I still use the old timer's method of treating fence posts, fence slats, decks, etc. Better than any modern wood preservative or moisture preventative.

Used motor oil (this also means I still change my own oil) and diesel in a roughly 50/50 mix in a sprayer. Poor man's creosote. A few coats of that and you are good for at least 5 years. Just repeat every now and again and your fence or deck or trailer deck, etc. will last for just about as long as you will.

It's also great to spray along fence lines, or so I'm told. I wouldn't know. Maybe.

Ain't no way in hell I'm spraying my deck (where I walk, my dogs walk, where we sit out and eat and drink and I cook) with used oil and diesel.

Thats a no for me dawg.

Yes sir. Seems like we are the same in many ways.

This. My grandfather did this, my dad did this, and I do it. So does a bunch of ranchers I know.
It will beat any store bought water proofing made for flat bed trailer boards!

I don't know if any of you old Ags ever knew Floyd "Doc" Gunn. I think he was Class of 43.

He taught at the Vet School for a long tiime, lived out on the Brazos river & had about 100acres.

That old man NEVER threw anything away. Had all kinds of contraptions and modfied impliments that he used for various things. He never used a T-Post when a nearby tree would do. His fences were not what you would see on high end places in Fredericksburg.

He grew up in the Great Depression and you did not want to have to skin/clean a deer in front of him, he would keep all the organ meat, including Brains.

Cleaning up after he died took a long time & I hated helping get rid of some of his stuff.

Decades ago, my grandfather fashioned scrap steel L-shaped devices with a little tab holder on one end. He made them for all the daughters.

They were so you can lift out the first cornbread or brownie square from the pan. I am sure Pampered chef has invented them since then.

My husband's uncle used to work steel at Lackland AFB and made all the ladies huge flat cookie sheets from steel scrap. They are all I want when my MIL passes.

I'm playing golf right now and 2 of them are replacing my garage door opener. It's going to cost me lunch.

Emotional Support Cobra said:

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Decades ago, my grandfather fashioned scrap steel L-shaped devices with a little tab holder on one end. He made them for all the daughters.

They were so you can lift out the first cornbread or brownie square from the pan. I am sure Pampered chef has invented them since then.

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My grandma always had those in her pies and I guarantee my grandpa didn't make it! Most likely was bought with grocery store stamps

Emotional Support Cobra said:

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My husband's uncle used to work steel at Lackland AFB and made all the ladies huge flat cookie sheets from steel scrap. They are all I want when my MIL passes.

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I have 2 cookie sheets that my mom's uncle pressed in the sheet metal shop when he was in the air force! It must have been a thing!

Mathguy64 said:

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Ain't no way in hell I'm spraying my deck (where I walk, my dogs walk, where we sit out and eat and drink and I cook) with used oil and diesel.

Thats a no for me dawg.

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Whatever floats your boat.

jja79 said:

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I'm playing golf right now and 2 of them are replacing my garage door opener. It's going to cost me lunch.

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Wow that's really impressive. You're totally winning at life, bro.

Just be sure to text your wife when you're on the way home. Don't come home early.

Like Gunny said it was a long way to town....

Not so much that but I was always working on projects after dinner sometimes to 2 or 3 in the morning. To get to a point where you need something ..... it wasnt the cost as the scrap stuff we have scavenger may only be worth a couple bucks.... but having it at midnight so I can keep working and making progress for a few more hours helped me make progress and keep up momentum.

jja79 said:

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My dad was a depression kid too but was the opposite. He said he was never doing anything himself. I'm 69 and have flathead and Phillips screwdrivers. No wrenches, hammers etc. It's amazing how many other old guys want to flex by fixing everything. I just call one of them and they do it while I'm playing golf.

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I don't think it's a flex to be self reliant. It's a sense of pride and accomplishment. If my wife has to call another man to do something for her instead of the man she married, I'd be very disappointed with myself and she would be as well.

It's kinda weird to hear someone say they rather pay someone else to do something for them. The entire home improvement industry is built around the very basic human desire to do it yourself. It's been that way since the very first caveman fashioned a club and then lost his 10mm socket under his Wooly Mammoth.

I'm not criticizing anyone that enjoys it. I just don't. I spent today playing golf while friends that like being handy changed my garage door opener. I didn't work 45 years to spend the time i have left fixing things. You guys do you.

My reasoning for doing everything myself for 50 years helped me be able to afford and own our ranches and my guy toys. All the things I do myself on our ranch has saved me multiple thousands of dollars that I otherwise would have dished out to someone who usually never does it the way I want it done anyway.
Plus, as you say, it's also self rewarding and I get a great sense of accomplishment doing it myself. Albeit it is a sacrifice I am willing to make to be able and afford the ranch and my toys.

Wait... you have child safe locks on your box of saws? This truly never crossed my mind.

After my dad passed we divvied up his tools and I grabbed a couple of wrenches. One was maybe an 1 1/4" or so, maybe bigger. And could barely fit in a metal craftsman tool box. The other is a standard size, maybe 5/8" or 3/4" that he had cut and welded at an angle.

Barely used either for years, until I was replacing the evaporator on my old '97, and that giant wrench was the right size for the firewall mount, and the other end needed an L-shaped wrench to reach that Chinaman's mount on the engine side.

Brother and I had a pretty good laugh at that.

Forgive me Gunny, for I have sinned. I started hiring a crew to mow my yard when I had to start traveling for work. Now, one of the best feelings is coming home and seeing the yard mowed, and I never even got pissed at a small engine.


My wife and I have a pretty traditional separation of work, but she subs out ironing (dry cleaning) and I sub out mowing. Best money we spend.

jja79 said:

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I'm not criticizing anyone that enjoys it. I just don't. I spent today playing golf while friends that like being handy changed my garage door opener. I didn't work 45 years to spend the time i have left fixing things. You guys do you.

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I get not being handy or mechanically inclined or just not wanting to work on things. The older I get the more I don't want to work on most projects anymore.

But what I cannot fathom or comprehend is calling a couple of my buddies up and asking them to come fix something at my house and then I don't even stick around to at least help them by handing them tools or beers or cooking fajitas for them or whatever while they are doing me a solid. The concept of leaving to go play golf while they are working to help you out is just something so foreign to me that I can't grasp it.

schmellba99 said:

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jja79 said:

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I'm not criticizing anyone that enjoys it. I just don't. I spent today playing golf while friends that like being handy changed my garage door opener. I didn't work 45 years to spend the time i have left fixing things. You guys do you.

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I get not being handy or mechanically inclined or just not wanting to work on things. The older I get the more I don't want to work on most projects anymore.

But what I cannot fathom or comprehend is calling a couple of my buddies up and asking them to come fix something at my house and then I don't even stick around to at least help them by handing them tools or beers or cooking fajitas for them or whatever while they are doing me a solid. The concept of leaving to go play golf while they are working to help you out is just something so foreign to me that I can't grasp it.

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At least buy them beer.

Claude! said:

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Incredible!

Claude! said:

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I could have been a poster boy superstar for that video!

There are few times so have more joy than when something breaks or we need some random part or piece for any project around the house, and I can walk into the garage and find the exact thing I need or something close enough to get the job done. Yes, may hatahebis absolutely full of containers and totes, and organizers and boxes and containers, but I have Dave days worth of trips to the hardware store.

Also if you have made your own custom tools. My favorite is the one I made to get the broken rubber boot end off deep well spark plugs. Sn old flat head screwdriver with a long shaft I ground the tip into a fine flat blade. One firm press along the side of the plug and it would slice open the side of the boot end and you could just blow it out with a shot of air.

MouthBQ98 said:

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Also if you have made your own custom tools. My favorite is the one I made to get the broken rubber boot end off deep well spark plugs. Sn old flat head screwdriver with a long shaft I ground the tip into a fine flat blade. One firm press along the side of the plug and it would slice open the side of the boot end and you could just blow it out with a shot of air.

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Long reach needle nose pliers for my old 2003 F-150.

Tried that. It kept pulling off little bits.

My grandfather used an old timer to cut hogs. Does that count?

I inherited the knife

BrazosDog02 said:

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I have the opposite problem as old timers. I'm a "buy the right tool for the job even if it costs $200 and you will only use it twice."

If I did what the dude in the OP did, I'd probably be taking the pump apart for whatever damage was done inside. But if it truly was ok to heat it, I would use my induction heater for those bolts. It would shine in that instance.

Watching old people hack and pray through repairs drives me nuts.

My old man old would use literally whatever was laying around to make something work. And when he took off a rusted, damaged, and rounded off nut….he'd save it in a coffee can with others just like it just in case he needed it at some point. lol. They have never been used.

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Same issue with my grandfather. Depression era farmer that started fabricating his own implements. Rubbed off on his son that took over the farm when he passed away and after decades left us acres of scrap and other crap to clean up after his health deteriorated. After that clean up project I vowed I'd never hold on to worthless items even if there was a fraction of a chance I could use it in the future. I don't get sentimental over material possessions.

Shelton98 said:

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MouthBQ98 said:

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Also if you have made your own custom tools. My favorite is the one I made to get the broken rubber boot end off deep well spark plugs. Sn old flat head screwdriver with a long shaft I ground the tip into a fine flat blade. One firm press along the side of the plug and it would slice open the side of the boot end and you could just blow it out with a shot of air.

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Long reach needle nose pliers for my old 2003 F-150.

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Just had to pull 3 of these out of my 02. I have some 8" long picks with various shaped points. They worked well if you could jam it between the plug and boot and twist. It pulls out.

But seriously … f- those boots.

We had a 150 year old family ranch. My great Aunt and Uncle uncle kept string from the newspapers and put them in a ball which was a pretty good size through the years. The also kept every nut and bolt. Rarely had to go to town for those. The kept old newspapers and bound them up with baling wire and put them in eroding drain areas. That was the place where I learned to put beeswax on screws and occasionally some nails. BTW, they wasted nothing from a deer.

Canyon99 said:

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BrazosDog02 said:

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I have the opposite problem as old timers. I'm a "buy the right tool for the job even if it costs $200 and you will only use it twice."

If I did what the dude in the OP did, I'd probably be taking the pump apart for whatever damage was done inside. But if it truly was ok to heat it, I would use my induction heater for those bolts. It would shine in that instance.

Watching old people hack and pray through repairs drives me nuts.

My old man old would use literally whatever was laying around to make something work. And when he took off a rusted, damaged, and rounded off nut….he'd save it in a coffee can with others just like it just in case he needed it at some point. lol. They have never been used.

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Same issue with my grandfather. Depression era farmer that started fabricating his own implements. Rubbed off on his son that took over the farm when he passed away and after decades left us acres of scrap and other crap to clean up after his health deteriorated. After that clean up project I vowed I'd never hold on to worthless items even if there was a fraction of a chance I could use it in the future. I don't get sentimental over material possessions.

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You're over a decade younger than I am. My daughter is 21. She's an only child and grandchild on both sides. She's due to inherit four homes' worth of junk. And she wants NOTHING! She has no attachment to material things. Going to be a lot of huge estate sales.

Ya know, sometimes **** the older generation that has their special way. I'm dealing with massive amounts of equipment that he had to just j- n- rig it to show he's smart instead of ordering the correct part. I have all the engineering drawings and over half the time the incorrect part shows because he did some "I'm so smart" look how I reengineered it.

Well, **** that!

Tecolote said:

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Canyon99 said:

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BrazosDog02 said:

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I have the opposite problem as old timers. I'm a "buy the right tool for the job even if it costs $200 and you will only use it twice."

If I did what the dude in the OP did, I'd probably be taking the pump apart for whatever damage was done inside. But if it truly was ok to heat it, I would use my induction heater for those bolts. It would shine in that instance.

Watching old people hack and pray through repairs drives me nuts.

My old man old would use literally whatever was laying around to make something work. And when he took off a rusted, damaged, and rounded off nut….he'd save it in a coffee can with others just like it just in case he needed it at some point. lol. They have never been used.

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Same issue with my grandfather. Depression era farmer that started fabricating his own implements. Rubbed off on his son that took over the farm when he passed away and after decades left us acres of scrap and other crap to clean up after his health deteriorated. After that clean up project I vowed I'd never hold on to worthless items even if there was a fraction of a chance I could use it in the future. I don't get sentimental over material possessions.

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You're over a decade younger than I am. My daughter is 21. She's an only child and grandchild on both sides. She's due to inherit four homes' worth of junk. And she wants NOTHING! She has no attachment to material things. Going to be a lot of huge estate sales.

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My mom has three sets of china - one from her wedding and two she inherited. She tells my brothers and I we'll each get a set, and was a little taken aback when I told her that she can sell or donate them just as easily as we will.