Tool Shed Story

I dragged the fertilizer spreader out from behind the tool shed to get ready for spring, only to find out that the adjustment device was broken beyond repair. After having been held together with duct tape for a couple of years, the cheap little piece of plastic had finally given up the ghost.

I went into the shed and puttered around, looking for something to fix up the fertilizer spreader, but didn't come up with anything. So I worked the problem out in my head and eventually put the picture that had come into focus in my mind's eye down on paper.

I figured I could fix it with a simple turnbuckle and a clamp. So I hopped into the hot rod and took a ride to see what I could find.

While I was at the Farmers Co-Op picking up some fertilizer, I stopped to take a gander at the new spreaders. At $125 a pop, they looked nice, but not all that nice. I convinced myself that I had to fix the old unit, by hook or by crook.

After spending five minutes looking through the hardware store, I found what I was after: a simple turnbuckle and a ground clamp. I picked up an extra turnbuckle for good measure, got out of the hardware store five dollars lighter, and headed back to the tool shed.

Once I had the fertilizer spreader up on the bench, it took just five minutes to get it fixed up and back in working order. And it didn't take any fancy tools, either ... just a flat screwdriver and a hefty pair of pliers ... one of my few inheritances, and a handy one at that.

Every time I successfully fix something with one of the tools that my late step-father-in-law left behind, I thank him. And come to think of it, everything I've set out to fix using one of those tools has been fixed ... kinda cool, that.

Thanks, Pop Pop. :)