What did you do today

[Staryder61]

Thank you Harry.. turned out pretty good..
Send your birds this way, always room for more...

[Tom&Shelly]

I've been looking for some sort of metal bin to hang on the wall and store oils in the metal working section of my shop. Found one at a thrift store while we were down in Texas a few weeks ago, and finally hung it



Since we've been back, there was an S-K gigantic socket set for sale at our local thrift store for $80. Too rich for my blood, but it hadn't sold, so yesterday Shelly asked the manager if she'd take $40 for it



That's not the ratchet that came with the set, but it looks more authentic than what was in there. Like me, the previous owner mixed and matched to get what he needed. The largest socket is 1 1/4 inches, although I suspect that might be a replacement as the chrome on all the other sockets ended before the brand and size markings



Here's a neat thing, that I think is original: this set has 19/32 and 25/32 inch sockets. Finally! I'll be able to remove 19/32 and 25/32 inch nuts without resorting to my large metric adjustable wrench!



Now I have to look for something big to take apart.

Tom

Edit--I looked at a really geeky web site (when I say that, it's a compliment), and it appears, from various details in the markings, etc., that this set was made sometime after World War II but before 1957. The 1 1/4 inch socket is a replacement and was made sometime after 1969 (but still made in USA). The ratchet handle is from Walden tools and was in another set donated to the thrift store at the same time, so probably from the same donor.

[MickinOz]

Yesterday (Sunday in Oz) I went to Floods Creek Station in Far West NSW.
The homestead is about 15 miles from the nearest highway, and 75 miles from the nearest town. The station is 100,000 acres and that last 15 miles is awful rough.
This morning, we mustered the kid's horses from the "horse paddock".
Finding those 7 horses took a while. The owner said if we couldn't find them in an hour or so, he'd have to get the light plane out to look for them.
More Pictures to follow, but here is an overhead from Google Maps.
Note the size of the dam that supplies the water for the homestead and the shearers' quarters.
I guess if you only get 7 inches of rain in an average year, you need to be collecting as much runoff as you can.
Don't be fooled by "Mount Westwood Road".
It's a single lane dirt track access track, leading to Mount Westwood, that passes through the station.
4 gates to open and close to get to the homestead.
The door on my side of the Freightliner refused to open from the inside, so the driver got out and opened the gates himself. (That's usually the offsider's job.)
After bringing in the horses and doing a quick photo session from a hill overlooking the homestead, I drove my mate's Landcruiser back to his South Australian farm for him, while he followed in the Freightliner laden with cattle yards and loading ramp. The Barrier Highway is in terrible condition, and we stopped several times to re-tension the ratchet tiedowns on the Freightliner, even needing replace a couple of broken ones. About 7 hours to do 330 miles.

Screenshot 2025-04-07 194216.jpg (255.11 KiB) Viewed 333 times

[tony.latham]

I went to Floods Creek Station in Far West NSW.

This is a crazy-good story. Thanks,

Tony

[MickinOz]

A few photos

First gate just off the Silver City Highway

First gate.jpg (166.42 KiB) Viewed 291 times

Turning into the homestead yard. Big dam wall in the background.

Front gate.jpg (374.8 KiB) Viewed 291 times

Floods Creek Woolshed

Shearing shed from the shearers quarters.jpg (204.55 KiB) Viewed 289 times

[tony.latham]

A few photos

Tony

[MickinOz]

A few more

Looking over the dam to the homestead woolshed on left.jpg (339.13 KiB) Viewed 289 times

8000 sheep were shorn here in two weeks.jpg (239.05 KiB) Viewed 289 times

Bringing in the kids horses for a gymkhana at Packsaddle next weekend

Fat ponies.jpg (377.24 KiB) Viewed 289 times

[MickinOz]

Closer pic of homestead.

Oasis.jpg (387.96 KiB) Viewed 288 times

The emus were abundant

Running haystacks.jpg (181.58 KiB) Viewed 288 times

[tony.latham]

The emus were abundant

That's crazy. I'm scratching my head about why you guys call it a station. Any background on that? We'd call it a ranch in the western U.S.

Tony

[Westy]

Ranches are considered small landholdings in Australia. Stations are much bigger.
Anna Creek Station in South Australia is 23,677 sq kilometres (9,142 sq miles) or 5,851,00 acres. That is 7 times larger than King Ranch, USA's biggest.

[tony.latham]

or 5,851,00 acres.

Holy smokes!

T

[MickinOz]

Ranches are considered small landholdings in Australia. Stations are much bigger.
Anna Creek Station in South Australia is 23,677 sq kilometres (9,142 sq miles) or 5,851,00 acres. That is 7 times larger than King Ranch, USA's biggest.

Except of course King Ranch, which is actually 4 tracts of land, can carry 35000 head. Anna Creek carries less than 20,000.
Sometimes I look at our outback stations and wonder how anything can get enough to eat.
The horses on Floods Creek looked in really good condition, so there is grass there somewhere.

I'm scratching my head about why you guys call it a station. Any background on that? We'd call it a ranch in the western U.S.
Tony

According to the State Library of New South Wales, the word station originally applied to the homestead but has come to mean the entire landholding.
I can sort of see that a cocky taking up a run might have "stationed" himself at a particular spot on the run.

It is fascinating that the words ranch and station could actually be related:

"Spanish word rancho
The word ranch comes from the Spanish word rancho, which originally meant "group of people who eat together". The Spanish word rancho was borrowed from American Spanish, where it meant "small farm, group of farm huts". The word rancho in turn comes from the Spanish verb ranchear, which means "to lodge or station". Ranchear was borrowed from the Old French verb ranger, which means "install in position".
Wiktionary"
+3

[tony.latham]

"Spanish word rancho
The word ranch comes from the Spanish word rancho, which originally meant "group of people who eat together". The Spanish word rancho was borrowed from American Spanish, where it meant "small farm, group of farm huts". The word rancho in turn comes from the Spanish verb ranchear, which means "to lodge or station". Ranchear was borrowed from the Old French verb ranger, which means "install in position".
Wiktionary"

:thumbs-up:

Tony

[MickinOz]

Saw this in the local supermarket car park yesterday.
Looked like it may have been PMF.
Not my cuppa tea, as we say when something doesn't particularly appeal.

Screenshot 2025-04-14 204356.jpg (143.91 KiB) Viewed 128 times

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Saw this in the local supermarket car park yesterday.
Looked like it may have been PMF.
Not my cuppa tea, as we say when something doesn't particularly appeal.

Screenshot 2025-04-14 204356.jpg

Man, I would have approached the person to ask for details... Y'all are friendly like that down under, no?