Comments

Episode-1267-Listener Calls for 12-16-13 — 61 Comments

  1. I was given a heads up that you mentioned me on your podcast ~ and yes, I was all giddy because “Jack Spirko” mentioned Prepper Chicks on his podcast~ until I listened to it. I did not write the piece you mentioned on the show NOR do I endorse it. Nice that it was someone’s opinion piece who happened to drag my site along for the ride… but if you think for one instant that I don’t stand for Liberty and Freedom in this country, then you are sorely mistaken. And yes, my feelings are hurt that you would think otherwise.

    • Oh, don’t be such a girl, you guys rock and you know it, LOL.

      I’ll update tomorrow, see my follow up comment at 2Paragraphs.

      • Nope it has your logo, it is posted like you, anyone reading it would see it as a post you guys did on that site, your problem is with them, not me. Now quit crying about it, a follow up is all you get. Geeze, women.

    • So, I was thinking of how you could make it up to me…you know…the public berating on your much listened to podcast…. come on our “After Dark” radio show and play a couple rounds of “Conflicted” …we might even take it easy on you 😉 Tuesday nights at 11pm ET…an hour is all it takes… I’ll even say “Please”

  2. Mulligan mint is about to be put on my never order from again list. I placed an order with them over a month ago and haven’t heard a thing. Left messages. Sent emails.

    This order was placed after their bankruptcy so technically they should be filling it first.

    WTF!

    I’m giving them a week then disputing the payment with my cc company. I gave them the benefit of the doubt but this is ridiculous.

    • Well given you can’t order right now anyway, I don’t know how big a deal that is. Just understand if there is anything I can do to get orders filled I will. I was asked to call them for updates today, I replied that I will only take “updates” by email, anything I am told to pass on at this point must be in writing.

    • Sorry, DON’T REMOVE THE CAMBIAN LAYER, this layer is the life of the plant. Plants do absorb water, rain and nutrients through other parts, however, the bulk is done by the roots and transfers these things by means of the cambian layer and should you remove this layer the area you wish to transplant will die.

  3. From a fellow AnCap and veteran, thanks for the comments about patriotism, reenlistment and military service. Well spoken, sir, thanks.

  4. 5001 backyard gardens sir. I probably wouldn’t have started a garden if I didn’t listen to TSP as much as I do. Now we have three sixteen square foot raised garden beds. The first year really has a learning curve. Also any shrubs or bushes that we plant around the yard now produce fruit instead of just flowers. Thanks Jack.

  5. I love tallow! render it till its pure white and make soap, candles, cook with it etc.

    I don’t know you might live next to an a-hole like me that knows how to build one(emp) in his basement and F his neighbors for fun!!!

    …But SKY NET WILL NUKE US…

  6. I was actually posting to mention the unusal Preperchicks 2p post. I’ve listen to the Prepperchicks show (which is quite fun and entertaining) quite often as well as yours. I’ve never known her to rant about a subject like that. I’m glad the Prepperchick herself was able to clear the air in your comment section regarding that stupid article.

    Your comments about the military are absurd. I don’t know how much you actually socialized with your fellow battle buddies when you were in and things may have been different back then; if you actually talked to a Soldier or any other military member today, you would be amazed at the variety of reasons. Trust me I have hear a lot. From joining for the college money, to wanting to see the world and everything in between, rarely do I hear ” I didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school”, and I have yet to hear, “I have no guidance” “I’m a troubled soul looking to be turned right”

    With that said, thank you for your service.

    • Rusty, no one is honest about that at that age. Seriously, talk to older men, who did it, went on and reflected on it honestly.

    • Oh and Rusty since you are so wise my friend can you tell me exactly the percentage of men and women who “join for college money” that actually use the money for college vs. the percentage that earn it and never use it.

      And excuse me but are you actually serving or do you just know people that are?

      • Oh hell let me just tell you.

        Percentage of Military that NEVER GET ONE PENNY OF COLLEGE MONEY, not a cent 65%
        Percentage of Military that actually achieves a degree (4 year) with this money assisting 15%

        What this means? It doesn’t mean as many imply that the military screws vets out of their money. It implies that most people who “went for college money”, most certainly didn’t. They may have said so, I did back then, and I never got one dime of my money, because I NEVER APPLIED TO A SINGLE COLLEGE and man, I was never going to.

        Most in the military end up there because it just seems like a better choice then the other options they currently have. The recruiters do a good job of selling you on it. Often that includes giving you a reason, a reason you can go back to your family and friends and give them. The programming begins at that point, I am doing this for ________. Doesn’t matter if it is “kin and country” or “earn money for college” or “to see the world” or “to find adventure”, the real answer is MOST often, because I am not sure what else to do right now.

        Military recruiters are some of the best trained sales people in the world. I was advised many times by people in the private sector to hire any former recruiter I could find into any sales position. If you can sell a 17 year old on giving up his freedom, signing a multi year contract and doing it for what ends up being LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE per hour actually worked, well you can sell shit to a pig brother!

        According to the Department of Veteran Affairs the average enlistment age is 17-22, most 22 year olds today are still living at home and have the typical emotional maturity that 17 year olds did two decades ago. The Army has had to change training and phyical fitness just to accommodate many of these new recruits. Even in my day this was starting to show. I was from the mountains, packing a pack was nothing to me, shooting was simple, all of it was really mostly easy. Sure you got pushed a few places, but nothing I was asked to do was harder then when I drug a buck 7 miles when I was 15 years old. Those around me, some were faster, some were “stronger” but in the end most were pretty weak on entry.

        That did change, military training works. They do get you in decent shape in basic and it most certainly does continue in AIT. (or what ever your branch calls your school).

        Something else happens too though, brainwashing. You are taught that you are better then those who don’t serve, that you are special and should be honored for it. BUT at the same time that you are NOT SPECIAL, that you are the same as every solider next to you and basically shit, that you are to do as you are told with out question as long as the orders are legal and not immoral. As though a 17 year old is versed in the constitution and UCMJ and would know all illegal orders.

        By the time you get to a duty station that programming that started with recruiting is complete. You now believe your own bullshit. You really think you will go to college some day or that you are doing it because Uncle Billy did it and you want to make your family proud or because people in caves blew up a building. Mostly though, not always but mostly it is all bullshit.

        Most enlisted join because they don’t know what else to do and a very well trained sales person gave them a solution to that, complete with a “reason” which can be given to anyone in their social circle who will caution them against joining. Usually at least two and one is always “serve my country”. I remember my grandmother so opposed to my going away, till I uttered those words, it was like a magic spell. I was going for two reasons, serve my country and get money for college. Some accepted the college angle but the silencer the one that shot down any and all rhyme or reason to keep me from going, “serve my country”.

        At 19 in the middle of my service while in the mountains of Honduras building roads in the middle of nowhere you could have hooked me up to a polygraph and asked, why did you join the Army?

        I’d have said, “to earn money for college and serve my nation”, and I would have passed, because I would have believed it. At 42, I know that was bullshit, I joined because I lived in a small coal town, I hated school, I was bored there, there was no future for me in that town, the people around me were mostly unmotivated and not ever going to achieve a thing and most still haven’t. I knew I had to leave, I had no money, no where to go, no real skill set (at least I didn’t think I did) and no idea where to go or what to do.

        Then a nice guy got my ASVAB score and told me I could do anything I want, any job that was available I qualified for. That I could be guaranteed a trip outside the US to serve abroad and that I could jump out of airplanes.

        So I took the solution that was offered, it is text book recruiting and any HONEST recruiter will admit that.

    • My experience in the Marine Corps has shown me the following reasons why people join (these I believe are generally Marine Corps specific, but some may apply elsewhere):

      – I want to kill people
      – I want to blow shit up
      – I had no idea what I wanted to do (also I still don’t know what I want to do)
      – It was that or go to jail (the judge made me)
      – To be the best (I think this is a uniquely marine corps thing, maybe airforce as well)
      – To be around other Marines (many female marines)
      – My dad was in.
      – To serve my country

      Every single one of those I have heard ad naseum. I know specific people in past who joined for those specific reasons. I fell under “I wanted to kill people/blow shit up”, “My dad was in”, and “I wanted to be the best”. Unlike other people I knew EXACTLY why I wanted to join. (Fly F-18s). I also left because those reasons aren’t compelling enough reasons for me to continue such a pathway.

      No questions asked I have a friend right now, who has NO IDEA WHAT HE WANTS TO DO. He’s 30 years old and an officer. Yes you read that right, a 30 year old. He has 4 bachelors degrees, and babbles on about getting out and going back to college. The problem is he joined a combat arms unit, so he’ll never learn anything about “what he wants to do”. So naturally he ended up designating and is going to stay in. (That’s what most people do who don’t still haven’t decided what they want to do when they grow up).

    • I got a Bachelors and Masters out of my short time in the Air Force. I got out as a Captain after 5 years. My wife got out after 3 as a 1 Lt. We both left early due to drawdowns. My wife was in Personnel (HR) and witnessed first hand young enlisted being counciled that getting out of the AF was crazy. “How are you going to ever retire?” “Where are you going to find a job?” “What other job will pay you to work out at lunch?” It really was crazy. As much as many join to “serve their country”, it ends up being what they know. Just like most people in the civilian world stuck in a job they hate, it ends up being that the “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.”

      When I got out, the Colonel that signed my paperwork was asking me for advice because she was nervous about retiring. That was crazy to me given that she had a rather substantial paycheck being deposited to her checking account for the rest of her life, it seemed a bit odd to be nervous. I used to have a more cynical view that many stayed in for the money. Obviously no one makes THAT much in the military, though I don’t think they get paid badly (especially officers). I do, however, think that MANY stay in out of fear. Strange that the fear of the unknown of making a living is more than the fear of the unknown of war, but it truly is the case. I heard many people say they would get out if they knew what they would do, but they didn’t, so they wouldn’t get out.
      The AF did a lot for me, but I couldn’t stay any longer. Definitely glad I am where I am today. Next jump for me would be in making a living with a family business vs in the corporate sales world. We’ll see…

    • @Jesse
      I know exactly what you mean. Its like my friend. I told him he has an awesome opportunity. No debt, and he could have savings to leave on. He wouldn’t have to do… uhm ANYTHING. (Keyword is have). He could go work at mcdonalds if he wanted to. He could move in with me and just do whatever. I know a guy who has been complaining about getting out of the Marine Corps since he joined, and he’s… not a good marine. He refuses to get out and just reenlisted… In fact, due to his background he could be making… no bullshit 4 times more money than he makes now (living in the DC area). But instead of doing it at a civilian, he knows he can get the job being in a uniform, making garbage money. Blows my mind.

  7. I have direct experience with the Grandberg chain saw mill. I helped a friend build a timber frame barn. After slabbing a couple logs with his Grandberg (using a Stihl 440 as the powerhead), I bought a small bandmill (Hud-Son Oscar 16, 5.5hp 16″ diameter capacity).

    It does work but it’s ALOT of work, S-L-O-W, and you are eating exhaust fumes the whole time. A very unplesant experience. You will need specially ground chains (10 degree vs 35 degree), you’ll be seriously straining your saw, and you’ll be wearing out bars. Oh, and forget using a Poulan…or *ANY* consumer-grade chainsaw. Those are meant for intermittent use. With a chainsaw mill, you are running full throttle, max load, for 5-10 minutes…PER CUT. You need a 70cc+ saw to pull a chain long enough to slab boards (that adds another $900-$1000 to the cost). And don’t think it’s easy because it’s pine. Southern Yellow Pine is HARD compared to Eastern White Pine which is quite soft.

    Any chainsaw with a sharp chain will cut well across the grain. TOTALLY, TOTALLY, TOTALLY different when cutting thru endgrain. Search for Granberg on Youtube and you’ll get a better idea of their capability and speed.

    They are handy for making lumber in REMOTE locations, where you have to pack in all your equipment. But if you can get any vehicle to the log (truck, car, ATV) you can trailer in a small bandmill.

    Now, the Norwood PortaMill Chainsaw Mill (no direct experience, just my observation) has the advantage of not staining your back since you don’t have to get down to log’s level to cut. Plus it has setworks (mechanical repeatable positioning of the cuts). But if you’re talking about $1000 for the mill and another $1000 for a chainsaw, you are very close to the cost of a small bandmill…which will cut 3x faster with ALOT less effort.

      • I have a Hud-Son Oscar 16. It’s 5.5hp and will handle up to a 16″ diameter log. Length is only limited to the sections of track you have. I have enough ground track to mill a 28′ length log. More than enough capacity for my needs. I’ve had it since 2005 and cut 1000’s of board feet of lumber. Replaced the belt once and the blade guide bearings once. Great little machine.

    • I have used the Granberg MK III and Mini Mill and agree with your assessment. I would not recommend anyone use a saw that is less than 90cc to mill. I have used saws as small as 45cc but it was painfully slow even in 10-14in eastern cedar.
      If you are going to try chainsaw milling the big things to remember are –
      1. Let the chainsaw do the work. If you try to force the saw all you will get is a wavy uneven cut and a overheated worn out saw.
      2. Keep the chain SHARP! I use a chain filed to 10 degrees and sharpen it often (sometimes after every cut depending on species and size).
      3. Bring the cut up to waist height if possible. It is so much easier to work when your not crawling around on the ground and your cuts will turn out better. This company http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-5mjboQED4 has it figured out.
      Chainsaw mills are great tools and I enjoy running mine. Just don’t expect to open your own lumber business anytime soon.
      These guys have a lot of good info for beginners. http://www.arboristsite.com/community/forums/milling-saw-mills.62/

      • That’s why i really like the idea of that Norwood one. It has a push bar that is chest high. Thanks for the link.

        It was definitely my intention on getting a serious chainsaw. The most expensive Husqvarna at Lowes (at least online) is pretty much my starting point. Looks like its 60cc.

      • I also own a Granberg Alaskan mill and Mini Mill II. All of the above comments are spot on. If anyone considers this, don’t forget one of the Easy rail or Slabbing rail brackets. It is really hard to get straight boards w/o one.

        Also, a big concern is the amount of oil reaching the tip of your chainsaw bar. For my 20″ long Stihl, turning the oiler adjustment to max was enough. For a really long bar, I’d definitely look at Grandberg’s auxillary oiler kits.

    • Thanks for that info. I was considering one to use deep in the woods to slice logs in half to use as little foot bridges across wet areas. There isn’t any realistic way I am going to be able to bring anything pre-cut there (no an ATV won’t fit up the trails), so something like this sounds like my only option. Although, it doesn’t sound like it’ll work out too well.

    • Thank you SWNH. You said almost exactly what I was going to say. I agree with your post completely.

      I would just like to add a couple more comments, having run many portable band sawmills and owning 2, I would recomend for a situation like this the Norwood Lumber Lite, or a similar size saw of another brand. I personally recomend the Norwood because it is overbuilt for the price. Every other sawmill in that price range that I have seen is made out of thinner steel, has smalller bearings, smaller shafts, etc.

      The only downside to the Norwood Lumber Lite, is that it comes completely dissasembled. It took me about 40 hours for me to assemble mine. Which is about what they estimate. However, I found that in assembling my own sawmill I gained a very good education on how it works and therefore there was never an issue I couldn’t fix. As good as the lumberlite is I would imagine that the chainsaw mill Norwood makes is very good quality as well.

      I have never seen a Hudson in person so I can’t make a comparison there.

      Even if you get a chainsaw mill that is easier on the back there is still 2 major flaws they have that you should consider.

      1. Extreamly large kerf, kerf is equvilant to the thickness of the blade, or chain. Because you are removing so much material with that wide chain, a lot of your efforts are going into making sawdust, plus a large amount of good useable timber is going into the sawdust pile.

      2. Time, removing all that material takes a ton of time no mater how powerful your chainsaw is. Band sawmills are much faster, and swing blade mills are even faster than that. Paul Wheaton has an electric swingblade mill at his property, I think that is a very good choice.

      Now, as far as the southern pine, if it’s Southern Yellow Pine, then that is an excellent timber for timber framing with, probably the best you could get locally. It is both strong and lightweight making it a breaze to work with. So many people think that Oak is a better choice for timber framing, but it’s not. There are 2 reasons for that.

      1. Oak is heavy, so sizing your timbers you have to consider that weight. They need to be big enough to support there own weight and the loads you are trying to support.

      2. Pine has had a different life experiance than Oak. Think of a tall pine tree with all those needles, now imagine a large old oak tree next to it. Suddenly a storm rolls in with gale force winds. What are those trees doing? How do they react to the wind? That oak tree may be strong and stand against the wind, but the pine tree is flexable and moves with the wind. The same thing is going to happen in your building. The pine will flex and move while supporting and resisting the loads that are placed on it, then flex back when the load is removed.

      To the caller, if you would like to learn more, email me and I will send you my book and your choice of timber frame barn plans from my website for free.

      • I was going to send email you but I don’t have your email address. (Looked on your website and couldn’t find one).

        There is one problem with a band saw mill. Its too expensive. Its literally just way, way too expensive. If I had $4000-7000 (plus 250 for shipping) I’d spend it elsewhere to be honest, especially since a BSM is a single use tool. You can only resell a bandsaw mill if there is a market, or the price is low enough, and you’re willing to deal with shipping it (over say ebay). In otherwords, taking it in with the idea I’m going to turn around eventually and sell it off and get remotely what I paid back, seems to me a bit risky. But you know I have no idea. Perhaps I’m totally wrong about that.

        Sure I could definitely run it for people locally which would be cool, but again we’re now talking about a big investment, and not something to “get the job done”.

        Looked on Ebay real quick just to see whats out there, looks like I might be able to get a “deal” but I’d have to assemble it myself. Looking at the required tools and time needed for assembly, and its not worth my time. Looked on craigslist nothing. Where I live at, while there is tons of logging, there isn’t hobbist or small level logging, so that’s not too surprising. I’m sure I could search around, and go to estate sells and maybe eventually find one locally, but I don’t have that kind of time.

        No questions asked I concede, a bandsaw mill is the perfect solution to milling boards and would be THE choice I would take, but its just completely unpractical considering I have a million other things to spend my time and money on. I literally do not have 40 hours to dedicate to assembling one of these guys by myself haha.

        Regarding the complaints of a chainsaw mill, I’ll respond fully acknowledging that I have zero experience in this topic, but just from my thoughts on the subject, and my particular situation.

        – Kerf is too large: This is definitely a maximizing a log issue, and particularly from the angle of making boards. If you’re using the logs for a profit, or milling high quality timber perhaps that makes sense. Letting all that saw dust go to waste is definitely not the case. I see buckets and buckets of saw dust as solid gold to me, and a resource that I do not have access to. It’s the ultimate in carbon for carbon-nitrogen balancing with composting, and the prime reason I haven’t started collecting urine. (You need a serious carbon sink). I like my pines, but I don’t like them THAT much. The only high quality trees (that I can see) that I would be cutting are my cherry trees.

        – Too slow: To whom and for what user? Watching videos of the Granberg and the portamill certainly says otherwise to me. They’re even doing much, much larger logs than I would be doing, plus probably at least slightly harder. Sure I’m sure I could kick out thousands of board foot a day with a bsm, but I don’t have thousands of board foot to cut.

        Taking it to the complete extreme, that’s like me saying if I can’t afford my own logging operation I shouldn’t do logging, because it takes too long. So obviously there is a “happy middle” as it regards to time, and while I said above I don’t have time, I also don’t have (don’t want to spend) the money for that time. (Or so it seems to me)

        – Requires a serious chainsaw: I definitely believe this and appreciate this argument. I can (and would) buy the most expensive biggest most badass stihl professional chainsaw, today for 1200ish dollars. Plus the 1000 for the portamill (as a reference), and i’m sitting at roughly 2500 to get started. Starting up on a bandsaw I’m guesstimating around 3800-4300. But at the end of the day, I have…. the most biggest badass stihl professional chainsaw that I could use (or even sell). I’d definitely want the biggest because anything less is just insane strain on the chainsaw, of which it is already way pushing it to the extreme. Gotta keep it sharp? No problem. Gotta set the teeth right? Roger that. Let the saw do the work? Is there any other way?

        – Swingblade: Can’t find any of these under 10k. A solution for Paul Wheaton with what like 200+ acres of forest in Montana is definitely not a viable solution for myself. hahah I’m sure he also has the capital to fund something like that as well. Plus he has multiple people who could use it.

        Thanks for replying! Jon sent a link to the M7, that thing looks badass, and the reviews on it are quite stellar. We’re now upping the cost to another 1000 dollars, but what you’re getting out of it is definitely pretty decent quality. I think if I went that route I’d get the M5 and save 500 bucks just for piece of mind. I also feel that the 500 dollars spent i’d be getting ALOT more than out of the portamill (for my personal application).

        • My email is my name at barngeek.com. As long as you get the at barngeek.com part right it will get to me.

          Or you can email me through the contact page or ask the barngeek page.

          It’s funny I’ve actually bought sawmills in the past as a way to bank my money without it loosing value. But, I digress.

          It sounds to me like it might be a good idea to hire a sawmill. There are guys who will come out with their portable sawmill and custom saw exactly what you need for either a price per board foot or an hourly rate. I would go with the price per board foot. Woodmizer has a list of them on their website.

          http://www.woodmizer.com/us/ResourceCenter/FindaCustomSawyer.aspx

          You might even be able to work out a deal on shares, where they cut so much lumber for you and they get to keep a portion of the lumber for the work.

          You know chainsawmills can be great if you are doing small amounts, but it sounds like you have a lot of timber to cut. Just be aware that, at best, most chainsawmills will only cut a few hundred board feet per day. The average timber frame barn kit that we produce contains anywhere between 8,000 bd ft, to 30,000 bd ft depending on the size.

        • @BarnGeek.

          “It’s funny I’ve actually bought sawmills in the past as a way to bank my money without it loosing value. But, I digress. ”

          I think this was in concern to my “risk” statement. There is no question in my mind, that’s got to be accurate. I mean its an extremely productive useful piece of equipment, not to mention is quite relatively portable. I’m just a tad skeptical of the market around here getting my money “back” for me, but I have no idea of that. It’s just not something I think I’ll ever get my “money back” for me on. If i cleared any massive portion of my own property and milled a good bit with it, I definitely think I could. Who knows, maybe thats how it goes down. I think i’ll know better by the end of next year about that (once i finally talk to some other people about developing the land further on a larger scale).

          Milling boards is just but one of the options I’m considering (although it sounds like a very useful one). While I have some “ideas” of things I’d like to build in the future, we zero specific ideas about building any real infrastructure. Especially now that I’ve seen what some other people have done as far with kidding and stalls for animals, the idea of getting a large “barn” seems much less necessary, especially where I live. (I don’t need to store ridiculous amounts of hay, nor could I ever have/support enough animals to fill a barn where I live). (I should also say i already have a 1500 foot large metal workshop already).

          Hiring somebody to mill boards is actually something I would be HIGHLY interested in (depending on the price of course). Just means I need to start calling up places around here to see if they know anybody who provides those kind of services. In the meantime what am I going to need to do, to prevent the logs from going bad? I already bought some green wood sealant that is on the way. Right now because of the time of the year they’re not getting hit with much sun, so that’s probably good. It probably means I need to “skid” these logs out from the area rather than leaving them where they are, or stacking them in place out of the way. (Luckily in my case right now, its really only a few hundred feet).

          Thanks for all the insights!

        • @BarnGeek
          What might be an awesome idea, is stopping what I’m doing now, finding if I can sell these pines and make at least A LITTLE bit of money, then put that toward a bandsaw mill. THAT would be pretty good to go.

        • On handling your logs…. of course the best way to keep them from going bad is to let them stand and not cut them until you are ready to use them. However, if you must cut them the best thing to do is to pick two logs to sacrifice, these will be your skids that the rest of the stack sits on.

          Set them on the ground, in the shade if you can, parallel to each other about 6-8 feet apart. Then begin stacking your logs on top of them and perpendicular to them, making sure to allow them to contact each other as little as possible. The more air that can circulate your stack the better. Then just keep stacking them up each layer perpendicular to the one before.

          Do not cover them with a tarp, that will stagnate your air and allow moisture to settle at the contact points. It also makes a nice little environment for fungus to form, which is the thing that rots wood the fastest.

          Try to keep it in a cool area, otherwise it will stain a blueish color, I think that is caused by another fungus.

      • One last comment. A bandsaw mill is EXACTLY what I would like, but I think a tad just unrealistic for my situation. For one, the wife would kill me.

      • @BarnGeek
        Thanks for those tips! This is precisely why I called in. They have to go. There is absolutely zero way around it. They needed to be gone at least a month or two ago, but we all know how time flies, and one gets behind. Hell now there just isn’t enough daylight for me to get this stuff done (at least one weekends).

        I feel like I have a spot for sure to be able to stack the logs like that. Out behind my workshop under a giant overhang.

    • Ask them. Seriously guys I don’t control when iTunes does an update. Totally out of my hands.

  8. Jack the screw you needed for your Husqvarna saw is going to be different than one you would get at the hardware store. It is only going to be available from a dealer. However they should just sell you the part and you can put it on. They should also be able to give you a parts breakdown with part numbers. Most likely for free.

    • Well, once I got it and mic’d it guess what, nothing special about it, not at all. I have a small jar of them now.

    • The part number list exists by the way but many screws are shown but not listed or numbered. Shitty service from a maker of a great saw.

  9. The entire part on your reflections on the military was excellent. Its very well understood by myself. I can only say ditto from my Marine Corps experiences. I had probably one of the best experiences you can have, and could only say the same things that you do.

  10. LOL, I am sitting here at my repetitive job, that has become very easy for me, with one ear bud in, listening to Jack. Kinda eery hearing Jack describe my morning…

  11. “How do I not squander this resources”. Ding, exactly on the money. They may not be the highest quality pines (if they were thinned out they could grow and be much thicker), but you know, I have to take them down in order to replace them with better trees. If it felt good to take down 15 year old trees, one is probably thinking about it wrong. I’m just speeding up succession!

    I didn’t know they made these sawmills for only 999 (plus saw)! I watched the video and I’m definitely sold on looking into it. I am emailing you now.

    I read SWNH comment above about this, and I see this as a two is one, one is none. Plus the portability. No questions asked, if I’m all done, I can pass this onto somebody else, and likely make money back on it (or hold onto it, and use it for neighbors). The only thing the mill provides is the structure and framework for precision chainsaw use. That’s excellent. Is a band mill faster? Probably. Does a bandmill have more usages? Not really.

    By the way, I DO NOT have a chainsaw (yet). I have been felling these trees with a vintage one man crosscut saw, a Bahco 30” bow saw, and a Gransfors Bruks axe (amongst all the other regular felling gear). Last night I wrote a blog article on this subject because I REALLY want to share with people that ANYBODY can do this without spending a fortune on a good chainsaw, chainsaw protective equipment on top of all the felling gear. On top of that you negate the dangers of using a chainsaw.
    How To Fell Trees Using Only Hand Tools.

    I was intending on buying a chainsaw here soon anyways to take out the stumps. But even then I could use the bow saw for that.

    • @The New Mike

      Please read my post above.

      I would add one more point to the advantage of a bandsawmill, and that is resale. When you have finished your project you can pretty much bank on getting nearly 100% of your money back when you sell your mill, this is even more true with the Norwood Lumberlite because you have added value to the saw with your labor in assembling it.

      Resale on a chainsawmill? not so much.

    • Great blog post on cutting a tree down with hand tools! You know you could take that full circle and hand hew your own timbers, or use a pit saw and hand saw your smaller boards as well.

      Then you could forget the sawmill all together. Besides, how cool would that be? “Yup, I built this barn from scratch with my own two hands…. literally!”

      • That’s one reason why i was thinking “timber framing”. But to be honest I’m not even 100% sure what that entire topic encapsulates. I get it that you basically use giant posts made from like entire logs to frame something together. Hooking everything with large mortise joints and what not.

        Regarding a pit saw I did a little cursory glance at the topic and seems pretty cool. I tried looking on ebay for a pit saw. Found one for 450 dollars that is definitely in no condition to actually use (its a little too vintage for my taste, PARTICULARLY on the durability/functionality standpoint. Basically means I’d have to fabricate it myself (I have no means to do that ha!). Also looked for a “two man rip saw” (which is basically what it is). No dice.

        I’d also have to find somebody willing to help me out on that task, and uhm.. yeah as of right now, I have no leads on that one… haha

  12. Regarding Jonsered chainsaws…

    I just purchased one at Tractor Supply instead of the Husqvarna Rancher. It is literally the exact same saw, just red and $80 cheaper. It runs like a champ too.

    I found a few places online that show them taken apart and all the parts are the same. I believe they are made in the same building even.

    Jonsered
    http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/jonseredreg%3B-cs-2255-chainsaw-carb-compliant
    Husqvarna
    http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/chainsaws/455-rancher/

    • Hmm, wonder if they have better customer service. I found Husqvarna to be a great tool, I found their customer service to be shit.

      • Haven’t had to think much about that yet, so I don’t know. Here’s hopin’…

  13. I enjoyed the part about the EMP not happening. However, I was under the impression that a large solar flare could do the same thing, and that quite a large one hit back in the day there were view electronics to knock out. I would love to hear more about the likelihood or unlikelihood of a solar flare induced EMP.

    • A CME can cause something similar but it isn’t the doomsday most try to make it. Now true the 1 in 1 trillion shot could be catastrophic, but if you get that, you can Faraday your ass off and IT WON’T matter. The damage done to the planet would out weight the damage to the grid in that perfect strike. In other words most everyone would end up dead, electricity or not. This is like worrying about a “death star” the real one not he one in Star Wars, it could happen but if it does it won’t matter, so prep for what is likely.

      My comment on death star, here you go http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst

      So you can prep for that or your can prep for things you can actually prepare for. If grounding a metal shed and sticking some electronics in it makes you feel good fine, as long as it doesn’t slow down practical preps.

    • Thanks to Stephen Harris regarding the EMP information. It has always been something in the back of my mind with my preps, but I guess if we do experience it, it will be seconds before “the big one” hits. Good to know and well explained.