What did you do today non-detailing related?
- Thread starter VISITOR
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Big Dave
Well-known member
- Jan 7, 2018
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We were lucky when we were moving out of our last house, we knew they were going to knock it down. He still wanted it securable, exterior intact, but it didn't matter if we scratched anything, not that we did. It took them over 2 years to demolish it, the neighbours sent us some pictures of it going down, I was a little sad, I'd lived there on and off since I was born, it had been my grandmother's house originally, built in the early 1950s. I love the new house though, built in 2019, we're the first to live in it. Sorry, I got to reminiscing a bit there.
Good luck with everything, waking up the first morning after you've moved in is amazing, the stress is all gone. It helped that I had a whole month off to unpack, and relax.
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bill walsh
Member
- Jul 16, 2007
- 987
- 2
mowed the lawn and weed wacked today
DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
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So did I.....................for 5 different customers.
Well, after those 5 lawns, I am very jealous.
Big Dave
Well-known member
- Jan 7, 2018
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It did me no good at all, when I got up this morning my achilles tendonitis was playing up, I've been limping around all day, but I still managed to give the dogs a reasonable walk this morning, with a few rest stops, and a bit of swearing.
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Big Dave
Well-known member
- Jan 7, 2018
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Now taking orders, if you see something you like, send me some cash and I'll go pick it up. Now obviously I won't be able to send it, but I will taste it for you, and describe, in detail, how good it is.
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chilly
Well-known member
- May 13, 2006
- 3,110
- 985
Now taking orders, if you see something you like, send me some cash and I'll go pick it up. Now obviously I won't be able to send it, but I will taste it for you, and describe, in detail, how good it is.
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You are a prince among men
I’ll take a dozen of each
At the current exchange rate I guess that’s about $1.99 USD
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VISITOR
Active member
- May 10, 2007
- 9,859
- 3
- Thread starter
- #3,831
Now taking orders, if you see something you like, send me some cash and I'll go pick it up. Now obviously I won't be able to send it, but I will taste it for you, and describe, in detail, how good it is.
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even though the nearest paris baguette is a good distance away from me, i look forward to going to there every few months. they (pastries/donuts) taste so good, but i feel guilty eating them...
Paris Baguette Menu Items
Butter Cream Bread (Sweet bun filled with condensed milk cream)
Sweet Rice Donut (Chewy rice donut rolled in sugar and filled with sweet red bean paste)
Strawberry Croissant (Croissant filled with soft custard cream and strawberries, dusted with powdered sugar)
Big Dave
Well-known member
- Jan 7, 2018
- 3,865
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Alright, you win, I can feel the weight packing on just looking at the pictures. Definitely worth the effort to get there. I used to drive an hour and a half each way to get to my favourite burger shop, it helped that it was a fun drive. It's now more than 3 hours each way, so a bit too far. I have a friend who goes past there occasionally, he gets a burger every time and sends me a pic of it, afterall, what are friends for.
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DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
- 4,880
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After leaving it for a bit longer than ideal, I mowed the back lawn this afternoon. Because the grass was tall and thick, it was a job for one of the two strokes.
My first choice was the Commando, but she was being cranky today. These Victa's either start on the first pull, or take multiple attempts at priming, choking, full throttle, back to choke, more priming, more choking...................you get the picture. In the end, I dumped more fuel in the tank, removed the fuel line from the primer cap to ensure it was flowing, then primmed the sh.t out of it before it finally fired.
This particular machine I have been having speed control issues with, as in over revving. Today, the extra engine speed came in handy for slashing through the thick grass. Well, half way through, she decided to have another tantrum and wouldn't rev out, like it wasn't getting enough fuel. In the end I gave up in frustration and put it away to diagnose another day............I was tired and grumpy.
So, it was out with the Mustang instead. I haven't used this one for a while, so it too didn't want to fire up, no doubt from stale fuel. Again, I ended up dumping fresh fuel in the tank, primed the sh.t out of it until it finally fired in a cloud of blue two stoke smoke. The Mustang powered through the remainder of the job.
When these engines are running, they just knuckle down and power through just about anything. But they are also cranky diva's that require patience and a delft touch. I don't rely on the two strokes for money making purposes, but I do keep them in the fleet for sh.ts and giggles.
My first choice was the Commando, but she was being cranky today. These Victa's either start on the first pull, or take multiple attempts at priming, choking, full throttle, back to choke, more priming, more choking...................you get the picture. In the end, I dumped more fuel in the tank, removed the fuel line from the primer cap to ensure it was flowing, then primmed the sh.t out of it before it finally fired.
This particular machine I have been having speed control issues with, as in over revving. Today, the extra engine speed came in handy for slashing through the thick grass. Well, half way through, she decided to have another tantrum and wouldn't rev out, like it wasn't getting enough fuel. In the end I gave up in frustration and put it away to diagnose another day............I was tired and grumpy.
So, it was out with the Mustang instead. I haven't used this one for a while, so it too didn't want to fire up, no doubt from stale fuel. Again, I ended up dumping fresh fuel in the tank, primed the sh.t out of it until it finally fired in a cloud of blue two stoke smoke. The Mustang powered through the remainder of the job.
When these engines are running, they just knuckle down and power through just about anything. But they are also cranky diva's that require patience and a delft touch. I don't rely on the two strokes for money making purposes, but I do keep them in the fleet for sh.ts and giggles.
chilly
Well-known member
- May 13, 2006
- 3,110
- 985
After leaving it for a bit longer than ideal, I mowed the back lawn this afternoon. Because the grass was tall and thick, it was a job for one of the two strokes.
My first choice was the Commando, but she was being cranky today. These Victa's either start on the first pull, or take multiple attempts at priming, choking, full throttle, back to choke, more priming, more choking...................you get the picture. In the end, I dumped more fuel in the tank, removed the fuel line from the primer cap to ensure it was flowing, then primmed the sh.t out of it before it finally fired.
This particular machine I have been having speed control issues with, as in over revving. Today, the extra engine speed came in handy for slashing through the thick grass. Well, half way through, she decided to have another tantrum and wouldn't rev out, like it wasn't getting enough fuel. In the end I gave up in frustration and put it away to diagnose another day............I was tired and grumpy.
So, it was out with the Mustang instead. I haven't used this one for a while, so it too didn't want to fire up, no doubt from stale fuel. Again, I ended up dumping fresh fuel in the tank, primed the sh.t out of it until it finally fired in a cloud of blue two stoke smoke. The Mustang powered through the remainder of the job.
When these engines are running, they just knuckle down and power through just about anything. But they are also cranky diva's that require patience and a delft touch. I don't rely on the two strokes for money making purposes, but I do keep them in the fleet for sh.ts and giggles.
I’m not sure if I could even find a new two stroke mower up here but the idea intrigues me
I love two stroke equipment and enjoy fussing with oil mixes, engine tuning, etc
The mower I have doesn’t even have variable engine speed and doesn’t lend itself to tinkering
Plus it’s about as powerful and ferocious as a kitten
Boring
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Karl_in_Chicago
Active member
- Jun 9, 2007
- 446
- 230
I miss 2-stroke motorcycles. Fast, violent power delivery and butt-simple to work on. Not too clean, at least at that time, though I occasionally run across articles about the advances that have been made in improving that aspect. The danger there, IMO, is what made them so simple and easy *might* be lost with whatever it is that made them cleaner (I say "might" as that's just conjecture on my part and haven't truly drilled deep into the subject). But good on 'ya DFB for keeping the 2-stroke heart beating.
DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
- 4,880
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As far as I know, Victa were the last to make a 2-stroke lawn mower in the world. In the end, emission standards and falling sales killed it.
Victa made two versions of their classic 2-stroke. Up until the early 80's, all of their engines had a full crankshaft in both 125cc and 160cc formats.
This is my grandfathers 160cc full crank engine. Screams to the moon............
There was also an opposed twin cylinder which displaced 170cc, it was violently noisy and hilariously thirsty..........they didn't sell many because of that. I of course want one! That engine also spawned an 85cc single cylinder version, again very rare. Just listen to it scream, it sounds like it wants to take off. I have to admit, I would be frightened to use one of those. Still want one though.
From the early 80's, Victa went to a half-crank engine they called Power Torque. Instead of a separate cylinder pot and crankcase, these had a integral cast iron block and cylinder with an alloy cylinder head cap. The flywheel is actually mounted on the bottom of the engine, the top of the engine capped with the starter system. I personally think these engines tend to vibrate more, but they were obviously cheaper to make.
The Mustang I referenced in my previous post. Amazing despite the complete difference in engine construction, they sound virtually the same.
I've said this many many times, but there are situations where a two-stroke mower will easily power through thick, overgrown grass that will have even the stoutest 190cc+ 4-stroke spluttering. I get it though, those two stroke Victa's were very noisy and ran on 25:1 fuel, so they were very smokey. And thirsty.
This is an old Victa Utility doing its thing, 40+ year old tech still "cutting it"......................
And an even older example, 65 years old and still screaming..................
chilly
Well-known member
- May 13, 2006
- 3,110
- 985
As far as I know, Victa were the last to make a 2-stroke lawn mower in the world. In the end, emission standards and falling sales killed it.
Victa made two versions of their classic 2-stroke. Up until the early 80's, all of their engines had a full crankshaft in both 125cc and 160cc formats.
This is my grandfathers 160cc full crank engine. Screams to the moon............
There was also an opposed twin cylinder which displaced 170cc, it was violently noisy and hilariously thirsty..........they didn't sell many because of that. I of course want one! That engine also spawned an 85cc single cylinder version, again very rare. Just listen to it scream, it sounds like it wants to take off. I have to admit, I would be frightened to use one of those. Still want one though.
From the early 80's, Victa went to a half-crank engine they called Power Torque. Instead of a separate cylinder pot and crankcase, these had a integral cast iron block and cylinder with an alloy cylinder head cap. The flywheel is actually mounted on the bottom of the engine, the top of the engine capped with the starter system. I personally think these engines tend to vibrate more, but they were obviously cheaper to make.
The Mustang I referenced in my previous post. Amazing despite the complete difference in engine construction, they sound virtually the same.
I've said this many many times, but there are situations where a two-stroke mower will easily power through thick, overgrown grass that will have even the stoutest 190cc+ 4-stroke spluttering. I get it though, those two stroke Victa's were very noisy and ran on 25:1 fuel, so they were very smokey. And thirsty.
This is an old Victa Utility doing its thing, 40+ year old tech still "cutting it"......................
And an even older example, 65 years old and still screaming..................
Just awesome stuff!
DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
- 4,880
- 2,941
The end of winter, and the moment I dread every year.....................potting.
I will say, now that I basically take charge of this task, I have implemented several changes to reduce the burden on both me and other staff. Simple changes that reduce fatigue on the body, reduce time wasting and improve overall organization. Does that sound like me?
For example, potting was always left to the very very last minute, then it was a mad rush to power through it, all with the increased customer flow brought on by Spring. Now, I start potting selectively mid-season, getting through surplus stock that reduces the load later on in the season. Most of that is stock that was always intended to be potted rather than sold bare root.
I also INSIST every batch (usually 5 to 10 trees, or per pallet) is stock balanced and converted to a potted barcode price immediately. Previously, it was always such a rush to just get them potted, then deal with the prices later. This then required a staff member (me) having to trapse through pallets of trees hunched over attaching prices to the bags in the days/weeks ahead. Doing it as we go, it also means I can sell the tree straight away if needed, no fumbling around for a price because "they have just been potted". This might sound like a trivial thing, but trust me, it was a nightmare that ended up being more time consuming than it should be.
Again, the rush to get everything in a pot meant we would go through and water everything at the end of the day. When you have something like 500 trees to thoroughly soak in less than an hour, well, it led to a half-ars.d job. Now, every pallet is soaked as we go, nothing missed, everything soaked properly to eliminate air pockets.
Speaking of pallets, this was never a thing. Trees would be potted and then dumped in lines of genus/species on the loading dock, something that would end up being a crazy maze of trees. They would then be loaded onto a single pallet and wheeled into the nursery on a manual pallet jack. So, you would end up triple handling every single potted tree.
Previously, we would load up a tandem trailer with potting mix to work from on the loading dock. For me, this created two problems. It meant having tow and maneuver the trailer, something I struggle with. Actually, I have since learnt how to maneuver a trailer very well with one of the Dingo's. Secondly, the height of the trailer meant having to be hunched over for hours on end, I think a lot of my back issues stem from this. Now, I load up the old Nissan Navara which is used solely for this task or ground maintenance. It's also a tipper, which makes it very valuable assest. The height of the tray is at the perfect height, meaning I don't end up folded in half at the end of the day.
When the potting is all finished, it then needs to make its way into the nursery for sale. Having everything on a pallet in genus/species order, means it can be fed into stock with less fuss.
It took me 20 years to make those changes as a whole, it can be very hard to change the mindset of guys who have been doing it twice as long as you. At the end of the day, they are no longer "hands on", so doing things their way at my expense makes no sense just because "that's how we've always done it". And yet, those changes make a big difference in how things function, no more "just winging it"............which I truly detest!
Most of it is now done, progress came to a halt after running out of potting mix this afternoon. Still to go are the fruit trees, which go into the same sized bag as the ornamentals, then the larger weeping trees which go into larger 75 LT bags............the ones I dread.
I will say, now that I basically take charge of this task, I have implemented several changes to reduce the burden on both me and other staff. Simple changes that reduce fatigue on the body, reduce time wasting and improve overall organization. Does that sound like me?
For example, potting was always left to the very very last minute, then it was a mad rush to power through it, all with the increased customer flow brought on by Spring. Now, I start potting selectively mid-season, getting through surplus stock that reduces the load later on in the season. Most of that is stock that was always intended to be potted rather than sold bare root.
I also INSIST every batch (usually 5 to 10 trees, or per pallet) is stock balanced and converted to a potted barcode price immediately. Previously, it was always such a rush to just get them potted, then deal with the prices later. This then required a staff member (me) having to trapse through pallets of trees hunched over attaching prices to the bags in the days/weeks ahead. Doing it as we go, it also means I can sell the tree straight away if needed, no fumbling around for a price because "they have just been potted". This might sound like a trivial thing, but trust me, it was a nightmare that ended up being more time consuming than it should be.
Again, the rush to get everything in a pot meant we would go through and water everything at the end of the day. When you have something like 500 trees to thoroughly soak in less than an hour, well, it led to a half-ars.d job. Now, every pallet is soaked as we go, nothing missed, everything soaked properly to eliminate air pockets.
Speaking of pallets, this was never a thing. Trees would be potted and then dumped in lines of genus/species on the loading dock, something that would end up being a crazy maze of trees. They would then be loaded onto a single pallet and wheeled into the nursery on a manual pallet jack. So, you would end up triple handling every single potted tree.
Previously, we would load up a tandem trailer with potting mix to work from on the loading dock. For me, this created two problems. It meant having tow and maneuver the trailer, something I struggle with. Actually, I have since learnt how to maneuver a trailer very well with one of the Dingo's. Secondly, the height of the trailer meant having to be hunched over for hours on end, I think a lot of my back issues stem from this. Now, I load up the old Nissan Navara which is used solely for this task or ground maintenance. It's also a tipper, which makes it very valuable assest. The height of the tray is at the perfect height, meaning I don't end up folded in half at the end of the day.
When the potting is all finished, it then needs to make its way into the nursery for sale. Having everything on a pallet in genus/species order, means it can be fed into stock with less fuss.
It took me 20 years to make those changes as a whole, it can be very hard to change the mindset of guys who have been doing it twice as long as you. At the end of the day, they are no longer "hands on", so doing things their way at my expense makes no sense just because "that's how we've always done it". And yet, those changes make a big difference in how things function, no more "just winging it"............which I truly detest!
Most of it is now done, progress came to a halt after running out of potting mix this afternoon. Still to go are the fruit trees, which go into the same sized bag as the ornamentals, then the larger weeping trees which go into larger 75 LT bags............the ones I dread.
Big Dave
Well-known member
- Jan 7, 2018
- 3,865
- 2,297
I really hate the "we do it this way because that's the way we've always done it" mentality. At my last job they let me change things that made it easier for them, but if it only made things easier for me, like getting a trolley to help put spare parts away, well that's a no, why would you want to make 1 or 2 trips with a trolley when you can make 10 or 20 trips carrying as much as you can in your hands and pockets. Sorry, rant over, but screw them.The end of winter, and the moment I dread every year.....................potting.
I will say, now that I basically take charge of this task, I have implemented several changes to reduce the burden on both me and other staff. Simple changes that reduce fatigue on the body, reduce time wasting and improve overall organization. Does that sound like me?
For example, potting was always left to the very very last minute, then it was a mad rush to power through it, all with the increased customer flow brought on by Spring. Now, I start potting selectively mid-season, getting through surplus stock that reduces the load later on in the season. Most of that is stock that was always intended to be potted rather than sold bare root.
I also INSIST every batch (usually 5 to 10 trees, or per pallet) is stock balanced and converted to a potted barcode price immediately. Previously, it was always such a rush to just get them potted, then deal with the prices later. This then required a staff member (me) having to trapse through pallets of trees hunched over attaching prices to the bags in the days/weeks ahead. Doing it as we go, it also means I can sell the tree straight away if needed, no fumbling around for a price because "they have just been potted". This might sound like a trivial thing, but trust me, it was a nightmare that ended up being more time consuming than it should be.
Again, the rush to get everything in a pot meant we would go through and water everything at the end of the day. When you have something like 500 trees to thoroughly soak in less than an hour, well, it led to a half-ars.d job. Now, every pallet is soaked as we go, nothing missed, everything soaked properly to eliminate air pockets.
Speaking of pallets, this was never a thing. Trees would be potted and then dumped in lines of genus/species on the loading dock, something that would end up being a crazy maze of trees. They would then be loaded onto a single pallet and wheeled into the nursery on a manual pallet jack. So, you would end up triple handling every single potted tree.
Previously, we would load up a tandem trailer with potting mix to work from on the loading dock. For me, this created two problems. It meant having tow and maneuver the trailer, something I struggle with. Actually, I have since learnt how to maneuver a trailer very well with one of the Dingo's. Secondly, the height of the trailer meant having to be hunched over for hours on end, I think a lot of my back issues stem from this. Now, I load up the old Nissan Navara which is used solely for this task or ground maintenance. It's also a tipper, which makes it very valuable assest. The height of the tray is at the perfect height, meaning I don't end up folded in half at the end of the day.
When the potting is all finished, it then needs to make its way into the nursery for sale. Having everything on a pallet in genus/species order, means it can be fed into stock with less fuss.
It took me 20 years to make those changes as a whole, it can be very hard to change the mindset of guys who have been doing it twice as long as you. At the end of the day, they are no longer "hands on", so doing things their way at my expense makes no sense just because "that's how we've always done it". And yet, those changes make a big difference in how things function, no more "just winging it"............which I truly detest!
Most of it is now done, progress came to a halt after running out of potting mix this afternoon. Still to go are the fruit trees, which go into the same sized bag as the ornamentals, then the larger weeping trees which go into larger 75 LT bags............the ones I dread.
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