cbacres
Well-known member
In Florida this time of the year, liquid sand.
Escape FROM my dream shop
- Thread starter rmack898
- Start date
shortykorte
Well-known member
Those DIY water jets work great in our soil. Well hell, not only am I a certified Safety Supervisor but I’m also a surveyor. Sorry I wasn’t able to help. Nice sink and air set up.
I assume you have a wetlands creation permit.
I assume you have a wetlands creation permit.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
WHat are you going to do to the alligator pit to make it hold water? I am assuming a big plastic liner is out of the question.
racer-john
Well-known member
My question exactly, when I asked about soil conditions.
Thanks Willie, TRM303 and Stroudy were the ones that pushed me to find it.
Chris, Covid did indeed kick my **** although both Laura and I are much better. I spent the last bit of my retirement countdown in quarantine countdown. Both are in my rear view mirror now.
John, taking it easy is contrary to my way of life.
Mike, wait until I start pouring concrete "Mow strips" thank you very much.Looking good Mac. I sure don't miss putting in a drainage system and having to dig in the dirt for weeks on end. It's almost fun watching someone else do it though.
John it's all sand but the water tends to seek a nice level once you dig a hole for it.
I got the sink thanks to TRM303 and Stroudy.$300 for that sink setup?? SWEET!!
Jim, when you work done for many years, you always find ways to get things done without any help.
Craig, a beer fridge for the shop is very high on my list of things to do.
So one of the things that didn't survive the trip south from NJ was the X powerfeed on my Bridgeport. The handle got broken in transport and I was using a cresent wrench to use the powerfeed until the pot metal shaft finally broke inside the housing. The unit that broke was made in Taiwan and was probably 30 years old.
I went looking for a replacement and found a bunch of "direct from China" stuff for about $125.00 but the reviews on these units were less than stellar.
I opted to buy a unit from Align that is made in Taiwan. I bought it from Precision Mathews on Ebay and was quite pleased with what I got. Installation was pretty straight forward and my mill was up and running in about thirty minutes.
I went looking for a replacement and found a bunch of "direct from China" stuff for about $125.00 but the reviews on these units were less than stellar.
I opted to buy a unit from Align that is made in Taiwan. I bought it from Precision Mathews on Ebay and was quite pleased with what I got. Installation was pretty straight forward and my mill was up and running in about thirty minutes.
sportfan
Well-known member
He is right about Oklahoma. Great place to live. Super conservative state. When Obama ran against McCain, he didn't win a single county. Bass fishing is very big here and deer hunting. Cost of living is cheap compared to most places and real estate is cheaper. More laws are passed every year to keep the feds from taking control also. Very liberal gun laws and we don't even have state car inspections. Less red tape than most states.
Chrisb62
Well-known member
Great to see you with a new post, happy retirement and good to see you are "over" your covid episode .
Could not help but notice that there is a awful lot of BARE concrete on that floor, you sure you are ok?
Could not help but notice that there is a awful lot of BARE concrete on that floor, you sure you are ok?
jbmatth
Well-known member
Sportfan,
I see you are in the Ponca area also, welcome. To expand on your comment Oklahoma hasn't had a single county go to a democratic presidential nominee at least as far back as 2008, not even the Tulsa or OKC.
Good fix on the mill Mac, I keep thinking I need to get a mill, but never go out of my way to find one.
JB
Toolfool
Well-known member
RETIREMENT !!! Congratulations Mac.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
shortykorte
Well-known member
Glad you and Laura are getting back to good health.
Hurry up and get the beer frig so I have a place to put my beer when trying out the plasma table
Hurry up and get the beer frig so I have a place to put my beer when trying out the plasma table
Toolfool
Well-known member
Merry Christmas to you and Laura.
shortykorte
Well-known member
Merry Christmas.
Chrisb62
Well-known member
Merry Christmas and have a joyous and Happy New Year.
cbacres
Well-known member
Merry Christmas Mac
I can't believe its been over 5 months since I did an update of what's been going on here at the Grove but it's easy to lose track of time when so much is going on.
This might take a few posts to get current so I'll take it one event at a time start to finish instead of skipping all over the place.
Item one on the list is the pool and spa.
We interviewed several builders and finally picked a contractor in November 2020 and signed a contract in December 2020. After waiting 10 months, we arrived at the top of the build list and they started construction.
September 4, two guys show up and do the layout. The next day they dig the hole, the following day they do the rebar and plumbing. Two weeks later a crew comes in and shoots the shot crete.
October 6, two guys show up and start the tile work. They did most of it in one day and then came back two weeks later to finish it. Sometime in November they came and installed the pump, filter and heater.
December 5 the paving guys showed up to install the paver deck. Four young guys from Costa Rico did an amazing job and were fun to watch. OSHA would have had a field day with them but I think they had some kind of approval letter from Shorty.
Next up was the pool enclosure. One guy about 70 years old did the entire thing working solo in 5 days.
The second week in January came and we had been looking at a concrete hole in the ground partially filled with rain water and dead frogs for over 2 months and the contractor called and wanted the final draw payment on the project and we had some words on Friday. Monday morning the owner of the company called me and we had some more words. I gave them til the end of January to finish before I gave them another dime. They finished last week and we are finally calling the pool project done. I have 10 more days of cure time on the plaster finish before I can fire up the heater on the spa and enjoy the one part of this project that I can enjoy all year long.
This might take a few posts to get current so I'll take it one event at a time start to finish instead of skipping all over the place.
Item one on the list is the pool and spa.
We interviewed several builders and finally picked a contractor in November 2020 and signed a contract in December 2020. After waiting 10 months, we arrived at the top of the build list and they started construction.
September 4, two guys show up and do the layout. The next day they dig the hole, the following day they do the rebar and plumbing. Two weeks later a crew comes in and shoots the shot crete.
October 6, two guys show up and start the tile work. They did most of it in one day and then came back two weeks later to finish it. Sometime in November they came and installed the pump, filter and heater.
December 5 the paving guys showed up to install the paver deck. Four young guys from Costa Rico did an amazing job and were fun to watch. OSHA would have had a field day with them but I think they had some kind of approval letter from Shorty.
Next up was the pool enclosure. One guy about 70 years old did the entire thing working solo in 5 days.
The second week in January came and we had been looking at a concrete hole in the ground partially filled with rain water and dead frogs for over 2 months and the contractor called and wanted the final draw payment on the project and we had some words on Friday. Monday morning the owner of the company called me and we had some more words. I gave them til the end of January to finish before I gave them another dime. They finished last week and we are finally calling the pool project done. I have 10 more days of cure time on the plaster finish before I can fire up the heater on the spa and enjoy the one part of this project that I can enjoy all year long.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
I have a strong feeling that if you had paid the contractor you would have never seem them again.
Pool looks great.
Pool looks great.
harley jim
Well-known member
Good call Mac, glad you got one off the list
Back in October, the trailer hitch I made for my skid steer several years ago started to show symptoms of imminent failure. It may very well have been showing signs of failure a year or two earlier but I really didn't pay attention to them until this past October. I built it 2 skid steers ago and abused it for many years so I figured I would give it a little bit of attention before it failed with catastrophic results.
I looked at my materials pile and came up with some 4" square tube and some 3/4" plate. I cut it all up and glued it all together and I think I added many more years of abusive life to my hitch.
I looked at my materials pile and came up with some 4" square tube and some 3/4" plate. I cut it all up and glued it all together and I think I added many more years of abusive life to my hitch.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
Trailer hitch or battering ram?
cbacres
Well-known member
Mac, we’re all breathing a collective sigh of relief that they finally stepped up and did their job. Now we know our beer budget is safe from having to come bail you out in the event you needed to make the contractor see the light!
Came out good, looks great.
Nice beads on your battening ram.
Came out good, looks great.
Nice beads on your battening ram.
Toolfool
Well-known member
The hell with bail, we have a skid steer !!
The next thing on the list is kind of a compounding event. In order to accomplish the project at hand, a different project had to be completed first. The different project would most likely still be on the back burner if the first project had not come up in the first place, kind of like the chicken/egg thing.
The well head here at the Grove is right next to the driveway. As soon as the well was done I poured a concrete curb around it for protection. I had the right idea, I just didn't make it high enough. One day Laura ran over the curb with her car and took out the well head, it was not a good day. The only good thing is that we were able to get the well repaired the same day. I knew I needed to improve the well head protection so I put it on the list of things to do.
Six months later our friend Randy was leaving our house after an evening of good food and drink and managed to take out the well head again as improved well protection had not made it to the top of my to do list yet. It took 3 days to get the well fixed this time.
The day after the well gets fixed, I get a text from my friend Bernnie that has pictures of a playground that he has been contracted to demolish and he wants my help with the job. The playground has one element that has a square plastic roof that looks perfect for covering my well head. The next day we demo the playground I come home with a trailer load of 5" steel pipe and a plastic roof for the well.
I have an idea of how I want to do this and it requires a post hole digger.
The well head here at the Grove is right next to the driveway. As soon as the well was done I poured a concrete curb around it for protection. I had the right idea, I just didn't make it high enough. One day Laura ran over the curb with her car and took out the well head, it was not a good day. The only good thing is that we were able to get the well repaired the same day. I knew I needed to improve the well head protection so I put it on the list of things to do.
Six months later our friend Randy was leaving our house after an evening of good food and drink and managed to take out the well head again as improved well protection had not made it to the top of my to do list yet. It took 3 days to get the well fixed this time.
The day after the well gets fixed, I get a text from my friend Bernnie that has pictures of a playground that he has been contracted to demolish and he wants my help with the job. The playground has one element that has a square plastic roof that looks perfect for covering my well head. The next day we demo the playground I come home with a trailer load of 5" steel pipe and a plastic roof for the well.
I have an idea of how I want to do this and it requires a post hole digger.
Toolfool
Well-known member
Make it removable.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mac, I was wondering what happened to you. Glad to see things happening at the grove. The pool and enclosure look great. 
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
With a quick change battering ram!
I always knew I would need a post hole digger as I will be eventually be doing a lot of fencing here at the grove and there is no way my back will tolerate a manual digger.
I have been collecting useful parts and materials all my life so I dug though my stash and came up with ingredients for a hydraulic PHD.
A motor, a John Deere 2:1 gearbox, an ice auger, some hoses, a bearing holder and some steel. The design was dictated by the materials I had on hand. I did no calculations on flow or HP and just went with a kind of "run what you brung" build.
The bearing holder and motor were an almost perfect match but in order to use the gearbox with the bearing/motor combo I needed to make a 1" male X 1" female shaft coupling with a 1/4" keyway on both sides. I turned and bored the adapter. I cut the keyway on the make side of the adapter in the mill. I couldn't use a broach to cut the keyway in the female side as it was a blind hole so I did it in the lathe. I ground a 1/4" tool for a straight cut with a good bit of relief and put in a boring bar. I centered it up on the bore and locked the spindle and used the carriage to feed the cutter and the cross feed to advance the depth. I took .010" per pass and had it done in no time.
The only thing I had to buy was a LoveJoy coupling to connect the motor to the drive shaft coming out of the bearing holder. I welded up some steel pieces to hold everything together and made a pivot mount for it to fit into the trailer hitch on the skid steer.
It works better than I had imagined but I don't think it would work very well other than here at the Grove were the soil is mostly sand and clay.
Now that the PHD was done and off the someday project list, I could move on to the well house that motivated me to do the PHD .
I have been collecting useful parts and materials all my life so I dug though my stash and came up with ingredients for a hydraulic PHD.
A motor, a John Deere 2:1 gearbox, an ice auger, some hoses, a bearing holder and some steel. The design was dictated by the materials I had on hand. I did no calculations on flow or HP and just went with a kind of "run what you brung" build.
The bearing holder and motor were an almost perfect match but in order to use the gearbox with the bearing/motor combo I needed to make a 1" male X 1" female shaft coupling with a 1/4" keyway on both sides. I turned and bored the adapter. I cut the keyway on the make side of the adapter in the mill. I couldn't use a broach to cut the keyway in the female side as it was a blind hole so I did it in the lathe. I ground a 1/4" tool for a straight cut with a good bit of relief and put in a boring bar. I centered it up on the bore and locked the spindle and used the carriage to feed the cutter and the cross feed to advance the depth. I took .010" per pass and had it done in no time.
The only thing I had to buy was a LoveJoy coupling to connect the motor to the drive shaft coming out of the bearing holder. I welded up some steel pieces to hold everything together and made a pivot mount for it to fit into the trailer hitch on the skid steer.
It works better than I had imagined but I don't think it would work very well other than here at the Grove were the soil is mostly sand and clay.
Now that the PHD was done and off the someday project list, I could move on to the well house that motivated me to do the PHD .
Jayman17
Well-known member
Nice to see an update by you Mack, that pool area looks very nice!
Jay
Jay
Chrisb62
Well-known member
I really dig your post hole digger.
Duker
Well-known member
Dang Mack, you have been busy! The pool looks great! My wife thinks I am more of a pond (i.e. Bill Murray Caddyshack) kind of guy!
cbacres
Well-known member
Hard set the legs/post and make roof removable.The next thing on the list is kind of a compounding event. In order to accomplish the project at hand, a different project had to be completed first. The different project would most likely still be on the back burner if the first project had not come up in the first place, kind of like the chicken/egg thing.
The well head here at the Grove is right next to the driveway. As soon as the well was done I poured a concrete curb around it for protection. I had the right idea, I just didn't make it high enough. One day Laura ran over the curb with her car and took out the well head, it was not a good day. The only good thing is that we were able to get the well repaired the same day. I knew I needed to improve the well head protection so I put it on the list of things to do.
Six months later our friend Randy was leaving our house after an evening of good food and drink and managed to take out the well head again as improved well protection had not made it to the top of my to do list yet. It took 3 days to get the well fixed this time.
The day after the well gets fixed, I get a text from my friend Bernnie that has pictures of a playground that he has been contracted to demolish and he wants my help with the job. The playground has one element that has a square plastic roof that looks perfect for covering my well head. The next day we demo the playground I come home with a trailer load of 5" steel pipe and a plastic roof for the well.
I have an idea of how I want to do this and it requires a post hole digger.
Hell, make an attachment on the legs to hoist drop pipe and pump when you need to.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
Nice work on the PHD. Wanna bring it up to my new place and help me fence in 6 acres?
I have actually been thinking about buying none for my tractor.
I have actually been thinking about buying none for my tractor.
Thanks John, it's easy to see you have been spending way too much time with Shorty and he's rubbing off on you
Craig, the stuff I'm posting is past tense. You can make fun of me for not thinking ahead when I'm done.
Thanks Dan, it's been a busy few monthsMac, I was wondering what happened to you. Glad to see things happening at the grove. The pool and enclosure look great.
Willie, I call it flexibility
Thanks Jay, the pool took more effort on my part than I thought it would.
NotedI really dig your post hole digger.
Duke, whenever you make it out this way understand that we have both a pond AND a pool. The pond would be good for you
Stay tuned Craig as I recap what has been done.
ddawg16
Well-known member
Late to the game...but dammmmmm.....Divorce ***** (been there)....but in the end fighters are better off
Great read....impressive stuff....and NICE welding
Great read....impressive stuff....and NICE welding