RickF
Deeply Rooted
So, I've got a front strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street that is approx. 40'x4' and about 1/2 of it has a nice set of Bermuda grass that is slowly taking over -- ok -- quickly.. What I'd like to do is spend a few hours and a few $$ and make an A-frame style weed collector that would straddle a large wheel barrow and allow the user to shovel dirt into a hopper which has a medium-fine wire mesh on the bottom to allow the dirt to fall thru but leave any rocks & weeds behind.. Ultimately I'd love it to have a motor -- perhaps from an old washing machine that could shake the hopper automatically so I don't have to..
So, I was thinking the a-frame itself could be made of 2x4's with a pair of hinges so it can be folded up when not in use (making it almost 1 dimensional) -- similar in shape to your average 4-legged easel (see pic below)
Of course the legs would be much wider to allow the wheel barrow to straddle it -- and then I was thinking a set of 4 medium duty chains to hold the hopper -- supported by the top beam or perhaps one chain on each leg.. Then if I could find or make an eccentric cam I think I could dig up a medium duty electric motor to do the work..
Whaddya think? Seems do-able.. It would make my life WAY easier than doing it by hand!! At this point, assuming I've got such a device made & working, I plan on digging all of the dirt out of the planter little by little and making a pile of clean weed-free dirt in the driveway and dig down to a depth of perhaps 18" or deeper if I see weed tendrils that deep..Since the weeds are relatively new, I'm hoping I don't have to dig beyond 1' of depth..
So, I was thinking the a-frame itself could be made of 2x4's with a pair of hinges so it can be folded up when not in use (making it almost 1 dimensional) -- similar in shape to your average 4-legged easel (see pic below)
Of course the legs would be much wider to allow the wheel barrow to straddle it -- and then I was thinking a set of 4 medium duty chains to hold the hopper -- supported by the top beam or perhaps one chain on each leg.. Then if I could find or make an eccentric cam I think I could dig up a medium duty electric motor to do the work..
Whaddya think? Seems do-able.. It would make my life WAY easier than doing it by hand!! At this point, assuming I've got such a device made & working, I plan on digging all of the dirt out of the planter little by little and making a pile of clean weed-free dirt in the driveway and dig down to a depth of perhaps 18" or deeper if I see weed tendrils that deep..Since the weeds are relatively new, I'm hoping I don't have to dig beyond 1' of depth..
