Getting Ready For Summer In Arizona...

...is like getting ready for winter in Illinois.

You scurry out during the best parts of the day (early morning in AZ) and wrap up soon. Best to get all your oil changes and projects done before the "blizzard of heat" sets in. Fortunately, the weather in April and May was absolutely gorgeous. I got way more done than I thought I would. Many of them were welding projects. Somebody asked what you can do with a welder last Fall. Here's what I did with mine.

Nasty gate. Weathered wood. The dogs could not see through it. Needed overhaul.



So... I stripped the old "innards" out being careful with my grinder and a cutoff disc...



Then, I added all the new bits into the old gate frame. Here I am hanging it before sanding off the paint nubs and giving it one last coat. I wanted to get the gate back up before critters got in my back yard...



I needed a cover for my pond pump. These danged things powder coated are $600 plus $150 shipping! I had the tubes bent and I welded up all the expanded metal... All-in I was $100.

I had to replace a goofy wooden staircase that was exposed to the weather off my back porch. I got it done almost two years ago but I was worried the sun and rain might rot it out despite all my layers of paint. So, before this summer, I came up with a hair-brained scheme to cover the stairway and provide access to this side of the house without walking over a hole 16 feet deep.

Here is the stair under the hole. A long way down...



To cover the hole I welded up some square tubing that followed the parapet walls. I used a "cut and weld" technique working over a cardboard template. Then I used the first frame to make a mirror image, one piece folding over the other...



Here it is closed. A buddy calls it my "missile silo door."



And open... The doubled section is reinforced to walk on.



The nice thing is, its only 3 inches tall where it meets the south wall so, you can barely notice it up there. So far, its doing a great job protecting my stair work.

The last project I never thought I'd have time for wss filling in some holes in a back patio wall. Originally, this dump of a house had wood verticals set in the stucco. To no one's surprise, the wood rotted out many years ago. I had the holes stuccoed over when we re-stuccoed but I needed to keep Coyotes and Bobcats out of my back yard. So, I used more "squiggle stock" I bought at the local metal shop.

The problem was, the two holes, one a rectangle and another a vertical rectangle were not plumb or square. I had to make my grate fit the existing hole as best I could.

I decided to have the horizontal bars match the slope of the horizontal parts of the wall and then make the verticals as plumb as I could get them. It turned out to be one big wag...





I did a bunch of other little projects. I had another 42 tons of granite delivered to finish off my driveway and needed a heavy-duty rake to pick out some rocks the deer constantly kick into the driveway. I used a piece of scrap U-channel and welded 1/2" rebar 1 1/2" long onto it. Nothing will break this rake, and its heavy, about 85 lbs...



It pulls great behind the ute...



Anyway, that is what I have been up to the last couple months. I have no idea what I am doing but I am having a great time. Welding is a really handy skill to have because of the really useful and fun projects you can do. Just that one gate renovation would have run about $1200 at the local welding shop. The stair cover would have been insane with all the custom cut pieces and trial fitting. I have maybe $200 in that, plus paint.

If you are remotely interested in welding, there are plenty of lessons online. Chucky2009 on YouTube is awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgGG-ifphkA

SCF,

Yeah... I got tired of my Lincoln "breaking" on those short rolls of wire... Hit the button -Wire no feed... It HAS to be broken, I CAN'T have used up THAT much wire! LOL...

I used the INE on the last grates pictured. That stuff will pool so nicely with narry a variation. Thanks again for that tip. I took your advice and have several spools in my supply cabinet as well as the one in my machine.

Len,

When I brought a few pieces of that bendy metal home, I wasn't sure the wife would like it but, she did. So I bought more because I had the gate, the grates, and another new gate I have to fab up from scratch this Fall. Glad I grabbed a bunch of it... They don't have it in stock anymore. Great stuff. It was loaded with shop scale after being dropped into a press red hot and smashed into squiggle shape. It's 1/2" solid steel so its heavy and strong and they all match perfectly.

I try to weld outside as much as possible. The cool weather this year was because we had fronts passing and that meant wind. The drag rake was welded after noon one day when it was windy than heck. I didn't care about the look of the weld, I just applied Frank's Axiom, "If You Can't Weld Good, Weld Lots!" It worked!!!

Done for summer. Tanks almost empty anyway.

SCF/Len,

I bought some of those wire lube/cleaner doo-hickeys. Hope they help.

Bill,

Hope those prescribed burns help. Dry as tinder here and we have 2000 acres uncontrolled out by Lake Bartlett. Sad... that area burned about 30 years ago and had healed up pretty well.

I have two hydrants on the property and 350' of 2" line with a couple nozzles if need be. I also have a reducer to couple regular garden hose for more distance. I have talked to the Rural Metro guys and told them I will be wetting down everything I can upwind of me the minute something breaks out up here. I have smoke masks just in case. Somebody did a video in town on how this Yellow Globe Chamomile burns and it's fierce. Hope we don't get any lightning or loose cigarettes...

That shipping container looks awesome! Blends in well. Is it sitting on anything? How much was it delivered? I am seeing a lot of those starting to pop up around town. Is it to park your Kubota in?

SCF,

We have 46 panels on our roof and they generate more power on a sunny day than we use. We sell the difference back to the utility -at about 1/4 of what they charge me for the kwh. In summer, we use a little more than we make thanks to A/C running. We build up a credit in the Spring and Fall that covers the difference in what we use over summer.

For your RV I recommend the SunPower panels. They are more efficient, so they are smaller, and the have a much longer life than the older panels.

Bill,

You'll have to post some photos when you get the tractor barn all finished. That is actually a great idea and, if you move, you have the option of taking it with you though most people would love to have a storage building like that. I would think having a nice storage building on your property would increase the value of the property by the amount of the container, or more if its done nice like yours is turning out.

ipz2222 said:

Dang, I came in to rest and just reading your post got me tired...

Click to expand...

Sorry! LOL... The stupid stairway cover nearly killed me. I had to haul those pieces up on the roof about six times to get measurements and make sure the supports all fit properly. It all sits on rubber feet and is held down by four 1/4" concrete screws. Glad to have all this stuff behind me.

Now, I can sit at home reading Orange, eating chocolate, and drinking more coffee. WHOO-HOO!