[Mark Cowdrey]

Thanks Neal. I’ll ask around about locust availability. I’ve heard that same longevity estimate. Red maple i have plenty of.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Yes, I mean the beam that connects the two runners, not the bunk that sets (or is pinned) on top of the beam. Thanks for your suggestion. I am using it on a double bob sleigh, and as push has come to shove will not have time to let it dry. Will probably go with sugar maple for the sake of ruggedness, hope for the best & paint it next summer. Thanks, Carl.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

I have used a very similar “rim pad” the last 2 winters. Re-used the same ones & am contemplating using them again this year. They have held up well. As you say Scott, the flexing prevents the snow ball from building much at all and if it gets any size to it, it pops out. I use them on fronts only, don’t seem to have an issue with the hinds. Would hate to have to do without them.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

For a good picture of an excellently (?) rigged D-ring harness see the .jpg referenced in post #8 of the current “Woodland Working Demos at 2009 NEAPFD ” thread. Looking good Carl.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

It would be helpful as a start for folks who were inclined to fill in the “location” portion of their profile so that displays on their posts.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Thanks Carl. I do have a spare, along with 2 or 3 old ones waiting to be re-built. How about a late afternoon/early evening weekend or Friday pot luck for a debriefing meeting?

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Here is John’s website:
http://www.plowdenhorselogging.com/

As probably the closest thing to a “competitor” that John had at the APFD ( I manufacture the PiggyBack Logging Arch) and after seeing John at work in the woods with his arch, I can say that it is a very nifty & handy piece of equipment. Light weight, rugged, easy to maneuver, well thought out and executed. And versatile with the wagon & arch pieces. It was the equipment highlight of the show for me. Good going John.

Mark Cowdrey

PS Those who missed the Field Days missed a great opportunity for making connections. Plan to go next year if possible. A great “huzah!” to all involved.

M

[Mark Cowdrey]

A sharp low angle block plane is a nice, controlled way to taper leather for stitching a splice together. I punch my stitch holes w/ a sharp ice pick before using a heavy needle W/ waxed thread. A sailor’s palm helps to push the needle through the leather or use needle nose pliers. The pliers are rough on the needle however.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Or even better, “Making Double Sleds” by John Rhicard, Winter, 1990, Vol. 14, #1.

Instructional as well as being as great read by a great guy.

I gotta get to work.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

See p.74 of the Winter 1995 SFJ

[Mark Cowdrey]

I saw the GD forecart with the 9′ haybine. I did not see it with a sickle bar. The GD forecart that they were showcasing is a new, heavier model than what was at APFD last year. If I remember correctly, they had a four-up on it and they walked right off with it & started laying down grass from the get go. It was quite impressive. They were talking about marketing it around $3500, again, if I remember correctly.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Donn,

When I rebuilt my #9 I successfully adjusted the lead by adjusting the push bar (“coupling bar”) where it screws into the yoke (“inner shoe hinge”) and the timing bar (“coupling bar brace”). We also did the same at the mower workshop at Fairwinds Farm last May.

As the push bar is attached at the back of the inner shoe yoke and the timing bar at the front, lengthening (by screwing) the push bar or shortening the timing bar increases the lead of the knife. The trick is to get the lead where you want it & then get good timing. As the push bar is more difficult to adjust, I do that first. If I recall correctly, one turn of the push bar gives approximately 3/4 – 1″ of lead adjustment on a 5′ bar. Chances are that after the push bar is adjusted, the register (timing) will be off. I then adjust the length of the timing bar to re-time the cutter bar. Note that the recommended lead is given as a range, as you rob Peter to pay Paul getting both lead & timing to be acceptable. I typically have to adjust the push ar twice to be satisfied. Acceptable timing for me is if no part of the blunt end of a new knife section is exposed at the side of a guard when the knife is “centered” in the bar.

Any & all of this is best done with nice snug pins in the yoke so the cutter bar is not sloppy.

I expect those rebent push bars will stay straight about as long as they originally did.

Donn, you probably already know all this. Maybe hearing it in a different way will be useful… Looking forward to seeing you at APFD.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Alright I have to pitch in. “Desparadoes” is a Guy Clark song. Tom Rush also did a very passable if somewhaat more produced version of it in the early 70’s. In the same vein, check out Guy’s “Let him roll” on that same “Old Number One” album. That said my copy of JJW’s “Viva Terilingua” has some pretty deep grooves in it! BTW, old “Jacky Jack” Walker is originally from NY state.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

I have had good luck w Peach Lane altho I have never ordered anything big from them. I find them prompt & reasonable.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Thanks Carl

[Author]

Posts