The land maintenance, non-chainsaw thread

[highangle]

"Wo wo wo wo sweet child o mine"


You say that word, "Beau Dock", or "Horseapple tree" or "Osage orange tree"....a 12 -incher will take the new edge off a sawchain. A skiptooth will bounce out of the cut in a heartbeat. Yewwood makes hella shillelaghs, if you're into that sort of thing.

If ironwood were more than a little scrub tree, it might be more fearsome to cut than boi d'arc, but it aint. Maybe a big smart pasture persimmon is harder to cut, but I never cut one, so I don't know.

[Svengali]

Got any good stuck tractor stories?

Not exactly a stuck tractor, but a parked dozer!
One early Saturday morning back in 68, this precocious 4 year old found to his delight, a perfect yellow giant TonkaToy sitting all alone in the front yard. To hell with cartoons, I'm going to be a landscaper! After a brief circumnavigation of the D3 Caterpillar, I was drawn to the ultimate prize: to put my self at the controls. All the switches, buttons pedals and levers received thorough cycles of manipulation except for one, the key! They left me the Key! They left me the Key! but surely there is a distinct procedure to getting this glorious thing fired up. Now nearly 50 years on, the exact chain of events is unclear, perhaps because of the resulting trauma, but I somehow managed to get this thing fired up and moving! moving straight towards the House! The house that my family and I had just moved into, The house that my parents had just built!.
Perhaps it was my father's sense of protecting his castle, or just the screeching of metal on metal, clattering of the tracks, and rumbling of diesel; My brief foray at heavy equipment operation ended swiftly and suddenly when my father extracted me from my temporary throne. The trail of destruction was only about a dozen feet and a dozen feet from the house. A few years ago, while my father was succumbing to ALS; Any sight of a yellow machine would bring a smile, a laugh, and a "how the hell". To this day, I don't know either, but it might have been the notecard attached by keychain to the key that said: Starting Procedure: (1) ........

[highangle]

Sledgehammers.

[TAFKALVS]

lightning rods is where I'm going next.

Dowsing... found out I have the talent. Not sure how I feel about that.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Dowsing... found out I have the talent. Not sure how I feel about that.

You're a witch!

[highangle]

His fly's just unbuttoned.

[Alaskan Rover]

[iceman]

Dowsing... found out I have the talent. Not sure how I feel about that.

I can do it too. I can definitely feel the rods move. There's gotta be some sort of magnetic/gravitational explanation but it does work.

[highangle]

It's pretty easy to douse a gas transmission line with a couple bent pin flags. srsly

[bodywhomper]

Do you all float like ducks?

[Kopi_Red]

Got any good stuck tractor stories?

You mean you want me to tell you about something like this:



I found that one via Google search

So far I've somehow avoided getting too stuck and when I buried the tractor it tends to be pretty boring. It's just a lot of waiting around for someone to bring another tractor to pull me out.

Although my buddies neighbor did get stuck so bad with his self propelled sprayer that they had to bring an excavator out to the field a few weeks later to dig him out. That was pretty cool.

[Kopi_Red]

Dowsing... found out I have the talent. Not sure how I feel about that.

And here I thought that I was the only one...

[snoqpass]

You need a drip torch, the roast meat party sounds like a winner though,

[riser4]

You mean you want me to tell you about something like this:



I found that one via Google search

So far I've somehow avoided getting too stuck and when I buried the tractor it tends to be pretty boring. It's just a lot of waiting around for someone to bring another tractor to pull me out.

Although my buddies neighbor did get stuck so bad with his self propelled sprayer that they had to bring an excavator out to the field a few weeks later to dig him out. That was pretty cool.

That's in there good.

[Marshall Tucker]

What 30-35hp tractor should I buy?

The one with bigger tits. Duh.

[bodywhomper]

I'd like to add, buy local, small biz if you can. I own a garden center. We rely on all sales. Home Depot doesn't help

Hand tools. My collection is growing. I'm machete shopping. A little research here (the initial inspiration) and arboristsite.com, i see that the Ontario brand has a good function/value for our family's initial blade and there's a surplus store in town. I go to the store today, and it's $43. On Amazon, it's $26.... I'm all for supporting local-owned biz, but still....

[jackattack]

Not to mention the local garden centers close at 6 pm. How can you expect to have local clientele if you close your doors at the same time they get off work?

[highangle]

Hand tools. My collection is growing. I'm machete shopping. A little research here (the initial inspiration) and arboristsite.com, i see that the Ontario brand has a good function/value for our family's initial blade and there's a surplus store in town. I go to the store today, and it's $43. On Amazon, it's $26.... I'm all for supporting local-owned biz, but still....

Ouch. See if the locs can grind it for you

A new machete takes a while to lose the temper and take an edge. Your file will fail to take a bite until you remove that hard temper and carbon float from the forge.

[bodywhomper]

Not to mention the local garden centers close at 6 pm. How can you expect to have local clientele if you close your doors at the same time they get off work?

the local places mostly close at 6 or 7 starting this time of year, but the surplus store closes at 530. i stopped work early to get there before they closed. it's now 1130pm and i'm back at work...

Ouch. See if the locs can grind it for you

A new machete takes a while to lose the temper and take an edge. Your file will fail to take a bite until you remove that hard temper and carbon float from the forge.

Thanks. My neighbor has a grinder in his garage. i may talk to him about it. i also have a dremel (inherited) and i'm pretty sure i have correct bits for grinding and deburring. I haven't used it for that yet. I also need to debur and sharpen, my shovels, axes, and pulaski.

[t-the-east]

Hand tools. My collection is growing. I'm machete shopping. A little research here (the initial inspiration) and arboristsite.com, i see that the Ontario brand has a good function/value for our family's initial blade and there's a surplus store in town. I go to the store today, and it's $43. On Amazon, it's $26.... I'm all for supporting local-owned biz, but still....

Kind of my point, as with any small business, the big box stores or Amazon, etc are killing "mom and pop" stores everywhere. Some people pay a little extra for personalized, knowledgeable service and some don't. All part of life I guess.

Not to mention the local garden centers close at 6 pm. How can you expect to have local clientele if you close your doors at the same time they get off work?

This is a tough one too, people want you open at 7am but they also want you open at 7pm, tough and exhausting to do without getting beat up on payroll.

Bottom line fellas, I should've went to dentist school... the major bonus is I take the entire winter off and ski. Trade offs...

[DoWork]

Hand tools. My collection is growing. I'm machete shopping. A little research here (the initial inspiration) and arboristsite.com, i see that the Ontario brand has a good function/value for our family's initial blade and there's a surplus store in town. I go to the store today, and it's $43. On Amazon, it's $26.... I'm all for supporting local-owned biz, but still....

Woodsman' pal. Domestically produced, hell of a product too, nice steel and a stout brush hook, I'm a huge fan of the long reach model. Makimono on here has one his old man carried in 'Nam or something and it still has the instructions on how to properly split someone's head open with it.

[steff]

Hand tools. My collection is growing. I'm machete shopping. A little research here (the initial inspiration) and arboristsite.com, i see that the Ontario brand has a good function/value for our family's initial blade and there's a surplus store in town. I go to the store today, and it's $43. On Amazon, it's $26.... I'm all for supporting local-owned biz, but still....

The Ontario machete is a nice tool, a bit thick and heavy for real machete style work though. It works best on sturdier stems and hardwoods.
Look for machetes from Tramontina, Imacasa or Condor.
https://www.machetespecialists.com/
http://www.baryonyxknife.com/

The Fiskars brush hook is a good working tool as well. The handle isn't very comfortable, but not bad for short term use.
Fiskars has a new machete I've seen at HD... can't find it on their site. Seems ok.

[bodywhomper]

thanks for the other recommendations. I'll check those out. I held a condor at the surplus store. it felt nice in the hand (and looked nice), but was >$80. i read numerous recommendations for the woodsman pal with statements like, "my other blades have not been used for a long time after buying the pal".... i don't have a lot of need for a machete on my property at the moment. my initial thought was to use it on the incense cedar "sprouts" that are too think for my cheap string trimmer. last spring, i used one of my chainsaws and/or loppers and/or a root jack, but that was a PITA, thus looking at the cheaper, sharpen-able, and seemingly highly recommended machete.

Kind of my point, as with any small business, the big box stores or Amazon, etc are killing "mom and pop" stores everywhere. Some people pay a little extra for personalized, knowledgeable service and some don't. All part of life I guess.

This is a tough one too, people want you open at 7am but they also want you open at 7pm, tough and exhausting to do without getting beat up on payroll.

Bottom line fellas, I should've went to dentist school... the major bonus is I take the entire winter off and ski. Trade offs...

i hear this^^^. i used to work at a mountaineering shop (rental shop, sale floor, assistance floor mgr, and buyer) in the bay area when online retail started taking off and REI made a big push to open several more bay area stores. we focused on customer service and knowledgeable staff, which sort of worked. but that damn knife is almost twice the cost. add the sheath, and i'd be paying more than double.

my usual MO is that I buy locally if I can get it (well, usually, I first try to buy things used). If not, then I order online. i have an excuse to go into town this afternoon. i'll stop at one of the other hardware/garden supply stores (we have like 4 or 5). a machete, i should be able to locally purchase.

[PaSucks]

Buster, I have a Worx battery string trimmer that was cheap and does everything I need. Battery lasts a long time and I have 2 of them, I like the thing.

https://smile.amazon.com/32-Volt-Str...ustomerReviews

Been thinking of going to a battery weed wackier when my gas weed eater dies. Trying to figure out what to get. I think I want one of those swappable battery systems where multiple tools work from the same battery.

[DoWork]

i don't have a lot of need for a machete on my property at the moment. my initial thought was to use it on the incense cedar "sprouts" that are too think for my cheap string trimmer. last spring, i used one of my chainsaws and/or loppers and/or a root jack, but that was a PITA, thus looking at the cheaper, sharpen-able, and seemingly highly recommended machete.

Dude. Scythe. Seymour snath & 20" brush blade. That low thick shit doesn't stand a chance. Briars, vines, grasses and saplings all become your bitch. I will never not own one again- and I keep my blade razor sharp. It's unreal how fast you can clear even the steepest terrain!

Trying to do it with any kind of machete would be awful. The Pal is awesome but it is not what I would clear a lot of low hobble with. We do all out glades with scythes because it is freakin perfect for it. (And damn good exercise!)