| This
letter is to continue the story about the zip line. The first post
was just about all I could handle with "hand tools". So when
standing up the second post I talked to one of our neighbors and asked
him if one of these days he would swing by with his backhoe for about
20 minutes. |
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He was more
than happy to help out, and passed on the task to his son. So 2
days ago, Ethen went over to his friend Caden Barney's house and when
Caden's older brother Austin dropped Ethen off home - he told Ethen
that he was going to run back home and grab his backhoe and we would
set the post. I had reminded him about it once or twice, but he
wanted to be done and so Tuesday night was the night. |
| We
used the front bucket and a strap to lift up the pole and move it over into
position. Once in position we moved the backhoe around and
intended to use the hoe to lift it up with some straps. At
first attempt, the strap was just around one of the teeth on the bucket
but after the pole rose to a 40 degree angle it appeared as if the
strap was ready to slip off the bucket tooth. So we re-rigged the
post - this time with two straps and used the pin in the back of the
bucket. This also allowed the bucket to be able to extend the height and
increase the reach the backhoe had to set the pole. |
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It went really
easy. My estimation of 20 minutes wasn't that far off. The
entire process was probably closer to 25-30 minutes, but really
painless none the less. Kyle had previously dug the hole, and I just needed to stick the post into it to complete the process. The post was 22" in diameter at the bottom. We dug the hole a little wider than the first hole to make the maneuvering of the post into position easier. Also this would allow for a little more concrete around the base of the post to aid in anchoring it into position once a rider is on the cable stretched between the two poles. |
| I
was not completely ready for the pole to be set in that I didn't have
any concrete nor any time to secure it into position. As the hole was a
little larger, the post was left at about a 20 degree angle sticking
out of the hole. The post stayed this way for a few days, and I didn't like it. I didn't think it would go anywhere, but if for some reason it decided to move it - it weighs around 1,500 pounds and could do some damage if it fell - both to people and property. |
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As Terra had committed to be a chaperon on the Pomerene School 8th grade trip (Ethen finished the 8th grade and was going) she requested that I take today off and watch Janelle. This I did, and after a few hours I looked out the window and say the pole askew. I also checked the weather report and saw a red flag warning for Thursday and Friday afternoons here due to high winds. This just happened to be the perfect ingredients to motivate me into finishing the pole installation. |
| After
I took Janelle to the store to round up some concrete - the first task
was to secure the pole close to vertical. This was harder than I
thought. This pole is longer and larger in diameter than the
previous one, and with the hole being bigger I didn't want it to flop
over and hit the Ramada structure in the back yard. Just by
looking it appeared that it would. Given the amount of force it
took to move the pole, the wind probably didn't pose much danger, but... |
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I first took
some straps and a chain fall and hooked the pole to the tree on the
west. This was to be a strong back and not let me move the pole
move too close to the wooden structure. Then I went and copied the
same thing using the tree on the east side. |
| As my chain is broken on my smaller chain driven come-along (0.5 ton) I used the cable
operated come-a-long and it worked like a champ. In this
arrangement, I would increase the force on the east tree (until it
started to bend) and then loosen the force on the west tree. This
slowly moved the pole from a westerly tilt to a close to vertical. After that is still wanted to tilt north and south. |
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To correct
this, I used a rope and after pushing the post where I wanted it, I
gently tied the rope to the wooden structure. I say gently,
because I used a knot similar to how someone would hitch up a
horse. I really didn't want the post to move much, but I could
easily move it back and forth, but I didn't want the wind to move the
wooden structure much. So as I was pouring the concrete I would move the post north and south to make sure the concrete was mixed between lifts and to test the resistance on the post to gauge how much it was setting up. This photo was taken after I had poured the hole full of concrete. I estimate that about 1,000 pounds of concrete are around the base of this post to hold it in place. I think it is probably sufficient, but when I string up the cable I think I will also add a cable at 45 degrees going from the top of the post down to the ground. This may also not need to be installed, but just to be sure it stays put. |
| At one point when I was about had about 2/3 of the concrete hole
filled, I looked over at the porch and saw Janelle giving the kittens a
bath in the dog water. She was submerging them and then bringing them out
soaking wet. For whatever reason the kittens were putting up with it.
I managed to put a hold to the practice, but given the setting up mess
I left Janelle to fend for herself with the cats. Once I was finished - this is how she greeted me. She was laying on top of the bottle balancing. She was trying (unsuccessfully) to persuade the larger cats into the water. Now that the two posts are in the ground I just need to get a cable strung between the two of them. |
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