"Z" progress.

[pro70z28]

Thanks Rapid & WC.
Got everything pretty much done on the trailer stuff & painted. Just a few odd jobs to finish up.



Tore the outriggers apart today & gave it rattle can paint job. I took pics. of some of the factory safety & instruction decals, pealed them off & made new ones to include stuff for the home made attachments.

Stuck a few on the attachments too, to make them look official.







It's a tight fit but it all clears what it's 'spoz to..


Made a little re stricter plate to slow down the bucket. Now I can hit the lever & not worry about going too fast. I should have done this a long time ago for the post setter. When your pickin' up a 20' 4''x6'' by the end it can travel pretty fast if you aren't careful. Shouldn't be a problem Ann E. Moore.



Still have a punch list of things to do, mostly on the trailer, then this deal is done & ready for Spring work.

[pro70z28]

Finally done with this deal.

[pro70z28]

O.K., just a couple more. Before I put it back on the trailer I thought I'd put it to the test. Nothin' fell off. . I guess that's a goota' thing.

[draglist]

What Is it that you are doing again? Bill

[pro70z28]

Installing signs.

[draglist]

Cool. So this one is going to be a home business of some sort? bp

[pro70z28]

I run the sign business out of our home. I built the scaffolding because loading, unloading erecting & tearin' down that old heavy stuff I've been using for years seems to be getting heavier every time I use it. ( I'm sure that has nothing to do with me getting old-er). Now there's no loading & unloading because it stays with the trailer all the time. And the erecting & tearin' down can now be done with hydraulic & hydrostatic levers rather than my back. Even though it hasn't been completely done 'til now, I've used it several times on the job & I'm really liking how much less lifting I have to do and how much faster the job gets done.

I've actually had a stack of square tubing in the shop, purchased just for this project for several years, I just now got around to putting it together. I had to go buy more because I've sorta' been robbing from the pile for other stuff. Last fall I had an install to do that was halfway in a road ditch. All the cribbing & moving heavy scaffolding around to do that job had me dreading the job. It was a 16' long 2 sided sign so that would have meant 4 separate setups all with different ground angles. So I took a day off & got the deck built just far enough along to get that job done. Building in the ditch was no problem at all and I saved several hours of work on that job alone. So, that's how it came to be. Now I'm wishin' I had built it a loooong time ago.

[draglist]

Great idea to use technology. Enjoy your new tools! Bill

[Zappy]

Forget the scaffolding, I just wanna drive the bobcat. That lil track mounted cutie looks bad to the bone,

[pro70z28]

It is pretty hand ZAP. I call it my hired man. Doesn't call in sick, doesn't complaint just does the work.

Made a set of cross brace jigs yesterday. The old method was to install the sign posts, then try to get a tape measure to the top of a post & measure down to find where the base cross brace would go. Since I install by my self, I would put a large screw at that spot & then guess where level was on the post at the other end of the sign & put a second screw there. I'd then set the 2''x4'' on the screws, with a level on top.Then run the second screw out while holding the 2''x4'' & the level. Then I'd move the board up or down to get it dialed in & run the screw through the board, then run screws in the other posts. That would give me a baseline to work from & I'd use a tape measure to space the rest of the 2''x4''s from bottom to top.



Now I can set up a laser level & instantly find level for the bottom 2''x4'' & run a screw through the jig to the post.



Then I just stack the 2''x4'' cross braces on the jig, screw them down & remove the jig. DONE.



I have every sign size combination I use up to 10' tall. For the rare times I may have a sign taller, I can just do the first 10' & then reposition the jig. This is another one of those deals I have thought about for years.... just didn't do it. It will be another time saver & the framing will be dead on every time.


Oh, & I painted them Chevy orange so I don't take them off the post, throw them in the weeds & forget them on the job site.