Today was a day off, more or less. I did mess with the larger chainsaw and determined that the chain hit something metal, and it blunted the points of the cutters on the right side pretty severely. The left cutters are still sharp, and they cut fine. But on the right side it does not make it through and the bar curves to the left when doing a plunge cut. I also took down the rakers a little too far, giving a good strong kickback. When dropping the cut normally, the thing barely cuts at all. And all this after sharpening the cutters quite a lot. Where it is not cutting on the right, it means the cut is too narrow for the bar, and it jams up, too. I would carry on sharpening it, but the nicks on the cutters are so deep that I will have to shave half of the things down to get past it. I foresee a new chain, again, in the near future so I can get to work on the firewood. I also cleaned out the air filter, and the saw started and ran brilliantly. That old Stihl is being pretty amazing so far, over the last ten years or so I have had it.
I charged the battery on the tractor. I had to do that so I will be able to jump start the truck. I need to jump start the truck so I can go down to the gas station with a fuel can and get fuel for the tractor. But before I do that, I need to update the registration on the truck, as apparently, I missed it back in November. This is getting busy, circular, and expensive. Well, the tractor starts for today.
I did get out to the shop to put the bird’s nest on the lathe and turn the bottom down. Now I don’t have to worry about the lid catching on the object that is inside the bowl. It has a lip inside. I will probably go ahead and try to sell it at the next market. $30?
I started the tractor and left it running a bit while I charged the battery. Not to waste fuel I went ahead with it and put a big log on the log splitter and got it down to firewood. I left it run while I did that, too.
I suspect that if I can get to the machine tomorrow, I will put my laundry in to wash then go up to town to get the registration sorted out on that truck so I can go get diesel. Hopefully while I am up there, the DoorDash app will stick to the Idaho zones, and I will be able to activate dashing while I am in the workshop the rest of this week. Right now, it reset to Utah after I drove up to Preston after working Sunday. That was pretty stupid. I need to do the short dashes in Preston rather than driving 20+ miles to Logan to work. I only do that when I can stay down there for several hours and burn fuel. I need to make a little during the week up in Preston, so I have a little start before heading into the long weekends. I am happy to bust it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Other days it is shop time with the occasional run as required. I think if I get more active, Preston will, too.
Okay, so this week’s goals are to put some more walnut on the lathe and turn some items to sell at Market. I still need to figure out what to make for the neighbor as a thank you for the wood in the first place. I also want that to sort of remind him that if there is more wood, there are more objects, and maybe he can order what he wants rather than taking random ones as I make them. Either way, I am loving the wood and how it works on the turn. I will have to mess about with it after resawing some, too. I will make a wooden box.
I keep drinking coffee because of a lack of options. This is not good. I mean, it’s fine. But I would like some variety in life! Don’t tell my wife that! I tried a Crystal Light today. I could not drink it without worrying about what the doctor said about the artificial sweetener triggering a hormone in my brain that would cause me to store fat. That man has ruined everything, apart from the fact I do feel so much better than I ever have before.
The weather is warming, and the shop is inviting me to come and start a regimen of sharpening tools and cleaning up for the season, as well as some projects on the smaller side. I have a table and a stool or two in mind. I also still want to build the bedside cabinet that I put off last year till after the cold passed. I can’t tell you how miserable it is in the shop when all the tools are too cold to hold. But with the weather getting into the 40’s, there is nothing to it. That chainsaw revitalization today was a hell of a lot more pleasant than the weeks before today. I even went out without my coat on!
Yeah, I am getting eager to get some tools in my hands and get to work on some wood.