Plenty of boring work

I’ve spent three busy days doing what would have taken me one day 30 years ago.  The brain is still willing but the flesh is weak… and my back has been reminding me!

I’ve finally managed to dig all the new garden reticulation system trenches and lay 80% of the pipework.  The ground for the shed concrete pad is almost levelled but I will need to let it settle before pouring any concrete.

West Australian grass has a habit of growing into the pop-up lawn sprinklers choking them and so I decided to make some sprinkler surrounds from a length of old 100mm PVC sewer pipe.  I wanted to cut the pipe with a ‘square’ level end and to achieve this I created a small timber jig using an offcut of a panel and two strips of Jarrah.

I set the fence on the saw at 180mm which is the height of the pop-up sprinklers.  Next I started the saw and wound the blade up so it just came through the panel.

The blade was then lowered.  I want the bottom end of the surround to fit like a collar over the buried water pipe and to achieve this I drilled a pilot hole on either side of the pipe before using a 40mm hole saw to enlarge the smaller hole.

The length of pipe was then placed on the jig with one end hard against the saw fence.

I then started the saw and slowly raised the blade until it cut through the bottom of the PVC pipe.  It was then just a matter of rolling the pipe on the template to cut the circumference of the pipe.

I went on to make 10 of these sprinkler surrounds and they appear to have worked out rather well.  The blade of the mower should pass over the surround.

Of course I still have to level the ground around the sprinkler and sow some grass seed.

I’ve also had an idea on how I might modify the original cage on top of the camper trailer converting it into a cargo rack and awning mount.