Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT A trip back from the edge.

[xtremek]

Hanging mothball bricks keep the mice out of my parts truck....

Duly noted. If she'd gotten her **** out to the house and given me some real time, she would have been driving it and it wouldn't have been an issue. But that reminds me, I should throw some in the S'crew

 

[xtremek]

Here’s another update from work done over the break. Here’s a picture of the current state of “Der Duck Haus”. And you say, “But Kirk, it looks like it’s made out of new material. What about conserving resources?” Well, the lumber was from a project that the late FiL was going to do but never got around to. It had sat under cheap tarps for about 5 years and we lost about 35% of it to rot. And I can say I hate using warped wood, but when the price is right, you run with it. Here’s an example of my “correction” for a warped truss. So far, we’ve had to buy the roof decking, half of the wall 2x4’s, both man doors, 3 of the 5 windows, and the roofing. We still have 4 sheets of the T-111 and about 10 sheets of pressure treated ½” plywood. My thinking is that we’ll use the pressure treated plywood for the inside walls in the duck portion so it’ll hold up to the ducks.

Another job that was tackled was the start of the ceiling tin in the barn. I need to get this done so I can run my vent stack through and get the roof flashing done properly.

Last, but not least, I continued my battle against the driveway. I have to say I’m very proud of the trailer. This was my first attempt at building something this heavy duty and it was made with a cheap 110v MIG welder. I don’t have the axle positioned right (too tongue heavy), but I’ll fix that hopefully next year. So far this summer, it’s carried roughly 10 yards of sand (dug from the pond 15 yrs ago) for the garden, and at least 24 yards of crushed concrete for the driveway, all in 1+ yard loads. Slowly, but surely, I’m bringing the driveway up to grade so that my ditches will be fully engaged.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I looks like your "crushed concrete" has a lot of "fines" (stone dust) in it which is perfect for a driveway. I always thought crushed concrete was pretty course (3"-5") with very little small stuff, or do they "grade" it ?

 

[xtremek]

Hey tOW1, you can get it both ways. My local concrete company (Miller Concrete) USUALLY has both. They run out of the coarser stuff pretty fast from what I understand. I dug out the old road gravel, then put down a layer of the 3"-5" as a base. I'm topping it with the fine stuff. If you're in the area, I highly recommend the Miller's, b ut I see you're over on the east side of the state.

 

[Grumblebum]

Hey you haven't secretly build that duck haus to be a little wood workshop later now have you ? It looks too good for ducks now.

Love the corrugated iron on the ceiling that looks trumps.

Cheers GB

 

[dlcwent]

Thanks for the update X. You are a man of your word. I'm thinking along the same lines as GB. A little extravagant for a duck house.

 

[xtremek]

GB, Dan, no way am I building a wood shop!!!! Building this has taught me I'm not good with wood. The ducks (and the rabbit) get the east (left in the picture) third, the big lawn and garden get the middle section, and the queen of the Princess Palace gets the west end as a potting shed.

 

[sublime68charger]

Xtremek,
Stuff is looking good!

 

[xtremek]

Thx SB69C. For this, I think it falls under the heading of "crude but effective".

 

[1/2 Cup]

xtremek your driveway and Der Duck Haus are coming along nicely.

Using crushed concrete is a great example of recycling and idea for you job.

Regards

 

[xtremek]

xtremek your driveway and Der Duck Haus are coming along nicely.

Using crushed concrete is a great example of recycling and idea for you job.

Regards

Thank you 1/2C.

I'd rather have used asphalt millings as they have zero dust, but they're more expensive and the crushed concrete is really close. On top of that, I got to meet some of my neighbors (the Millers live right around the corner from us).

 

[matt_i]

I grabbed a hacksaw, pliers, ½” OD nylon spacers, M8 bolts and lock nuts, and 2 quarter inch washers (larger OD than the M8 washers). Fifteen minutes cutting a spacer down and bolting it all together, I had channeled my inner McGuyver

I think its time for a lathe

 

[Vieux]

I like this trailer!

 

[dlcwent]

I'm looking forward to the next installment of "The McGuyver Files." Now for the million dollar question........what do you have for a pocket knife?

 

[quietsailor]

My dad found this contraption that you hook to the lift arms of the 3 point hitch, but when I hit a small bump, you see the damage.

That's called a 9-hole bar over here in Ireland. They were common with the tractors from the 30's-60's, think ford Major, fordson dexta, MF 35 style where they had no pickup hitch fitted, only the 3-point linkage.

 

[quietsailor]

I don’t have the axle positioned right (too tongue heavy), but I’ll fix that hopefully next year.

I don't know if this is of any use to you but I've seen trailers like that where the drawbar is extended back to, and welded onto, a hinge point on the nearly middle point of the body.
The body of the trailer is then attached onto the axle solidly and a locking pin holds the front of the trailer body down to the drawbar while moving.

Once you stop you can pull the pin and the rear of the trailer tips to make it easier to scrape out the trailer - it means you don't need a hydraulics setup to tip the trailer

here's a link to a picture of what I'm talking about.

 

[quietsailor]

xtremek - I'm very sorry for the first reply above, I don't know why it's so huge and dragging the shape of the thread sideways - do you want me to delete the photo out of it?

 

[madoc1]

sailor, it shows very well here. good example. i think ex was talking about the gizmo that keps the draw bar from rotating so you can add a ball and maneuver it under the hitch. they sell them at tractor supply over here.

jim

 

[xtremek]

Hey guys, thanks for dropping by. It's been incredibly hectic around here. Work has been non stop hectic. And stuff at home has been just as crazy. I'm going with this for an excuse for not visiting my own thread and keeping it updated.

I like this trailer!

Coming from you, Vieux, that is high praise!

Dan,

I'm looking forward to the next installment of "The McGuyver Files." Now for the million dollar question........what do you have for a pocket knife?

I don't usually carry a knife, I have leathermen stashed in most of my vehicles. Speaking of which, I need to get my girls ones for their vehicles. Thanks for the thought.

xtremek - I'm very sorry for the first reply above, I don't know why it's so huge and dragging the shape of the thread sideways - do you want me to delete the photo out of it?

QS, all suggestions are greatly appreciated. I may not use them now, but you never know when you made need that inspiration.

sailor, it shows very well here. good example. i think ex was talking about the gizmo that keps the draw bar from rotating so you can add a ball and maneuver it under the hitch. they sell them at tractor supply over here.

jim

I didn't know that TSC sold them. Now I feel a little stupid, but then I didn't spend any money this, so I don't feel to bad.

The only reason I'm able to get to my thread is that we're on vacation in Petoskey and it's been raining and gray all weekend. I'm going to try to do a real update later tonight when I get home.

 

[xtremek]

It’s been a hectic summer, and a lot’s been happening. Instead of trying to bring everything up to date in one shot, I figured I’d start with current events and throw in some of the “history’ in when I can. So this past weekend my daughter brought her truck out for the latest round of repairs from her winter accident. We went with the cheaper, more labor intensive route. So I spent the weekend taking a 8”x 6’ piece of channel steel and altering it. The next step is to carve the truck’s name in it and then backlight it in green. The things we do for our kids (ok, I admit it was a ton of fun). One lesson learned from the building of the Duck Haus, never trust anyone else’s work to be straight. On the North wall (on all walls really) we used the foundation to make sure the walls were straight on the bottom and then pulled them to a string at the top. The corners are plumb and when we went to put the entry door into the duck portion, the door ended up being way off from vert.

 

[madoc1]

nice work on the bumper!

jim

 

[1/2 Cup]

xtremek As above

Looking forward to following your updates.

Regards

 

[xtremek]

I know I’m way behind on updates, but I had to share this one. A neighbor wanted to clear his ditch and a few rocks in it. We used the Old Mule to drag them out and I can’t resist the urge to thumb my nose at all the folks who say you should go out and buy some fancy, big money, 4wd diesel tractor. Shows what you can do with a cheap, beat up, old tractor. The Old Mule rocked. literally

I will get caught up on the updates soon, I hope. My apologies.

 

[dlcwent]

Great to see an update x. We are still following this thread. And I agree, the old mule rocks.

 

[jon72vega]

xtremek,
Glad you're back posting & you didn't fall off the edge of the earth. LOL

 

[HCNDM]

Glad you are back!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1/2 Cup]

xtremek the old mule has done well..

 

[xtremek]

Guys, thanks for dropping by. This summer has been the most hectic of my life. Anyway thanks for being there.

 

[xtremek]

Here’s a quick update. As a body man I’m slow, but I do alright. As a painter, I ****. I have a few curtains, not enough to open a shop, but enough for an ebay site. If you look in the white area, you can see one. I plead lack of light and my first time using an HVLP gun. Using the directions, the clear came out like paste. But hey, the truck’s all one color now. Throw it together and then the fun returns.

 

[fergus]

Nice man! Seems like painting should be easier right? My first attempts at using a gun showed me I wanted to practice A LOT before I would be happy with the results. That's how it goes when you learn something new I guess.

 

[1/2 Cup]

xtremek, , at least you have had a crack at things, look on the positive side of things and you learn with every step..

Thank you for sharing.

Regards

 

[xtremek]

So I’ve been grinding it out all summer. Just working hard. I finally started a fun project. Take one used/free garden tractor without headlights, a pair of scrounged DRL’s, a grinder, and a trip to Horror Freight, and you get a rookie having fun.

Thanks Steve, life is about learning.

 

[1/2 Cup]

xtremek, looking forward to seeing what comes out of the wheel, nice scores all round..

 

[sublime68charger]

nice work!

good work for the mule pulling those rocks!

 

[xtremek]

Things are easing up a just a little at work, not so much at home. This week end was about putting the big Duck Haus doors together and working on my daughter’s truck. Replace the washer bottle, repair the squirter wiring, fix the ground for the right rear tail light, and finish carving out the truck’s name (Sam) in the rear bumper with the blue flame wrench. Still working on making the name look smooth. Enjoy your Halloween folks.

 

[jon72vega]

Things are easing up a just a little at work, not so much at home. This week end was about putting the big Duck Haus doors together and working on my daughter’s truck. Replace the washer bottle, repair the squirter wiring, fix the ground for the right rear tail light, and finish carving out the truck’s name (Sam) in the rear bumper with the blue flame wrench. Still working on making the name look smooth. Enjoy your Halloween folks.

xtremek,
That bumper is cool!

 

[fergus]

Nice! I got all stoked when I saw the english wheel. Have fun dude! Well, only after you do all your chores

 

[1/2 Cup]

xtremek great work all round IMHO.

The door looks a treat..

Regards

 

[xtremek]

xtremek,
That bumper is cool!

Thanks Jon. The joke between my daughter and I is that it's on step 3 of 28. I still have some welding and a lot more shaping to get the letters smooth. Then the fun really starts. It involves colored plexi and LEDS.

Nice! I got all stoked when I saw the english wheel. Have fun dude! Well, only after you do all your chores

I just got the Ron Covell DVD on English Wheels. Really looking forward to using late this winter.

xtremek great work all round IMHO.

The door looks a treat..

Regards

Thx 1/2, that's highly coveted praise from you. The proportions are off around the windows, but I'm more worried about the hanging weight being evenly distributed on the hinges. Either way, it's too late to turn back now.

 

[dlcwent]

Well Kirk now I know who I can borrow an English wheel from. I shouldn't need it for more than a year or two.

Glad you're having aa little more free time. (I say sarcastically) We all know about "free" time. Have a good one.