Do it yourself

If I watched TV, I'd probably spend all my time watching the DIY channel. I'm fascinated by the guys woodshops and the metalworkers who fabricate anything they need. In my reality though, as well as most Americans I suspect, when something breaks I buy the parts and fix it. OK, probably most Americans just throw whatever it is away and buy a new one. I'm too thrifty to do that.

My snowblower broke before Christmas. I checked with Sears and they could "order" me the part. I didn't want to wait. Things warmed up after Christmas and I had the day off. I told my sons I was going to make a new one. They didn't believe it was possible.

I had a wide L bracket that I had scrounged somewhere years ago. It was about the same size but a lot wider. Using basic hand tools, I transformed a piece of scrap into a usable bracket.

First I spent about 30 minutes hack sawing off a chunk that was the correct width. Then I filed the sharp edge down. The kids lost interest long before this point. Then I drilled a pilot hole with a small bit using a variable speed pistol drill. I used thick chainsaw bar oil to keep the drill bit lubed up. Then I stepped up a couple sizes at a time until I got to the right size. I don't have a fancy shop, so I just used a C clamp and a piece of angle iron to hold it.

When I was done, I hacksawed the notch in the bracket. Why am I blogging about this? I truly enjoyed making this bracket. It didn't make economic sense. I am no craftsman and it looks rough. However, it does work, my kids thought it was so cool that I could make it, I enjoyed the entire experience, and my snowblower works! I had forgotten how much fun it was to work with metal.