JoeBob

Taught Paul Bunyan.  Heated our home with firewood for 35 years.

Splitting:  Aim for the checks in the log, where the grain has already started to naturally separate.  Don't use an axe on anything bigger than 8 inches, use a maul or a wedge. If your axe becomes stuck in a log, turn it over and swing the combined axe/log down onto your stump, axehead first to get more penetration.  (Does not work with double bladed axes...) Plan the arc of your swing to end at the top of your stump, not the top of your target log. (You were planning to split the log completely on half, right?)   On really large diameter rounds (24 inches and up) don't start in the middle; split small pies out of the edges and work your way in.

Avoid sweet gum, the grain is too twisted to split.  Poplar is a very straight grained wood and flies apart when threatened with an axe.  Oak makes the best firewood.  Frozen wood is brittle and splits more easily.

When chipping out notches or felling, start your notch at least as wide as the log diameter; angle your slices in at 45 degrees; and twist the embedded axe to flip out the plate sized chips.  Don't waste your energy swinging directly into a log at 90 degrees. The wood fibers compress onto the blade and hinder penetration.  Angling in at 45 degrees allows the wood fiber to expand out of the cut away from the blade, and results in a deeper cut. (A straight line is not the easiest distance through a log) 

A sharp axe cuts twice as deep as a dull hammer, and makes your work easier.  Cutting on the ground results in rock gouges on your blade and turns a sharp axe into hammer.

Section logs 24 inches on straight grain pieces; cut as close to major branches as possible to make splitting easier on gnarly grains.  When using a crosscut saw, always PULL; never push.  Work on your rhythm with you partner.

That ought to cover exec salaries for another what, five years?

On 10/29/2019 at 3:55 PM, Mrjeff said:

The Boy Scouts was a private organization that required a person to fill out an application, pay a fee, and abide by their rules.  If you chose not to do these things you chose not to belong.  Somehow these things changed and rather then stand on the principles agreed to by the members the rules were changed and many members decided that rather then conform to the new rules they would walk away,

Progressives know that the key to controlling the future is to own the minds of the nation's youth.  They took over education through the teachers' unions.  The feminists usurped Girl Scouts.  Boy Scouts of America was the last most prominent bastion for learning how to live a moral life.  So that made BSA a very important target for progressives to eliminate. 

There once was a principle that one should adhere to their principles, even in the face of adversity. Compromise was the splinter that became a wedge that split the traditionalists from the program.  Sadly for the youth, the knowledge and love of the outdoors was more heavily vested in the old traditionalist farts, who were reluctant to compromise their principles.

I feel just fine on the road less traveled.   Too bad BSA won't join me.

1 hour ago, Cburkhardt said:

 I think they are on-task and doing reasonably well, now that they have withdrawn from social policy development and enforcement

Withdrawn from social engineering?  First they invited gay youth to be members, then gay men to be Scout Masters.  Transgenders?  Oh what the heck, y'all come on, too!  And since BSA now allows girls to be in the BOY Scouts, you don't even have to stick to the gender you pick.  Duty to God?  Don't ask, don't tell; okay?

WHAT TRADITIONAL SOCIAL BOUNDARIES ARE LEFT?  I'd say that the Left has departed the field in utter victory.  What else could they hope to accomplish?  Drive all the straight males from the program?

Wait. 

Maybe if BSA de-emphasizes the outdoors in the program, all the real men will get bored and drop out....

2 hours ago, desertrat77 said:

Yes, there is a necessary corporate aspect to scouting. 

But how large does national need to be?  I bet we could improve the program by cutting Irving down to 20 people:

• 1 Boss to be in charge.  SE
• 1 lawyer.
• 4 people to keep the lawyer out of the way and in his closet.
• 2 folks to direct updating the BSH every 5 years and merit badge pamphlets as needed.  (Direct: as in soliciting informed volunteers to get together and provide experienced input from boots on the ground.)
• 1 person in charge of Philmont
• 1 person in charge of Seabase
• 1 person in charge of Northern Tier.
• 1 person in charge of renting out Summit.
• 1 person helping the less famous HA venues.
• 2 people ordering uniforms and badges for the Scout Shops.
• 1 person to refer fund raising offers/donations to the appropriate local councils/ districts.
• 1 person to answer the phone and forward eMails.
• 1 ombudsman to make sure that every BSA decision is aimed at getting boys/girls into the Outdoors to experience Nature.
• 1 expert to answer local questions and augment real world experience into National best practice.
• 1 person to sweep, empty the trash, and turn out the lights.

Fee increase?  Shucks; we can reduce fees and deliver an better program.

And have fewer assets for money grubbing lawyers to target...

2 more tips:

Select a campsite with a breeze.  A point on the lake, a ridge in the mountains.

You can make repellent last longer and work better against chiggers and seed tics by spraying the insides.  Before putting pants on, turn them inside out, spray repellent, let it dry, reverse pants, wear.  Avoid repellents that react negatively with your skin.

Pull your arms out of the sleeves of a sweater or fleece jacket when in your sleeping bag.  Just wear it around your neck.  It acts as a nice baffle to keep warm air in and cold drafts out.

Hammock sleepers will need two 1 foot square pieces of mini-cell foam to pad their shoulders.  Your shoulders will flatten the insulation of your sleeping bag and sleeping pad, there will be a thin spot where your shoulders poke through, and your shoulders will freeze.  The two pieces of foam make a nice camp seat.

I always make a bundle out of the clothes that I'm wearing tomorrow and use them as a pillow under my knees.  That keeps the clothes from freezing and aligns my back for a more comfortable night's rest.

March, 2009.  A mere Eagle chick by forum standards.  I've greatly enjoyed advocating for the outdoors and nature, and mocking those who wussified our standards with 'one and done'.  The discussions seemed to have more meat on them back then.  The political arm wrasslin has disappeared.  I'll even admit to having my mind changed a few times, as long you don't quote me on that in the future...

I've become a lurker because: a) my nattering about some of the changes is not welcome, b) I'm no longer knee deep in the program since my boy aged out, c) my areas of expertise, woodsmanship and outdoor adventure, are seldom discussed, and d) procedural questions are already answered by other fine participants.  I'm not needed.

But damn!  I ,too, miss the enthusiastic virtual campfire of old.   I miss interacting with Beavah and Merlyn and Moosetracker.  Anybody wanna debate Donald Trump and the latest impeachment imbroglio?

The delay maybe be from insurance pricing.  Unless BSA is self-insured, we may be unable to get liability insurance in the future.

If you were an insurance underwriter for BSA, how much uncertainty would be in your cost algorithms right now?  If the liability costs of having men and boys in the woods has ballooned to what the lawyers have trolled up, what are the future costs of having girls in the troops with the 'Me Too!' movement?

@RichardB, Thank you.  I like the implication that this piece of rescue gear was used to retrieve recently submerged bodies that were resuscitated. 

Reminds me of my EMT class, taught by a Navy Corpsman, who recommended using towel clamps (basically forceps with curved hooks facing each other) to hook a victim's tongue to his bottom lip to maintain an airway while you tended to others.

From the bad old days: Optimus box stove, white gas.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=509D17FF45F628690CBBD8E5E9267962D2F79410&thid=OIP.fHbYv5X_QGQH0GN3NImnuQHaHa&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fe9%2F1a%2F8f%2Fe91a8f8da8f4b001b69269007425c6e8--stoves-camping.jpg&exph=736&expw=736&q=optimus+box+stove&selectedindex=13&qpvt=optimus+box+stove&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=0,1,2,3,6

When the fancy new stoves fizzle out, the 40 year old Optimus comes out of hiding.  If you bring up the G2SS, you get no coffee.

I wonder how much time defending counsel spent considering whether or not to file counter suit : 50 year old Puccio spoiled the sledding area with red stains and got blood on an 8 year old Cub Scout's boot.  OSHA standards require that the boot would have to be disposed of as a bio-hazard, and who really needs one boot? 

I know, I'm cynical and jaded.

I really enjoyed perusing the standard for grappling hook design.  And you could buy the whole thing through the 'Supply Service'!  Can you imagine seeing one of these on the rack at your local Scout Shop?  I imagine that these were intended more for clearing debris from a swimming area than for body recovery?  Can someone with knowledge of waterfront standards chip in to let us know if today's environmental standards allow us to disturb natural sediment or is that considered destructive to habitat?

The language used to describe the big blunt hook grapple is poignant.  Not only are they considered "useless", they are "inexcusably useless"!  Wooee! Sounds like somebody has had a bad time using a big grapple. 

If there is not already a process or rescinding 'Eagle', this situation makes a good case for one.

51 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

It's fine that you want to debate this - but the rules are quite clear here.  No guns allowed.

Which is more important:

1- The physical well-being of someone in my care, should the need arise for a firearm in the backwoods. 

2- My continued membership in BSA.

If I lost someone or someone became injured due to a wild animal or wild humans, I would not deserve to continue as their leader/protector.  BSA rules are what's irrelevant, and written by lawyers with an eye towards liability.  No scout ever knew that I carried, my pack was just a little heavier.  

PL

SPL

PLC

Or is the Patrol method truly dead?

My COR has a nice big jar of grommets in a place of honor at his home.  It got to the point that he would cut off the corners and wire the grommets together to aid in recovery after the ceremony.

Southern District of New York...  Hmm.

I hear they are notorious ambulance chasers!

On 3/12/2019 at 12:45 PM, MikeS72 said:

We did a 20 mile hike a month ago, where it was 45 degrees at the start of the hike, and 86 at the finish.

Reminded me of a 10 mile hike my troop did from Young Harris GA to Brasstown Bald (Highest point in GA). It was a balmy 65 when we started, and the SM INSISTED that we take jackets.  Huh?  We had 8 inches of snow on the ground when we topped out.  We were in cotton sweatshirts and tennis shoes.  As sweep, I had to pick up two scouts who laid down in the snow and claimed it was warm.  The weather front had iced over the macadam road to the summit; so when we reached the end, we had to glisade down the iced road to get to the truck.  Sit, slide down until you hit the snow bank on the opposite curve.  Crab walk over road, do it again.

I still remember the piercing pain in my toes as we warmed up next to the pot-bellied stove.  Worse than anything that winter warfare training (Jack Frost 77) threw at me later. 

On 3/8/2019 at 5:26 PM, mrkstvns said:

2 3-hour sessions. 

Wow. 

Just Wow.

I'm not even a kid and I'm bored just contemplating it...

Is it a safe assumption on my part to guess that you've never taken NRA Instructor training?  That can re-define 'boring' for you if you get a poor instructor.

Ever handle a .50 BMG round?  Know how heavy one round is?  Want to carry 50 of them on a day hike?  We pass inert cartridges of many calibers down the line.

I've never seen a boy fall asleep when one of his peers chambers an 870. (Dummy practice rounds).  How stupid are movie heroes who walk up to a confrontation with an empty chambered shotgun, anyway?  And to the Hollywood intellects who cycle the action a second time a few moments later without having fired a round?  Hey, are you going to leave that shotgun shell just lying on the ground?  Aren't you going to need all your bullets for the next scene?  That's litter.  Pick it up!

Give 6 or 8 boys practice/toy weapons and have them move about the room without sweeping anyone while the rest of the crowd keeps an eye on their muzzles.  Musical chairs will never be the same.

The purpose of firearms safety training is not to punish, but to prepare.  Dazed bored boys are not getting the import of the training, so we make extraordinary efforts to keep them engaged and entertained. 

As for adult hot air?  I promise you that I will never have to explain to the mother of a wounded scout that her son, Billy, was accidentally shot because Little Johnny did an inadequate job with EDGE while teaching Billy gun safety.   Retraining Little Johnny and offering to refund her son's dues doesn't seem to be enough. 

Firearms are like nothing else we do in Scouting.  One needs to recognize a higher responsibility; that there are even adults that should not be allowed to participate in gun safety training.

Our troop requires two 3 hour long sessions that take the place of the regular meetings prior to going on the Shooting Sports weekend.  If a scout doesn't pay attention and/or fails the written test, we don't let them near a loaded firearm.  The basics of gun safety are best taught in a tightly controlled environment where a boy's attention isn't distracted by "Enough about safety; when are we gonna shoot!?"

So far, none of our instructors have ever been swept with a loaded firearm.