Welding with Fred
I needed to sharpen the blade on the lawnmower. I figured after 5 or more years, and hitting numerous pieces of whatever and since it didn't seem to cutting well, it was time.
So I tried to get the blade off. I really tried. I sat on the cement with the lawnmower practically in my lap with wrench, WD-40, hammer. Nothing.
In what I thought was a flash of brilliance I thought why not just sharpen the blade still on the mower? So go stuck my grinder on a long extension cord and made quick work of the blade edge. I mean it took less than a minute to grind a good edge.
After telling this story to T he said that that was the standard method.
Durrr,,,
Today I decided to put little feet on the legs of the stanchion; just little squares of flat bar welded flush to the bottom of the square tubing, then ground smooth. All of these precesses are completely new to me so there is a learning curve/ time delay with every operation. How to hold the dang things on there while I weld? No way to clamp, I stuck one of the magnets right on top and that worked fine.
While I was grinding one of them smooth, Fred appeared as he often does when he is needed ( like someone had shined a FP in the sky) and I got a few tips on some of the stuff I need to do. He said he'd just hold the bar with his hand and freestyle; I am scared enough of the welder to want to keep my hands far far away.
He had some good tips on how to unstick the clutch on the tractor; mostly because he wants to use it to disc up the field. So I need once again to charge the battery and I'll give it a shot. I am glad he seems confident enough in its fix that he has plans to use it. That was a great bit of comfort. I'll have the tractor back..soon? Someday..
I am almost done with the stanchion. Maybe I should give myself a deadline, like next weekend? O K.
Fred did mention that he wouldn't be working on the floor like I was. I agreed that it's a pain to be bending and crouching. One of the next projects will be a work/ welding table. That's incentive to get this project out of the way.
So I tried to get the blade off. I really tried. I sat on the cement with the lawnmower practically in my lap with wrench, WD-40, hammer. Nothing.
In what I thought was a flash of brilliance I thought why not just sharpen the blade still on the mower? So go stuck my grinder on a long extension cord and made quick work of the blade edge. I mean it took less than a minute to grind a good edge.
After telling this story to T he said that that was the standard method.
Durrr,,,
Today I decided to put little feet on the legs of the stanchion; just little squares of flat bar welded flush to the bottom of the square tubing, then ground smooth. All of these precesses are completely new to me so there is a learning curve/ time delay with every operation. How to hold the dang things on there while I weld? No way to clamp, I stuck one of the magnets right on top and that worked fine.
While I was grinding one of them smooth, Fred appeared as he often does when he is needed ( like someone had shined a FP in the sky) and I got a few tips on some of the stuff I need to do. He said he'd just hold the bar with his hand and freestyle; I am scared enough of the welder to want to keep my hands far far away.
He had some good tips on how to unstick the clutch on the tractor; mostly because he wants to use it to disc up the field. So I need once again to charge the battery and I'll give it a shot. I am glad he seems confident enough in its fix that he has plans to use it. That was a great bit of comfort. I'll have the tractor back..soon? Someday..
I am almost done with the stanchion. Maybe I should give myself a deadline, like next weekend? O K.
Fred did mention that he wouldn't be working on the floor like I was. I agreed that it's a pain to be bending and crouching. One of the next projects will be a work/ welding table. That's incentive to get this project out of the way.
posted by sarah at 5:41 PM
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