GX335 & JBJr. go to work!

[John WA]

Well I finally had a chance to use my JBJr. yesterday. We had a family get together last Saturday and we knew it was going to be cool so we wanted to put up a quick fire pit. I just dug out a round patch of grass, dumped some gravel in it and used 4 stepping stones and about 50 border stones to make it. It only took an hour or so and I left the grass around it because it would have taken too long to dig that out and replace it with gravel on such short notice. We built a nice fire in it that evening and even roasted marshmallows over it. It was a big hit!

So yesterday evening I finally got around to digging the grass out and placing the gravel with the JBJr. I couldn’t believe how fast and easy it was and it sure beats the heck out of a shovel and a wheelbarrow! It only took a couple of scoops to get the hang of filling the bucket as full as possible and the differential lock helped to push the bucket into the pile. It also helped to raise the bucket and push into the pile at the same time. It doesn’t look like I will need to add any wheel or suitcase weights to the back as gravel is the heaviest load I’ll be moving around it it didn't seem to be a problem without extra weights.

Here are some progress photos:

Laying out the firepit (notice the hula-hoop pattern).
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/javeiro/DSC00674.jpg

Completed firepit and starting to dig out the surrounding grass.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/javeiro/DSC00709.jpg

Dumping the gravel with the GX335 and JBJr.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/javeiro/DSC00715.jpg

Completed firepit.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/javeiro/DSC00719.jpg

[Argee]

Looks like it relaces your wheelbarrow. Nice job :fing32: Is that limestone your putting in??

[John WA]

Thank you Argee, and no it's not limestone. The quarry calls it "crushed gray rock" over here. It actually looks a lot like the blue rock we had in Hawaii and they are both probably of volcanic origin considering where both places are.

[Ingersoll444]

Looks nice!

Any problem with the cement blocks, and the heat? I would be scared they might blow apart.

[John WA]

Looks nice!

Any problem with the cement blocks, and the heat? I would be scared they might blow apart.
Paul B:

I also placed this subject with more pics at GW and someone else warned me about that. Like I told him, that's one of the things I like about these forums .... someone else always knows something I don't. While I others have reported using concrete blocks without any problems, I want to be certain that it's safe. So I guess I'll be looking into lining it with fire bricks or fireclay mortar. Fortunately either one would be a fairly easy fix since the blocks are just loosely stacked without any mortar holding them together.