SinDoc Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 Was dragged through Kentucky into Tennessee over the weekend by the misses (gotta love those 6 hour drives). Kids had fun which is all that matters in the end but I did get to stop by a flea market somewhere around London, KY and they had some blacksmithing items I would have liked, but the car was too packed to fit anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Didn't trade a kid for tools? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 Tried to but the wife objected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 ....Didn't trade the wife for tools? *grin* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Perhaps a new behaviorial threat "If you don't stop doing that to your sibiling; I'm going to trade you for a set of tongs!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 "Stop or I will trade you for a new hammer like your brother" "But I don't have a brother" "And I have a nice hammer that is only a few years old." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 (So glad my Mother wasn't into blacksmithing!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 7 hours ago, SinDoc said: "But I don't have a brother" Get the point? I like the way you think, glad you didn't know my Mother. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 We apparently have a Raccoon that has taken up residence in our crawl space and found a way to come up into a cabinet and let itself into the kitchen to eat just about whatever it wants. I am going to try to trap and relocate the little bugger tonight so it stops getting in and destroying things. Old houses are such fun. You can imagine my surprise when I came down in the middle of the night and walk into the kitchen just to see a Raccoon sitting in the middle of the floor munching on our bread and oreos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Sounds like that ole coon just needed a glass of milk! In all seriousness, get a Havahart coon trap. They are great. I have two and use them all the time with problem coons in our area. I take the trapped ones about 2 miles away and turn them loose at a place near a creek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Ditto, I used a havaheart trap on a yearling coon and took it to the woods along a river a goodly distance from our previous place! It was so cute trying to act like a big fierce beast when I went to pick up the trap with it in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 Ironic that your profile picture is of the glorious trash panda. Wife wont let me do any harm to the creature since she loves them. I wouldn't want to anyways if it can be helped. What do you use for bait? He seems to always go for the bread in the kitchen, so I am leaning towards that. Harbor Freight has a decent looking trap for $25 bucks I will probably snag on my way home today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 The HF traps will work for a while on small coons, but a larger one will bend the door and defeat the lock in short order. The Havaheart's are much sturdier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 SinDoc, for bait I use some tuna or salmon from an expired can (we don't eat much of that), peanut butter, bad hamburger meat, anything smelly and/or attractive to a carnivore. They were climbing a pole and tearing up one of my bird feeders, so I guess sunflower seeds would work too! Randy, I have caught coons up to about 40# and the Havaharts withstood all their anger and abuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Same here, the Havaheart I use is about three years old and even the large coons haven't escaped from it. My favorite trap food is cheap canned cat food or cut up hot dogs. For the trap leery coons, I put a trail of dry dog food leading in with some on the trigger plate, never fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Do take care that your trap doesn't surprise you with a skunk and so creates another problem! The havahart website has a page discussing this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted September 1, 2021 Share Posted September 1, 2021 If you have skunks in the area, a different kind of trap is used (shaped like a tube to restrict their "spray" ability), but then you can't forecast the errant Pepe le Pew wandering into the area...... That remedy requires a method not suited for family forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted September 1, 2021 Author Share Posted September 1, 2021 In the 6 years I have lived at this house, this is a first for Raccoons. Never had any until now. Opossums yes, Skunk once but never Raccoons. I wasn't able to grab the trap last night, but I secured his entry way into the house so he can no longer get in and currently hope that since I denied his food source he will just go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted September 1, 2021 Share Posted September 1, 2021 They have been known to get into an attic and have young ones....bad!!!! If you do put out a trap, try to place it as near to the entrance point the coon was using. He WILL return to the scene of the crime.... Yeah, SinDoc, I chose my avatar because when we first built our house here in the Ozarks we were "covered up" with coons. Took a couple of years to reduce the population to "manageable", if that's possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted September 1, 2021 Author Share Posted September 1, 2021 Thankfully I don't have evidence of any intruders other than mice in the attic space. If they had babies in the crawl space though, I am kind of boned until they just up and move out as I have no means of removal outside of tearing the floor off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted September 2, 2021 Author Share Posted September 2, 2021 I have a project in mind for tonight since the weather had greatly improved temperature wise. Since I have some extra wide rectangular bar stock that I haven't figured out how to forge due to its width, I am going to try to grind it to shape in hopes of making a chefs knife. Figure I wouldn't have to grind it much since chef knifes are fairly large, but well see how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 Between the house problems, running out of propane, my grinder throwing another bearing and a slew of other problems, I haven't had the motivation to do much in the shop. Went out Sunday to tinker and ended up just shuffling things around until I sighed then went back inside. All projects I have attempted lately have failed either to lack of knowledge and knowhow, or lack of the proper tools (and knowledge to make them). Also have mostly run out of material to mess with as the only thing I have left is the garage door torsion spring that is too large to fit in my forge and with my angle grinder also being broken, no means of cutting it to make it smaller. All in all, it has been quite depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted September 21, 2021 Share Posted September 21, 2021 Suggest you make an effort to attend SOFA to get re-energized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 21, 2021 Share Posted September 21, 2021 Ditto: "Cheer Up and Go to Quad-State!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 I was planning on attending Quad-State on Saturday, but it may not be in the cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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