Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close to
rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
metal
rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake leaves
and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon fall
apart.

The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped off.
They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight except
for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into the
other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
replacements.

The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend the
fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.

The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't remember
where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.

It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.

Sounds like 1/4" spring stock?

Tim

--
"That's for the courts to decide." - Homer Simpson
Website @ http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms

"Peter Reilley" wrote in message
...
Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer
available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close to
rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
metal
rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake leaves
and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon fall
apart.

The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped off.
They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight
except
for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into
the
other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
replacements.

The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend the
fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.

The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't remember
where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.

It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.

"Peter Reilley" wrote in message
...
Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer
available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers.

Metal headed leaf rakes are too heavy. I started getting those wide, red
plastic rakes a coupla years ago. I found that if you leave them out in the
sun the plastic degrades(no UV protection in the plastic) and the next year
the plastic tines break off. But those days are behind me. I got a John
Deere mulching tractor/mower and a gas powered blower/vac and my back
doesn't bother me any more and my yard looks better than ever. Now I'm well
[OT]

Larry

Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close to
rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
metal
rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake leaves
and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon fall
apart.

The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped off.
They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight except
for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into the
other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
replacements.

The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend the
fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.

The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't remember
where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.

It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.


Any chance that a newer rake may have the fingers manufactured in the
same manner (with a notch) so you could buy a new rake, remove the
fingers you need and still have some "spares" left for later???
Ken.

"Peter Reilley" wrote in message ...
Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close to
rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
metal
rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake leaves
and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon fall
apart.

The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped off.
They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight except
for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into the
other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
replacements.

The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend the
fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.

The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't remember
where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.

It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.

I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.
Al

Off the shelf tempered steel strap banding (for shipping bundles) has
similar qualities. Might be worth a shot...

StaticsJason

"Peter Reilley" wrote in message
...
Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer
available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close to
rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
metal
rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake leaves
and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon fall
apart.

The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped off.
They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight
except
for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into
the
other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
replacements.

The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend the
fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.

The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't remember
where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.

It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.

On 24 Nov 2003 15:06:52 -0800, the renowned (Al 2)
wrote:

I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.
Al

Four rakes and a heavy-duty cart with pneumatic tires with a cardboard
box from a big-screen TV on it, and ALL the leaves are finally ready
at the curb for the city vacuum trucks. The newfangled plastic rakes
work better than the steel ones for some places and some sizes of
leaves, and vice versa. The contractor we used to use just bought some
kind of tractor attachment that does the trick and got rid of most of
his hired help. He used to use gas-powered leaf blowers and tarps.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Ken Sterling wrote in message
s.com...
Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer
available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close
to
rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
metal
rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake leaves
and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon
fall
apart.

The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped off.
They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight
except
for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into
the
other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
replacements.

The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend
the
fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.

The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't remember
where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.

It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.


Any chance that a newer rake may have the fingers manufactured in the
same manner (with a notch) so you could buy a new rake, remove the
fingers you need and still have some "spares" left for later???
Ken.


The newer rake fingers are much narrower, they would not fit properly
in my rake head.

Pete.

"Statics" wrote in message
news:rjxwb.37263$yJ.15365@okepread02...
Off the shelf tempered steel strap banding (for shipping bundles) has
similar qualities. Might be worth a shot...

StaticsJason


I suspect that the metal is not springy enough. When you use it to
strap a package it bends 90 degrees at the corners. The rake fingers
would never do that, they would snap first.

Pete.

"Peter Reilley" wrote in message
...
Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer
available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close
to
rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
metal
rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake
leaves
and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon
fall
apart.

The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped
off.
They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight
except
for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into
the
other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
replacements.

The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend
the
fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.

The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't
remember
where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.

It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.

On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 12:59:29 -0500, "Peter Reilley"
wrote:

===Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
===the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
===It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer available.
===
===It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close to
===rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
===metal
===rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
===radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake leaves
===and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon fall
===apart.
===
===The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped off.
===They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight except
===for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into the
===other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
===replacements.
===
===The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
===as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
===pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend the
===fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
===back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
===You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.
===
===The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't remember
===where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.
===
===It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
===until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.
===
===Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?
===
===Thanks,
===Pete.
===

While someone else suggested a blower, and others suggested a possible
repair, have yo considered a sweeper or a vac cart either push type
by hand or pulled by a lawn tractor or riding mower. They work pretty
darn good for just leaves.

I have to put a plug in for my favorite rake. It had spring steel
round tines of approximately 3/32" diam, and was stiff enough to turn
over without the tines bending and used as a shovel or scoop. Its over
15 years old now and was used hard all the time, but is now missing 6
times from one side as it got put into the impeller on my vac cart by
a careless 18 year old who was tasked with a job he did not want to
do. They did not break but twisted them all together and managled them
pretty darn bad to make the rake unserviceable. I did however add some
from the opther side and made the entire rake narrower which works
fine as a small rake under some shrubs and in tight spots but I would
still prefer my full width I had before. The brand name was Gardenx,
and there is no one on line or around here that handles it anymore.
Its about 2 times what another rake costs but a super rake and not
overly heavy. I sure do not care for plastic rakes.


Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wifes,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

On 24 Nov 2003 15:06:52 -0800, (Al 2) wrote:



It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.

I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.
Al
I use an electric blower and ignore the vacuum pick up feature after
replacing a couple of impellers - bags are cheaper than impellers. For
pick up I use a fan rake in each hand and dump them into the held open
bag. My annual crop is 40 - 50 of the large bags well stuffed.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On 24 Nov 2003 15:06:52 -0800, the renowned (Al 2)
wrote:

I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.
Al

Four rakes and a heavy-duty cart with pneumatic tires with a cardboard
box from a big-screen TV on it, and ALL the leaves are finally ready
at the curb for the city vacuum trucks. The newfangled plastic rakes
work better than the steel ones for some places and some sizes of
leaves, and vice versa. The contractor we used to use just bought some
kind of tractor attachment that does the trick and got rid of most of
his hired help. He used to use gas-powered leaf blowers and tarps.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
Hundreds of years down the road, we'll probably *still* be doing the
same thing - - - ya'd think someone could come up with a *good*
pulverizer to turn them into dust and be done with them. Some of the
shredders aren't too bad, but ya still have to bring the leaves to the
shredder . Need something lawn tractor mounted that grinds them up
into nothing.
Ken.

Ken wrote:

On 24 Nov 2003 15:06:52 -0800, the renowned (Al 2)
wrote:


I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.
Al

Four rakes and a heavy-duty cart with pneumatic tires with a cardboard
box from a big-screen TV on it, and ALL the leaves are finally ready
at the curb for the city vacuum trucks. The newfangled plastic rakes
work better than the steel ones for some places and some sizes of
leaves, and vice versa. The contractor we used to use just bought some
kind of tractor attachment that does the trick and got rid of most of
his hired help. He used to use gas-powered leaf blowers and tarps.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Hundreds of years down the road, we'll probably *still* be doing the
same thing - - - ya'd think someone could come up with a *good*
pulverizer to turn them into dust and be done with them. Some of the
shredders aren't too bad, but ya still have to bring the leaves to the
shredder . Need something lawn tractor mounted that grinds them up
into nothing.
Ken.

I've got a mulching blade on my $129 Walmart lawnmower. Unless the grass
is very thick or the leaves over a foot deep it's enough that I only rake
the leaves out from where the mower can't reach. If the first pass doesn't
chop them all up I run over them again.
Joe
who should have started earlier this year, and done it in phases.

Sounds a bit like my " garden cart ". Axle and wheel from a small
boat trailer and a 3' by 7 ' by 14" plywood box. Sure beats a wheel
barrow. I raked two carts full yesterday and have about two more to
go.

Dan

Spehro Pefhany wrote in message

Four rakes and a heavy-duty cart with pneumatic tires with a cardboard
box from a big-screen TV on it, and ALL the leaves are finally ready
at the curb for the city vacuum trucks. The newfangled plastic rakes
work better than the steel ones for some places and some sizes of
leaves, and vice versa. The contractor we used to use just bought some
kind of tractor attachment that does the trick and got rid of most of
his hired help. He used to use gas-powered leaf blowers and tarps.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

Roy wrote:
Snip
I have to put a plug in for my favorite rake. It had spring steel
round tines of approximately 3/32" diam, and was stiff enough to turn
over without the tines bending and used as a shovel or scoop. Its over
15 years old now and was used hard all the time, but is now missing 6
times from one side as it got put into the impeller on my vac cart by
a careless 18 year old who was tasked with a job he did not want to
do. They did not break but twisted them all together and managled them
pretty darn bad to make the rake unserviceable. I did however add some
from the opther side and made the entire rake narrower which works
fine as a small rake under some shrubs and in tight spots but I would
still prefer my full width I had before. The brand name was Gardenx,
and there is no one on line or around here that handles it anymore.
Its about 2 times what another rake costs but a super rake and not
overly heavy. I sure do not care for plastic rakes.


Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wifes,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

Roy,

The rake you mention is still available, here's a link to the company,
they should be able to advise you on a dealer in your area:


http://www.gardexusa.com/default.asp

Hope this helps.

Bob

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 03:48:21 GMT, Gerald Miller
wrote:

On 24 Nov 2003 15:06:52 -0800, (Al 2) wrote:



It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.

I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.
Al
I use an electric blower and ignore the vacuum pick up feature after
replacing a couple of impellers - bags are cheaper than impellers. For
pick up I use a fan rake in each hand and dump them into the held open
bag. My annual crop is 40 - 50 of the large bags well stuffed.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan), so my wife found one. The damn leaves just took up a month
of free time. We used blowers and rakes. Total haul was about 20 9'
X 19' tarps piled high.

I don't know about other places, but here you pile them in the street
next to the curb. They pick them up twice with modified front end
loaders (big angle - chicken wire extensions) and compactor trucks.
Before both pickups, you can barely navigate down the street since 10'
X 3' high piles line both curbs.

I'm sure glad it's done. At least in the back yard, which is worse
than the front, I can just haul them into the woods.

Pete Keillor

In article m,
Ken Sterling wrote:
On 24 Nov 2003 15:06:52 -0800, the renowned (Al 2)
wrote:

I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.
Al

[ ... ]

Hundreds of years down the road, we'll probably *still* be doing the
same thing - - - ya'd think someone could come up with a *good*
pulverizer to turn them into dust and be done with them. Some of the
shredders aren't too bad, but ya still have to bring the leaves to the
shredder . Need something lawn tractor mounted that grinds them up
into nothing.

Nope -- what you want to do is spread the word that it is a good
substitute for tobacco -- or even better, marijuana, and do a
relatively poor attempt at protecting your "valuable resource". :-)

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G

Gunner

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus
ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Raking leaves in the autumn is like ****ing into the wind. Wait till spring &
you just have to do it once. If you have worn out your rake, you're probably
spending too much time with it.

To me its a ot harder to get pinestraw and leaves up after being
allowed to remian on the ground all winter long. They get entertwined
more in the grass and compacted and mushed down. I like to get mine up
in the fall, as soon as possible after falling, when the weather is
nice for being outside without it being cold or hot and humid, and use
that spring time to do the garden.

On 26 Nov 2003 11:55:07 GMT, (Wwj2110) wrote:

x-Raking leaves in the autumn is like ****ing into the wind. Wait till spring &
x-you just have to do it once. If you have worn out your rake, you're probably
x-spending too much time with it.

--
Visit my website: Remove nospam for correct address
http://www.nospamfrugalmachinist.com

Contents: foundry and general metal working and lots of related projects.
Regards
Roy aka Chipmaker // Foxeye
Opinions are strictly those of my wife....I have had no input whatsoever.
Remove nospam from email address

(Wwj2110) wrote in message ...
Raking leaves in the autumn is like ****ing into the wind. Wait till spring &
you just have to do it once. If you have worn out your rake, you're probably
spending too much time with it.
Bill
In article , chem says...

...You guys complicate things too much Always looking for a
reason to use your lathes and mills and such ...
I often think of this post in a thread subject "How can I face 1/2 of
a coin?" as I use my machine center to do things like rewind string
trimmer. But for this thread about replacing a rake, I just have to
share my problem solving of getting the leaves from the vacuum to the
yard paper bag. Picture on my web page, are thumbnails links to an
expanded metal insert for the leaf vacuum and an extension for my edge
clippers
http://www.billcotton.com/Private_url.htm
The insert is taped nor but I see a weld job later, the extension was
a mill job.
I find that my Black and Decker lawn mower will mulch the leaves or
fill the rear baggier. The rear baggier is the correct size to empty
in to the yard bag, about 8 fills. I also used my B&D blower/vacuum.
The shoulder bag is about dozen fills and hard to remove through the
zipper open.
I have the hose and trash can boot attachment but getting the leaves
from the trashcan to the bag is messy. My first thought was to get a
trashcan small enough to fit inside the bag and then cut the bottom
out. I had a length of 2 foot expanded medal rolled into a circle to
protect a houseplant. This coil happens to fit inside the yard bag. I
rolled a lip at the top and place the bad in my yard wagon and is able
ton fill the bag completely. The coil comes out easily and is inserted
is a new bag with the bonnet still attached. No machines used yet;
Seven-foot high 3 feet wide hedge, I made a handle from ¾ pvc pipe and
u-bolts to hold the hedge clipper parallel and in front of me. Picture
here;
The clipper
Other shop projects are at
http://www.billcotton.com/bicycle_electric.htm and
http://www.billcotton.com/tripmate.htm

In article ,
Gunner wrote:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G

Only if yer wunna dem yoopers, eh. heheheheh

(Born and raised a troll in Cheboygan, honorary Yooper 'cause gramps
helped build da bridge)

So Peter...
Where in Midland? I used to live on Swede Road, years ago. Is the Tridge
still standing, or did the floods finally take it out? I was living
there the year the floodwaters were high enough to *COMPLETELY COVER* it
- manhole covers and storm grates on Swede Road looked like tired
fountains on the end towards 10, and the water only stopped rising when
it was about 2-3 feet from our front door at 3803 Swede.

--
Don Bruder - --- Preferred Email - SpamAssassinated.
Hate SPAM? See http://www.spamassassin.org for some seriously great info.
I will choose a path that's clear: I will choose Free Will! - N. Peart
Fly trap info pages: http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/Horses/FlyTrap/index.html

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 09:56:23 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G

Gunner

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus
ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Yeah, if you're a yooper, but from southeast Texas, it might as well
be the North Pole. And Midland isn't flat compared to the coastal
plain south of Houston. My mother took us to "Big Hill" when we were
kids. It was 15' high.

Pete

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:48:54 GMT, Don Bruder wrote:

In article ,
Gunner wrote:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G

Only if yer wunna dem yoopers, eh. heheheheh

(Born and raised a troll in Cheboygan, honorary Yooper 'cause gramps
helped build da bridge)

So Peter...
Where in Midland? I used to live on Swede Road, years ago. Is the Tridge
still standing, or did the floods finally take it out? I was living
there the year the floodwaters were high enough to *COMPLETELY COVER* it
- manhole covers and storm grates on Swede Road looked like tired
fountains on the end towards 10, and the water only stopped rising when
it was about 2-3 feet from our front door at 3803 Swede.

About two blocks off Swede on Woodview Pass. This house was here then
(around '86, wasn't it?), but didn't take water. I can just imagine
the sewage fountain most folks had in their basements. We don't even
have a sump pump.

The Tridge is fine, no damage apparently.

One difference between here and the Houston area is the drainage. In
Lake Jackson, where I lived before, there were 50' to 100' wide
drainage ditches feeding several pumping stations with three 48" axial
flow lift pumps each. The system was designed to handle 24 hours of
1"/hour rain. 10" rains were relatively common (yearly, or close to
it). If it rained like that up here, it'd be on the national news.

The local weather makes up for it by being grey for 6 mo. straight.

Pete Keillor

In article ,
Peter T. Keillor III wrote:

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:48:54 GMT, Don Bruder wrote:

In article ,
Gunner wrote:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G

Only if yer wunna dem yoopers, eh. heheheheh

(Born and raised a troll in Cheboygan, honorary Yooper 'cause gramps
helped build da bridge)

So Peter...
Where in Midland? I used to live on Swede Road, years ago. Is the Tridge
still standing, or did the floods finally take it out? I was living
there the year the floodwaters were high enough to *COMPLETELY COVER* it
- manhole covers and storm grates on Swede Road looked like tired
fountains on the end towards 10, and the water only stopped rising when
it was about 2-3 feet from our front door at 3803 Swede.

About two blocks off Swede on Woodview Pass. This house was here then
(around '86, wasn't it?), but didn't take water.

Yep, '85 or '86 - can't remember precisely which. Woodview... Hmmm...
Lemme think... Oh, yeah... out past Wheeler, not quite to where Swede
turns into Wackerly. You're toward the "other end" of Swede from me. The
"fountain grates" were closer to the Hot-n-Now on Patrick. The area
you're in wouldn't have taken any water worth mentioning. "My" end,
being closer to the river and all, got quite a drink, though. Sugnet was
more or less the boundary for *SERIOUS* water, but anything south of it
was pretty much a marina for the better part of two weeks. Made some
pretty decent money gutting out and re-drywalling houses along Kentwood
once the water finally receded.


I can just imagine
the sewage fountain most folks had in their basements. We don't even
have a sump pump.

Heh... Idunno about the basements, but the manhole covers were...
"interesting"!

The Tridge is fine, no damage apparently.

Too bad... the thing is/was an overpriced, over-rated eyesore. Ever
heard about the guy who stuck up the bank, then escaped across the
tridge on a motocross bike? heheheheheh Gotta give the guy credit for
having solid brass cojones strung up with steel cables anyway, since he
basically had to go right through the jail/courthouse/cop-shop parking
lot on his way to the tridge and his getaway.

One difference between here and the Houston area is the drainage. In
Lake Jackson, where I lived before, there were 50' to 100' wide
drainage ditches feeding several pumping stations with three 48" axial
flow lift pumps each. The system was designed to handle 24 hours of
1"/hour rain. 10" rains were relatively common (yearly, or close to
it). If it rained like that up here, it'd be on the national news.

Nope... I don't think it would make news at all. Midland would just
float downstream until it lodged up against Bay City's Middlegrounds
Island and plugged up the Saginaw river. THEN it might make some news as
the Saginaw slopped over and started washing all the garbage (including
the PCB sludge from Grey Iron and Nodular from the 70s - but that isn't
really there - if you believe the tales...) out of the old dump and
through downtown Bay City...


The local weather makes up for it by being grey for 6 mo. straight.

Aw, come on, Pete... Michigan weather ain't so bad. The key is getting
yourself *OUT* of the tri-cities area to someplace like Oscoda or maybe
Gaylord. Main idea is *GET AWAY* from the cities, most especially the
ones south of Houghton Lake that are overpacked with the walking dead
that haven't figured out they're corpses yet, and where everything gets
pounded and/or polluted into slop instead of staying nice and bright and
pretty.

--
Don Bruder - --- Preferred Email - SpamAssassinated.
Hate SPAM? See http://www.spamassassin.org for some seriously great info.
I will choose a path that's clear: I will choose Free Will! - N. Peart
Fly trap info pages: http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/Horses/FlyTrap/index.html

"Peter Reilley" wrote in message ...
Now that it is autumn, I have to get out there and rake my leaves before
the snow covers them. I have an old rake that I have used for years.
It is the best rake ever made and as you would expect, no longer available.

It has a metal head with spring steel fingers. The rake head is close to
rectangular with the metal fingers all close to parallel. They do make
metal
rakes where the head is the shape of a piece of pie where the fingers
radiate out from a point. That is both a terrible design to rake leaves
and all the ones that are available are so poorly made that they soon fall
apart.

The problem with my rake is that a bunch of the fingers have snapped off.
They are about 12" long, .3" wide and .03" thick. They are straight except
for a slight 20 degree bend in the last 2". They have a notch cut into the
other end to hold them in the head. I would like to make some
replacements.

The reason that the rake works so well is that it is a natural to use it
as you would a broom. The spring action of the fingers lets me toss
pieces of yard rubbish 30 feet to the edge of my yard. You just bend the
fingers behind the junk and let it lose. You can also bend the fingers
back over 120 degrees and push large piles of leaves across your lawn.
You cannot do that with a bamboo rake.

The rake is almost 20 years old and has no name on it. I don't remember
where I bought it. No stores have anything similar now.

It seems like a typical story; you don't know how great a product is
until you have used it for years and by then it is no longer available.

Any suggestions where suitable pieces of metal might be available?

Thanks,
Pete.


Well, an alternative would be to forget the rake and make a leaf
vacuum like this guy did:
http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/...ht=leaf+blower

Yup -
Been there had it done to me.

But on Kwajalein, the highest spot of nature was 6'.
highest spot of man was a 2 story concrete building.
The island (of the atoll of the same name) is 2500 NM south west of
Hawaii.
Our flood was the 1964 Good Friday earthquake in ALaska.
The tidal wave (sounds like tidal basin..) of 6' a.k.a. 2 M slammed into
us
hours after it smashed up the north coast of the Hawaiian islands.

Back to Tx - and the mid west - the general slope of land is 2'/mile.
Martin
--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder


"Peter T. Keillor III" wrote:

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 09:56:23 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G

Gunner

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus
ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Yeah, if you're a yooper, but from southeast Texas, it might as well
be the North Pole. And Midland isn't flat compared to the coastal
plain south of Houston. My mother took us to "Big Hill" when we were
kids. It was 15' high.

Pete

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:11:28 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 09:56:23 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G

Gunner

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus
ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Yeah, if you're a yooper, but from southeast Texas, it might as well
be the North Pole. And Midland isn't flat compared to the coastal
plain south of Houston. My mother took us to "Big Hill" when we were
kids. It was 15' high.

Pete

I thought he was from Midland Michigan? Another Flatbrod place

Gunner
..
"The British attitude is to treat society like a game preserve where a
certain percentage of the 'antelope' are expected to be eaten by the
"lions".
Christopher Morton

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 09:59:35 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:11:28 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 09:56:23 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G

Gunner

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus
ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Yeah, if you're a yooper, but from southeast Texas, it might as well
be the North Pole. And Midland isn't flat compared to the coastal
plain south of Houston. My mother took us to "Big Hill" when we were
kids. It was 15' high.

Pete

I thought he was from Midland Michigan? Another Flatbrod place

Gunner
.
"The British attitude is to treat society like a game preserve where a
certain percentage of the 'antelope' are expected to be eaten by the
"lions".
Christopher Morton

I am now. Moved up here 3 years ago. Sorry for the confusion. I was
just stating that whether Midland is Down There or not depends on your
frame of reference.

Pete

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 23:55:45 GMT, Don Bruder wrote:

In article ,
Peter T. Keillor III wrote:

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:48:54 GMT, Don Bruder wrote:

In article ,
Gunner wrote:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:56:04 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:


My boys wanted a house with trees when we moved up here (Midland,
Michigan),

UP here? Chucle..Midland is Down There..flatlander!
G
snip

The local weather makes up for it by being grey for 6 mo. straight.

Aw, come on, Pete... Michigan weather ain't so bad. The key is getting
yourself *OUT* of the tri-cities area to someplace like Oscoda or maybe
Gaylord. Main idea is *GET AWAY* from the cities, most especially the
ones south of Houghton Lake that are overpacked with the walking dead
that haven't figured out they're corpses yet, and where everything gets
pounded and/or polluted into slop instead of staying nice and bright and
pretty.

Yeah, I don't mind the weather that much. The boys have learned to
snowboard, so it's off to Boyne or somewhere on the west side once in
a while.

Pete

On 24 Nov 2003 15:06:52 -0800, (Al 2) wrote
something
.......and in reply I say!:


I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.

But you can use a rake at 7am.....

************************************************** ** sorry
remove ns from my header address to reply via email

Imagine a _world_ where Nature's lights are obscured
by man's. There would be nowhere to go.
Or wait a while. Then you won't have to imagine.

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:24:57 +0800, Old Nick wrote:
On 24 Nov 2003 15:06:52 -0800, (Al 2) wrote
something
......and in reply I say!:
I don't have a suggestion on how to fix your rake but would suggest a
Stihl leaf blower. They work great.

But you can use a rake at 7am.....

You can use a leaf blower at 7am too. Damn the sluggard neighbors
who are letting God's good daylight go to waste.

Gary

In article , Gary Coffman says...

You can use a leaf blower at 7am too. Damn the sluggard neighbors
who are letting God's good daylight go to waste.

I'm gonna hire your neighbors to use their own leaf
blowers, on their own yards.

At 3:00 am.

We don't need no stinkin daylight!

Jim

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

On 29 Nov 2003 12:53:59 -0800, jim rozen wrote:
In article , Gary Coffman says...
You can use a leaf blower at 7am too. Damn the sluggard neighbors
who are letting God's good daylight go to waste.

I'm gonna hire your neighbors to use their own leaf
blowers, on their own yards.

At 3:00 am.

We don't need no stinkin daylight!

Actually, I'm a night person. I go to bed about 9am, so any
outdoor chores that require daylight have to be done by then.
I'm usually grinding and welding at 3am. (And you thought
you had the neighbor from hell.)

Gary

The best leaf rake i have found is my (IH?) side delivery hay rake. It
takes no time at all to rake the yard into big windrows. I think I'm
going to try baling the leaves this year with my hay baler.

--
free men own guns - slaves don't
www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/

Then there's the mulching lawnmower at that early hour also.
Personally, I'd rather remove the trees and make some nice metal imitation
trees that will stay green all year long.

--
Bob May
Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less.
Works evevery time it is tried!

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 06:14:05 -0500, Gary Coffman
wrote:

On 29 Nov 2003 12:53:59 -0800, jim rozen wrote:
In article , Gary Coffman says...
You can use a leaf blower at 7am too. Damn the sluggard neighbors
who are letting God's good daylight go to waste.

I'm gonna hire your neighbors to use their own leaf
blowers, on their own yards.

At 3:00 am.

We don't need no stinkin daylight!

Actually, I'm a night person. I go to bed about 9am, so any
outdoor chores that require daylight have to be done by then.
I'm usually grinding and welding at 3am. (And you thought
you had the neighbor from hell.)

Gary

I too am nocturnal by preference.

Gunner

"[T]he Clinton administration launched an attack on people in Texas
because those people were religious nuts with guns.
Hell, this country was founded by religious nuts with guns.\
Who does Bill Clinton think stepped ashore on Plymouth Rock?
Peace Corps volunteers? Or maybe the people in Texas were attacked
because of child abuse. But, if child abuse was the issue,
why didn't Janet Reno tear-gas Woody Allen?
-- P.J. O'Rourke, speech at the Cato Institute, May 6, 1993