Steve C.

YGWYPF I bought some knock-off batteries for my old Bosch Brute many years ago. The factory 14.4 batts ran over 16V fully charged, and the knock-offs only charged a little over 14. So performance was a little weak. And they failed sooner than the genuine thing. They did get me by till I could upgrade to the M18 stuff. They weren't a really bad buy, but I won't do it again. I have two M18 1.5 ah batts that I use daily and have since 2014. That's hard to beat.

Dad bought a 4-16 710 at the same time, for $1500, so $10,500 for the pair. Inflation was going pretty good at the time (nothing like we're fixin' to see soon, though), so your dad's pair probably would have cost $13 - $14,000 a year later (just a guess).

Dad bought an open station 766D in the fall of '73 for $9000. Two sets of rear wheel weights, 500 lb. front weights, IH wind/weather breaker, and fender mount radio.

We get a little air show every evening here. They were a little late showing up this year, but we have several now. The males get a little territorial and keep an eye on their favorite feeder. Very entertaining, and I believe they eat lots of flying bugs too.

IIRC we started seeing two charger set ups in the mid seventies. Super stock was a blast back in the day.

The country is full of circuit attorneys who encourage catch and release of violent criminals. Since I would have to touch on politics to explain why, I'll just suggest doing a little homework on line to find out who, why, when, and where. The information is out there, just not reported on.

Grandson and I go to that pull every year. Threshermen's picnic in Pinckneyville, IL. Every year, they feature a different brand. Last year it was Deere - they had the original Cajun Queen I on display there. One year it was just 460s and 560s, IIRC. They always make a demo pull with an engine like that. Really slow, but unstoppable. They shovel sawdust in to the firebox to make mucho sparks.

And city people be like "why can't they just put rubber bumpers on those lids?".

So I guess that's why they're trying to break the Dutch farmers - they're in the way of progress.

As long as there aren't any self piercing screws in there...

Back when I was in the feed business in the early '80s I bought feeder pigs once in a while from one of my customers. One batch (around 100 head) of hamp / duroc crosses I bought weighed four pounds when they were born and finished at four and a half months at 226. Finished in brush lots during the summer. Low overhead, but you better get 'em out of there by November. When I put a pencil to it, even if I could clear $20 / head the number I'd have to finish to make decent money was way more than I had time or room for.

Better than the bugs we're going to be expected to eat.

IIRC, they shipped with the pipe in the cab.

I put several hours on Dad's 886 (D360) back in the day. It was pretty darned nice to run. I think the 86 series looked nice as long as they had rear wheel weights, substantial rubber and the long, tall pipe wasn't bent.

What a ride.

Seems to be my experience with PB Blaster is same as yours, but I think I'll try the old Liquid Wrench next time - did great in this test and costs less too.

I thought it was interesting that WD40 did as well as it did, and that Kroil didn't. A trick that a shop owner told me about once, which I haven't tried myself, is to heat the nut and bolt with a torch, then put a few drops of full synthetic oil on the threads. He said when it cools it pulls the oil in, while conventional oil will cook off before it can soak in.

Interesting results.

Sky Pilot is great too - one of their best.

And now for something completely different - Leadbelly's version:

I like me some animals, and I like their version, but this one by Frigid Pink is my favorite.

I've had several Bucket Boss tool bags. I still have all of them, but they're resigned to second string after I found the Husky tool bag that I use now. They're decent quality

I can only wear a tool belt if I wear suspenders, but I don't wear suspenders when it's hot because they trap a lot of heat in and make it feel 10 d. hotter on a summer day. That looks pretty comfy, though. Bucket Boss?

One of my clients is a small condo association - the guy I deal with there is a retired contractor, and I use his washer when they want decks or siding cleaned. It's a German pressure washer by Kranzle. I'm not sure of the pressure rating (somewhere between 1400 and 2000), but it's a real horse. I can run it day after day, and have absolutely no issues with it. I don't do enough washing to justify buying a good machine, but if I did, I'd buy one of these. Absolutely built like a tank - it weighs about 80 pounds. Not cheap, though. https://www.dirtkiller.com/shop/98k2020t-kranzle-k2020t-2000-psi-2-0-gpm-electric-pressure-washer-with-hose-reel-gfi-375#attr=

Welcome to the club. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txhaQ6D4IKs