[AT] 'farmer' Francis Robinson

Sun Jan 29 09:31:59 PST 2017

Best I can offer is that "back when" if confronted with having to split 
green wood in cold weather it apparently common knowledge that splitting 
wedges would  jump back out of the block when driven with a maul.  Been 
there, done that.  Trying to get the wedge to start with a few light taps 
would sometimes work.  Then the first full blow would drive the wedge down 
nicely but it would pop right back out like a pea squeezed out of a pod.

The wood didn't split hard.  It was Soft Maple12-16" in diameter and grown 
straight for many feet before any sizeable limbs had grown.  I had blocked 
it 24-30" long as it would fit in the furnace at that length but the blocks 
had to be quartered to go through the firebox door.  Just couldn't get 
anywhere splitting it as the wedge would split the block open, then pop 
right back out.  I forgot to mention that the temperature was around 0°, so 
what moisture that was in the wood was frozen solid.

In desperation I tried one of the smaller blocks with a single-bit axe. 
Swing-pop-two pieces, just flat flipping amazing.

I related that whole fiasco to my Grandfather, who was 67 at that time(born 
in 1902).  His reply indicated that it was common knowledge, "When that 
happens you build a fire to heat your wedges to get the frost out of them."

Possibly the "warm ax" is some obscure reference to something similar with 
no bawdy intent at all (::innocent whistling::) or just a reminder that "It 
goes better if you heat it up before you put the wood to her", a totally 
innocent reminder that heating a cast iron stove too rapidly can cause it to 
crack.

Al Nadeau

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <rlgoss at twc.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2017 10:06 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] 'farmer' Francis Robinson

> Got a question for you guys.  This is VERY OT and I can't think of any way 
> to bring a tractor reference into it.  Have you ever heard the slang 
> expression "warm chopping ax?"  This occurs in a couple of letters that 
> were written just prior to the 20th century by some young people.  These 
> were farm people who understood how to cope with the technology of the 
> day; cook stoves; firewood; butchering chickens; elementary animal 
> husbandry; etc.  I have been unsuccessful at finding a definition for it. 
> It could be used in all innocence, but I suspect that it has a fairly 
> bawdy connotation.  The whole sentence is: Give your warm chopping ax my 
> love, and your little warm one too.  The writers were in their teens and 
> early 20's.
>
> Oh wait! This writing predates farm tractors by a couple of decades. 
> (There's the tractor reference.)
>
> Larry
>
>
> ---- Indiana Robinson <robinson46176 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Last year I replaced the wood furnace in the house with a new larger one
>> that also has blower forced firebox air and automatic controls including 
>> a
>> remote thermostat. I pushed the old one (still in excellent condition) 
>> back
>> in a corner until I could move it to the farm shop. That didn't happen 
>> yet
>> so that is what I am doing this week. May need to get Scott to help me.
>> Once it is in place I will be able to heat the shop up fairly quickly so 
>> I
>> can work in there the rest of the winter and early spring.
>> Go ahead, ask me how many doctors, specialist and medical technicians you
>> can see in a day...  :-) I had always hoped that we would just get old 
>> and
>> fall over someday without dealing with all of this nonsense.
>> The Coq10 has apparently done a lot to repair some of that muscle damage
>> done by the Atorvastatin at maximum dose. Now if I could just find
>> something to deal with my arthritic spine.
>>
>>
>>
>> .
>>
>>
>> .
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 8:44 AM, Cecil Bearden <crbearden at copper.net> 
>> wrote:
>>
>> > I deleted my Facebook account 3 days ago and all those calls I used to
>> > get from solicitors quit!!!!
>> >
>> > Cecil in OKla
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On 1/28/2017 1:09 AM, Indiana Robinson wrote:
>> > > Yeah, I'm still kicking...  :-)  Just not as high or as fast. 
>> > > Facebook
>> > has
>> > > gotten kind of out of hand and I no longer accept any friends there 
>> > > and
>> > am
>> > > going to cut some and some groups I am on there. More than once I 
>> > > have
>> > > considered dropping it completely. I would if it were not for family
>> > > contact I never otherwise see.
>> > > I still try to keep this list read but sometimes it gets a week ahead 
>> > > of
>> > me.
>> > > I have not shown any tractors for some time but would like to again. 
>> > > Son
>> > > Scott and I get to about 3 nearby shows a year.
>> > > I have more to post but it's 2:00 AM and my drive belt is starting to
>> > > slip...
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > .
>> > >
>> > > On Wed, Jan 25, 2017 at 9:52 AM, Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> > >
>> > >> robinson46176 at gmail.com
>> > >>
>> > >> On Wed, Jan 25, 2017 at 9:37 AM, Gene Waugh <gwaugh at wowway.com> 
>> > >> wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >>> Thanks, I will see if I can locate him.
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Gene
>> > >>> Elgin, Illinois
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Sent from my iPhone
>> > >>>
>> > >>>> On Jan 25, 2017, at 7:28 AM, Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com>
>> > >> wrote:
>> > >>>> Still around... he posted something on his Facebook page two days 
>> > >>>> ago.
>> > >>>>
>> > >>>>
>> > >>>> SO
>> > >>>>
>> > >>>>
>> > >>>> On Wed, Jan 25, 2017 at 7:55 AM, Kenneth Gene Waugh <
>> > gwaugh at wowway.com
>> > >>>> wrote:
>> > >>>>
>> > >>>>> Does anyone know the status of farmer (Indiana)?  I for one have 
>> > >>>>> not
>> > >>> heard
>> > >>>>> from or of him for ages.
>> > >>>>>
>> > >>>>> Gene Waugh
>> > >>>>> Elgin, Illinois
>> > >>>>> _______________________________________________
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>> > >
>> > >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> -- 
>>
>> Francis Robinson
>> aka "farmer"
>> Central Indiana USA
>> robinson46176 at gmail.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> AT mailing list
>> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>
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