“Lazy Man’s Inventions” Help With Yardwork

2021 - Volume #45, Issue #4, Page #25

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Randy Keister figured out how to make cutting weeds and shrubs fun and safe. The retired mechanic has arthritis and serious problems with his knees so he got busy in his shop to make equipment he can operate with his zero-turn mower.
One project was to modify a 5 1/2 hp. walk-behind Cub Cadet weed eater.
“It sticks out about 5 ft. so I can get under trees. I’ve had no trouble with debris hitting me,” Keister says.
That’s a good thing because he “powered up” the weed eater by adding 6 more strings. He created the extra space between himself and the cutting end by mounting brackets on the mower and adding metal construction strut and wheels.
“I started with 4 wheels, but it was hard to slide so I put two castors on the back,” he explains. He can reach the pullcord to start it and has a wire to the grounding switch, to turn it off with a button mounted on the mower deck. It connects with an extension cord he unplugs when he takes the weed eater off.
“I built it with the idea to save me from walking, and when I put it on the zero-turn it makes weed whacking a lot more fun,” he says.
He also uses his mower to cut the cedar trees that grow up on his Sherman, Texas, property. Keister’s cedar saw uses 10-ft. lengths of construction strut to keep him a safe distance from the 20-in. saw blade on the end. He built it with the gear box off a Kubota belly mower, a $100 Predator motor, and castors from Harbor Freight.
“The castors make it real easy to maneuver, and the 20-in. saw blade from Amazon is about as big as I would want,” Keister says. He has less than $300 in the cedar saw and can operate everything from the mower seat. Typically he uses it to cut shorter trees, but he’s also used it to cut taller trees with added safety measures. He uses an electric winch on his jeep with a remote control to pull the tree over in a safe direction.
Keister has had videos made that show his inventions in action. They can be seen at Facebook: Carla Carlson Keister.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Randy Keister, 782 E. Cedar Rd., Sherman, Texas 75090 (ph 903 892-1415; carlakeister@gmail.com).

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“Lazy Man’s Inventions” Help With Yardwork TRACTORS Made-It-Myself Randy Keister figured out how to make cutting weeds and shrubs fun and safe The retired mechanic has arthritis and serious problems with his knees so he got busy in his shop to make equipment he can operate with his zero-turn mower One project was to modify a 5 1/2 hp walk-behind Cub Cadet weed eater “It sticks out about 5 ft so I can get under trees I’ve had no trouble with debris hitting me ” Keister says That’s a good thing because he “powered up” the weed eater by adding 6 more strings He created the extra space between himself and the cutting end by mounting brackets on the mower and adding metal construction strut and wheels “I started with 4 wheels but it was hard to slide so I put two castors on the back ” he explains He can reach the pullcord to start it and has a wire to the grounding switch to turn it off with a button mounted on the mower deck It connects with an extension cord he unplugs when he takes the weed eater off “I built it with the idea to save me from walking and when I put it on the zero-turn it makes weed whacking a lot more fun ” he says He also uses his mower to cut the cedar trees that grow up on his Sherman Texas property Keister’s cedar saw uses 10-ft lengths of construction strut to keep him a safe distance from the 20-in saw blade on the end He built it with the gear box off a Kubota belly mower a $100 Predator motor and castors from Harbor Freight “The castors make it real easy to maneuver and the 20-in saw blade from Amazon is about as big as I would want ” Keister says He has less than $300 in the cedar saw and can operate everything from the mower seat Typically he uses it to cut shorter trees but he’s also used it to cut taller trees with added safety measures He uses an electric winch on his jeep with a remote control to pull the tree over in a safe direction Keister has had videos made that show his inventions in action They can be seen at Facebook: Carla Carlson Keister Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Randy Keister 782 E Cedar Rd Sherman Texas 75090 ph 903 892-1415; carlakeister@gmail com

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