Let's Talk With Bill G Awhile

[Al Smith]

If you want to talk osage orange commonly called hedge apple .It was planted exactly for that ,hedge rows that can stop a 2,000 pound Holstein bull with a twinkle in his eye so speak . Also a hedge apple fence post will last for over 50 years .Larger examples were often used for machinery trailer decking lumber .Tough stuff,nearly rot proof lasts longer than white oak which is saying something .As a teenager on my grand mother's farm in Knox county Ohio I cut a lot of it for fence posts using at the time a brand new McCulloch 250 and that goes back a long time ago .

 

[Mastermind]

Certain species just have more uniform tension and grain, and the cells rebound better. Osage is one of the best. You can make bows out of almost any wood but many will be very difficult to work, have a smaller amount of flex or just permanently compress more quickly. Mulberry and Larch are also excellent. White Ash is an easy starter species, though the end product won’t last as long.

It’s not my thing but my Dad has been making bows for years. He learned before the internet. Now there’s more info out there than you’ll ever need.

Anyone interested in woodworking should try making a bow. It’s a very deep dive into the properties of wood.

We had a friend who made bows interested in some hedge boards we had been stacking firewood on for years. He said it was the best wood for a longbow.

 

[Al Smith]

I might add osage is like aspen and black locust in a way .They both can be invasive because they propagate from the roots . A well established hedge row of 4 to 6 feet across can make a TD 14 International dozer struggle .

 

[SimonHS]

Yew is traditionally the best wood for bow making. At least it is over here.

The Worshipful Company of Bowyers

 

[Ketchup]

Yew is traditionally the best wood for bow making. At least it is over here.

The Worshipful Company of Bowyers

The English yew longbow is legendary.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

I might add osage is like aspen and black locust in a way .They both can be invasive because they propagate from the roots . A well established hedge row of 4 to 6 feet across can make a TD 14 International dozer struggle .

TD14's those are some cool old dozers, it's funny you mentioned one, I am in the process of replacing steering clutches in one, just waiting to get the brake bands sent back to me from being re-lined.

 

[jacob j.]

They have always just been called Hedge here but I know other areas call them different. It is like pop, soda, and cola we are all speaking the same language but use a few different words.

Now when someone calls this a truck I get a bit bewildered.................

View attachment 421591

Here's the 2024 Mitsubishi version - a diesel even...

 

[Bill G]

Matt?

Yeah Matt and another one or two guys. I cannot say I am at all happy about what he did after I sent him the mini-mac but I am not one to hold grudges. That does not mean I forget things though. I got a couple packages from him a bit ago. He sent me some Australian cookies, Vegemite, a coffee cup, and a Ipad. I ate the cookies as they were great. The coffee cup got busted by USPS. I have not gotten brave enough to try the Vegemite. The Ipad I will need a kid to show me how to run.

 

[Bill G]

A bit of humor from years ago ..Unknown at the time on E-bay I often out bid Bill .I have an extremely fast computor and a lightning fast connection .I could throw snipe bids with less then 10 seconds to go .At that time I knew many peoples on line bidding name .However some times the very first sale of an item may not be the last with the following sales fetching lower prices .Often or so it seems I kind of chit in my own mess kit with my antics . It was all in fun because it wasn't like trying to buy a million dollar plantation in the south Pacific .WTH more so like 25 NOS saw chains I'd never use .I'm not really certain where they are at any more .

If I was ever outbid it meant I was not willing to pay what someone else was. If they feel they "won" something then great for them. I have always been a huge local farm and tool auction guy. I know what I am willing to go and that is it. The same with eBay. I just put my bid in go back to work, and if I get an invoice OK if not OK. I laugh at the guys that think they have to sit by their computers or phones and wait until the last second to bid. They do not realize that I as well as countless others already bid 3 days ago. For awhile I paid for Bidnapper snipe service but I stopped as I rarely buy anything at all on eBay now. In 2024 I can only think of two things I bought there. One was a Kent Feeds thermometer that was from the old Eliza Feed Mill south of me. Growing up their number and our numbers were one digit different. Our's was 3141, the feed mill was 3161, and later mine was 3181. I wanted that just as a wall hanger. I am always a Kent Feeds collector so I did last week buy another sign on eBay.

 

[Bill G]

Anyone interested in woodworking should try making a bow. It’s a very deep dive into the properties of wood.

I am very much into woodworking, just not making bows. I spent many decades teaching woodworking at the high school level. In addition nights and weekends my brother and I had a custom millwork shop. Our main business was trim (base, casing, crown, etc). We also built some cabinets and mantles. It was successful and grew faster than we thought. We went from using a single head molders to a XL 2"x6" 4 head. That was then replaced with a much faster new Weinig 5 head molder. It outgrew our location and when it was time to buy a bigger building and add employees I was not willing to give up teaching. I love woodworking but just not the same type as others

 

[Bill G]

If you want to talk osage orange commonly called hedge apple .It was planted exactly for that ,hedge rows that can stop a 2,000 pound Holstein bull with a twinkle in his eye so speak . Also a hedge apple fence post will last for over 50 years .Larger examples were often used for machinery trailer decking lumber .Tough stuff,nearly rot proof lasts longer than white oak which is saying something .As a teenager on my grand mother's farm in Knox county Ohio I cut a lot of it for fence posts using at the time a brand new McCulloch 250 and that goes back a long time ago .

Those who thought planting hedge as a form of fence was a good idea were sadly mistaken. It is funny that years down the road when the idea of Hedge as a "permanent fence" failed a Cat D7 was used to remove them. Then you cut posts out of the Hedge trees and used them as the posts to build a real fence.

Another one of the wacky ideas some had for permanent fence was planting multiflora rose. Wow what an epic blunder that was. It spread everywhere and was quite invasive. It ruined many pastures. Thank the Lord for good chemicals

 

[Woodwackr]

This at your place, Bill?

 

[Bill G]

TD14's those are some cool old dozers, it's funny you mentioned one, I am in the process of replacing steering clutches in one, just waiting to get the brake bands sent back to me from being re-lined.

I would love to see some pictures of the TD-14. I grew up running a 1949 TD-9. I always wanted a TD-18 or the big girl TD-24. There were a few TD-18's around but never a TD-24. Of course the newer ones, 15, 20, and 25 were around.

This was the girl to find but never did.

 

[Ketchup]

I am very much into woodworking, just not making bows. I spent many decades teaching woodworking at the high school level. In addition nights and weekends my brother and I had a custom millwork shop. Our main business was trim (base, casing, crown, etc). We also built some cabinets and mantles. It was successful and grew faster than we thought. We went from using a single head molders to a XL 2"x6" 4 head. That was then replaced with a much faster new Weinig 5 head molder. It outgrew our location and when it was time to buy a bigger building and add employees I was not willing to give up teaching. I love woodworking but just not the same type as others

I kind of get that.
I got really into milling for a while. People were always trying to get me to make furniture and other finish products. But I found making nice straight boards more satisfying. Most people didn’t get it.

I’ve only made 1 bow. I learned a lot. I might make another someday, but it’s not a major interest.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

I would love to see some pictures of the TD-14. I grew up running a 1949 TD-9. I always wanted a TD-18 or the big girl TD-24. There were a few TD-18's around but never a TD-24. Of course the newer ones, 15, 20, and 25 were around.

This was the girl to find but never did.

View attachment 421702

Ill snap a few pics later this week when I get to wrapping it up, brake bands ought be here tiesday, so I'm hoping to get back to it on wednesday, its been quite the job replacing the steering clutches on both sides, I have both sides drums and clutches back in, and one brake band installed, just waiting on the other brake band, I didnt want to completley tear it apart so I did one side at a time to keep something to reference.

 

[Bill G]

View attachment 421701
This at your place, Bill?

Nope I am not that artistic.

Also if it was here it might end up in flames.

Now before someone complains no Elephants were harmed in this picture.

 

[Al Smith]

A TD 14 in the world of dozers really is a little guy all things considered .Some where between a Cat D5 and D6 of old .The hedge and muti flowera rose were the brain fart of a certain envirometalist in of all places Ohio .Forgot his name . To shove out a row of roses it has a wire fence some where about the middle which becomes tangled in the tracks of a dozer .Been there and done that .The last i did I found an old 6 foot horse drawn disk I had not seen in 40 years .As a teenager I ran that thing behind a 1938 AC model B with a crank start .That old classic resides in my shop now that I did a total rebuild on the engine in 1964 as a 16 year old .Still runs like a brand new one .plowing sod in second gear with a 14" semi mount plow it pulls the front end off the ground .

 

[Al Smith]

Off subject but more of my ramblings . When I built my shop I stripped off about a half acre of sod .That was I think in1994- 1995 and that field had been in hay since before 1958 and had roots that went to China .I could not get the blade on a 1943 Cat D4 to get a toe hold .So I fired up the old AC model B that had sat for at least 15 years to help it out .Little bitty 14 HP wheel tractor saved the day .I haven't fired the little guy off since then but I'd bet it will light off in relative ease crank start and all . .Then again father time has got the best of me .I might have to rest a tad bit between spinning it over .

 

[Bill G]

I have been in a new Cat D11 but the dealer, Ziegler's, out of Des Moines IA would not let me go play. All I could have done is play as it had no blade. It was new waiting on delivery to McAninch construction. They brought in some large motor scrapers that the dealer was removing the drive units from and building front axles. This was so they could be used as pull scrapers. The new D11's were going to pull them.

 

[ZERO]

I am very much into woodworking, just not making bows. I spent many decades teaching woodworking at the high school level. In addition nights and weekends my brother and I had a custom millwork shop. Our main business was trim (base, casing, crown, etc). We also built some cabinets and mantles. It was successful and grew faster than we thought. We went from using a single head molders to a XL 2"x6" 4 head. That was then replaced with a much faster new Weinig 5 head molder. It outgrew our location and when it was time to buy a bigger building and add employees I was not willing to give up teaching. I love woodworking but just not the same type as others

Mr. Bill this is very respectable.

I know an electrician, plumber, roofer, and an arborist who all are backed up for at least a year. Beyond top notch quality work, they all go part time to give it their best and not overstretch.

You very seldom see this in the trades today.