Author: The Lord of The Manor

Laser Therapy

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

We picked up a GlowForge about two years ago now, and Missus has been happily cutting away with it since. But GlowForge has its problems. For a long time, the materials they offer have been very high priced, and often out of stock. They have very proprietary parts for the machine. Also, they have the software to run it on the cloud, rather than local. The user gets put into a queue just to process a project and run it on their own machine. Internes Access totally required. I could also add that the camera never lined up properly, so when they advertised on the outset that one could laser etch the case of their MacBook, I can tell you I would never have tried it because I could not be assured of proper alignment.

We resorted to using big box store materials and reduced the cost of a single sheet of plywood to put into the GlowForge from around $8.00 for a 11″ x 19″ to $1.00. That is a pretty compelling savings! One can put up with lesser materials for that difference.

So, yesterday a new laser machine came into the house, and we have spent today finding it a home. We did not put it into the exact same place as the GlowForge, which we expect to retire soon as we doubt they will be in business much longer as their model seems to be utterly failing, but had to clear it out, and the cabinet it sat on, as the new machine is able to cut materials of twice the size or larger if you use the passthrough ports. And it cost less than the GlowForge did! As I have been setting it up, I have observed that unlike the GF, it is built with off the shelf parts that look like they will be easy and cheap to replace! We are not quite ready to start it up yet, but so far, I am pretty impressed with what we have got to take the place of GlowForge. We still need to get the software for it, which will be downloaded to the local computer, and easy to use without going through company servers. Yup, we will be able to work offline! No delays due to server lags or ISP disruptions.

We are eager to get it running finally and see how it stacks up to GlowForge on an operational basis. But the features I have seen so far, including the much larger cutting platform and the much deeper height as well, allowing the etching of thicker objects, the local software, and the nonproprietary components has given me greater confidence in this platform. Oh, and did I mention we are upgraded from a 40-watt laser to a 100-watt? Yeah, that’s also a thing!

Missus will be putting products into her little shop as soon as she opens up and intends to take custom orders as well. Watch her space at Antiquary Artisan.

Kids and Firewood

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Today was a fantastic day on the farm. Two of the kids were down to the house with their wives. It was great to see them all! It was well timed too, in the sense that it was rainy today, and there was no working outside. We also had a delivery today that required us to take the front-most door off the house, and it was good to have help with that from our second, even though he was hopping along on a bad ankle.

So did I do anything sensible and go out to the shop to work, as it has a roof on it, and rain is no excuse? No. I did not. It was a restful day instead. We put a fire in the woodstove, and I worked on an “About Us” for Missus’ website. It is hard to get the text together to tell a story about us when one must decide what to include, what to exclude, and what to emphasize and what to only mention. There is a lot to our story, but not all of it is relevant to the business or the ethos behind it. I think what we need people to do is come to the “About Us” section in order to ‘get it’ on what we are all about. I will try a draft later with that in the front of my mind and see what I can come up with.

With the rain coming down yesterday and today, I have been off from the firewood work. I have got the trailer empty of it, and once I take out some garbage in that, I will be ready to go out back and fill it again for more stacking. It is important I get that pile of wood out by the sawmill cut down and split so I can see how much we actually have, and how much more I need to go get. The bunk is still less than halfway full, and that is a concern. But I will say this of it; the wood is mostly up to length, about 19 inches. The lengths are consistent, and because they are, the stacking has gone better this year than any gone by. I have several rows stacked up to just more than 6 feet high, and none of it wobbles like it is going to tip over. I think when the wood out back is split up and stacked, the bunk for winter will be about 3/4 of the way full, not necessarily including the middle aisle, which I normally don’t fill, but this year plan to because we always seem to come up just a little short.

I am trying a new burn in the stove this year. I am putting in two cookie cut pieces at the bottom, then stacking some split logs on top and doing a top-down burn. I tried it today. It went on for maybe eight hours before I put in more wood on top of some of the charcoals. It lit right up and burned on nicely. The point of it is to get a longer burn time out of the wood, especially for those overnight fires that keep the chill off the house and keep the pipes from freezing. It was promising today. I have seen a few people on YouTube lately that recommend a top-down burn for longevity, though they don’t agree on the way the wood is stacked for it. The primary difference being if the split logs are packed front to back or side to side in on top of the cookie pieces. I went front to back, perpendicular to the air inlet pipes because that direction fits the long logs better, and I am not going to recut the whole pile I have outside this year. I could cut shorter one’s going forward though. But then I would have to take long ones for hot burns and shorter ones from elsewhere in the bunk for long, fast burns.

The weather is clear tomorrow and beyond. It is time to get the work done I owe Missus in her shop, then get this wood done!

1 October, 2023

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Last week there was very little firewood in the bunk to begin with. I now have it a quarter full and have a little saga to tell about. The logsplitter was doing pretty good handling the wood I had out there, it’s little Honda motor whirring away, giving me confidence in the machine. But somehow the little lever that stops the hydraulic system in lieu of a detent got caught up, and bent. When I noticed it, I tried to straighten it back out, but while I could get it horizontal, it was still bent latterally, and caught on the end of the hydraulic cylendar on the next return, and apparently caught the seal on it. I did not see it do that specifically, but on the next run it popped the cylendar, and dropped hydraulic fluid all on the ground.

Well, needless to say, this was very unexpected, and it is a repair that is above my pay grade. I might be able to pull it off by replacing the clip/seal, or even the whole cylendar, but it is not something I felt I had time to learn how to do. So I got a new logsplitter whithin two hours or so, and had it up and running right away.

The new logsplitter is rated at 37 tons, the highest I have owned yet, though none of mine have ever been below 32 tons. It has features that I am not super happy with, especially the track the maul rides in. I was loving the fact the now broken one clasped the rail and did not collect debris. I am back to cleaning out debris, and especially watching that the logs don’t get caught between the track and the sides of the maul. That is a great way to slowly break apart the welds on the beam and caust the thing to fail.

Today is Sunday, and that is different. I am taking it off to relax. My muscles have gotten sore this week, but that is because for the first time in such a long time, my bones are not in pain! I have felt what I think most people feel as normal. My muscles can’t keep up because the work I have done has always been limited by the tolerance I have had in my bones. I could only ever do so much before it hurt too much to continue. I have felt well for the last couple of weeks, and before that I cannot remember the last time I was not in pain. I mean, I think there was a time back in 2005.

It’s a bit rainy today with tomorrow and the next day forecast for more. The temperatures will be dropping to just above fire lighting cold. I tell you, I could do with this being our year-round affair. Some rain, some sun, and temps that are okay to work in. Suites me right down to the ground.

It’s the first day of October. By the end we will undoubtedly have snow visiting on the ground readying for a winter-long home. That’s how it goes around here. It turns white by December, and it stays so till mud season… I mean, “spring.”

Snow on the Mountains! Peachick!

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

I am sat down with a hot cappucino at hand and lip, and am reflecting on the day I had today. It was a good one! I have nothing to complain about. But there are comments.

First, I managed to keep the snooze button on any anxieties pressed till 6:00AM, then got up and got a good start after getting well rested. That made a nice change from the normal routine I follow! Then I took the girls to their school bust stop. After I came back, I got ready to face the day in the firewood yard down at the dump in the city. It was sprinkling a bit before I left, and on the way down that picked up to a decent rain. Breakfast at McDonald’s did not give it enough time to clear, and before I knew it, I had my snacks and drinks picked up and was sat in the woodyard, dreaming of those sunny summer days. Well, let’s be fair! I hate those sunny summer days for their heat, so I got out and got to it.

The first two logs I picked up were of a yellowish wood with white bark, and a decent smell of honey. I cannot identify it for sure, so I won’t try to say. I also got some willow, I think. It had the right type of bark and white wood, but there were no sprouts of any kind, so it may have been different. After loading some 3,000 pounds of wood I decided that was enough for the day and took off. I was not too sure of the weight till I hit the scales on the way out, so I decided to leave before I overloaded the trailer. Turned out I had a bit of room to spare. Not much, but some!

While loading wood I tried out the little device I made to fit over the top of the trailer’s front, top rail, and has a hook under it to hold the snatch block that the winch rope goes through. I built it because the chain never stays in the right position. This device worked perfectly, and made the whole job a lot easier because I was nto spending so much time preventing the rope from dragging through the second rail. That wears the rope severely. I have already broke one.

Happy with my device, and with my wood haul for today, I came home to help Missus with several things she had going on, then unloaded the trailer. That is a process that does not go perfectly, and I am still working out some kinks, especially to do with getting the log tongs to grab hold and let go when I want them to, as they are not mechanically driven.

I helped with a couple of short jobs while Missus was making a shepherd’s pie for supper, then went and got the girls from their bus stop. It was on the way there that I noticed that there was snow on the mountains! This is the first I have seen any for this year, and it sure made me want to go get more wood and get it all cut and split!

After a lovely meal, I went out to feed the chickens that I remembered were out of food. That’s when I found that another peachick has hatched, and the poor bird was getting tumbled by the chickens. I grabbed it up right away, and brought it in to Missus, as the peafowl are her project. It is now sat across the room from me under a heat lamp in a wash tub with a bit of wire mesh over top of it. It sure is noisey, and I think, quite healthy. We did not have luck with the lest couple that had hatched, so we are really hoping and trying to get this one off to a good start.

Now it is about an hour till bedtime, and I still have to get the rubbish out to the curb for pick-up tomorrow. Apart from that, I would like to relax a spell. It has been a busy, and really quite exciting day!

Welding: A New Hobby?

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Yesterday a new welder arrived in the shop, and I got it together and gave it a go. I tried it with a stick welder last summer and have been advised since that wire welding is a lot easier to do. So, I got a multi-process welder that works amazingly on 110Volt electric from Lincoln Electric. I bought an extra roll of flux-core wire and some set-up magnets. I already have many of the other small tools from the stick welder.

I looked around in the shop and found some angle iron from a tractor implement shipment, and a piece of an old metal table, and welded them together. The first couple of welds were pretty bad as I got used to the speed and amperage of the arc. But once I got it dialed in a bit, I tried some techniques I have watched on YouTube, and got some pretty clean welds as far as the join goes. I need to work out splatter, but I did not clean the metal, so that could be the heart of it. That is the first place to start. I also used the angle grinder to put a cut in the angle iron and bend it down to a 90-degree turn, and weld that into position.

So, it was a decent first go at the welding. It gave results that are better than hot glue. It might be technically poor, but I can work on that. Meanwhile, it certainly adds an exciting new capability to the farm! I have some work to do on the wood hauling trailer, and there are a couple of old pieces of farm equipment that could use a bit of getting together to at least keep them from falling into pieces and getting lost.

The Great Goat Escape

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

On my way back into the driveway from taking the girls to school yesterday I came around past the West gate and saw something out the corner of my eye. It was the billygoat taking a run at the Ford. Luckily he was tring to take out the wheel and not body panels. I went after him to get him to stop. Going after him is not a run and a chase. It is a gentle walk, and follow. He went through the electric fence and into the llama pen. That was good enough for the time, and I got a look at the fence on his pen to see just what had gone wrong.

The goat rubs himself against the fence as though he were trying to scratch himself, which maybe he is, and the fence slowy curls upwards over time between the posts, and from them where they are not pinned at the very bottom. To prevent this, I decided to attach some old hog fence from the pig days on the farm to the horse/goat fence on his pen. I attached it with wire to the fence and used it to curl the goat fence down again. The hog panel is very rigid and ought to stay from curling itself. As long as it keeps the goat fence from curling, then I should not have trouble with the goat escaping that way anymore. This project required I also repair the fence between the goat and the dog. They have been travelling freely from pen to pen for a few weeks now, and it has never been high enough a priority to worry about it.

Oh, and also, something that could be of benefit in the future for metal fence: I have a wire feed welder on order. It should be here on Thursday or so. It will be coming along with a Honda motor. My plan is to build a Cyclekart as a means of learning to weld, or at least as a purpose to learn it and try to do it fairly well. Watch this space. The welder is a multi-process welder, so can do stick, Tig, and Mig. I’ll be happy to do some flux-core wire feed. But the other options are there when needed, and to learn. I will probably send the current stick welder off with one of the kids. I have some repairs and upgrades to do on the trailers in the meantime, as well.

I was so tired after all the messing about with the goat pen, which took my full working day yesterday, that I must have laid down last night, and started to bring up YouTube on the bedside tablet when I fell asleep. I woke up again at almost 5AM and found the tablet in that situation still. It was a great night’s sleep!

Worked on the Trailer Today

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

It’s meant to rain tomorrow and Monday. It would interfere with work on the trailer, so we got up and got at it today. My main focus was to build on the backing and top of the shelf Missus is using to set the checkout on. I wanted ti to come out pretty good, so I gave it a bit of effort to give it a decent finish. Missus wanted the end that sticks out towards where a customer would come in to be rounded to reduce chances of injury, so I did that. It was a nice challenge for me as I was using a saw that makes straight cuts. (Resaw blade on the bandsaw; some rounding mut not much.) Then I gave it the correct finish with a handplane and finally 120 and 320 grit sandpapers. It came out right.

That’s bee most of my day today. Not the rounded pine board worktop, but the whole shelves to cabinet and then worktop thing. I did mow quite a bit of the grass this morning, and I cleaned up where the memorial garden used to be. It is set in a wagon made from a likely pre 1920’s truck frame converted to hay wagon which has since fallen to disrepair. The earth under the wagon had become hilly and impossible to mow, so I leveled that off with the tractor and made it so the grass there should recover fast, and the area be easy to manage.

Our weather forcast for today topped out at 81F, and over the next ten days it is not forcast to get higher than that. We are genuinely in get things done season! At least for a bit! Cooler outside, cooler inside! So if it rains, I can always go work on the den and get it ready for the cool season, and to do some candle-making and hopefully get started on some leather work, too. I would like to spend the winter doing those things where I have ready access to plenty of heat! The shop is hopeless, and will get too cold to work in for several months.

Finally, it is September now. The summer will end in just over two weeks. I gathered firewood yesterday and the day before. Well, some of it was for the saw. But I always have scraps to burn from that, as I cut off generous slabs to get right down to the lumber and make sure I have good pieces to add to the cordage. What’s more, I always grab a few rounds to top the trailer off and come home with something to split, too. Even when I am gathering primarily for the mill. With the weather cooler, now is the time to get all the last of the wood gathered and split, and some for next year too, if I have it in me to do it, and there is time. I have a yard to clean before the snow falls, and I have a lot of jobs to get done. I won’t list them, just say when I have done them.

august31

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

I got the truck ready last night to go down and get a load of firewood, so I could get up, drop the girls off with the school bus, and head right down to town this morning. As I tooled down the highway, I realized that this was the first time I have taken the trailer out since putting a sign on it with the web address to this site on it. “The Peasan’t Manor Farm .com” is more or less how it reads. I was just a little nervous about announcing myself in public like that! There is still a little shyness in me.

After collecting most of the logs I found suitable for splitting and burning, I went up in the the wood collection place thinking of seeing if anyone else in there wanted some help loading their trucks. After all, with my winch set-up on the truck and trailer, I still had some energy and and was not sore, so I wanted to go help someone else out. I got up near a guy and his wife that had pulled in, and he walked towards me with a smile and said, “I know you!” I mused for a second to think where I might have met him, but nothing sprang to mind. Then he continued, “Well, I don’t know you know you, but I have read your blog. You have that little place out in Fairview?”

He was right and I very was surprised! Well, without giving out too much for the sake of his privacy, it was good to meet you and your Missus today, Mr. H!

We had a good chat, and I was happily surprised to realize he was wearing a hat with Vandenburg AFB and a little picture of the Space Shuttle on it. I spent a bit of time out that way myself as a local resident when I was younger, so that was a fun conversation topic.

When I got home, I was very happy to see Missus and our No. 2 had got her windmill together and it was stood up in her herb garden. I had a little break then got the trailer off the truck and pulled it to the back with the tractor and unloaded it. Two of the pieces were short enough to split, so I got at it, and found they were likely maple, so that was pretty exciting. There were a fair few ants on them, so I loaded them in the tractor bucket and took them around to the shop to spray them lightly. I have them still there, and if the wood looks clear tomorrow, I will put it in the wood pile for winter.

Today was a great day, from meeting people to just plain tolerable temperatures. I got some stuff done, and I had a relaxing afternoon. Supper was a spicy shrimp curry! Mr. H asked about what I am doing on the lathe lately, and I am thinking I need to do an update on everything soon. The simplest answer though is that it has been a hot summer and I have honestly had to avoid the hot places to keep conscious. The temperatures are breaking in the forecast though, and I expect to get more done now. I am about to nod off to bed, and I smell rain. Roll on September!

Troubles Getting Things

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Does nothing work right now? I have tried to order a set of mower spindles for the mower deck on the riding lawnmower. I ordered a pair from Walmart because I could get three pairs of them for the cost of one pair off the manufacturer’s website. Walmart’s website is still showing it as not delivered, but the tracking button leads me to the USPS website, and that shows it as delivered and left on the front porch in Boise, Idaho, which is not where I live.

I got hold of the obviously foriegn chat to secure a refund, then I went to Amazon and ordered two more spindles for about the same price. I hope since Amazon has a track-record of delivring correctly to out house, they will show up soon.

The parts are so cheap compared to the manufacturer that I don’t know if I am getting weak knock-off’s, or if the manufacturer is way over inflating their prices. I am going to have to find that out the hard way, infortunately.

Meanwhile, while all this is going on, I am watching the economic summaries of what is going on with other countries, and where the US is decoupling with China, and China has a severely crashing housing market, and there is Russia and its sanctions, and the German economy is not growing, there is a severe economic forecast on the horizon. While the US stands to do well over-all, I think we should expect a serious influx of immigrants as many other countries will be affected by the recession this will kick off. So, however wrong it feels to try to order parts now, I think things are not going to get better anytime soon. It’s the best time ever to be settled on our little farm.

Oh, and as a final, weird little side note; Hurrican Hilary is meant to make landfall in southern California Sunday night. One of the most densly populated parts of the country it about to get hit with torrential rain, howling wind, and everything its dirt-made mountains need to really raise havoc. It’s like the train is approaching the site of the broken rails on the track, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it before a crash. This stands to be not a pretty sight.

Today might be a free to work day for me. I really only have one thing left to get done to move major repairs along on the farm. Yes, I am still having troubles getting someone to show up and replace our septic. I need to get in touch with the company that currently holds a copy of our permit and has promised to get back to us. Other than that, I have been milling boards to repair the barn, and need to finish getting those set up. I may also start milling some boards to put around the front windows of the house where the old ones were taken down when siding was put up. We took the siding off the front porch, and now have to replace those.

Well, this has been a pretty Doom & Gloom post. Not to be a worried old man, but just to chronical what is going on that will undoubtedly affect everyone, and our little homestead here, too. Next we muster up our way forward.

Long Awaited Lighting

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Little things such as proper light in the yard make a world of difference! It has been some eleven years that I have winted a light over the concrete driveway. Now, with proper electrics in the shop, I finally have done it. I got a farm style light, and put it up just under the peak of the gable on the front of the shop. I put in a 100W equivelant LED that throws light all the way over the driveway, and some more. The best bit, to me, is that it accomidates my desire to comply with the Dark Sky Initiative. I can see plenty in the drive, but the light doesn’t spoil my view of the stars above. Plus the fixture is a red, farm style. So we accomplished the ligth with a little bit of class. The only thing left to wire to the switch panel is an outlet for under the eaves to produce power for Christmas lights.

The light over the door has been a pleasant addition, but the light out on the driveway at the other end of the shop really illuminates one of the darkest and most vulnerable parts of the yard.

I know there are big problems in the world, but the little joys make little differences. And those add up!