Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Sawyer Rob]

We were out buying my new to me 60" exmark, had just left the guys house and stopped at the gas station for the girls to use the bathroom, and my wife phone got an alert "tornado warning". I started to open the door to run in and tell them to break it in half, we gotta go, then the power went out there, now I had to run in just to provide light for them to get out. When we left I ran over a 4-5" tree across the road, needed to get to the expressway before it got worse!
Heres what my phone showed there, I wasn't stopping til I was on the highway .
View attachment 1107778View attachment 1107779

Yeaa, it was pretty bad in some places, glad I wasn't in that one!

SR

 

[GrizG]

That was the Pilgram Psychiatric Center garbage contract. The FBI informant had been rubbed out and the competitors' trucks were suffering from spontaneous combustion. Everyone wanted to tell us stuff, but they were afraid. People would come up to us and say: "I will meet you at (a location) in five minutes, will talk to you for five minutes, and that is it, and don't use my name".

We had good findings in that report, but the mob must have gone over our heads, our Office of Counsel never allowed us to issue our report ... the only time that ever happened. The State was paying extra for lots of stuff that was already included in the basic contract.

My friend and co-worker Henry and I were the only ones that would do the audit. Henry came over directly from Africa and was a real good guy. We did a lot of the difficult audits together.

Was Pilgrim one of the situations where Maurice Hinchey (then in the state assembly and later US Congress) was pushing investigations and legislation to get the mob out of the trash industry? That was back around '79-'81 as I recall. Hinchey was personally threatened and applied for a concealed carry handgun permit the same week I applied for mine. Let no one ever tell you politics and connections don't matter when it comes to handgun permits... As a kid my brother hung around with an issuing judge's kids and I was at his house enough that he knew me. At about 22-23 I got my concealed carry permit in about 3-4 months at a time with it typically took 2-3 years... the Sheriff sat on applications as a tactic to discourage people from applying. I was in the Sheriff's office talking to him one time and he pointed to piles of applications on the window stool that were at least 3 feet high. As I recall from a newspaper article that showed his application and it's history, Hinchey's permit took about two years to be issued. The optics of him using connections to get it sooner was bad... me, I was a kid who knew the judge and flew under the radar.

Hinchey carried at PPK. A friend of mine was on his congressional staff and regularly rode in the car with Hinchey... he reportedly always had the gun with him. That is until he "forgot" it was in his luggage and it was confiscated at Dulles. Hinchey passed away a few years back... his staffer is now a city administrator not too far from you Mike.

 

[GrizG]

Due to family duties and doing a lot of pruning at family owned homes (shrubs, bushes and trees) over the past month I am way behind on the forums... We've had "hot house" weather here for months and everything has been growing like crazy. Weekly lawn mowing at my house has involved mowing it twice... once at max mower height and then a bit shorter. This so that I don't have big clumps with my mulching mower. Working around the rain I haven't been able to mow multiple times per week. Unfortunately, out of all that pruning and mowing I haven't earned a single piece of firewood!

My Stihl HT131 pole saw and Silky pruning saw have gotten a lot of use. Due to the need for more reach I got a Stihl PP900 with an extra mid-section of pole. That gives me 18' of pole length plus either the lopper or saw heads. I'm really impressed with the PP900... I've pruned 4" dead/broken branches with the saw head that were about 22-24 feet off the ground and nearly directly over my head. At that height and due to other branches slowing the cut branches down I can jump out of the way with no problem.

The PP900 is a very well made tool... the fiber glass poles with aluminum ends are made in the U.S., and the lopper and saw heads are made in Japan. It makes my 40 year old 12' fiber glass Snap Cut pole pruner look like junk even though it was a very serviceable tool. Changing tool heads and pole lengths is very easy. If you need a decent pole pruner this one is worth considering.

 

[JimR]

I'm going to install the wheel today, and finish up the job I'm on now, then I can inspect the other side. IF it's cracked up, it's going to get the same treatment as the one above did.

Be VERY careful running a turf and an ag., or you WILL be buying a bunch of frontend parts for that tractor. I don't think those two types of tires have the exact same diameter and that's bad news on a MFWD tractor.

SR

My old 7275 Cub Cadet 4x4 had turf on the back and Industrials on the front. It had been that way since new according to the dealer. When I sold it with 3000+ hours on it the front end was still in good condition. I was always using it in 4x4 for plowing snow, moving dirt, rocks and wood when needed. It was a rental tractor to a town in VT. and supposidely used mostly for mower with a 6 foot mid mount setup. I bought it from the original dealer/rental company. The owner told me that if I wanted to switch out the rears to Industrials to make sure that they had the same OD as the turf tires.

 

[JimR]

Just welding it wasn't the answer, (not strong enough) cutting the whole center out and water jetting a new one out of thicker material to weld in, was.

SR

A friend of mine had the same issue with an old dump truck that he picked up. The front rims were shot in the lug area. He cut out the centers and welded in replacements that he cut out from some other rims he found.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Now ifin he wanted to have even more fun he'd have it connected to that `lectic fence!

just noticed hose end! lol... if he did what u r suggesting, then he could run hose into that bubbling brook in the background!

" yeah, that's right... ol Joe is giving away free fresh spring water! "

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

.sometimes it sux to loose or misplace one's gun.....

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

well, good news for the future! no more guessing when enuff is enuff!

2 beers a week is the report!

 

[djg james]

In the "other stuff category", I know a lot of you out there have guns. Maybe someone out there can help me reassemble a Winchester Model 1200 shot gun. It was my Dad's. I was with him when he won it in a meat shoot when I was a kid. Granted, not a great shot gun, but it was Dad's. When he passed, I let my Brother have it since he didn't have a shotgun.

My Brother used it for Dove hunting and last year he had a mishap. A shell got stuck and he removed the barrel and all the guts slid out. According to him. He collected all the parts (hopefully) and put them in a bag and stored it away. I want to get it put back together again and get it working. As far as I can tell, only three pieces fell out. The firing pin mechanism, a slotted slide and a rectangular plate.

Granted nothing can be done without pictures. I'll take photos of the parts after I'm done cleaning all the years of buildup off. And I do have a parts list:
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/winchester/shotguns-win/1200/parts-list-win1200
I haven't studied the diagram much so it might be fairly evident how everything goes back together.
according to the IPL, I think these are the parts:
The firing pin mechanism (3, 5, 8, 20, 18,19, 21 Complete). I don't know about parts #s 4 and 17 yet.
Slotted slide (15). I don't know about part #16 yet.
Rectangular plate (43)

I don't know if any other parts where left in the field. I'll post pictures later today.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My old 7275 Cub Cadet 4x4 had turf on the back and Industrials on the front. It had been that way since new according to the dealer.

Then it was geared for that (which I doubt) but IF it wasn't, you have to be very careful about switching tire diameters.

SR

 

[djg james]

Well it's later in the day:


I see the slotted bar is called the "Extractor" (part#15) and the plate is the "Slide Arm Bridge" (part#43).

I don't know how the Extractor fits inside the Receiver yet. And the Slide Arm Bridge fits on the backside of the Firing Pin assembly.

The question is, is a bolt suppose to go in the hole on the top piece in the picture to hold the Slide Arm Bridge in place? Is one broken off?

 

[GrizG]

Well it's later in the day:
View attachment 1107851

I see the slotted bar is called the "Extractor" (part#15) and the plate is the "Slide Arm Bridge" (part#43).

I don't know how the Extractor fits inside the Receiver yet. And the Slide Arm Bridge fits on the backside of the Firing Pin assembly.
View attachment 1107852
The question is, is a bolt suppose to go in the hole on the top piece in the picture to hold the Slide Arm Bridge in place? Is one broken off?

The short answer is yes... there is supposed to be a screw. It does appear to be broken/sheared off in the photo. "Slide Arm Bridge Retaining Screw" numbered 4 in the parts list. They list a reproduction screw as being available as well as an OEM screw. The fact that a reproduction exists suggests it's a common problem! I have to wonder if it is a case of those screws loosening and not being retightened by the owner. I wonder this as years ago Red, who worked the service window in the original Numrich retail store, told me that extractors and extractor screws ejectors and ejector screws for Mossberg 500 shotguns were the highest volume parts they sold. This as the screws would loosen and the hole in the extractor would wear oblong and the threads on the screw would be mangled. Worst case the threads in the receiver were mangled too. One of my former co-workers at Williamsburg bought a screw machine to make reproduction screws for guns... a side benefit of this business was that he could write off the purchase of old guns as business expenses as he needed samples from which to make copies. I'm not sure he ever got screws to market though as he was stricken with cancer and passed away...

P.S. I had mixed emotions about Numrich closing the retail store.. It just so happened that it was located between my house and club and it would suck money out of my wallet many times when I went by. They had a walk up parts counter open for many years afterwards. That was handy but the last I knew they closed that down and strictly sell via the web (maybe phone) now. The counter was good as I could bring in calipers/mics and pick through bins to find things like S&W cylinder stops that exactly fit my subject gun... back in the day of hand fitted guns it was common to find the best fitting part or getting one slightly oversized to fit yourself. Red was a great guy... if he knew I was looking for something he'd keep his eyes open for it and put it aside for me. I miss the old days!

 

[djg james]

The short answer is yes... there is supposed to be a screw. It does appear to be broken/sheared off in the photo. "Slide Arm Bridge Retaining Screw" numbered 4 in the parts list. They list a reproduction screw as being available as well as an OEM screw. The fact that a reproduction exists suggests it's a common problem! I have to wonder if it is a case of those screws loosening and not being retightened by the owner. I wonder this as years ago Red, who worked the service window in the original Numrich retail store, told me that extractors and extractor screws for Mossberg 500 shotguns were the highest volume parts they sold. This as the screws would loosen and the hole in the extractor would wear oblong and the threads on the screw would be mangled. Worst case the threads in the receiver were mangled too. One of my former co-workers at Williamsburg bought a screw machine to make reproduction screws for guns... a side benefit of this business was that he could write off the purchase of old guns as business expenses as he needed samples from which to make copies. I'm not sure he ever got screws to market though as he was stricken with cancer and passed away...

P.S. I had mixed emotions about Numrich closing the retail store.. It just so happened that it was located between my house and club and it would suck money out of my wallet many times when I went by. They had a walk up parts counter open for many years afterwards. That was handy but the last I knew they closed that down and strictly sell via the web (maybe phone) now. The counter was good as I could bring in calipers/mics and pick through bins to find things like S&W cylinder stops that exactly fit my subject gun... back in the day of hand fitted guns it was common to find the best fitting part or getting one slightly oversized to fit yourself. Red was a great guy... if he knew I was looking for something he'd keep his eyes open for it and put it aside for me. I miss the old days!
View attachment 1107857

It looks like it to me also the bolt is sheared off. I've plenty of used replacements for the screw on ebay. Some OEM. Can the bolt be drilled and retapped by a gun smith or would I need to find a machine shop? I looked up replacement used bolts off ebay also. Some don't show a hole on the bottom of the bolt like mine does.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1556913534...CpHUlufsIkUdsDIGi5QW|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:4429259
No hole in the 3rd picture.

 

[GrizG]

It looks like it to me also the bolt is sheared off. I've plenty of used replacements for the screw on ebay. Some OEM. Can the bolt be drilled and retapped by a gun smith or would I need to find a machine shop? I looked up replacement used bolts off ebay also. Some don't show a hole on the bottom of the bolt like mine does.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1556913534...CpHUlufsIkUdsDIGi5QW|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:4429259
No hole in the 3rd picture.

This is something a "real'" gunsmith should be capable of doing. Done carefully the female threads are probably fine... Having done it myself I don't see it as a particularly difficult task but then I have access to the tools needed to do it--either my own tools or, as needed, my father's from his days as a journeyman tool and die maker.

Cost? Depends on your market! It could conceivably be less expensive to replace the breech bolt slide than to pay for the labor to fix the old one... particularly if that makes the job something you could do yourself!

Regarding the 3rd photo... there are tell tale signs of a broken screw in that one.

 

[djg james]

This is something a "real'" gunsmith should be capable of doing. Done carefully the female threads are probably fine... Having done it myself I don't see it as a particularly difficult task but then I have access to the tools needed to do it--either my own tools or, as needed, my father's from his days as a journeyman tool and die maker.

Cost? Depends on your market! It could conceivably be less expensive to replace the breech bolt slide than to pay for the labor to fix the old one... particularly if that makes the job something you could do yourself!

Regarding the 3rd photo... there are tell tale signs of a broken screw in that one.

If you look at the options for that part in the link I provided, I wonder if the screw is really needed. The newer version doesn't have a tapped hole. Maybe holding the plate in place is not necessary for proper function.

 

[Cowboy254]

I've always been impressed with your processed firewood. I'd swear you'd never get anything usable out of those ugly logs you post.

Hey! Watch it

Peppermints just ain't pretty, no doubt about it. You can make quite nice flooring out of it but is otherwise no good for construction and frequently has termite pipes up it. On the other hand, it cuts and splits easily, termitey bits and rot tends to be sharply delineated so that just falls out when you split, dries quickly and very clean burning, reasonable density and they're everywhere around here. I burned peppermint for two months straight during the depths of last winter and cleaned out a little over half a bucket of ash. They're a good firewood species.

 

[WoodAbuser]

Hey! Watch it

Peppermints just ain't pretty, no doubt about it. You can make quite nice flooring out of it but is otherwise no good for construction and frequently has termite pipes up it. On the other hand, it cuts and splits easily, termitey bits and rot tends to be sharply delineated so that just falls out when you split, dries quickly and very clean burning, reasonable density and they're everywhere around here. I burned peppermint for two months straight during the depths of last winter and cleaned out a little over half a bucket of ash. They're a good firewood species.

Just be glad he didn't say you were ugly.

 

[GrizG]

If you look at the options for that part in the link I provided, I wonder if the screw is really needed. The newer version doesn't have a tapped hole. Maybe holding the plate in place is not necessary for proper function.

It could be that the parts were redesigned slightly to hold things in place... It would be interesting to compare the old to the new to see if that is the case.... If there is no difference then maybe it really was redundant but that then begs the question of why do the screws shear off?

P.S. I corrected my first response in this thread... "ejectors and ejector screws" not "extractors and extractor screws."

 

[bob kern]

We were out buying my new to me 60" exmark, had just left the guys house and stopped at the gas station for the girls to use the bathroom, and my wife phone got an alert "tornado warning". I started to open the door to run in and tell them to break it in half, we gotta go, then the power went out there, now I had to run in just to provide light for them to get out. When we left I ran over a 4-5" tree across the road, needed to get to the expressway before it got worse!
Heres what my phone showed there, I wasn't stopping til I was on the highway .
View attachment 1107778View attachment 1107779

Glad all is well!

 

[H-Ranch]

Made my new PTA best friend today. My daughter's boyfriend's parents had a couple trees come down in the storm the other night and they had a local teacher cut it up for them. He does a few easy removals during the summer. So, it turns out to be cheaper to drop at my place than the compost dump in town. A good size apple tree and a couple of spruce trees was the load today.
And tonight he texted with an offer of two more trailer loads tomorrow. I may not be here to supervise, so I hope it turns out well. Cherry, maple, and apple in one load and pine in the second.