Chairmen of the Politically Incorrect

[Sixgun]

I get pallet forks and mom thinks I’m gonna go around “spearing cars” that should not be driving down our driveway.

So they use that term up your way too..”4 banger”……..

That boy of mine

[OldWin]

Wheeling out west is very different than here. Their rigs tend to be huge. In many cases, it's needed to deal with the obstacles, but up here they wouldn't fit in the trails. I do think the trend in the last 10 years has been to overbuild out there. That's why the short wheel base rigs have fallen out of favor. It's not that they won't climb, it's that they make them too high. Then they won't climb.

There's a group of guys that have YouTube videos that wheel all the trails out there with mostly stock flat fenders. A lot of people get their eyes opened with just how capable they are.

[Sixgun]

Personally, I think it’s stupid to be taking 80G’s of metal with another 10G’s of accessories to the point of near destruction. I really don’t see the fun of any hard wheeling anywhere……I like backwoods driving but I want to know if I’m coming back so I stayed on standard roads that a stock Jeep could go on…….He said anyone with a stock Jeep and 33’s are going to leave their differentials on the trail.

But I come from a generation where you took care of your stuff…..if I was going to get into that kind of driving I’d build (or have built as I couldn’t do that) one of those specialty off-road machines with 40” Super Swampers that you bring in on a trailer…..

Like that Rubicon Trail….theres only

[Walt]

I definitely agree with you, Six. I wouldn't take my truck out on a trail where damage was a probability rather than a possibility. Just stupid, in my opinion. I have watched videos and heard stories about Black Bear Pass in Colorado where people are sick to their stomachs, puking because they're so afraid of the steepness of the "roads" and this place where your son is looks even worse.

Jay, I imagine young studs in your area are like the ones here. Their lifted 4wd trucks are all for show, for chest beating and the majority of them will never go off-road. Those lifted aberrations have their suspension geometry all screwed up, their center of gravity all wrong, their fuel economy in the toilet. They can have 'em. I yawn and sigh when they road down the road; you can hear their tires from half a mile away and they need a ladder to get in. Not for me.

I had an acquaintance who drove Black Bear with a standard configuration Jeep and the first thing he did when he returned is install bigger brakes.

To each their own.

[OldWin]

Yeah I agree. I don't get the "Hollywood" wheeling. Most of this has started since YouTube. The "look at me" generation. Damage is a fail IMO. Getting through an obstacle without damage, or knowing when it's too much for you or your rig is smart, but it doesn't make a good video. I get the Rubicon trail because it's a trail with a destination. I don't get the pile of rocks or a hill that goes nowhere and spending 20k so you can up it.
Everyone is different in regards to trail damage. How much risk is acceptable to someone differs. Dragging a diff over a rock isn't damage to me. Never going off road but driving a Jeep in Salt covered roads for 10 winters does WAY more damage IMO. I am very careful of my tub. That isn't really fixable, and I have a minty 1st year Rubicon. If I roll a front fender I'm not going to be happy, but it's a replaceable, bolt on item.
For me, the purpose and enjoyment of a Jeep is its ability to go off road. I don't get these tar baby Jeeps with light bars, shiny wheels, angry grills, and 35 rubber ducks on the dash. Should have bought a Miata. Ive wheeled my Jeep a fair bit. It has bush marks and a winch that's been used more than once. I've had it almost 22 years and I've enjoyed it, while taking good care of it. Everyone's balance is somewhere different.
I learned from my truck. I had it 22 years. It had 52k on it and was like new. In the end, I never really had a truck. It was just something to worry about and take care of. It was really cool, but I never really got to enjoy it.

[Sixgun]

Yea….like Jay says, “to each his own.”….its freedom to do as you please….Mom says, “they ought to close roads like that.” I say it’s all about freedom, doing what you want when you want to do it.

At the Pa. State Levergun Silhouette Champs, people who didn’t know me would comment, “Your shooting that!!??”. It’s all in the experience and going to your grave with a satisfied smile so if these younguns want to smash up their stuff, let em…..

[OldWin]

Nailed it buddy.

Truth.

[Walt]

Nope, I certainly wouldn't advocate closing roads like that; I'll leave those to the youngsters. I'm way past that.

[Sixgun]

I’m aggravated…I always get this way after doing an oil change……did the mighty 3350 which has 2 drain plugs…….even though I made a 4’ trough to drain the oil from midsection to the oil pan I always lose a half quart here and there……

Well, like anyone really gives a S…..

Maybe they should close ALL roads except paved roads with lights and signs…..every dirt road in the country should be closed…even if it saves ONE life……..OK, back to your regularly scheduled programming…….

[OldWin]

Yup. I hate making a mess with an oil change. One of the reasons I HATE IFS trucks. Everything is in the way. Once the Dodge was gone and I got the Gladiator, all our vehicles are easy peasy now. The GC is IFS but all 3.6s are remote filter so there's nothin to it. W9rst thing I have now is my Harley, believe it or not. It's not draining the oil, it's removing the old filter without a mess. I have a pretty good system now after 16 years. There are still 3 oils to change (engine, primary, and transmission), but I don't do the primary and transmission every time.

I'm sure eventually they will do just that. You will only be able to drive on government approved roads. Cause you won't be actually driving your vehicle. A government AI program will do all your driving.
You know.......for your safety.

[Sixgun]

Yea……we’ll be dead by then…….on an oil filter that drips and make a mess, just put a baggie around it and a small rag at 6 o’clock……

Yea, Jeeps are super easy to drain the earl….of my 3 Jeeps they all take a different filter. The V6’s use oil where the straight 6 uses nothing……I’ve ran the Rubicon 3,000 straight RPM’s for 300 miles going to the Ridgway Rifle Club and back and it didn’t use a drop. Drove mom’s V6 near to the same place and it used maybe a 1/5 of a quart.

Ole Yeller still don’t burn oil…well, it didn’t when I had it on the road……got to get 12 gallons of old gas out of it tomorrow…..the gas is from the 2019 tornado time frame and still runs good but it’s hard starting…..

After all of the oil changes I’ve been doing in the last couple of weeks, I filled up a 5 gallon ww2 Jerry can. Because I’m so concerned about climate change I make sure to dispose of it properly by dumping a couple of quarts on the trash I burn.Works great for killing weeds too! Where my burn pit is nothing is going to grow there for 200 years. I figure the gas I’m taking out of the old Jeep will be fine for weed killing and saving some for cleaning paint brushes and cleaning greasy parts, then when that gets dirty I just wing it over the fence to my neighbors. He thinks he’s a big shot by having these lawn people spray his grass.

[Walt]

I wait until I have 8 or 10 gallons of waste oil, then I take it to a repair shop down the road which has a waste oil heater. They're always happy to get it; they accumulate the oil throughout the warmer months in a 250 gallon storage vat and use it all winter.

[Old Savage]

Here is the oldest I have seen a picture of. A friend has a first year production 1860 Army.

[Sixgun]

That’s really niiiccccceeee……..just a few thousand numbers away from Custer era single actions……most likely saw use during the Indian Wars.

The guy writes, “showing off”. Why is he showing off? What, only rich people are allowed to talk mightily about a rare gun? He’s not showing off, he’s having a “show and tell”. . When a regular guy gets a nice gun they are “bragging” or “showing off” and when a rich guy has something rare, it’s “oooooooooo’s and ahhhhh’s”. Like shrapnel, only time he posts it’s something he got and people rush to him and say, “can I be your friend?” or “can I wash your underwear?”….

I learned that by observation and reading quotes from Denzel Washington……that guy is dead on….

Get the Kopec book…..lots of pictures of rare Colts in the single and double digits, even #1.

You want to see a rare gun……Singer prototype 1911 still in the white…”X” serial number……had my hands on it a few weeks ago. One could buy a couple of new Corvettes with this.

[OldWin]

I don't care what others have or if they want to "show it off". I don't really get jealous or anything. If I had all kinds of money I doubt I'd spend it on stuff like that anymore. I've changed a lot in the last couple years. I dont really use the ones I have, and I dont have much. Certainly nothing super nice or rare.
While I doubt it will happen, I'd be a little concerned if I had half a mil invested in some primo antique guns. The way times are now, with a crash a likely possibility, that could shrink the pool of buyers considerably. Especially with the younger generations not interested to begin with.
Truth is, I half expect to be living under a bridge at some point (or maybe more likely my camp on a trailer). Again....may never happen. But I'm ready, and have contingencies.

[gamekeeper]

Over the years I have bought less and less expensive guns, my interest has changed and now as long as I'm fit I just want to walk the woods and enjoy the Fauna and Flora no longer bothered about long shots or record bags but just having a gun that suits my style for the occasional shot is all I need these days. Of course if I lived on your side of the pond my EDC would be a bit different

[Old Savage]

Here you go gk, just showin’ off. These are the only ones I have put thousands through.

[OldWin]

I hear you GK. Nothing better than being in the woods this time of year. I always have a shootin iron, but most times these days it's nothing fancy.
Come on over! You can have your pick for an EDC!

[Sixgun]

Just like the stock markets that J.P. Morgan follows I’ve been following the gun market for 50 years…..”buy low and sell high”.

There are 3 classes of guns….1) Junk/utilitarian in the $25 to $700 bracket………2.) medium priced guns in the $700-$3,500 bracket..……..and the upper class of $3500-2 million bracket……

In good times all brackets sell well, escalate and bring good money……

In so-so times all brackets sell well with #’s 1 & 2 holding their own but stagnant with #3 escalating.

In bad times #1 sells but stagnant, #2 dropping value and #3 escalating even more. There’s always people that have big money where money means to them like toilet paper means to me.

Quality, rarity, and condition sells……it always has…..with Winchesters and Colts leading the way…….

That ‘92 Winchester in 32-20 that I posted last year that belonged to my bud that was a 95% gun…..$4,000 and there was nothing special about it, just a standard gun.

Well, it’s off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of splitting wood.——-006

[Walt]

I have an acquaintance who had a SAA that was verified to have belonged to famed NM cowboy/sheriff/magistrate Elfego Baca. The sale of that paid for a three week African safari for himself and his family.

[OldWin]

There's just none of that cool stuff up here. Even run of the mill old collectible stuff. For the last few hundred years, everyone here has tried to eke out a living. If they bought an 1873 Winchester with the pennies they saved, it got used until there was nothing left. Old cars, trucks, equipment. You name it. It got used up. There wasn't a lot of handguns period. There wasn't enough utility for the expense. There were a ton of the cheap, guild manufactured single shot and double barrel shotguns. Rifles were divided between military surplus that were home sporterized, and Winchester carbines. If there was a handgun, it was usually a .22.

[Sixgun]

Whoa whoa whoa there!!……there are rich people in the poorest of neighborhoods and there are people who buy things just to have them….so THOSE GUNS are there! You just have to NOT start your Harley up once in a while and spend time looking for the “cool stuff” instead of lounging around drinking beer, eating cheap pizza and playing in the woods with a stupid chainsaw.

OK, my man…I got your attention. . …your boiling…BUT, I 100% agree with you. …….its no different then the West where guns were tools and the cheapest and standard were bought…the owner of the ranch bought the deluxes…….pretty much like me….I bought the best of tools but with no special options then beat the F out of them……….as you say, “just hackin’ on ya”

Really, the best and cool stuff stuff comes from old money in old areas and then a retart like me who reads books comes along………at the right time…….we are all born in a specific area and time for a reason or maybe it’s just luck.

The internet F ed up everything……….and is a direct result in rising prices. I rarely…rarely payed for anything even close to what’s it’s worth……then capitalized…….

But it’s only guns….period. If I had more money in the 70’s I’d be Elon Musk today….this S was everywhere……me and Tommy were talking the other day about the auction I appraised in 2001…..we should have begged borrowed and stole and bought up,the entire collection which sold for $750G’s…engraved and cased Civil War ‘51’s, 60’s and a half dozen 3 rd model Dragoons, 2 LaMats and dozens of near mint 1870’s-1890’s Winchesters………Colts that were rare by several dozen….i still have the catalog. NIB Colt 1878’s in 38-40!

But. We have our health and great families, which means more than any piece of iron.—-006

[OldWin]

Haha I ain't mad bro. Your assessment is correct. You lucked out living where you do in regards to quality guns. That's where they live for sure. They were the stuff the "sports" brought up here on their hunting trips. The locals were guiding these guys and providing hunting camps to the out of state dudes with money. They may not have had money where they came from, but to guys here, they all did. This still goes on, and I know guys that guide these guys. In some cases, they have come to the same camps and guides for decades.
I have heard of many occasions where close friendships were formed and some of these guys would gift some beautiful firearms to these guys. The Sports respected the incredible woodsmanship of these guys. They were also very straight up and simple people. But every story I've heard left the guides flabbergasted to see something so valuable given to them like it was nothing.
I posted pics years ago of an 1894 Marlin 15" baby carbine that belongs to a good friend of mine. His grandfather ran a hardware store and guided back in the day. He got the Marlin for 4 dollars in a barter for some hardware when a customer didn't have any cash.
He guided these guys from New York for years and they would come up and bring several beautiful guns apiece. He was admiring them in camp one evening when the party's leader told him to pick one out for himself as a gift, as they thought a lot of my friends grandfather. This made him very uncomfortable, but he kept insisting. To try and avoid it, he chose the guys 1908 Colt he kept in his pocket. The sport chuckled and said that was his favorite gun! My buddies grandfather figured he just said that to get him to take something more valuable, so he kept the Colt. My buddy still has it.
Back when I posted all the pics of my grandfather, there was one of him and a party he guided in front of a car with deer on the fenders. They were from New York also, and one was a big shot in the republican party. They couldn't have hired a better woodsman in the world, and gramp could shoot deer in the middle of town, but he was a big FDR fan so I guess that's why I don't have any inherited Deluxe Winchesters.

[gamekeeper]

Yup the guys with too much money are the ones that buy expensive toys and peasants like me make do with anything that just goes bang. Back in 85 I was working for a screenwriter and movie producer who was leaving England to live in the US he said he was going to sell some of his guns and I had an eye on a Marlin Mountie he had, knowing how much they were fetching second hand I knew I couldn't afford it at the time but he said I could have it for £25 and he gave me a couple of air pistols and a antique revolver for free.
By the way Jay thanks for the tip on the Fieblings leather dye, it worked great and I'm already on the second coat of Walnut oil..

[OldWin]

He gave you a deal cause you're a good dude buddy.

Oh good! I'm glad to hear it worked well for you. I'm always hesitant to recommend something to a friend for fear it won't work well for them.

[Sixgun]

I hear you fellow patriot………but it really was a second job…..first, you have to have the knowledge and then spend any free time you may have in order to read where the auctions were……in 50 years I may have bought 5 guns at a gun show……most all came from auctions, estate sales with about half coming from word of mouth……I have an excellent reputation on giving a fair price, never F ing over people. I’d tell them, “take it to any gun shop and come back. I won’t ask you what they offered but my offer will be more….word spread and the “giant funnel in the sky” opened up……

Now, on to more important issues….my pallet forks are resting against the garage door……….—-00

[Sixgun]

I believe the biggest issue in life is that people just don’t have a sense of humor anymore….why? the people I deal with laugh until the cows come home…….me and Tommy were laughing like crazy the other day when he told me what happened a while ago……..attached to his gun shop is a Good Will outlet…..(you saw that Jay)……and it sells to mostly people who don’t like to get up in the morning……he was telling me about a “sista” who was in the little cubicle trying on clothes. She was no youngster being in her forties……

The workers at Good Will were telling Tommy the story……..This “sista” went into a cubicle with some clothes to try on and decided to drop off a load of Cardi B’s even though the bathroom was a few feet away…..the whole place started to stink with customers complaining so a worker did a 30 second “investigation” and found a Lincoln Log a foot long with a t shirt over it……Tommy interrupted the worker and said, “I sure hope you didn’t do anything to disturb the nest.” I fell to the ground and could not compose myself for 20 minutes……”disturb the nest”….. .

A month later a little kid “from the hood” was playing in a little playhouse at Good Will. This little playhouse was $25 and the kid was having a blast…….until nature called………..and he dropped his pants and let go with a mini Lincoln Log and continued to play thinking it was OK.

Oh well…..on to fun and games……….Oh…..Oh……this guy was a serial killer in some country in Europe……he was born in 1810 and was hanged in 1845……..the authorities popped off his head and pickeled it where it looks exactly like it did in 1845….

[Sixgun]

Got those pallet forks today…..they work “OK” but I takes some common sense to use them…… 1.) they are dangerous so no whipping around the corner with something near you….. 2.) you NEED a chain for support if your lifting anything more than a couple of hundred pounds….. 3.) besides the middle stabilizer you NEED another one closer to the front. Common sense tells you that “unless your using a pallet.”

I lifted a thousand pound huge log which was about what the mighty Kubota can handle.Moved it maybe 5 yards to a new resting spot. I’ll finish tomorrow as it got dark.

[OldWin]

WTAF?! I spit my Miller Lite all over my gun room!
That paints a picture buddy! I gotta get back down there someday for a visit. What a big ole time!
I'm sitting down in my gun room watching old horror movies. Kristy and I took a ride with the old Jeep this afternoon to look for partridge. Didn't get any, but I found a nice trailer tire on a spare mount that had broken off a trailer at some point. Had a nice cover on it and everything.

[Sixgun]

Oh man! I just spit up my apple pie my SIL made…..a spare tire on the side of the road..l!!!! True rednecking bro….

For real, I swear to the Almighty that story with the Lincoln Log is true. She didn’t do it to be nasty…she did it because she don’t know no better…..ya have to put yourself there, dropping a load where other people are waiting to get in……yea, a real deal WTF moment. (Well, sure you don’t want to actually “be there”. )

Can you imagine the stink? Especially the greasy chicken, wings with bar-be-cue sauce, tomato skins, cheap wine, flies, brussel sprouts, bacon with no meat, bone marrow all about 3 days old before consuming must have smelled like? And then the kid dropping off a McDonalds kids meal with gristle laden chicken with corn meal breading?

I know you and your girl are laughing….the way it’s supposed to be.——-006

[OldWin]

HAHA oh man that's priceless! A regular McGriddle!
Oh man that's so bad! I gotta go to bed, but that's gonna keep me up for awhile! All I can see is some ole hoochie momma dropping a duce.

Oh man I'm tearing up!

[Sixgun]

Good night and sweet dreams and don’t forget about Shaq O’Neils meat grinder on his toilet so it can flush. Hey! These are facts but facts most people don’t like to talk about….. “McGridlle” imagine having to replace that when the teeth wear out?

Shaq…..”yo dude, I need you to come out and replace my 440 volt meat grinder…..looks like some ham hocks are binding the teeth.”

For real, I like a laugh before falling asleep…sets ya up for a great day ahead. Most people are like that except the guy who has to replace Shan’s grinder.

[OldWin]

Went up to camp and put out 3 blinds today. Got em all camouflaged and ready to go. Put some treads on the new bridge too. Then headed back to camp and boiled up a pot of coffee. Bummed around camp for a while and just enjoyed my favorite time of year. Beautiful day.

[Sixgun]

Yea…..nice day here also…..the coldest so far…only got up to around 58 and it’s 44 now going down to 42.

Went to Home Depot last night and got a couple of hooks and a new 2” ball for the new z726. Cut some 1,000 lb. chain and made a thingy that holds the forks on the bucket. (The chain keeps the fork from dropping and holds them more ridged for the heavy stuff. The loader is rated for 1,000 pounds and the log pictured has to be that or more….it barely lifted it but the weight is more out front so that throws it off some.

And that guy in the bottle keeps staring at me….he must be bored being in the same jar for 180 years.

[OldWin]

Nice! I gotta get some forks for mine too. They would be really handy at camp. I've already had a bunch of times they would have helped. I did put a bolt on plate on the top of the bucket that has a receiver hitch, two chain hooks, and two hinged D-rings.

[Sixgun]

Jay,
A little over a hundred for the 5’ ones…like, $105 or something like that……..don’t get the 43” ones as that was what I was going to get until I looked at the specs……they go by the full length of the blade so I got the 60” ones where only 48” sticks out…..the 43” ones are really 30”.

They are hollow, not solid like a real forklift….they will dislocate without a chain holding them to the bucket. The “stabilizer” bar in the middle is only good for parades….idealy, TWO cross members 1/4 thick cut to the length of your choice bolted with 1/2 x 20 bolts or 3/8’s head bolts on both forks ….one, near the bucket and the other 18” from the front tips would solidify the whole mess……..as you know, a “box” is geometrically strong….you can always take out the front one for pallets.

If you want the forks shorter, then go for it…..I figure I can always hack em down in 20 seconds with an angle grinder….

Or one can get the short ones, cut off the tip on the end and slide in inside diameter box stock…..get some 2” round stock about 20’ long and bring the end to a point ……..then go out on the road with it and wait for that bmw climbing up your A, let him pass, than give him the “treatment”.

[OldWin]

Yeah, the short ones looked too short to me too. I figured there'd be some modifications required. Seems like there always is these days. Although my log skidder I pretty good. Just want to put a small winch on it at some point.
My neighbor has some of these forks on an old JD 650 and he uses them all the time. He has a bunch of old cars and can easily move an engine with that little 650.

[Sixgun]

Yes Jayster…..the major use of the forks is for small stuff….im always moving “this or that” from one place to another and the bucket does not always work. Ya know, it’s not a major investment even if you move one thing a year if it makes your life easier. $100 is chump change. I figure I got my moneys worth yesterday alone by making 2 piles of wood logs out of 3. It was a PITA to wrap a chain or strap directly in the balance point of a log to lift it on top on the other pile…..now I just “scoop it up, roll back and lift.

Sure, you could drag your poop house to another hole but with forks you just lift and go.

“The Gunny” called me up from N.C tonight to show me a like new 1894 takedown in 30-30 made in 1901 he stole for a bit less than a grand….he was telling me the only thing this guns needs to be 100% new is a box and hangtangs…..he took it to the long range varmint silhouette match at Ridgway this weekend…..not to use but to show off as the targets go out to 1,000 yards which he uses a 6.5x284 with a Nightforce scope…..he said guys were offering him all kinds of crazy money for it and wanted to know my opinion so he sent me some pics over e mail and it didn’t take me more than 10 seconds to tell him the bad news….yea….refinished…..nicely done but refinished. He was in to it for the right money but he told me before I broke the news to him, “I finally got a deal like you’ve been getting all these years”

Oh well….its not my fault…..

[OldWin]

Yeah, I've had to break that news to a few guys over the years. Hate to, but it is what it is. If they'd of asked me to look BEFORE they bought it, it would have saved some trouble for them. I can't always, but I will if I can.

[Sixgun]

Some guys will get mad at me …saying, “are you sure ?” ……” how can you tell?”……..then I wont hear from them fora year…….after that I lie.

I didn’t finish the story last night….first Gunny picked my brain for an hour and a half telling me about these trips he takes, his wife got a new car, bought a new tractor…blah…blah…..that’s fine as I’m always glad when people do better…..BUT…..he had the nerve to ask me to send him several hundred gas checked 30 caliber bullets for his “new” 1894. I told him just to use jacketed and he said, “ man, those things are expensive”. I told him I melted down all of my lead into chunks for weight for the Kubota.

[OldWin]

Haha yeah I have gotten that a bunch too. I used to do it some years ago, but not anymore. I don't use lead but rarely in 30-30. Guys used to ask me for 45 Colt cast quite a bit. I did give them to a buddy that's a plummer, but that's cause every time he got a bunch of lead pipe, he dropped it off at my house.
My dad gave a bunch of gas checked 30-30 bullets to a guy he worked with for his young son. The kid shot deer with them for years.
The biggest thing I'm kind of a douche about now is my property. I know a lot of people want me to let them hunt it, but there's no way. In a week I'd be run off my own land. You guys and my uncle are the only ones I've offered to come up and hunt. Seriously. I like to help people, but they'll bleed you dry if you let them. Then, when you put the brakes on, you're the ash hole.

[Sixgun]

Wow! I never thought about that…..you and the mighty acreage……NO DOUBT, even if you let one guy hunt there, then it’s his dad….then the uncle, then his son, so on and so on……..and I appreciate your offer but I stopped killing things…I’d still like to spend a few days during deer season and just walk the woods but you know yourself, I barely make it out of my driveway anymore……there’s people who have bugged me to hunt on the very back of our back 2 acres as they know that’s where the deer pass through….i flat out say no…..once you start that you’ll have other people cars in your driveway and then if I wanted to do some work back there I’d have to wait for another day..blah..blah…

People have asked me many many times, “hey, can I store my boat in your barn”? or “man! Those storage things are expensive, can I put a couple of pick up truckloads of furniture in your barn?”…..another flat out “no” and I don’t give a F what they think. Once you do that, even if they give you $20 a month that gives them the right to come over there anytime…..Billy the Drunk wanted to bring his Scrambler over here……NO! If I let him he’d be over here drinking beer with his trailer park buddies who look around to see what they can steal.

My home is my castle…my last resort to not having to deal with people.

Tommy gives me 24/365 access to his 125 acres upstate and even a set of keys…..I’ve never taken advantage of that in the 15/18 years or so that he’s had it. I’ve gone up with him plenty of times to f.art around and shoot machine guns and other cool stuff, but never by myself.

I had that STIHL smoking today cutting up maybe 10 logs……2 of which were way wider than the 18” bar…..I burned up a tank and a half of fuel than shut it off….the saw was getting dull. I’ll sharpen it tonight with the dremel tool on steroids with a flexible shaft…..I go by eye, none of that fancy stuff…..it’s not rocket science maintaining a 30 degree angle….takes maybe 2-3 minutes, if that….

[OldWin]

Yup. I'm the same way. Our buddy with the 1200 acres beside us gives us free reign, but I always ask before I do something or go over there. And I rarely do. I stay on our property. Like you said, I like to just go up and bum around as much as anything. Especially this time of year. I care less about shooting stuff all the time.
Haha yeah I only hand file. No guide or anything. If you always do it by hand you can do it just as well as with all those gimmicks. Best part is, you only need a file with you. If you hit a Rick or something, you can touch it up in a minute or two.

[Sixgun]

A file does, from what I hear, the best job……you know yourself once you do something enough times, you become a machine and a guide at the same time……..I get those 3/16” stones from Home Depot and I have a powerful Dremel……..I cut part of the floorboard out of Ole Yeller one time as the bolt at the top of the bell housing was rounded off so I took the Dremel and cut about a 6” by 6” hole up toward the dash to get that bolt, then patched it with a license plate from some guy at Home Depot…….no…no….just a piece of flashing.

I just chalk the chain, hold the 4’ flexible shaft and give it a quick spin concentrating on the upper edge, corner and sides…..like 2 seconds per tooth. Those chips were spitting out like chunks of wood.

But you know bro.,,,.we is rednecks….we do stuff…….i probably get 6 sharpenings per chain, maybe more…never counted… sometimes I’ll hit a rock and pulverize several teeth so I leave them alone…don’t notice any difference……

Gonna run the splitter tomorrow.

Another thing, on Stabilizer….the red…..1 ounce per 2.5 gallons…….according to Chickanic the blue Marine is better as it absorbs water and you only use one ounce per 10 gallons. What’s your experience on that?

[Sixgun]

Oh! I found an old hammer today in one of my junk boxes…….i bet this baby will pound 60 penny nails into solid oak.

[OldWin]

My new saw has one link that's a different color. Must be what it's like to be a millionaire. Boy that's a modern convenience.
I get a few more than that, but I don't let it get real dull. I just touch it up. About every 2nd time, I take a little off the rakes.
On the Sta-Bil, I agree. I always ran the Marine stuff. Mostly cause it's made for 2-strokes so it has to do a better job countering the Ethanol. It's death to 2 strokes. I had good luck with it, but still tried to start my stuff a couple times in the off season. Especially if it was in unheated storage and exposed to temperature swings.
Ive since gone mostly to Sea Foam. I think it may end up being slightly more expensive, but not by much. I think it does a better job though, and will put up with sitting better. I have seen a big improvement in my sled. It's not only a 2-stroke, but sits a lot. Outside in an enclosed trailer.

[Sixgun]

Ok, I saw that Sea Foam at Home Depot……didn’t know nothing about it. Chickanic swear by Ethanol Shield…..she did an experiment and it showed the water being absorbed into the gas. Heck, that’s what I thought Dri-Ice or Heet did. I’m so confused by all of this different S. I’ve been using the Red Stabilizer for like 30 years? and never had an issue with multiple small engines, 2 and 4 stroke….Think I’ll just stay with the 360 Marine as it does say it absorbs water which I think is not that serious of a problem. Keep the tanks full and fire em up at least once a month…..but your winter are much colder than mine.

I don’t know..think I’ll just drop off a Shaq and call it a day

As for 4 stroke engines, nothing comes close to a Honda. They fire up on the first, or at most the second pull even if they’ve been sitting a year or more…..in my early days I was not as anal as I have been the last 10-15 years.

[OldWin]

Yeah I had good luck with the 360 Marine too. Like I said, I think periodic starting helps too.
Haha I still use Heet. If I'm running my snowblower on a major cleanup and storm, and it starts surging, I dump a bunch of Heet in it Pronto. Problem solved. Nothing still works better in that situation. Sometimes the stuff from the old days still works best.

[Sixgun]

Heet is good stuff….mix that with RCBS thick case lube …
It it in a spray bottle and you will have the best case lube spray you can buy.

[OldWin]

Cool! I'll have to try thay sometime.
I just use either Hornady or the spray stuff, depending on what I'm sizing.