What did you do today?

[pkinneb]

Great job Tom!! Thanks for sharing

[Tom King]

Laid out, and cut the parts for the topsoil leveling drag, this morning.  Hopefully, I'll get it welded up tomorrow morning, and be able to try it out.

I'm not at all sure how it will work.  I hope it will work good enough, and not have to make some other variation.  I've seen ones on youtube designed to level out lawns that were already pretty level.  I have a lot more more ups, and downs than an almost level yard, so hopefully this will work like a jointer plane for dirt.

It's 6-1/2 feet wide, and 12 feet long.  It weighs a little over 200 pounds. My mower will be 72", and the point has an overall crown, width wise.

Notice, in the background, the offset hose holder for the new welder grounding cord.  I offset it so I can stick the clamp on the holder, and nothing stick out past the sides.

 

[Chestnut]

Some of the contractors that I work with drag a chain link fence section behind a tractor or skiddy.

[Tom King]

I have a flexible harrow drag, but that follows undulations.  I want to fill in the low spots.

  Even after the grass starts growing, and filled spots settle, I want to be able to topdress it back to level, and keep doing that enough times that it finally becomes as flat as possible.  I don't think this first time will be the only time I use it.

This is way too big to drag around the typical yard.  The turning radius is not going to be small, but that is no consideration on the two acre point, especially now that I have the trees thinned out.

I can do pretty good with the grading blade with tailwheel, but not as good as I want to be able to, and I can't use that for top dressing.

[JohnG]

When you get done with your plot you can drag it over my way and flatten my fields! 

I was surprised to find out that mowing with my tractor and rotary mower only took 20min longer than on the ZTR. Not only did it take basically the same amount of time, my back wasn’t totally shot afterward like it would have been on the ZTR. 

[Tom King]

Yeah, that's the main reason I want it flat, and smooth.  The new mower is supposed to be able to cut at 14 mph, but I don't want to bounce anymore than necessary, even in an air-ride seat.  My goal is to get it like a nice golf fairway, with slightly longer grass.  I don't expect to get it finished in one season.

Here's a light duty version of leveling an almost level lawn.  I'll be leveling a whole layer of topsoil over the whole area.  What I had now is Nowhere close to as flat as this is to start with.  I might use sand in another year or so, to level out any spots that settle.  I fully expect it to be a several season thing.

and combination land leveler, only on loose, screened topsoil rather than gravel

 

[jussi]

Made a couple of brackets to house the vac sys.  Based it mostly on the festool plans but just winged the measurements. The vac clamps just drop in and can be taken out without any tools.  That way I can them on a horizontal surface if needed.  There is a small gap so fit is loose to make action easy. When turned on the clamps suction themselves to the brackets.  The brackets can also be raised or lowered about a foot.  It can also be attached in a similar manner to my mft. 
 

The cord management still needs work 

[Tom King]

Went to weld up the drag this morning, but hadn't even looked at the plug on the cord.  50 amp receptacle in the old building is a Range one.  Welder plug on the machine.

I have a 10/3 SO cord to put a male Range plug on one end, and a welder female on the other.  Ace Hardware had neither in stock.  Don't want to make a trip to town Monday, with no assuredness that any would be there, so ordered them from Amazon.  Supposed to be here Tuesday.

On hold for that job.

 

[Richard Brown]

A little background first. After always being a very close family all living in the same area. Hurricane Katrina dispersed us. My Dad survived Cancer but we lost my uncle, then my sister and 16 year old niece to car accidents. I had two brain surgeries in 2 months and we realized how important it was to get together more. So, we had just started a family get together once a month with 12-20 people about 6 months before covid hit. 
 

so today after everyone has been fully vaccinated we finally got together for a Crawfish boil. It was nice weather and a great day. It lasted about 6-8 hours and we already planned our next meeting and hopefully a crab boil for June at my House.

 

Family is a wonderful thing and people should get back to just enjoying time with their family and life in general. 

[wtnhighlander]

"You might be a Redneck if the fountain in your front yard is unintentional."

- Foxworthy

So I notice this in front of the house when I took the dog out for her morning constitutional. Thankfully, it was on the utility's side of the meter.

[Tom King]

That's the kind of sprinkler head I need.

[Tpt life]

12 minutes ago, Tom King said:

That's the kind of sprinkler head I need.

Never above the surface to get hit by a mower and works from 4 feet deep. 

[Chestnut]

Good thing it was the utility's problem those fixes can get expensive that looks like a shallow bury though.

Not many people appreciate how much their water and sewer connections cost.

11 hours ago, Richard Brown said:

Family is a wonderful thing and people should get back to just enjoying time with their family and life in general

We've been frying family together more often now that a good portion are vaccinated. It seems to me the situation has taken the hardest toll on the grandparents.

[wtnhighlander]

2 hours ago, Chestnut said:

Good thing it was the utility's problem those fixes can get expensive that looks like a shallow bury though.

Yeah, the repair guy said the pipe was only about 10" below the surface where it crosses under the ditch. Main line is on the opposite side of the road. He said they crew will make it deeper when they return to make permanent repairs. FYI, "frost line" here is only 18", but I haven't seen the ground freeze below the grass roots since the mid-1970s.

[Chet]

16 hours ago, Richard Brown said:

Family is a wonderful thing and people should get back to just enjoying time with their family and life in general. 

We have been having a family dinner once a month for about ten years.  Its not fancy but we all sit at one table, no paper plates or plastic utensils and NO electronic devises allowed beyond to front door.

[JohnG]

Planted 11 trees in our orchard, 3 strawberry plants, and 6 raspberry plants. In the shop I refreshed the finish on our wooden cutting boards and the cherry spoons I’ve made. Went with PolyX on all of them this go round. 

[legenddc]

I have a little bit of sanding left to do on 1 door and then I'm done. Yesterday for the first time in what seems like forever, I started doing some woodworking. I glued up blanks for 4 or 6 spurtles. I can't remember now. Hoping I can finish them all before Mother's Day.

Wife has been cleaning up our backyard some. If it's nice tomorrow I think I have a call I can take and work on the front yard.

[BillyJack]

Gonna try some flex seal on a stereo box for the boat. Suppose to be water proof. Guess I'll find out.

 

[wtnhighlander]

I dropped a wad of cash on 150 bf of white oak yesterday   ... look for a project journal soon! 

[pkinneb]

Received my second Covid shot, so that's off the list.

[Chestnut]

14 minutes ago, pkinneb said:

Received my second Covid shot, so that's off the list.

I got my first on Monday. Getting excited to put this mess behind me.

[Coop]

2 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

I got my first on Monday. Getting excited to put this mess behind me.

Absolutely!!! Protecting you, your family and perhaps others down the road!

[Tom King]

Pam, my Mother, and I got our Moderna shots on March 1, and April 1.   Our Biggest side effect is Relief!!

[pkinneb]

Cut down two small trees and cleaned up the mess from 9 stumps I had ground, now i'm going to take a nap! Definitely not 30 anymore when I could knock off a 12 hour day of physical work without issue LOL

 

[Tom King]

That's some pretty grass!