Snow. It blows !!! I spent 7hrs moving it around yesterday
That's the mother-in-law seat.
Good grief now that I see it I can't unsee it .... Yes I think so. I now have another project !!
That is exactly what it is for and why it's there !! That's been my shop chair for over a decade ever since my Mom got a new chair in their living room to replace this beaut they purchased new circa 1979ish. Younger me also went almost 50mph on that thing with it on a car hood being drug behind a grain truck in a soybean field back before I knew how badly a broken femur hurts
My mother-in-law couldn't get up there alone but that'd be a great place to stick her
. I figured I'd leave the cardboard mockups there for a while to see if I still liked the look of the kilt while I ground out spots to put D-rings 
I hope it never sees a snowflake to be honest. I don't see using it when there is salt/**** on the roads. More of a heavy haul rig to use in the warmer months. I intend to trim the angle iron that hangs down once the kilt is installed. The pieces will be bolted on with button heads so they can be removed for servicing or whatever else may be needed. Or if I decide I don't like them anymore .... They're growing on me but I'm still not 100% convinced lol.
Snow. It blows !!! I spent 7hrs moving it around yesterday
Today though I did some crappy welding on Walter !!
I MIG/TIG'ed some round bar into the gaps to use less wire. I've done this before with great success filling gaps. It's just laying in there right now but I laid it into the puddle as I went.
Looks like this when done. Not perfect but a nice thick coat of bed liner will do wonders
One day I'll figure this welding thing out ..... That day wasn't today but it'll hold !!
It's like cutting grass .... I hate it and enjoy it at the same time. Complete waste of time but they're both activities where I can sort of put my mind into autopilot and think about other stuff so it isn't all bad.Yep, I feel ya on the snow removal. Get's tiring after a while when there are other things you'd rather be doing.
As for the bed, it is progressing very nicely. Looks like you have quite the helper.
Once everything is painted the correct colors it should look even better !!
You need a better snowblower. And to learn to enjoy the spray of snow, and the conversion of a white flat obstruction, into nifty bumpy piles.I actually love mowing my lawn. I love the squared off corners and lush appearance afterwards so it makes me feel like I'm doing something beneficial and getting good results. I also do some of my best thinking while mowing the lawn as like you, I am in my own little world and just follow the edges. This allows my mind to reflect on things that I've been contemplating.
As for snow removal, my mind is focused on that white **** in front of me that even when cleared from the concrete still looks like **** piled up on my lawn.
The other reason I prefer mowing the lawn is that I have it scheduled on which days I mow so I can plan my shop work accordingly and it's only a couple times a week still allowing me plenty of shop time. Snow isn't that considerate and it dictates when it gets shoveled/blown and many nights I never even get to step foot in the shop as snow removal takes so long.
They make flush mounted deck handles. Here's an example, but you could make your own out of some scraps and a D ring.Although the jig saw was really putting out for what it was it was time to try something else. I don't have Milwaukee saw money so I thought I'd give the Evolution saw a chance and boy oh boy it doesn't disappoint. Other than having WAY fewer chips flying around I couldn't be happier. Gotta wear a face shield, ear protection and welding gloves to keep the forbidden purple corn flakes from making little pockets all over anything soft and squishy ..... Like me .....
I got the gooseneck ball cover cut out with it. Gonna need to sit in the thinking chair to figure out a decent way of getting this boat anchor out of the hole without carrying a pry bar. Maybe that's the answer ..... Don't know yet.
The previous owner had some sort of gas can securement device here and I have no need for it. Some unpainted for now unistrut and a well placed hinge and it's a perfect cover holder !!
Just a heads up on those, they'll rust to hell inside of a year. Don't ask how I knowA baggie of 50 1/2-13x1" button heads in black oxide. Should stand out less than the golden ones I couldn't seem to find anywhere. I got a 50pk as I intend to use them to look like rivets somehow when I build the headache rack. Also, Bolt Depot was amazing to deal with !!
elect/hyd pump would probably be easier for just raising/lowering implements. unless you where running a hydraulic motor or large cylinder I dont know if the pto wet kit would be worth the price and hastle of install.Got it all lined and finished up !! I ended up doing the steps as well as they looked out of place being the old color yet. The cab/hood needs to be a dark dark blue now. Maybe next year lol
Here's a welding project!! I couldn't find a heavy clevis hitch for less than $200 so I built one with stuff I had. I got a little off with the center weld lol. It has a pair of 3/4" Gr8 bolts through it as well for piece of mind. This'll be nice to pull Ag stuff around without needing a tractor all the time. Gotta get a wet kit or hyd pump now so I can lift/lower implements as needed as well.
I have an elect/hyd pump I'm going to start with. The truck had a wet kit in it at one time and still has the wiring and stuff in the cab so it wouldn't be that crazy other than sourcing the parts. Biggest use will be a dump trailer to haul wood and manure. I don't know how fast this little pump will raise it but we'll find out !!
Did you clean inside the wire socket in your stinger? Also did you clean your set screw or clamp bolt? Did you file the actual faces and slots that hold the electrode? Resistance in any of those places can give you a hot hand.Had a chance to do a little fab this weekend. My grandpa built this gooseneck hay trailer many years ago and it’s been a great tool. I’m guessing he must have had a short 2wd pickup when he built it because the vertical part of the coupler was way too long for either of my pickups. The trailer was always riding way high in the front, putting the majority of the weight in the rear axle. So I chopped 6” off the coupler and it sits much better now. Sorry I didn’t get a lot of pictures, time was escaping me.
So the original plan was to just cut a 6” segment out of the vertical piece, weld it back together, and the sleeve over it with a larger diameter pipe. But that’s not really an ideal joint for something this critical, plus I didn’t have any pipe on hand that would sleeve over it correctly. I also thought about cutting the coupler itself off, cutting 6” off the vertical piece, then welding the couple back. But I was a worried about ruining the coupler and I wanted to clean up the vertical welds at the end of the neck and along the gussets anyway. My grandpa could build anything, but a welder he was not.
So I started with some 4.5” cutoff wheels:
Unfortunately I ran out of cutoff wheels so I had to resort to using the torch. It was ugly. Took lots of grinding to get it all clean and straight again, but I got it tacked back up after shortening it by 6”. Here it is after a 6010 root pass on each side.
Next I ran a 6010 hot pass on each side as well as around the top of the tube. I went ahead and put the cap on top and finished it off with 7018 cap.
And finally I did a 2 bead 7018 cap on each side. I also did a 6010 hot pass and single bead 7018 cap on the inside of the gussets but didn’t get a picture. As you can see in these last pictures, not my best work. It was getting dark and I was having hell with my electrode holder. After every rod I’d have to lay it down and let it cool because it was so hot I couldn’t hold onto it. I think I’ve got a bad section in my lead near the end. I cut off about 18” or 2’ and reattached the electrode holder but it didn’t help at all. I’ll chase the problem down before I weld again. As always, thanks for looking!
Yes, I cleaned/filed all the contact points. I’m using a slightly modified T300 so it’s very simple to service.
Yeah, there's only like 4 parts to those. I always liked a bit more insulation, but to each their own. Any chance the braid or the block has come loose? The only other thing that could do that is high amperage, like way over 200. That might drag it down to 50% duty cycle. Are you smoking the filters, AKA short stubbing, burning the rods really short? That could get you a hot hand, especially on a vertical face.
Try one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HSJ1A2M/?tag=atomicindus08-20Had a chance to do a little fab this weekend... So I started with some 4.5” cutoff wheels:
Unfortunately I ran out of cutoff wheels so I had to resort to using the torch.
