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Sugarmaker 
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Joined: 12 Jul 2013
Location: Albion PA
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 Posted: 18 Mar 2021 at 9:39pm |
 desertjoe wrote:
Very interesting thread here,,Chris,,!! You're a dedicated fellar cause it looks like a lot of WORK,,,,  I've always wondered,,,if the sap traveling UP the tree is for aiding the tree to leaf out and produce it's fruit,,,,can you get to where you tap TOO much of the sap,,,????
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I am sure you could over tap. But the small 5/16 hole generally heals over before next season. Tapping doesn't seem to hurt the trees. Everything in moderation. I try to make it not work, still fun and enjoy the process and the product. We had pancakes for lunch with our maple syrup on them! Regards, Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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Steve A
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Joined: 12 Apr 2012
Location: NLP Mi
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 5:46am |
My Dad and I did it for about 30 yrs, now my son started helping me this year. About 150 taps, 75 buckets and a 35 gallon pan Dad made at the body shop before he retired. 58 Qts this year in a week. 
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Steve A
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Location: NLP Mi
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 5:54am |
pan on frame 
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Sugarmaker
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Location: Albion PA
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 7:28am |
Steve A, Folks, Great job keeping the family syrup thing going. Great fun and some work in the spring of the year! Good head of steam on your pan. 58 quarts is very good! I like your tapping method too. works well and nice clean sap with the covered buckets and drop lines! Regards, Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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Bob-Maine
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Location: Central Maine
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 8:02am |
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Chris, Our Leader 3 X 10 has a six foot flue pan and a four foot syrup pan. We don't have a "steam away" or a preheater. They are pretty pricey to add to what we have. Our evaporator is rated to process 78 gallons of sap per hour but we can hit about 80 gal. with aggressive firing.
Maine Maple Producers Assoc. has an annual summer event called Maple Mania. It's a trade show, informational and greet-n-meet for syrup makers, sugar house tours with a banquet one evening. The first year we attended, we entered out dark robust syrup in the syrup contest. Some surprised when our syrup won 100 points out of 100, placed no. 1 in the grade and was awarded best of show. Our sugarhouse (we call it "low tech maple") was one of the tour stops. A vice President of Leader Evaporator came by during the tours and remembered what we had won. He commented that you can make great syrup with a wood fired evaporator. We call ourselves "low tech" because we don't have vacuum in our sugarbushes or reverse osmosis to concentrate our sap. Our first run this season tested 2.5 and 2.6 brix. We tap both sugar maples and red (soft) maples. Bob@allisdowneast
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I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not sure.
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DiyDave
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Gambrills, MD
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 5:52pm |
I gots some maple trivia. What song writer rhymed purple with maple syruple!
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Source: Babylon Bee. Sponsored by BRAWNDO, its got what you need!
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mdm1
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Onalaska, WI
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 6:12pm |
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Roger Miller!! You guys probably make more syrup than I boil sap. We just have a 2x4 flat pan on a cinder block evaporator. Make about 5gals a season. We call ourselves micro producers. But we do it 2hrs from home. Still it's fun to watch my granddaughters drink the sap from from the tap. They are now doing it at their house with yard trees. More competition. Going up to boil on this Sat. Good luck to all. Share the sweetness.
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Everything is impossible until someone does it! WD45-trip loader 1947 c w/woods belly mower, 1939 B, #3 sickle mower 1944 B, 2 1948 G's. Misc other equipment that my wife calls JUNK!
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Alberta Phil
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 6:12pm |
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I believe that might have been Roger Miller
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modirt
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 6:56pm |
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X3.....Roger Miller......"Dang Me"
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FloydKS
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 7:25pm |
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Now ya got me wanten to listen to some of his songs ... like.... you can't roller skate in a buffalo herd.
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Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die
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DiyDave
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 8:30pm |
Ding ding ding ding, we have 2 winners!
Edited by DiyDave - 19 Mar 2021 at 8:31pm
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Source: Babylon Bee. Sponsored by BRAWNDO, its got what you need!
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desertjoe
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Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 9:50pm |
DiyDave wrote:
Ding ding ding ding, we have 2 winners!
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Dave,,,you something else,,,,,  and I'm glad you do this,,,,,  |
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Sugarmaker
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Location: Albion PA
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Posted: 20 Mar 2021 at 7:54am |
Not many things ryhm with maple syrup. Roger had to be creative on that one! Bob your doing a great job and congratulations on your Best of Show! Award! I have visited several sugarhhouses in the last few days: Jim B in Linesville PA running what he calls the "MUTT" Yep some steam in the shot:
Float box:
Side of syrup pan:
Jim B drawing off syrup from his oil fired 2 x 8 custom:
Then went to Jim R in Cambridge springs and helped him boil for a couple hours, made some nice very dark syrup.
Old school Leader 3 x 8 no hoods, feel the steam!
Now that there is a boil!:
Back in our sugarhouse I made Maple Mustard Reg and Spicy, Maple BBQ Reg and Spicy and a gallon of Maple sugar Granulated, crumb.
Checking PH on the Maple mustard! Need to be 4.0 or lower, good to go!
Regards, Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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modirt
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Posted: 20 Mar 2021 at 8:08am |
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Beginning to suspect the leaf peepers got it all wrong. Best time to visit leaf country is in March!
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Bob-Maine
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Location: Central Maine
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Posted: 20 Mar 2021 at 6:55pm |
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Chris, We lit the fire at 8:10 and had our first draw at 11:50. Being the first day, we started with nothing but sap. Tomorrow, we have "sweet" in the pans and will probably get the first draw by 9:00. We made 11 gallons today.
I use a hydrometer to determine when to draw. Tehn I follow the temp on the dial thermometer to decide when to shut the valve. My 3X10 is also a King style, made by Leader in 1997. Stainless steel soldered pans using lead free solder. I took the syrup pan back to Leader in 2019 to have some repairs made to the pan. They are very good to work with. Bob@allisdowneast
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I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not sure.
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Sugarmaker
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Location: Albion PA
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Posted: 21 Mar 2021 at 7:38am |
Modirt, Bob, Folks, We will hear the peepers in a week or so. warm weather coming next week, will it be the end of the season? Maybe?
Bob your doing good, matches up same as out old King arch which may be 70 years old?? We made 11.5 gallons of Amber to Dark last night great flavor! At 143 gallons at this point. should have a good run today too. So may hit the 150 gallons or more. So a good season here in NW PA.
Had a chance to get to Back Acres Sugarhouse about 2 miles for where my Great grandfather made syrup 100 years ago south of Conneaut Ohio.
Back on the road to gather 400 gallons of sap with Neighbor Keith T who just decided to hang up the scoop. Keith will be 90 this August and felt he should stop making syrup on a high point. He had made 30 gallons of Amber and Dark this spring.
My roadside sugarbush (Fullers) about a mile from the house.
Steve Y came over and helped boil, How nice to have someone that can run the evaporator too.
Regards, Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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Greg (Hillsboro, OH)
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Posted: 22 Mar 2021 at 7:23am |
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Chris, How deep/wide are the tap holes that are drilled in each tree? How many do you drill in each tree?
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JohnColo
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Posted: 22 Mar 2021 at 11:22pm |
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Talking to my cousins in the Hinckley, Ohio area on Sunday, sounds like it's getting toward the end of the season, too warm during the day, too warm at night.
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Sugarmaker
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Posted: 23 Mar 2021 at 7:01am |
Greg, John, The tap holes are 5/16 dia. drilled at slight up hill angle, and approx 2 inches deep. On these big trees there can be 3 to 4 tap holes per tree. The hole heals in a year. Yes the weather is very warm. and the ground is very dry. Both of those conditions have stopped almost all of the sugarmaking operations in our region. We finished last night. 250 gallons of 1.5% sap was gathered and boiled. We moved the last of the dark syrup through with water. Finished gallons of syrup this year was 156. Kelly brought 100 chicken wings and we had Maple sauces on them. Family and friends in the sugarhouse:
Bugga and her blocks:
Wings: ( Thanks to Kelly, and Cheryl for following my lead and feeding us!)
Rhett and Coopers buckets and spiles pulled:
Getting the shelve restocked:
Amber Rich: (Thanks to Cheryl for helping with all the stickers)
Using the Murphy cup to check syrup density at the canner:
Bringing it back to Allis land: Regards, Chris
Edited by Sugarmaker - 23 Mar 2021 at 7:05am
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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shameless dude
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Posted: 23 Mar 2021 at 11:18pm |
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Chris...the old lady....ooooops....i mean the loving wife and myself made pancakes last Sunday morning, we used the syrup that i got from you. WOW! that was the best tasting syrup we've EVER had! we'll order more when this is gone. thank you for the hard work and time it took you to make a fabulous product!
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WF owner
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Location: Bombay NY
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Posted: 24 Mar 2021 at 6:34am |
I read something lately that the province of Quebec makes the most maple syrup in North America (maybe in the world) and that Vermont makes the most maple syrup in the USA.
The part about Vermont made me laugh. While Vermont may be actually the largest maple syrup manufacturer, a lot of "Vermont Pure Maple Syrup" actually comes from New York.
We visited a local "sugarhouse" Sunday that is owned by a guy's family (his name is Pat) that used to work for me. They made 420 gallons of syrup in one day recently and were on track to make much more on Sunday. IIRC, I think he said they make around 5,000 gallons of syrup per year. (He told me they have $400,000 invested in their sugarhouse !) They sell a small amount locally, but the majority of it is put in 40 gallon stainless steel drums and sold to a middle man in Chazy, New York. Pat told me that his family's syrup operation is small compared to the guy they sell to in Chazy. A lady that I used to work with had told me a similar story about her family's syrup operation. They both told me that the guy in Chazy that buys their syrup, sells all the bulk syrup in Vermont and it is marketed as Vermont Pure Maple Syrup.
Edited by WF owner - 24 Mar 2021 at 6:34am
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Sugarmaker
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Location: Albion PA
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Posted: 24 Mar 2021 at 7:11am |
Shameless dude, Glad you enjoyed the syrup! We try very hard to make the best quality syrup! WF, Yes most of the bulk syrup made and sold to broker in our area goes to Bascoms in Vermont I believe to be distributed from there. So I agree some very good syrup comes from Vermont! Here is my GGrandfathers sugarhouse 100 years ago about 20 minutes from where I live.I went to find the spot last night.
The property owner Dave Shean showing me to place where his floks told him the sugarhouse was. He is standing where we think the sugarhouse was the team would have been up behind him:
I also wanted bring this thread back to Orange Land as Dave Has Allis blood too. He has three Orange tractors, a set of 3 bottom allsi plows and the combine. I may try to help him get them going again.
WD45 wide front
D17 wide front, rebulit engine, Series III
WD 45 narrow front, water in oil?
Regards, Chris
Edited by Sugarmaker - 24 Mar 2021 at 7:18am
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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Lon(MN)
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Posted: 24 Mar 2021 at 7:40am |
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Wisconsin farmers would name this the first crop of the season. Very hard work. The stove would be located in the center of the maple trees to be tapped. The snow was deep. You would need to collect and carry the sap to the stove. Syrup shack. It was not uncommon for the season to last 6 weeks. It was a time when people knew where things came from and how to obtain them.
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ac hunter
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Posted: 24 Mar 2021 at 9:32am |
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Speaking of Vermont, back about 1957 we were on a vacation and visited some sort of maple products retail place. In a back room I remember seeing a couple of pallets of bags of cane sugar. I imagine we weren't supposed to see that part. That's the only thing I remember about the place. I was 7 yrs. old at the time but Dad and Mom made some syrup for our own use and I knew they didn't add sugar to it.
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Sugarmaker
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Location: Albion PA
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Posted: 24 Mar 2021 at 7:29pm |
Lon, ac, Yes first crop of the year. I just completed rinsing all the lines in the sugarbush. Which consist of a 100 gallons of mild bleach solution in water. being pumped back up the lines. Low pressure rinse, remove each tap, let it run till clear, Plug it into the cup on each tee. When all the taps on a line are done the taps are pulled from the cups to drain. Will pick the tubing up in a few days.
Containers will be picked up tomorrow if I feel foxy. Pans and steam away are in cool down mode. Regards, Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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Sugarmaker
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Posted: 30 Mar 2021 at 7:05am |
Folks, Some footage of me taking about my sugarbush. I do need to get out there and take the tubing down. It may warm enough to do that today too? Kind of like 30 gaint twisted slinky s!
Regards, Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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Sugarmaker
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Posted: 01 May 2021 at 6:19pm |
Folks, The maple syrup production is over and the tubing hung in the sugarhouse. Work on next years maple syrup production starts now! I brought home two bundles of Cherry slabs for starting to replenish the sugarhouse woodshed. First up was getting the saw sharpened: I use a angle grinder with a 50 grit pad
I touch up each tooth on the inside and the outside edges, trying to keep the correct cutting angles:
Then getting the D17 and buzz rig set in position:
Here friend Steve is running the saw, I am off bearing, cutting pieces 24 to 30 inches long:
Me cutting slabs:
The two bundles depleted, Nice to have a good helper too!
About halfway up the stack the pieces get smaller. That is the cherry on the top:
Regards, Chris
Edited by Sugarmaker - 01 May 2021 at 6:22pm
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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wjohn
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Joined: 19 Jan 2010
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Posted: 01 May 2021 at 9:25pm |
I sure hope the cost of that wood isn't hurting you too bad.
I will have to try sharpening my Gravely saw blade the way you do. It's probably in need of it by now.
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1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45
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Sugarmaker
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Location: Albion PA
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Posted: 01 May 2021 at 11:36pm |
John, Folks, This slab wood price stayed the same as last spring, $10 per bundle, loaded. I am not a expert at sharpening one of these buzz saw blades. But paying attention to the factory angles and going slowly seems to work well. The D17 never even hesitated. I need to get a new tach cable. I just set the speed (RPM) by ear. Regards, Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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shameless dude
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Posted: 03 May 2021 at 4:02am |
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Chris....you making maple candy yets?
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