After the weekend...how did I do?

These are some things I thought I would work on and maybe accomplish. How did I do?

• Cut and clean out some overgrowth in backyard. Too much to do all at once. Nope.
• Change Lawnmower blades and cut lawn (to collect leaves). Nope.
• Finish stripping and cleaning chest and drawers. Nope.
• Finish stripping and cleaning butterfly table base parts. Nope.
• Wood splitting for neighbors. Got it mostly done.
• Start milling wood for Christmas gifts I am making. Nope.

in roughly that order.

I didn't realize how exhausting my work week was, and slept extra on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday there was a birthday party for the son of some friends. After that I had a screaming headache. In 2 hours I went through 5 Advil and took a nap. My friends had invited me to go with them to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse. The headache was gone in time for that. I love that food. Then we just chilled and watched TV at their house. Got home about midnight.

On Sunday the only meaningful thing I did was the wood splitting. I had promised these neighbors, so their task came before mine, and mine aren't critical. I split wood for almost 3 hours (red oak) and made a huge pile of firewood that I have to pick up over the next couple of weeks. At one point I was wedging a piece of wood with my foot and started to feel the pressure of the machine. The wood has slipped and gotten on top of my foot, so I slammed the handle into reverse and my foot was fine. But right after that the hydraulics stopped working. I stopped the machine and investigated. After a couple of seconds I determined that it was the "Lovejoy couplings" that were the problem.

When I first bought the logsplitter it may have been assembled improperly. The Lovejoy couplings and the plastic "spider" that goes between them stripped within minutes of starting the machine. Lovejoy couplings are what connect the driveshaft of the engine to the driveshaft of the hydraulic pump. I replaced them and aligned the pump and engine correctly. And they have worked flawlessly for many years (8?). But, being mechanical, they are things that break down and need to be replaced. It will be 20-30 dollars, I think, but well worth what I saved over taking a broken foot to the hospital.