Removing Rust from a MIll

It also is important to de-grease and de-oil the parts before starting electrolytic de-rusting. Having chunks of grease or spooge on the parts will prevent that area from reducing.

Jim

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Stepped on the top of an old ladder? Sounds like there's your answer right there. I can't say I haven't done similar stupid things, but I'm starting to realize that since I'm getting older and often working alone on my house- maybe some of those safety guidelines aren't so silly after all. I'm also considering putting my modest skills to work on some tiedowns or brackets for my ladders. Hope everything turns out alright for you.

Hey, Bob!

Thanks for the kind words. I figured out you were back aswards, but already appreciated the nice thoughts.

I've enjoyed this internet "family" and look forward to checking in a few times each day to see how everyone is doing.

The project seems to have no end, but the shop was the same, and it finally came to a conclusion. I can only imagine the house will, too. ;-)

Take care,

Harold

Yep, in fact, I had mentioned not long before I had my quick ride to the floor that that damned ladder was going to kill one of us eventually. It never ceases to amaze me how I know better, yet will occasionally take a chance on something. Could it be a death wish? :-)

I can't say I haven't done similar stupid things, but I'm starting to

Anything one can do to keep the legs straight on step ladders can't be all bad. We own two fiberglass ladders, one an 8', the other a 10'. What is very irritating is the 8' ladder was but feet away from me. I could have been using that one as easily. Death wish, you say?

Thanks. I'm actually doing fairly well, but I'm not up to speed where my stamina is concerned. As the day wears on I get quite tired. I guess that goes with the territory. I'm not a kid anymore.

Harold

The house hasn't been too bad, but I recall standing in the shop early on, very discouraged, saying to myself that I will never get this damned place finished. I was working on the header for one of the overhead doors, preparing to pump grout. That was my lowest day. I kept at it and slowly the terrible looking project took form. It's very rewarding to accomplish a job like this. We started with totally wooded land, the only amenity was a functional septic system, one that had been installed by the previous owner of the land, who had since died. He had planned to build his retirement home here.

We purchased the land from his daughter, through a real estate agency. Imagine the city boy moving to his 5½ acres of trees! The land was so heavily wooded that it was difficult to walk upon. Where the septic system had been installed the trees had not taken over, but salmon berries had, and they were at least 10' tall.

We had to have the property partially logged (trees were worth more than we paid for the land) and a well drilled. In the end, even had three phase power brought in, a little over 2 miles. First well went dry about 6 months after we started using it. The second well, 360 feet deep, has been a constant producer, although only about 7 gal's/minute. That's enough for us because we had installed a storage tank for the first well, which produced only about 2½ gal's/minute.

Yep, that's exactly what we're doing. It is, in part, the reason the shop has a built in vacuum cleaner system, which will extend to the house eventually. It made sense to us to install it now so we could use it in the shop, too.

The part I haven't mentioned is that we lived in our 26' travel trailer for

4 years while we built the pump shed, the shop, and had delivered over 100 truck loads of rock fill. All that time Susan drove 7 miles one way to the Laundromat. The shop has provisions for her new washer and dryer, so she's living like a queen now.

Mind you, Susan has never complained about her living conditions. Understand she is not a slob, she's just realistic. She's quick to mention that both of us are living in the same conditions, and that both of us can't wait to have a house again. She has made the best of anything and everything she's ever been given. For example, both of us enjoy pies. She makes pies, apple, peach, cherry, blueberry, blackberry, pumpkin, coconut cream, lemon meringue, all from scratch. She does not have an oven. She cooks on a propane hot plate, and does all her baking in a small toaster oven. We eat like we're rich, but we're far from it. I'm not sure she'll even know how to use an oven, but we'll get her one she can't live without, her reward for being such a great wife.

I had relatives that did that, they

Interestingly, that is sort of our story, too. We had partially built a large place in Utah, which we sold when we moved. We lived in the left hand portion of the castle, where I also had my lab for refining. The castle was two stories, with a full basement under the house. My machines were set up on street level, with the lab on the top floor, along with our living facility, a small apartment like setup. One side was finished, the other was not. It, now, is a B&B.

Susan and I designed the place, but we had an engineering firm draw the prints and do the engineering for us. No way could I have handled that, but it was a great learning experience, one that we used to design the shop and house here. We were the contractor, but had hired most of the work done. That's one of the reasons we do so much of our own work now. One learns, perhaps too slowly, how underhanded some people can be. We had some bad experiences with workers.

Thanks, Jim. You're a bit of alright, too.

Harold

I have collected quite the assortment of old wooden laddders at auctions, if they go for under a few bucks they are usually mine. :) sometimes it's really handy to be able to just grab one just the right height, which is what I'm getting at, I like to have ladders stick up a few feet higher then the surface I'm climbing onto, gives you something to hold onto when you start to climb down them in case they shift, and you are less likely to trip over the top of them if they stick up into your field of vision. Of course, you don't always have just the right sized ladder for everything.....

I keep a roll of #9 wire in my pickup for just this sort of thing. Actually in a pinch electrical wirre (tie it don't twist it) or bailing wire works well too. (not sure of that spelling, wire used to tie bales, not for getting water out of a boat) Anything is better than nothing. It's easy to take a chunk of wire up the ladder with you (sometimes it's handy for forming a hook to hold tools too). I'm sure this has saved me from a few nasty things, even if it does make you a little braver about reaching over further than you should.

Dave

I hate ladders, but I seem to spend some time climbing them. I use a bungy cord onto gutters to stop the ladder slipping sideways, or a tiedown. geoff