Howdy boys,
I don't have a gritty welding topic to post at the moment. I'm just dropping in to say hello.
We've had some unseasonably beautiful weather in Texas. I'm beginning to think we've been annexed by California...
I've been using the time to kick some civil engineering projects along. I'm attempting to develop the highway frontage on some rural property we own so my kids can launch some kind of free enterprise when they get outta high school.
To that end, I recently bought a "high-low end" laser transit level. We're gonna shoot some grades and put in "unscrewable fence posts" by using 2 3/8" drill pipe ends. From the top of the grade the parking area will slope 1 1/2" percent. Therefore, each successive drill pipe end will become a concreted in "grade benchmark". Gonna put 'em on 10 foot centers. Each top will be 1 13/16" lower than the previous one.
Some time ago, I used drill pipe to build a gin pole for my beat up old Dodge diesel 1 ton flat bed truck. Later, I built some "swiss army truck" attachments, all of which are raised or lowered with a chain fall mounted to the gin pole.
One of these attachments was a "poor boy's all terrain forklift". To my pride and delight it has turned out to be more versatile and useful than I ever dreamed.
I recently bought some salvage 45' telephone poles from a guy. I had to cut the butts to 25' to get 'em on my trailer. Over the Christmas holiday my sons and I and one of their friends and that kid's father and I, successfully erected and planted one of these 25' poles with the blue truck and some lifting tackle rigged to be pulled by their Dodge power wagon.
We lost it the first time but nobody got squashed. Yes sir, lifting a
25' timber with an 8' gin pole is exciting work.Regards, Vernon