I was at Grizzly today in Springfield Missouri checking out a 2-in belt sander that's on sale. It didn't have great workholding capabilities, but it looked like it could take off a wicked amount of material. The guy said some people use it for making knives. It also had a mandrel on it he said was typically used for a buffing wheel.

I'm not sure it's something I want to get into, but it's got me thinking.

I transplanted a few I guess last year and I think the year before. I need to check on them and see if they made it through the winter.

I have a friend in my area that has them all over, but he literally never gets to eat them because raccoons.

I haven't been there yet but that's the one everyone is pointing me to.

It seems like it's still a needed service, but yeah cutting tools are much more complex today and are mostly designed to last longer and be more disposable than they were in the '80s, manufacturing is mostly cheaper, and at the same time people have poorer manual skills.

But we also have the internet to figure out things we don't know.

I live near a metro area with roughly a quarter million people and everyone is pointing me back to exactly one shop, and apparently they are actually sending their work out to get done.

There is a small lawn mower repair shop close to me that volunteered to take a look. If they are handy they should be able to do it.

And also why does literally no one talk about opening up a side hustle sharpening business?

I'm trying to get my chipper blades sharpened. It seems like almost no one does that.

They are just a straight blade. I already have the blades off.

Are sharpening shops a relic of the past? Is there a business opportunity?

#grownostr

First of all you should know there are certain regulations around this. Trucking is a highly regulated industry. In terms of government regulation, it honestly is one of the less insanely regulated industries though in my opinion. However the regulations do keep it stuck way in the past.

I don't know that the current regulations would prevent this from being done but there are regulations to be aware of in the US. I don't know but many rules around trucking are very similar in the US and Canada.

I'm not an owner operator so I've never worked the load boards or worked with a brokerage as an owner operator contracting freight.

Basically, in my understanding, as a contractor/driver, you will sign on to a load board and see dates, origins, destinations, freight classification, weight, possibly a description, and some indication of type of equipment needed and possibly special instructions such as pickup hours, securement, equipment, or temperature instructions. I think usually there is a price and you can apply to get the load. Or you can make an offer. Brokers are famous for playing games putting the same load out multiple times to make sure they get it covered and then again to make sure they get it cheaper canceling the more expensive one.

Van and reefer loads are usually pretty straightforward and account for a large percentage of uncontracted freight. Open deck trailers can be more complex, oversize can be very complex.

Lots of owner operators work direct with brokers who have contracts to broker loads to drivers. They may also bear a certain amount of legal responsibility and responsibility for checking on the load and advising as to its status.

They are several major brokers and a lot of small ones.

Uber freight is a pretty big player in the industry now too.

Brokers charge a percentage of the load, and often provide very little by way of actual service, so there is a lot of money on the table.

Owner operators will tell you to never trust a broker, but if you do find one you like, to never let them go.

Thank you!

Lol

I'm teaching myself FreeCAD. I'm pretty new to CAD. I've done a very little bit of work in fusion 360 and Google SketchUp in the past.

My goal is to be able to 3D print certain parts, and so far I'm really impressed with how mature the program seems. Not necessarily mature like build a skyscraper mature, mature like print cool stuff on a 3D printer mature.

And it's open source and free.

#grownostr

#FreeCAD

Yup. The magic of big teeth.

I agree 15 amps is absolutely on the low end power wise. But honestly while the time of the cut is an attractive figure, it isn't really the limiting factor for home use. Set up, physical energy, and log handling is a bigger deal with these lightweight setups. But cut time matters for sure.

I do like the idea of having a power boost to up, say a 15 amp extension cord to maybe a 20 or even 30 amp motor. The power is available since it would typically only be running, say 50% of the time. That is to say maybe 5 minutes per cut then 3 minutes off with longer breaks periodically for a simple one person operation. Very roughly speaking.

I'm thinking that it would be out of the range of a capacitor to hold that long, but there might be ones out there that could.

A battery setup with inverter would certainly do it, but that's more weight, expense, and cost, by quite a bit. A lithium battery with inverter isn't completely out of the question though.

Anyway I guess a person could make that decision for their build.

#sawstr

#grownostr

National Information Police

I'm thinking about building a micro-sawmill this fall/winter. I'm thinking something light enough for a fit person to reasonably carry several hundred yards, but still be a 2-3x upgrade to a chainsaw mill.

I'm thinking something that could be built in a home/farm shop for say, a thousand to two thousand US$ in materials.

What technology would you consider and how would you think about this?

I want something I can carry to trees that are otherwise relatively inaccessible but where the lumber can still be carried out.

Maybe 15 or possibly 20 amp electric so it can be run off of a portable generator that can be carried separately.

I don't think I understand the question.

And yes, shout out to #[2] at The Survival Podcast for bringing it to life!

Jack recently got into nostr and is convinced, as am I, that while it is super early, nostr will play a very important role in the future, both in ways that are more obvious and in ways that aren't even being talked about yet.

#grownostr is a genius idea that shows off the genius of nostr.

#grownostr is a genius idea that shows off the genius of nostr.

A friend of mine made it. You strip the blossoms off and I don't know the rest. I assume you steep them, boil off some water and add sugar and pectin, but IDK. I think there are recipes for mead and vinegar out there too.