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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] wire weeder pictures

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  • From: "Christine & Marlin" <glenecofarm AT planetcomm.net>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] wire weeder pictures
  • Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2006 22:28:44 -0500

 

 

Like your weeder!  I have not kept up reading about this.  Looks like it is made from #12 high tensile wire??   Is it? Was the PVC split/cut to go over the wire or is the wire bent beforehand?

 

I copied and pasted the directions that I posted about a month ago for making the wire weeder.  A piece of ¾ inch diameter wood would work well for the piece you would slip inside the 1 inch series 40 PVC.  The pieces of broken rake or broom handles I had lying around were 7/8 – 1 inch diameter and wouldn’t work.  A piece of ¾ inch wooden dowel should work fine.  The most important thing is that whatever you use inside the one inch diameter piece needs to fit snugly.

 

 

You will need two pieces of scrap "series 40" PVC pipe, one 1 inch outside diameter piece six inches long and one 3/4 inch outside diameter piece six inches long.  The 3/4 inch piece will fit snugly inside the one inch diameter piece. Cut two pieces of standard 12 gauge high tensile fence wire, one about 11 inches long and the other about nine inches long.  On a bench vise carefully bend both wires into a "u" shape, making sure that both legs of the "u" are of equal length and that the base of the "u" is bent squarely  so that the base is straight.  One piece should be about 2 1/2 wide and the other one should be one inch to 1 1/2 inches wide.  The wire pieces should now look much like the wire row cover staples available in many garden supply catalogs.  Now take the wider of your two wire staples and continue bending the corners until they are bent at a 60 degree angle or at about the same angles as an equilateral triangle.  About half way between the 60 degree angles and the ends of the wire bend a 30 degree angle in the opposite direction.  This should give you two parallel wire ends about 1 1/2 to two inches long about one inch apart. The other narrower staple should need little to no additional bending.  Sharpen the wire ends slightly on a grinder. Choose an electric drill bit slightly smaller in diameter than your wires and drill holes between the layers of plastic pipe on opposite sides of both ends.  Your objective is for the bit to cut a groove in both pieces of the slipped together pipe rather than for it to cut into one or the other pipes which would weaken it.  You might have to waste a piece or two before you get it right.  Make sure that the alignment of the holes on both ends is in the same plane. Now you can carefully push the wires into the ends of the plastic handle.  They should push in very snugly and may require some tapping with a hammer or mallet.  Now bend the wire loops downward about 20 to 30 degrees on both ends of your new tool and it should be ready to use.

 

And give yourself and farming credit, it wasn't a product of 'jury riggging' it was 'agro-engineering'!

 

Hey I like that!  All I could think of calling it was “Afro engineering” and I knew I didn’t want to do that!

 

Marlin

 

 

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 10:07 PM

Subject: [Market-farming] wire weeder pictures

 


OK guys.  I tried again.  Here is the link.  http://gleneco.blogspot.com.

Marlin

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