Sometimes smaller is better

[stumpy]

Finally found useful duty for my Homesteader 8...sometimes a larger, heavier machine won't do. "Volunteered" to install about 2000 feet of pvc irrigation line, sprinklers, valves, etc. at a friend's sister-in-law's new house (forced duty, but she did buy the beer). Problem is the very sandy loam soil in parts of the Columbia Basin is tough to work with....easy digging, but the ditch walls collapse. Put a flare on an old truck leaf-spring and bracketed it on the hind-end of the little H-8 at about a 30 degree angle. With the sand slightly damp it produced a very neat 14" deep by 3" wide ditch to lay pipe in, and didn't tear-up the terrain in the process. A heavier machine would've caused the diggin's to collapse constantly...the neighbor had rented a 1000 lb. self-propelled ditcher and was working at the same time we were. For every foot he excavated another would cave-in. We finished backfilling our project with the front blade quick enough to be able to help the neighbor with the last 1000 feet of his system and all of the backfilling. He'd chuckled at the little Homesteader when we drove it out of the trailer...after we gave him a hand he decided to get rid of the junker MTD mower in his new garage and go looking for vintage AC-Simplicity! Another convert emerges! Hoorah!

[arjr111]

Sounds like a neat idea, take any pics?

[stumpy]

Sorry...no pics...don't have a digital camera yet. Going to refine what I did and by the time that occurs I will have a digital <G>. Actually, I was going to attach the leaf spring to an old draw bar on the Ford 8N with U-bolts, and adjust the angle from the top of the three-point. Then it would have height and angle adjustments, and be ultra-simple. Same kind of set-up could be done with the hitch on my B-112, but the Homesteader will need some additional work to rig it for adjustment. Not too tough to do though. Just u-bolt the spring vertically to a steel cross-bar at the desired angle and depth. of course, you have to dig a hole to start with, or have down-pressure hydraulics. I put a point on the bottom end and welded some 1/8" plate at about 14", extending upwards about 8" and out to each side about 6" at a 45 degree angle towards the rear to throw the excavated soil away from the trench. Apologies for the description...probably not too good. Works well enough in some soil types, but I doubt it would be effective on heavy clay, etc. Of course, it would likely be OK if you have a tractor with enough oomph. That's why I'm gonna set-up something similar for the 8N to use at my step-brother's place....pretty tough ground and we have a lot of line to put in eventually (ten acre pasture).

[arjr111]

Nice to see creative thinking. Bet-ya, your method would also work good to bury/run electic line, for driveway lights, swimming pool pumps, small out-building lighting or an outlet, and such.