Geezer's Lounge (Rev 1) - Volume 5

[TomO/Tloc]

TomO:  Do you have any rules-of-thumb about tree trunks/number of wires to start with?  I would think that a taller tree would need a thicker trunk (DUH!), but my question is how thick? 

dave

Dave

Trees diameter from my understanding from a forester many moons ago is measured at 4-5' from ground level.

For birch trees I am creating trees of different ages and of course different trunk diameters and heights. I pulled the  typical diameters and heights based on age from the US Forest Service data for the Michigan UP

HO Tree Age   5 years old         10 yrs old         20 yrs old         50 yrs old        100 years old


Height         10-15'             20 to 30'           35 to 45'          50 to 65'           60 to 75'

Real**         1.5 to 2.25"        3 to 4.25"        4.75 to 6.25"        7 to 9"           8.5 to 10.25"

Trunk dia.      1.0 to 1.5"        2.5 to 3.5"        5.0 to 6.5"        10 to 14"           14 to 18"


Number of twister
Wire for the trunk.   2-3            4-6                 8-12             16 to 22             24 to 30


I definitely try to create the trunks to the sizes above though I may add a wire or 2 but never less. As to the heights I rarely build a tree taller than 10" and usually the heights typically top out around 8". A tree over 10" on a layout is overpowering in my view.

I rely greatly on the USFS data that I will typically screenshot and add to my Gemini and ChatGPT  data bases. It makes the data so much quicker to find than my screen shot journal I used to keep in a notebook

** means I rounded

22 gauge bare wire is .025" diameter

I started building trees because the nice trees from custom builders were way too many $$$ and I want the trees to be taller than a train. Most of the commerical product trees from JTT and Woodland were too small. Hope this helps

TomO

[deemery]

TomO, that's a huge help, thank you Very Much!  


In other news from here.  I bought a laser, set it up yesterday, and today tried to cut something.  It did not go well.  I have some questions into the tech support forums (Reddit and Creality's own forums.)  One bizarre thing:  The device has a USB-C connection to the computer, and they provide a USB-C to USB-A cable.  They say if you have a Mac, you have to use the USB-A to USB-C adapter (included.)  Beats Me why that is!  I'd expect a USB-C to USB-C cable to work.  The only thing I can think of right off the bat is they have some dependence on the old USB-A protocol (and that's just Dumb Engineering.)  The other significant problem is that the evacuation fan isn't working, so I don't know if that's a configuration issue, a bad fan, or something else.

dave

[PRR Modeler]

Good luck with the laser Dave

[TomO/Tloc]

Hello

Coffee, sodas and French toast your way are available.

76f degrees now 88 later and currently the humidity in my part of Wisconsin has fallen to 98%!

I am heading at 1 to the local layout. We will cut the rest of his Masonite into fascia, plan 3 more bridge locations and lay more cork roadbed

Enjoy your day
Tom

[Rick]

Good morning everyone.

46 in Clark, sunny and 70 later.

coffee, sodas and OJ are ready.
Omelet station is set up.

Dave, hope you get good answers from the laser manufacturer.

TomO, thanks for all the tree making info.

Karl, nice shots of the bucks.

Jerry, hope it was all good news at the doctors.

Curt, hope you slept better and also got the 60 boards finished.

Mike, you had a good agenda yesterday.

Jamie, your sand tower is looking good.

Ron, I agree with "Just Do It". 

Larry, hope the MRI results were in and it was all good news.

Made it to the gym yesterday.
Then drove a bit north and found a beautiful spot to spend the night.
Wanted to stay there all day today but it's time to start making my home.
There are still more things I want to do first.
Doing some hikes in the Wind River Range in Wyoming is one of those.

One more picture from my hike in RMNP.



Have a great day everyone.

[Larry C]

Good Morning,

Tom O thanks for the coffee and breakfast. Have fun working on
the local layout.

Rick safe travels and hope you get to do what you want before heading
to S.D. I'll take a second cup-o-joe.

What's your plans?

It's a cloudy 71 with a high of 82. Had some really bad T'storms yesterday and last night. They actually closed the NYS Fair @ 6pm due to the impending weather. We were blessed we only received rain and the wind wasn't bad. West of Syracuse they had winds up to 70mph and some tornados touched down. Taking Ellie to the Doc's for her MRI results @ 1:45. Maybe some bench time this am.

Have a great and safe day!! Be well and safe travels.

[PRR Modeler]

Good Morning All,

Thanks for opening and breakfast TomO. Enjoy helping out your friend.

I slept very well last night. Yesterday I got all the boards colored and laid planks on the outside edge of the rail closest to the edge and in between the 2 rails. I tested it with a wheel set without issue.

Today I hope to finish planking the deck.

Rick when does it start getting cold in SD? I would think it would in the next 4-6 weeks.

Larry best wishes for Ellie today. Sounds like you dodged a bullet yesterday.

I hope everyone has a good day.

[friscomike]

Good morning,

TomO, thanks for opening, coffee, and breakfast. Thanks for the wire tree guidance.

Rick, good luck on your next adventure.

Larry, glad you dodged the nasty weather.  Wishing Ellie good results from the MRI.

Curt, hope the planking goes well.

How is the rest of the crew?

It's another hot one at 95F.  Yesterday was a bust upstairs.  We took care of daughter's pit bull yesterday.  Normally a calm event.  The two dogs saw a ground squirrel run into a drain pipe, and they dug it out of the ground then started trying to dig under the metal fence. Q#@#$~  They made a mess that took a while to repair.  

Maybe I will get upstairs today.

Have fun,
mike

[KentuckySouthern]

Hot and humid here in mid-Michigan with an eye on the skies 

Picturesque skyline last evening by the pig farm.



Overnight we had some rain then a bit after 0900 we had a quick thunderstorm with hail



It dumped 6/10" of rain in around 10 minutes then moved on East



My Rx finally is ready and we're headed off to pick it up.

Bench and layout are still on for the afternoon. Temp to reach 90 again today.

Be well all. Keep your powder dry 

[elwoodblues]

Good morning everyone,

Thanks for the coffee and breakfast Rick,  what's the hurry to head home?

TomO, great information on the tree sizes, very useful stuff, thanks for sharing it.  Enjoy the work session at the local club.

Larry, sounds like you had quite the weather yesterday, hope Ellie's visit to the Dr is all good news.

Curt, bet you're glad you got the 60 boards painted/weathered yesterday.  Have fun planking the deck today.

Mike, the remaining question is, did the dogs get the ground squirrel? 😊  Hopefully to get to go upstairs today.

Karl, your deet pictures reminds me of when I was working in northern Alberta.  Across from where I was living there would be a head of deer in the field across the road every day.  Have fun working on the layout.

Current weather is 20c (68f), cloudy with rain in the forecast yet again.  Had some rain on the drive home from work yesterday, but it was light.  Spent some time last night mocking up the tunnel portal yesterday as I was curious on how it would look.  I'm liking it.👍

Have a great day everyone.
 

[Jerry]

Morning everyone

Tom thanks for the coffee & breakfast.

Rick great picture this morning.

Larry I hope it's good news for Ellie.

Curt be looking for the new pictures.

Karl great pictures.  Must have been a hell of a storm.

Ron looking for to the new tunnel portal.

Dr. visit went well.  I'll live to see another day!! 
 
After the visit we had a vert special guest visit.
I'm sure you all remember Russ Greene from New England Brownstone.
He was in Philadelphia for work and drove over to see Diane and me.
Hopefully he will be joining us here at the forum shortly.
Russ is on the left in case your wondering!!

Everyone have a great day!!

[friscomike]

Good evening folks,

Sharon has an early morning infusion tomorrow, and I don't yet know how long it will take.  I thought I'd pop in instead of the morning visit.

Karl, thanks for the terrific photos.

Ron, the dogs did not get the ground squirrel.  It was too fast, escaping into the drainpipe.

Jerry, nice photo of the surprise visit.  Neat!

I made it upstairs today and worked on siding, detail parts, doors, windows, and stone paint.  I need to get something for a base to begin assembling the different components of the kit.  It is a weird-looking structure.

Have fun,
mike

[ACL1504]

Morning all,

I'm actually typing this on Thursday (last) night as it takes a long time for me to type.

First, I want to thank Curt for his weekly calls of checking in on this worn patient.

Great photo of you and Russ Jerry!

Karl's rain photo looks like what I see now 5 weeks post surgery.

I'm now 23 of 39 days into Radiation and feeling very tired. At least I'm not having stomach issues like some patients. My energy level is way down and I feel like a slug. Maybe this forced shut down is good as usually I'm burning the candle at both ends.

I saw the eye surgeon yesterday (Wednesday) and he said I'm on track to recovery. He said I still have about 4-6 weeks until my sight returns to the level it was prior to the July 27 surgery.

Also, Pam and I spoke to the Urologist about the spot on the left kidney. He is also the kidney surgeon and confirmed the spot is 2-3 cm in size. He agrees that when he goes in, he will take it all and not put me through a second surgery. I agreed with that as well. He told us it is either a benign lesion or a low grade cancer. 50-50 either way. The good news is that it is small, operable and hasn't changed in size over the past 5+ years.

He wants my body to recover from Radiation for a lease a month prior to kidney surgery. So, that tells me that I won't be back building models until mid to late October '26. That is provided that the proverbial creek doesn't rise.

More to follow as I learn more.

Have a safe and happy day everyone. And, of course, stay healthy if possible.

Tom

[Rick]

Good morning everyone.

52 in Craig, sun and wind later with a high of 80.

Coffee, sodas and OJ are ready.
Pork roll, egg and cheese on an everything bagel for breakfast this morning.

Mike, hope Sharon's infusion goes well today.

Jerry, thanks for the picture of Russ and you.
I never had the pleasure of meeting the man.
He makes excellent castings and look forward to him joining us here.

Ron, not so much anxious to get home, it's more about catching the leaves turning and getting some good photos.
Leaves are already starting to change here and I think further north they might be further along and I don't want to miss it.

Karl, beautiful picture of the sunset and the God rays.

Ron, I don't know what you consider cold.
I don't think my weather will be much different that Karl's and TomO's.
My neighbor messaged me that it's been been very hot at home the last week.
Avg temps for the next three months:
October 61° / 37°
November 44° / 23°
December 30° / 12°

Larry, hope there was good news yesterday for Ellie and glad you missed the worst of the storms.

Philip, you must be busy in the garden and/or the side hustle.

How's everyone else?

After posting yesterday I looked to see if there were any interesting hikes nearby.
I found one about 5 miles away and decided to go do it.
Star and I hiked to the top of Hahns Peak.
There's an old fire lookout up there that was remodeled not long ago.
I'll talk more about it tomorrow after I download my pictures.
I'll be in Wyoming later today.

This is from a hike I did July on the Three Mile Creek Trail.



Have a great day everyone.

[Rick]

Tom, great to hear from you.
Hope the rest of the radiation treatments and the upcoming surgery goes well and that you feel much more energetic soon.
You'll be back in the shed before you know it and posting update pictures.
All the best to you and Pam.