Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

Started by glenn kangiser, January 30, 2005, 10:24:03 PM

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ben2go

Quote from: PEG688 on April 16, 2012, 01:04:53 AM
Well IF you do decide to make the scooter please , please don't feel you need to do it in the same form of dress!!  [shocked]    heh

I think that should read "same state of undress".  [waiting]

glenn kangiser

Gotta say PEG and Ben, I thought that was one of the coolest things of the whole deal .   :)

Gliding down the hill with my loincloth wildly flapping in the wind.....  d*
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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ben2go

 [rofl2]



Quote from: glenn kangiser on April 17, 2012, 01:00:27 AM
Gotta say PEG and Ben, I thought that was one of the coolest things of the whole deal .   :)

Gliding down the hill with my loincloth wildly flapping in the wind.....  d*


[scared]

PEG688

Quote from: glenn kangiser on April 17, 2012, 01:00:27 AM
Gotta say PEG and Ben, I thought that was one of the coolest things of the whole deal .   :)

Gliding down the hill with my loincloth wildly flapping in the wind.....  d*



Let's hope a camera wasn't involved!! :o
When in doubt , build it stout with something you know about .

glenn kangiser

Give me a little time to get one built and I'll get you a picture, PEG..... [scared]

Did you notice the ingenious design of that thing.....  the bottom piece of tire is a spring and shock absorber and the top one assists that along with centering the steering.  [idea]





Saw several good friends in Davis yesterday while waiitng for the truck to be repaired.  We were invited to stay overnight at both places - accepted dinner at one and had to promise to go to dinner at the other one next time we show up... (Chinese Pastor and his wife - family and friends).  We had already accepted dinner at the other friends. 

These people have been our guests on the trips taking International Students to Yosemite.  They wanted to return our hospitality.  :)

The Dodge truck dealer is honoring their warranty with no complaints - to the tune of about $2000 parts and labor.  They are one of the best dealers we have found and WE DO NOT usually trust dealers.  Yes - we will drive 2 1/2 hours one way to deal with them.  [ouch]  Gives us an opportunity to see our friends too.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Meanwhile back at the ranch... we have sorted out the egg eating chickens - down to 2 that are little chicken princesses never doing a bad thing - eggs are nice and clean and unbroken..... :)

Three, two of which have eaten their eggs and one which is highly suspect.  [waiting]

They are in the three separate 2x2x2 cages.

I decided designing boxes would be a good exercise with the sketching function of the Samsung Note so sketched it up roughly for a plan and material list.

All on one screen of the Note.  Could have used a finer pen line - easily done next time.

Sketched it out - changed it several times with the easy undo feature.

Reviewed it - shared it to Printershare directly from the menu of the drawing.  Optioned to fit to page on printer share.  Sent wirelessly direct to the printer for my working plan on full size paper rather than the 1/4 sheet original size.  Done and printed - no other computer involved.

Then I went back to share and sent it directly to Photobucket from there.  Picked up the IMG code in Photobucket and here it is for your viewing pleasure... My crappy drawing....    [ouch]




Just wanted to share a few more capabilities of this monster smart phone with you.... it doesn't even feel that big now.....actually it looks like other people are using ridiculously small little tiny phones....how silly.....   [cool]


I had a problem yesterday but not the phones fault... called ATT service but they did not know a lot about the GT N-7000 and one girl recommended I get their phone instead.  I told her I knew it would work from internet info.  She said that is the place to get help but mentioned that I would never get 4G unless I stopped into the ATT Store and get 4G sim cards. 

Sassy made a turn around and we went back to the ATT store where the manager there was more knowledgeable than the phone rep.  She was driving while I played with the phone and was trying to get things corrected before we went back to the mountain - no ATT store there.  He was surprised I knew so much about the phone and he was aware of the international version and what was possible.  Within a few minutes and a bit of testing and resetting on his part and the phones were both up and capable of 4G.

My problem was just that my battery saver program turned off the internet radio because I ran the battery down too low.  Found it when adding it to Sassy's phone - back up and running on 3G/4G.  Yea......  :)



"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Two pix uploading over wireless to Photobucket from the Note right now.  Before I get this update done they will be there and ready.  Lots of cool new things I can do easier with it.  No need to transfer the pix to my computer until I am ready to do them all - saves time. [ouch]

Got some of the garden area worked over with the Bobcat last night.  Easy to till the ground to over a foot deep if desired as well as add that nice composted Alpaca Poo and wood chips.



Finally getting to where it may not freeze the plants after I plant more.

Also, got more strawberries planted in the dragline bucket yesterday and they are really perked up and growing well this morning.  I thought they might get a bit of shock since I jambed them into the 1 1/2 inch holes in the bucket but - nope... looking good.  :)



"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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CoastalAlabama

Quote from: glenn kangiser on April 18, 2012, 12:57:02 AM
Give me a little time to get one built and I'll get you a picture, PEG..... [scared]

Did you notice the ingenious design of that thing.....  the bottom piece of tire is a spring and shock absorber and the top one assists that along with centering the steering.  [idea]




Goodness gracious.....hope he keeps that flying loincloth from getting caught in that wheel.   [shocked]  haha

LOVE your house, Glenn!  The staircase is to die for.....just beautiful.

--Michele

glenn kangiser

Thanks Michele and w* to the forum....

I hope he has it safely wrapped if it does get caught in that wheel.... time to hit the quick release, eh?   :)
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Got tired of filling the chicken waterers for the three bad chickens so let them out and made a batch of three nest boxes that may be a possible solution.  Sent from the Note and annotated on the Note before sending. 



I tried to make it a bit more readable this time.... [ouch]

I took a magic marker and marked the legs and comb of one of the good chickens that do not eat eggs.... and the other needed no marking....





Check out those spurs will you.... yup, I know which one she is...... [waiting]... 
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Just got back from dinner with some of our International Students and support friends.  :)



Kris came back this year.  Though I didn't go on the Yosemite hike today as I was trying to do things around here I did get to see him at the dinner.  He said he was looking for me.  He is from Nigeria and it was our pleasure to host him, Vu and Edgar at our house last year. 

You will remember them as the group who wanted to try a bit of shooting, so we got out the shotgun and made a few cans very Holy on Sunday.........   [ouch]

Here is Kris, Vu and Edgar on the video from last year.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnSsuA38r0A

"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Went to the Railroad Museum in Sacramento last Tuesday when we were up to Davis to get warranty work on the truck.  Truly an outstanding museum full of California and Railroad history.  [noidea'



If you ever get the chance I urge you to stop in and have a look.  $9 a person I think but well worth it.  Also old Sacramento where it is located is mostly free except for the trinkets and food you wish to purchase.



I got some wonderful history books and information on the Yosemite Valley Railroad that ran up to Yosemite until  August 25th, 1945 as I recall from my studies.  I want to learn more about the canyon history to share with our International students when they visit. 

I was fortunate enough to meet Duane Law, son of Jim Law who ran the operations on the Logging Incline at Incline, CA by Yosemite.  I will go back to see him and hopefully get an interview on the local history.  Duane grew up on the Incline and was a young man when it ceased operation. 

Old number 6 was one of the original engines on the line.





I was taking pictures of a historic sign and he was watching from his house on the hill.  I saw him stirring and in about 5 minutes he made his way down to the gate because he thought I might want to know more about the place.  Indeed I do.  :)
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Correction on the Shay #6 behind Sassy and Solange....

Shays were not actually used on the Yosemite Valley Railway.... #6 came from the Pickering Lumber company on the Hetch Hetchy Railroad out of Groveland about 40 miles away on the NW corner of Yosemite National Park.

Shays however did bring logs to the YVRR and were also owned by the Yosemite Lumber Company and Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company as it was named after 1934.  Shays were direct drive and very powerful but slow... a sort of tractor of engines - not fast enough for the long lines in my opinion.

I got this information from a comment regarding a couple of inaccuracies in another book and verified it from "Railroads of the Yosemite Valley" by Hank Johnston with James Law.  :) 

"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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Redoverfarm

Love the Shays.  A real workhorse here in the Mountain State.  We probably have the largest working display of the Shays on the East Coast just a few miles from the house.  Cass was developed in 1901 by th West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company.  Of the 3,000 miles of logging roads in WV there is only 11 miles left which operates the Shay engines today as a tourist attraction.  There is a railroad shop which actually could make a complete Shay engine from scratch with it's foundry and lathes.  They repair and keep the operating Shays running on a daily basis.  They have # 2,4,5,6,7 & 11 as well as a Climax 9 & Heisler 6.  I remember a few years back I had to escort a Shay in transit to Cass for restoration.   They had bought it and guess where it came from. Yep all the way from CA. 

The Shays in Cass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbsbcZKCWDY&feature=related

Here is a little history


http://www.cassrailroad.com/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Scenic_Railroad_State_Park

http://www.cassrailroad.com/locos.html

Glenn you would probably go crazy visiting the shop.  There are some earlier pictures of it here:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/photos-old-cass-railroad-shop-lathe-id-question-112277/

Here is a video of how they are operated now.  There are other video's in the margin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpRLevp4boM



rick91351

Quote from: glenn kangiser on April 25, 2012, 11:55:16 PM
Correction on the Shay #6 behind Sassy and Solange....

Shays were not actually used on the Yosemite Valley Railway.... #6 came from the Pickering Lumber company on the Hetch Hetchy Railroad out of Groveland about 40 miles away on the NW corner of Yosemite National Park.  snip......................


My research when you sent me that photo was what I found.  But my tools of steam logging railroads in California being somewhat limited.  There are a couple good Shay Locomotive site out there.  Well geared locomotive sights out there.

Quote from: glenn kangiser on April 25, 2012, 11:55:16 PM

snip ...................................
Shays however did bring logs to the YVRR and were also owned by the Yosemite Lumber Company and Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company as it was named after 1934.  Shays were direct drive and very powerful but slow... a sort of tractor of engines - not fast enough for the long lines in my opinion... snip


Very good observation,  those drive shafts going clear back through the tender and small wheels were only made for one thing that was power.

The UP 3985 the largest steam locomotive still running.  They were made for freight service.  It is a double articulated steam locomotive with 69 inch drivers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OgSNQOTw2U&feature=endscreen&NR=1   

Then there was the 800's.  Union Pacific Steam still runs one of those.  I have been all over that locomotive in the late 70's when it tied up at Nampa on several occasions for Specials.  I just loved it.  I even hostled it in to the Nampa Roundhouse for service.  Well I say I did, I was under the very apt instruction of the head of UP Locomotive Power at the time.  It was his love of these old locomotives that kept a hand full out of the scrap heap.    Notice the large wheels they are 80 inch drivers and she was build for speed and to literally haul the mail  A good example of a high wheeled locomotive is the UPRR 844.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8BXipiLfwA

It was made to pull passenger equipment.  It would run 80 to 90 miles an hour.  When I hired out some off the old engineers claimed  they had those 800's up to 100 or better across the deserts of Idaho like between Pocatello and Glenns Ferry and Glenns Ferry and Huntington.
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

glenn kangiser

Very cool stuff John and Rick. :)

The shays are really neat with the engines vertical on the side, John. Your scenery there looks very much like the scenery here in the oaks especially nearer to the conifer forests.  You guys are fortunate to have some preserved near you.  A single one of the shay engines look very much like my single steam engine.  It is about 7 feet tall - an 8x8 bore and stroke.  All those drive wheels pulling at once really would have a lot of power.   [cool]

We have one active about 40 miles from here - The Sugar Pine Railroad above Oakhurst..... A cool little tourist trap.

I was hoping these would catch your attention, Rick.  Nothing like hearing it from a real live engineer.  We watched all of the videos and read a bit of the history.  Those big engines could really go.  The new Diesels just don't have the character but probably much more efficient.

I also was misled by our local author until I saw the comment from the reviewer stating that the engine on the cover did not actually run on the YVRR... Cool to find out it was still near to local though. 

I do have another machine that was well known in the RR machine shops.  It is a shaper - a type of horizontal lathe that was used often on the steamers.  I will have it up here likely within about 3 months - may not set it up for a long time though. 

Lots of stuff coming up this summer.  More International Student visits... gardening, rock walls? fish pond? Permies coming to visit...trip to Asia to visit our friends in Myanmar and get to have a firsthand look at Myo's Giant Stationary Steam Engine running his rice mill.  Possibly Singapore? Maybe this year- maybe next year... who knows. The list goes on.  [ouch]

Going to visit some of our last years International Student family and son this weekend too.  What fun.  :)

"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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rick91351

#3566
Quote from: glenn kangiser on April 26, 2012, 11:10:34 PM
Very cool stuff John and Rick. :)

snip.........
I was hoping these would catch your attention, Rick.  Nothing like hearing it from a real live engineer.  We watched all of the videos and read a bit of the history.  Those big engines could really go.  The new Diesels just don't have the character but probably much more efficient.

snip......

True the diesel electrics do not have the character of steam.  As Frank Alvord head and guru of UP Motive Power back when I hired out.  He told the news media when visiting Boise with the UP844.  With a steam engine and diesel electric one is labor intensive the other not.  Steam when it breaks it takes five minutes to figure out what broke and a month to fix it using an army of people.  Diesel electric takes a month to figure out what went wrong and one person five minutes to fix it.  In the mean time you still get to use the diesel electric and track the failures until you get it really pin pointed.  There however there has been a change in diesel electric recently as big as steam to diesel.  That is they went from DC power to AC power and huge difference in pulling and shoving power plus the computerization.  However on a mountain grade it is still a good hoghead who runs by the seat of his pants.  15,000 ton train up a 2.3 percent grade or descending down the same especially in the winter time is the real mark of a railroader and how they handle the OH CRAPS.......             

One more interesting side note to my steam post.  These engineers and firemen are out of Cheyenne, Wy or they use to be anyway.  They work under the direction of a pilot who knows the road.  They know steam and steam power only because these two engines are housed in Cheyenne.  They of course do not know the road away from their own seniority district yet the go all over the system and even venture on to other railroads.  So they must have good communication skills.  Also if you note once they get up to speed how good the stack cleans out especially with the 844.  Very little smoke.  The railfans of course like to see smoke and steam billowing.  A good 'hoghead' (engineer) and fireman will get their machine trimmed up and looking pretty in short order.

When I was first around the UP 844 it was still using Bunker C for fuel.  I understand now the boiler has been converted to fuel oil and the super heaters in the boiler are wielded shut because it does not need to hit those 80s and 90 plus speeds.  They will run her up to seventy from what I understand.  Recently around April 15 or so the UP 844 was pulling a special out of Little Rock and broke down.  The excursion continued being pulled by Union Pacific's last of the Streamliners. EMD E9's one such is the UP 951.  I also had to hostle this locomotive when Clint Eastwood filmed Bronco Billy here in the Boise area.     

http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/graphics/special_trains/e9_gallery/010024h_hi.jpg



   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

glenn kangiser

I have an engine, Rick, from a mine quarry truck.  I don't think they can be used in California any more for pumping so I may be bringing it up here as we move stuff from the other place.  It is a Cummins KTA 2300. 

I noticed a locomotive with about the same size engine.  Mine is rated at 1280 horsepower.  I know it has 1 bad cam lobe so a bit less but it still rumbles like a locomotive engine when it starts.  Haven't ran it in about 15 years - may be froze up.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

I have been expanding the garden, adding from my copious supply of manure.....

...I mean from the manure I composted ...with wood chips......   :)

I finally got the weeds pulled and hoed... most of the weeds in the walkways were hoed down yesterday.... I guess that is where the hillbilly word, hoedown comes from.  It has an entirely different meaning in the city. [ouch]



Sassy wanted me to mention that I telephoto-ed this on My Samsung Note, so it looks short but is actually about 40 foot long rows.  Most of the blank spaces in the rows are caused by gophers eating the onions.  Caught two of them... one yesterday and one today.  It is war this year.  I will pursue them relentlessly.   >:(

Here is my helper ... a homemade 30" Broadfork that my mom told me about.  Thx Mom.  :)



Mine is 30 inches wide with 11 tines spaced 3" apart and goes 11 inches deep.  I used grade 60   1/2" dia rebar for toughness and ground the bumps off.  I have only bent one tine on a rock and reversed it to straighten it.  No big deal. 

Cost = depends on how you look at it.  Scrap rebar and channel flange to weld them to.  Pipe probably about $1.50 a foot now.  Welding wire  $5 +$12 materials plus an hour work and sheared the points on my Iron Worker.  Torch and grinder could do that too.

http://gullandforge.com/

Gulland forge makes a 17 1/2 inch wide one for $185 + $25 shipping.  It has 5 tines and goes 9 inches deep.



http://www.redpigtools.com/servlet/the-49/made-in-USA%2Cbroadfork-grelinette/Detail

Red Pig makes a 6 tine one for $250 plus $40 to $80 shipping.   [noidea'



Let's just say I am glad I know how to weld.   [waiting]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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Sassy

Seems to work really well to break up the ground & pull weeds/grass out of the garden.  I usually do the weeding & haven't had the luxury of using his broadfork - back breaking work!  He's gotten the feel of that lately, too, cuz I just wasn't able to weed all the gardens down in the lower terraces  :-\ 

Only trouble is...  the broadfork is so heavy I can barely lift it & I'm pretty strong  d*  Ah well, guess Glenn will have to do the weeding from now on  heh heh
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free


glenn kangiser

I estimate my broadfork weighs about 20 lbs....but I am tough so not a problem... helps it sink into the ground.  It will not go deep into our hard clay but as the soil gets amended with compost it goes full depth easily....unless it hits a rock.  [ouch]

Roots need air so one of the main things it does is loosen compacted soil and allow air into the ground up to that 10".  The plants really perk up after a good forking.  :)
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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rick91351

Me thinks I would perk up as well if I seen that contraption coming....... :o
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

glenn kangiser

rofl It's a big one, Rick.

Planted a row of potatoes after double digging it and adding chips and compost.  Double dug and planted the area on the mound by the water faucet on the terrace.  Two rows about 12 feet long  and a hugelKultur mound nearby.  Planted Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, cantaloupes.  Wet it all to start the plants growing good then wet the loose soil enough to show if another gopher rears his ugly head.... [waiting]

Just for good measure rototilled over the area I dug down with the Bobcat a few weeks ago.  That was the older hugel bed.  I also had previously added a few yards of compost on it.  Probably planting some Corn and maybe Amaranth there too. Time for some serious mountainside weed eating now.  [ouch]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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Bob S.

My Grand Dad had the neatest gopher trap.
It was made out of a short pipe mouted on a 2X6 about one foot long. It had a triger made out of a cap pistol. You put a12 gage shotgun shell in it.
You would just open the gopher mound and put it in the hole, worked every time.
We had a bean yard in Coburg, Or. and we had to control the gophers.

rick91351

Quote from: Bob S. on April 28, 2012, 04:03:43 PM
My Grand Dad had the neatest gopher trap.
It was made out of a short pipe mouted on a 2X6 about one foot long. It had a triger made out of a cap pistol. You put a12 gage shotgun shell in it.
You would just open the gopher mound and put it in the hole, worked every time.
We had a bean yard in Coburg, Or. and we had to control the gophers.

Well if it does not kill them it would sure deafen them...... [shocked]
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.