Serf Life
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Maine Island
Anyone know where to buy shoes?
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It’s not that hard to learn how to weld and so rewarding making random things. Plus the machines out there are can be had cheaply. They might not be the highest quality but will stick metal together.Looking to try springboard chopping and have found one facebook post from Canada ($450) and then those ones ^ and that’s it. Seems crazy given all of google at ones fingertips. Probably just need to learn to weld for all the random wants…
I had a cheap stick welder that I did OK with....then I bought a Yes Welder multiprocess and gas bottles. Wow, what a difference! I'm not saying I'm an expert, but can stick metal together with much more confidence. It was less than $400It’s not that hard to learn how to weld and so rewarding making random things. Plus the machines out there are can be had cheaply. They might not be the highest quality but will stick metal together.
That sounds like the right investment to give it a go, thanks bud. Heat metal, hit it, bolt onto wood.I wouldn’t go for those red ones. There isn’t much of a lip to bite into the wood just a pair of weld beads which will likely slip around.
You don’t need to weld anything just a cut off grinder wheel and a torch and vice is all that really is needed.
Get some thick plate the width of whatever board you will be using. Cut a bull nose on one end. Stick it in a vise and heat the edge of the bull nose until at least cherry red in a dimly lit shop, smash it down with a hammer to upset the lip. You need just enough lip to bite into the wood of the tree, file or grind to clean up the back side and drill a few mounting holes.
Even a plumbers torch or a hot wood fire can be enough to heat it up.
A bag of lump charcoal and a steel pipe you can shove into the coals and put a hairdryer/ reversed shop vac hose/ or even a leaf blower on idle will get it hot enough to melt the steel! Just don’t melt it but you can make a super simple forge out of any fire pit this way.
It’s not rocket science and the only times I’ve used spring boards I just made them in the woods with a saw. No shoe… but I recommend having a shoe more so if chopping with an axe
The red ones won't pivot for tree work.
The curved ones shown in Tom's post will.
Pivot forward for face-cutting, then pivot to the rear for back-cutting... different than sport chopping.
Kinda like a little bounce shimmy foot action thing?I've done it Very little... you put your weight toward the tree on the board and come light on the board a little while kicking it forward or backwards. It's not pivoting exactly under your weighted foot so your whole foot/ body moves with the board a little.