[Tim Harrigan]

I think it is not uncommon to splinter the outer 20% or so of the deep bend of the bow. After I have shaved it down and feathered it back into the outer parts of the bow I have not seen much additional splintering over time. It would not hurt to use some oil on it once in a while, but I don’t put anything on my bows. Usually there is enough oil from the hide of the cattle that I just don’t see a need for it. But linseed oil certainly will not hurt anything and is worth a try. What kind of wood are you using, you might be seeing problems that just don’t occur with other woods.

[Tim Harrigan]

Tape does not fix it, just keeps it from poking you. It is breaking where the wood fibers streatched too far. The best thing to do is use a spoke shave and trim off the broken fibers. The bottom of the bow will be narrower than the rest but it should not be a problem. If you do not have a spoke shave maybe a belt sander will be OK.

[Tim Harrigan]

@john plowden 25718 wrote:

I guess I’m caught in a parents blinding fears and shouldnt have posted –

No, I think we are all freaking out. Now this possible nuclear disaster and right from the start they assured us it was not going to be a problem.

[Tim Harrigan]

I guess I did not see this as a ha ha type of exchange, more of an OMG our worst fears are coming true. 100000 people lost…no humor there.

[Tim Harrigan]

Remember when Bart caught Blinkey the three-eyed fish in the pond near the nuclear power plant? Well, maybe Blinkey lives on…

[Tim Harrigan]

@TaylorJohnson 10777 wrote:

I cut the handle off all my axes and mauls to be the same length . I do this because my arms are very long for my body I am only about 5’9″…. And to top that off my inseam is only about 29″ or 30″…. One old boy I used to work with from FL used to tell me I looked like a little white gorilla when I worked.

Thats pretty good. Taylor, what kind of things did he say when he was mad at you?:eek:

This was a good thread, somehow I missed it earlier. I was looking to see if I could find any comments about preference in saw chain in reference to the mfgr. I need to replace some, I usually get Husky but in Bailey’s I see WoodlandPro, Windsor, Oregon and others. Does not seem to be a big difference in $. I know there was a recent, good discussion about type of chain, any opinion on cutting chain in general by mfgr? I cut hardwood, not real big, most less than 24 inch butt, almost never more than 30.

[Tim Harrigan]

@bivol 25679 wrote:

third type:

found this one in slovenia and mountain croatin, and oddly enough, and in… ukraine…?!?

LOl just found this vid, shows why one has to now to drive oxen. these guys don’t. in fact, they do more pulling on the wagon than the oxen do.

I like this last picture, it shows a lot of care for the comfort of the animals was put into the carving with the deeply rounded neck seat and other details. I would say that video is a great demonstration of how not to drive a team. Those poor steers did not have the slightest idea what was expected of them.

[Tim Harrigan]

Carl, how is that horse doing?

[Tim Harrigan]

@dominiquer60 25659 wrote:

I guess I am too young for that one…
erika

Then you need to look into Arlo Guthrie, “Alice’s Restaurant”

[Tim Harrigan]

That is an interesting yoke. I have not seen bows like that before.

[Tim Harrigan]

You are correct that this sled would move more easily over snow, but based on my experience this is not a heavy load for this team. I am guessing the sled weighs about 200 lbs, the lady maybe another 100 lbs, so about 300 lbs total. The friction on concrete is probably not much different than on soil, so say even if it was a little harder pull maybe 50% of the weight of the sled would be measured as tension in the chain. That would be 150 lb average pull, actually a pretty modest pull for a team that size.

When I lived in Switzerland we had 2 Simmental cows in the milking herd, they were more dual purpose type cows, beef and milk, than we typically see in the US. In the US, Simmental cattle are beef cattle. Yours look like the traditional triple purpose cattle; work, milk, beef. Thanks for posting that.

[Tim Harrigan]

I found this:

(ESCH MANUFACTURING – 2210 Creek Hill Road, Lancaster PA 17601 – (717) 397-1051, Elam Esch)

Grass and Seed Drills – The Esch Model 5507 ground drive no-till drill plants 15 rows with a row spacing of 5.5 inches. A 5.5HP Honda engine powered the hydraulics on the machine that was demonstrated behind six draft ponies on a White Horse forecart. $18,500.

The Esch Model 5503 is similar to its larger brother except it plants 7 rows and has a hand operated hydraulic lift. $8,000. Pulled by four draft ponies on an E-Z Trail forecart.

[Tim Harrigan]

@Countymouse 25592 wrote:

When I was planing things out, I think that is there was a crop that could go in early, it would be peas. The earlier i get this done the more time I have to focus on plating the next wave of crops, so I still want to get this done early, but it is probably still too early…

Maybe you need some tillage/planting date subplots.

[Tim Harrigan]

Andy,
I thought I would explain this a little better because I know you are detail oriented regarding mechanisms and processes. When the snow melts and frost comes out of the ground the soil will be at saturation. It will begin to drain, and depending upon how well drained your soil is, in some amount of time it will reach what is known as field capacity. Field capacity is somewhat nebulous, basically it is when all the gravitational water has moved through the soil. So if you had a pail of soil at saturation and cut the bottom out so it could drain, after 2 or 3 days when it stopped dripping, that would be field capacity.

The soil needs to be below field capacity for tillage without danger of compaction which is the loss of structure and pore space. It varies with soil texture, but roughly 95% of field capacity will be suitable for tillage. The air and soil are cool in the early spring so moisture loss by evaporation is very slow. There is no growing crop so moisture loss in the deeper soil by uptake and transpiration is not happening. So it is a slow process.

Field capacity is a very bad time for tillage because the soil can look OK for tillage, but there is enough water in the soil to lubricate the soil particles enough so there is little internal friction or carrying capacity and traffic and tillage tools can easily compress the soil, remove pore space and damage soil structure. In some cases when the soil dries it will be hard as a rock. It can take a long time to undo the damage in some cases.

So, have patience my friend. If you have some high, sandy spots try things out there first.

[Tim Harrigan]

@Countymouse 25539 wrote:

This can tell me when to plant, but when to start my field work? I kinda want to get on this because I have tools and techniques to test out… I think as long as I am not swimming in mud there is no harm done? Or is there???

Andy, don’t get in a hurry. The soil will be at saturation when it thaws and depending upon how well it drains it will probably take several days before the soil is suitable for tillage. Some sunny days will help dry the surface but the soil and air are still cool enough so drying will be slow. Because there is no crop growing and removing water the soil deeper in the tillage layer will still be too wet when the surface looks good. I don’t know what your soil is like but if you till it when it is too wet it can slab up and turn into bricks on you if you are not careful.

There are some somewhat quantitative ways to measure it but probably the best thing to do is stay on the safe side and keep an eye on some of your neighbors. When they get started, then go ahead.

I used to do like Erika with pushing the planting date, but with sweet corn. Used to try to get it in by mid-April to have the early corn. But I would plant another batch 3 weeks later and there usually might be 3-4 days difference in maturity. And if you plant into cold ground, and it stays cold and wet, the seed can start to rot and you have a poor stand. Now I don’t do much of anything until the first week of May. It is probably not much different here than where you are.

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