{"id":1826,"date":"2020-10-22T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atlantic-oase.com\/blog\/?p=1826"},"modified":"2023-05-09T19:53:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T19:53:08","slug":"tools-that-dont-suck-flag-dolly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atlantic-oase.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/22\/tools-that-dont-suck-flag-dolly\/","title":{"rendered":"Tools That Don’t Suck: Flag Dolly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As water feature installers, my sons and I are used to hard, dirty and sometimes dangerous work. We enjoy what we do, whether it\u2019s digging ponds, plumbing pumps, rolling boulders or tweaking waterfalls. We also value anything that makes the job faster, easier or more fun. We\u2019re always looking for tools, apps or gadgets that save time & effort, eliminate stress, add to our comfort on the job or are just fun to use. Often a buddy will turn us on to one. I\u2019d like to return the favor by passing our favorite Tools That Don\u2019t Suck along to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the perfect tool doesn\u2019t exist, so you have to make it. I\u2019m reminded of Lloyd Lightsey\u2019s answer to the perennial problem of leaving the brand new pond as clean as possible so the customer gets that perfect first impression. Not easy to do with rocks that always seem to be covered in magic clay \u2013 you know, the stuff you think was washed off that instantly dirties up the pond even after two rinses. Well, Lloyd took matters into his own hands and built a \u2018trummel\u2019 to wash his gravel spotless before installing. Ask him about it sometime, definitely a TTDS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a situation that demanded a totally new tool at the job we\u2019ve been working on whenever quarantine has allowed. I don\u2019t say that lightly; we actually got chased out when the Governor closed down the entire state to New Yorkers March 28 \u2013 by the National Guard! When restrictions eased, we went back to finish, and ran into a problem. Our customer had asked for a bridge or peninsula over a tiny watercourse at the foot of a natural stone bluff. All machine access had been cut off. The stone we wanted to use wasn\u2019t massive, but a triangle five feet on a side, almost four inches thick, weighs over five hundred pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(You might be interested in how we calculated the weight of the stone. The way we figured it, it\u2019s the area of a triangle – \u00bd Height x Base, or in this case the crazy formula for an equilateral triangle. You can look that one up. Either way, it works out to over 10 square feet, times the thickness at 3.6\u201d\/12\u201d  = 3 cubic feet, times 170lbs per cubic foot for granite = 510 lbs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge was, we had to travel 150 feet through a long narrow trellised garden, then take a hard right through a narrow gate. There wasn\u2019t enough room to put four men, or even three on it, and there were only two of us on site anyway. We had to come up with another way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter the Flag Dolly. Like most useful tools, it\u2019s very simple \u2013 four wheelbarrow tires bolted to a 4×4 chassis. I drilled the 4×4 to accommodate two 5×8\u201dx18\u201d threaded rods for the axles, then bolted on a pair of filled puncture proof tires, so the dolly could be tilted backwards for turns without deflating. I bolted two air filled tires to the \u2018front\u2019 of the 4×4, to absorb any shocks from holes and cobblestone borders we had to traverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n