Cast Iron Seasoning

Cast iron works best when its well seasoned. That means obtaining a beautiful black finish. Cooking in it helps the most. A few pounds of bacon and your skillet should look great. That doesn't work as well if you need a quicker seasoning.

Many people recommend coating the cast iron and placing it upside down over a cookie sheet in the oven. While this method does work, I was left with a smokey house.

So instead, I tried it on the grill.

I left the grill on high for about half an hour and allowed it to cool for several hours. The results were prefect.

Comments

Husqvarna 460 Rancher Chain Saw

When your 450 isn't big enough, get the 460. Its the biggest non commercial saw that Husqvarna sells. I'm still really happy with my 450 but I added the 460 to the fleet when the 450 needed repairs. The 450 was quite literally pouring oil out the bottom. The 460 has a few advantages though. It has 3/8" pitch chain versus the 450 has 0.325". That is a common pitch and it can take a little bigger bite than the 0.325. The larger engine offers more power and the longer bar (24") allows for bigger cuts and easier limbing work. I also made the mistake of purchasing my 450 from a big box store. While there's nothing exactly wrong with that, the local dealer was the same price and far more helpful when picking out a saw.

Comparing Oil Prices

I'm a sucker for spreadsheets. Its so convenient to lay out the data, compare, and make an informed decision. Okay. I probably get carried away with it. Did I really need to make one to compare oil prices? Um no. But I didn't anyway. My Grand Oil Price Comparison Spreadsheet This comparison includes motor oil, gear oil, and transmission fluid prices I compiled from Amazon, Autozone, Meijer, Menards, Tractor Supply, and Walmart. These prices are generally for the West Central Indiana market so they may vary. As I have time, I will add other local retailers (Advance Auto, Napa, and O'Reilly). This is mostly centered around my fleet of Fords. In our household, we're driving a 1998 F-150 XLT 4.6L 4x4, 2004 Expedition XLT 4.6L 4x4, and a 2010 Expedition EL Eddie Bauer 5.4L 4x4. I never meant to be a Ford fanboy but its pretty convenient keeping all the same fluids and filters around. Some oils are marked specifically as 5w-20 (that's what Ford recommends afte

Splitting Kindling

Its fun revving up the saw and felling a tree. Its relaxing to rhythmically swing a maul. Its delightful to hear the wood crack and pop as it splits. The neatly stacked rows of seasoning wood are a proud accomplishment. Kindling is the one wood heat chore no one seems to like. Its time consuming. It can be dangerous. The meager mound of kindling feels like a weak victory compared to tenacious, stacked cord wood. At least, that's how I felt. I was never quite sure what to do with it. I often gathered sticks and sometimes the wood bits from splitting. When I tried splitting wood down to kindling size, it felt like it took forever.

Chris Marts

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