Whack rules revived-- any new measurements?

[Okrafarmer]

Hey guys, I just read the old post about the Whack Rules-- very good stuff. I've noticed over time that certain measurements aren't found in the textbooks and measurement tables and was wondering if anybody wanted to tell the calibration of any special measurements they use in their neck of the woods, or whatever. I'll start out.

A hair-- a very tiny amount of distance. "Hoist that up just a hair."
A tad = four hairs. "Hoist that up a tad."
A smidgeon = 2 tads. "Hoist that up a smidgeon."
A honk-- measurement of cheese or other solid, easily broken food-- enough to eat comfortably in one sitting. "Break me off a honk of cheese." May be pronounced "hunk"
A wheeler load: (New England) enough logs to fill a wheeler truck.
A boat load-- depends on the size of the boat, I guess.
A mess (of stuff): so much of it that it can't be contained where it ought to be contained. "There's a whole mess of them down there in the basement."
Wicked good: so unhumanly good it must be being done by someone wicked in disguise.

For instance, nobody but [Bob?] can cut a whack of lumber all to within half a tad. He's wicked good."

[brdmkr]

I'll throw out a couple.

a bait = enough
pert near but not plum = real close but not quite there
a gnat hair - that would be a fraction of a hair
finer than a frog's hair split four ways = really really good.  Although a measurement is implied, it actually applies to quality

I'll bet there are many more!

[Okrafarmer]

Rare as hen's teeth= quite rare.
Dull as a Humphrey Bogart movie= definitely time to sharpen it.

[paul case]

 my add on,


a fuzz---- a lil less than a hair




pc

[Okrafarmer]

my add on,
a fuzz---- a lil less than a hair
pc

:D :D :D :D :D

[sandhills]

Halfa bubble off plum--not near as exact as "pert near but not plum" But hey, thats what they call me :D

[Okrafarmer]

My co-worker from Connecticut uses the word "scooch" instead of "smidgeon," see above.

[whiskers]

"a hammer handle and a brick bat" was the reply when I asked how high to set a receptacle box, should have known better than to ask. I was the new guy for ten years after hiring on, no one else was ever hired. Painted inside a lot of cabinets, go-fered everything.

[scgargoyle]

I work in the tooling trade, so we work in much smaller increments. The smallest unit of measure I know of is a skiffin, which is defined as a certain part of a gnat's anatomy stretched over a 55 gallon drum. To remove a skiffin, you just carry the piece past the machine you're using, rather than actual cutting it. Our largest unit of measure is half a hammer handle, which indicates a ridiculously wide tolerance.

I always heard the term 'brickbat' used as a measure of hardness, as in "That old yeller pine was harder'n a brickbat".

[Okrafarmer]

Here's a new one on me I just saw Shinnlinger say in an unrelated post:

The only thing I would suggest is if you are using a trailer like Magicman with the fenders/rails above the deck, I would mill two timbers a whistle taller than the rails that would set across the deck so that the logs dont crash down when the come over the rails.

boldface added for clarity.

Thanks, Shinnlinger! That's a very nice one.

[Banjo picker]

I have heard of taking off a shave...but don't know how much that is...Tim

[Okrafarmer]

I have heard of taking off a shave...but don't know how much that is...Tim

That could be the material removal equivalent of a tad. Then again, I've also heard the term "whisker" referring to a very short distance or bit of material--- so do we shave the whisker, or is shave a noun, and what's the difference between whiskers and a shave?
                                                                smiley_dizzy
Then again, I have also heard people say "Razor up a little bit!"

[paul case]

I have heard of taking off a shave...but don't know how much that is...Tim

That could be the material removal equivalent of a tad. Then again, I've also heard the term "whisker" referring to a very short distance or bit of material--- so do we shave the whisker, or is shave a noun, and what's the difference between whiskers and a shave?
                                                                smiley_dizzy
Then again, I have also heard people say "Razor up a little bit!"

a shave must be just removing a fuzz. sorry i couldnt resist.   pc

[Piston]

A wheeler load: (New England) enough logs to fill a wheeler truck.

Okay I'm a little embarassed here, I've been a New Englander all my life and I have no idea what "wheeler truck" is?

[Okrafarmer]

Wheeler = A large straight-frame truck with tandem rear axles and one or more retractable auxiliary axles. They definitely use the term constantly in Maine where I grew up. "Did you hea' about that guy that drove his wheeler off the bridge yestaday?"

"How much pulpwood did you cut so fa'?"
"Only about a wheela' load."

The term can be used for any truck with axles set up that way, whether it be a dump truck, log truck, or whatever, but it is especially used for self-loading log trucks with knuckle-boom loaders right behind the cab. It is generally accepted (in Maine) that a full wheeler load is 10 cords. I mean Co'ds. The one time I cut a wheeler load of pulp, I didn't make a full load, only 8.5 cords.

Most of the roads in Maine seem to be maintained with wires, bridges, etc. tall enough to accommodate an overloaded wheeler. They load them up really tall, and when they go roaring down the road, they sway as they go over the rough spots. (what am I kidding, in Maine, there are few smooth spots in the roads). During the winter, they sometimes run them nearly around the clock to get the wood to the mills. One wheeler driver I knew frequently put in 16 hours a day during peak season. Then from about March on, as the ground begins to thaw, the govt. "posts the roads" which means they put up signs on all the power poles on most of the roads, saying "Heavy Loads Limited" and then the trucks may only run at night-- or within certain posted hours-- since during the day it is too warm and they will destroy the roads by rolling over them while things are partially thawed. Then it becomes a screaming show-down-- wheelers running all night long like "Deadliest Catch" and then during the day, folks are trying to figure out routes to the mill where they can carry logs by way of roads that were not posted-- or by trying to sneak through without being caught. Then from about April through August very little logging occurs due to the fact that it is far too muddy and the skidders would do nothing but sink to their axles and tear the woods apart, as well as the fact that the mills up there have a very low tolerance for muddy timber. So then the fellows slow down, calm down, and pursue their summer jobs again until, usually about November or December when the ground freezes again. Some logging occurs off-season, but the bulk of it is done December through March. At those times the mills all generally stock up for the year and process what they bought through until the next winter. That's a generalization, of course.

Every year there are a number of wheeler accidents, and they sometimes end up on their side or plowing off the road to avoid hitting cars. In my childhood, at least, such accidents were pretty common. My mom was very scared of loaded wheelers and I must say it was very intimidating to meet one coming the other way, pedal to the metal with a tall load on a 20 foot icy road.

[Piston]

 

Cheers to a great explanation!  8)