Tuesday, October 24th, 2023
I started by measuring 36" up one of the angle iron pieces and measuring 5 degrees either side of the 36" mark and cut a wedge out of the leg of the T. Then setting it across the saw horses I was able to push down on it to bend the leg to 10 degrees.
I then cut off the excess 6" above the 10 degree bend which is where I plan to put the platform that will hold the mail box.
hat was pretty much all I had time for so I packed the tools away and called it a night.
Friday October 27th, 2023
Time for the second leg. When I cut the first one off I didn't think about how I used the whole length of the angle iron as leverage when I bent it at the cut. In order to optimize the angle iron I was planning to cut the second leg from what was left from the first but that gave me less leverage when it was time to bend it. I couldn't get it to bend the whole 10 degrees so I put the long end up on a 4 x 4 and used the sledge at the cut to hammer it down but I still couldn't get it to 10 degrees. I took my little Milwaukee 2" angle grinder and cut a very shallow line across the back to weaken it a little so it could stretch. Then back to the 4 x 4, the floor and the sledge and the next whack broke it off! Crap. Time to weld. I clamped the first and second legs together and the broken part to its counterpart to get the angle right and I welded the broken parts together. I also welded the cut on the first leg together and filled it and then ground the welds down. (I should have taken more pictures!)
I'll need to go back and fill a few voids with weld and regrind...
And I need to cut the second leg off to length. Next time.
Wednesday November 1st, 2023
The first order of business was to cut the second leg down to length (6" above the bend). Then I cut 17" off another piece for the cross member. My objective for the evening was to weld the cross member to the legs. It would be great if I had a big shop and a nice big welding table but that isn't the case. I laid things out the best I could on a few saw horses.
I used my little red 90 degree magnets to insure that the cross member was perpendicular to the top portion of the legs. I also checked that the bottom part of the legs angled off at 10 degrees.
I checked the length of the cross member.
Of course there was some tripping over things and knocking things around and having to reset and recheck things - like normal. Then I got around to welding. My welds look like crap but usually after grinding them down they hold up and look decent. Unfortunately one of the welds didn't hold and just broke off. I ground the failed weld off and redid it and second time was the charm. I finished the welds all the way around and got some of them somewhat ground down but I'm going to have to set up my Rockwell Jaw Horse so I can properly clamp it up to use my grinders.
When all was said and done, this is what it looked like.
Tuesday November 7th, 2023
I started out this evening planning to finish grinding the existing welds. Unfortunately that resulted in me breaking one of the welds! Crap. I set things up again and rewelded the joint and ground them not quite as far this time. I also turned up the wire speed on the welder a bit and tried for more penetration.
Saturday November 11th, 2023
This I imagine is going to be the toughest part of the build - to fabricate the curved part of the structure.
The original must have been forged but I don't have a forge so I guess I'm going to have to fabricate it. My plan is to bend a piece of 1 1/2" flat stock into the curve then cut some wider stock into angled pieces from which I can cut the curve and then weld it to the other piece and then meld it into the T angle stock. I started by bending the 1 1/2" stock around the tank of my air compressor because it was approximately the right diameter. I then placed it on the existing frame and made sure that it was tangent at the right spot.
Next I cut out a template with the same diameter and mapped out the arch that I need.
Then I broke the arch into 5 segments about 32 degrees wide. Then drew another arch 1 1/2" from the edge and laid out the wider flat stock to make sure that it will cover both edges then cut the angles.
Next was to cut the other four pieces and lay them out.
I was ready at this point to start welding them together but it was then that I discovered that I was out of welding gas! I must have accidently not closed the valve all the way because I was low but not out last time I used it. Of course the AirGas store is not open on the weekend so I was done for the day with this project.
Tuesday November 14th, 2023
Time to weld! Welded the segments together.
Stitch welding them together worked very well. The welds held well, at least at first.
Thursday November 16th, 2023
I set up saw horses in the garage, laid the stand with the arch clamped to it and laid the arch ridge under it to see how it fit and realized it was a bit short. I traced out the curve of the arch on the arch ridge and took it back downstairs to weld some extensions on the bottom sections and a little piece on the top and then ground the welds down.
It's now ready to have the curve cut on the metal band saw but I don't know when I will get a chance to do so as the up coming weekend is very busy with Messiah performances and a Downtown Market performance, both for Shirley and then Thanksgiving week with Myrtle and Trevor coming. We'll see.
Tuesday November 21, 2003
Finally got a chance to cut the outside curve out on the metal band saw. It seemed to go well.
When I was done I used a small segment of the T stock, ran it along the outside curved edge and marked the inside curved edge by holding a blue sharpie to the middle of it.
Wednesday November 22nd, 2023
Cut the inside curve along the blue line on the metal band saw and then took it to the spindle sander to try and get it as round as I could.
I found again that my Argon tank was empty again! I had been very careful about making sure that I closed the tank after every time I was done welding, not just at the end of a work session so I really didn't know what had happened. I took it back to the Air Gas Store and the guy gave me a refill for free assuming that I didn't get a full tank to begin with. Very nice.
Tuesday November 28th, 2023
Time to fit the curved parts together now. My curve was a little narrow so I had to cut a slit in the top so I could spread it apart a bit.
Then I clamped things up and started stitch welding the curves together.
I laid a couple pieces of T stock up against it like it will be in the end to see how it matches. I knew I had cut it a bit wide but it turned out to be a little bit wider than I had planned on. I'll have to try and cut it down to match.
Tuesday December 19th, 2023
I started to do some clean up of the welds on the curve. I decided I didn't really need to clean up a lot as it is rather "industrial". It ain't no grand piano. Also decided I didn't need a continuous weld all the way around the curve. That would be a bit of over kill. I could have done a lot less than I did and have it be structurally sound. I figure the paint will cover a lot of issues.
Friday December 22nd, 2023
Time to attach the inner legs. Had to cut things such that the inner and outer holes lined up and then did some welding along the edges.
Friday January 26, 2024
After getting the inner legs welded on the edges to the outer legs I needed to fill in the gaps between the inner legs and the curve as they didn't meet up exactly. I had to cut a small piece of metal to fill the gap on the right side and weld it into place. On the left, a weld in the gap filled it.
Tuesday February 27th, 2024
I drove Shirl to Fruitport High School to work with their choirs and I went up to Harbor Steel in Muskegon and bought a 1' x 4' x 1/8" piece of cold rolled steel. I really wanted 3/16" our 1/4" but they didn't have it. I should have asked if they had either in any weldable steel but didn't think of it as I have always used cold rolled. What I bought was about $50. I had them cut it into 4 1' x 1' squares with the big metal shear. After running some other errands I took the metal downstairs and laid out the pieces that I need for the angular supports. I decided to double them up since I was only able to get 1/8". I will put four plates on each leg, two on each side. That will give me the equivalent of 1/4" on each side.
Here are 3 of the angular supports and the two 1' x1' feet.
Wednesday February 28th, 2024
Cut a couple more angular supports.
Friday March 1st, 2024
Cut the rest of the angular supports for a total of 8. I clamped two of them in place at the bottom of the legs and measured from the top cross bar to the bottom of the angular supports, set them both at 3' which puts the legs just a bit elevated off the foot. The legs will bolt to the supports, like the real ones which is why I doubled up on the supports so they would be good and strong. Next I marked the placement of the bolt holes on a support and used my hand held drill to drill holes. It was tough going which made me realize that I needed a drill press! I have been lusting after the TeknaTool Nova Viking DVR Direct Drive Drill Press. Very expensive but very nice! Started seriously looking into it and how to purchase one.
Monday March 4th, 2024
Over the past few days I looked at a lot of cheaper alternatives for drill presses - Wen, Harbor Freight, the ones at Home Depot and Lowes - but they just were not what I wanted. They all have a less powerful motor and belts and pulleys to change the speed. I know that making belt changes for a quick hole wouldn't happen and I would end up running at the wrong speed most of the time. The direct drive option and the 1 hp motor and variable speed via a simple knob is just so convenient. I had the money so I finally said screw it. The problem was where to buy it. Shipping would be a lot since it is heavy. I was hoping that I could get it locally. Woodcraft often carries them but the GR store does not. I'd have to drive to Novi or farther. Then I realized that I could get it through Amazon at the same price and since I have Prime, delivery is covered! I placed my order. They even claimed it would be delivered on
Friday! I didn't believe it. When Friday came along, It changed to Monday. Even that made me skeptical.
Monday March 11, 2024
Sure enough, Monday afternoon it showed up next to the garage while we were out.
Once Shirley went off to GRSC rehearsal. I carefully got it down the stairs on my hand cart and into the workroom. I knew it would be heavy, and it was. I got it laid down on the floor, opened the box and opened the Styrofoam container. (Should have gotten a picture.) I had hoped that it would come broken down in pieces that I could assemble on the bench but no such luck. It was all in one piece except the work table. I saw somewhere that it weighs somewhere near 220 lbs so there was no way I was going to lift it up on the bench. I remembered that I had bought a come-a-long from Harbor Freight when I thought I was going to have to pull posts out of the ground when I rebuilt the fence. (Never used it.) So I figured I could use that to pull it up on the bench. I did some figuring and realized I would need a pulley and some bolts to attach the pulley and the end of the come-a-long to the joist overhead so I ran out to Home Depot (ACE was closed), got what I needed, did some measurements, drilled some holes and hooked things up.
I got the drill press standing up in front of the bench and hooked it to the come-a-long cable. Unfortunately the cable on the come-a-long is only a couple of feet long. I expected more. I used an additional length of chain to attach the end to the drill press. That allowed me to at least get the heavy part above the bench and lift the bottom up so it was laying on the bench.
With it on the bench, I was able to attach the base to the bottom of the post and tighten it down good.
That was enough for one night!
Tuesday March 16th, 2024
I swung the drill press around so the base was on the bench also instead of sticking out in front.
Now I had to drill a new hole in the joist to move the end of the come-a-long closer to the pulley and connect it again to the drill press head with a chain.
Now I could slowly winch it up and drag the base along the bench until it was almost upright.
Towards the end it was a bit of a struggle to get it upright as there wasn't enough headroom under the pulley to pull it all the way up so I had to manhandle it into place.
And yes, I had calculated how much room I would have height wise. I knew it would easily fit between the joists but it was a pleasant surprise that I was able to actually fit it under the joist so I could move it over a bit on the bench. I also know that I am going to have to make a stand for it to go on since on the bench it is too high. I will have to stand on a stool to operate it up there but it will work in the mean time. The whole basement needs to be cleaned out so that I can move my drawing board out there and make more room in the shop for things like the drill press.
Sometime in the week of the 19th I finished assembling the drill press - put the table in place, put the chuck on the arbor and put the arbor/chuck assembly in the spindle. Read through the rest of the manual and became familiar with the functions, powered it up and tested it.
Sunday March 26th, 2024
My first hole! I was trying to make a first valve slide hook for my trumpet out of plexiglass and needed to drill a hole so this was my first use of the drill press. Worked great!
Wednesday April 3rd, 2024
Finally got around to using the drill press for drilling holes on the angular supports, based on the position of the holes I drilled by hand. Used the twist drill but found it didn't make round holes so I cleaned them up with the step drill. Then I started using just the step drill. Seems to work better but I do have to clean up the back side because it leaves a burr.
Here is the step drill...
I learned how to set the depth gauge. It isn't a physical stop, the motor stops when the spindle gets to the assigned depth and then after a second it reverses for a few seconds. Pretty cool!
More drilling. I didn't want any error to creep in by continuing to use the original hand drilled plate as a template so I decided to properly layout the center points for each hole then I figured out how to adjusted the lasers to point at the correct spot.
With the make shift fence in place it made drilling the holes easy and much quicker. After moving the plate into the laser cross-hairs I clamp it down to the table to hold it in place while I drill.
Friday April 5th, 2024
In-between practice sessions, I got a couple more plates drilled for a total of 4 plates, all for the same side. Now I have to figure out the position of the holes on the plates for the other side. To do so, I need to make sure that the plates will sit flat on the feet so I will need to make sur that they do so such that the top bar is level when the feet are level. Doing so, I realized that I am going to have to trim the angular supports a bit as they are a little off. Crap.
Wednesday April 10, 2023
I started out with the stand on my welding table and laid a straight edge across the bottom of the legs and measured down 3 feet from the top cross bar to the lower edge of the straight edge, making them parallel. One of the legs is slightly longer than the other so the angular plates on that side have to extend a bit below the end of the leg. And that is OK, on the real ones the legs don't touch the ground either.
I put an angle plate on each side with a clamp moving them so the bottom lined up with the straight edge. I then used it to mark a line across the bottom so that when they are in place against the leg that the bottoms will be straight across and will be flat on the two feet (1' x1' squares).
I then trimmed up all the bottoms of the plates.
Using the position of the angular plate against the leg, I calculated and laid out the position of the holes on the left side and then drilled them. Next step is to get some bolts and attach the plates to the legs!
Then I can start welding the plates to each other and to the feet.
I need 5/16" diameter bolts and the distance between the bottom of the head and the bottom of the nut is 5/8". And I need 12 of them.
Thursday April 11th, 2024
On my way to rehearsal I stopped at Ace and got the aforementioned hardware.
Friday April 12th, 2024
I fit the bolts through the plates and the angle iron to make sure that everything fit and all the holes lined up. They all fit nicely.
Saturday April 13th, 2024
In order to add stability to the angled plates I decided to plug weld each pair together. I also plan to weld them along the exposed edges. To accommodate the plug welds, I drilled 3 holes in the inside plate of each of the 4 pairs.
Sunday April 14th, 2024
I welded up the plug welds on the inside panels to attach each of the two panels in the four sets, together. That went quite well although in hind sight, I should have moved the two holes parallel to the line of six holes farther toward the center as they kind of duplicate the strength that the bolts will give them. It would have made just a miniscule difference though.
It actually worked out for the better that the edges were not all exactly aligned as the difference created ledges that made stitch welding the easier as I could lay the weld onto the ledge.
After welding them I put the edges on the belt grinder to smooth off the welds. I didn't try to get too fancy, just take care of any rough edges and the like. After all, it ain't no grand piano!
About halfway through the last plate I ran out of welding gas. I didn't even notice until I was almost done. I went ahead and finished it off. Once ground down you couldn't really tell. The welds were just a little rougher, pitted a bit but not bad. I'll have to go tomorrow and get a new cylinder.
I'm thinking I need to do the same thing to the two 1' x 1' feet - double them up so they are even thicker than I originally intended!
Monday April 15th, 2024
In my hast to get to welding, I didn't think about the fact that I should have drilled the holes in the bottom plates before I welded the angular plates onto them. Its going to be harder to position the plates on the drill press after the welding.
Anyway, I spent a lot of time positioning the right leg onto the foot plate. Measuring and checking level and square and I still somehow got it wrong in the end.
I clamped the straightedge to make sure that it was the right distance from the edge and I clamped a square on the back side to make sure it was up straight but in hindsight I didn't have anything to insure that it was totally parallel with the edge. Oh well. The mounting will take care of any inaccuracy.
I meant to drop just one tack weld at the right end and then check the left side but I got going and before I knew it I had the side welded down and a bit kitty whumpas. I then took the bolts off and removed the back plate. I was afraid that the weld would be a bit weak but it wasn't. I was very strong. I then welded the back side of the front plate. I only get to weld the back side of one of the plates because they are so close together.
After welding the back side of the front plate, I put the back plate back in place, put the bolts in place and welded the back of the back plate.
The welds seem to be very strong and don't seem to have a problem holding up the stand. Not sure if they would make it through a snow plow hit though!
Tuesday April 16th, 2024
I decided that the corner holes in the foot plates should be 3/4" and should be 1 3/8" from each edge. I marked those four point out on the non-welded plate. I then thought more about how to go about welding the second set of angular plates. I should have thought of this before I welded the first set but I realized that I could use the large 90 degree magnets on the first plate, weld the outside then remove the magnets and weld the other side. That would insure that it is 90 degrees, instead of the builders square I used on the first set up.
Wednesday April 17th, 2024
First I scribed the front edge of the front angular plate on the foot plate so I knew where to put it back. Then I took the set up apart so I could drill the corner holes. I had to reset the depth stop on the Viking to get the step drill to 3/4" then I drilled the four holes. That went straight forward. Next I set the angular plate back into position on the drilled foot plate and held it in place with the 90 degree magnets. I checked myself a couple of times and then set up to weld. I put a few tacks at each end and then worked my way across to connect them. I found that I got a better weld if I didn't use the tack weld setting. That let me engage the welder for just a split second longer and get a little bigger tack. (Didn't get any pictures of this process.) Next I did the same across the back side. Then, to insure the back set of plates lined up, I bolted the leg back in-between the two sets of angular plates and welded the back edge.
I then cut a length of 4" wide 3/16" plate 6" long in the band saw to see how that will fit up next to the angular plates.
This plate too will have a bolt hole through it and into the cement below just like the corner holes. The real cat walk doesn't have that but I thought that would add extra strength. Plus, after filling the crack with weld and welding this plate to the foot plate around the other edges (like the real thing), I am going to weld a piece of angle iron on top of it and weld all around the edges of it. That should make it even stronger.
Thursday April 18th, 2024
I used my little angle grinder cutoff saw to cut off the other three 6" plates from the 4" stock.
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Friday April 19th, 2024
I ground off the ends of the 4 plates and scratched a centerline on each.
Next, I drilled a pilot hole through each one. This is so I can transfer the center on to the the foot plate on each of the 6" plates. I have to drill each hole separately because the step drill can not drill the same radius through the combined thickness because of the depth of each step.
I'll need to use the mini belt sander to even up and reduce the welds across the outsides of the angular plates so these plates can sit evenly beside them. Then I will fill the crack with weld.
Once I know each plates final position I can mark the center of each hole and then drill them to the final radius in each plate and the foot plates. Since each plate will have a slightly different offset due to the bespoke width of the weld lines, I'll have to mark each plate to insure that it goes back in the right position so the holes all line up!
Its coming together!
Monday April 22nd, 2024
I needed to grind the welds on the outside of the angular plates so the support plates would set up relatively tight next to them. I had planned to use the 1/2" belt sander so I turned on the compressor in the garage and switched the hose to the basement hose but it wouldn't get right up against the foot plate so I had to switch to the 2" die grinder with the metal cutting blade and basically cut and scrape the weld as close to both plates as I could.
That's close enough that I can fill the trough with weld and then the angle iron I put over it will add additional strength. I will also stich weld around the other 3 edges of the support plate.
I then marked each plate so I know which goes where and I marked the center point of the hole in each support plate on its corresponding foot plate.
I then attempted to drill through the 3/16" support plates with the step drill up to 3/4" diameter. I got through the first one but half way through the second hole the step drill got scorched and would not drill any further.
I tried the larger step drill but quickly ran into the same problem with it. Either the thickness or the toughness of the support plates was a little too much for the step drills which worked great on the 1/8th" foot plates. That pretty much ended my work session for the evening. I'll need to find some better drill bits for the job.
Tuesday April 23rd, 2024
I found a set of three 3/4" drill bits on Amazon meant for use with hard steel for ~$30 that could be delivered tomorrow. Placed the order.
Wednesday April 24th, 2024
The drill bits came about 2:30 just as scheduled. I met the Amazon delivery person in the driveway and took it right downstairs, opened the package and chucked up one of the bits. I had a lot of chatter as I tried to finish the hole that I already started because these are twist drills and the existing hole was not too far from 3/4" and I couldn't get the bit perfectly centered and it drifted, half in and half out of the hole. I set it aside and drilled the other two which only had pilot holes. Those drilled very nice.
I finally went back to the plate that didn't drill well, turned it over and drilled from the other side, being careful to center it so that the bit grabbed onto solid metal all the way around and it drilled through ok.
Here is one of the support plates butted up against the angular plate where it will be welded in place after the hole is drilled through the foot plate.
This is the angle iron I plan to cut to length and weld in place between the angular plate and the support plate to add strength. I think that this and six bolts in cement in each foot will be plenty strong.
Thursday April 25th, 2024
I masked up the foot plates and angular plates to paint the areas where the support plates will sit. I then took them out to the backyard and painted them and the back of the support plates. I wasn't particular about what paint I used. There was some dark blue Rustoleum in the garage so I used that. I just wanted to coat it so it wouldn't rust from the inside after I weld them in place (didn't take any pictures). I should have done the same to the angular plates before I welded them together, just in case. Hopefully moisture won't seep in-between them and rust.
Friday April 26th, 2024
I finally welded the support plates in place. It went well except that I ran out of welding wire on the last support plate. Luckily I had another spool but just as I got it loaded up, Shirl came home and it was time to stop.
Saturday April 26th, 2024
I started out by finishing up the welding on the 4th support plate. Then I realized that I needed the 4" x 3' x 3/16th" plate to go across the top that will hold the mail box. I ran to Ace but they didn't have it so I ran to Home Depot and got 2 (just in case). Then I came home and drilled 6 well placed holes in the top plate for the screws that will hold the mail box on.
Then I hung the stanchion upside down with bungee cords so it just touched the welding table top and positioned the plate under the stanchion and centered it...
Squared it...
And welded the topo plate to the two legs.
Next, I cleaned the whole thing off with a green scotch brite pad and took it up to the garage to prepare it for painting. I wiped it all down with pre-paint cleaner, set it up with the stanchion up side down on a tarp and gave it a good coat of Eastwood's Epoxy Primer.
Later I gave it a second coat. Pretty good progress for one day!
Sunday April 28th, 2024
I turned the stanchion over and set it up on the feet and primed the parts that didn't get covered with it upside down.
Monday April 29th, 2024
Painted the first and second coats of Rustoleum Gloss Enamel on the top of the feet and with the stand up-side down. I used the heat gun to try and speed up the drying so I could get set the stand on the feet and get another coat from the top. I ended up with a couple of drips which I tried to clean up by rubbing with a green scotch pad and then applying another coat but it pretty much made it worse. Oh well. I left the van out in the drive way while it dried over night.
Tuesday April 30th, 2024
I tipped the feet over and painted the undersides, 2 coats, an hour apart, just like the rest. Then I built a 20" x 40" frame out of 2x4s for the cement pad.
Wednesday May 1, 2024
I cut some scrap plexiglass strips that will go on the bottom and hold the bolts in place while the cement is drying. Of course, it will stay there for eternity as it will be under the cement pad. I picked plexiglass because it won't rot like wood or rust like metal. It will probably break down eventually but not for a long time. These will just be nailed with small nails to the bottom of the frame to hold them in place and I will drill holes in them for the bolts exactly where needed and the head of the bolt will go in from the bottom with a washer and nut to hold it against the plexiglass and upright while the cement is poured into the form and while it dries.
After walking on the pier this morning I noticed that some of the cement pads had the edges beveled and I though that would make a nice touch and might also allow water to drain off better. It would also make the pad just a little bit thicker which sounded good to the side of me that likes to over engineer things. I decided I could just use some 2" luan strips with some blocks to hold them in place on top of the form. I cut the strips and then cut 10 pieces of 2 x 4 with an edge cut at a 45 degree angle.
These can be screwed into the edge of the form with the strips nailed to the 45 degree edge, angled in.
Then I drilled a pilot hole in each of the supports on the drill press.
I set up some saw horses in the garage and a 2x12 as a table top, laid the two plexiglass pieces on it and the 2x4 frame on top of them. I then set the assembled stanchion on top of the plexiglass and centered it all within the frame and marked the edges of the plexiglass against the inside of the frame and across the bottom of the frame. Then I marked each of the holes on the feet of the stanchions. I then took it apart, took the plexiglass down to the drill press and drilled out all the holes, centering them the best I could.
I then turned the frame over and affixed the plexiglass to the bottom of the frame using the afore mentioned markings. I drilled little holes and used little finish nails to attach them.
Then I put a 6" (the longest they had at Ace) 1/2" bolt and washer in each hole in the plexiglass and secured them with another washer and nut on the upper side of the plexiglass, 12 in all, 6 on each foot.
I then put 2 temporary 4x4 spaces on each plexiglass sheet and sat the stanchion on top of the bolt to check the positions.
It all looked good! I then set it all aside, knowing it was ready for cement when I had the time.
Monday May 6th, 2024
During the day I stopped by Home Depot and picked up 7 packages of Quickcrete cement. My calculations told me that I only needed 6+ and I knew I had almost a full bag in the garage as back up so that seemed to be enough. I stacked it up out by the existing mail box, next to the hole I had prepared a few days ago (Don't remember exactly when and I didn't take a picture).
I also glued the mitered edge blocks to the luan strips I had cut back on May 1st
to make the frames for the beveled edges.
Shirl left for GRSC about 5 and set to work. First step was to cover the ends of the bolts with some tape to keep the cement off of it. Then I mixed up the first bag of cement and put it in the hole where the plexiglass panels would be so that they would be supported from underneath. Then I set the frame in place over the cement and let the plexiglass flatten out the cement underneath it. I pressed down on the plexiglass to make sure it was flat. Next step was to mix up bag after bag and distribute it throughout the frame and around the bolts.
When I got close to filling up the frame, I added the bevel frames around the edges and continued to fill the frame, making sure to pack the cement in under the bevel frame so it made it all the way inside without any gaps.
As I neared the top of the bevel frames things started to get tricky. I realized that the cement was coming up too high on the bolts and that I had filled it too full. I was afraid that they wouldn't be long enough to get the stanchion on them and get a washer and bolt on it! I started to scrape some cement off but it was setting up pretty fast. I placed the stanchion in place and found that some of the bolts had drifted a bit but I was able to persuade them into position with the big screw driver/pry bar. Then I started to worry about getting it all level and square. I was frantically trying to adjust the cement to get everything to sit right and be level. In my haste I kind of buggered up the surface of the cement and I wasn't able to get things as pretty as I would have liked. Although I got it level front to back, it is a little off from side to side. One of the inside bolts on the rear foot was too short to get a washer on under the nut but it looks fine. I was also able to improve the side to side level better by tightening down the bolts on the north side as much as possible. By now it was dark and Shirl was getting home. I smoothed the cement out as much as possible and cleaned up for the night. My back was pretty sore from all the cement mixing and I wondered if I would be able to walk in the morning!
Tuesday May 7th, 2024
After bringing in the trash cans I took a better look at the resulting cement work. I removed the bevel frames and cleaned things up.
The bevels turned out pretty good! The surface on top though is quire rough. I think I can finish it off with some cement resurfacer that will make it smooth and even things out.
All in all, it looks pretty great! Exactly as I had envisioned it. I decided I would leave the base frame in place for a couple more days but I think I will move the mail box onto the stanchion tomorrow and remove the old post. I don't remember if I cemented that into the ground or if I just stuck it in the ground. Hopefully the later but it has been in place for a lot of year so it may be cemented in. If so, I will just cut it off as low as I can and call it good.
Wednesday May 8th, 2024
I took the frame around the cement base apart and removed it. I had a bit of apprehension about the plexiglass being nailed to the bottom of it and was afraid that it would not come apart easily but the plexiglass just broke along the edge as I pulled it up so no worries. Then I added the rest of the nuts and bolts on the angled supports. Next I moved the mail box over from the old stand to the new, dismantled the 4x4 cross member and cut the post off at the ground and voila! There it is!
Next step, to make the two VW Bug cutouts to go on the back side to balance things out, the address plates and to smooth out the top of the concrete pad with some resurfacer.
Friday May 31st, 2024
Awhile back, while at Lowes, I picked up a container of Quikcrete Re-Cap Trowel Ready Concrete Resurfacer.
I thought, because it came in a 20 gallon bucket, that it was pre-mixed. When I opened it this morning it had two plastic packages of the dry mix which meant I had to mix it up. I hadn't planned on that. The instructions say to use a 1/2" drill with a mixer to mix it up. I didn't have one so I just mixed it with a paint paddle and my trowel. Of course I mixed way too much, not knowing how much I would need. Anyway, I put about a 1/2" of it down and smoothed it out. I had to add a little water on top to smooth it with the trowel without it dragging but eventually it smoothed out. Time will tell if it will adhere. It looks a lot better though I think. It will take a few days to dry and I'm supposed to mist it on and off. I think that the sprinkler will hit it and take care of that job for me.
