...and so it begins

[Bob Heine]

The mudflaps came out great. The child in me is a little envious because I put mudflaps on my bicycles. I know my Corvette friends would make fun of me so I live with only one mudflap equipped car -- the PT Cruiser -- and those are not real mudflaps.

 

[fourbyford]

Hey Bob,
I swear, you've made me laugh (out loud!) each time I read your posts... thanks... I definitely need that!

Dunno... flaps on the 'Vette could be cool... ya never know, could start a trend! I think I may have an extra set I could send if ya might wanna give it a try... lol

Ya know, the funny thing is, the night I got pulled over, I just knew Deputy Dawg was going to lecture me because my driver's side brake light wasn't working... and hadn't been in a while. (I had tried a new bulb but, no bueno) Anyways, I was prepared with some sort of reason for the brake light being out... when he told me he'd pulled me over for no mudflaps, I thought he was joking. I'd say the .majority of pickups I see running around north Idaho dont have them. I did look it up and, sure enough, it's in the code. Go figure... lol

All good now... even the brake light works!

Thanks for the visit!!


...D

 

[fourbyford]

I braved the "heat" today (93° and breezy... apologies to those that are dealing with real heat) to get some more work done on my barn. I've posted a similar pic before but I've been away from it for so long, I need to be reminded of what it actually looks like...




It's a real shame I couldn't load this thing up and move it a few (hundred) miles to the west...

Anyway, today's job was to finish up the hangers for the garage door rails. The doors are fairly large and heavy, so I built 3 hangers for each rail.




When I was gathering parts to install the doors, I started looking for the perforated angle that is commonly used. It was hard to find and when I did find it, it was very expensive. And, I dont even really like it anyways. So I bought some 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 1/8" angle and built 12 hangers. A bit of fabrication but I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out and have no doubt that the doors are well supported... there is support approximately every 4' along the rails.




Tomorrow, I'll finish installing the torsion bar and get some tension on the springs. Then, both doors will be operable!

...D

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[Pressingonward]

I use an app called lit photo. Seems to work pretty well. On my computer I use photo resizer, which allows you to right click on a photo and select "resize" right from the context menu

 

[fourbyford]

Thanks for the info... I'll give them a try!

...D

 

[fourbyford]

Went for a short bike ride this morning... about 5 miles. Not that far, but it at least got me out and moving. I'm already feeling a difference (for the better) in my knees.

Then, I worked on a few things at the barn/shop. Since it's been a while that I've worked on some of this, I spent a bit of time getting my head back into it.

The first thing I looked at was the lower landing for the loft stairs. Had to get a few measurements and stare at it for a few minutes to a.) remember where I left off and, b.) try to make sure what I'd done to this point was correct. I think this landing is OK.




Then, I added some blocking to begin building the upper landing and checked for level. The floor of the loft is 15' from the floor of the building. IIRC, the headroom clearance in the main shop is about 13' 10"... more than 12' to the underside of the open overhead doors.




Tomorrow, I'll set up the genny so I can cut some lumber and continue work on the landings.

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[fourbyford]

I forgot to explain one thing in the 1st pic...
the debris on the floor.

Believe it or not, all those little dots on the floor... and piles along the walls and in the corners... are Miller Moths. There had to be tens of thousands of them. IIRC, 20+ years ago, we had an infestation of them in late spring/early summer. There were clouds of them. It was awful... anytime you'd go outside, primarily early morning or late evening, they were flying in your face... up your nose... whatever. And, you just couldn't keep them out of the house. At that time, the experts were saying that whenever conditions were exactly right, the swarms would occur. I've never seen that since... til now.

Apparently, this is good for the bears in the mountains on the west side of the state... guess the moths are one of their favorite foods.

Anyways. the ones in my shop are dead... I think I might have seen a couple of live ones as I was sweeping up. I'm glad I missed the party!

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[fourbyford]

After I'd gone about as far as I wanted to on the landings, I returned to the garage door. Had a couple of things to finish up on the hangers.

I found these screws a few years ago and really like them. I rarely use lags any more... these are made in many sizes and are much stronger and easier to drive. A bit more expensive, but definitely worth it!




Thought I'd show a close up of how i installed the hangers. A couple of reasons i mounted them this way...

First, i didn't think it was a good idea to drive large screws through the flange of the "I" joists.

And mostly, I wanted to have blocking in place to make it easier to install the ceiling material when that time comes. ** note** I wont be installing the ceiling... i need to save some fun for the new owner!






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[fourbyford]

Then, it was time to work on the torsion springs. I already had the tube and springs in place above the door...




The first thing I did was to install the brackets on each end of the torque tube. This door uses a nylon centering bushing on one of the springs and I had forgotten to thread it onto the tube before I slid the springs on. So, I took the right side spring off, slipped the bushing on, and replaced the spring. Then, I installed that bracket. I must've been zone... forgot to get a pic.

Then it was time to install the center bracket. When I first looked at the center bracket, I was not impressed. I didn't measure it but I'm thinking it's stamped from 18 gauge... could be 16... at any rate, it seemed pretty flimsy considering the job it needs to do. So, I took some flat bar and machined a couple of relief cuts into it so it and the bracket would sit flat against the wall. I'm sure someone engineered the stamped bracket and that it would probably (possibly?) do the job but...




Bracket as it will be installed




And... bracket installed...






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[fourbyford]

There was a bit of trial and error but I finally got the center bracket installed at the correct height.

In this pic, you can see the centering bushing that will fit inside the hub of the L/H spring.




And, the springs joined... bolted through the bracket...




And, this part of the job done...




Reading and looking at the pics, it must seem that this was a 10 minute job... and, I wish it would've been... lol

Truth be known, I was up and down the 12' ladder at least 50 times... hmmm... maybe it was 150... lol... at least that's the way it feels tonight.

More fun tomorrow!


...D

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[fourbyford]

It's been a while since my last post. Lots going on. I've taken a bit of time to keep up with a few threads but have neglected my own. Time to catch up.

After being away for so long, there's always a lot to catch up around my house. My front yard was awful. When I had my dogs with me last fall, the older one insisted on squatting in the yard as soon as she got out the front door. I'll add that I have a tiny side yard out the back door, but she refused to do her doggie business out there. Who knows what goes through their minds... (with her, sometimes I think was very little... lol) Anyways, everywhere she squatted in the front yard, there was a small spot where the grass was dead. Her "favorite" spot was an area about 18" x 36"... grass completely dead. All that looked pretty bad. Combine that with the lawn that hadn't seen much water this season (but it had been mowed) and I'm surprised the neighbors hadn't complained.

So, it was time to do something about all that. I thought about starting the water tight away but, after looking at the lawn, decided I should rake/dethatch it first.




So, I retrieved the thatching rake and got to work. Good thing my front yard isn't all that big! About half-way through, my mind was on "power rakes" and why I hadn't rented one but, it literally would have taken longer to rent/return a rake (not to mention the expense) than it took to do my yard by hand. I was surprised at the pile I got from such a small area! But, it definitely looks better.




A number of years ago, my ex planted some flowers in one of the planting beds. She obviously had no idea what she was doing. First of all, for most of the growing season, they looked a lot like weeds... when they finally bloomed, the flowers were so small they were barely noticeable. And, they tended to spread like wild fire. By last fall, they had taken over most of the planting areas in the yard. I wanted to do something about them then, but was busy with other things. Then, some "vintage" roses had gotten a bit out of control...

After I soaked down a couple of the planting beds, the "flowers" pulled up pretty easily. There were lots of them! A couple of hours with the loppers and the roses were looking much better. Loaded the whole mess up and headed for the landfill/compost area.




Been watering the grass and it at least looks like someone lives here...

Still have a couple of planting beds to get to but I don't want to devote an entire day to them. Think I'll soak then down and work on them an hour or so a day... I'll get there eventually...

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[fourbyford]

After the fun with the yard, I decided I'd better get going on stringers for my stairway. I'll have 3 separate runs of stairs connected by two landings. A total of 9 stringers and I wanted them to be as close to identical as possible. Over the years, I've seen some bad stairways... didn't want this to be one more.

I decided to make a template of the rise/run. I know they make the little gizmos that attach to a framing square but, I've used those before and wasn't all that impressed. So, off we go...

The first job was to lay out the shape on a scrap of plywood. Rise = 7.2" Run = 10"...
Then, I needed to align the cut on the tablesaw. I'll mention that I only raised the blade to this height to get the maximum width to reference my straight edge (framing square) and to make sure I was on the body of the blade... not the carbide. The power to the machine was off... I lowered the blade to the correct height (very slightly above the surface of the plywood) before cutting.




And, despite my best efforts (and not wanting to make a career of cutting out a simple template) the 90° angle was the slightest bit off. Time to break out the edge sander for a tune up.




After a bit of tuning on each edge. I finally achieved a 90° angle... but then, my original layout was off a bit. No worries.




Then, I needed to attach a "fence" to the edge of the template...




Fences attached to both sides and trimmed




Now that I have a template, its time to make a bigger template...

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[fourbyford]

The small template made laying out the longer template a breeze...




I had a strip of plywood left over from the soffit on the barn... perfect for this job. I ripped it to width, making sure I had straight and parallel edges. Because the edges were straight and smooth, it was easy to accurately align the small template.




Time to cut!

The base of my circ saw is stamped that it is 1 1/2" from the edge of the base to the blade. Nice theory but not very accurate. And. I should mention that this dimension will change depending on the thickness of the blade being used. So, I made a couple of gages that will accurately space an edge guide... depending on which side of the line I want to cut from... blade left (of the line) or blade right...




It probably seems I'm getting a bit carried away... if I were to be off a bit, its only wood... right?
What I don't want to do is compound a lot of error... over 22 steps, that can add up...
And, I'm making a template to be used on 9 stringers. I want it to be as accurate as I can make it.
Edge guide in place... ready to make the cut.




I think this is gonna work!





...more later


...D

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[fourbyford]

Now that I had a good template, it was time to cut some stringers.

The last few times I used my tablesaw, I noticed it took a bit of effort to push the wood through... and noticed the slightest bit of burning in the hard areas...
Time for a new blade!

I've had this saw for about 25 years... it's literally cut miles of wood.






For the most part, the only blade I've used on it is the Freud 50 tooth combination blade. I've tried other blades... none of them come close to the performance of Freud blades.






About the time I was working on my saw, I was trying to keep up with BD Becker's thread, The **** Shack, and his story about resurrecting his new (to him) tablesaw. In post #738, he made the mistake of asking if anyone had any recommendations for a good saw blade. A spirited discussion ensued. I relayed, in detail, (can you believe it??) why I'm convinced Freud blades (or any of their cutters) are arguably the best money can buy. I won't repeat all that here... if you're interested, head over to BD's thread and check it out!

At any rate, the reason I needed to change out my saw blade was to true up the edges of the lumber I'm using for my stringers. I actually found some pretty nice boards but, they needed a bit of help. I first cut them to rough length, then ran one edge through my jointer. Then, to the tablesaw to rip to finished width. These are 2 x 12's...

Once I had the lumber cut, it was time for layout...




And cutting the stringers...
On this first one, I forgot to cut the thickness of the tread from the bottom of the first step... something easily fixed.




I cut the stringers using the gage/edge guide method I'd used when cutting the template. The cuts for the risers went pretty well... they were at an angle not too far from being a cross cut. The cuts for the treads... not so much. Their orientation was closer to a rip. I noticed that I was getting a great deal of deflection from the thin-kerf blade I've been using in my circ saw. Fortunately, the bad part of the cut was on the waste side.
This pic is from a different cut (a 45° bevel cut) but with the same result.




So, I set out to find a 7 1/4" full-kerf blade for my circ saw...
How hard can this be... right??
In my research, I found forums with others complaining about the same problem and searching for blades. I looked a couple places in town and even called the place I formerly worked. No Bueno. It seems the only blades readily available are the thin-kerf variety... approximately .059"... too thin! After more digging in the forums, I found a site with a limited selection of full-kerf blades...




I'm not familiar with this company but I'm gonna give it a try.
As I was cutting out my stringers with the thin kerf, I found a work-around... raise the depth of cut... start with a shallow pass and work down to final depth in 3 passes...
I'm not going through that on the remaining cuts... not to mention that I have to make more bevel cuts which also require 3 passes to complete... a bit unnerving. I ain't goin' there! Ordering a blade today!


...D

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[fourbyford]

Even though it was a PITA, I was happy with the accuracy I was able to achieve while cutting out the stringers.

These are drops from cutting out the steps. They are virtually identical in size...




As a result, the stringers came out virtually identical as well...



And, it's beginning to look like a stairway...




When I head out today, I'll be working on the upper landing. Hopefully, my new saw blade will arrive by the time I need it!


...D

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[fourbyford]

Quick update...
I called the company I found on the interweb... California Carbide. I spoke with someone I presume to be the owner... very nice guy. Phone number, if anyone is interested, is 888-701-9278... guy I spoke with is Paul. They carry a premium blade from FS Tool in Canada... 7 1/4", 24t, .115" kerf. Their website mentioned it was on sale through 12/31..... 2014. It turns out they were out of stock on the blades but Paul offered to set it up on a drop ship from the manufacturer. He asked how many I wanted... when I told him I'd seen the blade on the internet, he sort of chuckled about the expired sale date and explained they were in the process of revamping their website. Anyways, when I asked him the current price, Paul told me he'd honor the sale price on the web. When I told him I clearly saw that the sale expired nearly 6 years ago, he asked if I could hold for a minute. He came back and told me the company had a current promotion and that he would honor the price... $31. So, I rolled the dice and ordered 3... lol. He says they'll ship today from upstate New York... I should have them by mid-week.

After I've made a few cuts, I'll do a product review...
I'm crossing my fingers that these are good. According to Paul, they're the best blades they carry... I'm hoping for the best.

Let me be clear...
I'm not, in any way, connected to Paul or this company. If someone is, or isn't, interested in the blades... I have nothing to gain... or to lose. As I was researching, trying to find a usable blade, I found a number of people on a number of forums with the same complaint as I... trying to find a good blade. I'm posting here in an effort to maybe be of some help to others looking for a good saw blade.

I'll let ya know how it goes...

...D

 

[Bob Heine]

The last few times I used my tablesaw, I noticed it took a bit of effort to push the wood through... and noticed the slightest bit of burning in the hard areas...
Time for a new blade!

I've had this saw for about 25 years... it's literally cut miles of wood.

For the most part, the only blade I've used on it is the Freud 50 tooth combination blade. I've tried other blades... none of them come close to the performance of Freud blades.

...D

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FourbyFord, I can't argue with your choice of blades. Freud did me a huge favor by putting that bright red non-stick coating on all their Diablo blades. I have accidentally bought other brands with their black on steel labeling when I thought they were Freud.

All my saws have Diablo blades and I tend to buy the higher (and more expensive) tooth count blades. Only exception was the 7-1/4" Hardi blade. I still have all those other blades but they just hang around doing nothing, like Cinderella's ugly stepsisters.

 

[fourbyford]

I've been running the Diablo blades on my circ saw and, for their intended purpose, they are very good blades. I've used a couple of their demolition blades and they cut through nails like they're not even there.

The only downside to the Diablo 7 1/4's is that they are only available in thin kerf... There is the odd time that the thin blades won't track well...

I hope I've found a solution... guess we'll see...

 

[Jayman17]

Fourby, your first set of stairs look good, well done. I think I have a circ saw blade made by Oldham that is full kerf. I've had it for a while so I'm not sure if they still make it. Looks like you found one though. Good luck with the rest and now each set will take less time to do now that you have done the practice set.

Jay

 

[fourbyford]

Hey Jay,
Yep. I think I may have solved the blade problem. We'll know soon.

You're right... the next sets of stairs should go a bit faster, since I have my templates and methods worked out. I was just thinking... the last stairway I built was more than 25 years ago. It's no wonder I'm a bit rusty!

Thanks for the good words!


As I drove up to my place today, this guy was waiting for me.





We have deer and elk in the neighborhood as well but rarely see them. Pronghorn, on the other hand, we see a LOT. A couple days ago, I think I counted 11 doe and a couple of young-uns... not a buck in sight. Today, the buck... no doubt looking for his harem. They sure are beautiful animals.

Today, I worked some more on the walls that will support the upper landing. I added some blocking... once I finished that, insulation. Tomorrow I'll cover that wall with OSB. I was a bit torn on doing that but figured that, once the stairway is built, someone would have a hard time skinning that wall. Probably would end up taking the stairway apart to get it done. Dunno... guess at that point, it wouldn't be my problem... but, I'd like to get as much money from the sale as possible ... more importantly... a quick sale. Time will tell...







The insulation i bought is OC "Enviro Touch" which is supposed to be "itchless". This is the same stuff I used on the duck house earlier this year. When I used it then, it didn't seem to bother me. Of course, it was much cooler then. Today was pretty warm and I was hot and sweating and itching like crazy. The heat must make the difference on the skin. Even as badly as I was itching today, it was nothing like the insulation from years ago. I never did tolerate that stuff well.

Anyways, today was a good day. I'm happy with the progress.

...D

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[fourbyford]

Well, I mis-spoke when I mentioned the name of the insulation... it's Eco Touch. Looks like I came up with the wrong environmentally friendly name. Whatever... I put up a lot more of the stuff yesterday and it still made me itch.




When I built this, I placed the girts on 24" centers. Of course, the bay at the top of this wall ended up being 16" (because of the way the mono-truss sits in the wall)... a bit over an inch wider than the insulation for 16" centers. I didn't want to cut down the wider stuff, so I found a scrap of the old-school insulation (the mega-itch variety) and cut a couple of strips... placed them on the girt... then placed the Eco insulation. I cut the vapor barrier into 6" wide strips and pieced it in. Not perfect, but it will definitely work... especially once the OSB is pressing against it.

The blocking in this next pic is there because I needed to provide support to the "bookshelf" girts to carry the load of the landing. This made for a fun time. I thought about cutting the insulation into two pieces... that would've made it much easier to get the insulation behind the blocking. But then there would be a seam (break) in the insulation that really didn't have to be there. How hard could this be... stuffing a bit of insulation behind the blocking? As it turned out... plenty difficult! Not only was I trying to stuff the proverbial 10# into a 5# opening, in two of the bays, I had to be mindful of the needle-sharp screws that hold the siding on. They stick into the bay about 1 1/2" and the screws are spaced every 9"... plenty of opportunity for a nasty cut.




Anyways, I managed to get the insulation shoved into place and managed to avoid injury. But, I couldn't have gotten any more fiberglass on me if I'd cut a chunk of this **** off and used it for a loofah in the shower. I'm still itching this morning. Dunno... maybe that's what woke me up at 3:00. Oh well... its all good. I still have more insulation to put up but, at least the wrestling match is over.




After the insulation ordeal, I managed to get 6 sheets of OSB hung. I'll need to install a bit more blocking today, then hang another couple of sheets of OSB... then I'll be able to reassemble the lower landing and finally make more progress on the upper.







This entry area is roughly 16' square and my mission has evolved into getting it "finished out"... at least with OSB. I realize there is no wiring in the walls but, it won't be that big of a deal for someone to remove a few sheets of OSB... or, there's always surface mount...
That'll be for the new owner to decide.


...D

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[fourbyford]

It's hard to believe its been nearly two weeks since my last post. Time flies when you're having fun... or when you're not... lol

I've managed to stay pretty busy... more progress on the barn/shop building... trying to keep my lawn (at the house in town) watered and mowed... helping out my buddies now and again... and some quality time on the bike.

My buddy (that I've been riding with for a few years) has knees that are worse than mine. He's had several medical appointments trying to figure out what's going on with them. Had surgery several years ago that hasn't seemed to help much. Anyways, between his appointments and his knee not being up to it, riding together has been mostly hit and miss. Initially, i was hoping to be riding between 10 and 20 miles per day and pretty much 7 days per week. As it has worked out, I've been riding mostly by myself (which is OK) which means that I catch a leg of the rail/trail a couple of blocks from my house... from there, I can ride a circuit that is a bit over 6 miles round trip. Some days, I'll load up and drive to the spot we catch the main trail... from there, I can ride circuits of 9, 12, or 20 miles... depending on how much time I have. I usually find myself just doing the quick six miler so I can get on with my day. Better than nothing. And, I'll have to say that my knees and back are the best they've been in quite a while. At home (Idaho) I have a Schwinn AirDyne stationary bike (clothes rack?). For some reason, I've have a hard time forcing myself to use that thing... even though its a great machine. Years ago, I rode it religiously... the AirDyne one day and the Nordic Track the next. Seeing the difference that bike riding is making in my knees and back, I'm thinking I will just have to come to terms with the stationary machines this winter...

As far as the barn goes... I think I left off with getting insulation in the entryway of the building. That has kept me plenty busy.


After getting the first few sheets up, which took me to the 8' level, it was time to break out the big ladders.

Maybe 10 days ago, there was a thread on General Garage Discussion where someone asked for advice on how to hang sheets of OSB above the 8' level. That discussion was interesting to say the least. Everything from using sheet rock lifts... to renting a man lift... to rigging a pulley (block and tackle?) from the trusses... All that is OK... I guess... we all have our own ways of doing things...
I prefer to just grab a sheet and carry it up a ladder. And... I've been working alone for so many years, I wouldn't know what to do with help....lol...




First of all... it helps to have good ladders...
This one is a 12 footer...

I sort of "cheated" on a couple of these sheets... I tightened a "C" clamp on them and then just carried them up the ladder like a suitcase.




It can get a bit dicey once you're trying to maneuver the sheet into place... but, its all good...




Depending on how things are going, I might start a screw in the sheet before I carry it up... i always shove the driver in my back pocket so its handy when I need it...




Step and repeat...

Still trying to figure out why this takes so long... lol

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[fourbyford]

A while back, I mentioned having an issue with the thin kerf saw blades...

The blades I ordered from California Carbide arrived in good time... especially considering they shipped from the east coast. The customer service of both companies... C. Carbide and FS Tool has been nothing short of outstanding! If you're ever in need of carbide tooling, it might be worth a phone call...

Anyways, I got the blades and installed one on my Porter Cable circular saw. To cut to the chase... my blade deflection issues are GONE!

View attachment 1041775


View attachment 1041776


So... a bit of discussion...

Several years ago, I built a fairly large addition to my house in Utah... part of the roof on that addition required 2 x 12's for rafters. At the time, I was using my Makita hypoid saw... was hogging through the cuts on that 2x material pretty much as fast as I could shove the saw through the lumber. And, in the years since, I still tend to be fairly aggressive when cutting dimensional lumber. Thinking about it, I guess I developed a bit of a bad habit and got a bit complacent concerning the process. Another issue is that, more recently, I've been using some sort of a "guide" for pretty much every cut I make. For cross cuts, I just use a Speed Square to guide the saw... I find i can get cuts nearly as accurate as a miter saw in half the time. If I'm ripping plywood, I set up a straight edge. Even though it can take a few minutes for set-up, having parts that fit snugly seems worth the effort.

So... I've finally realized that the blade deflection occurs when I'm using a straight edge to guide my saw. The cross cuts are generally not a problem... but, ripping will cause the blade to deflect every time. I experienced the same issue when trying to make a 45° bevel cut... even though it was a cross cut. Years ago, when I was using my Makita saw, I don't remember having any issues but... thin kerf blades weren't the norm at that time. Today's thin kerf blades definitely have value... they produce very nice cuts... produce very little sawdust... require less power (cordless tools??)... but, when used outside their design parameters, can have drawbacks.

These full kerf blades seem "massive". They're heavy... i noticed a bit of a "gyroscope" effect when I first powered up my saw. Definitely something to be aware of...
And, as I mentioned, I think its pretty easy to get a bit complacent when using power tools. I think the thin kerf blades provide such a nice cut, in part, because they're somewhat "forgiving"... meaning pretty easy to use... (on a crosscut) they'll follow a line...
The full kerf blade, on the other hand, will CUT where ever you guide the saw. My first couple of attempts at a free hand cross cut were pretty pathetic... lol. I've been relearning how to use my Porter Cable saw. Guess I should break out the Makita... might be easier...

View attachment 1041777




Anyways, the blade produces a great cut (although not quite as smooth as the blade on my UniSaw... hmmm... why would it??) and has completely eliminated the issues of blade deflection.


View attachment 1041778

I don't have my measuring tools here do I won't be getting into the technical details but, it's easy to see that the blades are well made. And, when one gets dull, it'll definitely be worth sending it out to be sharpened.



Hope this info is of some value...

...D

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[fourbyford]

Well... looks like another hiccup with pics...

First couple of pics of the blade...







Next, sample saw cut





Finally, cut this stringer with no problem whatsoever...




...D

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[fourbyford]

Quick post this morning...

My buddy is taking the morning off from the bike ride... seems like his knee is happier with every other day. So, I set out this morning to catch the trail near my house for a 6 miler...

I normally ride a couple miles to the east to the end of the trail, then backtrack... past my starting point and through downtown. The trail used to go completely through the downtown area and link up with the trailhead where we normally start our rides. But, construction of a huge office building has shut down a section of trail. So, my six mile route has me riding to the construction site, then turning around and heading home.

This morning was nice and cool... just a breeze... and traffic downtown was mostly non-existent. So, i wound around through the streets and made it out to the trailhead. I'm thinking my round trip this morning was about 18 miles.




Although much of the trail goes through town and along some busy roads/highways... there are sections along the river where it is cool and quiet.




Great start to my morning!
Headed out soon to get some more work done on my building project...

And, since I'll be headed back to the farm soon, (just for a couple of weeks) its time to start loading the trailer. Gotta haul more **** to further clog up the garage...lol

On a positive note, during this morning's phone conversation with my misses... she suggested I buy a 40' container and have it delivered to the farm... hmmmm...

...D

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[Jayman17]

Looks like your new circ saw blade does a nice job. That bike trail looks like a great place to ride. What river is it on?
You should listen to your wife and get that 40' container. Sounds like less work...

Jay

 

[fourbyford]

Hey Jay,

Yep, after a brief re-learning curve, I REALLY like the blade. I will switch back to Diablo for demo (or some such) work but, for everything else, I'll stick with the new blade...

The trail is along the North Platte river in central Wyoming. It's a great trail. One of the routes involves riding through a dog park... where dogs can be on... or off leash. Lots of dogs... lots of walkers... quite a few bikers...
There are lots of go-slows, stops and starts... but its all good...
Most people (and dogs) are very friendly. I did get chased briefly this morning by a Golden Retriever but that seemed half-hearted. I think he mostly wanted to sniff my leg or something... didn't really seem aggressive but I didnt slow down to find out. In 2 1/2 years of riding out there, that's the first time anything like that has happened.

Yeah... thank God for wives! I think she may be onto something. Of course, in my typical fashion, my thoughts immediately went to two containers spaced 20 or so feet apart and connected by a roof. Plenty of secure storage and an enclosed space to store the tractor and implements. Hmmmm... we'll have to see how this works out. Lewiston Idaho is a seaport... not sure how many containers end up there. At any rate, I think containers are readily available and somewhat reasonable. I'll definitely be looking into it!

Thanks for the visit!!

 

[Grizz1963]

Just realised you are in North Idaho.

Craig and I were planning to go up as high as that, but Covid screwed that plan up.

.

 

[fourbyford]

Yep!

Next time you're in the neighborhood, stop by!!

We have plenty of room and lots to see and do!

...D

 

[fourbyford]

I just caught the evening news...

We hit 97° today with 9% relative humidity...

Yeah, its a dry heat... lol

Its no wonder I drink about 2 gallons of water every day...

...D

 

[fourbyford]

I've been continuing to work on getting the OSB finished up in the entry area. As of my last post on the subject, I had pretty much gotten the "easy" sheets hung and maybe half of of the insulation.

The stairway has evolved a bit from what I had first planned. I originally thought the stairs would sort of "double back" on themselves... going up a few steps to a landing and then turning back 180° to go the rest of the way to the loft. Due to headroom clearance issues and windows that I hadn't originally planned, the stairway changed to where it is going now. I had originally built a wall coming down from the ceiling to help close off the stairway from the rest of the building. With the changes, that wall is no longer needed...




So... it goes away...




Then it was time for more insulation...



I also continued work on the west wall. Insulation in... a bit of a challenge getting the sheet above the window and landing...







I'm pretty sure I'm getting too old for this... hahaha...

...D

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[fourbyford]

In the last pic, you can see a small triangular section still needing insulation and OSB.
That was up next...




Got a sheet above the 8' wide/high doorway...







Then, before I could go any further on this wall, it was time to cut away a section of the floor and cut the end off one of the TJI's...




I used the circular saw to cut the sub-floor... the trusty ol' hand saw to cut through the floor joist...




Again, this was needed because of the change in plans on the stairway...


...D

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[fourbyford]

In this pic, you can see the area the where the sub-floor was removed...




Finally! The last of the OSB for the entryway...

The sheet above the landing on this wall was, without a doubt, the most difficult sheet I've had to hang. I needed to get it up 12', then "laid over" the landing... while missing the tail of the floor joist to my left. Looking at it, it didn't seem to bad... actually getting it in place was a bee-yotch...


The final half-sheet above the doorway was a piece of cake...




Glad to have all that behind me. I still need to drive about a half box of screws to finish but that shouldn't take too long.

The reason for the diversion onto getting the OSB up... is because once I get the stairway in place, there would've been absolutely no way to reach any of it with a ladder.

Now, once I finish the stairs, this part of the project is DONE!!!


...D

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[fourbyford]

During my last bike ride, IIRC last Monday, I had a bit of an issue with the Wally (Walmart) bike.
Last week, I was noticing some clunking coming from the crankset (which I had sometimes heard before... primarily when I was giving her the onion) getting worse. At that time, I loosened the lock ring and snugged the bearing a bit. That helped for a couple of days. Then, the clunking started coming back. At the same time, I realized I was hearing noises coming from the back axle... nothing too bad. So, we rode on Monday.

Anyways, a bit over halfway back, the rear axle started making more and more noise. I was hoping I could nurse it back to the truck. Finally, as I slowly rode, the back wheel nearly locked up. Short version: I messed with it a bit... enough to free it up... and rode back to the truck.

I spent some time trying to find info and parts. I drove across town to the only bike shop... pretty much had to beg them to sell me one tire (I wanted 2) and tried to talk to them about the bearing issue. To summarize the conversation... it was, pretty much, bring the bike in and leave it... for some undeterminable amount of time... undoubtedly at a cost of more than I paid for the bike... and they would get to it as they could. So, I paid for my tire (believe it or not... at a better price than the internet) and left.

No big deal, I thought... the bike was made in America... I'll just call the company and buy what I need. After 1 hour and 9 minutes on hold (speaker phone and I was doing other things) their system disconnected me. I spent a few minutes looking for other contact numbers... no bueno.

As much as I dislike email in this sort of circumstance, I sent a detailed email. Nothing yesterday... nothing today.

So, I consulted the world authority on everything... You Tube. MANY years ago, I had done a lot of work to my road bike, but that's been so long ago, i don't remember much. I was happy to find a vid on replacing rear axle bearings... very helpful. Anyways, I removed the rear wheel and opened 'er up. Found the cause of the problems... there was almost no grease in the bearings. Funny how that works... virtually no grease... bike ridden nearly 2,000 miles, and the bearings fail. Who would've guessed. I guess at least part of that is on me... I should've known how these manufacturers cut corners. Lesson learned. So now, I'll have to source loose bearings for both axles (looks like the races are OK) and bearings for the crankset. Since I'm headed back to the farm next week, I'm sure I find everything I need at one of the bike shops in Moscow ID.

I mention all of this just in case anyone has... or is thinking about buying a BCA bike from Walmart. On the surface, they're great bikes. But, if you have one... or are thinking of buying one... just know you'll need to disassemble everything and grease the bearings. The thing I find disappointing is that a fairly new American company... that loudly proclaims how they're helping their local economy... seems to be totally unresponsive to their customers. Just know... if you buy one of these bikes, you're most likely on your own if problems develop.

Having said all that... I went for a short ride this morning!

Years ago, when I was stationed in England, my dorm room mate and I bought bikes from the Base Exchange. Pretty sure that was the spring of 1979. Very long story short... we trained for more than 3 months... then flew, with the bikes, to the "continent" for an approximate 1,000 mike ride through Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria... then back to our starting point in Germany. Needless to say, that spring/summer got us into fairly good shape and I continued to ride... and run... for a number of years.

Over the years, I either lost interest or thought I didn't have time to ride. (Actually, the bike was replaced by skis for at least 5 years) So, the road bike went into retirement.

Yesterday, it came out of retirement and today is my mode of two-wheel transportation. I had to resurrect a few things... and still have a bit of "fine tuning" ahead of me but... it seems good!




I'm sure I have more than 3,000 miles on this bike... pretty sure its good for a few more.

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[Pressingonward]

Nice looking Peugeot bike!

Bummer on the lack of customer service from your wally world bike company. The bike shops in Moscow (and Pullman for that matter) are pretty good and should have what you need to get it fixed up.

 

[Grizz1963]

Bicycles are so nice.

Very few of us do not have at least one in our history.

Nice bike

 

[fourbyford]

Agreed... most of us have had bikes...

But, 41 years ago, if someone had told me I'd be riding this one in 2020, I probably would've thought them a bit off... lol

I put new tires on it just as we were leaving for our European adventure. When I brought the bike back to my house last week, I figured I'd try to air up the tires just to see what would happen. The rear tire took air... I put it at about 60 psi and its still holding air. The front tire wouldn't hold any pressure. Took it apart and found a fairly major tear near the valve stem. New tire and tube for the front... old tire and tube on the rear.

As Justin mentioned, I will be in touch with one of the bike shops near our farm. I'll have the Wally bike back on the road once I get back here. The plan is to leave the road bike in Idaho... after years of "persuasion", my misses has finally agreed to ride the trails with me out there. I'll leave Wally here... we'll be riding in snow before long...

Anyways, thanks for stopping by!

...D

 

[fourbyford]

This was supposed to be a "quick" project...

I have a couple of the Harbor Freight "moving dollies"... the rectangular wooden frames with the el-cheepo casters on them. I guess I've found a use for a couple of them... but not for their intended purpose. In my estimation, as moving dollies, they're almost useless. Too small... not strong enough... and the casters are aggravating to say the least. I have a few fairly heavy things I need to get into the trailer for my upcoming trip, so I decided to just knock something together.

A few days ago,, I found some casters at HD... 250# rating and somewhat reasonably priced. I was "sure" I had some bulk hardware at home so, no need to worry about that. Was also sure i could scare up a bit of plywood... so, I grabbed a 2 x 6 x 12' and got busy.

I ended up building a 30" x 42" platform... perfect for the 12 footer...

I crosscut the pieces... jointed the faces flat and ran them through the planer. So far, so good. I decided to use "half lap" joinery... easy to do on the table saw.




I briefly considered setting up the stack-dado set... but figured I could have the joints nibbled away in about the same time it would take to set up the dado. It ended up taking me about an hour to cut all the joinery. As it turns out, the dado would've made sense. Oh well... got it done...




As you can see in the pics, turning that much wood into sawdust makes a pretty sizeable mess. No worries... the janitor will get it...

So, with the frame glued and clamped, time to look at the hardware. I had a quantity of 3/8"-16 bolts... just what the doctor ordered. Except that the casters had little "flats" in the fastner holes limiting fastners to 5/16". A quick search revealed I had no such hardware. So, round file time. Actually, it didn't take a lot if time to open up the holes and I was waiting for the glue to dry anyways...




Not sure if anyone uses round files much... I've found that files sold for sharpening chainsaws are inexpensive and are actually very good files. They cut fast.

So then, it was time to cut a rabbet for the plywood. Found my router right away! It even had a 3/4" mortising bit in it. Hmmm... whoever used this set-up the last time certainly got their money's worth out of it...
The bit looked dull... virtually all of my router bits are at the Idaho shop and I refused to make a trip to the store for a new bit. Besides, how bad could this one be?? Answer... pretty bad. Had to make the 5/8" depth of cut in 3 passes... abd that was pushing it. Again... I managed to get it done... amid clouds of blue-black smoke... cough cough...




Finally, it was time to locate, counter bore some holes, and install the casters. The 2 ridgid casters worked fine... although the heads of the bolts pulled through the counter bores a bit more than I expected. Oh well... it would work. As I went to install the two swivel casters, I realized the bolts I have are too long... won't allow the swiveling action. I briefly considered the hacksaw/file approach... then got into my truck and headed to the farm store. Some correct length bolts and flat washers later and all is well.




So, it was anything but quick but, I'm pretty sure it will do what I need it to...




Here it is... ready to work...

How long can this take??? ...lol


...D

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[fourbyford]

Today's project involved breaking down the front portion of a truck frame...

A while back, I was talking to a friend. I told him I wanted to build a farm wagon to use behind my draft horses and was looking for an old straight axle front end. This guy knows just about every "car guy" in town... I figured he could scare something up.

A few days later, he called me and said he'd found something even better than an axle... he had an entire truck. I told him I really didn't need a whole truck... just the axles would be good. A few more days later, he called and asked where I wanted "it"? I ended up with a frame from a late 50's Studebaker 1 ton (I think... everything is pretty "heavy") minus the cab, bed, engine and trans.

Thinking back, I should have taken the whole truck...

Anyways, I had used the gas-axe and cut up most of the frame... the rear axle is already at the Idaho shop. For reasons unknown to me... I had never gotten around to dismantling the front end. And... it was in the Cowboy Moving Van (known by some as a horse trailer) taking up a metric ton of room. Thus... today's mission...




Here she is in all her glory. What could possibly go wrong?




Actually, most of the fastners gave it up with only a bit of a fight. The bolts holding the axle in place... not so much. I had brought what I thought was enough tools with me. The socket set had a 1/2" drive ratchet that has worked for a lot... but didn't have enough leverage for this job. I went to grab the B.F. breaker bar that I was SURE to throw in the truck... no bueno. Let me just say that getting older *****... and... the mind is a terrible thing. So, back to town... grab the breaker bar... and a set of deep sockets... and back to it. Out of the 8 nuts (on the "U" bolts holding the axle to the springs) 4 twisted clean off. As it turned out, those were the easy ones. The other 4 actually threaded off without breaking anything... except possibly my shoulder... lol

So, all the bolts loose/removed and a couple of whacks with a hammer...




Taking up much less room now...






Pretty sure I'll leave the frame behind. Will take it to recycling after I cut off a few parts. I want the spring and shock mounts and the cross member. Got a couple of projects bouncing around in my head.



Something like this is what I had in mind to build. Now that I own this one... I may or may not build the one I was planning... probably will. Or... the front axle might end up on something with a few more "ponies" under the hood...

Time will tell...


...D

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[fourbyford]

On Monday, I gave the home made moving dolly a pretty good work out.

I have a small shop along side my house in town... about the size of a large, single car garage... IIRC, 11' x 36'. When I first built it (1997) it was just going to be for woodworking. I wasn't into all the other stuff at that point. At the time, I was working for the company that sold woodworking tools and machinery. Needless to say, the shop filled up pretty quickly.

Anyways, a lot of my machinery has already found its way out to the Idaho farm. I still have enough here to build pretty much anything, but, there were a few things I decided I could live (here) without. Time to load 'em up.

Of course, my timing couldn't be better... one of my buddies teaches at the local college. School is back in session so, he's out... another other one was "furloughed" as a result of the covid fiasco. He beat the bushes pretty hard in search of a job, and continues to do so, but in the meantime, he found some handyman opportunities. In a very short time, he's managed to drum up enough business that he's busy every day with jobs waiting. Anyways, he's out. Couple other buddies with shoulder/health issues... so, it's just me.

First up, a horizontal boring machine. I really don't use this all that often. Will list it somewhere and get it sold, but figure the market will be better out west so, in the trailer it goes. Not too bad, probably 250#.




The Cowboy Moving Van is of the 4 horse variety... and has a tack area/dressing room in front of the horse compartment. The whole thing is pretty long. Put it behind a crew cab/long bed truck and it's guaranteed to create traffic issues. Access to my shop area (at the house) is very limited so, the best solution was to borrow my buddy's smallish utility trailer... load everything on it and then transfer everything to the moving van. Getting everything up the ramp was a bit of a challenge but, in the end, I managed.

Next up, a PS & W (later known as PEXTO) shear. I was lucky enough to find this last fall. A hundred bucks. A half mile from my house. And, the guy loaded it for me. Couldn't pass it up. I was originally looking for a 48" shear... this one is 32". I did find a couple of newer/larger ones... a LOT more money and a LOT farther away.




Decided this one would work. Besides, I love the vintage stuff...




IIRC, this shear weighs in excess of 400#. What ever it is, it made me sweat.


Had a few other things I didn't get pics of... an HF blast cabinet and a Delta sanding center... those two were pretty dang easy compared to the first two boat anchors....lol

Drove out to the property and lowered the ramp on the moving van... backed the utility trailer so its ramp would lower onto the ramp of the moving van. Nailed it... only about a 1" bump up to get into the van... and not a steep incline.




With that load transferred, I moved the van to the front of the shop. Dug out some parts for my Hupmobile project. This one is a '28. Went in with no problem although it takes up some room.







I actually have a couple of other things I'd like to put in the back of the moving van but, the Interstate in the north part of the state is pretty rough. Think the trailer would turn into a "parts launcher"... I really don't need to go there.

I spent yesterday packing up some smaller tools (and ****) from my shop. The plan for today is to load all that in my truck and head out. I want to get it all transferred/ loaded into the van before it gets so damn hot... its been in the upper 90's the past week.

The plan is to get the trailer loaded today, my truck loaded this evening, and head out early in the morning. 900 miles. With a big *** trailer. In the heat...

It just doesn't get any better...

...D

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