Hi I’m Mike and today we tackle two very different welding projects on the ranch, the
spooler that we use to feed hay everyday to the cows has broken and needs repaired, also
we try a new tool called a plastic welder to attempt to fix the pig water tank which
split from the freezing temperatures, either that or we make a new pig water tank, either
way its all coming up on the project list on our Wyoming life.
Things break everyday around here and sometimes the ranch is with you and sometimes its against
you, as we take a look at the project list behind me, its still growing and today we
aren’t going to do a single thing on it.
Today we have two projects that need done asap.
The first is the spooler, I use the spooler everyday to feed cows.
Its used to unroll a bale of hay behind the tractor and lay it out for the cows to eat.
Yesterday while I was out feeding the spooler broke.
On the back of the spooler are two spears that stab into the bale when I pick it up
and then they are the spindle that the bale spins on as it unrolls.
The spooler originally came with much smaller spears, only about 8 inches long that tended
to pull out of bales as I used it so I modified it with longer spears and welded them on.
The problem is that one of them has had a few issues over the past few years and has
broken off a few times.
Each time requiring us to find it as they tend to break of in the bales and then reweld
it back on.
That is exactly what happened yesterday, I haven’t fed the bale that the spear is hidden
in and first we are going to grab that bale, take it out, unroll it and find our missing
spear so that we can weld it back on.
The second welding project we have today is to fix the broken pig water tank, it broke
a few days ago and since the tank broke we have been hand watering the pigs, which is
a giant pain.
Using a plastic welder that I picked up a few years ago, that I’ve never used, we
are going to try to fix the tank.
We will see how that goes.
But first, lets go find our missing spear and get this spooler back up and running.
Out and into the tractor, first things first we have to unroll this bale.
The missing spear is hidden away, somewhere in there so our best bet is roll out it out,
then walk back and look for it.
Its hard not to miss, a piece of silver tube with one sharp end about 18 inches long.
As we head down to unroll it though, we can see why its so important to get it fixed,
the bale comes right off the spooler because there is really nothing on that side to hold
it in, so we go back and get it, then cut the net wrap off and get to unrolling.
Again, the bales falls off the spooler and this time there isn’t enough to hold on
to, so we can finish unrolling it by hand, pushing and rolling and pulling and pushing.
Then walking back along the hay to find the spear, which isn’t here.
This is a problem, we can build a new one but first lets head out and see if we can
find it.
Its literally like looking for a needle in a haystack, I feed in different places everyday
and as we head out to where I fed yesterday, there is no sign of it.
Doesn’t help that we had a light skiff of snow last night that was probably just enough
to bury it, rather than spend hours searching for it, lets just make a new one.
Totally off subject, but I love coming out and looking at fresh snow, this morning we
saw some coyote tracks but by the house and it looks like they continue out here in the
field, where they ran into some rabbit tracks.
I bet one heck of a race happened out here last night, you can even see where the rabbit
when down at some point, then back up, probably scrambling and under the fence.
Ok, back to the job at hand, we are giving up on the old spear and we are going to make
a new one, so its back to the shop, when we see something in the snow and wouldn’t you
know it, it’s the missing spear.
The ranch gives and takes away.
Back at the shop its time to get out the welding table, I built this a few years ago, to weld
on rather than burn up my benches, it works well, although it is a bit heavy and definitely
needs better wheels.
On it we have an arc welder, a grinding wheel, a plasma cutter and a mig welder, along with
most of the tools and safety equipment you need for welding.
Before we can weld the spooler we need to take a bit of it apart.
Its never a good idea to weld on a vehicle with a hooked up battery and rather than disconnect
the battery on the trailer we will just remove the spindle from the spooler.
After removing a cotter pin and a big washer, it slips right out and over to the welding
table it goes.
Where we can take the broken spear and try to figure out it its going to be able to be
welded back on.
After some grinding on the spear and then some work with a hand grinder on the spindle
we are able to match them together close enough to reweld them together.
Quick disclaimer here, I am not a welder.
I took a few years of welding in high school, that was it and of course I forgot most of
it by the time we came to the ranch.
I have had to relearn all that I knew, so if there are professional welders out there,
take it easy on me.
This is what most call farm welding, fixing it just well enough so it can break again
in a few weeks.
After a few goes of welding and grinding and grinding and welding, I can call the job,
good enough and we can get it back on the spooler, replacing the cotter pin and then
giving it a bit of grease.
And away she spins, not straight.
But it will work…for now Our next welding project involves the pig
water tank.
Weather over the past few days had caused the tank to break, probably didn’t help
that I was hitting it with a trenching axe but needless to say, it broke and now it needs
fixed.
It’s a plastic tank, and because of that we get a chance to try out a type of welding
I have never done before, plastic welding.
This plastic welding kit was purchased a few years ago and since then it was in a drawer,
I’m not even sure why I bought it, maybe it was on sale but either way, I’m glad
its here today, inside the box is the welding iron, strips of plastic and no instructions,
why I am I not surprised but this cant be that hard, we can figure it out.
With the tank up on the welding table we can get a better look at the crack, and since
I’m sure that the melted plastic will stick better to a cleaner and more roughed up surface
we can hit it with a sander.
Then it’s the moment of truth, with a hot welding iron we start melting the plastic
strip directly into the crack, it’s a bit of a slow process but well worth it.
To buy a new tank would cost at least 100$ the plastic welder was 20$, so if this works
then it will pay for itself.
Just to make sure we are also going to weld the inside of the tank, first sanding it down,
then going to work.
When we are satisfied, then the moment of truth as we fill it with water, letting it
sit for while then checking the weld for leaks.
Here we are a couple of hours later and it’s still holding water, amazingly enough.
The plastic welder has now paid for itself, after sitting unused in a drawer for a couple
of years.
One thing that I have figured out since coming to the ranch, is that there isn’t much you
can’t fix for yourself.
It easier to take something that is broken to a mechanic or just go buy a new one, but
the little things you learn as you try and sometimes fail, those are the things that
stick with you for a very long time and honestly, I feel, make you a better person.
As we head into the end of 2017, I hope that you take the time to grow yourself, as both
Erin and I have since coming here.
I doubt that anyone that knew us in our former life of sitting in board meetings and working
on budgets and spreadsheets would even recognize us now.
Maybe that’s a good thing.
The project list keeps growing also and I hope that you will meet me back here next
Tuesday as hopefully we get to shorten it just a little bit, sometimes the ranch is
with you and sometimes its against you.
I’d like to think of the ranch as a character in our story and if I had to say if its good
or bad, I’d stick with neutral, maybe chaotic good, there’s a flashback to some geeky
Dungeons and dragon days.
Alright I’m done, the list stands fast on the board and waits for us till next time.
Join us this Thursday for a live steam featuring both Erin and me and of course our year end
special is coming up on Sunday.
Its going to be a lot of fun as we get to look back at the entire year, we will have
a few old friends pop in and some new stuff as well.
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Have a great week and thanks for joining us in Our Wyoming Life