In answer to another TBN member TXDon's request for help, I have offered to host a Norte Tejas project get together for TBN members and families. If there are any lurkers out there that think they might like to come they can reach me through my website. I don't think shy should keep someone out. I'm sure exposure to this crowd will cure shyness real quick
I answered txdon's request with the following post: Photos and links follow this post
Okay Don, welcome to my world.
If I was in your creek this is what I'd do.
I'd backhoe down below grade to get a good footing for the culvert. It'd be a crime to go through all this effort and have it sabotaged by a little shortsightedness.
If rock is right there then I'd set the culvert on it and start up. If the rock isn't there I'd pour at least a beam--footer on the up side to prevent the chance for a washout next big storm.
Then I'd put the culvert in place.
I'd then get the cheapest four by eight material, maisonette? maybe? And I'd make a pattern of the culvert and the sides of the creek.
Let's say you do this much and then put the patterns on your trailer and have a weekend in Dallas. Saturday morning early we have a TBN thing where I keep my tools. Around the corner is Wylie Steel. We pickup a couple of sheets of three sixteenths plate, quarter inch would be too heavy, and eighth inch would be a little light.
We transfer your patterns to the steel. We plasma cut them out, almost as fast as you can name six adjacent counties to Lee.
Here's the concept. Think about the portable shoring you see all the time at construction sites. Now think about those holding dirt in instead of out.
We weld four two and a half foot pieces of two and three eighths pipe to the insides of the cut steel. We then drill holes through those pipes and a sleeve of two and seven eighths for each joint. This allows you to install one side a time with your Kubota and then pin them together. You could dump in loose sacrete in the bottom around the joint of the culvert and the sides. Then fill it up in layers compacting as you go.
If it's done right and we also put an angle iron on top of each side you can come back and bolt down a wood deck to make it look like a wood bridge.
If you want to drive an extra hundred miles north into Oklahoma on Friday to Atoka you can go by B&B logs and lumber and get some killer oak for decking. I bought enough two inch by twelve feet to cover my trailer where the tractor rides for eighty dollars. Yup, eighty dollars. I don't know why they're so cheap. And I didn't question their pricing structure either? Seven each two by twelve inch by twelve foot beams, one two by eight inch by twelve foot beam, and one two by four by twelve foot beam, eighty bucks.
If you're interested we can work out the details. I'm sure some of the local tbn'rs would like to have some fun with probably two of the craziest of the crew. I'm talking about Bird and you.
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The following posts are those accompanied by photos from the TBN Forum by txdon and I while organizing this project -- Thank you Muhammad
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Concept posted by Harvey
Here's a marksalot drawing via digital camera concept of what I'm thinking.
It's rude crude and not too clear. But there's an idea in there. I must throw in a disclaimer. Ideas are susceptible to change.
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Here's a material list for the project.
2 sheets of 3/16 plate 4' by 10'
42' (2 pieces) 1 1/4" pipe
60' (3 pieces) of 1/2" by 1 1/2" channel
200' (10 pieces) of 1/2" bar stock
The pipe is for the top of the channel to make the top of the handrails.
The channel is for the top and bottom of the handrails and to make the wagon wheels.
The half inch bar stock is for the pickets in the handrails and the spokes for the wheels.
I do think it would be nice to have a the Texas plate for the bridge with all the attending member's names on it. I originally was going to make this about a foot big. Now with the interest swelling I think we need to consider one three times that size.
I still want to make the memory stones, one for each attending member to take home as a keepsake, deadly missle. Plus one for our buds in Tucson for their display case and one for Leo who's all of a sudden discovered alligators in the southern California desert and won't be able to make it.
I think the thing to do would be to send everyone who asks directions this next week. Then on Saturday I will put the directions on this thread for those who are shy but want to attend.
Feedback please?
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I'm burning daylight, work to do, and all that.
But it just hit me.
Why can't we cut the Texas out of the side of the bridge plate. Then we can take some one inch and a half by quarter bar stock and duplicate the the outline. Weld it all back together with our signature plate standing out. Sorta like us, out standing.
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Here's a photo of a wagon wheel made the way we're thinking about making the ones for the bridge.
I apologize for the quality of the picture. It was taken this morning and the sun was perfectly wrong in it's placement for taking the photo.
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Here's a photo of the front area where we'll set up the food in the shade on Saturday.
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A little move to the right with the camera....
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This looks like a day to two's worth of work to me.
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Here's a shot of the memory stone template. I'll put in a fresh tip in the plasma and try to cut it out clean. Thanks Tractorwidow for the logo magnification. I hope Muhammad doesn't mind.
The weather, well, we're in Texas. One of the things I learned a long time ago was to not plan my day by the weatherman's guess. It might rain two inches Saturday at Bird's house and not do a drop at mine. He's about thirty miles away.
I've got to pick up the smoker tomorrow. I've got the blasting sand and will get the compressor Saturday. The steel is here and we'll start fabricating tomorrow. I imagine there will be food preparations going on.
It gets daylight around seven. I believe that's a cue.
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Bird's Post re: the menu
This thread has gotten so long, and my list has been edited so many times, it's kind of far back in the thread, so I thought I'd bring it to the end again.
TBN Member: Bringing or Providing:
wroughtn harv: 2 briskets, peach cobbler, cole slaw, onion
txdon: spicy beans, plastic knives, heavy duty paper plates, napkins
jinman: Mississippi mud cake, cookies, fruit salad, plastic cups, tables, chairs and Quick Shade
mikim: mesquite wood, killer queso and chips
BillG in TX
EastTexFrank: Sausage, chicken & tables
8NTX: Plastic forks, potato salad
gsganzer
Alan L.
MF1455v: BBQ'd baked beans
fishman: Coolers and ice, cornbread and butter
EddieWalker: Sodas and bottled water
bgoodman
tillerkiller
hayseed
rotr: red beans and rice
Bird: Dill & sweet pickles, olives, and assorted breads
Let's see if I've got this right now. Everyone is to bring their own chairs and favorite beverages. What else? And as has been mentioned, we can either plan to bring something, or just go to Wally World and get it fresh there that morning.
And of course, I guess everyone is going to bring a camera? And if anyone wants to send me more
information, or post it here, or corrected information, I can edit this post to include it.
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I think Bird protesteth too much.
Mikim (Mike) and his wife showed up about the same time as BGoodman (Bobby). Then Bird and his brother in law came in. ROTR (Ron) visited and worked and so did Jinman (Jim). Hayseed (Michael) dropped in and gave my wife his video camera along with instructions on how to use it. He's got four kids and soccer games out the wazzoo tomorrow. We had him sign the map today just in case he couldn't get here tomorrow in time.
It was a fun day. First I put a sheet on some horses and guesstimated an arc.
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Mikim and Bgoodman using an antique steel tire roller. It was a match made in heaven. They'd made a blacksmith a hundred years ago prouder'n peaches as helpers.
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And it worked.
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They made a matched pair with about a thirty six inch diameter.
I got the distinct impression they were having fun. But from my perspective work was done, and appreciated very very much.
Then Jinman showed up and the three of them tackled making the spacer bar for the Texas TBN map.
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ROTR, (Ron) is the blacksmith. Here he's laying out the spokes for the wheel.
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Here's the wheel with the spokes in place.
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Finished wheel
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Close up of hub
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Map tacked into place for trial fit
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From another angle
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All in all we had a wonderful day. We got a lot done. Harmony is a wonderful thing. We had more of that than anything else.
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A few photos Bird took on Friday
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Bird's Photos from Saturday
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Photos by bgoodman on Friday
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I didn't take a doggone picture one today.
But there were fourteen, count'em, fourteen different digital cameras on sight. And that didn't count the video ones either.
We know it was fourteen because Fishman's daughter took the same pose forever. One camera after another, she looked at a bushel basket of characters and clicked.
Here's what she left on my camera.
Good girl.
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We had a great day. At times we had four different groups doing things at the same time.
If I hadn't taken the crew over to the gate to see we might have finished on time. But we'll finish it off tomorrow in a couple of hours. No big thing.
I've been to more than one rodeo. I participated in a goat roping. Been part of and enjoyed more than one blacksmithing get together. Enjoyed some and not other family get togethers.
This one was a great one. Everyone got in and got after it. I think the women had as much fun as the guys. We got real lucky in the project worked out better than any of us planned and I had hoped for.
The good byes were long. The promises for another get together was a common theme. I think everyone took home a smile and an appreciation for virtually everything.
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Saturday photos from bgoodman
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