ray...
The happy Nada Farmer, plugging along, trying to have a good time, and mostly doing it.
Keep coming back , page Nineteen follows......soon .
Plasma is my new favorite state of matter !
I had a little project, and I decided it might be easier with the Plasma Cutter I bought 3 years ago, and never had a chance to even hook up.
Of course first I had to install a plug that would power it. The power panel I brought from the Lake Street Garage has tons of room in it for expansion. So it was no problem to install another plug. And oddly enough I happened to have one, hard to believe I know, what with the limited inventory I had accumulated, NOT! I even had a twenty foot extension cord made of the triplex I removed from Lake Street years ago when I installed the gas stove, rather than the electric it was wired for. I have always prefered gas to electric for cooking, unfortunately it isn't an option at present, here at the Briar Patch.
We had a walk through of NADA FARM by a couple of really nice guys from the local "extension office" . I can't tell you what a deligtful difference it is living out here and dealing with the real people. These guys were great. So unlike the nasty Aholes I had to deal with regularly in Akron. We walkeed the entire property they identified trees and plants for us suggested what would be our best course of action, use of the land and offered to help us in our attempts at farming in the future. Oddly enough the Briar Patch would be good for the cultivation of berries of many varieties and the raising of livestock. Mostly due to the prevalence of Multiflora Rose bushes everywhere we didn't need them the guys said I should get a couple goats. I've been around sheep so that suggestion went down in flames, and the possibility of a couple cows is still in the wind. But the suggestions were in general helpful.
Ok, The green bench above has been necessitated by my advancing years. For the last 55 years I had dropped to the floor, on my knees, and fixed, built, or adjusted, whatever I needed to work on. a couple weeks ago I dropped and dug out a root for Chris that was "strangling" a plant, something I later mowed over and probably killed anyway. In addition to digging it out, "the weed root" I eventually ended up digging a thorn out of my knee about a week later when it finally festered enough to start rising from the knee cap where it was pretty firmly planted by 220 pounds of me, slamming down on it . I began to realize I needed to get my " work " up off the floor. Now I usually work on tractors, (ok, lawn mowers!) and go karts and miny bikes and little engines and things that are usually heavy, and as we are still on the money rationing thing, I had to work with what was already here, including the paint... and yes it's already covered with junk, but I've had a project that is helping keep me sane, well a little saner, I don't even know if that's a word? Anyway, it didn't show up well in the garage, lighting, background clutter, whatever...
Here it is, the first complete project that isn't water or plant related, the "junk I already had here, MIni Bike!"
Ok, it could use wheels, I've got em. And a seat, I can make that easy. And a couple other little things, but it is coming along pretty well. And yes I know it's a little long and boxy but when it's done you'll see why. This is no ordinary Mini Bike, this is going to be a NADA FARM Mini Bike. It is going to have jobs to do, and be able to do them.
Now back to PLASMA, what a great tool. I am still figuring it out, but it seems to be the neatest cutting tool I've ever had, now there are issues, as with everything. It cuts almost too good!
I used it to cut a couple frozen bearing races off a shaft, and it cut the shaft as quickly as it cut the races, never had that happen with a gas torch. So I'm playing with it at different settings now to see if I can control the depth with the "dials" I also learned it is "real particular" about a good ground. I thought it had broken just when I was going to show it off, it didn't do diddly! I put new parts where I could and it still did nada ( kind of fitting huh?), then I used my grinder to create a shiny spot on the piece of a truck spring I was trying to cut. Put the ground clamp on it and it went through it like hot butter! In fact one of my problems is I don't move the cutter as fast as I should , because it ends up cutting a wider line than necessary if I 'm not pushing myself. What a great tool. Everybody needs a Plasma Cutter, and a wire feed inert gas welder (MIG). No really, we could fix the world in a couple days if everbody could be happy welding and cutting and creating with steel. Well it seems like a plan anyway, I guess a few people could still fiddle with wood projects, if that lights their fire...
Oh yeah, there are some sparks involved in all this, so keep the melty things away from your work area, it will definately melt little holes in the plastic gas can setting too close to your work area, and then there's the little trickle of fuel and the tiniest of flames not really noticable with a welding hood on, and, well you know....
Man, are we happy out here!
