My dad has been working with the county agent to help get a ration going for the cows and to more or less make the farm more profitable.
More than once he's pointed to all of the "stuff" we've got laying around, and would tell him he should clean it up and scrap it out.
Every time my dad replies, "it may be junk to you, but some day we'll find a use for it. We don't scrap anything until it's not useable anymore for anything"
Today would be another day where I turned scrap into a good fix. The tailgate on our manure spreader was rotted and patched to many times I decided to make a new one while I was fixing on the front of it. I used some metric tubing from my brother's work (measures 3 1/8" square instead of 3" like the original) to make the main frame, I used 2 busted uprights from our 4 section drag (what hold them onto the cart when in transport) to bolt the new plywood on, and part of a bracket off a hitch from a JD corn planted for the cylinder mount.
I put it all in my truck, cut everything to length at work, drilled it, welded some sleeves I made for the pivots in the tube, etc... Then I came home with it all and welded it all in place on the spreader. Still need to make some gussets and cap the tubes so manure doesn't fill them, but I built it all from what otherwise would have been scrapped. The only expense so far is new sheet metal we had bent up for the front end. We also need to buy a sheet of plywood for the lower section in the front, and the tailgate. Then I'll have my brother spray it with some of the burgundy paint I got from work (somewhere around 10-12 gallons) to make it look better. May even clean up the wheels and spray them another color. I think my brother still has some grey in his garage that he sprayed on our feeder wagon a couple years ago. Again, free from his work.
I'll take some pictures as it is now when I go back on Sunday and will try to get some finished pictures. I got a new smartphone with a good camera so that part is easier now.
Donovan from Wisconsin
More than once he's pointed to all of the "stuff" we've got laying around, and would tell him he should clean it up and scrap it out.
Every time my dad replies, "it may be junk to you, but some day we'll find a use for it. We don't scrap anything until it's not useable anymore for anything"
Today would be another day where I turned scrap into a good fix. The tailgate on our manure spreader was rotted and patched to many times I decided to make a new one while I was fixing on the front of it. I used some metric tubing from my brother's work (measures 3 1/8" square instead of 3" like the original) to make the main frame, I used 2 busted uprights from our 4 section drag (what hold them onto the cart when in transport) to bolt the new plywood on, and part of a bracket off a hitch from a JD corn planted for the cylinder mount.
I put it all in my truck, cut everything to length at work, drilled it, welded some sleeves I made for the pivots in the tube, etc... Then I came home with it all and welded it all in place on the spreader. Still need to make some gussets and cap the tubes so manure doesn't fill them, but I built it all from what otherwise would have been scrapped. The only expense so far is new sheet metal we had bent up for the front end. We also need to buy a sheet of plywood for the lower section in the front, and the tailgate. Then I'll have my brother spray it with some of the burgundy paint I got from work (somewhere around 10-12 gallons) to make it look better. May even clean up the wheels and spray them another color. I think my brother still has some grey in his garage that he sprayed on our feeder wagon a couple years ago. Again, free from his work.
I'll take some pictures as it is now when I go back on Sunday and will try to get some finished pictures. I got a new smartphone with a good camera so that part is easier now.
Donovan from Wisconsin
