Meat - it's not Just for Breakfast Anymore

"Vegetarian" is an American Indian word meaning "bad hunter".

Recently I've been spending more time working on my BBQ recipes - pulled pork, ribs, etc. Not just thrown on the grill, but in a slow-cooking smoker, designed to cook the meat at a low temperature for upwards of 18 hours.

Yum-diddiley-scrumptious!

While looking at recipes and methods online I noticed a lot of information on grinding my own meat for sausage patties, brats, links, etc. This seemed like an interesting thing to try, because I like to make sausage patties for breakfast on the weekends, but they're always expensive (I'm cheap) and you're never quite sure what is in 'em.

So I found a couple of promising recipes and picked up a meat grinder.




It's the old-style crank, and not motorized. I figured if I like how they turn out and I start making and freezing the sausage I can always upgrade later on.

After the first trial run, I'm surprised at how well it works and how good the sausage is. If I buy the meat in bulk it will cost me 30% less to make my own sausage and control the ingredients. I usually buy pork shoulder for $1.50 a pound in 14-18 pound bulk packages for making BBQ, so no problem there.

The first batch I made is pork, salt, cayenne pepper, rubbed sage, black pepper, crushed red pepper, coriander, and Accent (MSG). No other preservatives, additives, finger nails, or fillers. Accent is the only semi-questionable ingredient, and I'm going to do some tests to see if it tastes the same without it. If so, it's gone, too. I'm also planning to experiment with how much fat is in the mix. Pork shoulder is very fatty, and ground sausage is usually very fatty too. If I can use less and still get good results, so much the better!

First taste test confirmed that it's a very tasty recipe. The sausage patties aren't all perfectly round and even like the store-bought stuff, but who cares? It'll all look the same at the end of the day...

I plan to try grinding my own hamburger soon. Those who have done so often swear by it, as you can control what cuts are used, the amount of fat, etc.

Garage Door Maintenance

Since we bought this place, the garage door has been a big pain in the ass. It never really opened or closed as well as it should. Over the past few months it's gotten to the point where the door won't open or close without help (me lifting or pushing down on it as it moves).

Not knowing jack-sh1t about garage doors, I figured it was just binding up on the track somewhere, so I spent a couple hours screwing around with it trying to get it to work better.

No luck.

Finally I decided to just bite the bullet and call a professional. Scheduled appointment was today between 9 and 11 am. The tech calls at 8:30 asking if he can show up 15 minutes early.

Hells yeah!

Dude gets here and gets to work. First problem is that the rollers are all original to the door installation and are worn out, wobbly, and generally crappy.

15 minutes later and he's got the original steel rollers replaced with non-steel (Plastic? Teflon? Space-age polymer? No idea...). The door moves much more quietly and with much less slop, but still doesn't open or close properly.




He adjusted the springs a number of times trying to get the left and right side to have the same tension. It got better and better, but still kept binding up. Then he noticed one of the pulleys was a little worn out. Worn out to the point where the bearings were shot and it was very hard to turn. It was hard to see when it was installed because the brackets holding it covered almost all of the center. The pulleys were the real problem.




In go a pair of new pulleys and the door FINALLY opens and closes like it should. Quiet, smooth, and without extra effort.




None of what the guy did was rocket science, but if you don't know what to look for it's damn near impossible to guess your way through this job. Looking back at it now, I could have done the job myself IF I knew what to look for. This is one of those jobs where you pay the pros, watch what they do, and then do it yourself the next time.

On the picture of the new roller you'll see a bunch of grease on the wheel. This is grease that the previous owner put on the track, which is a big no-no. Grease actually causes more problems than it solves. In the winter it gets hard (at least up here in the north) and it traps all kinds of dust and dirt, gumming up the track.

After his work was done I sprayed the track with engine degreaser and wiped it clean. I love how quiet the door is now. The new rollers also come with a lifetime warranty, so if/when I ever install a new garage door they'll just use those rollers so I don't have to buy new ones. If I keep the receipt that long, that is...

Installing a Microwave Over the Stove

Forgive me Father, it has been 3-1/2 months since my last post.

It took that long to get over my renovation burn-out, I guess. Feels good to get back to work, since there is still so much left to do, and so much half-done.

Something which has been bothering me longest is that I haven't installed the microwave above the stove yet. We're still using the little counter-top one we've had for years. It works, but it wastes counter top space. I bought it's replacement when I got the appliances after we moved in almost two years ago. Time to get it installed!

First thing I needed to do was to cut a hole for the exhaust vent. I've had range hoods in the past that always just recirculated air back into the living space. Finally one that vents outside!




From below the hole is a little rough. Not a big deal, nobody will ever see it once the microwave is installed. Here you can also see the 4x4 blocking I added to drop the mounting hardware down a bit. The mounting screws that came with the microwave were 4" long metric threads, but I need 5-1/2" because I added a 4" spacer under my cabinet. Why? Because I mounted our cabinets 4" taller than normal and still wanted the microwave at it's "normal" height. No hardware stores around here carry longer mounting hardware, so this is "Plan B". It also lets me beef up the way it's installed - stronger than it would otherwise be.




Before I installed the cabinets, I installed an outlet on the wall for the microwave. I didn't know exactly where the cabinets were going to be, so I left some witness marks on the wall telling me how far up the outlet was located. The red ink tells me that the outlet is about 1" above the base of the cabinet. The black vertical line tells me where the wall stud is located, and the black horizontal line is the top edge of the microwave once it's installed.




A test-install shows that everything fits and works properly. The 4" spacer above the microwave is actually kick-plate for the base cabinets. The metal piece above the microwave is for the venting. It converts the rectangular vent to a round tube (it's upside down in this picture).




Hopefully I finish up most of the install today. I want to finish all of it except for running the exhaust into the ceiling. I need to find out where the joists are so I can cut the holes.

White Death, December '08

Sure, this isn't Denver or Buffalo, but we're getting our fair share of snow.

Friday morning starting at around 1 am we got about 8" of snow before 8 am. By the end of the day it was around 11".

The snowblower worked great, and it appears that the Loc-Tite did it's job. Damn, no new snowblower for me this year I guess....

What really confuses me are the idiots who go out driving before the roads are cleaned up. Now not everybody out there is an idiot. I was out there while there was still no way to see the actual street. 6+ inches of snow in the intersections, etc. The idiots are the ones who go out un-prepared or poorly equipped.

Like the people with their cars stuck in 6+ inches of snow in the turn lanes.

The main roads are bad enough for cars, but to think that your car is going to make it through a tight low-speed turn with snow up past the frame? FAIL.

A lot of the cars I saw on the roads were police, and some of those police cars were running tire chains, something I've never seen on police cars around here.

I'm a different kind of idiot I guess, as I love driving in the snow. But since I drive a Jeep I have a little easier time getting through the snow. The only area I was even remotely concerned with was when I was trying to enter the remote parking lot at Best Buy before the lot was plowed.

There was barely a path wider than the Jeep going in, and snow at least 8" high. There was also a big pile of snow to get through from the plow trucks clearing the street. A little extra gas and I got right through.

On the way out, a guy was stuck in the same spot with what I assume to be a 2 wheel drive pickup (back wheels were spinning like mad, front wheels weren't moving at all). He was evidently an idiot.

If your job is critical and you're needed, take your chances. Going shopping at Best Buy probably doesn't count as critical.

Unless they've got a killer sale on HD TVs, that is.

Tonight we're supposed to get another 5" or so.

Yay...

I Own the Snowblower from Hell

Yeah yeah, I'm still alive.

I know it's been months since my last post, but I've done pretty much jack-squat on the house since then, other than paint the bathroom.

I've finally determined that my snow blower is the illegitimate love-child of Satan and Oprah. (I should probably disable comment posting as soon as I publish this).

It's big, old, and heavy and I think I'm doomed to a lifetime of dealing with it.



But it DOES have cool tire chains!

For years now I've been waiting for it to die so I can justify spending $700 on a new snow blower. But like the Energizer bunny on meth, this thing just won't quit.

A week ago we had some snow so I fired it up. 2nd pull, as always, and it immediately settled down into a smooth idle. When I was about 80% done with clearing the drive it started to shake and make a loud banging sound, like somebody had thrown a frozen cat into the auger.

Don't ask me how I know what that sounds like, I'm not sure what the statute of limitations is on that quite yet....

I shut it down and found that the entire auger assembly (the spinning blades of death in the front) was lose and hanging at an odd angle.

YAY! Time to get a new snow blower!

Oh, wait, the bolt that holds the right side of the auger just fell out. And it's sitting 2' away from me on the driveway. Damn. 3 minutes and a 3/4" socket wrench later and it's back up and running.

At least I didn't have to spend the money reserved for the kid's Christmas presents on a replacement.

Today we're getting more snow so I broke it out again to take care of the first few inches of snow. Again, about 80% of the way through the work and it starts to run weird.

This time it was idling poorly - revving up and down and generally running like crap. I thought it was running low on gas, but when I checked I found that I still had half a tank. I noticed that the shield covering the carb was wobbly, which is different because normally it's nice and tight. I thought it might just be a lose screw, but as I was moving the shield it I found that the engine ran better depending on how the shield was held.

The entire carb was actually lose, and letting in additional air while letting out some of the gas intended for the engine. There are two screws which hold the carb in place, and both had worked themselves lose.

A few minutes later I had it tightened up and it was running great. For about 5 minutes. The screws backed out pretty quickly and I was back to having to tighten 'em up again.

This time I put some Loc-Tite on the screws to hold them in place. I'll know tomorrow if it'll hold. If not, maybe I'll finally get that new snow blower.....!

Being somewhat mechanically inclined has really paid off though. Two problems that could have resulted in expensive trips to the shop with the snow blower were taken care of with about $.02 in Loc-Tite.

Assuming that fixes the current problem. I'll know tomorrow when I fire it up and try it again.

Take Care of Your Tool

Here's one that most people never think about. Shovel maintenance.

Yes, maintenance for your shovels.

As with other tools, if you take care of your tools they should last a lifetime. Unless you buy cheap crap, since you can't polish a turd. Well, you can, but a shiny turd isn't much better than a dull one.

Below is the blade on my garden spade/shovel. You can see the edge of the blade is bent backwards, which creates resistance when trying to plunge the blade into your own skull after watching your NFL team blow it in the last few minutes of the game.

After my headache was gone, I decided to do something about the blade. This bent-over edge was from the manufacturing process, and probably shouldn't have passed quality control. I noticed it after getting it home and using it, after it was too late to swap it out.

Yeah, it's dirty. I'm not big on cleaning tools at 10 PM after burying pet hamsters in the garden...




So as with sharpening the mower blades, out comes the Angle Grinder with a sanding flap disc installed. Some people might cringe at spending $15-20 for a power tool like this, figuring you get what you pay for. Well, normally you do, and I'm all for spending more for quality tools. When it counts, that is. These grinders from HF have proven themselves to me.

Realistically, how often will the average home-owner use an angle grinder, so why spend $75 for a good one? These cheap-o's from Harbor Freight are actually pretty decent quality. I currently own three of them, and have burned out at least 4 of them in the past 5 years doing some rather major metal fabrication.

But if I burned out 4 of them how can I say they're decent? Because the 4 I burned out combined cost as much as one decent grinder, and with the work I was doing I'd have worn out even a higher-end grinder. Plus, I use three different discs; a sanding flap disc, a cut-off disc, and a metal grinding disc, so having one grinder dedicated to each task saves time & effort.




About 1 minute later the rolled edge is gone and the edge is reasonably-sharp. You can get the same results with a hand file and a little effort. I've got plenty of metal-working tools, so I might as well use 'em.

The blade won't stay sharp for long, but when it comes to digging out plants a sharp blade will much more quickly cut through roots, making your work easier. The metal on this shovel is pretty thin so I just beveled from the back edge.




I gave the same treatment to another shovel, sharpening from the front and back since the metal on this blade is about 50% thicker than the other shovel.




After the edges were sharpened I took a wire brush and knocked the dirt off. A coat of oil then protects the bare metal from rust.

I used to keep a 5 gallon bucket filled with sand in the garage. I dumped about a quart of old motor oil into it to thoroughly coat the sand. When I was done with a shovel I'd just jam the blade into the oily sand a few times to clean off the dirt and give it a coat of oil in one step. I didn't have room in the moving truck when we moved so I gave it to my neighbor. Some day I'll replace it.

Mower Maintenance

If you want your mower to last and provide a good clean cut for years, you need to take care of it. That includes changing the oil and air filter. You also need to keep the mowing deck clean and the blade(s) sharp.

I'll get around to changing the oil and air filter later this fall, but wanted to take advantage of a nice day to do the maintenance on the deck.

First step was to get the mower up high enough to be able to get at the blades. I could have just jacked the back end up with my floor-jack, but figured that I might as well raise the front as well. Jack stands were placed under the front end to keep it level, the transmission was left in gear, and the brake was locked.




It's been a year since I cleaned the deck - much longer than it should go without a proper cleaning. Cut grass builds up underneath, creating a block to the cut grass being discharged. It also traps moisture against the metal of the deck which can cause the deck to rust out.




I took a small scraper and got out all kinds of build-up, which should help the mower work a little more efficiently.




Next up was sharpening of the mower blades. I installed these right after buying the mower about 1-1/2 years ago. They're still in good shape, but the leading edge is getting a little dull. There were a few small dings from hitting either branches or pinecones.

Each blade is held in place with one bolt. Be careful when removing a mower blade, as I've heard that some mowers use reverse-thread bolts. When you think you're loosening the bolt you could actually tightening it. These were standard threads.

In many cases you can stick a piece of 2x4 between the blade and mower deck to keep the blade from moving when you are trying to break the bolt loose.




The angle-grinder ($12.00 at Harbor Freight for a 4-1/2" grinder) was used with a sanding flap-disc to remove the grass build-up and to sharpen the blade. There was quite a bit of build-up on the blades, but the sanding disc took care of that quickly.

You'd think that the blade should be sharp like a knife, but realistically, how long would that sharp blade last? I ground the blade sharp and then ran the sanding disc straight across the sharp edge to blunt it. The flat edge is about 1/32" wide.




To make sure the blades were balanced I set them on a small nail driven into the garage wall. As long as the blade stays horizontal it's good enough. Yeah, it's low tech and not as precise as a professional shop could do, but it's good enough for now.




After re-installing the blades and checking for vibration (none), it was time to clean the engine.

I changed the oil last year, but skipped cleaning the engine. I cleaned around the drain plug, but that's it. It's now dirty as the surrounding area. I sprayed on some engine cleaner and brushed it in with a cleaning brush.




A few minutes later the gunk sprayed right off and everything was nice and clean. It'll be possible to see if there are any oil leaks now, and the engine should be able to run a little cooler without a layer of gunk & grass coating it. If nothing else, it'll just make changing the oil a little easier.




This work took maybe 30 minutes and is something that the average do-it-yourselfer can do without a problem. The only tools I used were a scraper, a grinder, and a wrench.

If you don't have a jack or ramps like I used, you could just tilt the tractor and put blocks under the raised wheels to give a little more access.

Later this season I'll put some info online about getting the engines winterized.