Last night I put the final coat of paint on the walls in the nursery and finished the door installation as well. Now I just need to put some trim around the door and paint that and it’s all done (structurally)! This weekend we will do that as well as clean it all up and move in all the baby accoutrements. It’s all very excited as well as gratifying. I can’t wait for our little baby to be here 🙂
Home use: 2.5:1
Firewood: 3:1
Professional Cutting: 3-3.5:1 depending on wood
Never should you have a saw with more bar than engine. Why? It’s frustrating, it means more sharpening with no wood-cutting gain (long bar, but can’t bury it in the wood). I suggest for most people that a 14″ bar on a 35cc engine is plenty. Now, when I say “most people” I mean the guy that has a tree branch in his yard he wants to clean up, or a few apple trees to prune etc. For firewood a good saw would be an 18″ bar with a 54cc engine.
Here is an example of what you should have and what is actually out there.
Poulan 2375, 42cc w/18″ bar – 2.33:1 ratio
For home use it should be 16″ bar (2.625:1 ratio)
For firewood use it should be 14″ bar (3:1 ratio)
For professional use (not gonna happen) it should be 12″ bar (3.5:1 ratio)
I can vote for it that with a 12″ bar it rips, I’ve owned one and set it up like that. WAY faster than stock and an absolute delight to cut with despite being a cheap saw. It’s amazing how the “extra” length can really turn an ok cutting machine into a pig.
The only reason manufacturers sell these saws with such long bars is because they move off the shelf quicker that way. Think about it, ask someone what size saw they have and unless they are a saw nut like me, they will tell you how many “inches” it is – IE the bar length, not the engine size which is really what matters.
The Harold Alfond College Challenge allows Maine residents under the age of 1yr old to have a fund started and receive $500 just for opening it. No strings attached except you can only use it once you are 18 years old and you can only use it for college expenses. Our baby will be getting one of these accounts for sure!
This weekend I worked on installing our Class A chimney with my brother. We got all of the interior work finished. We did check out the outside portion, but it turns out my roof is higher and steeper than I want to be on. Due to my fear of death and peril, we have elected to pay someone to do that portion of the job. Now to find a contractor that can get it done in the next month…
A little over a year ago I replaced our upstairs faucet with a new one. I was happy it was a ball valve unit and used a single handle for water control. I was not happy with the seemingly poor construction and Made in China label (I hate shipping stuff from the other side of the planet when we can make things over here). It was all we could afford though at the time. Well, it started leaking and when I took it off the sink to look at it the water intake pipes on it bent. That was the end of that faucet.
I installed an American Standard Cadet faucet. Now, despite the name of the company, it was made in Mexico. However, our Mexican friends have done a great job and the craftsmanship is superb. This unit is 10x stronger than the one I put in a year ago and I am proud to have it in my home.
