Preparing for the next 4 years.

I'm as shocked as you are!

Okay, Due to the " WAR on Coal" and our dependence on a coal powered electric plant in our area, we really anticipate going "brown" fairly often. And unless gasoline gets cheap again ( Oh? you don't believe in the Fuel Fairy?) the expense of a fueled generator is prohibitive. Of course with the promise of Solindra's Innovative Solar Technologies, that we are all invested in, thanks to our resourceful leaders, I'm sure everything will work out very well for all of us .Fortunately, as a viable alternaive, I can walk right next door and get enough fresh cow patties to heat and cook with. Hello Modern Afghan Lifestyles Magazine. Courtesy of our educated electorate.

Enough about that, makes my stomach cramp up thinking about it. The next big event is Chris's knee repair, A couple weeks of recovery and I hope she is finally happy with them, she was actually very happy with them initially, but after she fell this summer, and tore the tendon, which healed, but in a stretched state. And then during the surgery, it was discovered that she had bone spurs growing in the area, subsequently removed, we expect a full recovery and hopefully no further problems. The part that was removed, showed very little wear for an item carrying half the weight of a person for 5 years. I'm pretty sure they will outlast her needs. An added advantage is, the replacement was almost twice as thick, which, this being her "short" Leg should hopefully, realign her spine on her pelvis. and help with her back issues. Whoopee a twofer!

Well back to issues related to the NadaFarm operations. Bob's trailer. I have had Bob's trailer most of the summer, it seems, and every time it is here, I end up so busy with other issues, that can't wait that, well, it never gets done. Now to be fair it did have a few projects that required attention first. Two push mowers, two riding mowers, a trail mower, a chain saw, a four wheeler, and I offered to make a tool box for it. Oh, and the telescoping front leg that you crank up to set it on the ball hitch, was so badly bent they had cut it off. So, it had a small hydraulic jack to get it on and off the hitch with. So when I say it was a" project trailer" That has more than one meaning.

Well one of the lawn tractors was missing so many parts (and the engine was seized up) that it was just a donor for future projects. One of the garden tractors was repaired and delivered. One of the push mowers was a quick fix, and it went right back home. The front jack, I purchased a new one, and mounted it on the twisted cross member, which I will straighten when the tool box is mounted, which I have built, but am in a quandary as to how to hinge, for the best usability. The trail mower, took some research, but I found the right belt for it eventually, and removed the 4 way safety that was constantly shorting out and causing it to be impossible to start. I also welded a bunch of holes shut, and re drilled them, adding washers for reinforcement, in the adjustable arm that pulls it. It was also sort of tricky to figure the" belt path" on it. So when I worked it out, I painted the path of the belt in the belt enclosure area, so it will be easy to replace next time. The four Wheeler still has me stumped, it ran great for about 15 minutes, once, during the summer. Hasn't moved under it's own power since. The remaining push mower and chain saw will be next and then I can return it all to Bob.

Speaking of chainsaws, I have learned of my tremendous lack of knowledge of chainsaws, as I usually get them with engine issues, or missing or broken parts I have never paid that much attention to the chains. The actual cutting part, most folks just toss a dull blade and get a new one or don't realize the reason they are burning the clutch up and the bar, and ultimately ruining the engine, is the chain, and it's routine sharpening. I discovered I have been doing it 90% wrong, and my chains still cut, but" no where near" like a new one does. And now I know why, you need a special tool I never knew existed, It sets the depth of the cutters after sharpening wears them down. It's shown being used in the fourth picture below. That's a file about to make the necessary adjustment to the sharpened chain link. Simply never thought of it, actually never looked at a chain that close, as to how it worked, just put a sharp edge on it and pushed it through the wood. It's amazing what you can learn, if you pay attention, and get a book and read it. In reality, the "YouTube Instructional Videos" posted by the chain grinder manufacturers are great, and a simple source of knowledge, where I put it all together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was funny though, that the final movie of the series I watched, had a saw, cutting repeatedly, through the same felled tree, to show the difference certain aspects of grinding made. Other than the first and last pass, of about 6 or 7, where the size of the CHIP produced was evident, I didn't get much from that part. But it is a saw chain, so barring a robotic arm fully sensor ed to read out all parameters, and a fully monitored engine readout, the differences are going to be unremarkable to the casual observer and yet probably, at least noticeable, to the hands on user..

While we are on the subject of Chainsaws, I have one word for all you city dwellers. ELECTRIC! I know you think you need a chainsaw to be functional in town, I really understand, it's THE tool, that says Man's MAN. You know "Hey Jason,Oh, nice mask dude, how's the old chainsaw runnin'?" Just gives ya a tingle running up your leg, huh? Well it's close to that dumb an investment in a town as a cannon would be, you really need a " street sweeper shotgun" for town operations... oops, got side tracked. Back to the ELECTRIC chainsaw, if you have never had a chainsaw, here's the truth, they are a pain in the ass to keep running, mainly because you don't use it often enough to keep it "fresh". the plug gets gummed up, the fuel gets old, the carburetor gets a varnish buildup, (or even worse with the" cheap ass gas" we are forced to use now, they get rusty inside, from the water load.) The mixed fuel goes flat (see crap fuel statement) and the blade gets banged around in storage and gummed to the bar, by the chain oil, and the remnants of the last job, plug the lube holes in the bar and it starts sparking from the first pull, the first of many, cause it ain't gonna start, and I 'll end up with it, just to get it running again. Now the answer is a generator, a couple heavy extension cords and an ELECTRIC Chainsaw (you will want another bar, and a total of at least 4 chains) A gallon of Bar oil, and you are set for life. Okay the generator isn't free, but it doesn't require mixed fuel, and you will have more use for it as the "Obama brown outs" start. Also you are going to have to "get to" the area, to move the wood anyway, so you will be driving 'something' to the area you need the saw in anyway, take the generator. The heavy extension cords will always be a plus, you'll find all kind of uses for them. Obviously you will need the extra chains and bar, no matter what you buy. The electric I have, cost about $39.99 is at least twenty years old, and I still use it regularly to trim wood for the wood burner, and with my new knowledge of chain operations, it works better than it has for a long time.

Next issue, there's another spring house, that has fallen to ruin, in the woods over the hill. It is however a very dependable water source, it hasn't dried up completely yet, and I have been checking it, regularly, since we moved here. It's output necessitated the placement of the four concrete pipes above Rusty ravine, to create the land bridge. So the, south west 10 acres, is accessible, by wheeled machines, and walkers. Originally it was a small muddy sided creek crossing. (read "mud hole") I have determined that the area it supplies could be made into a convenient little pond that could supply a small water wheel for limited energy production, without affecting anything else about it's water movement to the down stream users. Which I consider to be an important factor in any water rerouting efforts. But to accomplish it, I need a tractor that can dig, and the Bobcat, simply isn't it. I do have the Long Backhoe attachment i bought last summer but it hasn't worked right yet do to pump issues. Though I did get a great email recently, with a copy of the original technical manual, which gives the actual criteria for the pump required to operate it, as designed. A real step in the right direction. So the future holds a bright spot. However I did mention another little story that I was going to share about the recent acquisition of a new tool , that I have "NEEDED" since our arrival here on NadaFarm. But I fear I may be almost too wordy already in this page of information.

Oh what the hell, let's just go for it! I was haunting Craigslist, as I usually do, looking, as luck would have it, for a backhoe. Who would think such a thing right? Well, I found one, actually I found a few of them, any one of which, would have done for now, to do the big jobs I need done outside. I even called about one and then two and then, well the deal seems that people put things on Craigslist to find out if they can sell them when they finally decide to, and are not really interested in selling them at present. At least not Backhoes. each jackass advertising has "another job to do" with the tool they advertise, really. "Oh man, you mean you would buy this thing? I have a couple more jobs I need to do, but then, maybe, I could call you back huh? And you could come get it (even if I break it then, I know it's sold right) ?" Obviously there are no feedback issues, like eBay, or you'd know "not to contact this moron to buy things because they are not really for sale." Not that I was getting perturbed with these jackasses, I mean just wackadoodles with back hoes, right? So by the time I stumbled across this latest little tractor I knew not to get my hopes up, probably not for sale really, and it is such a "HOT ITEM" that there are even scams surrounding them that folks are warned about. Oh yeah, it's a KUBOTA BX23, now I looked at them at the Paul Bunyon show this year, and finally got a ballpark price. Which enabled me to ascertain, I would not be buying one new, unless I hit the lottery ----TWICE-----! It's not as big as a Volkswagen bug and it costs over $20,000.00, good god ya'll. YOU MUST BE KIDDING! I mean, it's a real nice little tractor, but it's really just a power hand shovel, well maybe a little more than that, but not much. I have no idea how people can justify the price, it's totally redimulous! It does have a mower deck available, but I can't imagine using such a machine for a lawn mower, the wear and tear is just not conceivable. Anyways!

Here's a version.

The first chapter of the Kubota saga finally closes! At 6:30 PM I walked into the house slightly damp but uninjured, in spite of the activities of the last 4 days. But maybe I should start at the beginning, and continue on to the end, and then stop, Okay? So, I was hounding Craig's list in Ohio, Southern Ohio mostly, looking for a TLB in the $10,000.00 price range, I found a couple, called about them, no answer on one, "Wow that was fast, I'm not done using it , right now, leave your number. I'll call in the spring when I'm ready to sell for real….. " And a couple, that were too big to move, too far away. Then I saw a little Kubota, a BX23, the tiny tot toy tractor, that I have wanted ever since I saw one in the Mall at Zanesville. I did finally get a real price on one, at the Paul Bunyon show, at the fair grounds this fall. $19,995.00 With all the attachments, the Front Loader, The Back Hoe and the Mower Deck, 4 wheel drive, 3 cylinder diesel. And small enough to get into tight places and dig dig dig. So I decided to make a low offer, it didn't have the mower deck, but it wasn't too old and only had less than 200 hours on it. I was dealing with a lady by email, who eventually told me to call her husband, which made me a little more confident that I wasn't jumping into something contentious. You know those stories, divorced wife cashing out, without the husbands knowledge, buyer shot in driveway….. Well, when I finally did get in touch with the owner, he was rather surprised, as he felt it had just been a talking point related to their impending move, and wasn't aware it had been listed for sale! This made it a little awkward, as I know how I would feel if somebody came to get my ……. well, I don't know what qualifies as equivalent. But I wouldn't be real happy about it, he however, said, "well, I'll go check the actual hours on it, and walked out in the cool cool evening, and probably a misting rain, to check the actual hours on it. You could hear the hesitation in his voice, "You know, I do have this pile of dirt I need to move yet, but I guess I can do that tomorrow. So give me a day and you can come pick it up." Now I needed that day to acquire enough cash to pay for it, yep cash, no checks, no wire transfers, CASH. That's more cash than I have held since, well since my mom gave me a pile of money to buy the house next door, which is another long, rambling, story that didn't end nearly as well. But this is a Kubota trick. So I loaded up my buddy bob's trailer, checked the 'levels' in the F150, and headed out for areas unknown. After driving, without incident, for two and a half hours, I thought I was home free. Empty trailer of course, but no issues, Then I attempted to turn into the driveway, crap , no power steering, probably blew a recent repair, to the cooling coil, I thought. HAH, I should be so lucky.
Then the steam started rolling out from under the hood, double crap, the belts off, Hey I can fix that, triple crap! The tensioner is broken out of the block, no it's broken off in the block, Double Damn!
So I went to meet my new friend, who was going to loan me his garage, his tools, and a bed for the night, and drive me around to get parts. And I met his dogs, big bruisers, who liked me too much. Nice animals but really needy, and starved for attention. I liked them anyways, even if they did like me. The little tractor was sitting there, he had been power washing it ! He really acted like the little tractor was just another pet. Probably his favorite. As he put the wand down and came to the gate, following his "killer Dogs," (only if you are susceptible to "tail born brutality" from a happy puppy!) After the initial welcome ,(much jumping, much woofing, much exuberance!) I explained my problem. Having

forgotten he told me his previous livelihood, I was pretty sure I was "right and proper fauk'd" because, I realized after I passed Columbus, that I had neglected to bring my tool box! I NEVER TRAVEL WITHOUT TOOLS! Particularly in a total piece of …well not a know dependable unit, let us say. So here I am, in a strangers driveway, with a buttload of cash, and my truck has self destructed, bad things could happen. Some thought I would be bashed, trashed, and stashed, and my body found by cadaver dogs, next month sometime. But I knew this was a nice guy, he had a Kubota that he loved, those kinds of people are genuine, machine lovers, mechanics, welders, you know the type, like me!

 

 

 

 

 

So he suggested I move the truck up to the front of his garage, real close, so we wouldn't have to walk as far.

Then he showed me his! TOOLS, big roll arounds, packed with every tool imaginable. Turns out he was a BMW mechanic, in fact, he was the shop foreman for a dealership. So his tool selection was pretty comprehensive. Comforted by the size of his arsenal, I began to disassemble the 20 year old truck. You may remember, I acquired this truck at a very low initial price due mainly t o it's decrepit state, the main thing holding it together is rust, and not just the usual North Coast FERROCANCER, but a truly amazing lack of anything solid, including the frame, I am fairly sure the frame is going to fail in the next year or so, but I am scared of attempting to weld it, due to the lack of original material to affix anything to. I am fairly sure it isn't worth the cost of the rod to try, so I just refrain from touching anything I don't have to. Well this little issue, required a great deal of touching, I had to remove the fan shroud, and the fan blade, and the fan pulley. The belt, of course, had removed itself, this would give me a possible shot at drilling out the broken bolt. YEAH RIGHT! If I had a right angle drill, and a short drill bit and a way to push at a controlled right angle to the front of the engine in the confined space available. None of which was happening with my lack of shoulders. Intellectually I knew this was a doomed attempt, but I had to give it a swing. I tried to simply center punch the broken bolt, so I could get the drill started in the center of the thread I hoped to save in the giant piece of aluminum bolted to the front of the engine, which also supported the alternator, the idler, the tensioner (no longer), and the pollution air pump... YOU know, a bunch of other items to get screwed up if touched on a twenty year old engine. Not to mention the fact, (thought I will of course) that I was within inches of the 20 year old radiator. Until this portion of the disassembly was completed I was nervous as the proverbial DOG who had recently consumed razor blades. And in fact I was constantly attended to by the "very friendly" dogs of my benefactor. We ( Don and I) chatted, while I kept switching tools and tactics, to try to get things broken loose, without breaking them. After a while, he suggested food would be a good addition to our evening together, and I agreed, I gave him a $20.00 and said pizza would be great, so he ordered and went after pizza and a giant brownie. I really couldn't have "broken down" in a much more hospitable situation. At one point, about the ninety-tenth approach I attempted, He said, "So what do you want ? You want me to do it for you?" I said, "Absolutely, that would be great!" Soon after, he decided (he told me the next morning) that it looked like I really did know what I was doing, so he felt confident allowing me to proceed on my own. I know he just wanted to get his hands dirty and was having a hard time not jumping in and doing it. Mechanics are like that, they just want to get things fixed, it's really hard to stand around and watch the other guy do the job differently. He understood my hesitation to go total removal on the mounting bracket, he also knew the possibility of it working any other way, I just had to prove it to myself. I have had inordinate luck on some attempts at such things, where ignorance and perseverance have conspired to overcome some impossible situations, this wasn't one of them. So after I finally gave up and removed all the required parts, and managed to hand drill the center out of the broken bolt, and remove it, without breaking the inappropriately named (EASYOUT) I took a ten minute break to bring Chris up to speed on my situation. Not going to make it home, but expecting to live through the night. And had

 

 

even been offered a couch to sleep on, inside, where the heat worked. I was a little leery of dog issues, as they had been so friendly, I really don't like to sleep with animals roving around, and even less with them deciding we are all buds enough to cuddle. Not a good plan, but it did turn out really great. My mechanical host, set up a bed in a spare room, complete with a door I could close, and sheets and pillows and everything! And it was a comfortable bed, good stiff mattress, not smokers, and well, just really nice accommodations for one stranger to another. The way I would hope to treat someone, I was royally treated. Chris claims, I never met a stranger. I try to be a person people can trust and feel pretty confident in identifying who I can, and shouldn't trust. (trying to avoid politics in all forms, I can't help but point out, I didn't vote for the current resident of the White House based on this innate ability, all I'm going to say for now) So after a good nights sleep, I got up and had breakfast with Charlie and Lucy and Don, and as I had completed the repairs at about 1:30 AM, and my truck actually has no muffler, I didn't fire it up, to check it out, to spare the neighbors, and any area livestock, a rude awakening. I was of course anxious to make sure the fix was complete, and that I hadn't in fact ruined more than I fixed. As I was sure the radiator had been touched in unfriendly ways a couple times. There were no puddles under the truck, a small spot of power steering fluid was obvious, but to be expected, as I had been steering it about without the aid of the pump, and the steering systems always puke their guts out, when that happens. I fired it up and the belt was really twisted, causing the new tensioner to jump with every revolution of the belt. I had found the idler to be nearly frozen, extremely hard to turn, until I doused it with PB BLASTER, whereupon, it freed right up, and worked incredibly smoothly. I truly expect it to fail next. But the belt had a hump in it, and it's a comparatively new belt, only a couple months old really. I replaced it when I replaced the battery and the alternator, probably around September. I knew the new idler wouldn't last long with this level of activity, actually clicking each revolution of the belt. So I turned the truck off and reversed the direction of the belt, and it smoothed right out. So, from now on, I'm marking the direction of rotation on all flat belts. I guess like bias belted tires they "take a set" in the direction of rotation and may fail quickly, if not maintained in the original direction. FREE INFO!

The next trick was to load the tractor on the trailer , Bob's trailer has a screen type ramp, and it has been abused, the outer screen panels are broken loose and stretched down, so I didn't take the ramp. Guessing it wouldn't help it's ultimate situation, which I will repair before returning it to him. Anyways I took a set of drive up car ramps, like you would use for oil changes and such, and assumed it would be enough if the tractor couldn't load itself, with it's own hydraulics. Which I'm pretty sure it won't, but we managed to set the trailer at an angle, off the edge of the driveway and use some wood planks and the ramps to get the little tractor on the trailer.

 

As I was maneuvering the truck around, to get the trailer into position, I noticed the fuel level was rather low. I know the tank wasn't full, full, when I left, but it was registering full and with the outstanding rate of 10 miles a gallon, just one of the benefits of a 5.8 liter engine, I knew it would need fuel soon, but it does have that little gas pump, that lights up when the fuel is low, and that hadn't even flashed yet, so I was feeling pretty safe. Always optimistic, that's me. So as I waved goodbye to my new friends, I headed out confidently to find a gas station and get on the journey home. YOU know those signs on the expressway, that always tell what services are at the next exit? Gas Food Lodging., You know, well they don't have those on the roads in the western stretches of Ohio, the GAS FOOD LODGING, or the signs. Maybe they are ONLY on the interstates, I never paid that much attention, until I began to get concerned in the boring, monotonous, flat, featureless fields of western Ohio, I hate that terrain, I avoided looking for farms/land over there. I don't know how anyone can live in such an area, you see BLAH for ever, nothing, a few tree tops and nothing. I would die if I had to live in such a place. However it is good for mileage, and easy for a crap transmission to function in. And scary, when you can't find even a sign, which you could see for eternity, for a gas station in the next three states! I finally just took an exit and headed for what appeared to be a population center, to the East, and as I emerged from the shadow of an overpass, I saw a gas station, it had a ramp to get into it that might be a problem, so I gunned the truck, and it sputtered and nearly stalled, I didn't touch the brakes until I was next to the pumps, the nearest set of which were fortunately unoccupied, and I didn't even have to shut the engine off, I ran out of gas at the pump! And that, stupid little gas pump light, never did come on! It took 19.5 gallons of gas to fill my 18 gallon tank. I was cutting it pretty close... DUMB LUCK! For now, anyhow.

I called Chris to tell her I was on the road home. She asked me where I was and I admitted i wasn't exactly sure due to the fuel supply search, I was headed the right way, but I didn't know where I was exactly. She looked it up, and told me take the next left, to avoid getting sent South of where I wanted to be. Good timing. And she asked that I stop on the way back, at a little road side store and get some ham and cheese for sandwiches. I said I would consider it, as long as I was making good time in the daylight, and rain seemed to be no problem. You see, the truck has no windshield wipers, well they are there, they are even new, but they don't work, and I haven't taken the time to figure out why yet. So I was keeping my options open, so I thought. Of course FATE is a cruel bitch sometimes. As I was barreling down the hill from the 4 lane, to the 2 lane, section of SR16, just West of Adams MIlls, and a giant cement truck was attempting to have intercourse with my little truck, which had the distinct disadvantage of pulling a trailer with the little tractor on it, My truck blew the cement truck a rude, huge white kiss, of smoke! I looked back, and the cement truck was rapidly allowing me to "pull away". I rolled my window own and sniffed, transmission oil, Not good Not GOOD, and not a total surprise, I mean, it had been an uneventful trip as far as the tranny was concerned, but I had "touched" the old, rusty, tranny cooler lines, while working on the "idler issues". I looked ahead for a place to get off the road and darn if that little store wasn't the nearest "pull off" available, while remaining on the main drag. By the time i pulled off the smell had ceased and the smoke was gone, so I got out and looked under the hood expecting to see fluid dripping out of the twin "totally rusty" cooler lines. And they were not damaged! No leaks! So I looked under the side of the truck and saw fluid running out of the front of the transmission like some one dumping cold coffee down a sink. It stopped when I turned the engine off, but I knew the truck wasn't going to make it home in that condition, and the last I had heard about Rusty's truck it was still in pieces, with the front end apart for ball joints. Here you can see the twin lines of drippage coming out the back of the truck trailer combo, just doesn't look good, and it wasn't. So I called Chris again, While I was determining my problems, I walked over to the road side market, Praetor's Road Side Market, to be specific, and it was closed for the season. Well, at least I wouldn't be in the way of their clientele parking. And, I told Chris about the seasonal shut down. I went to the nearest house hoping it was the owners of the market to check about leaving the truck there for a while assuming i could find a way home, you see Chris couldn't drive because she had just had her knee rebushed, and that meant 6 weeks of no driving. So I'm in a tough spot here. Now I know another friend who is retired, and has a diesel truck that can pull this trailer, but it all depends on what his day is looking like, I really understand that situation, happens all the time to me. So Chris called Richard to see if he was otherwise occupied, and fortunately he was available for a rescue. So Richard and his wife Patty came out to Adams Mills and pulled my little tractor home for me. Of course, while I was waiting, I finally found the owner of the Market, who said it was fine if I left my dead truck near the train tracks behind his dad's house for a couple days. And I bought an "eight pound deli chunk" of Swiss Cheese. Not the baby swiss we usually get, but a nice swiss for the holidays, and we are still working on it two weeks later! And probably will be two months from now. So Richard and Patty brought me home, and the tractor and the trailer with no issues... Well almost, Richard said he would check about borrowing a trailer to go back after the truck, I was thrilled, as I had no idea what I was going to do to get the truck back this week. But, when he got home, his truck was making a grinding noise in a brake area, Rusty had recently had a failure of a similar nature cost him hundreds and days due to a grenading of the emergency brakes on his F250, very similar to Richard's, maybe even the same year. Fortunately it appears the truck somehow picked up a metal backing plate from another cars disc brakes behind the dust cover of the front brake disc. I mean, this is a weird occurrence, but it could have been way worse, just not much weirder! So the next day he borrowed the trailer, and we went to get the truck. Which drove right up on the trailer, and right back off without a hitch. So now I just need to replace the front main seal and get that good old piece of junk back into operation. And I owe Richard big time for the rescue, but he assured me that was what friends are for. And the availability of the little tractor in our circle of friends around here, is going to be a good thing as well.

Man, are we happy out here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chores, Fresh Air, Green Acres is for ME.