How'd it go today?

[FireFighterZero]

I owe him a buck now.

 

[Grnjp]

You need a fat max, and then throw that trash away

I've run through a bunch of fat Max's, they are great but try to keep them dry and don't let them slam back in.

 

[Fiddler]

That goes for about any tape measure I've ever used...

 

[Tree09]

I've used the same one for over a decade now, take care of your stuff and it will take care of you! Especially measuring tools, they need to be babied as much as possible. I also use a stick rule for most stuff under 6', same one for at least 6 years (klein fiberglass).

 

[Patrick A]

Porta wrap, slings and rigging line to lower a wood stove down the stairs. Going down the first step was the only challenge then it went quite smoothly.

 

[Grnjp]

I've used the same one for over a decade now, take care of your stuff and it will take care of you! Especially measuring tools, they need to be babied as much as possible. I also use a stick rule for most stuff under 6', same one for at least 6 years (klein fiberglass).

I have a Lufkin that is pretty much unreadable for the first 6 inches. That said a tape measure is disposable.

 

[Tree09]

That's why the Klein one is so good, the numbers are in the material so they stay good. The Lufkin ones are the ones everyone uses, and were a great tool back in the day. Back then they had little staples that held them apart so the numbers wouldn't rub off, and they were more rounded so they fit in your pocket better. The new ones don't have these features, so the numbers wear off, and naturally they sell more so they think they've done good.

The fiberglass one works even better because the pins and locks are tighter. Mine is so worn now that it's like when you have a lufkin for years and lube it up with cutting oil from the threader, where you can open it with the flick of the wrist. I'll likely retire it to home use soon just because i prefer them stiff when pulling measurements and fitting since you are holding it out in the air, aka the same reason the fat max is good. Works great loose for layout, but rigidity is nice when doing some stuff.

 

[lxskllr]

The square ended rules are better to read, but they take up a little more room than the round ended ones. They all last about the same in field conditions. I like keeping a broken rule in my pouch. The compact size is convenient for certain things.

Got a late start leaving the office. The verizon guy was there to fix the internet/phones. A truck had wiped out the wires a couple days ago. Blew out a bunch of curb stakeout. Staked, graded, and a cutsheet generated. Also taught the boss a couple tricks he already forgot, and probably couldn't do again.

Took my belt in another notch. Right on schedule. I'll be wondering if I should punch a new hole in a couple months, and then the winter weight will be back :^/

My tarp bed cover is working great. There's a couple small tweaks I can make, but I could hardly be happier with it. Winter is still a wild card. Dunno what it'll be like to deal with in snow/ice, but the hardcover wasn't a treat either. I had to cut it off with a knife a dozen times per season when it froze to the bed rails. Assuming winter is acceptable, and a tarp lasts at least two months, I'll consider it a full success.

 

[stikine]

A blue tarp is the Alaska state flower up here John, I'm sure it will work great for you! I do miss the spruce window set up.

 

[stig]

To misquote Mae West:" is that a broken rule in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?".

 

[pigwot]

John,
Maybe for the winter place a few strips of wood, arched from side to side - so the tarp drains and doesn’t collect rain/snow ?

 

[lxskllr]

I was considering schemes like that Pat. I'm gonna hold off til I've spent time with it. That adds complexity, and the snow and stuff might not even be an issue. In some ways, the flexibility of the tarp will make it easier to clear than a hard cover. The one problem will be snow falling into the edges of the bed. This system assumes water is gonna get in the bed, then flow out the back. Since snow/ice doesn't flow... Problem? Dunno. I'll have to wait and see. It'll surely be more of a hassle, but the hardcover was more of a hassle in winter also. If it's only slightly worse(maybe better) than the hard cover, I'll consider that acceptable. If it's an ordeal, I'll have to change something.

 

[Burnham]

Schedule 40 pvc pipe in 1 inch diameter will arch nicely...just a thought.

 

[pigwot]

Just a thought(not sure if you'll make out what I am trying to describe), but if you decide to use the PVC arches, take PVC Tees, and cut halfway through the portion perpendicular to the crosspiece, the arched piece will stay in place on the edge of your truck bed with the tarp tightened down against the arches.

P.S. I am trying to unseat Kyle as the sketch-king ;0

 

[lxskllr]

You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to take Kyle's job of TreeHouse Master Artist :^D

Nice sketch.

 

[stikine]

You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to take Kyle's job of TreeHouse Master Artist :^D

Nice sketch.

Not to mention Pat wanting to topple your wooden window making skills.

 

[Tree09]

So my water softner died a couple weeks ago so we got a new one. My modest house is on a crawlspace, with just the block footings as a foundation. So to accommodate and access the plumbing i put in a mini basement and the access is by extension ladder, so you need iron or rigging skills to swap stuff. Not for everyone but for me it's better since you don't work nearly as hard and everything is handled outside so you don't mess up your house.


Got the old one pulled and the new one lowered in tonight, I'll have it hooked up tomorrow. Chipper crane is about the handiest thing ever, and i melted some pex pipe to fill the pipe bushing (i needed sch 80 to get the right fit, still might fix it in the future). It's ugly but it worked swimmingly tonight.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

Nice to see your crane working as you like.
You really should put a longer tube as the vertical hinge. This one is way too short and tends to tilt and drag/jam under the mast's load. The linning to reduce the friction is a good idea but doesn't solve the tilting tendency from the bad proportion between the levers (hight of the small tube/ distance "inner tube to bolt"). I'd say, at least a tube three times longer than its diameter should be a good start. This one looks being only 3/4 of the diameter at first glance. Reducing the distance "inner tube to bolt" by cuting off the midle support plate may definitively help

 

[Tree09]

Nice to see your crane working as you like.
You really should put a longer tube as the vertical hinge. This one is way too short and tends to tilt and drag/jam under the mast's load. The linning to reduce the friction is a good idea but doesn't solve the tilting tendency from the bad proportion between the levers (hight of the small tube/ distance "inner tube to bolt"). I'd say, at least a tube three times longer than its diameter should be a good start. This one looks being only 3/4 of the diameter at first glance. Reducing the distance "inner tube to bolt" by cuting off the midle support plate may definitively help

Good call, I might make another when i get the lathe up and running, something that simply goes around the mast like a thrust bearing. There's just a tad bit too much slop as is, but it works well enough for now for its capacity i think. I almost did a flexible connection since those seem to be even simpler and easier, but decided to do it that way. Something like this which is from a Thames river barge, where they pretty much simply suspend it in space so it can move freely. Like everything else in life, nothings perfect.

With the GRCS strategically placed next to the mast, it could be mistaken for a land-lubber’s sailboat, I suspect…

Lol it is man, that's the winch for when I'm using rope for lifting or winching limbs. For lifting and setting stuff chain falls are easier so that's what i end up using a bunch, hence all the chains. If you've never used them before chain falls are very very handy, the ability to raise or lower loads with that kind of ease and precision is a game changer.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Damn it son. You need to fly that skull and cross bones on that thing.

 

[Tree09]

My groundie used to be an iron worker and he talks about using chain falls. I’ve always heard them called chain hoists. I wasn’t aware they’d work in the configuration in your pic. Good to know.

Everyone around here calls them a chain fall, but they use the hoist part to clarify that its rated to lift when they sell them. They still work at any angle, and work much faster than a lever action come along usually, and sometimes being able to stand away from it all is a good thing too. The only issue is how the hand chain can get jammed a bit if you are pulling at an odd angle, so try to pull it more inline and it'll go. Since you are using a hand over hand and usually pulling down they are very ergonomic to use. I'll use them doing trees too, help pull split limbs up or guy them as needed to make them strong enough to support my fat ass climbing on them. Works really good pulling stuff over too, and since you can feel how much you have to pull you have more sensitivity than other forms of pulling, which is very handy when you don't know what something weighs or if it's stuck.

With a couple of them you can drift loads, which is pretty much how most larger things on a job are handled and placed if they aren't flown with a crane. Often a crane will spot materials in a pile, then subsequent handling is done by hand using chain falls, carts, roustabout and duct lifts, etc. They are also used to level or rotate crane pics, by using them as adjustable slings. You'll even see guys using a smaller one to set bigger ones, since a small one can be manhandled into position. Most store them in a 5 gallon bucket, which serves double purpose when running it where the chain would get dirty or stuck, for example when working on grating your hand chain will keep falling thru and getting stuck, or if you are working where it's muddy or oily.

 

[Treeaddict]

Back to the beach for another go round. This time it’s with my wife’s side of the family. Brought my reading material.

 

[flushcut]

Damn it son. You need to fly that skull and cross bones on that thing.

That’s what I’m saying! Kyle needs a hat, eye patch, wooden leg, and a lust for rum and gold.

 

[stikine]

And a bucksome lass by his side!
Nah, that would just ruin his image

 

[flushcut]

And a busty lass by his side!
Nah, that would just ruin his image

Yes this is true, his wholesome virginal image would be tarnished, stained, and blemished for decades to come as the fabled (pirate, frankencobbled chipper…..) thing lives.