement since that time. My plan is to make some built-in shelves...

Now that I have a saw mill I'm starting to do more projects around my cabin. Put new rails on the porch last weekend. Planning a carport soon. I have two old Black and Decker Workmates. One was a gift. One was my Dad's. They have been okay for simple projects but really don't cut the mustard...

I know that the answer to that question is another question: What size boards do I need? The issue is that I have two large red oaks, one decent sized white oak and a decent sized ash on the ground. I'd like to go ahead and get them milled but I don't have a specific use in mind yet. I may be...

I'm looking for a 70-100 hp JD or Kubota. My search has been limited to pre-emissions machines and it has been frustrating to say the least. I think there is a LOT of good to be said for pre-emissions machines that don't have ECMs/computers but that doesn't seem to be in the cards for me right...

In another thread I was complaining about a listing on Craig's list that sounded too good to be true and that the person who listed it replied back to me once and then not again. Well, today I got a reply with a name and the pictures I requested. The tractor looks fantastic. The location of the...

I have the possibility of buying a used tractor this weekend from and individual (not a dealer). If it works out I will pay cash. I know this is a dumb question but do tractors have titles like a car? My current tractor was purchased new 17 years ago. If there was a title I don't remember one...

A friend of mine bought out a shop full of vintage vehicles and tools and apparently this was among some of the stuff. I have no idea why but he left it by my door. It is an asbestos shingle cutter. Says so right on the front. I actually have a small pile of asbestos shingles that were left...

I'm looking at a couple of Kubota M7040 tractors and may possibly buy one of them sight unseen. They are both around 350 miles away. I've tried plugging in the numbers at FR8STAR but I can't get a confirmation email in order to get the estimate. I have a truck and trailer capable of handling...

Earlier this week my across-the-road neighbor brought his JD 5425 over to move some pallets of bricks and cinder blocks that my tractor could not hope to move. (He had nothing on the rear for ballast and those pallets made even the 5425 visibly light in the rear tires, double wheel weights and...

Down at my cabin for a week vacation of hunting and projects and now have no water and can't figure out why. This is what happens: Turn faucet on and water runs, slows down, stops. A minute or so later it comes back on. Watching the pressure gauge on the tank under the cabin it will cycle...

Not long ago I posted a thread about getting a bigger tractor to go with my Kubota L4400. I want a pre-emissions tractor with at least 60hp. 4wd. Loader. No cab. I found a Kubota M7040 locally. Beat up all over but mechanically sound. 1500 hours. $28,500. Dealer came down to $27,500 but I just...

I built a small log cabin kit on my property almost 20 years ago. Built it myself along with friends and family. We did not have the money to have a fireplace put it. We now have the money to do it and finally found a contractor to do the job. He has been utterly unreliable. He was contracted in...

Got a new saw mill. New at this. I need a pile of pine 4x4s for deck railing. Looking at store bought 4x4s most of them include heartwood from the middle of the tree. I assume that this gives them some stability in terms of bending and twisting. Just wondering how critical this is because if it...

Why are mattocks not fixed on their handles? In other words, why aren't they fitted like axe handles, pick handles and sledge hammer handles? The old mattock I have has two nails in the handle under the head to keep it from slipping down. Been that way since I was a child. I'm asking because I...

My father-in-law used to have a bunch of old tools. Most of them have been picked over and I've benefited from him getting rid of stuff. But I do not know that the tools are in the picture below. I'm talking about the 4 two handled tools in the lower right of the frame. They almost look like...

I don't work with metal much but from time to time I do and seem to be doing more than usual lately. My Harbor Freight drill bits and the pile of drill bits I inherited from my Dad are not getting the job done. Lots of work. Holes not pretty. I know they can be sharpened but even when sharp they...

I have been looking for a larger tractor to replace or go with my Kubota L4400 4wd. The L4400 is 45 hp and is a good machine but it is very light weight. I need something heavier and with substantially more loader capacity. I'm looking for a used pre-emissions tractor with no computer. I'm...

Background: I have been a Nissan guy since 1984. Brand loyal all the way. And I've had great cars and trucks along the way. Then, in 2003 it was clear that I needed a full sized 4 door 4wd pick up. Nissan did not make one at that time so I bought a new Ford F150 Super Crew. I was never real...

I live on a quiet old street downtown in a small city in South Carolina. For the type of location crime has not been bad here even though sketchy areas are close by. But, yesterday I came home to find packages missing from my porch that were reported as delivered by FedEx. For a number of...

I do not know anything about CAD or design software. But, I am planning a shop in the future, a large carport and possibly an addition on our cabin and it sure would be nice to have a very simple (and affordable) 2D CAD app for that sort of thing. Does such a thing exist? I use a Mac by the way...

I have had a Kubota L4400 4wd for about 18 years now. Love it. Great tractor. Has fit my needs perfectly for years. Lately I have been considering a larger tractor but not seriously. I recently got a portable sawmill and hauling large logs is taxing the L4400. Plus, my daughter and her husband...

I recently got a small band saw mill. Found a nice white oak that was blown down. Been down nearly a year but the entire trunk was off the ground so it is in good shape. Cut the trunk into 3 10 foot sections and applied Anchor Seal to the ends. I've never used it before. Put two coats on each...

I am in the process of planning a shop for down on my property. I have no idea if this will become a reality as it is still early in the planning stage. What I want/need is a 30x40 3 bay shop. I have had a site prep guy out and he says location is fine and won't need too much earth moving at...

I've recently acquired a small portable saw mill. I have 240 acres of woodland in the middle of South Carolina. I know what to do with pine and white oak and some of the red oak varieties. We have some ash and hickory here and there. But what about trees like gum, poplar, sycamore? Are there...

I am putting this post in the chainsaw forum because I don't know where else to put it. I hope we can get a sawmill forum here on TBN at some point. Anyway, just got a portable band saw mill. Total novice. I have cut up one log....and it went well. I've got a pile of pine logs ready to mill and...

I just received a Woodland Mills HM126 Woodlander XL which is their HM126 sawmill on a 16.5 foot trailer plus about 4 feet of trailer tongue. We got it all assembled and running this weekend and everything went well and it works great. But, the saw head unit, which rides on rails, is locked in...

I bought a new Cub Cadet ZT2 z-turn this summer. It has the Kawasaki 22 hp FR engine. I have never owned a grass cutting device that cost this much money. I either mowed with the rotary cutter on the tractor or a push mower. During the off season I never did anything to my push mowers for...

I was driving through a small town yesterday when it sounded like something crashed into the side of my truck. I did not see anything in the road and thought maybe a man hole cover had come up. I pulled over and could not find any damage to my truck. Then I walked down the road and found the...

Getting a PTO chipper next week. Infeed roller is hydraulic with its own hydraulic pump. Manual calls for iso 46 hydraulic oil. I see hydraulic oil and hydraulic fluid available. Always use hydraulic fluid in the tractor of course and I realize hydraulic oil is not appropriate for that...

I have a pair of Meindl 10" hunting boots which are the best boots I have ever owned and possibly the most comfortable footwear I've ever owned. I don't know how old they are but no more than 5 years old and have not seen particularly hard use......although I may have done some shovel work in...

I'm 58 years old and I'm in decent but not excellent physical condition. Average strength I would say. I am not a chainsaw guy. In other words, I've been using decent consumer Stihl chainsaws all my life but I don't know anything about cc's, chain types, tuning, modding etc etc. Primary use has...

I am getting ready to order a portable saw mill. It will take several months before it gets here. One of the first projects will be to build a deck extension off of the front porch of my cabin. This will be uncovered and fully exposed to sun and rain. It will be made of pine from off of my...

I have a 1/3 hp electric motor that I want to make into disk sander (French Wheel). I've got an arbor and a chuck and a wheel but the motor needs a switch and I'm an idiot when it comes to electricity. I can wire it, I just don't know what to get. Motor label say 115 volts; amps = 40 max. Do I...

I've been through a lot of cheap sprinklers. I'm talking above ground, not sprinkler system stuff. I don't water much but when I do I don't want a big old hassle. I prefer the chink-chink-chink type but everything I've bought in the last ten years has been junk and does not last. All from China...

Recently got a 54" Z turn to mow the grass around my cabin. Several acres which I used to mow with a 6' rotary cutter on my 45hp Kubota with Ag tires and then push mowed around the cabin. Not only does the Z turn do it faster but it now looks like a country club! The problem is, in order to keep...

I am asking this question on behalf of my daughter. She has heard me say so many times "I had a problem and went to the "tractor web site" and those guys told me how to fix it." So now she asks me to ask you guys to solve one for her. The problem is, I don't really have all the facts. But here...

First a comment: I recently bought a Cub Cadet ZT2 54". I don't know if buying a Cub Cadet was the right move but buying a z-turn sure was. Getting the 3-4 acres done so fast and they look so good (compared to the 6' rotary cutter behind 45 hp tractor). If this particular model keeps doing what...

We use a lot of mulch. Until recently mulch was free from the county. Unfortunately they stopped their mulch program (backwards rural county can't get anything right and when they do they eventually mess that up). Purchasing mulch at the volume I want is very expensive. Anyway, looking into pto...

I have a new Cub Cadet ZT2 54" zero turn. It has about 8 hours on it. The deck belt came off of the center spindle pulley twice. I'm pretty sure that I did something wrong the first time; either shut the engine off with the PTO engaged or starting with it engaged. Not sure. Put it back on and...

I just bought a Cub Cadet ZT2 54" zero turn mower. Really liking it so far. But, I was looking at the manual for the 23hp Kawasaki FR691V and was a little surprised to see that at 300 hours it recommends that the combustion chambers be cleaned, adjust valve clearance and clean and lap valve...

Time for the 5 hour new engine oil change. Kawasaki FR series 24 hp. Manual gives the typical ranges of oil which always make it hard for me to decide. I read somewhere but cannot find confirmation that Kawasaki put out a service bulletin recommending 10w-40 in their mower engines. I do not...

I need help with a problem. I have a 2003 Ford F150 that probably has a dead fuel pump. This is basically a farm truck and stays down at my cabin so there is no urgency to fix it. I have watched all the videos about how to replace the fuel pump. Even though it requires removing the bed on most...

I've got several problems with the electric water heater down at my cabin. The first is that it makes the water stink like rotten eggs when water stands in the tank. We go down there about three times a month. I've tried all the remedies. Some work, like the special rod you put it, but not for...

I have 3 or 4 acres I normally mow with a 45hp utility tractor and 6' rotary cutter which is not exactly 'lawn' but more like lawn than field. (I have mowed this with someone else's JD yard tractor and it did okay). I also have the yard around my cabin which I push mow. Getting tired of push...

I have a 16 year old Kubota L4400 4wd with about 600 hours on it. Came with Ag tires. Fronts are worn, torn, chipped and cracked. Considerable tread loss (fronts are overdriven compared to rears). Could easily keep running them for a while but it wouldn't be nuts to replace them. Anyway I think...

Whenever I have any sort of technical or mechanical issue I know I can come here and you guys will solve it. I have a toilet mystery. Background: I have repaired toilets many times. I have replaced toilets. I have installed new toilets and even the entire drain-waste-vent system in my cabin...

I have an old home-owner grade Stihl 025 that I inherited from my Dad. It has worked well for years. Last year when I tried to use it it would crank, run for a second and then stop. After that it would not crank unless it sat for day. Repeated same thing many times. Drained all old gas/oil out...

I live in a 90 year old house. It has a walk in basement that is basically just concrete floors but otherwise unfinished. It is damp and occasionally with heavy rains there is water on the floor. There is very little way to solve this problem completely. I could have it dug out all around the...

I'm thinking about getting a saw mill. I do not need one and I do not intend to sell lumber. I've got a cabin on 250 acres that I've had for close to 20 years. There is always a big oak or hickory or cedar blown down. And I just hate to see it go to waste. We use some for firewood but a lot...

I've got several acres of grass around my cabin that I mow with my 6' rotary cutter. Over the years these acres have become closer to a lawn than a pasture. I keep it cut short. And of course the rotary cutter is not ideal for this and in fact I've worn down the shoes on the front from cutting...

I have a 2007 Nissan 350Z that is now used almost exclusively as a track car. It has beautiful Daytona Blue Metallic paint and from 10-15 steps away it still looks pretty good. Any closer and it looks like an 11 year old track car. Many tiny paint dings. Rubber smudges all over from thrown up...

I was just given a like-new Powermatic 14" band saw. Looks like a nice piece of equipment. Weighs about 200 pounds. It is for wood only, unfortunately. I do modest wood working from time to time. I have one of those compound/mitre/chop saw deals that I can do a lot with. I have an ancient drill...

For a long time I have taken pride in doing most things that I can do myself. I do most of my car and tractor repair work. I do pretty much all of the plumbing repairs in my 90 year old house. I built my own log cabin (kit) 16 years ago. Some of this is being a tight wad and not wanting to pay...

This is actually about a car battery.....but just pretend it is on my tractor. We have been having constant trouble with my wife's car battery. Almost every time it can be traced to the negative terminal clamp coming loose. The OEM terminal clamp will not fully and tightly clamp down on the...

I'm tired of paying for DirecTV. Cable is worse. My wife and I don't even watch much TV. Kind of nuts spending almost $100 a month for something we only use an hour or less a day. So I want free TV. I'm not talking about stuff like Hulu or Amazon Prime. I'm talking about digital TV over an...

Down at my cabin I have been using a Toshiba tuner/amp that I got in 1980 with a set of Bose bookshelf speakers that I got in 1990. It has decent sound for just using at the cabin but the left channel in the Toshiba is cutting out. Well, my cousin recently gave his high end stereo system to my...

Years ago I posted a thread in this forum about how I thought traditional rock and roll was dead. Following the decline of alternative rock in the 1990s there really hasn't been too much new stuff for the rock and roll fan to get into. The classic rock stations play all the old standards but...

I got a tiny locust thorn stuck in one of my brand new all-terrain tires on my pickup. It was causing a very very slow leak. My wife took the truck to Discount Tire where I bought them. I did not buy the road hazard warranty. They would not even look at it and told her that they could not do...

I lost my glasses recently. Freak accident. I need them for near and far vision...so, work, reading, driving, computer, TV, etc. I go to a local optometrist walking distance from my house. They are friends of the family. Not close, but friends nevertheless. I have some cheap, old glasses I got...

My daughter and her husband and going to be building a house in the country soon. They have talked to several builders and they have suggested that they consider what they call a hybrid slab foundation as it costs considerably less than a traditional pier and joist foundation with a crawl space...

In another thread we discussed my Infiniti G37 that eats batteries. Considerable testing has not found a single clear cause. I think I know why the current one failed and I think I corrected it but the battery is not holding a full charge now probably due to repeated draining. Anyway, whether I...

About ten years ago a fairly large pine that stood beside a creek on my property got blown over. It leaned across the creek and never came down on the ground. It lived for about another six month and then died. I was poking around it a while back with an axe and noticed that even way up that the...

Our 30th anniversary is coming up this summer and my wife wants to go on a trip. We both like to travel but don't get to do it a lot. Once every couple of years. We have been to Italy, New York, a road trip through the deep south for blues festivals. Now she has the idea that she would like to...

My house is 88 years old and has a pretty constant flow of 88 year old house problems. The current one is that the hot water valve is leaking in the downstairs shower. This is essentially the guest bathroom. Our master bathroom is a five year old addition up stairs but the other upstairs...

After having perfect vision all my life I am now in progressive eyeglasses. They present a number of challenges but after trying all the other alternatives they are the best option for now. I like to hunt. I like photography. I wear my glasses most of the time for these activities. I can use...

A friend of mine who has property across the road from my country place is getting a Caterpillar D8 to clear some land for pasture. He has indicated that I could use it (or have him use it) to clear some small areas on my property as well. It is an older one. His uncle, who is my brother-in-law...

I have a 2009 Infiniti G37 coupe with a manual transmission (a dinosaur by today's standards) that I love. Got it used about 4 years ago. It is my wife's car. Low miles when I got it and we still don't put a lot of miles on it but it gets driven almost every day. For the last two years it has...

I've been doing more projects lately requiring drilling in metal. For instance, homemade winch mount for my car/tractor trailer. Drilling through some fairly hard and thick stuff. Some of the cheap multipurpose bits I have won't last long enough to drill one hole. To make things worse, I know...

I work in a doctor's office. Probably 25 people in the building. Computers access is wireless via routers around the building. Our electronic medical record is web based. Internet speeds are visibly slow. Slower than my standard cable modem at home, which uses the same provider. This makes...

I have an old Stihl 025 homeowner chainsaw that was my Dad's. Great little saw. Starts great. Runs great. But the last time I used it I noticed some fuel was leaking out when the saw was sideways. I noticed the fuel was coming out of a small nipple on top of the fuel tank. It still I had never...

Was using my Stihl 18" chainsaw this weekend clearing brush and small trees. Was tired. It was thick with lots of vines and branches. Felt something hit my leg hard. Thought it was a branch. Looked down and there was a hole in my pants and I was bleeding. Never even saw it happen but pretty much...

I need to drill a hole in some sheet metal...not on a tractor...but we'll pretend that it is. I have no way to tell what is behind the sheet metal on this particular machine. Probably nothing but I don't want to go shooting a drill bit through there where I don't know if there is a wire or a...

I went to Tractor Supply this evening to buy some grade 8 bolts and other such hardware. Bins were a mess. Wrong parts in wrong bins. Empty bins, etc. Very frustrating. Lowes was next door. Exact same problem. Left both places without the hardware I needed. Where do you guys buy high grade...

I know what this is and how to clean it up but I don't know why it happens. I've had this car for 5 years and this has never been an issue. I think the battery is a cheap AutoZone or Advanced Auto Parts. I've found them to be short lived and low quality. Anyone know how to prevent this? I know...

I've bought my last pair of Levis jeans. I've worn Levis 505 'regular fit' jeans since I was about 15 (I'm 54 now). Back then it was 33x34s, now it is 34x34s. For decades I could go into the store grab a few pairs of 34x34 505 regular fit jeans and they'd fit just fine. No dressing rooms. No...

We have lots of coyotes around our place. Sometimes you can hear them howling in all 4 directions at once. But, this weekend we had a weird experience. We had just waked up about 7 am (braod daylight by then) when our Labrador started barking like crazy. We could hear another dog barking just...

I was looking at an article about a warehouse in New York that has props for movies in it. One of the items pictured was this stool that I have linked to below. This exact same stool, without the metal rods, has been in my grandmother's house as long as I can remember. I live in her house now...

Last week I went to do a little yard work and couldn't find my Stihl string trimmer. A little later I could not find my newish Echo chainsaw. I remembered that I had left them underneath my screen porch in the back yard. It is an area you can walk under where we keep gardening tools and a...

Got a two different Porter Cable brad guns and a compressor about 10 years ago. Light use only. The smaller brad gun has stopped working. When you pull the trigger there is a slight puff out the exhaust port but it does not drive the brad. There is no hissing or evidence of air leakage. I went...

My 2003 F150 SuperCrew has been retired to the farm. So I have a few questions. It will probably only get used a few times a month. It will be parked in the tractor shed, roof but open on 4 sides. I'll put Stab-Bil in the gas. I have a trickle charger if needed. Anything else I need to do for...

I've decided to get a winch for my 19' flatbed trailer. Getting the tractor on it is easy. Getting a low riding track car on it is a little more tricky. A winch would make it safer and capable of getting a non-running car back on the trailer too. I've got an extra battery to run the winch off...

I need crusher run for the driveway to my cabin. I was quoted $425 per load, 18-19 tons, delivered. That sounds high to me but it has been a long time since I bought any. Last time I needed three of those tri-axle dump trucks. Is that price about right? They say it is clean gravel, no metal bits...

Looking to get a tooth bar for my Kubota L4400 w/ 6' bucket. Not interested in a Piranha. The Titan bar is heavier, has 7 teeth but does not look as well made in the photos as the WR Long. It weighs 99 pounds. The WR Long appears significantly better made. The bar is beveled. The welds look...

I have a 10-12 acre pond about 150 yards down below my log cabin. I've had this place for over 15 years. The pond is fed by a creek that is dry about half the year. On the other end is a very large dam built by the Corps of Engineers in the 50's as a watershed project. The valve for raising and...

I have a J.C. Higgins 30-06 bolt action rifle that was sold by Sears in the 1950's. Despite being a "department store" rifle, it has an FN Mauser action and the barrel is chrome lined and made by High Standard. It has a plain walnut stock with raised cheek piece with average cut checkering. So...

I have a basic Colt 45 1911. Made in the early 50's. It has had, at the most, 300 rounds through it, probably closer to 200. My son was shooting it recently when it double fired. In other words, he was working through the magazine bang.....bang...bang and then bangbang......bang. He says we was...

When I got my Kubota L4400 10 or so years ago the hairpin/cotter pins that secured the pins that hold the lower lift arms in place were different from the typical pins: On the OEM ones the straight part of the pin was longer. In other words it stuck out farther than the edge of the top leg...

I need a decent, small, tough, bright flashlight. All of mine are either cheap or lost. I know you can spend a whole lot of money on flashlights these days. A friend has a fairly small one (smaller than a c-cell Mag-Lite) that easily illuminates 300 yards. It cost hundreds of dollars. I don't...

I know this question has been asked a million times but what is the cheapest way to hook a ball hitch to a tractor. I have a new 19' flatbed trailer that takes up a bay in my tractor shed. Sometimes I need to get it out/ put it back (tight fit) and doing it with the truck is a pain, especially...

For years I've been using one of those typical air compressor chucks with the white post that slides in and out to show you the pressure reading. The one I have has always had two problems. It has always been a little leaky and the pressure range that it reads out is like 0-200 psi. This means...

I have a 2003 F150 which I use tow a 19' flatbed trailer. The female 7 pin plug assembly is attached to the bottom of the bumper with a metal bracket that hangs down below the bumper. Recently this assembly has been damaged twice because of its location. I would like to put it in the bumper...

I've got a 19' flatbed trailer that I use to tow my car (3300#) to the track and occasionally tow my tractor (4800#). For the car I have been using tow straps front and back. The straps in the front are a pain to use because of short length and low clearance. I see a number of guys using fixed...

I hesitated to post this here because it seems like a silly problem but it is getting to be a real problem. And while it is a funny subject I'm looking for real advice if there is any. My new dog is horribly gassy. He is an 8 month old Lab. From the day we got him home at 8 weeks he made more...

2009 Infiniti G37 coupe, 35K miles. Battery dead this morning. It is warm here. Battery is a year old. Will turn the starter over once or twice but no start. Battery has water in it. Moderate corrosion around terminals. Notice that terminal clamps are loose on terminals but are as tight as they...

I have a 12 year old Kubota L4400. I'm pretty familiar with every inch of this tractor. Yesterday I had to replace the fuel gauge sending unit in the fuel tank. An easy job. I open the hood as usual. No problem. When I go to close the hood, the hole in the hood that surrounds the fuel tank...

Got to vent here. Yesterday was a work/repair day for me. I changed a torn tie rod dust boot on my Kubota. Replaced the fuel sending unit in the fuel tank. Etc etc. All of that is to say that I can do a few mechanical things. I'm a competent mechanic within my knowledge base. But the next job...

I've got a 6' John Deere light duty rotary cutter. It is at least 15 years old (I bought it used over 10 years ago). The zerk fitting for the tail wheel axle/bushing is situated where I could never get a grease gun on it. So it never got lubed. Lately, surprise, surprise, it has been squealing a...

I've got a 2003 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4x4. I love it and I hate it. It only has 130k miles on it but the typical things are starting to go wrong. Right now I'm hearing and sort of feeling a clunking noise coming from the front end but only when I'm turning. Still drives and handles normally (like...

We signed a contract with a forester 2 years ago to have about 175 acres of pines thinned. Really nice guy. He came with a recommendation from locals. Our property is hilly with lots of deep ravines, especially on the back half. He told me right off the bat that the loggers would not like...

I have a Kubota L4400 (45hp). I have a JD light duty 6' rotary mower. I mow woods roads and a number of small pastures with it. I also mow the 'yard' around my cabin. The cabin 'yard' started as woods. I cleared it and graded it (sort of) 10 years ago. For most of that time it was more like a...

I posted a while back about building some shelving for my wife's dressing room/closet in regard to what material to use. I have decided to use cabinet grade plywood. I have read some reviews about some cabinet grade plywood that say certain circular saw/table saw blades cause splintering of the...

I've got a 2003 F150 XLT. The brakes have never been what I'd call great. They are adequate. I drove my son-in-law's 2012 F150 the other day and the brakes are far superior. The tires are too big for the truck and that does not help either. They are reaching the end and will be replaced in the...

Recently got my 19', 8000 pound, steel deck trailer from Kaufman primarily to haul my track car and my tractor. But I love getting multiple uses from things so I made a box out of 2x6s to fit in the stake pockets and used some cheap OSB to protect the deck and filled it with sand out of my creek...

Got a new trailer. 8000# 19' flatbed. Tires came from dealer at 80 psi which is the maximum pressure for the tires. I'll be hauling a 3500# car. The little owner's manual for the trailer says keep the pressure at maximum for the tire. Does that sound right? I've never owned my own trailer and do...

I posted a thread a while back about good garden hoses. After going through several other "good" garden hoses, one of which I immediately threw in the trash, I finally buckled down and bought a contractor grade hose from Continental Tire. I'll be ordering another one as well as it is a very good...

I've been wearing ear buds under a simple earphone style hearing protector while mowing for long periods. I find I'm turning the music up so much to over the noise of the tractor that I'm probably damaging my ears as much with the music as I am the tractor noise. Has anyone tried noise...

I just got a new trailer, 19' flatbed from Kaufman Trailer in Lexington, NC. It came with 4,000 pound quick-lube axles. I have the manual for the axles but do not remember the name of the manufacturer. I'd never heard of them. The manual says to inspect and repack bearings every year or 12k...

My wife wants a trellis gate on the side of our house leading into the back yard. A simplified version like the one pictured below (but without the column cap molding). It will have a gate in the middle and will need to be about 6 feet wide. It will be painted white. Posts will be 4x4 held in...

This is an add-on to my recent post about trailer storage. I'll be leaving my trailer in my tractor shed down on my property about an hour from home. In 10 years or so we have never had a theft because we are way off the highway in the middle of nowhere, but there have been major thefts from one...

I'm in the market for a miter saw. I have a variety of projects coming up that will make one very very handy but I don't really know what I need. I'll be facing some exterior deck stairs (risers), building a trellis and a small picket fence, probably building some interior, simple book shelves...

This weekend I am purchasing a new 19' 8k# gvwr, open, flat bed, car/tractor hauler. It will be used mostly to haul my car to the track, occasional use for other projects and rarely to haul my tractor. I'm guessing it will get used maybe 5 or 6 times a year. The rest of that time it will be...

We have a tiny bedroom adjoining our regular bedroom that my wife wants to convert into a dressing room. She wants a couple of built-in shelf units to do this. We got several estimates from professionals but they were all more than we wanted to spend except for one who did not show up for the...

Anyone have experience with a cell phone signal booster? The cell phone reception at my cabin (Verizon) has gotten worse over the last 5 years. Texts arrive hours late. Calls dropped. Internet access almost zero. We can go outside about 20 feet from the cabin and get good enough reception. So...

Need advice on a basement dehumidifier. It is a mostly unfinished basement, 85 year old house, probably 900-1000 sq ft, concrete floors. It leaks. Water oozes in from the foundation walls but only with heavy rains. No sump at this time because there is not a single low spot to accommodate one...

I finally got around to mounting a pair of cheap lights to my roll bar. My Kubota L4400 comes prewired for work lights on the fender so I just tied into those. They work great but with two problems. 1. They come on when the ignition is turned on and are not controlled by the headlight switch. 2...

My old truck is starting to show its age. It has 124k miles on it. 5.4 V8, 4x4 Supercrew. For about a year it has some symptoms which I think are due to the transmission but they are intermittent and hard to pin down. It is almost a surging, shuddering sensation but it does not change gears. No...

I have a heavy gauge, 100 foot outdoor extension cord that spent a year sitting outside while I built my log cabin 10 years ago. It ran from the temp power pole to the work site. During that time rats chewed holes in it in about 20 places. They only chewed through the exterior covering and not...

I had my grandmother's house remodeled about 4 years ago. We added a screen porch on the back with stairs leading down to the back yard. The stairs have 4 treated lumber stringers. The treads are made of Trex. The risers are faced with Hardi-plank. I noticed the other day that the outside...

I had to let go of my best buddy of 14 years the other day and I'm still grieving like a pagan. He was an ugly Labrador Retriever named Dash, after John James Audubon's retriever. He may not have been the best dog in all of history (he was) but he was definitely the best dog for me. Its only...

Looking for advice on a good quality garden hose. Have paid 'extra' for better looking garden hoses that end up being as bad or worse than the cheap junk. Nothing makes me madder than paying more for something that is no better than the cheap stuff. What am I looking for? First, good fittings...

I have a like new Echo chainsaw that I inherited from my Dad. It probably hasn't been used more than 10 times and never any heavy work. Original chain is still very sharp. It is not a bad little saw and has worked flawlessly every time. To crank it you turn the off/on switch to 'on', open the...

Helping my daughter and future son-in-law remodel the bathroom in his 50's era house before they get married and move in. I have a day or two off. I need to connect 1/2 galvanized pipe to PEX. There is a brass threaded male end with a PEX nipple. Is it okay to use brass in galvanized? If so...

My daughter's fiancé was cleaning out an old barn of his and found this stick. His father said it was for estimating pulp wood or something like that. It has a knob-like handle on one end and a brass 'T' at the other. On the edges there are inch markings. On the flat sides there is a series of 4...

A good while back I posted problems with the toilet in my log cabin that I built ten years ago. I did all the plumbing myself. It took forever to figure out the problem but it ended up that the Studor vent on the vent stack in the attic had stuck closed and there was effectively no vent. Fixed...

I live right down town in a small city. Have too many squirrels. They're driving me crazy. Can't shoot them in the front yard......too many strange looks from passers by. Neighbors don't really care. But I can shoot them in the back yard. I've got an old Benjamin pellet rifle with a peep sight...

I saw the plow pictured below at the local tractor dealership. Plaque on the vertical strut says "Ferguson" I couldn't read the other numbers on the plaque. Price is marked $295. Front coulter is new. One moldboard has "Ford" stamped on the back. The other has a diamond with some initials in it...

Started to do some mowing this weekend and heard a bang under the hood and noticed my fuel and water temp gauges were not functioning and no dash lights came on. The bang was the HUGE rat getting whacked by the fan. I looked under the hood to find a giant rat's nest on top of the engine and my...

My wife and I just completed a little 8' x 18' deck on the back of our log cabin. The decking is 2x6 treated limber. The yellow stuff. It is not covered and will get sun in summer, almost none in winter. Our front porch, which is 11 years old is also made of treated 2x6 limber and it has been...

I know there are lots of grapple threads but I just need a few basic pointers. I'm having about 110 acres thinned for the first time. I'm expecting them to make a huge mess. With the proceeds (and possible tax write-off) I'm thinking about getting a grapple for clean up. I have spent a few...

I know the old tractors with the belt wheel on the side were used to drive saw mills, but why nothing now for modern tractors? (Maybe there is but I did a quick Google search and came up with nothing.) It seems to me that a large part of the price of a small portable saw mill is the engine. I'm...

I bought an angle grinder a number of years ago. It is a good quality Dewalt. I bought it to shape up my rotary cutter blades and it does a fine job. On a couple of occasions I have replaced the grinding disk with a cutting disk to cut metal with. It seems like it was a generic Dewalt...

I live in an 85 year old brick house. It was last painted about 10 years ago (before I bought it) and the painters did a spectacularly bad job (which was evident immediately after it was done). It is mostly trim and window work except for a front portico with 4 square columns and a large front...

My wife and I have been through two expensive conventional mattresses in the last twelve years, both of them high end, and both of them have been uncomfortable for most of their life span. So we are looking at Tempurpedic type foam mattresses. We have a good many friends and relatives who own...

My son (23 years old) has been in Iowa for a couple of years now. Works in a Fleet Farm store. Up until now he has been lucky and his 14 year old Nissan Maxima has started for him. Yesterday it did not and he missed work. As far as I know he has never done anything to winterize the car and even...

I have a Colt 1911 made in the 1950s. The grips on it are cheesy looking plastic. I found some scrap walnut in the basement and I have made a set of grips for it. I've got them fitted. Still have some slimming down to do and final sanding. The wood is very pretty but I have no idea how to finish...

I know there are a lot of variables in this equation, including pulp wood prices (probably low), tree density, tree size, etc. But, I've got about 120 acres of planted pines pushing 15 years old. We had the state forester do a free assessment 4 years ago and according to him, it will be time for...

I've gone down the typical path of hitting forty and losing my near vision. Did readers for years. Now losing distance as well. Went to eye doctor last yer and got progressive glasses. Took me a while to get used to them and then for a while they were so much better than readers hanging around...

I have a couple of guns I'd like to sell and I have no idea how to go about it properly. I have never sold a gun before. I would like to know what I need to do to make it legal if I sell to another individual, which I would prefer to do, but I am also curious about which internet sites are best...

Check engine light came on in my daughter's 2003 Ford Ranger. I told her to take it to AutoZone so they could scan it and get the code. My wife went with her. (And yes, before anyone pipes up, all of this is my fault for sending those two and not going myself, and yes, I realize that one cannot...

My son lives in Iowa....1000 miles from me. He has a 2000 Nissan Maxima (only 100k or so miles) that is throwing CEL codes that indicate misfires due to a bad coil. This has happened before and usually the coil gets replaced and the CEL goes off. Six months later the light comes on again, same...

Tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary and my wife has wanted a fountain for our back yard so I think I am going to get it for her. This is a pretty large fountain. We have had smaller concrete fountains and bird baths and I have been suprised how quickly they crack, leak and then fall apart...

My labrador retriever, Dash, is eleven years old and starting to have problems with arthritis, particularly his hips. He also had a back injury a few years ago and his back legs are weak. He lives indoors with us. He is still happy and active but he is having increasing difficulty getting up...

We had a lightening strike near our house yesterday. If flipped the breaker in the TV room. We had the TV (40" Sony Bravia), Sony DVD player/entertainment unit (cheap), Apple TV box ($100) and DirecTV box all on the same outlet using a cheap power strip. When I flipped the breaker back on the...

Yesterday I tried to take my tractor into the creek to knock down a beaver dam. Knocked it down by hand last time and it about killed me. The water was relatively shallow (less than hub high) with a firm sandy bottom. Started in very slowly at a slight incline into the water and the "firm sandy"...

I have hunted with rifles all of my life. All in the woods. Rarely have ever taken a shot much over 100 yards. Longest shot ever may have been 175 yards at most. Other than shooting at game I have never been interested in shooting just for fun. But like many people, I have gotten interested in...

I have galvanized pipe running from the city's meter box into my house. When the city was doing some sewage line repairs they hit my supply line. They fixed the part they hit but commented that the galvanized pipe looked bad and probably needed to be replaced. Well, there is no evidence that it...

My HVAC system is in my basement so it has a small sump type pump that sits next to it that pumps condensation out. Well, the little pump unit failed the summer before last and overflowed. So I bought a new one and it worked fine. A few days ago I was down in the basement and the dang thing was...

I need an impact wrench to remove lug nuts. A good cordless 1/2" one would be ideal but run $250-$300. (I want one for various reasons and plan to get one but it just isn't in the budget right now.) A good corded one would be about $150+. An air tool impact wrench can be got for about $75. I...

I am having a great deal of trouble typing this post because I am wearing my new so-expensive-that-I'm-not-willing-to-tell-how-much-they-cost glasses. This is my first ever pair of prescription glasses. I'm 49. Reading has deteriorated over the years as to be expected. Right eye much worse then...

Brief preface for those who don't know me: hunted all my life but never been into guns per se. Killed a good many deer. My Dad always did or helped me with the sighting in. He gave me almost every gun I have. He also bought all my ammo, but I never used much. Well, Dad's got Alzheimers and I've...

This is a 7mm-08, Remington case. Bullet type is unmarked and unknown. I do not think it is a reload so probably something standard from Remington but it is different in appearance from all the other Soft Point Cor-Lokt bullets I have. The main thing I want to know is if it is a big game bullet...

I have a problem, and maybe an interesting story too. Here goes: My 19 year old daughter has been deer hunting with me the last few years and we've had good success...a couple of small bucks and 4 really nice 8 pointers in three years. I've loved every minute of it. She shoots a petite little...

We have a lot of coyotes here. And there seems to be a lot of coyote mythology out there. Latest rumor here is a story about a guy leaving his deer stand in the dark being followed by a pack of coyotes that kept coming back even after he shot at them. Plenty of farmers claim that the coyotes...

I've deer hunted all my life. Killed lots of deer. Don't hunt as much as I used too. And when I do I don't shoot unless it is real big. Mostly I go with my daughter. She got this one a few weeks ago with me sitting right next to her at the base of a tree (185 pounds, 19" spread....proud Dad)...

I've hunted deer (and other stuff) since I was 8. And I've killed a lot of deer, most of them with rifles. But I'm not a gun guy. I like them but I'm not into them. I have a few deer rifles. They were sighted in many years ago. I check them each year and they are still dead on. My Dad was a gun...

I've got wild pigs on my place. A lot of them. I killed a 250# boar a few years ago. He did not look feral (he looked Russian) and was probably released by someone as hunting stock. He was rank and I did not keep him (gave him away to a local fellow). But, a few weeks ago I killed a little 50#...

Going through my Dad's stuff I have come across some gun catalogs from the 1960s and 1970s. Mostly Winchester and Remington. A few Savage. Condition varies from okay to very good. Is there a market for this type of thing? Do people want this stuff? Or is it trash? Any thoughts appreciated. I...

I was recently given an almost new Colt 45 automatic 1911 Government model. By its serial number it looks like it was made in the 1950s. I hunt and I have a fair number of guns but I'm not really a gun guy. It looks like it might be worth around $1000. I do not get the impression from reading on...

I've been a hunter as long as I can remember but I'm not all that interested in guns. I have the guns I need and don't really want any more. Which is to say I'm not a gun guy. My Dad was a gun guy. He has severe Alzheimers now though so I can't consult him any more. My mom is ready to have his...

Just got back from a week at the beach and my house is completely infested with fleas. We have a dog, and we use FrontLine. He had a few fleas. He got a flea bath, flea spray, and then gave him Comfortis. Before we left for the beach he was flea free. He went with us to the beach and we saw no...

I recently got a GoPro video camera for my daughter to wear in her equestrian eventing an in my car at the track. This weekend I played around with it while prepping my corn plot. Nothing exiting but maybe entertaining for really bored tractor geeks like me. The second link is a video of my...

I have a cabin in the country and up until recently I was there about every other weekend. Lately I have no been able to get down there very often and we have been over run by mice. We see them when we open the door and we can see where they have been.......which is everywhere and I mean...

I'm 48 and my near vision has tanked. I keep reading glasses all over the house, in my car, in the bathroom, etc. Most folks over 40 know what I'm talking about. And yes, that's frustrating enough. But what is killing me is doing mechanical/shop work. Any time I have to lean over, or look...

Several years ago I had pretty much stopped deer hunting even though I'd been doing it all my life. First with my Dad, then with my son. Well, Dad has Alzheimers now and my son has lost interest and I've killed plenty of deer so I went maybe once or twice a year even though I was on the property...

My mother has a little Ford Ranger that sits in her garage and gets driven maybe once every three or four months. The battery, which is only a year old, is often dead. I can jump it and drive it a bit and get it charged back up but then a few months later and its dead again. So I bought this...

I've driven 4x4 trucks all of my life. In fact, up until recently I have never had anything, in 30 plus years of driving, but a 4x4 as my primary vehicle/ daily driver. Well, a year or so ago I got my wife a used Infiniti G35x sedan (also 4wd :p). Compared to our previous average sedans or...

I recently moved into my grandmother's house in town. The back yard is long and narrow and has three terraces. The top terrace is the largest and is probably 4 feet higher than the top of the one below it, the next one is maybe 2-3 feet high. The bottom one is pretty much just a small slope...

Well, I've moved from a 1 acre lot in the burbs into our old family home downtown. In the back yard there is an enormous magnolia tree. For whatever reason the mosquitoes seem to breed and thrive under this magnolia and the back yard is almost unusable in the summer. Its worse than my wooded lot...

First, despite years of education in other matters, I am a total moron when it comes to electricity and I need some help. I have a 120 x 120 foot plot of sweetcorn. The last two years it has been wiped out by lack of rain and deer. I can't do much about the rain and all the home remedies have...

I'm having my 80 year old home remodeled. Almost complete. Will finish on time and on budget. Very satisfied with my contractor: expensive but worth it. He only does one job at a time. The cost for interior painting blew my mind but every inch, walls, ceilings, windows, molding, stair rails...

I have a number of old cast iron skillets and dutch ovens sitting around my cabin. They were owned by my wifes grandmother but have been in disuse for decades and outdoors most of that time. There is one huge skillet and one dutch oven that would actually be very useful on a grill, campfire or...

I've got a cheap old two bottom plow and yesterday I got it out to turn over my corn plot. I have no idea why, but I love plowing. I could do it all day. The ground was perfect and turned over neatly. And, to make things even better, when I threw it on the three point hitch it was perfectly...

I am currently living full time in my log cabin while my home in town is being rennovated. I'm enjoying country living. I'm handling the commute (40 minutes) okay. I'm handling the long muddy driveway okay. I'm dealing with not having TV or internet. I'm getting by with three of us in one tiny...

I was changeing implements yesterday and got to thinking about how ingenious the three point hitch is and all the things it has to do in terms of strength, geometry, lifting, keeping implements away from rear tires, etc. It seems like a simple thing but it is deceptively complicated. I began...

I need some advice on planting corn. I've planted three times. The first year was perfect. I planted about 6 rows, about 40 ft long. Got well over 300 ears of delicious silver queen. The following two years were disasters. Planted a lot more. Got a lot less. About a couple dozen the second year...

I had 5-6 acres of good sized pines thinned on my property recently. They did a good job, did not mess up my roads or anything. But, one of my woods roads (about 300-400 yards long) that I use a lot was pretty much buried in branches, pines tops, etc. It would have taken forever to clean up...

This is a car question but I'm asking this question here because I know you guys will know the answer. I have a high mileage used car (06 Infiniti coupe, 77k miles) with a tapping sound in the engine. I think it is normal and I'm pretty sure it isn't a valve tapping. However, a good many...

I am moving into my grandmother's house. It is over 80 years old. My dad was born and grew up in it. We are going to have extensive renovations done since it is basically unchanged in 80 years except for AC downstairs. Anyway, we are going to live in the house for the two months of planning...

I live in a 30 year old house on a septic tank and just started having a strange problem when I flush the upstairs toilet. As the flush is almost complete, even after the flapper has closed I get a deep, gurgling, drumming noise that comes from the shower drain. It lasts for several seconds and...

After 5 years of underpowered window units and pain in the rear kerosene heaters I finally had central heat and air installed in my cabin. Of course it has zero insulation underneath or in the attic space and I guess I need to do it. I have no idea what I need or how to do it. I would...