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June 11, 2005

Rounding Third

So today is the big day - a baby shower! This afternoon we have a shower over at my brother's place - my sister-in-law Shayna and my seester Lupe (Rebecca) are throwing Shannon a shower. So I had to get an early start today (oh there's a novel idea...) in order to complete the deer fence section along Sagle Road, which would only leave me about 400' to finish tomorrow (which incidentally I don't want to work all day because tomorrow is our 1-year wedding anniversary!)

So I was banging away by 7:30 AM. As with all construction projects, I'm getting really good at this now that I'm almost done. I've figured out many new techniques since I began stringing impact wires how many weeks ago. Probably the most useful trick involved the "pre-tightening" of the impact wires prior to securing the crimp. The goal here is to get the wire as tight as possible, thus allowing the tighteners to really stretch the wire and get a nice tight support. So I rigged up a wire gripper (a funky wedge-inside-a-ring device used in fencing installations) to a ratchet strap, then cranked down on the ratchet to hold the wire tight - have a look.

Thus when you begin tightening the wire you already have a head start, which basically means you don't have to wind as much wire up on the spool. After checking the picture, you know what I meant in a previous entry about what would happen if your hands slip off that tightener - POW there go the teeth...

So la de da the day wore on and I got to the final corner. Now tomorrow all I have to do is reach the gate and I'm done! Time to head over to the shower and help Shannon open some presents - good times!

Posted by Stephen at June 11, 2005 9:17 PM