I mentioned yesterday that the stouter grass whip was a casualty of my work clearing the hillside when we were last at Roundrock. Here you see the evidence.

This is the second time it has broken like this. The first time was a number of months ago when I had conscripted my twins to clear some of the brush on the side of the dam. Like everywhere else in the Ozarks, that is a rocky surface, and I think whichever of my sons using the whip at the time hit a rock just right and sheered the pin that held the end of the blade in place.

The whip sat forlorn in the garage for several months as I contemplated taking it back to the big box hardware store to have it replaced. Then, somehow, the thought came into my head that I could fix the whip rather than replace it. As I studied the matter, I saw that all it would involve is a nut, a bolt, and maybe a washer or two. These I had. I even had acquired the skill to assemble them sometime in my life.

And so I did. And the whip worked perfectly for a number of months, bringing instant, slicing obliteration to plenty of offending scrub at Roundrock.

Until Sunday when it broke again, in the same manner and in the same place. I suppose I struck one Ozark rock too a number of as I was eagerly whipping the little hillside above the lake. One moment the scrub was falling before me and the next I saw the blade swinging free as the whip came on an upswing. The nut, the bolt, and the maybe a washer or two were gone, lost in the stubble.

Fortunately, I had a second grass whip with me. Libby’s is of a different design and is much lighter, so I can swing it longer. But it is designed for lighter duty like plain grass and not scrub. This slowed me down some, but I managed to get the work of the day done (with Libby’s help wielding the loppers).

And so I now know how to repair the broken whip. This time perhaps I’ll use a lock nut. But before I do, I think I’ll go back to that big box hardware store and have a look at the grass whips there.

I noticed that the surviving grommet rivet that holds the other end of the blade in place does not hold it tightly. There is maybe a quarter of an inch of space that the blade can float on while it’s in use. When I had put the bolt and nut on the other end of the blade, I snugged it as tight as I could. But now I wonder if this float is part of the design. It may be assembled that way deliberately so that it can absorb the sudden shock of striking a stone. That makes a kind of sense to me.

So I’ll have a look at other grass whips of this design and see. Then I’ll make my repairs based on what I find.

If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them.

Missouri calendar:

• Watch for lightning bug larvae (glowworms) in low water.

Posted by: Roundrockjournal    Source

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