Welding Job

I'm finally able to post a photo of a welding job. Not a very good photo, unfortunately. This was taken with my new phone I bought prior to going to Ireland but I think the lens is already scratched up. It might have had some moisture on it but it looks like I need to keep carrying my little digital with me again. It doesn't take the best of photographs but it would have done much better than what I ended up with above. And what is that you ask? Trailer job at my new employer.

The cage on the front of the trailer needed to be raised up seven inches to accommodate a new mower the boss purchased. I made up the leg extensions and a couple other required pieces ahead of time. A couple of us picked the cage up after unbolting it and laid it over onto the forks of the fork truck. I welded on the new legs and then we got it stood back up again and bolted in place after drilling some new mounting holes. There really wasn't much to it except for the welding machine I was using. It's an old Miller "buzz box" - not much of a machine but I had some fresh 6011 rods I brought with me, so I didn't figure I'd have any trouble. I started getting a little concerned when one of the other guys said the machine had "issues". Yes, yes it does. I had a hell of a time keeping the arc established. It sounded like I was sending Morse code. If I'm going to be doing much welding around there, he's going to have to invest in a new machine. I've got my portable welder but it would be a lot more work loading it up into the back of the truck than what I want to get involved in for the money I'm making there. Anyway, I enjoyed working on the trailer. I was tired when I got home but it felt good putting in an honest day's work.

The weather was just beautiful yesterday. Got some indoor chores done in the morning and then cut the grass and tried out the new lawn sweeper on the front yard. It's supposed to rain again starting this evening and then rain on and off for the next four days again. So I'll be mowing and sweeping next weekend again. The yard's starting to look like a lawn. It's not much extra running the sweeper over the yard but it's way too much to rake by hand - which, of course, is why I never bothered and explains the need for dethatching. As much as I hate to do it, I need to put some kind of weed killer on it. I hate the thought of putting nasty chemicals that might end up in our well water on the lawn, however.

I've got one more week at the college and then I'll be done with my teaching career - this time for sure. As soon as I wrap that up I'll make myself a schedule and start getting back into a routine. I'm planning a trip to Kansas with Cuzzin Rick to see my brother and maybe we can plan out a trip to Nevada while traveling west. My saddle pal/running buddy is going to be putting on a 5K in September as a fundraiser for a group she's affiliated with. I'd like to do well in that one. Need to start working on my cardio and get my legs back in shape. Hopefully, this 5K will motivate me to keep training. Lots to do in the shop and around the shack also. I did get a bit more done on the slip form roller the other day. Definitely need to get back in a decent routine though.