Hi,
Thanks for the update on timber prices in India Ben. The reason I asked is timber supplies vary considerably around the world; it's expensive here but most things are which depresses the DIY market but my wife and I watch lots of YouTube videos showing woodworking and we're amazed by the huge sizes of timber being used in Vietnam; here's a sample video;
These guys are at the top of their trade producing absolutely wonderful results often using power and hand tools found in my home workshops; please note the sizes of timber being used; other such video's show extremely wide heavy boards; I'd like to know how their timber supply and costs work; just the single table in the video would mean a mortgage for us to buy the timber here in the UK but I doubt such sizes of timber are as readily available.
You say metal is more reasonably priced so you can use metal; here once again metal is expensive but by shopping around it's possible for a home workshop to obtain metal at around quarter of the price than buying from a model engineering supplier;
https://www.ksteels.co.uk/
I was amazed when I first bought metal from K Steels who have a local branch nearby; there's a £25 minimum order but as I get four times as much for my money this isn't a problem so I stocked up with box and angle sections; ordering online I request the metal be cut into 4' lengths allowing me to pop over to collect it in the car.
Another steel supplier I've used is;
https://www.fhbrundle.co.uk/groups/...JtsZhA5LHa6g9FMH0ds1IVk4sqEv1crBoCKiAQAvD_BwE
I use Brundel's for long lengths having the order delivered to my door.
My cheapest supplier of steel is our local big scrap yard but it's a case of driving over to the top of the world on the moors and getting lucky hoping they have what I can use it being used steel; I've bought very heavy box and channel section steel from the scrap yard but then have to somehow get it home because the scrap yard doesn't deliver.
https://www.jbschofieldandsons.co.uk/
I like to visit Schofield's when the weather is dry and warm because the site is very exposed on the moors; I always take along lots of safety kit; Hi-Vis jacket; helmet; steel toe capped shoes and rigger gloves etc; I ask for permission to look around and always enjoy my visits there; anything I buy there is bought purely by weight alone; it's placed on the scales and weighed then I pop to the office with the note and pay cash over the counter; there are few scrap yards left these days.
We live on a very steep valley side Ben so couldn't use your excellent backhoe even if it was available so I do heavy jobs the hard way working on my own; I'm taught as an engineer how to move heavy objects but it's always hard work in our gardens where the main problem is to stand upright. Above is just one of the stumps I've removed this year. Here I needed 24 tons of hydraulic jack pressure to break this stump clear; it had grown embedded in a stone ledge. It took a week of intense work to get this stump out.
Here I'm dragging the same stump across the slope in fear of it rolling down the valley; I used a 2,500Lb winch to drag it with; it's still in the garden because it's too heavy to move further and with all the embedded stone I'm worried about using the petrol chainsaw; your backhoe would be a dream to use in this situation.
You are so right Ben; we all need to encourage others to have a go at doing something useful whilst learning new skills.
I'd like to echo my friend Colin's thoughts; your idea of using an old car like this is brilliant.
It's rather confusing having two Colin's posting so how about adding the surname initial to distinguish which Colin is posting my surname is Wood so in Future I'll sign as Colin W?
Kind regards, Colin W.
I am planning to make use of the backhoe by doing some farming and cultivating vegetables, sir. Also I am planning to dig a fish pond as well. Will share with you the photos once I complete these.
