Tom's 1/3 Mix

07/31/2026

I'm curious as to which critter could have done this. In the past 8 weeks I have lost 2 gallons I had tucked away that I wasn't using for my mixes (quality issues) and a half gallon I was. Now, this quart was attacked too. At $39 a gallon and $16 a quart that hurt.
I've got a trap and I will be using some of this as bait and the rest will be tossed. I want to see what it is.
I do leave my garage open a slit just to keep air circulating as I have a few motorcycles I don't want sitting in dead air, but in 20 years of doing this, this is my first issue with my BLO being consumed. (and I can't think it's good for whatever does consume it).
My first guess would be a possum.

07/23/2026

Y'all Come!

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07/04/2026

The Birth of our Nation; Just a quick reminder of how it all started.
These are summaries of the basic grievances we had against King George III.
The charges can be summarized into three main categories:

1. Infringement on Representative Government & law
*Vetoing Laws: The King repeatedly refused to sign necessary laws passed by the colonies for the public good.
*Dissolving Legislatures: Representative houses were repeatedly dissolved because they opposed the King’s overreach.
*Controlling the Judiciary: Judges were made entirely dependent on the King's will for their tenure and salaries, obstructing the fair administration of justice.
*Hindering Population Growth: Laws for the naturalization of foreigners were obstructed, and conditions for obtaining land were severely restricted.

2. Military Overreach & Police State
*Standing Armies: The King kept armed troops in the colonies during times of peace without the consent of the local legislatures.
*Quartering Troops: Colonists were forced to house large bodies of armed soldiers.
*Military Supremacy: The military was made independent of and superior to civil authority.
*Mock Trials: British soldiers were protected by fake trials from punishment for murdering inhabitants of the colonies.
*Foreign Mercenaries: Large armies of foreign mercenaries were transported to the colonies to complete the work of tyranny and death.

3. Economic Oppression & Denial of Rights
*Unjust Taxation: Taxes were imposed on the colonists without their consent.
*Loss of Trial by Jury: Colonists were routinely deprived of the right to a trial by jury.
*Trade Restrictions: Trade with the rest of the world was cut off.
*Forced Transportation: Colonists were transported overseas to stand trial for fabricated offenses.

04/24/2026

My website was running $49.95 a month and the amount of business it was creating, before I limited it, couldn't come close to justify keeping it. It will be open until May 22nd +/- a day or two.

I'm still doing Tom's 1/3 Mixes, but am selling only through Ebay and mail in orders.
If anybody has suggestions on webpages I could start that don't cost an arm and three legs I'd appreciate the suggestions.
Thanks!
(Picture from our trip to Arches National Park)

03/17/2026

I am actually over half Irish, so ....

03/15/2026

Never underestimate the power of an oil scrub.
This is a DART gun.

03/14/2026

I'll be attempting to restore a dart gun that was given to me, wish me luck.

03/14/2026

I ran into something you don't see every day.
A neighbor came over and gave me a couple pellet guns they found on a property they purchased and were cleaning up. One of them was a Benjamin similar to a 397, but It needs a cleaning to tell.
The other was this little gem - a Palmer Cap-Chur Long-Range Projector 32 ga./.50 caliber - aka a dart gun for medicating animals. I've just never seen one before.
I took the stocks off (aside from the Benjamin handguard) and did the obligatory oil scrub - both needed one desperately. The Benjamin cleaned up nicely and looks good, but the stock on the dart gun popped. Another scrub is due today so I'm holding off posting pictures of it now, but I'll keep you posted.

02/06/2026

Pine Tar - Directions for use

The Pine Tar mix is best used on clean wood. If stripping the finish isn't possible, try to get as much of whatever finish or grime that is on the r***e off with a solvent and #00 or finer buffing pad. The cleaner the wood the better the pine tar will pe*****te. DO NOT DO oil scrubs before application.

Nitrile gloves are recommended as the Pine Tar mix can get quite messy and hard to clean off your hands.

Apply a small amount of the mix to the r***e stock and rub it in. You'll notice it being absorbed into the wood as you do. Let the stock set for some time (no official amount here, but at least an hour or so) before buffing off with a terry cloth type towel or rag - t-shirts and paper towels don't do very well with this. Re-apply as needed. Typically two applications should do it.

ADVANCED DIRECTIONS - Do the above, but instead of buffing the pine tar mix off, apply low heat with a hair dryer or heat gun until you see the pine tar glisten. You're looking to warm the pine tar, not cook it in. When it begins to glisten rub the pine tar back into the stock. After this step, apply another application of pine tar and repeat with heat and rubbing about an hour later. Then buff the pine tar off with a terry cloth type towel or rag. You may or may not want to repeat all this depending on how the finish is accepted by the wood.

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