Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[GrizG]

My son sent me the link to this video... Taken to the logical end, if you can stand the bumpy ride of the bar it would speed up sharpening (but slow down the cutting).

 

[MechanicMatt]

Griz the gun show had one!!!

 

[MechanicMatt]

I HATE caps on truck beds

My dad had one, you know how many times I scraped my back or clipped my spine moving firewood out of his truck

I’d rather put a tarp over my gear in the rain then have a truck cap!!

 

[GrizG]

Griz the gun show had one!!!

Figures... Discretionary time has been scarce... I haven't shot any of my father's 7 guns that I inherited last summer... A couple Colts I haven't shot in probably 40 years will be the first: 1973 nickeled Detective Special and a circa 1983 satin nickel Trooper in .22 rimfire. Classic stuff back in the day! Sample photos:

 

[Woodtroll]

Heaven when the college girl drives 10hours home for spring break!!!View attachment 1250229View attachment 1250230View attachment 1250231

My heart is whole!!!

That is a special time, for sure. We thoroughly appreciate the rare times when both kids and all the grandkids come to see us! My wife spends the next couple of days humming and singing as she goes about her day, after such a visit.

Enjoy!!

 

[Lee192233]

65 yesterday and snowing today! Gotta love late winter in WI!

 

[dboyd351]

Heaven when the college girl drives 10hours home for spring break!!!View attachment 1250229View attachment 1250230View attachment 1250231

My heart is whole!!!

my college girl couldn't make the trip home this time because she just started a new job so we're leaving tomorrow to go see her instead

 

[dboyd351]

The wife returned from her trip to town today with a nice find. A shop there had a real clean 90's vintage CZ 511 .22lr. Put 50 rds through it, ran great.
View attachment 1250234

CZ makes some really nice guns. They are a great value too.
Now if they would just get rid of the "mud" finish they put on the walnut stocks of the new 457s.

 

[chipper1]

For the past 3-4 weeks I think I've been living the old curse... May you live in interesting times. Anyhow... yesterday's flavor of the curse:

I took a load of firewood down to my girlfriend's home not far from Mustang Mike. She went through 2 1/2 to 3 cords having "social fires" in her fireplace, and her daughter took some home with my blessings, this season. She ran out before fire weather ran out. I was also there to repair a few items in her house. Things went sideways on the NYS Thruway on the way home... the left front tire sidewall disintegrated. Traffic was moving at about 70 mph but I was able to safely get off the road. It was pitch black so it wasn't fun. I'd been wondering about the tires for a while now... They have maybe 8-10 K miles on them but it I knew they were old. I confirmed today via the date codes that they are from the 33rd week of 2015... basically 10 years old. The spare is original to the truck so it is about 20 years old. I had even less confidence in the spare and got off at the next exit and took slower rural roads home. It was flat this morning!

Anyhow, I'm thinking about going "old school" and running M&S tires on the back (2 wheel drive, regular cab, Chevy 1500) and all season on the front. This as I was not happy with the all seasons that were on the back this winter... Anyone have relatively recent experience with this combo in a matching set of tires?

The current tires are LT245/70R17 Michelins. This was my father's 2005 truck... He had Michelins on his 1988 Town Car years ago and three of them blew up sitting in the garage... The explosion from the one in the trunk bulged the trunk lid! Again, very few miles but old. I'm assuming this old age problem isn't unique to Michelin... or is it? I see that DOT recommends a max of 6 years regardless of miles.

P.S. The last thing I remember reading here was MechanicMatt asking about Browning T-bolts. I will respond to that... hopefully soon but no telling given the unpredictable elder care role.

​

.View attachment 1250241

Not sure I've ever had a tire go bad from being old, except the ones that you could tell were bad before leaving lol.
I like snow tires for traction, and adding a bit of weight in the bed will really help.
Seems your gal was more social this yr, because I burned way less wood than normal.

 

[Lee192233]

Heaven when the college girl drives 10hours home for spring break!!!View attachment 1250229View attachment 1250230View attachment 1250231

My heart is whole!!!

Thanks for the perspective Matt! We're in the thick of little kid stuff with our 5, 8 and 11 year old boys. Sometimes I find myself wishing they were older. Time is going too fast and every milestone that my 5 year old has is bittersweet because I know it's the last one. I need to be reminded that they're eventually going to grow up and time with them at this precious stage is fleeting.

 

[dboyd351]

For the past 3-4 weeks I think I've been living the old curse... May you live in interesting times. Anyhow... yesterday's flavor of the curse:

I took a load of firewood down to my girlfriend's home not far from Mustang Mike. She went through 2 1/2 to 3 cords having "social fires" in her fireplace, and her daughter took some home with my blessings, this season. She ran out before fire weather ran out. I was also there to repair a few items in her house. Things went sideways on the NYS Thruway on the way home... the left front tire sidewall disintegrated. Traffic was moving at about 70 mph but I was able to safely get off the road. It was pitch black so it wasn't fun. I'd been wondering about the tires for a while now... They have maybe 8-10 K miles on them but it I knew they were old. I confirmed today via the date codes that they are from the 33rd week of 2015... basically 10 years old. The spare is original to the truck so it is about 20 years old. I had even less confidence in the spare and got off at the next exit and took slower rural roads home. It was flat this morning!

Anyhow, I'm thinking about going "old school" and running M&S tires on the back (2 wheel drive, regular cab, Chevy 1500) and all season on the front. This as I was not happy with the all seasons that were on the back this winter... Anyone have relatively recent experience with this combo in a matching set of tires?

The current tires are LT245/70R17 Michelins. This was my father's 2005 truck... He had Michelins on his 1988 Town Car years ago and three of them blew up sitting in the garage... The explosion from the one in the trunk bulged the trunk lid! Again, very few miles but old. I'm assuming this old age problem isn't unique to Michelin... or is it? I see that DOT recommends a max of 6 years regardless of miles.

P.S. The last thing I remember reading here was MechanicMatt asking about Browning T-bolts. I will respond to that... hopefully soon but no telling given the unpredictable elder care role.

​

.View attachment 1250241

Don't know if it is just Michelin couple of years ago I bought four "new" Tiger paw tires from Priority Tires, thru Walmart, to put on my daughter's Ford focus before sending her off to school.
One of the tires had a blowout at Highway speed within a few days of being installed on the car
When I had all the tires inspected, the date code showed that they were all six years old
I went to a lot of hassle to get there, but eventually the local Michelin uniroyal dealer replaced all four of the tires and they told me they couldn't believe any dealer would sell me tires with a date stamp six years old
They said they pulled all of their tires out of inventory and sent them back to the manufacturer when they got to be one and a half to two years old
Eventually, the customer service representative at Walmart, reimbursed me the entire price of all the tires
Whether or not priority tires owned up to it and reimbursed walmart, I don't know, but I doubt it because they kept claiming there was nothing wrong with selling in six-year-old tires
At any rate, if I were you, I would get rid of those tires

 

[GrizG]

Not sure I've ever had a tire go bad from being old, except the ones that you could tell were bad before leaving lol.
I like snow tires for traction, and adding a bit of weight in the bed will really help.
Seems your gal was more social this yr, because I burned way less wood than normal.

She was home a lot more this semester and often worked in front of the fireplace!

 

[SS396driver]

I HATE caps on truck beds

My dad had one, you know how many times I scraped my back or clipped my spine moving firewood out of his truck

I’d rather put a tarp over my gear in the rain then have a truck cap!!

All depends on what you use the truck for . A firewood truck shouldn’t have a cap. But if you use it for gear then a cap makes sense .

 

[H-Ranch]

Not sure I've ever had a tire go bad from being old, except the ones that you could tell were bad before leaving lol.

Maybe tires manufactured today are more sensitive to aging - different rubber compounds, thinner material, less UV protection, I don't know. But I've driven a lot of vehicles on old tires (way past the 6, 7, or 10 year "recommended" life.) You know who recommends short lives? Tire stores and tire manufacturers - just sayin'.

 

[JimR]

Anyhow, I'm thinking about going "old school" and running M&S tires on the back (2 wheel drive, regular cab, Chevy 1500) and all season on the front.

Years ago I had a 1980 Ford F350 2WD. I ran B.F. Goodrich AT Trackers on it. The fronts were 10.50 x 16.5. The rears were 12.50 x 16.5. That truck went everywhere. I towed a boat with it. I also had a pickup camper for it. It drove great in the snow too.

 

[JustJeff]

I HATE caps on truck beds

My dad had one, you know how many times I scraped my back or clipped my spine moving firewood out of his truck

I’d rather put a tarp over my gear in the rain then have a truck cap!!

Fair enough, I guess I'll find out. I do have a trailer for firewood so the truck is more for gear; saws, fishing, camping etc..

 

[MustangMike]

As SS396 says a cap is great if you are hauling gear. My 4wd Ranger extended cab always had a cap on it because when the wife and kids went up to the cabin all our gear was in the back, and it stayed dry! Did not own an ATV back then, so did not need to put one in the back! Plus, I always had a trailer for wood, a lot easier to put it in a trailer anyway (they are lower and have more access).

 

[MustangMike]

Looks like my upstate property has been going to the dogs lately!

 

[Lionsfan]

For the past 3-4 weeks I think I've been living the old curse... May you live in interesting times. Anyhow... yesterday's flavor of the curse:

I took a load of firewood down to my girlfriend's home not far from Mustang Mike. She went through 2 1/2 to 3 cords having "social fires" in her fireplace, and her daughter took some home with my blessings, this season. She ran out before fire weather ran out. I was also there to repair a few items in her house. Things went sideways on the NYS Thruway on the way home... the left front tire sidewall disintegrated. Traffic was moving at about 70 mph but I was able to safely get off the road. It was pitch black so it wasn't fun. I'd been wondering about the tires for a while now... They have maybe 8-10 K miles on them but it I knew they were old. I confirmed today via the date codes that they are from the 33rd week of 2015... basically 10 years old. The spare is original to the truck so it is about 20 years old. I had even less confidence in the spare and got off at the next exit and took slower rural roads home. It was flat this morning!

Anyhow, I'm thinking about going "old school" and running M&S tires on the back (2 wheel drive, regular cab, Chevy 1500) and all season on the front. This as I was not happy with the all seasons that were on the back this winter... Anyone have relatively recent experience with this combo in a matching set of tires?

The current tires are LT245/70R17 Michelins. This was my father's 2005 truck... He had Michelins on his 1988 Town Car years ago and three of them blew up sitting in the garage... The explosion from the one in the trunk bulged the trunk lid! Again, very few miles but old. I'm assuming this old age problem isn't unique to Michelin... or is it? I see that DOT recommends a max of 6 years regardless of miles.

P.S. The last thing I remember reading here was MechanicMatt asking about Browning T-bolts. I will respond to that... hopefully soon but no telling given the unpredictable elder care role.

​

.View attachment 1250241

Maybe tires manufactured today are more sensitive to aging - different rubber compounds, thinner material, less UV protection, I don't know. But I've driven a lot of vehicles on old tires (way past the 6, 7, or 10 year "recommended" life.) You know who recommends short lives? Tire stores and tire manufacturers - just sayin'.

Can't say I agree with you guys. I refuse to **** around with bald, dry-rotted tires that need to be inflated every other day. Everybody's budget and perspective is different, but my time, my vehicles, my personal safety and particularly the safety of others is worth way more a decent set of tires.

 

[sean donato]

View attachment 1250232
Scrounged up an old truck cap...well, I did pay $50 Canadian for it and it came with 2 c clamps and a pair of vice grips. Lol.
Always wanted to try one. See if I like it.

You'll either live it, hate it, or both. I like caps for some things, and just can't stand them for others. Biggest issue I have is storing one when you don't need it, and I can't have my tool box on the bed with a cap.

I’ve read about ATF/Acetone and being the best penetrant, wanted to give it a try on the last cylinder bolt on this 181se.

First thing I noticed was it’s wayyyyy less noxious than PB blaster fumes wise. I’m letting it soak and hitting it every so often….View attachment 1250239

Just make sure you keep it mixed up, it separates out really fast.

For the past 3-4 weeks I think I've been living the old curse... May you live in interesting times. Anyhow... yesterday's flavor of the curse:

I took a load of firewood down to my girlfriend's home not far from Mustang Mike. She went through 2 1/2 to 3 cords having "social fires" in her fireplace, and her daughter took some home with my blessings, this season. She ran out before fire weather ran out. I was also there to repair a few items in her house. Things went sideways on the NYS Thruway on the way home... the left front tire sidewall disintegrated. Traffic was moving at about 70 mph but I was able to safely get off the road. It was pitch black so it wasn't fun. I'd been wondering about the tires for a while now... They have maybe 8-10 K miles on them but it I knew they were old. I confirmed today via the date codes that they are from the 33rd week of 2015... basically 10 years old. The spare is original to the truck so it is about 20 years old. I had even less confidence in the spare and got off at the next exit and took slower rural roads home. It was flat this morning!

Anyhow, I'm thinking about going "old school" and running M&S tires on the back (2 wheel drive, regular cab, Chevy 1500) and all season on the front. This as I was not happy with the all seasons that were on the back this winter... Anyone have relatively recent experience with this combo in a matching set of tires?

The current tires are LT245/70R17 Michelins. This was my father's 2005 truck... He had Michelins on his 1988 Town Car years ago and three of them blew up sitting in the garage... The explosion from the one in the trunk bulged the trunk lid! Again, very few miles but old. I'm assuming this old age problem isn't unique to Michelin... or is it? I see that DOT recommends a max of 6 years regardless of miles.

P.S. The last thing I remember reading here was MechanicMatt asking about Browning T-bolts. I will respond to that... hopefully soon but no telling given the unpredictable elder care role.

​

.View attachment 1250241

I had Michelin tires on my 90 cummins and had constant issues with them. Cords separating, bubbles, balance issues. After having them replaced several times (under warranty) I had them replaced with nitto terra grapplers. They were great tires. Had zero issues, other then they didn't do great off road. Haven't been back to Michelin tires since. Neither of my uncles will run them, or sell them to customers either.