Restoring Tobacco Road ..

[TruGrit]

... lol, yeah, we kinda just slapped it together outta spare parts .. .. it's a Massey Ferguson 40e .. originally an industrial unit, meant to load in a paved parking lot .. 2 wheel drive .. so I had to get the rear dump bucket from a friend to serve as a counterweight ..

.. it's 42 hp, but some of that is taken up by the pump running straight off the crank to power the FEL, but still plenty left for what I need .. our best guess is that it was used on a timber landing to load cut logs onto trucks ..

.. the 3pt system was cobbled to hold more weight, so they must have had the same issue as me with loss of traction at the rear .. just ordered a muffler, cause with straight pipe it's a tad loud .. .. in the Spring it will get a new paint job ... flat black ..

[matt walker]

Looking good there Tru! Amazing how much you are getting done this winter, it's great to see. You have gotta be stoked to have that tractor around! Good to see progress, keep going!

[TruGrit]

.. howdy pards! .. well, the old barn in the valley has seen better days .. dunno if it's the cold or what, but it has been shifting and coming apart .. if I was going to salvage anything from it I needed to begin disassembling right away .. this was not on the Winter's to do list, but it is now .. soo, away we go ..

.. first I need the tin roofing for a lean-to shed I'm building on the upper landing, so that's the first project ..




.. the tin has got a few years left in it, the slats .. not so much ..




.. lots of poles inside where they hung the tobacco, need to examine them closer to decide their value ..



.. all materials will be used somewhere on the property .. seems like the right thing to do ..

[mannytheseacow]

Man, what an incredible resource, Tru! All that wood available for the scabbins!

I spent the fall salvaging old barn boards and trimming out a bunch of nooks around the house. The finished product is fantastic. I love the way rustic lumber looks against sharp new paint. And trim doesn't have to be as structurally sound as load bearing members. I'll bet you've got enough wood there to do your lean-to and a bunch of finish work.

[TruGrit]

.. help! .. Sasquatch breakin' in to my house ..

[pa_friendly_guy]

Demolition work is some of the most dangerous work out there. Here in Pa I think the Workers Compensation rate for demolition work is $ 66 per $100 of payroll. That means that for every $100 you pay your employee you have to pay $66 for their Workers Comp premium in case they get hurt. I think the only higher rate than that is Dynamite manufacturing. You be careful out there Tru, I would not want to see you get hurt , Safety First, always think Safety First.

[matt walker]

Gah, I'm jealous! Whatcha gonna make with that old oil tank?

I love the Sasquatch shot!

[TruGrit]

.. always a careful fella .. geiin' old and slow now, so, I got lot's of time to think over each move ..

.. dunno on the tanks, I have two of those, first I thought about making a giant woodstove, but don't need that anymore .. also thought slices of them would make excellent log skidding sleds, but that my be a waste of material ... as it is, just gonna clean 'em out and store till a great idea comes along .. you fellas got any good ones?

.. after taking a look at the poles inside, doesn't look like they used quality wood, just built it outta what was handy .. the good stuff was along the ground as the main foundation, but that is now rotting and falling apart .. I'll be able to salvage some, but not as much as I had hoped ..

.. hope all are having a safe Winter .. we've had a very mild one, so getting lots of outdoor work done .. Spring is right around the corner .. yay!!

[pa_friendly_guy]

Well, if you like BBQ Tru, and I have heard that many from down your way Love their BBQ, you could cut the tank in 1/2, weld on a hinge, put on some legs and a handle and have yourself a very nice place to BBQ a whole pig. I have seen set ups like that which use a small reduction motor and gears to turn the hog over the coals that seem to work very well. Just a thought. Another use that I have heard of for using the metal from old talks is using it to hold post and beam construction. You cut the tank into T's L's or strips of a pretty good size and use them to bolt, nail, or screw the posts to the beams. The long strips are bent around the top beam and bolted into the post on either side. The T's or L's are used to attach various corners or structural members. The metal is heavy enough to be a good structural support and they can be cut easily with a hand held metal cutting wheel. With the tractor you have making a sled out on one of the tanks could be a very good idea. Since you got then free of charge I find it hard to think you are wasting the tanks if you put then to good use. What ever you decide to do with them will be better than letting them just sit there and rust away. Reduce, repurpose, reuse, or recycle, take your pick.

[TruGrit]

.. surprise, surprise .. got a wood delivery last night .. and great that it was put along side the trail for easy removal ...