More armchair milling for a while yet

[BobL]

Thanks for the sympathy guys.

Dang, Bob, you really are lucky to have survived the glass door with only superficial cuts.

Seriously, you should never have non-safety glass at low heights where someone could fall into it. A kid I grew up with fell into a glass window while playing football in a yard, a piece of glass pierced his heart, and he only lived a few minutes.

I'm aware of the risk these doors pose - a guy I went to school with was accidentally pushed into such a door and the same thing happened to him.
I have been meaning to remove that door for years but thought because that door spent 99.9% of it's time up against a wall, it would be less of a risk. Now that I have time to go back and look at the crime scene and checked the wall out it turns out my head did hit the wall which was ~3" behind the glass which restricted how far my head went through the door. I shudder to think what might have happened otherwise.

But I admit I got a chuckle out of your story. :biggrin: That's wrong of me, I know.

My wife and I are also laughing and crying when we reflect at the "unfortunate series of events" and what might have happened.

If it makes you feel any better, I think I broke some bones in my foot the other day. Was unloading milled beams (300 - 400 pounds) from the truck, and dropped one end of a beam on my foot. That prompted some cussing and hopping around on one foot. I'm among the millions of uninsured Americans, so I'll just hobble around for a few months.

Ouch ! - been there and done that. My understanding is there's nothing that can really be done about that sort of thing except rest anyway.

 

[Oden]

You are lucky Bob

And your wife lets you play with chainsaws

 

[jimdad07]

Pretty soon Bob your wife won't allow you to leave your padded room, the one she is going to make you build on the back of the house to keep you from hurting yourself.

 

[BobL]

Yep - After a couple of days thinking about it and even laughing about it, I still can't get over how lucky I was.

 

[Pagie]

I was in Perth last week thinking I would try to look you up to see you in action. I am sort of glad you weren't home as I don't need any broken bones. Get well soon and be careful. Chainsaws are not so dangerous as the doors you play with.
Peter.

 

[Old Blue]

Sorry to hear it Bob

It sounds like your takin it better than I would. Take good care of those fingers and I hope they heal quick.

Old Blue

 

[BobL]

I was in Perth last week thinking I would try to look you up to see you in action. I am sort of glad you weren't home as I don't need any broken bones. Get well soon and be careful. Chainsaws are not so dangerous as the doors you play with.
Peter.

Yeah give us a call next time you are around.

Wounds are healing fine and the flu bug is subsiding, it's just my leg with the pulled muscle that is still painful. I spend an hour or so in my home shop this morning but after then the leg pain was enough to send me back to the couch.

I'm getting ready to make an external sound suppressing enclosure for my 3HP 3100 CFM twin bag dust extractor.

The enclosure will be similar to one I made recently for my aircompressor which works really well.

There's plenty of room to fit a bigger compressor in there when this little cheap one dies. I have worked it very hard but it seems to refuse to die.

The enclosure is made from 5/4" thick aussie hardwood lined on 4 sides inside with 2" foam and outside with colorbond metal sheeting to match the shed. To help cool the compressor a 5" 100cfm, 240V fan is wired to the compressor so when the compressor recharges the fan kicks in pulling air in through a zigzag pathway under the doorway and expelling it under the metal roof. I'd like to say I milled the Aussie hardwood myself but it came from a dumpster at work about 3 years ago. They were old science lab work benches, eac 15 ft long by 3 ft wide hacked into 4 ft lengths and dumped, covered in rubble and cement in a dumpster. I wrestled as many as I could out of the rubble and knew they would come in handy some time. Because the dust extractor enclosure is much larger I will be using some of my milled wood for this

The noise from the enclosed compressor standing next to the enclosure is about as quiet as the neighbors pool pump which runs for many hours of the day and night so there should be no argument for the compressor hum. Inside the shop it's a faint low hum - I don't want it silent as I want to keep an eye on the duty cycle and once triggered, how long it takes to switch off.

 

[BobL]

I must be falling apart

My wounds are healing fine but I was still not feeling right, sort of dizzy and lethargic, and my leg was not improving so I went to the docs again and got an all over check up.
It now turns out I have full on type 2 diabetes and blood clots behind my left knee! The doc says my blood sugar levels were so high I should probably not have been driving.
The diabetes was almost certainly the cause of the night cramps that led to the pulled muscle and the blood clots.

The doc sent me home with a bunch of prescriptions for meds and a week's sick leave. Apart from a short gentle walk for no more than 10 minutes every couple of hours, I have to keep my leg up, and definitely no shop work until these clots get sorted. I have been on the diabetes pills for a few days and already feel a lot better so I'd really like to go do a bit of work in my shop but SWMBO is on holidays and monitoring my activities

Anyway I've gone from zero meds, to 14 meds a day

 

[StevenBiars]

Bob,

I've been a long time reader (but a first time forum poster) here on ArboristSite, but your bad luck kinda reminds me of my father (rest his soul). We had recently been working on designing a bandmill when he passed suddenly on Oct. 3rd. I think you have a disease that my father had. It's called Whatthehell Syndrome. He started developing it in his 40s and it continued until his passing last Monday at 61 (RIP, DAD). Anyhow, to give a rundown of symptoms, here is "the breakdown" of the past 20 or so years of his colorful medical history:

-My father and I built a barn when I was around 5 years old. I felt like a big shot because I got to use a power drill for the first time. This was about 1989. A couple of years later, a squirrel chewed some of the wiring and the barn burnt down. Dad tried to put it out and ended up getting smoke inhalation.

-Before a new barn was constructed, Dad decided to build a timber retaining wall. He promptly ended up getting bitten by a copperhead.

-Ohio received 3 feet of snow on January 17, 1994 and my Dad decided to make a pot of coffee and go shovel snow. In the process of shoveling, the coffee pot caught fire due to some kind of short. Dad opened the door of the house and it flashed over. Minor burns, house is a total loss. The flash knocked him about 6 or 8 feet across the deck.

-By 1995, dad had bought a farm. Things were relatively uneventful until we built a new garage. One of the trusses kicked out as it was being set and nearly took dad out with its swing.

*Around this point in time, my dad's hair really started greying up quite a bit.*

-1998, my dad and grandad bought a tractor for the farm. It was an old Ford 8N (can't remember the year right off). The brakes went out (which lead to a complete rebuild) and dad nearly rode it over one of the hills out here. No injuries, but a sore back. (the tractor will be more significant later)

-2000, dad was bucked off a horse and kicked, resulting in 3 broken ribs. Totaled a truck the same year (driver came left of center).

-2003 (ish), dad has what may have been a minor heart attack a few weeks after totaling his truck (a bull ran into the road in the middle of the night).

-2006 (ish), dad decided to work on the tractor. He rebuilt the carb, and was using his truck to jump the tractor. The tractor backfired and caught the barn on fire. Dad ended up having a heart attack and stumbled over a hill, ending up next to a shade tree. It was sheer luck that anyone found him. Truck, tractor, and barn are a complete loss. One pig ended up in the freezer a few days after dad recovered from stent replacement.

-2007 or 2008, dad has a bypass after having yet another heart attack. We had been working on a deck shortly before this. This heart attack was really the only one that had significantly slowed him down (probably due to damage to the heart). Totaled yet another truck (other vehicle's fault).

-2009, dad was helping his brother move a trailer. While it was being positioned, the truck attachment broke and the trailer came down on dad's neck. He had a concussion and 2 or 3 cracked vertebra, and cracked ribs... lucky to have survived.

-2011, dad passed on October 3rd. Shortly after my father and I had set up a mineral spot for the deer that roam the farm, he started having chest pains. I thought he had pulled a muscle. He started breathing funny, and said he was going to lay down for a bit. A few minutes later we had him in the car and had called EMS. He flatlined 4 times before they made it to the hospital, after which he was briefly stabilized. About an hour later, a doctor comes in. We had expected the doctor to say that he was going up for the CT Scan that had been ordered (since dad was stable and relatively alert at the hospital). Moments later we were informed that he had flatlined again and that as soon as they established a stable cardiac rhythm, he would go into flatline again. Dysarrhythmia leading to cardiac arrest was the cause.​

Anyhow, the moral of the story is that bad things happen to good people, and sometimes you'll feel like the world is out to get you. Losing my father has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure, but looking back at his life, it's a miracle that he wasn't gone so much sooner. That smashed hand of yours and your busted up nose will heal with time, so don't let it get you down. Life every day as if it's your last. Minor setbacks in this life won't mean a hill of beans in the long run. With a little luck, you'll be back to milling in no time, and you'll likely appreciate more than ever. Until then, maybe you should invest in some safety pads, a helmet, and one of those shark-resistant woven steel suits. :msp_rolleyes:

Take care!

-Steven

 

[TraditionalTool]

Bob,

This doesn't sound good. Take care of yourself, before anything else.

 

[jimdad07]

Jeez Bob, we are going to have to make a documentary on you to cover all the injuries and illnesses in the last year. I am very sorry to hear of your condition, only good thing about it is at least they can do something for it.

 

[820wards]

My wounds are healing fine but I was still not feeling right, sort of dizzy and lethargic, and my leg was not improving so I went to the docs again and got an all over check up.
It now turns out I have full on type 2 diabetes and blood clots behind my left knee! The doc says my blood sugar levels were so high I should probably not have been driving.
The diabetes was almost certainly the cause of the night cramps that led to the pulled muscle and the blood clots.

The doc sent me home with a bunch of prescriptions for meds and a week's sick leave. Apart from a short gentle walk for no more than 10 minutes every couple of hours, I have to keep my leg up, and definitely no shop work until these clots get sorted. I have been on the diabetes pills for a few days and already feel a lot better so I'd really like to go do a bit of work in my shop but SWMBO is on holidays and monitoring my activities

Anyway I've gone from zero meds, to 14 meds a day

Bob,

Just because your now Type 2 doesn't mean you through. I to am Type 2 and am down to only two meds a day. I walk 5 miles every day, watch what I eat and my energy level is much higher. I know you like your brewsky's, but your gonna have to cut back on those my friend. Take care of yourself my friend, we want to see more pictures of your armchair milling.

jerry-

 

[BobL]

Thanks for the encouragement Jerry.

I know what I need to do and I have done it before - I just got too busy and lazy - so the first thing is take some time out on a daily basis to look after myself
Back in 1996 I weighed 265 lbs and lost 80 lbs by eating sensibly and walking ~45 miles a week - mainly to and from work. When I look back on it, it was actually not that hard.
Then I moved up the corporate ladder and things got busier, business lunches, travel, and got an executive car parking spot ride outside my office so instead of fighting it out with the rest of the workers for a car parking spot as an added incentive to walk I suddenly had easy convenient parking so I reduced and eventually stopped walking/cycling to work.
Since 1996 I also developed a taste for high alcohol strength brews although I think I have broken the habit because I have gone off drinking completely over the last few months.
15 years on and I am back where I was in 1996 - Like I said - I know what to do - I just have to get on with it.
The first thing is to relinquish that executive car parking spot.
In terms of food We already eat the food required for a diabetic diet but was eating them in the wrong proportion and just eating too much of everything.
Since last week we have adjusted the proportions and cut back on serving sizes - and I feel a lot better for it already!

 

[820wards]

Thanks for the encouragement Jerry.

I know what I need to do and I have done it before - I just got too busy and lazy - so the first thing is take some time out on a daily basis to look after myself

Bob,

Like you said, you know what needs to be done for you and eating sensible will also be good for the Mrs. to. Since I have retired my stress had been eliminated and when I retired I weighted 260 and I weighted myself tonight and I'm down to 209. My goal is 200 so I'm close. Take care Bob we need your expertise.

I split firewood all day today and will be doing it again tomorrow. I have a huge pile of blue oak from where I milled some slabs earlier this year. I was talking to my rancher friend today and he was telling me he wants me to mill another Blue Oak tree that was cut down. He wants me to make another bench for the park only with a wider log. When I told him my bare is only 38" and would need a larger bar he said he would buy me a 52" bar for my mill. I like that deal!



jerry-

 

[BobL]

Bob,
Like you said, you know what needs to be done for you and eating sensible will also be good for the Mrs. to. Since I have retired my stress had been eliminated and when I retired I weighted 260 and I weighted myself tonight and I'm down to 209. My goal is 200 so I'm close. Take care Bob we need your expertise.

Thanks Jerry.
I just got back from having my second ultrasound scan and it shows the biggest blood clot in my leg has not changed significantly in size since last week.
Just to add to my woes, my vision has changed significantly in the last 48 hours .
My distance vision has for decades required glasses to drive, but now everything distance-wise is crystal clear without glasses.
At the other end of the scale, I used to be able to read the AS forum without glasses, but this morning I couldn't even read it with glasses.
I tried enlarging the font and OK while I could read it, the edges of the letters look all blurry and gave me a headache and nausea within minutes.
One the way back from my scan stopped off at a pharmacy and bought a pair of cheap reading specs so I can at least function but I also get a head ache after using them for about 15 minutes.
I know my eyeballs are not the same.

I split firewood all day today and will be doing it again tomorrow. I have a huge pile of blue oak from where I milled some slabs earlier this year. I was talking to my rancher friend today and he was telling me he wants me to mill another Blue Oak tree that was cut down. He wants me to make another bench for the park only with a wider log. When I told him my bare is only 38" and would need a larger bar he said he would buy me a 52" bar for my mill. I like that deal!

That does indeed sound like a good deal!

BTW I split a lot of firewood as a kid. When I was 9 years old I was sent to pay the family's monthly butchers account with a $10 note and I lost it. My punishment was to chop 10 tons of firewood. Bear in mind that the wood was not even grained softwood but gnarly grained aussie hardwood. It took me about 3 months but I did it. Now I know how to split really gnarly wood but about the only time I get to use this skill is when we go camping.

 

[820wards]

One the way back from my scan stopped off at a pharmacy and bought a pair of cheap reading specs so I can at least function but I also get a head ache after using them for about 15 minutes.
I know my eyeballs are not the same.

Bob,

I don't have a distance problem, it's that darn close up stuff especially when I'm welding. I have been using cheaters, but I think I'm going to buy a new welding hood that will have my prescription in the lenses. I can have the stigmatisim for my prescription adjusted to how close I want to be to my work. When I tig weld I like getting close for some of the detailed welding I do.

BTW I split a lot of firewood as a kid. When I was 9 years old I was sent to pay the family's monthly butchers account with a $10 note and I lost it. My punishment was to chop 10 tons of firewood.

I'll bet you still have the calluses today from splitting all that wood. I cheat, I have a log splitter I built and wouldn't split wood if it wasn't for the splitter.

jerry-

 

[Pagie]

G'day Bob, Make sure you get to an eye Dr. and get your eyes tested.as soon as possible. I am a type 2 as well. You need to keep an eye on the back of your eyes. Get them to show you the pictures and get copies. just in case you or your Dr. moves. Your eye site should settle down once your GL stabilises. Good luck.

Peter

 

[BobL]

G'day Bob, Make sure you get to an eye Dr. and get your eyes tested.as soon as possible. I am a type 2 as well. You need to keep an eye on the back of your eyes. Get them to show you the pictures and get copies. just in case you or your Dr. moves. Your eye site should settle down once your GL stabilises. Good luck.

Thanks Pete -

 

[gemniii]

This is definitely getting off CSM/BSM butt:

Thanks Jerry.
I just got back from having my second ultrasound scan and it shows the biggest blood clot in my leg has not changed significantly in size since last week.

BE real careful, a blood clot in the leg got my grandfather while he was working in the field, about 50 yards from the house, it took them all day to find him. It then when up to his brain and killed him. If they had got to him sooner he might be telling the story. Keep your cell phone w/ you at ALL times.

Just to add to my woes, my vision has changed significantly in the last 48 hours .
My distance vision has for decades required glasses to drive, but now everything distance-wise is crystal clear without glasses.
At the other end of the scale, I used to be able to read the AS forum without glasses, but this morning I couldn't even read it with glasses.

Similar thing happened to me. I had gotten to using moderate (1.5) reading glasses. Then over the course of a few days my vision improved such I didn't need anything and it was back to 20/10. Then I got my sugar checked and it rang the bell at the top of the scale. As meds and diet dropped my sugar my vision returned to needing reading glasses.

Take care of yourself, we need your expertise so we can better make round trees into flat pieces.

 

[BobL]

The Doc has said I can return to light duties but no milling yet.

I have had a weeks annual holiday and been working more or less full time on the dust extraction system for my new shed.

It begins with a 8 ft high, 6 ft wide 2 ft deep acoustically insulated enclosure to contain the 3HP dust extractor outside the shed.

The enclosure is made of 1.5 x 3.5" radiata stud frame, the outside of which is clad in 5/4" thick melamine sheeting and the inside with 3/4" chipboard with fibreglass insulation in between. The whole enclosure is externally clad using colorbond metal sheeting to match the rest of the shed. On teh fron of the enclosure, 3, 70" high x 24" wide doors weighing ~100 lbs allow for easy access. Inside the enclosure most of the the walls are lined with 2 or 3" of foam. I scavenged all of the materials from building site dumpsters so apart from screws and fixings it cost me nothing.

Inside the shed this is what I have made so far of the ducting.
The main trunk lines are all 6" storm water pipe and I have made the blast gates using 6" connectors and some PVC sheeting

The 19" bandsaw, which I use for resawing, has 3 x 4" dust collecting pipes. The small Woodworking lathe has a 6" collection point as will the planer and table saw.

The acoustic enclosure was essential because my neighbors are real close by. The enclosure drops the 80 dB noise (at 3ft distance) made by the dust collector down to 64dB. Hopefully this will keep the neighbors from complaining.