Pictures of my WM comin' home!

[Paschale]

Well, I finally got the film developed from my adventure last weekend, so I thought I'd share a few of them with y'all!   8)

Here you can see why I was glad I brought those new tires and rims!



Here's my dad working on the rims, packing the bearings and working on the tires with a few helpers--my great uncle's grandchildren.



That's me working on adding the lighting harness I brought along.  I'm a happy camper!   ;D




Here's a picture of the ramp my great aunt and uncle were able to build with some of the money from my purchase of the WM.  I guess nine men from their church came over and built it for them--those yoopers are good people!  Hanging onto the ramp are a few of his grandkids again.  

[EZ]

Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Hope you get it going soon with not much more cost.
EZ

[Paschale]

Here's a few more pictures.

We were able to haul a load of miscellaneous wood back home for my second cousin--it should keep him busy in the shop for quite some time!



It didn't take too long for us to get on the road, and here you can see me trailing the WM as we went south over the Mighty Mac.   8)



Couldn't resist checking it out at a pit stop!  Sorta had to pinch myself all that day.  I was like a kid at Christmas the whole trip home.   ;D



Finally, home at last!



Under cover, for the first time in years.  Dad driving his Allis Chalmers WD, with my nephews looking on.



I'm really pretty excited about working on the WM and restoring it now.  I'll keep you all posted on developments, and I know I'll be using the brain trust here on the forum to help with that.  

I'm glad that this once belonged to my great uncle.  He's the last link to that generation for me, and I've always enjoyed visiting "Uncle Wally" throughout my life.  He's meant a lot to me and my family, and anytime I spent with him, I could just sit and listen to him for hours, talking about the good old days on the family homestead.  For me, he's been a link to the old way of life, a link to my ancestors who all lived a hard, hard life, eking a meager subsistence from the land.  Despite their hard life, he and his siblings, including my grandmother, lived life with a spirit of determination, strength and perseverance which puts my life of relative ease into a healthy perspective.  He has always been positive, and he never said anything negative about anyone.  He's always been quick to let loose an infectious laugh, and there's always been a smile and a sparkle in his eyes.  Even on this trip, when he clearly was suffering from dementia at times, this unquenchably positive spirit still came through.  It's sad to know that most likely this is the last time I'll ever have a chance to see him on this earth.  I feel blessed to have known him.  To own this woodmizer that once belonged to him will give it a special place in my life.  I'm reminded that Arkansawyer calls his WM Wanda.  Well, I think this one's gonna be called Wally!

[Bibbyman]

Glad to see you're getting that old WM mill back into service.  Good job!

[dewwood]

Congratulations on your "purchase, inheritance etc.  I am sure it will provide you with lots of memories.  I kind of like the looks of that old Allis you have there also.  I am partial to orange all the way around.

[DanG]

Congrats on getting that mill home! 8) I think you oughta call it "Little Wally."  I'm glad you got a mill, but I'm tickled to death that you got THAT mill. I'm all for keeping things in the family.

If at all possible, do yourself and Uncle Wally a favor and make the effort to go back up to see him. Even if he gets where he doesn't recognize you, he'll know somebody came, and it will do him good for the moment. It will do you good for a lifetime. ;)

[Norm]

What a great story, thanks for telling us.

[ronwood]

Paschale,

Great story and the best to you and your dad in getting the mill running.

Ron

[pappy]

Nice Paschale real nice.

You brought back some very fond memories of my mothers family, she had three great  brothers.

Thanks for sharing and good luck with "Wally" you two will have a good time together.  

[Stump Jumper]

YOUR DAD MIGHT GET BITTEN BY THE SAWDUST BUG AND NOT LET YOU PLAY WITH YOUR NEW TOY ;) ;D

[rbarshaw]

Con'grats on the mill. And thanks for the pics. Being from Michigan ( Standish ) myself, the scenes bring back lots of memories, especially the one of the Macinaw bridge, again thanks.

[music_boy]

I really enjoyed reading that and seeing the pics. Thanks for sharing. There are so many things that link us to our past. It is important that the generation coming sees and learns so that they can find their links to pass on too..
Rick

[OneWithWood]

Congrats on getting it home.  We will be interested in how you get along with it.  Do keep us posted.

[Paschale]

Thanks for the comments guys.  It should be a fun project, and as I move along, I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes.

I think stump-jumper's right:  my dad is starting to feel the itch!   :D  My nephew's did too when they saw the ole WM.

I hope I do get to see my great uncle again, DanG.  I'm certainly going to try.  I'll certainly carry fond memories of him for the rest of my life.

Dan

[jgoodhart]

Nice mill you got and thanks for the story :'(

[chet]

Well dat dar predition at da piggy roast dat it wouldn't be to long before you was a mill owner, was right on da money.  ;D
Congradulations and keep us posted on da refurbishing. And let us know when ya wack da dogs or clamp da first time too.   :D    :D

[Paschale]

Sure enough, the ole prediction came true!   8)  Can't wait for the first time I saw somethin'!

Hey, Chet...looks like you got yourself a new pic dar under yer name.  That's gotta be you, right?

[DanG]

That pine in Chet's pic looks like some of the crap that ends up on my mill. :-/

[Furby]

 8) 8) 8)

[Corley5]

Congrats on getting your mill home.  I'm sure U Wally nows that "Wally" is getting a good home.  I just got back from Da UP.  What is normally a 3 hour drive from camp turned into a four hour one.  Got into the Bridge Backup at 4:21 PM and cleared the toll plaza at 5:33 PM >:(  

[Paschale]

Crazy Labor Day traffic, eh Corley?  A guy at work who just moved to town did the Bridge walk, and then coming home, he was stuck on 131 for about an hour and went less than ten miles.  Crazy!

What part of the U.P. is your camp at?  

[Corley5]

25 miles east of Munising on H-58.  It's 25 miles to Grand Marais if you go past the cabin.  I knew better than to leave as early as I did but Zach hadn't napped yet and I figured that by leaving at 2 PM he'd sleep most of the way home.  Stopped in Newberry for fuel and he woke up and stayed awake for the rest of the trip.  He was one bored little boy.  I was even stuck in traffic in Trout Lake of all places .  There's bridge contruction on the east edge of town that is one lane with a stop light.  That took almost 15 minutes to get through :
That's a good looking WD your Dad has  

[Shotgun]

Howdy Paschale,
Congrats on getting the mill. It's really special, and from the UP too.

Sure enjoyed visiting with you at the pig roast.

Funny hat, though, that you have on in the pictures. ;-)

Shotgun

[ARKANSAWYER]

   Do we have an ETA of when Wally will make sawdust again?  I just need to know.  If you need a log just bring him down here on them new tires I got a plenty.
ARKANSAWYER

[Paschale]

Sounds like a great place for your camp there Corley.  Go figure:  traffic jam in the U.P.!   :  To avoid those is one of the biggest reasons to go up to God's Country!

Shotgun--great talking to you too at the pig roast.  Now, bout that there hat, that's a hat anyone in Michigan should be PROUD to wear, since we all know that's the TRUE university of Michigan.   ;)

Arky--hopefully the ETA on the ole sawdust will be sooner rather than later!  If I'm lucky, I'll have one day a week to work on the WM, so it just depends on how much I can get done.  I think my dad's gonna be on engine detail, since he's a wiz with small engines.  The rest is mainly just getting rid of rust, and getting stuff unstuck, so hopefully, by this winter she'll be ready to make some sawdust, and about that time, sawing logs in Arkansas will sound pretty darn good to me!  Just so long as those darn snow snakes don't follow me down there!   :D

[MULE_MAN]

Congratulations on your Mill   8)

Your not only going to have Fond Memories of your Uncle Wally, when sawing. But also you will have allot of fond memories of you and your Dad working on it   8)

When you get older those memories of you and your Dad working together will mean allot to you.

P.S  Don't worry about the snow snakes following you to Arky place , They have enought copper heads & rattles snakes down there to take care of the snow snakes  :D :D :D ;D
 

[BboneBob]

Thanks for the Pics and the great story!
Can't wait to see it in action.

[Paschale]

Hey guys!  

This is a buddy of mine from work, BboneBob.  Great guy, and we've got big plans for some fun for that woodmizer.  He's got access to oak, and owns a tractor, so between the two of us, we'll be making sawdust as soon as I get good ole Wally up and running again!  Of course...pics will be a requisite.   ;)

Welcome Bob to the forum for me, willya?

[Jeff]

Well alrighty then. Welcome there BboneBob. You live clear up in Michigan too?  

[Fla._Deadheader]

 :D :D :D OK, I just gotta ask, What's wit dat name???  :D :D

  Welcome there, BboneBob.

[Paschale]

Well, I got some bad news today.  My folks called to tell me that my Uncle Wally passed away this morning.  He was the original owner of this Woodmizer, and was an amazing man who lived into his mid-90's.  I'm sure glad I had the privilege of knowing him.  I'm hoping I can make the funeral--still haven't heard the plans yet.  He'll be greatly missed--I always loved visiting with him when I was a kid and then as a grown man.  When I was in the U.P., I always made a point to stop and visit him, and bring him some smoked fish, which he enjoyed immensely.   ;)  He was the last tangible link our family had to our immigrant roots.  The stories that man could tell were something else!  Kept me spellbound anytime I was near by.  This makes me think of a tape of him I made one time when we were walking the old homestead ground--I'm going to see if I can't find that.  It sure would bring back some great memories of him.  I get the logging bug from that side of the family--he and all his siblings worked in the woods at one time or another, and it goes way back in our history, back to Finland where my great great grandfather worked in the woods too.  I feel new urgency now in restoring that old Woodmizer this Spring, and I'm looking forward to getting "Wally" making sawdust again.

If you think of it, say a prayer for his wife, my Aunt Dorothy, and the whole family.  She's the tiniest of women, but took care of my Uncle Wally until the very end, lifting Wally in and out of bed--and she's an 84 year old woman!  They had hospice care only the last two days of his life, which means my Aunt Dorothy worked her tail off taking care of him.  She's a good woman, and Wally will be sorely missed by her, and by us all.

[MULE_MAN]

Paschale

Sorry to hear of your Uncle passing away, You and your Family will be  in
my prayers

[Norm]

Sorry to hear of the news about your Uncle Wally Paschale. You're a good man to remember him.

Now get out there after spring thaw and get working on your WM. ;) 8)

[Doc]

Congrats on getting that mill home! 8) I think you oughta call it "Little Wally."   I'm glad you got a mill, but I'm tickled to death that you got THAT mill. I'm all for keeping things in the family.

If at all possible, do yourself and Uncle Wally a favor and make the effort to go back up to see him. Even if he gets where he doesn't recognize you, he'll know somebody came, and it will do him good for the moment. It will do you good for a lifetime. ;)

I lost my Grandmother a year ago Dec 10th. She suffered heavily for the last few years of her life from Oseoporosis, Parkinsons disease, and Alzheimers. Short term memory was gone for the most part and the long term memory was going quickly when she deteriorated to the point where she was about to leave us.

I am sorry for the loss. I just caught the news after I made the original post. My condolences to you and your family on the loss. It sounds like he had a long happy life.

Doc

[Corley5]

Sorry about the loss of Uncle :( :'(  Sounds like he was great guy 8)  You'll always have the memories and the mill

[tnlogger]

sorry to here that you've got mine and pats prayers on this end.

[Tom]

Death is an inevitable page in the book of life.   Your acknowledgement of your Uncle is the most honorable thing you can do.  We are "important/famous" only as long as we are remembered.

Get the tape and put it in print. Write about your experiences with him.  Make sure your children know of him and his exploits.  Make lumber with his sawmill.  Tell people about him at every turn.  It's your responsibility now.

I'm sorry for your loss but it sounds as if you are a better man for having had him. Hoorah for you and your "trooper" Aunt Dorothy.   When you see her next, tell her that there are a bunch of guys all over the world that think she is great. 

[Grawulf]

Amen to that, Tom! 

[Furby]

Sure am sorry to hear about your loss Paschale.

[etat]

Paschale, I just now read this thread.  Sorry to hear of the loss of your Uncle.

[TN_man]

Yes Paschale, Sorry to hear about your loss. You and your family will be in our prayers.

[Ga_Boy]

Paschale,

I am real sorry to hear about your Uncle.  It ain't never easy to loose someone special like that.  As the others have said, you've got the mill to always remind you of what a great man he was.


Enjoy the mill.



Mark

[sandmar]

Paschale,
So sorry to hear about your Uncle Wally. I am sure you will think of him everytime you are around Wally Woodmizer and keep his memory alive.
I will be thinking of you and your family in this time of loss.

Sandmar

[ARKANSAWYER]

   A man's worth is not measured by how much stuff he leaves on this earth at his passing but by how many people care to remember him when he is gone.   When my Great Uncle William passed away 2 years ago he had been a farmer in the area his whole life and had his own farm for 70 years.  The only time he left the area was in WWII.  At the service people brought toy tractors and seeds and put them in the casket with him.  He was in his usual bib overalls and had a IH hat on.
  It is great that you took the time to listen to the stories and is your duty to pass them on with your own.  Thanks for letting us share in this remeberance and our prayers for you and yours.

[Furby]

Arky reminded me about this,
At my Grandpa's service there were several pictures and some other small things placed in his casket. There had been some talk and some joking around about placing a tool or two in the casket. Several people really liked the idea, but nobody was going to do anything.
The night before I dug up a cresent wrench and did some quick inscribing on it. We placed it in his breast pocket before the casket was closed.

[asy]

Sorry to hear about your Uncle, Paschale.

I hope you are able to keep his legacy going in his stories and his mill.

Tell his grandchildren how good he was, and teach them to love what he did.

asy :D

[Paschale]

Thanks for all the nice replies everyone.  We're sad to know he's gone, but happy that we knew him.  I'll definitely keep his memory alive, and tell my children and my nieces and nephews about him.  I'm going to try to get that tape turned into a CD somehow, if I can figure out how to do it.   :P  Then I'll pass it on to his kids and grandkids, as well as my family too.  I know without a shadow of a doubt, he's in a better place right now.  It'll be good to see him again in about 60 years or so.    8)

[wesdor]

Great story and pictures about the mill.  Keeping something in the family is always important to me.  I also like the WD picture.  We have a D-15 and sold the WD many years ago.  Now I wish we had kept it, but at the time it seemed like the best decision.

Like others have said, please keep us posted on the progress with your mill.

[Furby]

Might be able to help ya with the tape to CD thing. ;)

[Paschale]

Well, Wally's getting itchy to get fired up and make sawdust again.   ;)

I'm going to buy a new head gasket, carb rebuild kit and some new parts for the ignition on the Kohler this week, and it looks like my dad and I will start tinkering with the engine on Friday this week.  First things first:  get that engine going!    8)

It's about time, eh?   :

[woodbeard]

Will you be tuning it to the oboe?  ;D

[ronwood]

Better late than never. Good luck on getting the mill up and running.

Ron

[broker farmer]

Paschale......I've crossed that Mackinaw bridge several times myself going back and forth to Canada fishing.  That thing always gave me the creeps!  Your trip home pulling your mill sure reminded me of my trip home with my mill from Northern Wisconsin last winter.  I wasn't smart enough to check the wheel bearings prior to heading home like you did.  Ever try to find bearings and an axle at 4:30 pm on a Saturday night 700 miles from home out on the interstate?  Ainnnnnnnnn't fun.  You're really going to enjoy your new toy!

[chet]

Glad yer finally gettin' er done.   ;)  I was beginnin' ta think ya brought Wally home for a lawn ornament.   :D

[Stump Jumper]

 8) woo hoo  8)

[UNCLEBUCK]

I cant believe I have never seen this thread . I hope you get the sawdust flyin Paschale , great story and pics and what a great uncle Wally was and still is . 

[Furby]

 

[pasbuild]

hows the restoration project comin along Paschale ???

[Lud]

Machines that have set can be a challenge.   I found that the Rust Reaper can be invaluable!

Great of you to share this piece of your life..........

[Kevin]

Just an important note here on these jacks.
Don't ever leave the handle down when the jack is under pressure.
I know a guy that bumped the handle when it was down like that, it sprung up and opened up his face and nearly killed him.
He has had extensive surgery and is in constant pain.

[Paschale]

hows the restoration project comin along Paschale ???

Slowly...   :

;)

[LOGDOG]

Hey Paschale,

   Looks like you've got a projsect on your hands. Keep the faith and stay at it. It looks just like one I bought about 10 years ago. The cool thing was it was THE very 1st WoodMizer I ever saw, and I saw it when I was about 11 years old. It belonged to the retired friend of the family who had land near Madison,WI that we used to deer hunt on. He had Cherry on his property 36 " in diameter and Red Oak even bigger. He had grand plans and never got to them. We were able to saw lumber with it when he first got it ...enough to build a warming shack there at the farm for when the 20 odd hunters in our group would come in for a break. He got sick not long after and passed away. Years passed and I expressed interest in the machine. I made arrangements to purchase it, brought it home and began work. I sandblasted everything and repainted it Allis Chalmers orange (closest match I could find) and it turned out pretty if I must say. I replaced the belts and a couple seals, greased everything, and off we went. My dad and I sawed a good bit with that machine. Sold it a while later for twice what I gave. Talk about good re-sale value. Really cool getting that machine too since it was the one that sparked my entire interest which now is about 20 years ago. Time flies!!! Keep us posted with picks. By the way, if you decide to blast it, I had better luck with the black sand than the white silica sand for heavy rust removal.

LOGDOG

[sawguy21]

Just an important note here on these jacks.
Don't ever leave the handle down when the jack is under pressure.
I know a guy that bumped the handle when it was down like that, it sprung up and opened up his face and nearly killed him.
He has had extensive surgery and is in constant pain.

Very good point. Those things have a nasty bite, keep the pins lubed and free of rust.

[Paschale]

Well, it's time to get this thing fired up.  I've decided that I'm so busy that I'm going to just pay someone to work on it.  I had hopes to turn it into a project for my dad, my nephews and me, but I simply don't have the time.  It's been sitting idle for long enough, and now I've got a huge incentive to get it done.  My brother has about ten trees he's paying a guy to bring down, and about half of them could be sawed into lumber, which is what he's planning to do.  He called a guy with a sawmill and got an estimate, and my brother told me that he'll either give the money to me or to the guy he called, depending on whether my Woodmizer's ready to go or not.  We've got a lead on a guy who's really talented with small engines and hydraulics, so I'm going to use the money from my brother, plus the money I had planned to invest in it, and hopefully in a month or two I'll be making sawdust...finally!  My brother's under a time crunch...he basically told me that it's either me or the other guy, so I figured it's gonna me!

I basically bought the mill because I had the money and the opportunity, and knew that I'd have it fired up eventually.  It looks like this will finally be the summer for making sawdust!

[metalspinner]

It looks like this will finally be the summer for making sawdust!

8) 8)

[gizmodust]

I know I'm late with condolences on your Uncle, but I offer them still :(.  Remember he's never gone if he's not forgotten.  And I'm sure that's not about to happen.  Good story, good pics, and good luck.  If I can help with the project, even the cutting, HOLLER.  Best of time is coming 8).

[Toolman]

Sorry about your loss. Your memories will keep him around forever. Have fun with your  new project!! Good luck and God be with you and your family. NOW GET CUTTIN!!