Very creative use of the 3 point hitch. I didn't know a Kubota could lift that much either. Surely that's a lot more than the bucket is rated for.
CR.
Gary,
I like your safety flip-flops.
No Risk - no Fun.
Benji
Very creative use of the 3 point hitch. I didn't know a Kubota could lift that much either. Surely that's a lot more than the bucket is rated for.
CR.
Benji -
I figured you guys would like those. They are actually Steel-Toed Safety Slaps. I also have a pair of Fur-Lined Safety Slaps for winter. I hardly get any use out of them around here, though. What I really need is a pair that offers a little better protection when welding. Trying to maintain a decent bead while kicking hot slag from in between your toes is a learned art...
Seriously, I do way too much in flip-flops, but in the case of moving the mill I was always very conscious of everything around me. I didn't allow anything under it at all. Visually inspecting underneath it was a challenge since I didn't want to be all that near the thing or lift it very high. I finally got a peek once we got it hovering over the stand. Shoes or flip-flops, that thing would have hurt if it dropped on a foot, even from a few inches up.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a friend when I built my shop. "Put a nine-foot ceiling in it," he said. He found me a used 8' X 23' fiberglass door for $75, so I built the shop around the door. The boom pole in the photos had about 1/2" clearance with the mill high enough to fit over the stand. We had to set the mill on wood stumps to get another purchase to lift high enough.
Crevice Reamer -
I knew that the loader would have problems with the mill (but it might have barely done it if I took the bucket off; the main problem was vertical clearance), but suspected that the 3-point could handle it. It only took about an hour to cut and buzz up the boom pole, so it was worth the try. It was a pleasant surprise when the mill just rose into the air...
Randy -
When you get a tractor, you'll have to learn to weld. No excuses. Welders and tractors just seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Regards,
- Just Gary
Well, then, I'm safe for a while yet.
Oh darn--my favorite is peanut butter and bread-and-butter pickle slices... I used to be pretty good at brass fillet brazing. In earlier years I built a recumbent bicycle and two recumbent tricycles, and spliced a tandem togther out of two 10-speeds. But never learned to weld (even oxy-acetylene).
Randy
Randy -
Peanut butter and bread-and-butter pickles doesn't roll off the tongue just right. My father-in-law used to claim that peanut butter goes with everything, so I believe you. His particular favorite was peanut butter on lemon meringue pie. I tried it once, and it wasn't bad, but I thought the heavy texture of the peanut butter overpowered the more delicate pie. (This could easily turn into my best hijack ever!)
As for the welding, I don't really think that it involves that much learning. If you clean the metal first with an angle grinder or something similar, keep the sticks dry (I use an ammo box), and just watch the puddle, you'll do fine. The cheap electronic helmets make all the difference these days, since you can see what you are about to weld before you strike the arc. I used to not enjoy welding as much before I got one from HF.
If you find a used AC/DC buzz box for cheap (and the DC part is definitely worth it), grab it and teach yourself how to use it. As long as you can turn your work so that the weld is horizontal, you'll get good welds fairly quickly. Vertical is a bit trickier, but overhead is not meant for mortals to attempt... the shower of slag will easily fill your flip-flops.
Now if you really want easy, get a MIG unit and use the appropriate gas (CO2, Argon/CO2, etc.) with it. A child of four can use one, since it's just like coloring (until the wire snags, or the gas runs out, etc.). I borrowed one once to make a trailer, and it was just like magic (until the gas ran out on a weekend). Vertical was no problem with that thing.
Regards,
- Just Gary
I replaced the "grabby" Snap Flow coolant hoses with Loc-Line ("the originator of the modular hose system"), and while I was at it, I also bought 1/8" and 1/4" right-angle tips. The hoses adjust very smoothly and firmly, and the RA tips are great! They reduce the hose gyrations needed to get the stream "down into the cut", especially with the limited clearance under the Proxxon bracket. I don't think I'll be using the straight nozzles any time soon...
Randy
Randy -
Now that's the ticket! I have wondered about getting coolant into the close spaces, and it looks like the 90 degree tips are the answer.
My coolant system needs an overhaul...
Regards,
- Just Gary
Randy,
How would compare the Loc-Line and Snap Flow products? Sounds like you weren't too happy with Snap Flow and switched to Loc-Line.
I've converted mine to Loc-Line but was waffling between it and Snap Flow.
Mike
Mike, I was using the 1/4" Snap Flow for 3 years and was disappointed the whole time. The joints between the "pop beads" were, for lack of a better word, grabby, and it was hard to adjust the line without either overshooting or undershooting the desired position. It would take 3 or 4 readjustments each time to get the stream pointing just where I wanted it. Fine adjustments were impossible and I'd have to move it a ways to the side and then back to where I wanted it. I bought larger Loc-Line to use as a vacuum nozzle when machining dry, and it adjusts very smoothly, so I finally replaced my Snap Flow with Loc-Line and am happy.
Randy