Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT A new lease on life: 30x40 schoolhouse conversion

[jblnut]

isnt a face cord just half a cord??

1/3 of a cord by volume.

 

[bunks-tj]

1/3 of a cord by volume.

seems like an odd way to measure. "i just put 12, 1/3 gallons of gas in my mower."

 

[jollygreengiant]

Maybe you already know this but thought I would throw it out there.

I was doing some research on a ih 574 today and ran across a thread that made me think of your issue with your old tractor. Alot of people were saying they were hard starting under 50° and needed plugged in or ether to start. One of the posters said he never had a issue even in the winter by using the cold start position on the kill cable. He said to pull the kill cable out half way and this was the cold start position.

I saw your compression check and agree it probably needs a head gasket but didn't know if you knew about the cold start procedure.

I use a friend's 2025 at the lake now and then. He doesn't have the tires loaded or any weights on it. I've had it on two or three wheels more times than I can count. I was pulling water logged dock floats out of the lake last month. Could get them part way up on shore with the loader then had to turn around and pull them the rest of the way out. If I end up with one I will definitely weight it and shim the pump. They are pretty handy.

Yep, that start position on the injection pump makes a big difference. I didn't know about that when I first got it, man was it hard to start in the winter without that lol.

I probably do need some weight on it. I was pulling out some T-posts with the loader the other day and was getting the one rear wheel off the ground on some of them.

seems like an odd way to measure. "i just put 12, 1/3 gallons of gas in my mower."

It actually makes sense when you picture a full cord vs face cord. Both are a stack of wood 4' high and 8' wide, but a full (bush) cord is 4' deep vs a face cord at only 16" deep. Firewood is normally split in 16" lengths, so that full cord has three rows of wood in it to get to 4' deep. Hence if you take out 2 rows and only look at one row you get the face cord, which is 1/3 the volume of a full cord.

 

[xtremek]

A face cord is exactly how it sounds, just 4' tall by 8' long. The depth is USUALLY 16" but varies on how big your stove is since you'll cut the logs to the optimal length for it. My parents' first stove was a big Franklin and held a 24" log, so that's what we cut everything to.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Here's some random pics from this summer:



I'm not a big Bronco guy, but this one really caught my eye. Is this a factory setup?



Built a playset kit for the kiddos.



Had my helper with me while I was on the road for work. Took a brief detour to check out this old bridge, and of course we had to go down to the water.



Trying to get anything done outside this summer was miserable. Plenty of days with humidex values in the 40 to 45 degree C range.



Had a flashback to my childhood with this one. I spent a lot of hours riding on the fenderwell of a White field boss tractor.



Got some storm felled maple from a farmer friend of mine. Ended up with two loads like this. Hopefully in the next couple years I'll have a bigger trailer so that I could have done it in one load.



Got away with the family for a few days vacation. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, the wildfire smoke was really bad, so this was the one and only day we were able to get out on the river. This is the Ottawa river.



The garden has been a really mixed bag this year because of the hot and dry weather. Tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, apples, brassicas, garlic, peas, potatoes, and winter squash haven't been very good; while the sweet corn, peppers, beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, and summer squash have been better than last year. Likely going to pull the plug on it pretty soon, I just don't have enough time to try and get some fall harvests out of it. That and I'm a bit fatigued with it after this summer. Thinking I'll just get it ready for next year and move on.

 

[Prospecter]

Nice update. Nice garden produce. Summers like this one in the garden always remind me I am grateful I don't make my living from seeds I put in the ground.

 

[burger]

Our garden yield wasn't very good this year. The weather was a yo-yo between extremes. You may have done better than us in just that picture! I recall you're a ginger so it looks like your daughters are as well!

 

[xtremek]

Looks like you had a fun summer.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Nice update. Nice garden produce. Summers like this one in the garden always remind me I am grateful I don't make my living from seeds I put in the ground.

Yep me too this year. Yields on crops are down due to the drought, and prices are down while expenses are still up. It won't be a very good year for crops.

Our garden yield wasn't very good this year. The weather was a yo-yo between extremes. You may have done better than us in just that picture! I recall you're a ginger so it looks like your daughters are as well!

That was probably one of our best harvest pics lol. The sweet corn and peppers declined after that. It was just too hot and dry, I couldn't keep up with just watering them.

Looks like you had a fun summer.

All things considered it wasn't too bad. Certainly went by pretty fast though.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I've been running around like crazy lately trying to get everything done that needs done before the snow flies. They are talking about our first snowfall next weekend, so it's coming soon.

Got the garden put to bed.



Put the snow tires on the wife's car. Looks like I need to keep my eyes open for a new set of summer tires. These ones are getting worn and starting to show a bit of cracking.



I also winterized the water pump, pressure washer, tiller, mower, and water line to the garden. No pics of that though.

I've also been working away at the maintenance on the 2025r. I'm changing all the fluids; what's in there now looks fairly new but I don't like running a machine without knowing what's in it. Im also glad I'm doing this as I don't think the previous owners were that great at maintenance. This is the pickup screen in the transmission, with a whole lot of metal on it. I'm not too worried about it though. From what I've read, these tractors usually have quite a bit of metal on the screens in the first 100 hours, and then not much after. I think that's what I'm seeing here, since when I took the screen out I broke the original paint seal on the bolt and flange. That's what I'm hoping anyways.



So far I've changed the engine and hydraulic/transmission oil, air, and fuel filters, and greased it. Still need to change the front axle fluid and the coolant. I also have a leaking hydraulic coupler and a leak at the primary fuel filter that I need to look at.

Also been working away at getting lights on it so I can see what I'm doing while blowing snow.





Also still working away at the house. I've been pushing to get the mudroom to a usable state before winter, and started working on getting the basement insulated.

 

[Ford52PU]

You’re a busy guy. Yikes first snow storm scheduled already that’s crazy.
Nice looking tractor. Good luck with winter

 

[xtremek]

You, Strouty, me, and the rest of us northerns are rushing to get prepped for the white stuff. Good luck getting ready.

 

[jollygreengiant]

You’re a busy guy. Yikes first snow storm scheduled already that’s crazy.
Nice looking tractor. Good luck with winter

Thanks! This stuff likely won't stick around as it's pretty warm during the day yet, but I could be wrong. I was last year.

You, Strouty, me, and the rest of us northerns are rushing to get prepped for the white stuff. Good luck getting ready.

You too Kirk. Hopefully you have more time to prepare than I do. They are calling for lake effect snow here from Sunday through Tuesday. I really hope it's not like last year; that first lake effect storm was a really miserable sucker as the lakes were still really warm to fuel it. That's the one that dropped 18" on me, and 3' on others about 10 minutes from here. I really hope we don't see that again as I've heard that a lot of people have had their snow load coverage dropped by their insurance after that storm.

I picked up the new blower and got it hooked up, now I just need to get the PTO shaft installed and it will be good to go.

 

[captain14]

Just to keep up with you northern guys, I’m thinking about bring my snow shovel into the basement from the shed sometime this month while I have the mower out mulching leaves.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Just to keep up with you northern guys, I’m thinking about bring my snow shovel into the basement from the shed sometime this month while I have the mower out mulching leaves.

 

[Prospecter]

Thanks! This stuff likely won't stick around as it's pretty warm during the day yet, but I could be wrong. I was last year.



You too Kirk. Hopefully you have more time to prepare than I do. They are calling for lake effect snow here from Sunday through Tuesday. I really hope it's not like last year; that first lake effect storm was a really miserable sucker as the lakes were still really warm to fuel it. That's the one that dropped 18" on me, and 3' on others about 10 minutes from here. I really hope we don't see that again as I've heard that a lot of people have had their snow load coverage dropped by their insurance after that storm.

I picked up the new blower and got it hooked up, now I just need to get the PTO shaft installed and it will be good to go.

I have that same snowblower but in red. Really like it. Make sure you have spare shear bolts on hand. I just use regular (NOT grade 5 or grade 8) bolts. Much less expensive and work fine.

 

[xtremek]

We're supposed to get snow Sunday. Not even close to being ready. Way too much to do. Call me Strouty Jr.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I have that same snowblower but in red. Really like it. Make sure you have spare shear bolts on hand. I just use regular (NOT grade 5 or grade 8) bolts. Much less expensive and work fine.

Are those shear bolts for the PTO or somewhere on the blower? I haven't gone over the blower yet so not sure if it has shear pins in addition to what's on the PTO.

 

[Prospecter]

I have 3 shear bolts. One on the PTO at the tractor end with a sort of offset plate arrangement, one on the blower end that goes directly through a hole in the shaft, and a third somewhere on the blower that broke once a long time ago so I don't remember exactly. The one on the blower end of the shaft is the most common one to break, followed by the one at the tractor end.

 

[Jacko264]

I have just read most of your posts and enjoy all you have done from start to now
thank you and please keep posting + photos
Graham

 

[dmittz]

I just got caught up on your thread and wanted to say congrats on the tractor! I'm sure its going to be a fantastic help to you around the property.
These newer John deere compact tractors are really fantastic.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I have just read most of your posts and enjoy all you have done from start to now
thank you and please keep posting + photos
Graham

Thanks for the kind words!

I just got caught up on your thread and wanted to say congrats on the tractor! I'm sure its going to be a fantastic help to you around the property.
These newer John deere compact tractors are really fantastic.

Thanks! Yes it's been so much more useful than the other one was. I think I'm up to 10 hours on it now already, which is a lot more than I would have used the old one.

The tractor itself has been pretty good. I have a couple minor annoyances with it, but most of my annoyances are with the dealer. I'll elaborate more on that later.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I don't think I'm very different than most of you guys here on GJ in that I like to get new tools. But this is the second time that they are coming from a family member who will no longer be able to use them, and I'd really like for that to stop.

This has been in the works for a while, and I'm glad to finally have everything here. All of these tools, plus a lot of hand tools and hardware, came from my grandfather's place. His health has been deteriorating recently and he was finally admitted to a long term care home this year, so his estate is being cleaned out. They had all of the grandkids come through and take or speak for anything we'd like. There was a few things I really wanted that I didn't get, but I'm glad to have got what I did. Some of these tools will fill a really big hole in my woodworking equipment lineup.



Most of the woodworking tools were bought by my grandfather in 2008/2009 but were hardly used. Some, like this forstner bit set, hadn't been used and where still in their original packaging.



The new tractor again came in handy. This turned a difficult two person job into an easy single person job.



Now the hard part, figuring out where to put them in the shop. I really need to get a dedicated workspace setup for woodworking, but that area is currently occupied by the Avalanche.

I also need to do some fixing. This is a MS170 chainsaw that I also got from the estate. You can't tell in the picture, but it looks like in one of my grandfather's less lucid moments he put bar oil in the gas tank, and gas in the bar oil tank, and tried to run it. Hopefully that's not a difficult repair.



Oh, and it snowed yesterday.

 

[legenddc]

I'm sorry to hear how you acquired the tools, but those certainly get you up and running on the woodworking side. Just need a table saw and a planer. Now I get your question around cutting boards in the woodworking sub-forum. I measured one I made over lunch and it's just under 3/4" thick and 10"x17". Been using it for two years without any issues.

 

[Prospecter]

I don't think I'm very different than most of you guys here on GJ in that I like to get new tools. But this is the second time that they are coming from a family member who will no longer be able to use them, and I'd really like for that to stop.

This has been in the works for a while, and I'm glad to finally have everything here. All of these tools, plus a lot of hand tools and hardware, came from my grandfather's place. His health has been deteriorating recently and he was finally admitted to a long term care home this year, so his estate is being cleaned out. They had all of the grandkids come through and take or speak for anything we'd like. There was a few things I really wanted that I didn't get, but I'm glad to have got what I did. Some of these tools will fill a really big hole in my woodworking equipment lineup.



Most of the woodworking tools were bought by my grandfather in 2008/2009 but were hardly used. Some, like this forstner bit set, hadn't been used and where still in their original packaging.



The new tractor again came in handy. This turned a difficult two person job into an easy single person job.



Now the hard part, figuring out where to put them in the shop. I really need to get a dedicated workspace setup for woodworking, but that area is currently occupied by the Avalanche.

I also need to do some fixing. This is a MS170 chainsaw that I also got from the estate. You can't tell in the picture, but it looks like in one of my grandfather's less lucid moments he put bar oil in the gas tank, and gas in the bar oil tank, and tried to run it. Hopefully that's not a difficult repair.



Oh, and it snowed yesterday.

Chainsaw is an easy fix. Drain as much as you can. Fresh oil and gas mix. A few extra pulls and some extra smoke, and you’ll be good to go.

 

[AC-WC]

I don't think I'm very different than most of you guys here on GJ in that I like to get new tools. But this is the second time that they are coming from a family member who will no longer be able to use them, and I'd really like for that to stop.

This has been in the works for a while, and I'm glad to finally have everything here. All of these tools, plus a lot of hand tools and hardware, came from my grandfather's place. His health has been deteriorating recently and he was finally admitted to a long term care home this year, so his estate is being cleaned out. They had all of the grandkids come through and take or speak for anything we'd like. There was a few things I really wanted that I didn't get, but I'm glad to have got what I did. Some of these tools will fill a really big hole in my woodworking equipment lineup.



Most of the woodworking tools were bought by my grandfather in 2008/2009 but were hardly used. Some, like this forstner bit set, hadn't been used and where still in their original packaging.



The new tractor again came in handy. This turned a difficult two person job into an easy single person job.



Now the hard part, figuring out where to put them in the shop. I really need to get a dedicated workspace setup for woodworking, but that area is currently occupied by the Avalanche.

I also need to do some fixing. This is a MS170 chainsaw that I also got from the estate. You can't tell in the picture, but it looks like in one of my grandfather's less lucid moments he put bar oil in the gas tank, and gas in the bar oil tank, and tried to run it. Hopefully that's not a difficult repair.



Oh, and it snowed yesterday.

Yes it's sad on how some items get acquired but...as long as they know you will take care of them it's much better than getting tossed or given away just to clear out. I have a lot of my uncles work tools and confident he would be glad they're being used to help out at mom's house.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I'm sorry to hear how you acquired the tools, but those certainly get you up and running on the woodworking side. Just need a table saw and a planer. Now I get your question around cutting boards in the woodworking sub-forum. I measured one I made over lunch and it's just under 3/4" thick and 10"x17". Been using it for two years without any issues.

I actually already have a table saw and a planer. Not fancy ones mind you, just a lunchbox Mastercraft planer and a jobsite sized Delta table saw, but they are doing the job so far.

Chainsaw is an easy fix. Drain as much as you can. Fresh oil and gas mix. A few extra pulls and some extra smoke, and you’ll be good to go.

Oh really? I assumed a carb cleaning and purging the lines was in my future. That's good to hear.

Yes it's sad on how some items get acquired but...as long as they know you will take care of them it's much better than getting tossed or given away just to clear out. I have a lot of my uncles work tools and confident he would be glad they're being used to help out at mom's house.

That's my thoughts too. I know that's the case with my dad's tools, and I think about him often when I use them or look at them.

 

[xtremek]

We got some of the dreaded white stuff here yesterday and last night as well.

 

[Prospecter]

Oh really? I assumed a carb cleaning and purging the lines was in my future. That's good to hear.

I did the bar oil / gas tank thing on my Stihl (once). It was a pretty easy recovery.

 

[MWitte]

I will agree with you about acquiring tools like that, but it is a nice way to keep the memories alive. Some of the tools in my shop will forever be Uncle Bob's lathe, Uncle Marvin's level, Dad's ladder, etc.

 

[xtremek]

Every time I pick up the Snap-On ratchet, I think of Grandpa Lambert. Ok, now I'm feeling very melancholy.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I will agree with you about acquiring tools like that, but it is a nice way to keep the memories alive. Some of the tools in my shop will forever be Uncle Bob's lathe, Uncle Marvin's level, Dad's ladder, etc.

Every time I pick up the Snap-On ratchet, I think of Grandpa Lambert. Ok, now I'm feeling very melancholy.

I get the same way with my Dad's tools. It will certainly keep the memories alive. Hopefully I can pass them on to my kids when that time comes.

We got some of the dreaded white stuff here yesterday and last night as well.

We missed the main streamer off the lake and only got 4-6". Some poor souls that were right under it ended up getting 16-24" in 24 hours.

Probably could have left it, but it was going to warm up and melt and I didn't want to deal with that much slush in the driveway. Plus it gave me a chance to try out the new snow removal setup.

 

[zanyad]

Plus it gave me a chance to try out the new snow removal setup.

What's the verdict?

 

[dmittz]

I hear you about the tools from family members I have quite a few in my shop for my grandfather. I'm quite confident he'd be very happy to see me still using some of his tools.

 

[madison069]

Those type of tools from family members that passed or can’t use them are sometimes nice but depressing. But at least they are going to be used again.

Keep the white stuff in your backyard, they calling for some mix frozen stuff tomorrow.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I finally got the eyesore that was the old woodpile cleaned up. That section of the property looks a lot better now. I still need to do some landscaping around the propane tank, and the whole yard needs a topcoat of gravel. But that's a problem for next spring.



Also got this job done. Still need to put it back on the mower and run some fuel stabilizer through it but things are getting done.



Also got my strobe light moved over to the new tractor and all wired up. I will say this was a much easier job on the old tractor. Everything is placed so tightly together on this new one that it's hard to get my hands into places to run wires.



This tractor has had a slow fuel leak since I got it. Not enough to make a big puddle on the floor but everything around the filter and injection pump was wet. But it's enough that the tractor will stutter when you start it after it's been sitting a while, which isn't great especially for cold starting. I had a chance to look things over and found where the throttle cable was tight against the fuel line and had worn a hole in it.



I got that fixed, and the area around the filter and pump seems to be drying out but it's still stuttering on startup. So it's not fixed yet.

On another note, I took a day off from all the projects around here and went to a local-ish wood show. It's been months since I deliberately didn't work on projects around here and took time for myself, and while I was apprehensive about doing that it also felt good to have a bit of a break. The woodshow itself was a bit of a let down, it was pretty small compared to the last time I went a few years ago. But the main thing I was hoping to do, was to come home with some more exotic materials for projects. And by exotic I mean something other than SPF dimensional lumber lol. These pieces should do the trick.

 

[jollygreengiant]

What's the verdict?

It worked pretty good. This was some wet heavy stuff, and I only did part of the driveway since it was going to melt soon, but I liked it. The hydro transmission is a lot nicer; if I get into a heavier spot I simply ease up on the pedal and let it chew through it.

I hear you about the tools from family members I have quite a few in my shop for my grandfather. I'm quite confident he'd be very happy to see me still using some of his tools.

I'm confident both my Dad and my Grandfather would be as well. That's at least the one good thing about it, knowing they didn't get sold off.

Those type of tools from family members that passed or can’t use them are sometimes nice but depressing. But at least they are going to be used again.

Keep the white stuff in your backyard, they calling for some mix frozen stuff tomorrow.

It's funny, we had that first dump of snow and then it all melted after a few days. Now we have another few inches on the ground, but it's supposed to melt too. We seem to be in a roller-coaster pattern of heavy snowsqualls and then warm weather.

I'm not looking forward to when it gets colder and the lake effect gets really fired up.

 

[burger]

That's some nice looking wood, especially the spalted maple! What do you plan to build?

 

[Ford52PU]

My father died when I was 15. I still have a lot of his tools and always felt he was helping me when I use them. 53 years he’s been beside as I use them at least I hope so.

 

[xtremek]

It's funny, we had that first dump of snow and then it all melted after a few days. Now we have another few inches on the ground, but it's supposed to melt too. We seem to be in a roller-coaster pattern of heavy snowsqualls and then warm weather.

I'm not looking forward to when it gets colder and the lake effect gets really fired up.

SOP now a days. What are you going to do with the wood?