My project is more of a four wheeler gate instead of a ramp. You don't go over the fence like some ramps allow you to do, you go through my ramp because it has a gate that folds down and you drive over top of it. There are springs on each side connected to the gate so once you are on the other side it automatically swings back upright. You pull right up on the gate and push into it with the vehicle's grill whether it be a four wheeler or a ranger. Then you keep pushing into it until it swings all the way down and then you just drive right over top. The gate swings both ways making it very useful in allowing easy access without having to get out and open a gate. This is a lot more convenient than driving over a ramp because if it ever snows or rains they tend to get very slick. This way you don't have to climb up a ramp, you just drive right through it. So working on the gate is a little tricky because we have to make sort of hinge-like things that allow the gate to swing in them without getting stuck. We have make sure the two types of pipe fit very close together so that they never slide apart from each other.
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With the base of the ramp complete it was time to move onto the rest of the framework. We started from the bottom up making sure all of my piping fit squarely into each piece. Then we started welding to make sure they were all securely fastened together. When we reached the top pipe it was a little more challenging because I had to get up on a ladder so I could reach up there with the welder. This was also more time consuming because I could only reach small sections at a time so I'd weld what I could reach, then I'd have to crawl down and move the ladder to the next spot before I could continue. With the frame all put together and fastened I moved onto grinding it. I had to grind a few of my welds down to make them smooth along with a few of the sharp corners that were made. I couldn't leave any sharp corners on the ramp because there would be the risk of a cow catching the corner of frame and severely cutting itself so I took lots of caution and ground it smooth.
After picking up all of my metal materials from Cedar Grove Colony I still had to get my springs that would make the gate swing back shut when you drive over the ramp. These springs had to be pretty heavy duty since they have to lift a heavy gate back up every time someone drives over it. Garage door springs were the best bet to use so I went and picked up a pair of them at Platte Lumber. Now that I have all of my materials gathered it was time to start cutting and grinding the metal to shape. I cut all of my pieces to length so that when it comes time to assemble all of my chunks of metal are the proper length. This will make it easier than cutting each piece as I go through the build because now I know that all of my pipes are the same length and uniform. With everything ready I started to assemble the base of the ramp/gate which is what will support the whole thing and prevent it from tipping over. When the base is complete I will start to work on the build of the rest of the frame.
Over the course of the past few weeks I have spent a lot of time researching the materials I will be needing to build my ramp. I have been looking at many different stores and comparing their prices so as to get the best deal for all of my metal. When I asked my dad where the best place would be to get my resources he gave me the idea of asking the Cedar Grove Colony that is only a few miles away from our house. That day I called them and asked if they had the metal I would need and I went over that afternoon to pick it up. They were very nice people and helped me load and also talked to me about what metal would be the best to use on my ramp. They gave me a great deal since they have known our family for a long time and we have helped each other out over the years. After I picked up my metal, I went and dropped it off in my mentor's shop so that when we are ready to start building I will have my resources there. The next step in the process will be designing and cutting.
Finding my mentor has been a little bit of a challenge all on its own. I have asked a few people to mentor me for my project but they have all been busy or had other obligations to where they couldn't. Finally I asked a family friend that I have known for a long time and that I have worked for over the years on and off. He agreed to help me build my four-wheeler ramp in his shop on his farm. I asked him to mentor me because I know how good he is with welding and that he loves designing and building different kinds of contraptions. I called him and we talked on the phone about dates when we could meet up and talk about the project and get my paperwork signed. We already have the design ready and the overall strategy about how we are going to get the project done. The next step will to be get the materials bought so that when we are ready we can start building the ramp. I will call him over the course of the next few months to set up dates of when we are going to work on the ramp.
After completing my senior paper I moved onto the project aspect of Senior Experience. I sat down with my mentor and drew up the sketch of the design of the four-wheeler ramp. Early that same week I went to our family farm and measured how tall and wide our side-by-side was so that we could factor these measurements into the layout of the design. We added these custom measurements into my ramp so that it can be used by several of the vehicles on our farm. This makes the ramp I am building much more versatile allowing it to be placed anywhere on the farm. After doing a rough sketch of the design with pencil and paper, we entered the design into the computer so that we could see a 3-D image of what the ramp was going to look like. After seeing the image we made a few adjustments in areas we thought were weak and might need reinforcement so that in would be able to withstand and remain sturdy for years to come.
Starting on my rough draft was very exciting for me. I had put so much time and effort into my note cards that I was ready to put it all together down on paper. We didn't start our paper with our introductions, instead Mrs. Stekly had us start with our first main point and go from there. She said it would be much easier to come back and write our introduction when we were done with the rest of our paper. Once I got started typing I was so into my paper I couldn't stop. I zoomed through it and was finished with my first draft after a few days. I then came back and did my introduction and conclusion along with my works cited page. Mrs. Stekly and I then went through my rough draft and made any corrections that needed to be made. After reading through it several times we finally got my paper in tip-top shape without any mistakes. My paper is finally complete so the next step of my Senior Experience will then be to construct my senior project.
In the past week we have finished writing notecards and moved on to starting our rough drafts. We had to write directly from our sources onto our notecards to then help us with writing our paper without plagiarizing. I thought that writing on the notecards was a waste of time and that we should go straight from our sources to our paper. However, after I started writing the first few pages of my paper I realized how easy it is to use my notes off of the cards I wrote. My paper is moving along at a very steady pace and I am enjoying writing the paper very much to my surprise. Writing about something that I love doing has made the whole process so much more enjoyable and also easier to do. I don't have to force myself to write the paper to just get a good grade. I look forward to being able to continue writing it every day.
I started out with the idea to build a gun cabinet and in turn write about gun control in America for my Senior Paper. While I was researching this topic it was very hard for me to find information on the topic so I could not really become intrigued or interested in the idea of gun control. I wanted to write about something that catches my attention and interests me, so I talked to my parents about this and my dad gave me the idea to build a four-wheeler ramp for our farm. The ramp would be put in a fence line so that you can just go over/through it without having to get off and open a gate. I liked this idea because it would give me hands on building experience which is what I wanted to do. Then my paper was the next topic we had to decide, and I chose to write about cow-calf operations and how they are run. This was something that I was very interested in so it will make writing it more fun and enjoyable.
Today in class we created a Weebly where we will be posting the different steps we are taking to complete our Senior Project this year. The general idea for my project is to build something that I can use later on in life. I think I'm going to build a gun cabinet because it will be something that I can use and have for the rest of my life. I am very interested in doing hands on building with all sorts of materials so I thought this would be a great experience to teach me many life skills that I will be able to use for years to come. Also, it will be very fun and exciting to build something and learn all kinds of building traits that will help me in everyday life. The gun cabinet will be something that I can call my own and have in my house to show my family for years to come.
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AuthorThis is my journey throughout my Senior Project 2020-2021 Archives
April 2021
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