Another Bridge Post

[wroughtn_harv]

Of course this is a gate for pier drilling company. Hard to figure that one out, huh?

The opening is thirty eight feet plus. The gate was put in 95 or 96, no sooner. They're about fifteen hundred pounds a side.

This is one of those projects where the customer lost it and just told me to get creative. I made the top opening for some sort of scroll pattern. But then out of the corner of my eye I noticed the flite pattern on an auger. I realized the profile was simply a hand pattern reversed per side and offset.

So I drew out a pattern of my hand and then cut out a sheeshky pot full of them. Another one of those things about being lucky is better than being good. I was lucky that auger caught my eye.

The same process with the cutting and welding for the top rail on this gate will work just fine for the beam of a bridge.

 

[GaryM]

wroughtn_harv, beautiful work as usual! The bright ought to be a work of art too! If I weren't in Eastern Missouri I'd be there to help.

 

[Alan L.]

Wow, awesome workmanship. I don't know that much about structural steel. Where would this type of material be purchased? With steel prices the way they are, will this be several hundred $$ of steel material?

Access to the opposite side of the creek is by way of a fairly narrow low water crossing with some tight turns on the other side to get down to creekside. I was wondering how nimble Iris is. Sounds like one heck of a piece of equipment.

I have a power mitre saw that was my Dad's, and one rechargeable drill. I also have a skilsaw and saw horses.

I'm inclined to think a concrete footing won't be required for this bridge, in fact that would hold up the progress, as it sounds like we could set the posts and build the spans in the same day. What do you see as the method for mixing the concrete? When I do small posts I just pour sacrete in the hole with water, no mixing. I wonder if this quickset stuff should need to be mixed in a mixer and then poured in the hole?

Dad had a cement mixer but last time I check it seemed to be froze up. This was one of my projects for the future - figuring out whats wrong with it.

I'm thinking now I might have to cut some small trees down and do some road work to make access to the back side of the creek more accessible.

Here is a picture of the proposed bridge location from the other direction.

 

[Alan L.]

Here is the low water crossing about 75 yards upstream. Obviously this was after our snow we had on 2/14/04 so its kinda hard to see the banks. The crossing is really deeper and steaper than it looks....

 

[Alan L.]

Another try at the creek bed.

 

[Alan L.]

Update on bridge project. Harv and I will talk and plan the project and schedule, then see if this fits in with other North Texas TBNers. Being in public accounting, I'm in a little squeeze right now, and I have to get my bermuda hay crop in or will be too late for spring rains. So it could be 3 weeks or so. Then we'll have to see how everyone else's schedule works, and then hope the creek banks aren't flooded when the time comes. Right now there is water in the creek, but not very high on the banks.

 

[Bird]

Sounds OK to me.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Bird we'll have to make this a two day affair. After all I have two of them thar red TBN t shirts. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bird]

Harv, I didn't figure on wearin' my TBN t-shirt; might get it dirty or damage it. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Morning Bird,

Last night I called Leo in California. He was talking about how he wished he could be here for the bridge event. I guess having it seventy degrees twenty nine days out of thirty a year isn't enough. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

As for damaging the shirt, we might have to send you to visit Okeedon. He was talking about not waxing his tractor. I bet he gets his butt chewed all the time for getting his good clothes dirty or torn too. My wife only complains about me doing that, oh, once, maybe twice, a day.

Last night I woke up, we haven't had the heater A/C on for months, a little warm, and I couldn't go back to sleep for building that darn bridge. Heckuva project, ton of fun.

I had the beams built, cross pieces welded in, handrails on the sides, and was having fun decking. There was laughing and all that stuff too. Poor Alan was trying to figure out how a simple post on TBN could cause so much activity.