POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

[RandyM]

Randy, did you make the aerator as well? nice mods..

Thanks Jeff. No, it is a Everything Attachments purchase. If I had made the aerator I would have made the stands the right way to start with.

 

[projectnut]

Your aerator looks a lot like a King Kutter I was considering. I ended up with a cheapie 40” Agrifab since it was the only one that would fit between some of the trees. I had to go with a pull behind rather than a 3 point mounted one

I had to make each section of the plug disks rotate independently to keep from tearing up the lawn when turning corners. I also added a homemade electric lift to set the plug depth and raise them out of the ground for transport. I haven’t used it for a few years but it’s on the schedule for next spring.

That looks like a fairly big unit. How much area are you aerating? We do about half an acre, but it’s odd shaped. There are lots of corners to turn and many obstacles to go around.

 

[rwm]

I made some precision scoops.



Large one is 30 ml = 2 Tbsp for coffee. I scoop per mug.
Small one is 10 ml = 2 Tsp for sugar.
I like to have a little coffee with my sugar in the morning....

 

[ivel03]

Thanks Jeff. No, it is a Everything Attachments purchase. If I had made the aerator I would have made the stands the right way to start with.

Do you have to lift up when turning as it's one long drum with the spoons attached instead of independent disks? Looks heavy built and like it would work well. I had a 48" agrifab one that worked pretty well after putting 4 JD suitcase weights on top of it! It's one of those attachments that doesn't get a lot of use and while i was happy to have it when i used it I ended up selling it b/c it was a pain to store inside and i got sick of tripping over it - looking at what i paid for it, what i got for it and what they sell for now i should have just left it parked it outside behind my shed in the ding weeds.

 

[dkemppai]

Been staring at this pile of steel for too long. Time to start getting it cleaned up. In theory it's a parts for a bridge crane, but for the last bit it's been in the way and collecting dust.


A while back I took the time to grease the casters on the floor jack. Best thing to do to a floor jack. Rolls smoothly now. Was able to move (carefully, of course) 1200lbs of W beam in one shot. (Note how the portable lift is in the way again...) Just move the steel a little, reposition the blocks and repeat.


Finally in a position to work on it. Need to do some cutting and welding and drilling so getting them lined up, to mark up, was the first step. Being heavy enough I spent the rest of the evening pondering the next few steps. That was time well spent, because I realized I can build the thing upside down and have minimal moves necessary to get everything done.


Unfortunately the factory/supplier cuts aren't perfectly square. Next steps will be dykem and a scribe to lay everything out. Measure six times and cut once for this project. That material is too expensive! lol

 

[woodchucker]

Just out of curiosity, why do you need perfectly square cuts, isn't the support going to be under it, not at the end?

 

[dkemppai]

Just out of curiosity, why do you need perfectly square cuts, isn't the support going to be under it, not at the end?

Don't need perfectly square cuts. That's just my OCD grumbling about anything and everything...

 

[RandyM]

Your aerator looks a lot like a King Kutter I was considering. I ended up with a cheapie 40” Agrifab since it was the only one that would fit between some of the trees. I had to go with a pull behind rather than a 3 point mounted one

I had to make each section of the plug disks rotate independently to keep from tearing up the lawn when turning corners. I also added a homemade electric lift to set the plug depth and raise them out of the ground for transport. I haven’t used it for a few years but it’s on the schedule for next spring.

That looks like a fairly big unit. How much area are you aerating? We do about half an acre, but it’s odd shaped. There are lots of corners to turn and many obstacles to go around.

Yes, it is a solid drum and straight line aerating is required. Everything Attachments has a corner turning unit with independent spoon discs, but is was more money and I really didn't need it.

You are correct, it is a very nice and heavy unit. I doesn't require any additional weights unless the ground is really dry and hard.

I am aerating 2.8 acres.

Do you have to lift up when turning as it's one long drum with the spoons attached instead of independent disks? Looks heavy built and like it would work well. I had a 48" agrifab one that worked pretty well after putting 4 JD suitcase weights on top of it! It's one of those attachments that doesn't get a lot of use and while i was happy to have it when i used it I ended up selling it b/c it was a pain to store inside and i got sick of tripping over it - looking at what i paid for it, what i got for it and what they sell for now i should have just left it parked it outside behind my shed in the ding weeds.

Yes, I have to raise the unit when making sharp turns. I can tweak the course of direction a little, but large turns and corrections will rip up the lawn. If I remember correctly, the unit is 700 lbs and rarely needs extra weight. And yup, it works fantastic.

 

[DeadGuyAle]

Yawn, more cleaning. Headstock is coming along.
Done with the major clea up after this Is finished.

 

[woodchucker]

with all those filings in there, I hope you took the shafts apart to inspect and deep clean.

edit: looks like that is not an oil bath lubricating system...
I also hope you installed a magnet on the bottom to collect those for the future.

I would not have expected those filings on top like that.