Homemade Crack Sealer Does the Job
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Glen Rewerts of Berthoud, Colo., made a homemade crack sealer for his asphalt driveway. “We paved our driveway and had it crack sealed,” he says. “I watched the guys do the crack sealing and decided I could do it, but I didn’t want to purchase a crack sealer. I figured I could make one for the fun of doing it, especially when I learned the cost.”
Rewerts reworked the metal from an old water heater for the sealer. “I cut it apart and straightened it to make the inside box. It took me filling it with water a couple of times to locate the leaks after welding.” Next, he made a larger box to fit around the first, with about 1 in. of space between them. “I welded them together, then added some spacers between the boxes so they wouldn’t move.”
Rewerts used seed disks from a wheat drill for the wheels. “I had to cut them down and try to make them round,” he says. “For the front swivel, I had to make a steel wheel to replace a rubber wheel in a caster wheel. I don’t have a lathe, so I used a grinder to get the wheel round.” He found that grinding at an angle rotated the wheel, ensuring the grinder only reached the high spots and created a nearly perfect wheel.
“The biggest problem was figuring out how to make the valve,” Rewerts says. “I got two pipes where one fit inside the other snuggly. I had to grind one until I could get them to fit really tight. Then, I drilled a hole in both, which matches the pipe that drips hot filler onto the ground. When I rotated the inside pipe, it worked like a valve.”
He also made a handle and found an old bracket with two bolts to attach to the exterior. “That way, I could attach the handle in two positions: one for use and one for easier upright storage.
Rewerts is quick to acknowledge that the process took some trial and error. “I used a picture of a crack sealer as my pattern,” he says. “But I had to figure out how to make everything in it.” Another challenge was getting the exhaust from the burner out through the holes drilled along the top. “I’ve had to enlarge them since the first time I drilled them,” he says.
Another problem was removing the center part of the valve if needed and keeping it in place. “In the second year, I added the angle iron and all thread with the handle to keep the inside pipe valve in place because hot liquid always wanted to push the inside pipe out.” He also experimented with the length and shortened the levers so that they worked in the proper range.
Years in, Rewerts continues to tweak his design. “It was a fun project. I’ve used it for three years now to seal my driveway. It takes a while to get hot, and I still have trouble with the propane weed burner wanting to blow out. I added a cover over the burner this third year to keep a small breeze from blowing out the flame. I could’ve bought one, but it was more fun to make one and see if it could work. This year, I also helped seal my neighbor’s driveway.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Glen Rewerts, Berthoud, Colo. (ph 720-641-8794; gjrew@skybeam.com).
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Homemade Crack Sealer Does the Job FARM HOME Miscellaneous Glen Rewerts of Berthoud Colo made a homemade crack sealer for his asphalt driveway “We paved our driveway and had it crack sealed ” he says “I watched the guys do the crack sealing and decided I could do it but I didn’t want to purchase a crack sealer I figured I could make one for the fun of doing it especially when I learned the cost ” Rewerts reworked the metal from an old water heater for the sealer “I cut it apart and straightened it to make the inside box It took me filling it with water a couple of times to locate the leaks after welding ” Next he made a larger box to fit around the first with about 1 in of space between them “I welded them together then added some spacers between the boxes so they wouldn’t move ” Rewerts used seed disks from a wheat drill for the wheels “I had to cut them down and try to make them round ” he says “For the front swivel I had to make a steel wheel to replace a rubber wheel in a caster wheel I don’t have a lathe so I used a grinder to get the wheel round ” He found that grinding at an angle rotated the wheel ensuring the grinder only reached the high spots and created a nearly perfect wheel “The biggest problem was figuring out how to make the valve ” Rewerts says “I got two pipes where one fit inside the other snuggly I had to grind one until I could get them to fit really tight Then I drilled a hole in both which matches the pipe that drips hot filler onto the ground When I rotated the inside pipe it worked like a valve ” He also made a handle and found an old bracket with two bolts to attach to the exterior “That way I could attach the handle in two positions: one for use and one for easier upright storage Rewerts is quick to acknowledge that the process took some trial and error “I used a picture of a crack sealer as my pattern ” he says “But I had to figure out how to make everything in it ” Another challenge was getting the exhaust from the burner out through the holes drilled along the top “I’ve had to enlarge them since the first time I drilled them ” he says Another problem was removing the center part of the valve if needed and keeping it in place “In the second year I added the angle iron and all thread with the handle to keep the inside pipe valve in place because hot liquid always wanted to push the inside pipe out ” He also experimented with the length and shortened the levers so that they worked in the proper range Years in Rewerts continues to tweak his design “It was a fun project I’ve used it for three years now to seal my driveway It takes a while to get hot and I still have trouble with the propane weed burner wanting to blow out I added a cover over the burner this third year to keep a small breeze from blowing out the flame I could’ve bought one but it was more fun to make one and see if it could work This year I also helped seal my neighbor’s driveway ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Glen Rewerts Berthoud Colo ph 720-641-8794; gjrew@skybeam com
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