I think I need to run an engine tomorrow.

Ditto what Bob SAID...we GOTS to keep the Boss healthy and happy !!!

Jacob,

Good luck with getting that degree. I've been a practicing EE for two decades now. What direction is your schooling headed, power or electronics?

To be honest, meddling with IC engines is more a mechanical engineering thing, but it doesn't hurt to cross disciplines once in a while.

Ditto. Take care of yourself too. And take a little ME time once in awhile. Does the mind well.

Nobody would frown on you if you took a couple minutes to decompress. Like Bob said you have to take care of you or you won't be able to take care of anyone else.

If you and I lived close I would drag you away for some mandatory fun!

Ron

That would have been a good idea last week. I was 9 hours away from Jacob all last week. And I was looking for something to due in my spare time.

double post. Sorry

Don't sweat the small stuff, Jacob; like the TE. You know we all do this in our spare time too, and just having the forum makes a lot of people happy 24/7/365. Do what you can, make some fun time for your own good health, physical and mental, and the rest will still be there when you get a Round Tuit.
Take care. And thanks.
Rusty

Oh, don't worry about me. I have time for myself, it's just usually at the later hours in the day. I usually get tied up in other things around the house. Just like today, taking a few branches off some trees turned into pruning every tree in the yard, then cutting up all the branches and either stacking the wood or bagging the sticks to take to the dump. LOL. Didn't get around to running a Cox engine dammit . But I did run the engine in the old Sears leaf blower, I just got the carb back on it after a rebuild. It's a little Walbro carb, the screen inside was completely clogged. You would push in the primer bulb and it would stay in LOL. Well anyway, got that cleaned up and rebuilt, some new fuel line as the old stuff fell apart when flexed, got it mounted and put back together. Started right up, a little tuning and now it's running like a champ.



Had to replace the garage door springs a week ago. Just put the door down after taking out the trash, went inside and saw that I forgot a bag of trash, so I ran it out the front door and while I was out there, I heard a quick sudden rattling noise behind the door. I thought something fell over inside, went out there and saw nothing until I looked up and saw a spring in two pieces.



I'll tell you, that is one heavy door, even with one spring still intact. Had to lift it up to get the truck out so there was room to take it apart and get the springs replaced.

Anyway, you never know whats going to need to be fixed next. I know I need to get inside the furnace one of these days to clean the A-coil. It freezes up if the air conditioner has to run for an extended period of time. At least I hope it's just dirty and not a problem with the Freon pressure. We had the air conditioner replaced a good 12 or so years ago, the old York that was original with the house got a leak that caused everything to freeze up for a day or so until it just stopped cooling. My grandpa worked with refrigeration units at the railroad (he ran the sheet metal shop), so he had a cylinder of R22 (that I wish I still had given what it's worth today) and recharged the unit after checking all the seals. It must've had a crack in the compressor or maybe even in the old A-coil (evaporator) as it cooled for only a few more days.

Jacob, you are one busy man, but I can relate. It's understandable why you didn't get to run that engine, but don't put if off too long. But you always feel better about doing recreational tasks after resolving all the things that need to be done first.

Got a kick out of your pruning limbs. I did the same yesterday and the day before rather than testing the engine for my current project.

I just got tired of branches slapping me in the face while mowing around trees.





That little tree next to the big tree got whacked too after I took the picture.

Bob

I feel your pain. Having property is time consuming. Never ending stuff around here too. Been playing in the nettles all week (about 3 wheel barrow full from the rose bed, and another 3 from the tulip bed) I hate nettles. Go right through leather gloves. I ended up spraying roundup where there are no decorative plants.

The best way I have found to deal with nettle is to use a digging fork or spade to loosen the soil around the roots, then grab the roots a couple inches below the surface where there are no stinging bits. Starting with a scythe actually cuts the plant too short to keep track of, so I ended up working on the whole plant being careful of the top whipping around.

They say they are good eating... not going there this year.

Phil

In light of others expressing how busy they are with some tree trimming etc. I thought I'd put things in perspective.  I've had quite a job to do.

Here's my home flying field.  (Well sort of.  I haven't flown here yet and can probably only stretch to 35' lines).

Here's what's left of my pile after having spent a couple of weeks trying to get through it.  The trees originally extended to that lump of wood to the right.  I've slowly been working my way into the pile from the "top" end of the trees

The shovel shows the size of the trunks I'm dealing with.


Below is what's left of the scraps after cutting what I could for firewood.  Janet & I spent morning & night cutting & stacking foliage on a couple of huge stumps.  Managed to keep it burning for a week even though everything was still green & wet, even the stumps.  The fire was fuelled with eucalyptus oil as these are all local Gum Trees.  (Eucalypts)  The initial fire was frighteningly hot, but once it died down we were able to get to it to keep feeding the fire.  Throwing a Gum Tree brance full of leaves on the fire was like throwing gasoline on.  You threw the branch then stood back as it exploded in flames and emitted thick black smoke.  Burnt hot enough to completely burn away the stumps.

Here's a view of the back side of the pile.  I only have a Stihl 031 with a 16" bar, so it's been quite a job for the little beast.  I'll have to get something bigger for the thicker trunks


The whole exercise is so that I can build a timber barn about here.  I need somewhere to keep my three old tractors and a couple of cars out of the weather. The Fordson in the picture is unfortunately ailing a little due to exposure.


Here's the view from my house.

Apart from the four trees I had removed, I had the guy take the tops out of five others as they were getting way too tall.  I planted the bluegums about 20 years ago and they are now about 60' tall.  We used an excavator with a grab & saw which can reach about 30' up the trunk, grab the tree, cut it off and lay it down gently wherever you want.

This is my firewood pile so far.  Not even half way there and yet to be split.  The Bluegum is green and won't split easy by hand so I'll have to hire in a hydraulic splitter.  This is hardwood remember.

No offence to anyone in their situation, especially Jacob.  I can really relate.  I just got a bit of a chuckle when I saw Bob's pictures of his trimming effort.  All good and necessary, but I think my job wins. Sorry for the size of the post, but it matches the size of the job.

Kari.  Those harvesters are fine in solfwood (pine) plantations, but as you know they can't fully control the tree once it has been cut- it just flops over on the ground.  The machine that did mine was able to grasp the tree, cut it off and hold it vertical while it made its way to the pile.   Much better where you need to preserve the trees and gardens surrounding the trees being removed.  Actually, two of the trees were long dead.  They were so unstable when he grabbed them half way up for the first cut, he simply plucked the tree, stump and all, out of the ground in one piece.  As it was, it cost me $1,000 for the job.  If he was there long enough to cut it up into 12" blocks it would have cost me heaps more.  It doesn't really matter if it takes me a couple of years to clean up.  I'll have enough wood from what I've already cut to last this winter and next.  We only light the fire from about May through August.  Looks like this winter (beginning next Wednesday) is set to be a wet one here.

I had thought I might organize a "Drag saw" day here and invite the guys from my vintage machinery club.  Quite a few of them have these.

I'll supply the fuel and the Barbecue and they can have a bit of fun with their old mechines.

With a little care and not that much extra effort it is possible to cut nearly 2x your chainsaw bar length. It will require the logs isolated so access to both sides is possible. Simply cut down each side 2/3 of the way, then roll the log, or risk cutting dirt (bad for a chain and bar) and cut all the way down. If you are forced to roll the log (as opposed to raising it on a "buck") move it over a chain with one end anchored so you can "parbuckle" the log over easily after a series of cuts are made. A cant hook is another choice.

I prefer to cut log 2/3 of the way down if the log is flat on the ground, then roll it before cutting the final section. It looks slightly funny cutting a bunch of almost pieces then rolling the log, but it is a effort saver. It also helps in that one person can be cutting without added help or significant risk of injury, then 2-3 people can roll the log, or several logs, together.

I enjoyed all of your pictures Rod, I love the woods.

Gum trees, they resemble our local cypress.  The majority of my six acres is covered by soft wood pines and having your exact same chain saw it dispatches them quickly.  I love it, starts on the very first pull after an initial warm-up.  These brought down by the devastating Pine borer beetle.







But in so far as a "winner" I think I have you trumped. I had to call in the pros for it though.  A very old oak estimated at 150/200 years old sitting about fifty feet off my bedroom and with a hollow core, I had to have it taken down.  Too bad, a lot of wild life lost their homes.  I picked a couple of Flying Squirrels out of there

Well Bob that sure is one big tree.  You got me there.  Lots of hollows for a few critters in that one.  I had worried about native Rosellas
nesting in my 2 dead trees before removal, but I'm glad to say I've found no hollows with nests inside during my cutting-up.  We have a lot of these birds hang around our place, along with several different species of Cockatoos, including these Galahs.
 They love to chew on the "Gumnuts" which are seed pods left after the eucalypt flowers.  We have a small birdbath in the garden and most days we can witness a bit of a "stoush" between species over who gets in first.  We've never used a feeder because there's plenty of native trees for them to feed in & the authorities recommend against it as the birds become reliant on us.
These King Parrots are regular visitors and really enjoy tearing the flower buds off of our Sasanqua Camellia hedge.


I must also correct you Bob, that a Gum tree is really nothing like a Cypress.  We have introduced Cypress trees here and they are considerd a weed, although I am very grateful to have a large Cypress hedge behind our house which not only gives us great privacy but shelters us from the worst of the foul weather coming in from the south west.  Many were planted decades ago as windbreaks on local farms, but most are now dying off due to disease.

Fortunately ours are healthy but we don't know for how long.
I must explain, these are not my pictures, just relevant ones I found online.

Rod.

Beautiful birds Rods, love them. Australia has such a varied wildlife. Chances are I will never get to visit but I eat up all the documentaries on the educational channels. Don't Koalas love eucalyptus branches and leaves? Interesting little animals that I understand are endangered.

Yes, I was thinking cedar and typed cypress. I thought the bark of the gum trees looks like our local cedar. I'm not a fan though, they are tough to cut down but have a pleasant smell when you do.

Bob

Ya'll make my body hurt with all the wooding going on , I have to keep up the supply for the stove in the house if you want to bee warm! Yes I enjoy seeing your pics of the difft. trees and birds in your area Rod. Eric

Too bad my first wife was an evil woman...and managed to trash all my scrapbooks from High School through our 8 year marriage

Lost a lot of cool stuff from my age 16 to age 30 part of life

In this case I returned from one Germany assignment around 1975 and was re-posted to Ft Lewis WA where I met and married the brat (youngest of ten)

Soon a child, and we decided to buy 5 acres of south Olympia WA property near a lake, get it cleared, and set a new Fleetwood Arctic built 14'x80' mobile home as our first ever real house

Elsewhere on these forums I might have mentioned working (during my annul leave) for Simpson Timber Co setting chokers and earning more in three weeks (cash) than an entire year as a E-3/E-4 Army guy

35 trees +/-175' tall and 8~12 foot diameter at the ground needed to go away... my contacts in Simpson Lumber agreed to clear the area for free if they could have the timber...a deal was struck that included removing the giant stumps...they still made out as each tree was worth several thousand dollars

Sounds easy...BUT

Remember them tree huggers?...actually now I are one..sort of

Well several (9) of the trees were old growth redwood, and in Wash State semi protected... in this case I owned the property but had to justify, in the permit, why that particular area of acreage needed clearing..and it cost a pretty penny to get the approval AFTER an environment impact study was conducted--- at my expense

The old Oak Bob shows getting the ax is a baby compared to what we removed... each was topped (the top 50 feet) then cut 8 feet off the ground at the bottom while a civilian version of the CH 47 helicopter lifted and took the pole to the port of Tacoma for transport to Japan on giant barges

Wish I had the photos I took... very impressive operation and the D-12 Cat bull dozer having trouble with several of the stumps was awesome... they brought in a second one and doubly ganged the two to rip the massive stumps out of the ground leaving a 20'wide by 15 ' deep hole to be filled ( they did that too...thank God)

WOW, my tree trimming was nothing compared to what you guys have going on. I just had to remove a few branches and try to get the trees back into shape. LOL, a fight for who's busiest. I'm on 1/4 acre lot in an area that was subdivided beginning in the 40s. The house was built in the late 70s on what was last a potato farm (or so I've been told). The people who owned the block of land last (who now live next door) wanted to make it a trailer park but the city turned that down. So it was subdivided and homes slowly popped up on it throughout the late 70s and 80s, There are still 2 vacant lots, the one that was next door sold and they just built a house on it last year. The fire department and old 1906 farm house was torn down at the end of the block so they can build a bunch of cookie-cutter town homes.

Anyway. I have what some people would call a "hoarder situation" going on down in the basement (too many tapes and equipment). So I've been in the crawlspace (another hoarder situation) moving crap around and trying to organize it some so I can get some more crap under there. There's crap that's been untouched under there for more than 30 years.

Here's some of what I'm dealing with under there

At least you can see the Nixon penny, an Obama penny would look like an empty holder.

Anyway, its mostly boxes of bar stuff from when my grandparents had a basement bar in their previous house in the 70s, furniture that goes back to the 50s, railroad stuff, boxes of books, toys and baby stuff... I'm sure some of you can relate.

I can relate for sure with the extra crap // What ever happened about the engine running , It doesn't take that long to put a little nitro in the air You might even catch the bug again and want to fly something , it has taken me some time but am building or rebuilding some planes now since the weather has taken a change and gave us a break from the 87* / 87% humidity . Hey I got other crap I need to do but I also need the fun factor (if that's possible) Got a couple I want to run myself and today may be a good day to make some noise !! Eric

Give playing back an audio compilation of cox engine runs in your car on the way to/from work might be a nice fix for you

Can you believe it ...I still haven't had a chance to run a damn engine!

For the past week, I've been sitting in the hospital with my grandma (who lives with us and we take care of). She started to show signs of a UTI so I brought in a sample to the clinic to get an antibiotic. After a few days, she was still going downhill. Her doctor claimed it was likely side effects of the antibiotic and to wait a few more days to clear up, but the next day she was getting worse (total confusion, shaking, not able to walk without a great deal of assistance), so we decided to call an ambulance. About 4 years ago she started to show similar signs, and it turned out to be sepsis. At that time, it was so serious and advanced that she was given her last rites and they told us that we should probably get things prepared for the worst. The doctors were so incredibly shocked that she actually pulled out of it given her condition. Well this time, the UTI has cleared up and there were no signs of infection, yet she was still shaking, confused and weak. Tuns out she has hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the blood), which can cause those symptoms. After putting her on a drip of Calcitonin to lower the calcium, the shakes went away and she is back to herself. They are now trying to find out why she had high calcium levels in the first place. They ruled out a bunch of stuff but its basically down to looking at two things: lymphoma or sarcoidosis. They took a scan of her bones and determined that the calcium is most likely not coming from the bones as her bones perfect and a PET scan for cancer cells hasn't been able to display anything to be sure of. Tomorrow afternoon, they are going to needle-biopsy some tissue from a lymph node in her abdomen and see if anything malignant if found, that will take 48 to 72 hours for results. They did a needle-biopsy last Friday, but claimed the sample was too small and they couldn't get a conclusive answer from it so they have to do it over... So, the oncologist thinks its lymphoma and the kidney doctor thinks its sarcoidosis. Both doctors doubt each other, thinking they are right. The main doctor is at the point of saying "we can't pinpoint anything yet". Whatever it is, they claim it will likely be highly manageable/treatable given how fast she has improved since she came in. So, It'll be at least a few more days before I can get things done. I should however have the Ex Model Engines Jan-June winners drawing up within the next few days.