Click here to read part 1...
When last we encountered our intrepid homesteader he was yankin' massive steel beams across a fathomless gulf with his bare hands....
Not really. I had help. And tools.
My #5 son was pretty awesome about being there to help until he took off to get an actual job. Can you believe it? Me neither! Who would have thought he would have went and got himself a life while I wasn't lookin'? Anyway, my #4 son stepped up to the plate and has been helping me out since "what's his name" abandoned me.
These farm jacks are awesome tools. They push and pull, and have an incredible reach. Most of the time I used two of them on each beam to move them. Early in the game, I tried using metal pry bars and a 2-ton hydraulic floor jack. A slight miscalculation on my part sent me actually flying into the bushes as the beam reminded me of how heavy it really is. It's amazing how getting put on one's ass makes you re-evaluate what you are doing.
Ahhh... the good ol' days. Back when "He Who Has A Job Now" was around to help his dad...
Ok. So all the beams are across the creek. For about a half a minute I considered leaving them like this, but I'd be wasting the strength of those beams by leaving them this way. Sure, I think they would have handled a car or truck crossing them, but If I had a ton or so of weight on the truck it would have been iffy. No sense in going thru all this work to have "iffy" so I'm sitting them up so they'll handle anything that I'll be running across them. In the next exciting episode, I'll be bringing you up to the current condition of the bridge and the next steps.
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