I think one of my biggest pet-peeves now-a-days is that people are taking less and less responsibility for their actions.   And it’s for anything. I would like to say that words mean something but giving your word apparently doesn’t mean anything today.  If you say you’re going to help a friend move, and then don’t show up, what does that say about you?  If you say you’re going to be at a gathering or get together and then don’t show up what does it say about you?  If you say you’re going to meet a deadline and then miss it, what does it say about you?

If you see someone stranded on the side of the road and you drive on by thinking “well someone else is going to stop by and help that person,” as you move along past them (also known as the bystander effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect) what does that say about you?  Have we as a society been conditioned to react this way now?  I believe we have, and it’s been intentional.  If the government is the solution to everything then why should you do anything?  Government largess and encroachment into our lives is at an all-time high – everyone assumes that someone else is responsible or someone else will take care of that.  The more we as a society give up our own responsibilities for taking care of our fellow man, the more freedoms we give up in trade for a security blanket that eventually can do what it wants to any member of society without repercussion.

Take school children and their parents for example (from here):

 Some students aren’t doing well in school. Those of us over 30 would have been dressed down by our parents, and forced to give up social or extramural activities to study more. Now, teachers are blamed for not “reaching” a student who may simply not be ready to learn—either because he or she didn’t have breakfast that morning, comes from a household with abuse or where education is not emphasized, or merely has a bad attitude. The fact that it is the educators themselves who are held accountable for students’ grades (instead of the students themselves) only emboldens those students who don’t want to do the work and spares the parents who can’t or won’t take some responsibility for their students’ educations.

Who knows the exact causes of our education system to turn upside down but like many things in our society its just one more thing that we will have to fix – and much of this has to be done at home, one person at a time standing up and saying “I refuse to be part of the problem.”

So what does that mean to you who are reading this? If it bothers you, then why don’t you do something about it?  Why not come to the realization that you are ultimately responsible for your actions as a man or woman.  Accept that when you set a date or time to be somewhere that you show up.  Don’t offer excuses.  Be honest with yourself and your friends.  Be the type of person that people want to be or be around because you hold yourself to higher standards than our society has set.  Refuse to be part of the problem.  Be self-reliant. Be responsible. Be educated.

While its been a slow year on this site it hasn’t been a slow year for us.  On the manly front we’ve seen good progress on all things manly.   In politics we have a good selection of mostly conservative candidates shaping up for the 2012 election.

As we come to a close on this year its time to take stock and consider what next year will bring.

I’m not sure what direction this site will take next year.  I do think a redesign is in order to something a bit more snazzy and even less newsy as far as look and feel.  I had hoped to have more time on the site -and I can only hope that next year will bring about more time to dedicate to the site.  There is already a manly site out there that has cornered the market in this type of niche in some cases, but I do have some points that I’d like this site to focus on – which we always have – good conservative, common sense values.

Personally I’m working on my man-cave and I’ll be taking pictures and posting as the project continues.

With that, I wish you all a Happy New Year.

All of us have heard the term moonshine before, all of us know it’s illegal, but few of us really know what it is or how it’s made.  For most of us it’s just something that they do in the hill country of Arkansas and Tennessee and doesn’t really effect us.  But that’s not really true.  This history of moonshining and the science behind it effect our lives today from everything from soda pop to professional racing and a lot of things in between.  Here is a brief primer on both.

First, lets get a few things straight.  This whole concept of illegal liquor comes from taxes.  What makes a spirit illegal is not that it was produced stronger or less pure than what is sold in the grocery store, but that it is sold without the government collecting it’s share of the tax associated with it first.  Liquor tax in the United States alone is a multibillion dollar business, and like most governments, ours hates to be short changed.  So citing concerns for the safety of the citizenry, moonshine was made illegal since before prohibition. Primary among those concerns is that moonshine (also white lightning, hooch, mountain dew, stump water and mother’s milk) makes you go blind.  But it doesn’t.  Not really.  But more on that later.

First lets talk about alcohol by itself.

Man has been using alcohol to get high since before the beginning of history.  The first histories were written about 4 thousand years ago on clay tablets, and the intentional use of alcohol predates that by another 2 thousand years.  The problem was that at this time, they really didn’t know how to make alcohol.  They would leave fruits and berries in a covered container for a few months and sometimes when they opened it they would have a mash with a little bit of alcohol in it and sometimes it would be a rotten goo.  It was pretty much hit or miss at this point, but none the less early man still tried to produce it and used it for “religious ceremonies”.  Any time an anthropologist can’t explain a practical use for something they always blame religious ceremonies.  Personally I would like to think that our prehistoric ancestor used liquor for the exact same reason we do:  it feels good.

Time and tide may make mercenaries of us all, but it also serves to educate us.  After a couple of thousand years of experimentation we discovered better and better ways to make alcohol.  Eventually this culminates in the production of wines.  The first wines were actually not made from grapes, but more than likely made from vegetables.  Sugar beats and carrots are the most likely, as they both contain a lot of sugar, and sugar is needed for alcohol.  Eventually someone tried grapes and a whole new lifestyle was born.  Grape juice is mostly sugar, water, and nitrogen and nothing ferments as well.

So what exactly is fermentation, I pretend you ask. Fermentation is the process for micro organisms called yeast consuming sugar and give off carbon dioxide and alcohol.  Yeasts exist wild in the air in every part of the planet, including Antarctica.  Yeast are everywhere.  There are tens of thousands of different varieties, each imparting their own flavor to a fermentation.  Some flavors are good and highly cherished, some are pretty terrible.  Others produce high alcohol contents of up to 20%, some die off around 4%.  Some produce pure ethanol, others produce things that are more harmful.  There is a lot to worry about with yeast, which is why it’s so nice that we produce it commercially now.  Commercially produced yeast is much safer to use for fermentation than wild yeast because you are assured to get the variety that you want.

You can use regular bread yeast to make alcohol.  Really, truly.  You can do it yourself in the comfort of your own home.  It’s nothing special.  You can add some sugar to a gallon of grape juice, add some bread yeast and leave the cap half screwed on to allow some gasses to escape and in about two weeks you will have wine.  It won’t be very good, but it will technically be wine.  If you want to drop a dollar on some wine yeast at the store or on the internet, you can get a much better drinkable product.

Nothing about this is illegal by the way.  In fact if you go to a brewing supply store they will encourage you to do this yourself.  It is perfectly legal to make wine in your home since the end of prohibition, and it has been legal to make beer since 1976.  It’s actually pretty fun. It’s cheap. You can get all the materials and supplies you need to do this for about $20 if you are clever, and I guarantee that it will be an education.

So why is moonshine illegal if you are encouraged to make wine and beer in your home?

The answer comes from the 20% yeast barrier.  Yeast give off alcohol as a byproduct of their life cycle.  They eat sugar and give off alcohol and then reproduce.  But just like if you were living in a vat of your own byproducts, it eventually gets toxic.  Most yeast tap out around 14% alcohol.  That’s why most wines contain 14% alcohol.  However there are a few super yeasts out there that can easily ferment to 20% alcohol.  The most common being the champagne yeast called Pris de Mousse.  Now there are a few mutant yeasts out there for sale on the internet that claim that they will produce alcohol to 22%, but I say that’s crap.  I’ve tried it, and have never gotten that high.  Still, even if we agree to that number, we are a long way off from the 40% that most hard alcohols are produced to, and still further away from things like 151 proof Purto Rican rum and 95% Everclear.

The way those spirits are made is to distill them.  Distillation is the process of evaporating a liquid to concentrate certain properties of that liquid.  Here is where the real hard core science kicks in.  Water and ethanol (the good alcohol) are 100% miscible.  That means that they can be dissolved in any quantity of the other one.  Because of that it’s impossible to separate them conventionally.  However water and alcohol have different boiling points.  Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and ethanol boils at 178.  That mere 34 degrees makes the whole process possible.  As you heat a liquid that contains water and alcohol past the 178 degree mark, the alcohol will start to evaporate leaving most of the water behind.  Therefore if you hover your temperature between 178 and 212 the majority of the water will be left behind.  The alcohol takes a little with it when it evaporates, this is due to the properties of an azeotrope, but that’s not really the point. However once you get it evaporated, you still need to condense it to a liquid.  Capture the steam and run it through a condensing coil and it comes out liquid on the other side.  (A condensing coil is merely a tube of conducting metal that allows the vapor to cool off and re condense into a liquid.)  This is fractional distillation at it’s most basic and it’s been around for 3,000 years in one form or another.

So, lets go back to our wine.  Lets take that grape juice, add some sugar and some yeast. Wait the requisite time and end up with a wine made to roughly 20% alcohol.  Now lets run it through our imaginary still, and remove half the volume of water from the mix. That will double our alcohol content and we now have brandy at 40%.  If we were to do the same thing plain sugar we would have vodka, molasses would give us rum and corn products would give us the almighty whiskey (which can of course be made from other things like rye.) This is the exact same process every commercial distillery and every moonshiner in the world uses.   The only real differences are the amount they make and the permission they get from the government.

So, is it dangerous?  Will it really make you go blind?

Not if it’s made properly.  First lets address the blindness issue.  Yes, there have been a few cases of people going blind from bad batches of moonshine.  However I would argue that those were cases when the person making it didn’t know what they were doing or got greedy and tries to use the wrong parts of the product they were producing.  There are many types of alcohol.  One is ethanol, and that’s what we are trying to make when we want to drink something.  Another type is methanol, or wood alcohol.  Methanol is an optic nerve poison and can legitimately make someone go blind.  It is added to commercial products like rubbing alcohol and denatured alcohol so that people won’t try to drink them.  All yeast fermentation will produce some small amount of methanol, and in small quantities it is harmless.  However if you get a large quantity it could indeed make you go blind.

The good news is that methanol evaporates at 158 degrees. So the first product from a still should always be discarded.  And then what comes after that should be tested.  Methanol burns with a yellow flame and ethanol burns with a crystal clear blue flame.  When you start getting a test batch with a blue flame you are safe from concentrating methanol.  Discard anything that comes before that.

The other serious threat to your health is lead poisoning.  This comes from lead solder being used in the welding of the still itself.  As a consumer it is much harder to guard against this, but as a rule know who you are buying it from and ask questions.  Or make it yourself and know for sure that you did not use lead solder.  But keep in mind that this is an illegal activity and product in the Untied States.

So how does moonshine and it’s history effect your life today?

First if you have ever had a soft drink, you may thank moonshine.  The soft in soft drink refers to the fact that it contains little or no alcohol.  In the 1640 the English and Spanish government started demanding higher and higher taxes for any drink that contained more than 3% alcohol.  So the makers started distilling the alcohol out of beers made from ginger and sarsaparilla root and selling the left over product with very little alcohol in it as a tax free beverage.  These were the first soft drinks.

The American tradition of racing cars, and everything that came after started with moonshiners.  The moonshiners were the first ones to modify their cars for speed and maneuverability so that they could outrun the authorities that were trying to stop their activities.  This lead to the creation of NASCAR and Stockcar racing.  To this day, NASCAR is still based in the same places that were frequented by moonshiners a few decades ago.

The first car engine that was designed to burn alcohol was designed by a moonshiner.  In an attempt to smuggle booz more freely he filled his gas tank up with high proof moonshine and altered his engine to run off of alcohol.  When he would get to his destination, he would drain the tank of alcohol and replace it with gasoline and drive back.

It was the first antifreeze.  In the long days before Prestone, people would fill there radiators full of moonshine because the among of alcohol kept it from freezing in the winter, and therefore shattering your radiator.

I hope this clears up some of the mystery behind moonshine and explains some of the terminology.  I myself come from a proud line of moonshiners.  My great grandmother operated a pot still in her back yard in Louisiana during the depression and Prohibition, selling Cherry Bounce for a nickle a cup to feed her family. Later in life she used to give it to us kids any time we complained about a belly ache or some other malady.   My great uncle/second cousin Mark operated a still until the mid 80s when some federal agents found it and got drunk on his property.  In his own words “They got lit up pretty good and got in a tussle with one another.  Someone got shot and ever since then it just didn’t make no sense to do it.  Those fedies were all over the place like flies on shit, like it’s my fault they can’t hold their liquor.”

If you have any questions, please feel free to write a comment.

The Founders were not grilling hamburgers and hotdogs.  They were crammed into a small room  arguing amongst themselves on whether they should declare independence from the king of England and sign their own death warrants or not.  Think about that.  By signing the Declaration of Independence, they were facing death if they were captured.  So on a happier note, while you’re lighting up the BBQ, why not fire up the DVD player and watch something that can help remind  you of the men who let you enjoy your day off work.

There are some great movies surrounding Independence Day as well as TV shows and mini-series.  I actually checked around to see what other blogs and sites were recommending and a whole bunch of them recommend Born on the 4th of July.  To me, that really doesn’t do much credit to the day in fact it really goes against what this country is founded on.  So below is a list of good movies to watch.

The Spirit of 76 – Final Edition DVD

The Fame of Our Fathers

Road to Independence

The Patriot (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]

John Adams (HBO Miniseries)

Soldiering Through History (Revolutionary War)

1776 (its a musical…but its based on that time period).

The Crossing (Washington crossing the Delaware)

Johnny Tremain (See all Kids & Family Comedy)

The American Revolution (History Channel 2005)

This year for fathers day think about giving your father the gift of libation, tobacco, or something timeless – non- electronic device/gadget.

Consider a pocket knife.

Case Pocket Knife

Pocket knives are timeless.  When taken care of properly they will last a lifetime.   Generally you always need a knife when you don’t have one.  To open a box, to cut a piece of plastic zip tie, to cut a piece of cheese or fruit.  Pocket knives have slowly gone out of style for a bunch of reasons, airline restrictions, work restrictions etc.  Don’t let these imposed regulations dictate you carrying a pocket knife.  Check your knife in your luggage, verify the size limit at your work.

Case Pocket knives are American Made Knives, and are passed down from father to son, father to son.  Consider picking one up if your father doesn’t have one.   Today they are owned by Zippo, also a wholly American owned and made brand.

While I’m not a fan of frenchie products, the Opinel Cheese Knife is a classic knife that will last a lifetime and can be sharpened laser sharp, but you will have to keep it up.  They’ve been around since the 1800′s .

Wrist Watch

There are watches, and then there are watches.  Since we’re on the subject of timeless items, a proper wrist watch will last a lifetime, and there are certain designs that are timeless and will never go out of fashion.

A Rolex? Really? Yes, Really.  If price is no object a Rolex is a fine watch to own.  I suggest this classic:

The Submariner

“The Rolex Submariner: Because when it was first introduced in 1953, it was the first watch waterproof up to 330 feet. Because today, with a triple-seal system that secures the case as tightly as the hatch of a submarine, that number has gone up to 1,000. Because it’s survived 45-below temperatures on Antarctic expeditions.  Because the Submariner has appeared in not one, not two, but many James Bond movies. And because the blue-on-blue design of this latest version looks damn good.”

Desk Lamp

Vintage Motorcycle Lamp

Not just any desk lamp mind you.  A rugged manly lamp that is built from motorcycle parts.  Using a brake rotor as the base with a spring and shock absorber for the stem. All the lamps Ryland has created are executed with equal care, but like motorcycles themselves, vary in size and shape (averaging 18″ tall), depending on availability of parts.

A Classic Desk Pen

MontBlanc Classic Pen

Has writing gone out of style? Maybe.  I’d be hard pressed to remember the last letter correspondence I received that was hand written.  But if you’re going to write a letter, make sure to do it in style with a Mont Blanc Mark Twain Pen.

With his pseudonym of Mark Twain, the American writer recalled the defining period of his life spent as a steersman on the Mississippi. The design of the writing instrument is also inspired by the river that had a lasting influence on Twain and his work:
The sinuous curving lines on cap and barrel, made of deep-blue precious resin, reflect the shallow waves of the river. The top of the cap is shaped to resemble the Mississippi steamboat chimneys, whose steam is illustrated by ivory-coloured precious resin.

Just make sure that if you buy this pen for dear old dad that it doesn’t collect dust on his desk.  Tell him to use it and write some old fashioned letters for a change.

Walking Boots

Wolverine 1000 Mile Boots

A great gift for Dad, or you if you are so inclined.  These Wolverine 1000 Mile boots have been on my list for a while.  From Gear Patrol:

Drawing on 125 years of history, the collection features Horween leathers, stacked leather outsoles, Vibram soles, Goodyear welt construction, and Made in the USA goodness. That’s a roster robust enough to turn even the most dedicated Sneaker Head. The cornerstone of Wolverine’s collection is the 1000 Mile Boot. Based closely on original Wolverines of the early 20th century, it appears to have time traveled from the foot of one of these fine gentleman to us. The 1000 Mile Boot has all the same impressive construction as the rest of the line, but a simple aesthetic that leaves its competition in the dust.

As for the name, it comes from vintage Wolverine advertising purporting their boots to “last a 1000 miles”. When we got lucky enough to tie on a pair of Rust 1000 Mile Boots we figured wearing the hell out of them was the best way to demo them while honoring the heritage. In that spirit, we’ve submitted them to family parties, job interviews, snow, sleet, rain, public transportation, 14 hour days on our feet, dates, and sporting events. Along the way we were impressed at how quickly the uppers formed to our feet, and the soles became comfortable, allowing them to be worn for long periods of time with very little discomfort.

One of these days I’ll find a pair for me, but for dear old dad, consider it.

A Cigar He Will Remember

Rocky Patel Decade

Rocky Patel hasn’t been in the Cigar Industry very long compared to industry titans like Arturo Fuentes but he does make an amazing cigar.  I’ve tried the majority of his blends and types of cigars and have yet to come across a bad smoke from start to glorious finish.  Pick up a Rocky Patel Decade.

Medium to full bodied; smooth, rich & complex with full rich flavors consisting of dark spice, black cherry, roasted coffee with a light dose of pepper. A well balanced cigar with a long full finish with a lingering sweetness.

If you want to go with something else, then I would suggest an Arturo Fuente Hemingway.

Conclusion

I think that about wraps up this years thoughts and ideas for great Fathers Day gifts.  Tell us what you think below!

That’s why we have to have green energy and recycle today because the previous generation was a very wasteful generation.   At least that’s what they are telling everyone.  When you hear someone talk about being wasteful, I want you to remember reading this story:

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.  The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today.  The former generation did not care enough to save our environment.”

He was right, that generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store.  The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.  So they really were recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in that customer’s day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine
every time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a hankerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you.  When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn’t have the green thing back then?

From here.  Although he’s traditionally seen as an American hero (remember, though, he is an alien), Superman is fed up with being connected to the USA. According to the Comics Alliance blog (and reported by BoingBoing), in Action Comics #900 Superman tells the president‘s national security adviser that he’s had enough of the Red, White, and Blue.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger, this popped up into my view and I had to bring it up. I don’t know about you but since when did Truth, Justice, and the American Way start being a bad concept?  I don’t see millions of immigrants pouring into Mexico for Justice and the Mexican way of life.  I don’t see people pouring into Canada for the Canadian way of life?  Why do people come here?  Because the American way of life is freedom to stand up, brush yourself off, learn from your mistakes and be responsible for your actions.   At least, that’s our ideals.  The past couple years its been more like – “oh you can’t learn from your failures..” or “Too big to fail”.  These  new Un-American concepts have cropped up more and more.

Superman and the American Flag

If the United States of America is the beacon of the world, (the first man to walk on the moon was an American), then why would the world not want an American to represent them?  Citizen of the World and no longer standing for American values?  All of this sounds more and more like the new writers of Superman are trying to drag American exceptionalism into the mud and Superman with them.
Here is how some people feel about it:

a. “truth” = our version of indoctrination that we choose to inform you of. You are too stupid to think for yourself and our nanny government has to give you laws and keep you in line. We will tell you our version of things. We’ve hired Al Gore to think for you and provide you with all you will need to ever learn and know.
b. “Justice” = We think it best for us to determine right from wrong in all cases as you are unable to (see a) think for yourself. Justice is certainly a good, but antiquated, concept and the unions as well as politicians are the ones who will make all choices for you. We will appoint supreme court justices who are liberals and will never truly know or enforce the constitution. The constitution is a “liquid” document subject to flaw and it is, after all, just merely a guideline.
c. “the American way”. Well, er, we know that the America way is not a good thing. We are all world citizens and the sooner you view things our way and indoctrinate yourself to our global thinking, the better off you shall be. Do not, for once, have pride in this country. Hang the UN flag out instead of the USA flag please, and you’d better take down all patriotic images as we now find them offensive.

Superman, by the way, needs to have a modified name. He is now the combined symbols of male vs. female and the word “super” offends some people, so we will now refer to him/her as +/- person of no race, color or imagination.

Where did superman come from?

The interesting thing about Superman is that when he first came out in 1938, he was a fighter and defender of the marginalized. Created by two Jewish men, Superman embodied the savior many didn’t have. Often called “Champion of the Oppressed,” he would fight dirty landlords, wife beaters, and corrupt politicians; and he fought them pretty aggressively. Then the end of the war shifted his image to more of a good mannered, polite boy scout who was out to preserve a way of life, stopping evildoers who threatened to harm The American Way.

I think it’s kind of interesting to see that the decline of the church and the decline of Superman’s popularity/image are kinda neck and neck.

Superman 1, 1938

But to the previous authors point – isn’t fighting dirty landlords, wife beaters, and corrupt politicians also the American Way – to stand up for the underdog?

Superman is a symbol of this country. Comic, movie, or not, he’s an American first, citizen of the world second.  The more the current writers “detach” Superman from his American relevancy the less and less exceptional the character will become, especially here.

So you want to recondition or refurbish your old smoker?  So do I.

We’ve put together this walk through on how we worked on this old smoker and hopefully it will serve as a guide for any of you out there who are thinking about the same thing.  I was given BBQ smoker by a friend of mine that needed some serious TLC as it had sat outside exposed to the elements for years. After setting forth a game plan, I engaged a buddy of mine at PowersGaming who has experience in doing this and we documented the process as a tutorial for all to see.

*Note: Some of you may ask “Why can’t  I just use spray cans?” The answer to that is you will use waaaay too many and it won’t look as good.

What you need: (If you don’t have all of these tools ask your friends, all are good investments for future projects though).

Flexible (thin) 1 1/2″ putty knife
Orbital Sander (like here.)
10-12 Orbital Sand Paper pads (80 grit garnet stick on pads)
Regular Sand Paper
Paint: Rust-Oleum High Heat (we only needed 1 Qt)
Air Compressor (borrow it from a friend)
Spray Gun (Kobalt HVLP) ($50 or borrow it from a friend)
Wood (we used Red Oak)
Wood Stain (your choice, we went with Cherry and Pecan stain mixed)
Paint Thinner
Boat Varnish
Tarp, or Canvas Drop Cloth
Starting off
First things first is that you need to remove all the hardware that can be removed from the smoker.  We also removed the old rotting wood handles and shelf.   Next you want to put down a drop cloth or tarp and put your smoker over that as you don’t want to get paint or any of the other garbage you’re removing from the smoker where you’re working.

Hardware removed. Notice the darker spots on the grill little dark circles here and there, that’s grease and oil.  After you have scraped all the rough spots off, take a cloth or rag and some paint thinner and rub those spots to remove them as best possible as they will effect the paint bonding. Make sure to change rags often if it’s a mess.

Next you need to scrape the rough bits, loose rust, paint etc off the outside (inside as well if you’re bored.)  But we’re not painting the inside.  I’m using a 1 1/2 putty knife that is good and flexible.

Because of the age and deterioration of this smoker, we removed the rusted out door in the smoke box.  (Sawzall pictured with metal cutting blade).

Cut a new piece to replace the rusted out part.  Using metal shears to make this cut on some stainless.

Then we used a belt sander to smooth out the rough edges of the replacement piece.

Install the replacement piece screwing into the remaining good sheet metal.

Use a random orbital sander to sand down the grill – you’ll go through 10-12 pads.

You want to sand down the grill but don’t expose too metal because you need the paint to bond. Where the orbital sander doesn’t get, use regular sand paper to get between the cracks and crevices.

Here is what it looked like after sanding.  We decided to move it into the shade so it doesn’t heat up in direct sunlight and work on cutting the replacement wood.  This is a good time to blow off all that dust that you sanded off.  Take an air compressor at 100psi and blow off the whole pit up close.

3 replacement pieces cut for the shelf, a center support, 3 handles (we made extras just in case).  Then sanded them down.

Mounted and tested to verify it worked ok, drilled out the holes.  In the middle we measured and installed our middle support piece.  We countersunk the screws on this as well.

Next we drilled holes for the replacement handles and test fit them.

Last with the wood for now,  we stained the wood, and then let it dry overnight.  To stain, use a lint free cloth for best results.

Finally the painting

Don’t paint in direct sun when the metal is really hot; paint won’t have time to bond or stick b/c it’s drying too fast. Try for as low of a humidity day as well, some areas of the country that’s just not possible though.

Now mask off all the stuff you don’t want to paint.  In this case we removed all the hardware with the exception of the temperature gauge. We masked that off with tape.

You need to mix your paint first with some thinner to thin it out: the suggested mix is 3 capfuls thinner to 1 qt of paint.  The compressor you want to use about 55psi to blow the paint on so if you had turned it up to 100psi  to blow off the dust earlier bring it back down.

The 1st coat should always be a “mist” or tack coat to help bond the remaining coats; from there on it should be thick enough to cover, but not be thick enough to run.  You never want to hold the sprayer still when painting, always keep it moving across the surface.  This will minimize any runs or buildup.  To conserve paint, think first how you can paint one side of it, then come back and paint another getting the bits you may have missed; thinking 3-dimensionally on painting.

Once that first coat is on, give it a couple minutes and then apply a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th coats.  The last coat will be a bit thicker as it will give it that satin look.

Here is what the smoker looked like after its final coat.  Now you wait about a week for the paint to cure and bond to the metal.

Coming back to the wood pieces.  The next day the stain was dry, it was time to sand again with light sand paper and then apply 2-3 coats of boat varnish to help water/weather proof the wood, and to give it more of a shine.  Once you’ve completed a couple coats, its time to mount these pieces onto the smoker and put the remaining hardware back in place.

And now a final picture.  Hardware is remounted.  You want to build a light fire in this and bring the temperature to around 200 degrees to make sure the paint is bonded correctly.  If you were to start your first fire up and jack it up to 500 or 600 degress you might see bubbling up of the paint.  This is why you do a lower temperature fire just to help cure.

Think your finished? Not just yet.  How about those grates you cook on? Time to clean them off.

After I got off the main grime with a plain old wire brush, it was time to break out the grinder and grind off the remaining stuff and the extra rust if any.

Now you coat the grates with oil (olive oil) on both sides and put in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour.  Allow them to cool over night, put into the pit or smoker put another coat of olive oil on and build a fire and bring it up to 450, then let cool over night. Once complete you’ll have re-seasoned grates that your food won’t stick to.

And that’s it.  Hope this helps, if you have any more questions just comment below and we’ll do our best to answer them.

Being gentlemen who enjoy fine tobacco we regularly sample different blends of pipe tobacco.  I recently re-discovered The Tinderbox – online.  Previously I went to their store when they had one in Beaumont Texas, but alas it was closed some years ago.  Now they have an online store, at least they did until today.  Apparently they are now under new management one can only hope that they continue to sell the same great blends and tobacco.   So maybe this review is coming to you a bit too late.

I’ve previously ordered several sample blends but I came across something different: Reserve 1928.  It is marketed as

“Pipe tobacco with the panache, the sophistication, the delicacy to satisfy a pipe smoker of refined taste and Independent means.”

Reserve 1928 comes in a can with a pull tag to open – guaranteeing freshness, and is 1.75 ounces.  Once opened there is a plastic lid that goes on top to keep  I actually didn’t pay attention to the amount when I ordered as the marketing images made it look like a sizable amount.  As you can see in the picture above its not too large – granted my gorilla hands are holding it.

I wouldn’t go so far to say it satisfies like a snickers bar, but its not bad.  Personally I smoke more aromatics that are more flavorful, bold and have a lingering aftertaste (that part I don’t always care for).  Its a very cool and dry smoke, just as expected and I can say the best quality about it, being that I generally smoke much richer blends, this leaves almost no after taste at all.  There is a slight smell of chocolate, and ripe peach or pear – very earthy type of smoke but it burns quickly because it is dryer and after a period of time, it almost feels like there is no flavor at all which is my main complaint. Because it burns pretty quickly, you will also find yourself going through the tin fairly fast.

For the new pipe smoker I think this would be an excellent blend to try because of the lack of aftertaste that sometimes can turn people away.   For the more established pipe smoker, I doubt this would do much for you if you are used to more full-bodied blends unless you’d like to switch up to a lighter blend on occasion to change the palate.    So for the purposes of this review I give it 2.5 out of 5 pipes (or stars or whatever).

This is pretty sad news and I haven’t seen any of the major news agencies reporting it.  He died at the ripe old age of 110 yesterday the 27th of February.  He died in his sleep at his farm in West Virginia.  Men of this caliber are rarely seen today.  Original Source of his biography located here, and here.

Frank Woodruff Buckles’ life spans the awesome, horrible, fantastic, dreadful Twentieth Century. He has seen and experienced much. As America’s last surviving veteran witness to the First World War, his life experiences and perspective are a living artifact in our day which often lacks perspective. Frank’s story, in his own words:

The Beginning

I was born on my father’s farm north of Bethany in Harrison County, Missouri, on 1 February 1901. My father retired in 1905 and bought property in the small town of Coffey, where I started school. In 1910, he bought a farm in Vernon County, near Walker, Missouri, where we enjoyed country living. In December 1916, we moved to Dewey County, Oklahoma, near Oakwood. I was 15 at the time, and I accompanied a boxcar load of draft horses and equipment to the farm. I knew that my father was planning to arrange for a man to take the horses to Oklahoma. He would be paid $20 and transportation back to Missouri. I asked my father if I could do the job, and he agreed. My parents came later by automobile.

In the charming little frontier town of Oakwood, population 300, I worked at the bank, lived at the hotel, and went to high school. On 6 April 1917, the United States entered the Great War and patriotic posters appeared in the post offices.

Enlistment

When summer vacation came, I was invited to the Kansas State Fair in Wichita. While there, I went to the Marine Corps recruiting office to enlist. I said that I was 18, but the understanding sergeant said that I was too young; I had to be 21. I went to Lamed, Kansas, to visit my father’s mother who was living with my aunt and uncle who owned a bank in Larned. A week later, I returned to Wichita and went to the Marine recruiting station. This time I stated that I was 21. The same sergeant gave me a physical examination, but kindly told me that I was just not heavy enough. I tried the Navy and passed the tests, but they were perhaps suspicious of my age and told me that I was flat-footed.

I decided to try elsewhere, so I went to Oklahoma City. There I had no luck with either the Marines or the Navy. I then tried the Army, but was asked for a birth certificate. I told them that the public records were not made of births in Missouri at the time I was born, and my record would be in the family Bible. They accepted this and I enlisted in the Army on 14 August 1917. Thirteen of us were accepted at the recruiting station and given rail tickets to Fort Logan, Colorado, where those who were accepted were sworn into the regular U. S. Army. My serial number was 15577.

In choosing the branch of the Army in which to serve, the old sergeant advised that the Ambulance Service was the quickest way to get to France because the French were begging for ambulance services. I followed his advice and was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas, for training and trench casualty retrieval and ambulance operations.

The Great War

The unit that I went overseas with was called the First Fort Riley Casual Detachment, which consisted of 102 men. The ranking officer was a sergeant. I have a photo of this unit taken at Fort Riley.

We sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey, via Halifax, Nova Scotia, in December 1917, aboard the HMS Carpathia, the vessel famous for the rescue of the White Star Liner, Titanic, on 15 April 1912. Some of the officers and crew who made the rescue were aboard the Carpathia and were not averse to describing the rescue.

We docked in Glasgow, Scotland, and our unit continued on to Winchester, England, to await cross-channel shipment to France. A unit of the 6^th Marines was operating Camp Hospital No. 35 near Winchester. Our unit was forced to replace the Marines who were sent on to France.

While in England, I drove a Ford ambulance, a motorcycle with sidecar, and a Ford car for visiting dignitaries. Others walked. After some weeks in England, I requested a meeting with the commanding officer of the area, Colonel Jones of the 6^th Cavalry. I asked to be sent to France, and he explained to me that he, too, wanted to go to France but had to stay where he was ordered.

I finally got an assignment to escort an officer to France who had been left behind by his original unit. In France, I had various assignments and was at several locations. After Armistice Day I was assigned to a prisoner-of-war escort company to return prisoners back to Germany.

After two years with the AEF (American Expeditionary Force), I returned home on the USS Pocahontas in January 1920. I was paid $143.90, including a $60 bonus.

Returning Home

I went home to visit my parents, then decided to get a quick education in shorthand and typewriting at a business school in Oklahoma City. After four months of school, I got a job at the post office, working 4:00 p.m. to midnight. I was paid 60¢ an hour. In one month, I had enough money to take the train to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where I got a job in the freight soliciting office of the White Star Line Steamship Company. I also had a night job with the Great Northwest Telegraph Company.

During the winter of 1921, I went to New York and got a job in the bond department of the prestigious Bankers Trust Company at 5^th Avenue and 42^nd Street. I used as my reference the Oakwood, Oklahoma, bank where I had worked at age 15.

The steamship business had more appeal for me, but first I had to have some experience at sea. I got my first sea job with the old Munson Line as assistant purser of the ship, Western World, bound for Buenos Aires. I spent several years with the Grace Line, in both cargo and passenger ships on the west coast of South America, where an intimate knowledge of the countries and language was required.

World War II

In 1940, I accepted an assignment to expedite the movement of cargoes for the American President Lines in Manila. Unfortunately for me, my stay was extended by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941. I spent three-and-a-half years in Japanese prison camps at Santo Tomas and Los Banos. We were rescued by the 11^th Airborne Division on 23 February 1945.

Home Again

Life in San Francisco was pleasant after World War II. On 14 September 1946, I married Audrey Mayo of Pleasanton, California. She was born on a ranch, and my people were landowners and farmers for generations, so we decided it was time to give up foreign assignments and come back to the land. We came to Gap View Farm near Charles Town, West Virginia, in January 1954, to reside in the area where my forefather, Robert Buckles, his wife, and 15 other families settled in 1732.