So , Mtn. D, ya git anythin done while youst was gone :-/ ;D Photo's ??
.....didn't just drink beah up there, and dream, did ya..? :)
I FOUND IT! (PEG's referred to topic....) :)
Drank beer, dreamed a lot, and carried on! Pictures will follow.
Great! Post them, please, as you can see we are all agog...
Shouldn't have said that Pete -- In a weird synapse malfunction, you have caused me to have to get up and get myself a grog. Sounds good right now. Don't mind if I do. :)
Okay, where do I start? :-/ I think I'll go have another ice cold Harp before getting along too far. :)
The first thing to get set up was our cast aluminum Chiminea, so we could have a nice safe campfire and drink beer while we did our dreaming.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1707.jpg)
We got the RV up the big hill after smoothing out the bumps with the neighbor's skidsteer. No pictures of that. :'( We parked the RV in the trees, unloaded the trailer and settled down in the NE quadrant.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1729.jpg)
The first order of buiness was to complete the cleanup of the deadfall and standing dead trees. Here I am hard at work with a borrowed old '85 3-wheeler Honda, pulling a tree considered too rotted for good firewood off to the designated burn area.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1736.jpg)
Here's the other half, Karen, doing her part... cleaning up all the small crap.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1794.jpg)
Here's DW (Karen) sitting by the fire waiting for her Mike's Hard Lemonade, after a hard day's travail.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1740.jpg)
The area behind the trailer was one of the areas in contention for a cabin building site...
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1748.jpg)
... this open area from a different viewpoint.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1751.jpg)
However, it slopes more to the south and lost out. I did prefer this site as it is closer to the solar PV site to the south. But it's only 75 feet, maybe a hundred feet of copper... :'( Still more ground cleanup to do there on the left (east). :(
....continued...
Nice very neat camp. PEG will be proud. He's so structured. :o :)
Not bad for a former Nob eh ;) And Mtn. D feel free to start your own titled thread , I just ahd seen you post and wanted to put you on the dime / spot :-[
Nice lookin land , looks plenty dry :o Fire must be a issue eh?
Oh BTW , Hey Glenn , Bite me , eh ;D ;D
Oh another BTW , thats a LOT of camp fire wood :o :o
When we'd left home I had been on a precription antibiotic, azithromycin, for a respiratory infection. I had to go back home for a re-visit as it was not getting better as fast as I thought I should. The doc determined it was a viral infection because the azithromycin I had been taking did nothing good at all. Gave me the runs. The doc gave me an Rx for albuterol inhalent to assist in clearing up the residual inflammation. That helped. We spent some time exploring in the Jeep and on the 3-wheeler instead of working all the time.
We drove a 12 mile rough road up to a Forest Service lookout and were invited up by the Ranger for a look around. There was a fair amount of haze in the air due to smoke from a couple prescribed burns, one as far away as 100+ miles. Didn't bother with any pictures. I discovered a shortcut "home" on an even bumpier trail only about 4 miles long.
In the middle of all this the RV furnace decided it had worked hard enough for 24 years and quit working. Bad bearings in the motor wouldn't let it blow hard enough to allow the gas valve to be opened. RV furnaces can be finicky things. I'll tell you more about their workings if asked. It gave me trouble a few years back too when the circuit board gave up.
There is still more cleanup work to be done on the east side and the south end...
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1754.jpg)
Here we're looking from the still to be cleaned up southeast back up towards the RV and one of the wood piles.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1756.jpg)
Looking up the west side to the north. These were taken on a wonderful overcast morning. I love this lighting as there are no harsh contrasting light sunny spots and hard dark shadows.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1765.jpg)
The south end, opening onto a meadow and future home of a PV solar array. We've already done some cleanup down here.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1761.jpg)
My one and only Oak tree, such as it is, all twisted... Surrounded by a whole bunch of little Oaks...
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1788.jpg)
The south end is also home to several new Doug Firs and old, dead and new Aspens...
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1783.jpg)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1784.jpg)
A final view of what we consider "home base". The 14x26 cabin will likely go into the area beside the RV, with the removal of a couple of trees.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/jemez%20mtn%20property/mini-IMG_1772.jpg)
QuoteNot bad for a former Nob eh ;) And Mtn. D feel free to start your own titled thread , I just had seen you post and wanted to put you on the dime / spot :-[
Nice lookin land , looks plenty dry :o Fire must be a issue eh?
Oh another BTW , thats a LOT of camp fire wood :o :o
I think I'll link this back to the "My 14 x 26 Plan" topic, and vice versa...
http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1166598189/40#40
Yes, it is dry. The Forest Service fire hazard rating went from Low to High over the space of a month. There was a small, 12 acre, lightning caused fire during the first week of June about 12 miles from us.
As for a LOT of firewood, you're right on that! And there's more to come. At least here, even after a rain, it's still easy to find dry wood to burn. :)
[edit]Now Glenn, I know you're thinking, "yes, that's a lot of wood, but how much? I need to know the numbers!" I don't have a clue Glenn, too much of it is in funny lengths, not yet brought into perfect order. :-[ However I can tell you that it would appear that so far I've used about 1.875 gallons of gas/oil mix... It was gas purchased last year and stored with Sta-Bil. So, the gas was approx $2.50 a gal then. I used a little more than 1 oz. of Sta-Bil, that's a cost of say $0.70 for 2 gallons. Add in the 2 stroke oil at 40:1 mix and that's $0.60. Then there's the chain/bar oil at $5 a gallon. Looks like I've used about 1.75 gallons, so that's another $8.75. Adding up the numbers for the fuel and additives we get 6.30 for 2 gal. Having used about 1.875 gal. of that would be $5.90. Adding in the chain/bar oil $8.75 we would have a total (so far) of $14.65.
But Glenn there is still a detail that worries me and that is the pro-rated cost of the chain itself. I don't know how long it will last. Can you help me there, Glenn. You are after all the Chain Saw Maven! :)[/edit]
Looks like some fantastic mountain views you have through the trees, Don. How high up is it? It looks like it is still cold, from the way you are both dressed....no shortage of firewood in the forseeable future, it seems.
Lots of firewood -- or cordwood rounds for walls --- pine is a good building material for cordwood walls, like the ones Andrew and family made.
(http://home-n-stead.com/about/blog_files/page1_blog_entry18_4.jpg)
Bite you PEG --- Sir, yes Sir. :)
QuoteLots of firewood -- or cordwood rounds for walls --- pine is a good building material for cordwood walls, like the ones Andrew and family made.
Sometimes when I looked at those stacked sections of wood they morphed into walls. I thought it was the beer.
Glenn, did you catch the 'edit" in my previous post? Important details there. You are up early again!
Pete, the elevation at the preferred cabin site is 8750 feet. Yes, it was cold at times. Most days would warm up to where we could work in shirtsleeves by the afternoon, especially if in a sunny spot. I don't know how cold it got overnight but in the AM, after the RV furnace crapped out it I saw a low inside temp of 53.4 degrees F. By 9 AM tho' it was warmer outside than inside. :)
Ahh -- the edit --- I missed it. :-/
We are still short numbers, Don. :-?
I am unable to help you with the chain life on the saw as you failed to provide the numbers for gallons of beer consumed (G) over (N) number of (D)days or (H) hours. Chain life is inversely proportional to the ratio of beer to days and really goes down if you have an entry in the beer to hours column.
Chains and pumice don't mix well.
Oh dear, how negligent of me.
Then there's also the cost/life ratio of the round chain saw file to be considered. The file holder itself is something like 27 years old so it can be left out of the equation. The file though was new, $3.96 plus tax of 6.875%, last fall. Filing can both be life extending as well as life shortening so that calculation gets to having too many variables. Have another beer.
A battery operated chain sharpener can speed up sharpening a bit but if overdone can shorten chain life too. Using the hand operated file technique can give you more time to consume the beer though. Then you probably won't be concerned with the numbers.
well there is the fact that if you are filing your saw yourself you are king of men...
Growing up...My great grandpa was a sawyer...and my grandpa was too part time... My dad worked in the forge as a kid...Welding bands and blades and sharpening... for his grandfather...
I was like 25 years old before I was trusted by grandpa and my father to even sharpen the damned chain saw.... or a hand saw.... if I went near the bandsaw blade it may have started a riot...
everyone has their best technique...For me it is get the saw somewhere comfy for filing..stable...
when at the shop I just put the chainsaw in the vise on the workbench... it is quick and easy when the saw is secured and you just roll the chain along use both hands on the file....You can get a damned good sharpen on the chain this way....
Not able to even come close to that kind of perfection in the woods...
btw
awesome piece of land....
I am not in love with pine trees...So I would be planting some cedar and oak, and thinning the pine whenever possible
How much land you got there Don...
My favorite part is sliding that extra inch or so with the file and putting that nice half round slice across my knuckle. Ouch. :-?
QuoteMy favorite part is sliding that extra inch or so with the file and putting that nice half round slice across my knuckle. Ouch. :-?
Time for the Country Plans community to take up a collection to buy Glenn a pair of leather work gloves. Good ones that can be worn while holding a beer.
Funny you should mention that -- I hardly ever wear gloves except when welding. I like pain. It feels so good when it stops hurting. :-/
For some reason I just like the direct contact on the material -- lack of slipping - firmer grip --- stupidity? I don't know.
No soft lilly white office worker hands for me. :)
Hey there neighbor. We have a little prop-itty south of you down by Datil, NM. Our current homestead pictures look a lot like yours. We are in the clearing/planning stages.
If you ever need a hand raising some rafters or something, let me know.. we'd love to help and learn something as we do.
-George
Glenn
I welded on the week-end...All day long with shorts no shirt and sandals without socks...
The wife dropped me off at the shop and took off with my work clothes before I could get em out of the trunk
It sucked! half a dozen hot pieces of slag burned into my feet between the toes... had to dig some of em out with the toe nail clippers that night
the beard kept my face half protected from the grinding sparks...
What was it...They used to look at your hands to see if you were honest or hardworking?
So I guess you are in like flinn Glenn... ;)
Well I know what you mean about cutting your hands...
Last week the hot water heater exploded on me... in the 3 foot crawl space under the house...
Went to Lowes.. got a new one brought er home... had to remove the access door and door frame to get said heater in under house (joy)
So I am down there in the dark... working off the light the propane torch lit provided...I had the mini pipe cutter and I am going around and round on the copper pipe...I gripped the pipe cutter too deep in the palm and went around and jammed the palm of my hand between index and middle finger between the pipe and cutter...Cut right through the callouses on my palm...Bled like a mother eff 'r.... Sort of like a paper cut deep in the palm
Basically no job is complete until you are bleeding and cursing
Then it is time for a beer
I've had enough major sunburns from welding to usually always wear at least a T shirt for short periods of welding - cotton only on all welding clothes.,, long sleeve cotton for a bit more or leathers for a lot of welding or heavy welding.
.... and not to mention pants. I always wear long pants. Too rough around here for less... and besides .... if I was to not be wearing them, who knows --- maybe the wife would pick them up and try to put them on. You know we couldn't have that. ;D
Chauvinist pig... Moi?? :-?
A contractor buddy of mine once said on a job site , " Shorts and sneakers are for women and kids , men wear pants and boots!" ;D ;D I'll second that thought ;)
Peg
I wear sandals....Not sneakers :P
It is too damned hot here in South Carolina for Workboots and pants...
Growing up in Canada I wore workboots almost year round with workpants from Marks work wearhouse (best clothing ever... all 100% made in Canada... I hate wearing asian clothing it is junk)
Side note... Hard to buy authentic 100% made in America clothing...I have tried a few times you know you see the with pride in the usa sticker on the box.... Well they meant that the box was made with pride in the usa...the boots came from Veitnam or Thailand or wherever
But yeah I miss the matching green work shirts and pants... Kind of like what you see down here... the Dickies...Only much better quality...Material was more comfortable also... And unlike clothing stitched in the third world....If you are a honest to goodness 32 leg buying off the rack a 32 leg fit you...or a 34 waist
the work pants you get at wal mart the Dickies... I can barely get their 34 pants pulled halfway up my thigh.... I need to get like a 40 waist in their pants...and then they are too long and need hemmed... Just pure junk!
They do not make anything like they used to.... Moving away from home means no wool socks either.... All of my life my grandmother knitted every pair of socks for me.... Getting married and moving away killed that... Hard tgo buy good socks that are not hand knitted in my opinion
I am making grandmother give my wife a sock knitting lesson later this summer :) Hoping for good things :-/
Maybe once we buy in Tennessee and sell the house in Lake City I can have the workshop I have been dreaming about for the last 10 years.... It will have ac for the summertime so I can wear whatever I like and stay comfy
BTW
-If you show up at the job site wearing shorts something is wrong...Unless you are delivering lunch! For the guys ;D
At my shop I can wear whatever I like....Those that think it less than adequate are free to comment across the street off the property ;)
I'm with PEG, Peter. Boots keep the rattle snakes from biting the lower leg and foot also.
I looked at Dickies but their clothes are mostly polyester blend. Hot plastic when welding sticks to flesh. 100% cotton doesn't. Also the sweat it holds tends to slow the burning sparks down a bit.
Glenn I agree the dickies line are junk...I was using them as a reference because I saw them in the store... Seem popular line of work clothing.
Glenn you know you love polyester.. remember way back to swinging disco clubbing coke sniffing times... with the plaid polyester the dark glasses and the curly hair... I mean you were young in the 70's dude
Oh yeah!
I could not have lived with the disco idiots..Glad I missed the 70's I cannot even tolerate disco music...
I may have slid into the poly a time or two but never wasted my time on drugs. Had a few beers and drinks - but didn't need any of it for keeps. :-/
..the '70's ? I Will Survive..? I Did...just.
Mama Mia!...and all the other Abba hits ( did you catch Abba up there?- I use catch as in a dose of the flu..) I had a purple crimpolene suit ..( what happened to that?), flares, ( no drugs, of course..they affect your memory- and speling..er, spelling) wide collars, fat ties, ...the Eagles on the sound system, the Blues Brothers on the video ( what happened to that suit?..it was like something out of SHAFT- or a BG's film clip), Elton John, Rod Stewart ( no drugs, of course, they affect your..), Bete Midler, the Stones ( ..no drugs..they..err..) Cheech and Chong ( no ..what? ) and, err..... :o
...really, if I just keep telling myself it's a small font combined with a laptop screen, it's far more comforting...
..no whaaaat?
Had all those along with the Bee Gees, Pete.
it is funny.. because even as a child I turned off the radio when that crap came on... my wife is amazed that I do not know the names of 3 bee gee songs ditto for abba.....
no no no no!
I have never seen the movie saturday night fever! It was coming on the TV once and my wife said there was some good disco music in that movie...I went outside to watch the grass grow:-?
seriously dunno how you guys wore poly... it sucks! uncomfy itchy nasty
It must have had something to do with the drugs guys
Glen cannot picture you in the polyester suit man.....hehe... nice image
I can say the same about my generation...
Never bought into the grunge thing...It has never been cool to avoid shampoo with me... Wearing stocking hats outside in the heat..... Dumb pulling up the underwear while your pants that are 5 sizes too big fall down.... Dumb
I even see kids getting tattooes on their faces and necks like mexican gang members...
What in the hell are these kids thinking? ten years ago the japanese/chinese symbol thing was popular... which made me laugh... Do you think that in China they are getting tattooes with our alphabet on them? or taking a map and using the keys on it to start a new tattooe trend...
ooh ooh I want the symbol for a campground on my forehead ::)
How about some great Cocker -- Woodstock 69 - http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=lpnnrhwg1x
great stuff there glenn
too bad that the good times were about to end and by 73 disco had taken over.
Quotebtw
How much land you got there Don...
I'm back for a wee bit....
One and a half acres; option on 4.5 or portion thereof.
QuoteI welded on the week-end...All day long with shorts no shirt and sandals without socks...
Electric arc? How's the sunburn?
No...Just Mig welding...I hate electric arc welding...I only do it when I have no other choice...if I can mig...I mig
Hep, I like my Millermatic 180, but outdoors when the winds blowing ya can't beat a stick welder like the nearly antique Lincoln I have.
I welded today -- Innershield NR232 at about 250 amps and 150 inches a minute - .068. Lets see you do that in shorts and sandals, Peter. :) About an hour should have you well done. ;D
Welcome back for a bit, Don-- we were having our way with your thread. :-/
QuoteI welded today -- Innershield NR232 at about 250 amps and 150 inches a minute - .068. Lets see you do that in shorts and sandals, Peter. :) About an hour should have you well done. ;D
Welcome back for a bit, Don-- we were having our way with your thread. :-/
A nice lobster red would be about right; and it hurts just as much as a sunshine burn. A long time ago I spent a few hours welding up a trailer in short sleeves, no gloves and wondered how I got sunburned inside the garage.
I now have a leather bib apron for longer jobs or when I don't have my already dot-burned jeans on. Also found that an old leather jacket with the linings all removed makes for good upper body protection especially if you're laying under the thing that you're welding. :o
As long as you respect my thread you can do with it whatever you desire. ;D
Promise, I'll still respect it in the morning, although it must pardon me if I don't say hello when I pass it on the street. :-/
Welding supply shops carry nice leather jackets for around $40 - and fire resistant cloth for less. Fred was covered pretty good today but took a hot one on the top of the head and didn't have a sweaty welding cap on to put the fire out. A few choice swear words seem to help though. Welding 25 feet in the air - 12" column and 12" dia pipe bracing in a dairy milk drier warehouse.
On top of the head would smart, especially with a pate like mine, unless I was wearing an iron helmet.
QuoteI welded today -- Innershield NR232
I'm lazy. :-[ I'd rather not change the wire. I usually opt for the stick if outdoors. Usually I try to get whatever it is into the garage. :)
We have smaller welders and do what we can in the shop too. On the jobs we use the big stuff. Innershield is flux cored so is not affected by the wind - no shielding gas.
Yes I have a big pair of long leather welding gloves...And even a auto tint shield which I do not like....Got used to the old welding helmet where you open the window....Get the stick lined up perfectly and close the window as you start welding....Did that for years until I broke my helmet... Thought I would upgrade to the auto tint...I dislike it very much....So much for technology :-/
I am not a great welder...Still gives me fits sometimes to be completely overhead......If it is something like exhaust on a car hoist I am okay...It is the welding a trailer hitch on a car that is only jacked up 2 feet and you are lying on your back in the driveway struggling type of overhead that kills me.
I only have 2 welders... a 25 year old lincoln electric and the little mig a 140
Guess that makes me a pretender... which is okay I hate to weld...I mush prefer someone else who is better weld for me... Used to have a guy hanging around..I would design something draw it up cut the steel and fit it and he would weld it..He could weld drunk and blindfolded and it looked better than my welding...
QuoteAnd even a auto tint shield which I do not like....
I love my auto-shade glass. solar powered, it's never failed in years. Mine has a shade adjustment that is nice for when welding at lower amps. Different strokes for diff' folks, I guess :-/
Upside down welding is difficult.
Love the auto shades myself. The best part about a good welding cap, is that it keeps the little buggers out of your ears! Nothing worse than a stray spark (from grinding too) going in there. Ok, maybe some things are worse, like the eye. I spent about 6 hours one day welding a new floor into the bed of a dump truck. 4x8' 1/4" sheets, all day long, 95 deg out or so, couldn't pull it into the shop either. I know my boss was glad he wasn't the young guy in the shop anymore!
hot sparks suck no matter where they burn you...Eye damage is not cool though...
it has been 95 degrees here pretty much everyday....Well I think it only got to 94 today.. was pretty cool.. been in the high nineties for a long time now...
I will get used to the auto tint helmet....And when I do I will probably prefer it....Years of the flip down glass has me missing that style helmet
I get to spend all week-end sandblasting a 70 dart I am restoring to sell at the Carlisle mopar swap meet July 11...Just bought it this week...Going to pull the engine blast it paint it rebuild the motor and fix the interior so I can sell it for some decent money
as much as I hate to weld....I hate sandblasting even more :(