Hide/Bug-out site construction thread, Part 2

[Flyin6]

Look at the size of that gearbox!

[Flyin6]

The sides seem to be made from 3/8" steel and the strapping is 1/2" steel

The tail wheel makes that deere thing look like a toy.

Well comparing them side to side, the old Deere cutter is a tinkertoy compared to this one

[Flyin6]

The pins are a cool arrangement that is either a cat 1 or a cat 2 depending on which position you select for the retainer. My tractor has a Cat 2 3-point

[Flyin6]

The beef is all over the auger as well. Look at that enormous gear box!

[Flyin6]

I thought it was kind of funny how the Kubota dealer ordered my cutter and auger in Kubota orange! I guess he's sowing into the idea of my owning orange equipment.

I don't know if my next tractor will be a Kubota, but I know for sure I will not buy anything John Deere ever again. Their quality is not there and they are priced out of the market.

I pulled it off the trailer, then backed in and hooked it right up with that nifty quick-tatch apparatus I have on the Deere

[Flyin6]

Well, two things

1. It's heavy, real heavy!

2. I have never experienced a smoother running cutter!

It makes a whirling sound but is really quiet. There is not a hint of vibration, unlike my old Deere cutter which would cause blood clots every half hour. That thing was just awful. Like I said, I won't even waste my time looking at that green junk again!

I cut, maybe 20 acres with it, and the tractor never overheated. Note that with the Deere cutter the tractor overheated every 15 minutes or so. The green cutter threw out so much debris and dust that the radiator clogged up often and quickly. That did not happen even once and the temp gage stayed high green even when mowing in 94F temps for hours

I didn't get a closeup, after pic of the fields, only this telephoto pic. It was getting late and I was half burned alive by the heat and the sun and all I wanted to do was shower to cool off

[Flyin6]

I purchased some Timber land pull-knives to de-bark the cedar logs ahead of sticking them in the ground

Do not buy Timber land

Cheap Chinese junk

The knives did not even come with an edge!

I had to grind the snot out of them, and afterward, they were hard to pull through that seasoned cedar

I have a broken rib as well, so pulling with effort is pretty tough at the moment, but my brother in law laid into this post and whittled it pretty well

[Flyin6]

We built those two bucking horses to hold the log, and allow one to sit on the log while grinding the two opposing ends of a broken rib together!
I can vouch for the concept, it worked!

Now, I think I am going to have to come up with a more industrialized method to do this. That was bust your butt hard! And in the heat, we managed one log, then threw in the towel...What a good workout though!

When you get to a knot, you end up with this birds nest:

[Flyin6]

I discovered where the bedding mulch is going to come from!

And I'll take care not to get the chevy stuck in that morass!

[Bigdave_185]

That mowing looks like it could be a peaceful morning activity if done before the heat


Raising boys into RealMen!!

[KensAuto]

Hey Big D, how 'bout one of these?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200326354_200326354?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Logging%20%3E%20Logging%20Tools&utm_campaign=Northern%20Tool%20and%20Equipment&utm_content=119800&gclid=CPHSupSa484CFZKHaQod5poCJQ

[stlaser]

Small chainsaw should work those knots over with ease I would think....

[Nate]

Nice

[Flyin6]

That thing looks pretty cool, right up the point where I find a nail

Shaper and planner blades can be tricky

Need a lot of sharpening

But it is only knocking off bark

So I was thinking of just settling on 6 X 6 PT timber. Until I checked the cost

6 X 6 X 12'  $37 ea!!!!!!!!!

I need 5 and 2ea 16 footers!

So that's $300 give or take, so if that little daddy works, I'd have paid for it on my fifth log!

[stlaser]

I noticed on the one review they said have plenty of extra blades & rotate them out for sharpening.

[JR]

A planner would be cool. Eye'd them but never could justify the cost over use.

[cudakidd53]

I'd think in that part of the country Don, you'd find bunches of the "real" draw knives at yard and barn sales.  That anchor your brother in law was holding reminds me of some students I know- it'll never be "sharp".  At the least, your nearest Cracker Barrel outta have one hanging on the wall.

[Flyin6]

I'd think in that part of the country Don, you'd find bunches of the "real" draw knives at yard and barn sales.  That anchor your brother in law was holding reminds me of some students I know- it'll never be "sharp".  At the least, your nearest Cracker Barrel outta have one hanging on the wall.

Yea, I bought all wrong

Was eyeing a Swiss knife, but at $98 I got scared! Like girl scout scared, so i ran away.

So now I'll buy it after spending $40 first to calm the fear! ;-)

BTW, you won't recognize the place next time you come down!

[Flyin6]

Hey Big D, how 'bout one of these?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200326354_200326354?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Logging%20%3E%20Logging%20Tools&utm_campaign=Northern%20Tool%20and%20Equipment&utm_content=119800&gclid=CPHSupSa484CFZKHaQod5poCJQ

I'm gonna buy that Kenneth

Then when you show up here someday, I'm gonna direct you at a pile of logs to go practice on! ;-)))

Edit: Its on order

[KensAuto]

I'm in....but I want a lumber mill in first...like full size...you know, the ones that come with guys that do all the heavy lifting? yeah, one of those kind. :)

[cudakidd53]

I'd think in that part of the country Don, you'd find bunches of the "real" draw knives at yard and barn sales.  That anchor your brother in law was holding reminds me of some students I know- it'll never be "sharp".  At the least, your nearest Cracker Barrel outta have one hanging on the wall.

Yea, I bought all wrong

Was eyeing a Swiss knife, but at $98 I got scared! Like girl scout scared, so i ran away.

So now I'll buy it after spending $40 first to calm the fear! ;-)

BTW, you won't recognize the place next time you come down!

I already notice the difference in just the photos! - things like an awning missing on the trailer, no trees to guide you to the safe zone where to turn around a trailer, no poison ivy weeds around the hidden well, uncluttered floor in the cabin, wood rack, more spent "projectiles" down range.......somebody used Sarge....Orange behind that green tractor thingy!  LOL!

[Flyin6]

I'm in....but I want a lumber mill in first...like full size...you know, the ones that come with guys that do all the heavy lifting? yeah, one of those kind. :)

I'm gonna have a mill, Kenneth!

I could use one SOOO bad right now. I'd cut all the decking from those cedars if I only had one.

[Wilbur]

Any local sawmills around Don that would cut them for ya? They might take it on. Or maybe a guy that will bring a portable mill to the site and mill them all right there.

[Flyin6]

Any local sawmills around Don that would cut them for ya? They might take it on. Or maybe a guy that will bring a portable mill to the site and mill them all right there.

Nope, none all that local. I really need one there to make it practical, and for around $7K I can get it done. I'll get one in time...

[Bear9350]

Around here there are guys with portable mills.  The band saw type.  My dad has hired one a couple times to saw some lumber for us on site.   Maybe you could find somebody to come in for you.

[BobbyB]

Don't they make something that uses your chainsaw to cut logs down to boards?

[stlaser]

Cheapo remote bush models yes, good ones use bandsaw heads on them......

[JR]

Craigslist or estate sale? Use searchtempest to search all the sites.

[Flyin6]

I'm really knocking it out lately

I'll post pics later, but have made lots of progress, killed a big old pile of trees, and even racked up some new carniage. And that would be on the new bush hog...

Actual date of destruction was 1 sep...

...For whoever picked that day...

[KensAuto]

I'm really knocking it out lately

I'll post pics later, but have made lots of progress, killed a big old pile of trees, and even racked up some new carniage. And that would be on the new bush hog...

Actual date of destruction was 1 sep...

...For whoever picked that day...

Probably everyone on here. ;)

[cudakidd53]

I'm really knocking it out lately

I'll post pics later, but have made lots of progress, killed a big old pile of trees, and even racked up some new carniage. And that would be on the new bush hog...

Actual date of destruction was 1 sep...

...For whoever picked that day...

I did......TO THE DAY...........Duane's lack of oversight as "Safety Officer" is to blame!   >:(

[Nate]

hold on now, we need to figure out when the carnage happened............cause I said it would happen on the first day of use.

[stlaser]

I'm really knocking it out lately

I'll post pics later, but have made lots of progress, killed a big old pile of trees, and even racked up some new carniage. And that would be on the new bush hog...

Actual date of destruction was 1 sep...

...For whoever picked that day...

Probably everyone on here. ;)

It was me, being the day before I turned older wanted to make sure you couldn't do anything productive today! ;)

[Flyin6]

Nate,
It was the third time I used it

One of the attaching pins fell out which bent the ears, that's all

Well there are also a bunch of dents in that thick steel

And, since I'm confessing the rear chain guard is bent

And the blades look like they have been processing rocks, which by the way, it does rather well

To the extent that where I find a rock, I leave in my wake a scattered pile of gravel

The decals are all torn off, but despite all of that, when the new pin comes in I'll be right back at it!

[Flyin6]

Well, I've recovered back to the base camp casa, headquarters location...finally...

Was down there for days this time

So, I know, everyone wants to see the Car-Rep. It's a bit thin, nothing major broken in half or spraying hydraulic fluid all over three counties.

But I lost my pin!

[Flyin6]

All in all, its G-T-G sort of...

[Flyin6]

Speaking of carnage, here's some:

[Flyin6]

There used to be a stand of trees in and around the well.

Since I want that to be a solar powered pumper, the things that block sunlight met Sarge!

The technique seems to be to grub around the roots with the teeth, then when enough of them have been cut, just push the tree over, then lift the root ball free of the ground. I tackles some 40-50 footers, but they were no match for the Sarge

[Flyin6]

I kept getting hit with thunderstorms, but I just worked through it all. Riding around in a steel cage on a hill top might have been a tad risky, but I was more interested in getting some of the dirt washed off me by all the rain. It worked!

After day one, I had maybe 2/3 of the stand on the ground. Dinner and a hot shower was calling my name so I put the Sarge to bed early.

[Flyin6]

By lunch time the next day, the area was completely cleared

[Flyin6]

The pond is filling gradually. This is only a small critter pond, and by no means the primary pond. That is coming when I get Chief.

I had a visitor during the night it would seem. That is not Scout's pad print. Scout's foot is smaller. I hate to think what made those tracks...

[Flyin6]

Got some time in the shop as well. I finally installed the 200 amp electrical service panel

[Flyin6]

And started pulling wire and nailing in the outlet boxes

[Flyin6]

I put them all over creation!

All of those circuits will be on a 30 amp breaker with 12 gage wire

The lights are going in on a couple of 20 amp circuits, and that will be overkill, as I plan to use LEDs to keep the current budget low

[Flyin6]

I think I ended up placing locations for thirteen lights in the shop area alone. If the work is slow, I can roll right into a tanning mode by cranking the voltage a few more, or with even more do rotisserie chicken over by the saw!

So next up, I build in the area for the wood burning stove. I opted for 1/2" hardybackerboard. It's a concrete board impervious to water and will stand the heat. I think I'll also run some ribbed steel immediately adjacent to the stove, once I get that sucker located where I want it.

[Flyin6]

I had to add some blocking and a couple of nailer strips to have something to secure the ends of the panels, then I screwed some parts, and used the pneumatic nailer when I got lazy

[Flyin6]

SO with the wall up, time for the floor:

[Flyin6]

This is an official "Scout Approved Construction Project"

[Sammconn]

Scout seems happy there!

[Flyin6]

I got into some more smoothing of the Sarged-over area, then got interested to see how difficult it was going to tear down that old barn to harvest the siding. I am strongly considering using that inside the shed, maybe as paneling for the upstairs room