Name

Names lead to relationship.

           https://youtu.be/PAsojXluyro         

Assumption of Mary

Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven.

           https://youtu.be/i3orDdKqyFA         

Finish Strong

Enter into the mystery with Mary.

           https://youtu.be/Du5nqKb07JU         

Gate Time

So it begins. The season of building gates is upon us. First up was a series of crowding gates for the working pen back home. I can be accused of a lot, but not for building light. 

These bad boys will work together to sort, divide space, and crowd cattle for loading.

Little brings me more joy than a string of 2 3/8" sitting outside the door. The wobblier the better. Gives life character. 

Plan your work and work your plan. I spent my one free day this week working in the shop. Better use it wisely if I wanted to get these done by Christmas. 

Saddle cuts are the way to go. What's cool, if you plan ahead you can use the same cut for the next joint of pipe. 

Giddy up. 

Framework cut. 

Here's a little trick I learned years ago. To hold the pipe in place, wrap some tie-down straps around it. Keeps it snug while still giving you some wiggle room. 

Always pull a diagonal to make sure you are square.

Once welded on the one side, we stood it up to weld the rest. 

Even old rusty, bent up pipe can still be put together right. 

Works for me. 

Then for the filler. This 1 1/4" water pipe came from my buddy Monte in Gillette. I'm not a big fan of galvanized, but you work with what you got. This size of pipe will be strong for any pushback it may receive. Thanks Monte! 

First step was the verticals. 

Then the horizontals. What's fun about working with smaller pipe and a mig welder, you can get away without saddling the pipe. Just butt it up and weld away. 

Should work. We built three of these. Definitely heavy. The post they mount to is strong. I'm just wondering how much friction they will draw when we go to swing. Only one way to find out. Let's ranch!

Don't Mess with Gabriel

He'll stop your speech. 

           https://youtu.be/WvO69cMe8UU         

Annunciation of Joseph

It's actually only about 7 min. long.

           https://youtu.be/Ea4Kn5vHjQ4         

Dec. 17

The countdown begins.

           https://youtu.be/Z3lZtoTgO5I         

Perpetual Virgin

Mary is our Mother!

           https://youtu.be/Nh94JLj4kyA         

Slippery

The method to our Lord's madness. 

           https://youtu.be/c48x0eMYN4w         

Dichotomy

 Here's how we rejoice.

           https://youtu.be/zYDv_5v0baI         

Cowboy Nachos

Cowboy Nachos can serve a good purpose while you're waiting for your steak to grill or for a light meal in a pinch. They are easy and tasty, and can bring back happy memories as a kid.

I remember Grandpa having these Cowboy Nachos when I was growing up. They were good then and just as good now. 

To spice it up, I'll use these lime flavored tortilla chips.

Simply scatter a handful or two on a plate. 

Grab a couple pieces of cheddar cheese. 

And divide them on the chips. I cases like this, I like to put the cheese throughout the layers of chips. 

About 20-25 seconds in the micro. 

And giddy up! 

Simple and good. Add a Black Tooth IPA to wash them down, and you're ranchin! Cowboy Nachos get the job done. Certainly on the light side. But if your day is done and you just need something to hold you over, Cowboy Nachos might just be the meal for you. 

Signage

The one draw back of having the office attached to the rectory and away from the church, is that people often don't know where to go. One step towards rectifying this situation is a sign out front. 

Communication is key in life, and it's no different in parish life. 

Of course, I wasn't going to buy new metal. So I asked around and Dick Bradshaw thought he could help us out. 

Sure enough. Special thanks to Dick and his son-in-law John for this 2'x4'x1/4" plate. 

First step was to stencil in the letters. It is important that you make sure and spell the words right before you get to cutting.

Should work. 

Plasma cutter was my tool of choice. Old timers still prefer a cutting torch, but plasma cutters are quick and easy. 

Good stuff. I was trying to put a lot of letters on a smaller surface. By doing so, it is easy to not put enough space in between words. Such a case makes it tougher to read what you're saying. I probably could have made the letters smaller and avoided this scenario. She'll still do the trick, though. 

One of the beauties of plasma cutters is that the slag on the back chips off easily with a chisel and hammer. Dick said that if you buff the rust off the back before you cut, you'll end up with less slag. Makes sense, though I'll have to try it next time. 

A good buff with a wire wheel does clean things up in the end. 

A sanding disc on the front really sharpens up the letters. 

Next was the pipe legs to hold the sign. 2 7/8" was our joint size of choice. 

One way of capping pipe is what they call orange peel. Simply cut wedges out of the pipe about the same distance down as the width of the pipe. 

Pipe is stiff and takes heat to do about anything out of character with. 

Heat and hammer. With a mig welder this won't be hard to fill. Out in the field and with bigger pipe, you'd have to be more accurate. 

Should work. 

Then weld it up. 

In cases like this, it is worth measuring and putting equal welds down the side. 

Then paint. Primer and gloss top coat. 

That'll do. 

Then the ground work. Cleared the rocks and cut through the weed blocking fabric. 

With rock, it is work putting the dirt on a tarp to keep it clean. We went about 2' deep. 

Looks level to Darin. 

Simply tamped it in with the butt of the shovel. 

Fold the fabric up and kick the rocks back on. 

Should do the trick. 

Simple addition that can solve a lot of confusion. We stuck a mailbox on it to clean operations up as well. Time will tell. As long as I don't back in to it with White Horse, life should be good. On to the next one.