From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Snag"  wrote in message news:108r0dh$1nicq$1@dont-email.me...   
      
      If we get over 3" of snow here the whole fuckin' county shuts down .   
   Seriously , these people just ain't equipped to deal with snow . Where I   
   grew up (Box Elder County Utah) 2-3 feet on the ground on the valley   
   floor wasn't unusual . Last winter we got 7-8" from one storm that shut   
   everything down for a week . My biggest problem was that I hadn't   
   dismounted the mower deck from Rusty and it was dragging in the snow   
   beyond the ends of the front blade . The 4WD Yanmar ain't gonna have   
   that problem ... I just realized I think I have a set of chains that   
   will fit the front wheels of the Yanmar! Great news in case we get ice .   
   "Whither thy front wheels go , the rest will follow as surely as day   
   follows night" .   
   --   
   Snag   
      
   --------------------------------------   
   One of my wood piles isn't at risk from large falling branches and has a   
   tarp cover that has lasted over 20 years. The wood is piled like a ridged   
   roof and sheds snow when the sun warms it. When the neighbor's above ground   
   winter pool cover develops a hole or tear he gives it to me to add to the   
   wood pile cover which is about 10 old tarps thick in places. The holes don't   
   align and with the slope to drain water the wood stays dry. I took some out   
   to burn this year and checked.   
      
   I made custom tire chains for my garden tractor from some rusty yard sale   
   chain across the tread and long loops of 3/16" welding rod joining them   
   along the sidewalls, alternating with the uncut chain. Screwed Quick Links   
   join it. For a low speed tractor the chains can be a looser fit that's   
   easier to install than on a car.   
      
   The chains on ag tires made a mess of my lawn when using the bucket loader   
   attachment to clear snow from a turn-around area on it. After a warm spell   
   the top layer of dirt is full of melt water that can't drain through the   
   frozen ground beneath, and new snow insulated and preserves the mud layer.   
   We have the heaviest snowstorms in warmer fall and spring weather when the   
   air can hold more moisture. The coldest weather can be a snow desert with   
   bare ground.   
      
   I fillet welded the links at overlaps on the sides, crude but sufficient. At   
   a fair I watched a blacksmith make 3/8" chain links expertly and rapidly   
   with a simple oval form jig he'd made. He notched and broke the rod to   
   length on a hardy chisel, bent it into a U, then scarfed the ends and bent   
   them toward each other on his jig, crossing in an X more than aligned. Using   
   borax flux he forge welded the scarfs together and then rounded and smoothed   
   the weld on the anvil horn. A link took perhaps 2-3 minutes including   
   explanations. The vintage-looking chain was for ox pulls.   
      
   While scarfing he twisted the hammer a little to leave a rounded bulge for   
   the first contact area so the flux would be progressively squeezed out   
   instead of trapped.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)