On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:01:05 -0800, Winston
wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:
On Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:33:39 -0800,
wrote:
(...)
I got a set of HF 18" augers for $8 and have been using them for a
decade (so far) on things like that. A smaller $4 trio of 18" twist
billdrits accompany it in my truck. Handy!
I dropped ~ $30. for that missing auger so color me green.
Ouch!
(...)
(power winch)
Precisely. I'm able to appreciate those more and more with age.
I hear ya.
And there's always the lovely aroma of gunpowder to contemplate.
Basement Skeet!
Kin ewe say "clay dust kaff, kaff, kaff"? I knew yew cud.
(...)
The tensile strength of that rotted wood is about zilch point zip.
Luckily, most of the posts I've removed haven't been that far rotted.
You are lucky. The stuff I'm working with is quite damp
and *full* of termite trails.
WHAT? You must have some mighty hungry termites down there. Dem bugs
prefer every OTHER type of wood to redwood and cedar. But they'll eat
pressure treated lumber nowadays, too. There isn't anything on the
market which is still safe to use.
Now I'm dumping about half a box of borax into each hole
just prior to placing the PT posts.
Termites don't like borax. Heh.
Forget that. Buy some Boracare or TimBor, treat the posts with it,
and then seal them before cementing, so it doesn't marinate off. I'm
painting cuts on PT wood with Jasco Termin-8 preservative.
I had the entire bottom of my house treated with TimBor this year.
http://thepestcontrolstore.com/categ...c=6&cView=prod
I don't think you can use -any- of the above in the Republik of
Kalifornia, though. I think they limit you to flyswatters there.
sigh
(...)
Yeah, redwood doesn't have the integrity that the absolute lowest
grade of SPF (with brown dye and fungicide on it!) has, does it?
Especially after a dozen years of marination.
I dislike redwood but I can't get people to buy teak for
some strange reason. 
The quick fix: Find new clients made of money.
it, it is holey red mush. An expanding masonry fastener or a
couple powder fasteners into the footing would work 'way better.
Only if the cement is solid. I've pulled apart some mighty thin-walled
and crumbly footings.
As have I, for sure. OTOH, a year back I pulled some 30 year old
footings that had been placed by a friend of mine.
They were solid ~120 lb monsters! The hydraulic cart worked a treat
and they each came out of the ground in one piece.
Cool.
I'm on the hook for further duty so I want a speedy means of
removing the big'uns.
How big is big? I think I'll build one of these pulleyed bastids.
http://www.fencepostpuller.net/index.html (first video) and use my
winch with it. [I blew leaves into piles this morning (@34F) instead
of wiring the winch. Too CHILLY!]
--
Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins
when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in
order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.
-- Peter Minard