Coffee 2-4-12

Sam Adams for breakfast this morning, out of Yuengling Porter (Damnit!)

Went to see Tommy Emmanuel last night, man he can play a guitar!

Bk

Good Morning.
I'm in a rush to go look at a GORTON mill I found locally, taking a machinist buddy with me to look it over.. I've always wanted a small mill, this is bigger than a small bridgeport,, It's a MasterMill I-22.. with three axis autofeed, and a rudamentary computer to drive the feeds. don't really care if that automatic stuff works,, I'm a wheel turner

No snow remaining here, and the road commission graded the dirt road yesterday..

Gotta run
Greg L

Wow!..surprised to hear that you were so much colder up there this past week...we were in the 40's and 50's days and seldom got below freezing at night here in RI ... well I guess that AA is getting a stretch anyway...

LsFarm wrote: and a rudamentary computer to drive the feeds.

Ohhh, you say that now..... you'll find it's real handy to have CNC on a mill. Strait lines go well by hand, but when you want to do curves, you either need a manual (expensive) turntable, or CNC.

Good afternoon,

Freddy, sorry I missed the java again today. I would have had a cup if I was in time. It has been a busy day today. I was up late and then up early today working on three different projects that need to be finished by the end of the week. We still have day time highs of only 27F and night time lows of around 2F. Last night we received another three inches of new snow. I was planning on taking some time today to get the sled out and go for another ride, however, events beyond my control dictate otherwise. So, tomorrow a friend of mine will be making the trip up to my house to get in some saddle time on his sled. This week looks to be another busy one. I am putting up a new ceiling in the new shop as well as trying to get some work done in between. I'm doing well on coal, I have a deal with a neighbor who purchased stove coal for his boiler and can't seem to get it to burn, to purchase his ton and a quarter from him. I had offered to go over to show him how to properly burn coal, however, he wants nothing to do with coal now. Unfortunate for him, bonus for me. My wife and I have been talking about possibly purchasing a TT of coal this summer. I have the room for the TT to unload, just not sure where or how to store that amount. I must get going since my break time should be over and I should get back to work. I hope everyone has a safe and warm weekend and week.

The snowman.

Snowman, is there a concrete 'Redi-Mix' company anywhere near you? I bought a bunch of these concrete barrier blocks, they are often used at landscaping suppliers for mulch and dirt bins..

They sit in place, and when you are done with them you can stack 'em out of the way, If you have room, can't remember if you have acreage now.
I put down a tarp, put down the blocks, then covered the coal with tarps to keep the water/snow/ice from freezing the coal into a single lump.



Later, I used the blocks and a concrete pad to make my coal storage building.



Greg L

ls farm:

The nearest place where I could purchase the blocks your talking about is about one hundred miles from my current location. I have tossed around the idea of a small grain bin or making 24 wooden boxes capable of holding one ton each that I could fill and stack them two high and then cover them with a tarp. I would have a gate in each box that I could open to fill my buckets. The top row would be easy since they would be high enough and the bottom rows I could have a platform I could set them on. The bin would be easy to fill and would keep the coal dry, however, I'm not sure I would like to have a bin that size outside my house. I had even thought about just having it unloaded on the black top driveway and just bagging it all. I'm not sure I would want to go that route. Since the coal I want (superior)does not come bagged I am restricted to loose which I'm set up for, just not the volume of a TT. I thought about the one ton tote bags, however, I find them a pain to empty. The blocks you have would be nice since they stack nicely, however, where I would like and need to put them would be difficult for the TT to dump into. I need to take some time to look at the best location and method of storage which will still be easy to remove coal from yet still fit into the surroundings of the property. My wife and I really would like to have a TT delivered and have given ourselves a deadline of no later than mid summer to come up with a system and location on the property. I will keep everyone posted as to our hopeful progress. Thanks for the idea of the blocks.

The snowman.

snowman, just a thought for them bottom boxes.Not real fancy, but it works real well for me. When on, the top (removable) is set back far enough to allow the face bds. to be removed.I've got 4 of these--1 ton of nut each.

Glad to be able to do a "Fast Attack" on coffee here this a.m. ! Been busier than a one - legged guy in an bleep-kicking contest !

freetown fred:

Yup, I have something like yours. I have a bin that holds a ton and a quarter. It has the removable doors in the front. At my previous home I also had a bin that was built into the side of the interior of the building that held almost ten ton. If I decide to go with bins like the one I already have, I would probably make half of them with a slanted floor and a grain gate instead of the removable doors. This way I wouldn't have to move them once I stacked them. The idea of having the top bins set hack just enough to remove the doors of the bottom bins is a good idea. I wouldn't need a platform if I had the bottom bins with removable doors and the top bins with slanted floors and grain doors. I would be able to run my auger and fill the bottom bins and then stop and quickly put the empty top bins on and then auger the coal into them. This way I wouldn't have to lift full bins of coal. Once I set the first bin on top, filling could continue and I could finish setting the rest of the bins. A nice thought just came to mind, I have a friend who has a lot of thick angle iron and I have a lot of stainless steel square stock (4x4's). I could make a track system for the bins on top where I wouldn't have to remove them at all. I would only have to push the bins back on the track while I fill the bottom bins and then roll them forward to fill the top ones. Thanks Fred, more ideas rolling around inside my head. Our self imposed deadline isn't until mid summer so I have some time to come up with a good system. Keep the ideas coming.

The snowman.

Here I am, a day and a dollar late. The thermometer read 0 this morning, but otherwise we wouldn't have known. 73 inside! No big plans for today.

Rob R. wrote:The thermometer read 0 this morning,

You must be on the warm side of town.... we had minus point 8!

Other than the high temp being about 25 today, it's a beautiful sunny day. One for sunglasses. There's only an inch of snow, but it's got a glaze top & the sun reflecting is an eye twister for sure. Don't get too close to the ice fishing hole...they'll jump & nip your nose!

SMITTY, How fast did the shot between the eyes register, or didnt it see it coming !!!

Winter is officially on it's way out. We collected maple sap and
I tilled the spring vegetable garden. No better way to encourage it
to snow.