What did you do to or on your Kubota today?

[ctfjr]

Tower Time!

I finally reached the point where I can start my amateur radio tower project. I made the mistake of asking the zoning department if i needed a variance - I'm putting up a 60' tower. I should have just done it, like I did for the last 3 I put up.

So, after filling out the zoning application I was directed to the health department. Why the health department one might ask. . . I put on the zoning app that I have a septic system and well. Must get approval from health department.

Ok, they look at it and sign off Now back to zoning. They tell me there will be a hearing, sometime (probably 4-6 weeks) and I will need a building permit. Off to the building dept.

There I meet with the assistant building inspector who doubles as the electrical inspector. He tells me I will need an electrical permit in addition to building permit. He is not sure of the code requirements, will have to research and will get back to me. . .

A week later I get an email from the town engineer. He has questions. I suggest we get together at his office and I can show him data o the proposed tower. We met last week with the building/electrical inspector.

They turn out to be be nice guys. The town engineer even had a sense of humor when I reminded him that civil engineering is 'easy engineering'. I was well prepared and showed them the tower specifications from the manufacturer, Rohn. I also showed a sketch of the electrical grounding / ground rod / surge suppressors / grounding block / bonding.
My read was they just don't run into this type of installation and have very little, if any, experience. In the end they were happy to approve it. Now just waiting for the zoning blessing.

So, since I am going to use 12' long I Beams planted in the ground 5' to anchor the guys, I may as well start clearing those areas. There are 2 that are 'in the woods so trees need to be removed. Got to play with my Ego chain saw and the WC88.

 

[DustyRusty]

It is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. I built my home with only the permit for the foundation. Eventually, the building inspector came to the home while in the process of being framed and asked when I was going to take out a building permit. I replied, "when we can come up with a figure that we both can live with". This was 40 years ago in a small Connecticut town where the building inspector kept the full amount of the building permit as his pay instead of it going to the town. That system has since been replaced with the building inspector being paid a fixed salary from the town.

 

[fried1765]

Today I finished cleaning up an old back blade I picked up for $400. I’m fairly sure the thing is as old as I am (from the 80s) and was in fine shape really besides the surface rust, so this was probably not necessary. But it does look better and this will hopefully prolong its life.

When taking the “Rhino” sticker off, I found a “Rhino by Servis” sticker underneath. I guess it was made right around the time of a corporate change.

View attachment 130829 View attachment 130830 View attachment 130831 View attachment 130832 View attachment 130833 View attachment 130834 View attachment 130836 View attachment 130837 View attachment 130838

I cleaned off the rust first with a stripping pad thing on the angle grinder, which wore down way too quickly so I switched to wire brush attachment. Then I used some rust spray stuff (Rust/oleum brand spray gel, it worked okay). Then Rust-oleum farm implement enamel spray paint. Which so far seems not all that durable to me (I’ve already scraped some off, oh well).

OSPHO (Phosphoric acid) works best as a primer on rusted steel.

 

[Old_Paint]

Tower Time!

I finally reached the point where I an start my amateur radio tower project. I made the mistake of asking the zoning department if i needed a variance - I'm putting up a 60' tower. I should have just done it, like I did for the last 3 I put up.

So, after filling out the zoning application I was directed to the health department. Why the health department one might ask. . . I put on the zoning app that I have a septic system and well. Must get approval from health department.

Ok, they look at it and sign off Now back to zoning. They tell me there will be a hearing, sometime (probably 4-6 weeks) and I will need a building permit. Off to the building dept.

There I meet with the assistant building inspector who doubles as the electrical inspector. He tells me I will need an electrical permit in addition to building permit. He is not sure of the code requirements, will have to research and will get back to me. . .

A week later I get an email from the town engineer. He has questions. I suggest we get together at his office and I can show him data o the proposed tower. We met last week with the building/electrical inspector.

They turn out to be be nice guys. The town engineer even had a sense of humor when I reminded him that civil engineering is 'easy engineering'. I was well prepared and showed them the tower specifications from the manufacturer, Rohn. I also showed a sketch of the electrical grounding / ground rod / surge suppressors / grounding block / bonding.
My read was they just don't run into this type of installation and have very little, if any, experience. In the end they were happy to approve it. Now just waiting for the zoning blessing.

So, since I am going to use 12' long I Beams planted in the ground 5' to anchor the guys, I may as well start clearing those areas. There are 2 that are 'in the woods so trees need to be removed. Got to play with my Ego chain saw and the WC88.


View attachment 130965

I feel your pain, or felt it would be more accurate. If the tower PLUS the mast and radials is under 60 feet, no worries. I had a neighbor with a cheap TV call the FCC (and file a complaint with the local PD) on me about interference and my only infraction was that my total height was 72 feet because I raised my quad yagi with the mast so that the bottom vertical radials were above the top of the tower, which the FCC admitted was a better idea to mitigate RFI. (I’ll give three guesses why I did that and the first two don’t count). The bottom of my tower was below grade about 12 feet by virtue of a very high retaining wall, so the FCC investigator decided that I didn’t need to change anything, especially since I was running less than 2 watts and had a pass band filter installed as well. It was obvious I had done everything I could to avoid disturbing the neighbors. So they went next door and politely told him to get a filter for his TV or get a higher quality model. After all the BS he put me through, I decided the best direction to point a quad Yagi with a forward gain of about 40 was straight over the top of his house with the flat side selected (same polarity as TV emissions) and turn the radio up to maximum allowed power (5W making an effective 200W) and stay on it until the wee hours of the morning talking to people I didn’t know from Adam’s housecat. I did not get fined by the FCC, but still had to pay a fee for the police complaint he filed. Figger that one out. He finally apologized after my merciless hammering on his cheap TV and at which point we worked out a schedule so that I could enjoy my radio and his TV wouldn’t wake him up at weird hours, even though it was unplugged and isolated from the cable system. All the other neighbors were also interviewed by the FCC and none other than him had any complaints. Probably helped they were all radio operators too. Ain’t radio operations fun?

 

[ajschnitzelbank]

OSPHO (Phosphoric acid) works best as a primer on rusted steel.

Yeah, thanks. The Rust-oleum is made with phosphoric acid. I wasn’t sure if there is a way to get it in a more concentrated or cheaper way? I’m open to recommendations for next time.

 

[D2Cat]

Ospho

$30 a gallon. https://www.ebay.com/itm/3147992844...IzLHtpB4lKS5pBwpfXKWSd2A==|tkp:Bk9SR7iK0uKEZA

 

[ajschnitzelbank]

Ospho

$30 a gallon. https://www.ebay.com/itm/314799284487?epid=23032423563&itmmeta=01J0K2MGMQ23X260FCJ9Q6P6QZ&hash=item494b7fe107:g:dPIAAOSwyVBfidMd&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA8MuvMndUY53A9huYWC73GUrKU44+tnrPtvMx4WR3CJnmsJc7IqusGKIkcpSxoArm2CJ5zhWNX7bhIQYH7o0ZAMdOjGKcZa5y+7zPlkA6Or6W1AuZ9l4fuN9w5QTQi47N8u3eRpFKPgQGlvU+HAFeHgi0cCbq8ggSVUnqgNBB41vCaBApB/9PXXiZ1geZw1U2oNrupJgCfgHNatWBy82MRUI9RC6r8QmfAJNUfz/JUXBzCTXgeefHXg76GlKmk6DzfmFAtAu2vOHnAQIdB6x9+gT074FVKptUZedaxQplq2IzLHtpB4lKS5pBwpfXKWSd2A==|tkp:Bk9SR7iK0uKEZA

Thanks!

 

[fried1765]

Yeah, thanks. The Rust-oleum is made with phosphoric acid. I wasn’t sure if there is a way to get it in a more concentrated or cheaper way? I’m open to recommendations for next time.

OSPHO is relatively inexpensive,.....often under $40 per gallon.
Available at hardware stores and marine supply stores.
I buy it by the gallon.

 

[GeoHorn]

Yeah, thanks. The Rust-oleum is made with phosphoric acid….

So is Coca-Cola.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Ooohh, jealous. I have so many limbs to chip at any given time, I need to look more into one of those...

Your packing was incredible, as was the crate construction. Got the implements out and into secure storage, that's as much as I had time for given other activities.

I unloaded and assembled the wood chipper, adjusted a bunch of stuff, and made two boxes of chips for the retirement center gardens after adding cookies* to keep the weeds down.

Pictures and review in the WoodMaxx Chipper Sale thread.



*thin cut wood rounds

 

[dldarrow]

I decided to weld on some chain grabs onto my pallet forks. I had the first one welded on (with probably my best bead ever!) and the second one tacked on when my wife asked what I was doing. In the process of explaining how the chain grabs will work, I realized that I had welded them on backwards!

Oh well, I needed some practice grinding.

 

[Kennyd4110]

I decided to weld on some chain grabs onto my pallet forks. I had the first one welded on (with probably my best bead ever!) and the second one tacked on when my wife asked what I was doing. In the process of explaining how the chain grabs will work, I realized that I had welded them on backwards!

Oh well, I needed some practice grinding.

I had a friend do the exact same thing years ago, LOL. If you guys had only bought our Bolt-On's it'd be an easy fix

 

[dldarrow]

I had a friend do the exact same thing years ago, LOL. If you guys had only bought out Bolt-On's it'd be an easy fix

View attachment 131137

I can't argue with that!

 

[mdhughes]

It was time to spray the tractor off, it had been a while. I just used the pressure washer. It still needs a real washing.

 

[SAR Tracker]

Been waiting a day to make sure of the outcome... The other day (Tuesday), was using the BH77 to hold logs up off the ground so another guy could cut them into 16" rounds to be split for firewood to be given away to old vets, widows, and the less fortunate in my town. In the process of trimming knots off the logs, his saw (Husky 575xp w/ a 36" bar) kicked back nailing him in the shin. I'm told (it was a blur for me!) that I was off the BH, shut off the tractor, got my 1st aid kit out of the cab (you've got one, right?) and was to him before he had the saw shut off. Yep, all the way to the bone. Put a package of Quik Clot, on the wound, with 2 4x4 dressings on top of that, then wrapped it all up with an Ace bandage. Stud drove himself to the ER, where they dug out some of his jeans, and a bone chip, then admitted him overnight for surgery this morning. He's home now, probably needing more surgery to remove his wife's teeth from his azz, and has an order to Amazon for some chainsaw chaps. Hard lesson, but could've been SO much worse. And yeah, the saw was probably to big to be trimming knots.

 

[ajschnitzelbank]

Been waiting a day to make sure of the outcome... The other day (Tuesday), was using the BH77 to hold logs up off the ground so another guy could cut them into 16" rounds to be split for firewood to be given away to old vets, widows, and the less fortunate in my town. In the process of trimming knots off the logs, his saw (Husky 575xp w/ a 36" bar) kicked back nailing him in the shin. I'm told (it was a blur for me!) that I was off the BH, shut off the tractor, got my 1st aid kit out of the cab (you've got one, right?) and was to him before he had the saw shut off. Yep, all the way to the bone. Put a package of Quik Clot, on the wound, with 2 4x4 dressings on top of that, then wrapped it all up with an Ace bandage. Stud drove himself to the ER, where they dug out some of his jeans, and a bone chip, then admitted him overnight for surgery this morning. He's home now, probably needing more surgery to remove his wife's teeth from his azz, and has an order to Amazon for some chainsaw chaps. Hard lesson, but could've been SO much worse. And yeah, the saw was probably to big to be trimming knots.

I didn’t know about Quick Clot. Come to think of it I’ve forgotten just about all the first aid I learned in Scouts. I’ll add this to my shopping list, thanks. Perhaps along with a chainsaw first aid kit I saw someone else mention on the Forestry Forum. And new fire extinguishers (thanks @mcmxi ).

Harrowing story. Guy was lucky to have you. But not as lucky as the guy I had doing the same thing with me the other day, HE got to use my backhoe! Hah!

 

[mcmxi]

Yesterday I modified the Schafer disc harrow by adding a lunette ring to the tongue, and this morning made a pintle drawbar for the MX6000. Late this afternoon I spent 3 hours discing an area that will be hydroseeded this Friday. It was a beautiful spot, the owner was really nice and was very pleased with the finished product, and I got paid. A great day for sure.

The MX did really well pulling the disc and ran like a top. I ran the engine at 2,300 rpm and fuel consumption was minimal. The MX and the disc can turn on a dime, and the hydraulic lift is awesome in the turns.

The photos of the disc show the gang positions that I used. The last photo shows the starting position which was too agressive. I ended up reducing the angle of attack for the front and rear gangs and it was better after the adjustment.

 

[Gaspasser]

Tower Time!

I finally reached the point where I can start my amateur radio tower project. I made the mistake of asking the zoning department if i needed a variance - I'm putting up a 60' tower. I should have just done it, like I did for the last 3 I put up.

So, after filling out the zoning application I was directed to the health department. Why the health department one might ask. . . I put on the zoning app that I have a septic system and well. Must get approval from health department.

Ok, they look at it and sign off Now back to zoning. They tell me there will be a hearing, sometime (probably 4-6 weeks) and I will need a building permit. Off to the building dept.

There I meet with the assistant building inspector who doubles as the electrical inspector. He tells me I will need an electrical permit in addition to building permit. He is not sure of the code requirements, will have to research and will get back to me. . .

A week later I get an email from the town engineer. He has questions. I suggest we get together at his office and I can show him data o the proposed tower. We met last week with the building/electrical inspector.

They turn out to be be nice guys. The town engineer even had a sense of humor when I reminded him that civil engineering is 'easy engineering'. I was well prepared and showed them the tower specifications from the manufacturer, Rohn. I also showed a sketch of the electrical grounding / ground rod / surge suppressors / grounding block / bonding.
My read was they just don't run into this type of installation and have very little, if any, experience. In the end they were happy to approve it. Now just waiting for the zoning blessing.

So, since I am going to use 12' long I Beams planted in the ground 5' to anchor the guys, I may as well start clearing those areas. There are 2 that are 'in the woods so trees need to be removed. Got to play with my Ego chain saw and the WC88.


View attachment 130965

Congrats on starting your project. I will follow with interest as I hope to do the same one day. Close to retirement and looking forward to dusting of the old keyer. WM1R 73 SK

 

[fried1765]

It was time to spray the tractor off, it had been a while. I just used the pressure washer. It still needs a real washing.

View attachment 131154

Looks very clean from here.

 

[fc1]

It was a beautiful spot...

Wow, I'll say. Stunning.