Sorry For My Recent Absense

[Tony]

I'm sure you all have noticed that I have not been on the site much here lately. Trust me it's not by choice.

At work we are so slow we are just sitting around drinking coffee. And it's driving me crazy. At this time I am looking for another job that will keep me busy. But I can't complain, I have a job, I'm hourly so I still get paid which is why I'm not on that big of a hurry to find a new job. Instead I'm focusing more on the stuff I have to do around the house.

As you know I have this little garden that I showed in a video. Keeping up with that thing is getting a little easier, but this weather is killing me. We have had about 15" of rain in the last two weeks and it's keeping me from planting anymore in the garden. And I have a lot more to plant.

Also as you saw I burnt all of the brush that has been around for the better part of two decades. That has freed up a lot of space in my yard. And now that that's done, it's time to turn to other projects.

The first project is the little green monster. I got it running a few weeks back and that got me to where I wanted to finish it. Well this requires welding and I didn't have a welder. So I went out and purchased a new lincoln welder so that I could finish the mower. Got the welder and started on the mower.

I knew the frame was cracked above the from axle so the first thing I did was pull the front axle off to weld the frame. When I got it off, I saw that the cage for the axle was broke as well. This piece is welded on so out comes the 4 1/2" angle grinder and I cut the cage off. I start welding on it and after fixing 17 cracks, it's back in 1 piece.

I finished welding the frame and dressed t J e welds then tossed on a couple coats of pain and you can't even tell the frame was cracked. Got the front axle back under it and sat her on the ground. Not near as much play as there was.

Turned around and sold the little green monster to my neighbor which in turn paid for the welder. w00t!

That took me the better part of Saturday and I was worn out. Not to mention it rained all day that day.

Now it was time to start on another project that I have needed to do for about 5 years. And that is to complete my 16' trailer. I purchased this trailer quite a while back and had to put a new deck on it. Well that deck rotted since I didn't seal it. Also it didn't have any fenders on it. 3 or so years ago I purchased a set of steel diamond plate fenders for it but didn't have a welder. I do now

The first thing to do was rip the old deck off of it. That was Short work with the impact. Broke about 75% of the bolts in the process. Nothing my 4 1/2" angle grinder with a cutoff wheel won't solve. Next, place the fenders on the trailer to see if they line up. And they didn't. They were too far forward by 1 3/8". So I had to cut a notch out of the rear of them so they can slide back. Well, I guess I was out of cutoff wheels so I had to make a trip to town and get some. I was going to use my small die grinder but I couldn't find the arbor for that one, so I needed one of those as well.

When I got there I was going to get a bead breaker to take tires off a rim but I also needed a welding cart so I could get the welder off the ground. I ended up getting the welding cart since it was mothers day and there was a 25% off coupon. I figure I will use my 20% coupon on the bead breaker when I get ready to do the tires which is still a ways off.

So I got my cutoff wheels and the arbor as well as the cart and I headed back to the house. I got there and measured the slot I have to cure out, marked it and cut it out. Simple. So I grab the c clamps and get the fenders into position, clean the weld areas and start laying weld.

I get the first one welded on and go to the second one. I am about 75% done with the second one when the welder just stops. WTF! I raise the lid and there is no wire left. Between the mower and the trailer I used up a pound of wire. So I'm stuck.

By this time it's late and I really need a shower so I called it a night.

I still have to put a new hitch on the trailer and a new jack since I hate the one that is on it. I also have to get new decking and stain and seal it. That's right, I'm going to stain the deck on the trailer lol. I also want to fab up some ramp holders for under the trailer as well as move the lights. Once all the fab work is done I'm going to paint the trailer to match my truck. Once I'm done it should look pretty good.

I know this is a long thread but I feel that you all should know what is keeping me from the site. I promise, I'm doing all of this to try and make time to get on here more. I miss sitting on here helping out all day!

Oh, and speaking of all of the rain that we had, it flooded my garage and got the backdrop wet. This is the logo you see in the background. Talk about pissed off! So I'm hoping it will dry with no damage.

I just ordered a 10lb spool of wire so hopefully that will last a little while. Now I'm looking for an argon bottle. Sure need one!

Anyway that is some of what I have been doing. Hope you all understand.

 

[trainrider06]

Hell I know how it goes, I've been BMW wrenching for most of my vacation I was on last week.....still didn't fix the car, so now have to take it somewhere.... Also had to rent a dang car all week so the wife could get to work....I'd really like to put a hammer through the windshield of that car!
it's good that your getting things accomplished around the homestead!

 

[D.O.G.]

I'm sure you all have noticed that I have not been on the site much here lately. Trust me it's not by choice.

At work we are so slow we are just sitting around drinking coffee. And it's driving me crazy. At this time I am looking for another job that will keep me busy. But I can't complain, I have a job, I'm hourly so I still get paid which is why I'm not on that big of a hurry to find a new job. Instead I'm focusing more on the stuff I have to do around the house.

As you know I have this little garden that I showed in a video. Keeping up with that thing is getting a little easier, but this weather is killing me. We have had about 15" of rain in the last two weeks and it's keeping me from planting anymore in the garden. And I have a lot more to plant.

Also as you saw I burnt all of the brush that has been around for the better part of two decades. That has freed up a lot of space in my yard. And now that that's done, it's time to turn to other projects.

The first project is the little green monster. I got it running a few weeks back and that got me to where I wanted to finish it. Well this requires welding and I didn't have a welder. So I went out and purchased a new lincoln welder so that I could finish the mower. Got the welder and started on the mower.

I knew the frame was cracked above the from axle so the first thing I did was pull the front axle off to weld the frame. When I got it off, I saw that the cage for the axle was broke as well. This piece is welded on so out comes the 4 1/2" angle grinder and I cut the cage off. I start welding on it and after fixing 17 cracks, it's back in 1 piece.

I finished welding the frame and dressed t J e welds then tossed on a couple coats of pain and you can't even tell the frame was cracked. Got the front axle back under it and sat her on the ground. Not near as much play as there was.

Turned around and sold the little green monster to my neighbor which in turn paid for the welder. w00t!

That took me the better part of Saturday and I was worn out. Not to mention it rained all day that day.

Now it was time to start on another project that I have needed to do for about 5 years. And that is to complete my 16' trailer. I purchased this trailer quite a while back and had to put a new deck on it. Well that deck rotted since I didn't seal it. Also it didn't have any fenders on it. 3 or so years ago I purchased a set of steel diamond plate fenders for it but didn't have a welder. I do now

The first thing to do was rip the old deck off of it. That was Short work with the impact. Broke about 75% of the bolts in the process. Nothing my 4 1/2" angle grinder with a cutoff wheel won't solve. Next, place the fenders on the trailer to see if they line up. And they didn't. They were too far forward by 1 3/8". So I had to cut a notch out of the rear of them so they can slide back. Well, I guess I was out of cutoff wheels so I had to make a trip to town and get some. I was going to use my small die grinder but I couldn't find the arbor for that one, so I needed one of those as well.

When I got there I was going to get a bead breaker to take tires off a rim but I also needed a welding cart so I could get the welder off the ground. I ended up getting the welding cart since it was mothers day and there was a 25% off coupon. I figure I will use my 20% coupon on the bead breaker when I get ready to do the tires which is still a ways off.

So I got my cutoff wheels and the arbor as well as the cart and I headed back to the house. I got there and measured the slot I have to cure out, marked it and cut it out. Simple. So I grab the c clamps and get the fenders into position, clean the weld areas and start laying weld.

I get the first one welded on and go to the second one. I am about 75% done with the second one when the welder just stops. WTF! I raise the lid and there is no wire left. Between the mower and the trailer I used up a pound of wire. So I'm stuck.

By this time it's late and I really need a shower so I called it a night.

I still have to put a new hitch on the trailer and a new jack since I hate the one that is on it. I also have to get new decking and stain and seal it. That's right, I'm going to stain the deck on the trailer lol. I also want to fab up some ramp holders for under the trailer as well as move the lights. Once all the fab work is done I'm going to paint the trailer to match my truck. Once I'm done it should look pretty good.

I know this is a long thread but I feel that you all should know what is keeping me from the site. I promise, I'm doing all of this to try and make time to get on here more. I miss sitting on here helping out all day!

Oh, and speaking of all of the rain that we had, it flooded my garage and got the backdrop wet. This is the logo you see in the background. Talk about pissed off! So I'm hoping it will dry with no damage.

I just ordered a 10lb spool of wire so hopefully that will last a little while. Now I'm looking for an argon bottle. Sure need one!

Anyway that is some of what I have been doing. Hope you all understand.

Hey Tony. Glad that you are getting the wife car fixed. Look at it this way, by doing the work yourself you can save some money that way. Good luck!

 

[Tony]

Well things took another turn for the worse. I got off work yesterday and headed to harbor freight to get a new tire gauge, a tire bead breaker and a 4 gallon sprayer for the garden. Picked those up here in the city and headed home.

Once I got home I took the gauge and the bead breaker out of my truck and headed to the garage. Unlocked the door and flipped on the light switches. Nothing. No lights.... I set everything down and head back to the door. I hear what I can best describe as a waterfall sound. I look and there is a river coming out of the wellhouse and into a gopher hole. Well kiss my ass, I run over there and unlock the wellhouse and find the garden hose split spraying water everywhere. All over the electrical box and we'll switch.

This is not what I needed right now. I'm right in the middle of trying to get my trailer fixed and clean out the garage but now there is no power out there.

From my estimate it's going to cost somewhere around $800 if I do everything myself. If I bring out an electrician we are looking at about $2500. So if anyone ever wants to know why I never have money set back, it's because stuff like this keeps happening. And when you think nothing else is going to happen, boom!

So now I get to dig a 75 foot trench and run new wire to my garage, install a new circuit panel and wire up the wellhouse, shed, and garage again. This is going to take somewhere around a month to complete. No rest for the wicked...

 

[Tony]

So I'm sitting here eating a little dinner before jumping into the shower and thought I would actually post some GOOD NEWS!!!

As you all know, we have gotten a crapton of rain here lately and the last thing we need is more rain. We have had so much rain so frequently that we have not been able to mow the yard. And guess what is coming tomorrow? Yup, more friggin rain. So today was 70ºF with a slight breeze (about 10mph) and some cloud cover. Absolutely perfect to fire up the big green monster (AKA the new tractor) and mow the yard and the field.

So when I got home, I came inside and grabbed the keys to the tractor adn the garage and headed out. Opened the garage, fingers crossed and beating on teh wood with a sledge hammer, flipped the light switches on and..... still no power

Thankfully, I don't have an automatic garage door opener (could still get it open, but you know lol) so I unlocked the garage door, fired up the tractor, took the tiller off the back and we are mowing. Got about 2 acres mowed in about 45 minutes. Man do I love this tractor. I did have to stop and spend a little time with the wife before she headed off to work, but then I headed back out and grabbed my new Stihl weedeater and finished most of what I mowed.

Feeling pretty accomplished, yet my back was killing me because of that weedeater lol. So I put the weedeater in the bucket of the tractor (no, I don't take it off to mow. I should, but I don't) and I part it in the garage. I lock the big door, then I walk through teh dark and lock up the side door. I go to lock up the well house that I left unlocked, look into it, and it's buggin' me...

The breakers over at the main power box about 50' away or so are not tripped. So why in the hell does the garage and shed not have power?...

I go back into the garage and find my volt meter. I know, I should have done this yesterday... I turn it over from DC to AC and I stick it on the two wires that are coming out of the ground. Boom, 240 volts AC! I have no idea why they are 240, but they are. So I'm going with it. I was expecting 110. And no, don't start saying "oh you can run 220 now!!!". No I can't. This is maybe 12/2 wire, possibly 10/2 wire. Not rated for something like a buzz or crackerjack box to stick weld with. Again, I would have to run new wire to handle the amp draw.

But dammit, there is still power in there so why in the hell is it not getting to the shed and garage?! Then I see the box where the heater (it is a well house lol) is plugged in. I tested the wire block just before it adn boom, 220vAC. But no power coming out of it I assume.

So this weekend I'm going to find the one breaker (and mark the damn thing lol) that kills the well, shed and garage and we are going to be doing some wiring!! I think I will have electricity this weekend! Man, I sure hope so!

But first, I have to get through this week which is quite possibly going to kill me! This sitting around doing nothing thing is killing me. I hate just sitting still!

 

[Tony]

Well, I think it's time to kick this thread back up to the top. Once again, I'm not able to get on here as much as I would like, and it shows. I do apologize. I have resigned from my former job where there was no work, and instead, I'm not at a job that is pretty much KILLING ME! In the fuel hauling world, there is no slowing down. There is always an "emergency load" that MUST be hauled. Twice this week I worked over 13 hours. And with an hour drive to work then back home, plus eating, spending time with the family, shower and so on, there is just no time to pick up the computer. I have replied to some threads here and there, and I think that caused some confusion.

I have a feeling it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Next week, I think I have to train with another driver on an OTR position which is going to keep me from my house for a week. During this time, I doubt I will be able to get on here much at all if any. I don't know how long this will last, but it's what I have to do right now. I hope there are others on here that can help out with the questions which are asked. I know there are many members helping out right now, and I thank you all greatly for that. I hope you all can keep it up in my absence.

Things will get better, I just don't know when. Here's hoping soon.

 

[trainrider06]

The bad thing about OTR driving is the long days away from home....the good, it's good money!
Hate to hear this Tony, but I'll try to help people and I know everyone else will too! It's a good site and a lot of good people!