Keeping character, or restoring a pond

wroughtn_harv · Feb 13, 2013

Jim I had to do that sign. I had the idea at least six or seven years ago and wanted, well, had to do it. I picked up the material at the powder coater today and the production manager has a photo I took of the sign installed as his screen saver, can't beat that!

Kyle_in_Tex · Feb 16, 2013

As usual, I agree with Jim. Please post some pic's after things green up. Jim, I think we should've been brothers somehow.

I have an older brother that would probably be a better fit for your golf cart brother. But I still love him even though we disagree on just about every important aspect of life.

Harv, I love the sign, but like Eddie mentioned, word of mouth is also a powerful job getter.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 24, 2013

I wanted to accent the entryway leading to the gate. I did this by making the panels in the arc solid.

It is a total pain in the butt. Working by myself it takes a day to do one panel. Keep in mind every cut has to be done with masking tape on each side of the cut, plus masking tape on the foot of the saw. Then the cut has to have two coats of cold galvanizing plus a color coat applied. The tolerances are less than an eighth of an inch on some cuts. This is one job that couldn't be done without the new steel steel cutting blades in a worm drive saw. The beauty of these saw cuts is the accuracy, the finish, and the lack of heat transfer. I can keep the cut within a sixteenth in a five inch cut and great plus, no blistering of finish, pick up cut piece and it is cool to the touch.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 24, 2013

Even at 64 years old I'm still learning about this work stuff. I went with stainless fasteners, Torx head, because I wanted to avoid rust issues over the years. I knew that one of the downsides of stainless fasteners square head self tapping is rounding out the head of the fastener which means vice grips to remove plus the cost of the fastener, thirty plus cents per each at least.

The Torx head has its own problem, nut setters. The ears break off, sometimes after only a couple of fasteners installed. I've tried the new Milwaukee impact ones, $2.75 each at American Tool in Plano, TX, $3.79 each at HD if available. They don't last any longer than the one inch inserts I can get for $.75 each at American Tool. I thought it might be the DeWalt 20 volt impact, darn thing doesn't have a feather or impact feature. I went to my trusty 14 volt Panasonic with its three impact selection and had the same issues. I imagine I will have over a hundred dollars just in broken bits by the time I get through.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 24, 2013

I have never been comfortable with the Model 77 framing saws. I suspect a lot of that had to do with racing figure eights back in the day with buds that were framers. They all had serious injuries with the 77's, mostly because of first thing removing blade guards. The torque twist one handing cuts always made me more than a little nervous.

I have been using the old DeWalt framing saw for about twenty years, four saws purchased at the same time, heckuva deal. Well, the last one puked on me a couple of weeks ago and I ended up with the DeWalt worm drive version of the 77. I really can't recommend it enough. I picked up my repaired old DeWalt the other day and haven't put a blade on it yet. I like the new one that much.

One of the things box store shoppers might consider is good tools come with advantages beyond durability. DeWalt has a repair program that is hard to beat. The replacement for that saw is over two hundred dollars. It was rebuilt, including new housing, for about $80.00, less than the maximum they will charge for repairing that saw, $96.00. I had an old half inch hoss of a DeWalt drill, the one the rocker trigger, break awhile back, shaft sheared at the armature. I got it back less than a hundred dollars with new just about everything.

Kyle_in_Tex · Feb 24, 2013

That is good info Harv. You mentioned the company that is painting the metal doesn't have much interest in pursuing this type of business. It sounds like as hard as it is, this owner might just end up with another Harv one of a kind masterpiece, never to be duplicated. Hang in there and don't let those Dewalts wear YOU out!

EddieWalker · Feb 25, 2013

wroughtn_harv said:
The Torx head has its own problem, nut setters. The ears break off, sometimes after only a couple of fasteners installed. I've tried the new Milwaukee impact ones, $2.75 each at American Tool in Plano, TX, $3.79 each at HD if available. They don't last any longer than the one inch inserts I can get for $.75 each at American Tool. I thought it might be the DeWalt 20 volt impact, darn thing doesn't have a feather or impact feature. I went to my trusty 14 volt Panasonic with its three impact selection and had the same issues. I imagine I will have over a hundred dollars just in broken bits by the time I get through.

I've found that Bosch makes the best Torx bits that I've been able to find.

Eddie

jinman · Feb 25, 2013

Harvey, are these the torx tips you are talking about? They sure sound high-tech in Milwaukee's online description. I guess the "shock absorption zone" is just something else they can charge you for when you buy them. Maybe you need to send them a few broken ones for Christmas and ask them what good their shock absorption zone is if the darn tips break? :confused2:

wroughtn_harv · Feb 25, 2013

Jim and Eddie, I think it is the design of the head of the fastener. The ears/wings of the nut setter are just too thin to absorb much impact. That is the puppy with the bad name Jim. Torx 27. A know it all at HD told me no one sold them individually. He was wrong of course.

It is a pain in the butt. But I would rather have broken nut setters than stripped out fasteners.

I plan on visiting a Hilti store about this. I know for sure their masonry drill bits outlast anything else at least ten to one.

Tony_S · Mar 3, 2013

Back in the day when I was building fine furniture, Robertson (square tip) was the head we used. I don't know how applicable it would be for this type of fastening in these materials though.
I realize it's late in the game for a fastener change on this job, but it might be food for thought in the future.
$.02

Tony