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Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT A trip back from the edge.

Workspaces between 705 and 1200 squarefeet.
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
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11,603
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St. Johns, Mi
Last weekend was a stupid weekend. I spent a good part of Saturday running errands, and most of them were fruitless. Oh well. I can’t get to the big mower, so the lawn hasn’t been cut until this weekend. The grass is/was over a foot high. Robin started cutting with her mower. Sunday morning I started a “quick” project, adding height to the garden cart, before heading off to church. For church today, we spread mulch at the local park. Got home from church and finished the sides of the cart. The sides were left over tin from a display my dad pulled from a store remodel, and they required removal of the stiffening ribs. Now it’ll have reasonable capacity for lawn clippings.side extension 2.jpg
side extension 1.jpg
side extension 3.jpg
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
Messages
11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
Been swamped lately. We’ve had the last dance recital, last orchestra concert, and the last open house is this weekend. We went over to Mom & Dad’s, so Robin could spray weed killer. While she was spraying, one of the front wheelson the sprayer busted out a hub. Mom had a similar trailer, so we stole one off of hers. Then the other side broke, so we stole the heavier ones off the front of Mom’s. While she was spraying, I changed the plugs in the pick-up truck. It was weird, all of the plugs on the left side had the corroded/missing, the right side looked worn, but normal.Last Orchestra Concert.jpgbusted wheel.jpgroached plugs.jpg
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
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11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
Next up was to try to straighten the frame/deck on the gooseneck trailer. I got the deck straight, and the frame is as close as I can get it. Once the crop is planted, I plan on cutting out boxing plates for the inside of the frame, plus many other updates (beaver tail, battery storage, chain/binder storage….). I’m in the process installing a winch so we can use the trailer to get the grain drill over to Mom & Dad’s for planting this weekend.frame straightening 1.jpgframe straightening 3.jpg
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
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11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
Yaa-hooo. I’ve been salivating, waiting months for this, and it finally came yesterday. I love that Engaged Media ios publishing this. I’d love to make the ’52 electric, but I don’t think I could get the range we need. And shame on GM for not having a horse in this race. I’ve been waiting at least 3 years since they first said they were going to having something for public consumption. And the same for Lingenfelter, they ****!!!!!

EV Mag.jpg
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
Messages
11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
jollygreengiant said:
Man you certainly got your money's worth out of those spark plugs lol.

I know EV tech is getting more affordable but is a complete swap into an older vehicle still serious $$$$?
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The funny thing was it was running smooth on those plugs up to the week before I changed them. I don't know when Dad had them changed, so I had assumed it was either at the 200,000 or 210,000 mark. Seeing as the truck has around 228,000 miles on it, I guess it was long before that.

To be honest, that's part of why I ordered the magazine. I doubt the US infrastructure will make it a feasible choice for the '52, but I love the idea of instant HUGE torque. The cover truck certainly isn't affordable. I think I read it's price tag is over $225k, but it does come from a top end Bronco shop.
 
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harley jim

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Dec 6, 2013
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11,401
Location
Cleveland Tn..........out in the sticks
I have seen a bunch of what people are calling Tesla conversions, I haven't had a chance to research them yet but I would love to do an ev swap on an old piece of iron. The torque on an ev is instantaneous. A buddy of mine did a homemade conversion on a Brat pickup using electric lift truck parts, it is really fast.
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
Messages
11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
Strouty said:
I was going to say that I run a couple EVs, they do all the heavy lifting.....

The '52 would be cool as an EV, but it may be better to use the oldest all mechanical diesel you can, then when the zombie apocalypse hits, you can run it off waste oil and biodegrading zombie juice.
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Do you have to worry about algea in your fuel tanks when using zombie juice?

In getting ready to plant the hemp this past weekend, I’ve been working on getting a winch installed on the gooseneck (so I could load the planter on it). I tried to resurrect this old Warn winch, but the parts were more than a new Badlands. Then I pulled a Strouty, instead of spending the $40 for a winch plate, I decided to make my own. Looking back, I would have been money ahead to buy their plate. Next, I need to rotate the jack 90*, then make a compartment to house the battery, chain binders, and chains.winch 1.jpgwinch 6.jpgwinch 7.jpg
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
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11,603
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St. Johns, Mi
harley jim said:
Planting season, fun times.
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Heavy, wet clay, not fun. The front end of the tractor saw sky when trying to cut through it on the uphill runs. I hope I can finish plowing, and disc it tonight. That'll allow the smart lady to plant tomorrow. THen she come back here and we'll do the neighbor's and our place later this week. I'm beat.
mybigwarwagon said:
I had a lot of trouble out of that winch. I switched to the new apex and it has been better. Although you won't be using yours as much as I do, so it might last forever.
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What kind of issues did you have? And you're right, I doubt I'll use it more in a year, than you do in a week.
 
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mybigwarwagon

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Nov 4, 2009
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4,428
Location
Vale, Nc
xtremek said:
Heavy, wet clay, not fun. The front end of the tractor saw sky when trying to cut through it on the uphill runs. I hope I can finish plowing, and disc it tonight. That'll allow the smart lady to plant tomorrow. THen she come back here and we'll do the neighbor's and our place later this week. I'm beat.

What kind of issues did you have? And you're right, I doubt I'll use it more in a year, than you do in a week.
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Let's see. Broke one in half. Broke the brake on a couple, if something is stuck, and the winch won't pull it, don't use the winch cable as a tow rope. One locked up completely. One went into permanent freespool. And most dramatically, one became a high speed 700rpm winch.
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
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St. Johns, Mi
Finally got everything planted the first weekend in July. The hemp looks absolutely horrible (grain drill issues?). Robin also planted pumpkins, sunflowers, and flax (1/4 acre by hand). The pumpkins and sunflowers look decent, not sure about the flax.

Now I need to fix all the casualities. Got Dad's plow fixed (put on missing colters). Need to fix his disk (replace worn bolts and gang carriers), the neighbor's plow (replace missing colters), the Old Mule (replace busted timing gears?), the Girlfriend (replace cracked block?), and the sickle mower (busted pivot ball and spring). Need to upgrade the gooseneck trailer (add beavertail, storage box, and ramps) so we can start bringing home equipment. The neighbor's Kubota crapped out the left front final drive (let the local dealer handle this one), and the other neighbor's little Ford has a hydraulic leak on the front end loader (once the Old Mule is up, I'll replace the bad hoses).

The Sonic still doesn't have AC, but for the moment I think I have the CEL's out on all the cars (last time they all stayed off for a whole week).

On top of that, I inherited a couple of total fiascos at work. Talk about complete diasters. They don't care who made the mess, they just want to know why I haven't fixed them yet. Good thing I'm used to 4 alarm fires, and I'm handy with a mop.

Pics to follow sometime in the near future. Ok, how about before the summer ends?
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
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11,603
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St. Johns, Mi
shortykorte said:
Wow, swamped.
I might have missed it but did y’all have a good hemp haul last season?
Big box of batteries should give the COE range.
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Yeah, last years haul was decent. It would have been better if we'd have put fertilizer down when we planted.

harley jim said:
Typical day in the life.
I had to look, I thought I was at the salvage garage after that list!
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I kind of thought the same thing after typing it. That's the "I need to get this 5hit done before harvest starts" list. There's also an "I need to help Robin" list.

mybigwarwagon said:
So, what have you done in your spare time?
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Helped Robin with the new bathroom, cleared the new pool area with Claudia, and pulled the rest of the stuff off the east shop wall so I can hang drywall, and finally put everything back where it should go (stuff was moved so I could finish the ceiling insulation). But to be honest, I've been struggling for motivation after the "spring" rush to get stuff planted. But I think getting the drywall up is what I need to get going again. Too much stuff has been out of place, and it's been a huge source of frustration.
 
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jollygreengiant

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Nov 10, 2013
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2,354
Location
Ontario, Canada
Just keep your head up Kirk and keep chugging along. You can only do what you can do. :thumbup: Which actually sounds like a lot btw.

Do you have an end use planned for the flax? I'm not sure if you've ever dealt with flax before but a word of warning; the straw is tough, VERY tough. About the only way to deal with it is to cut the whole plant low at harvest and bale and remove the straw. Otherwise you pretty well have to burn the field.
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
Messages
11,603
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St. Johns, Mi
jollygreengiant said:
Just keep your head up Kirk and keep chugging along. You can only do what you can do. :thumbup: Which actually sounds like a lot btw.

Do you have an end use planned for the flax? I'm not sure if you've ever dealt with flax before but a word of warning; the straw is tough, VERY tough. About the only way to deal with it is to cut the whole plant low at harvest and bale and remove the straw. Otherwise you pretty well have to burn the field.
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According to SWMBO, you pull the whole plant out. Whatever. I'm just the free labor.
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
Messages
11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
I'm not sure anything is easy, S. I'm hoping to mow the lawn for the 2nd time this year, then start on the drywall. We picked up six sheets of 1/2"x4'x12' last night. Not looking forward to hoisting them up on the wall.
 
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xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
Messages
11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
Still swamped, but I have to brag, so you get a quick update. My son just completed the Hoka Hey a few weeks back. He raised almost $3,000 for Mile Monsters Charity. Anyway he did a podcast interview,
. Very proud of him, doing what he loves, while raising money for a charity. Disclaimer, it is long, and he has a phone issue that drops out for about 20ish minutes.
 
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