Sawing

The big chainsaw gave up suddenly back in February and I set it aside to stew for a while. Finally got it out to have a proactive research session on April fools day. Having removed the carburettor I found that the end of one of the main rubber arteries had developed a fracture where it joined the nipple. Just enough slack in the tube to chop the end off and reattach it. Once back together the chap started after a few tugs on the rope.
We went to pick up some cypress logs with the crane today and I gave the saw a run at one of them to make up planks for bench tops. It worked fine, but began to develop a bias to one side, so I took it in for a sharpen and I will be back on it tomorrow. The fattest log is about 47cm diameter. I run a groove along the top of the log on the line of the plank I want to cut with the small chainsaw and then dig in with chubby. The big bugger is hard to get started in a cut exactly where you want it, with a bar over a meter long it is difficult to control the teeth whizzing round the snout as they tend to slither about before digging in. The little groove provides a safe notch to sit the snout into. It is a solution for rough planks, but I must make time to work up some kind of guide for the monster.
The plan for bench making hinged on having the saw working, so I am really glad to have it back on the team.
My other activity for April fool was draining and digging all the crud out of the bottom of the pond and carting it down to the upper of the two ponds we have just made. Stinky muck, but full of companions who have rights, so I hope they all made it safe into the new home. I had hoped to reline the pond, too, but I don't have time right now. I was just in time with the cleanup, the first toads showed up on the third. It should be easy enough to transfer their lines of eggs down into the bigger pond now there is nothing in the pond but water. I completely emptied the cement tub, but seepage from holes in he lining put about six inches of water into it and torrential rain filled it right up. It also washed away the remaining stinky spills where I sloshed the wheelbarrow.