Lockdown Rotavator Challenge - The birth of 'Frankenvator'!

Being forced to stay at home does funny things to you.
It's even motivated me to actually do something with the vegetable plot that has laid dormant for at least the last couple of years.
Being an inherently lazy individual, digging the plot by hand wasn't an option, so I set about bodging together various bits of horticultural equipment I had lying around to do it for me.

[@maximusironthumper]

I bought that thing for a hundred quid as a non-runner! It's certainly served us both well. Good see it still going strong and reborn as a garden maker.

[@spungletrumpet]

Well, it could still be used as a haycutter, but it had an incident with a bit of scaff bar in some long grass last Autumn, so it needs a bit of welding done. I'm amazed at how reliable the engine is though. Always starts first pull which is very unusual for engines at my place!

[@rockcrusher4636]

This kind of video isn't boring at all, keep them coming. Excellent, Cheers.

[@resistantgeordie2636]

I came here by max's channel.. as a hgv driver-plant driver i often face nonstarter issues or seemingly impossible load ups.... watching your sort of old school skills is fantastic! It all adds up to an eclectic education! Much appreciated!👍😁

[@spungletrumpet]

Cheers! Hope you're keeping safe if you have to be out and about working at the moment!

[@MOOSEDOWNUNDER]

Nicely done Sir. Get yourself a 22 and fill the freezer. Love Kentucky fried bunny. Birdie Num Num.

[@owenrichardson1419]

Great when a plan comes together. It doesn't happen often in my world but good someone gets a result.

[@joaofernandes5295]

that was fun to watch. I watch all Maximus irontrumper vids and I will start watching your channel from now.

[@spungletrumpet]

Thanks! You are most welcome! :)

[@Chr.U.Cas1622]

Dear spungletrumpet. 👍👌👏 The Frankenvator does really well. Congrats! 2) Problem solution: Simply catch/cook/eat the rabbits (unless you're a vegetarian/vegan of course). Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards, luck and health to all of you.

[@AlOKaneMusic]

Great work Hairy, good to see you're keeping busy! Hentanamo... lol x

[@josb51]

Frankenvator does his job well done Mark.

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

This might have been the most anticlimactic "will-she-start" situation I came across in 2020 so far, including all motorcycle and vintage content I saw when locked down AND including my own daily beater vehicles (BMW K75 and Mercedes 5 cylinder, both "runners" ...) It started like a machine You have to rope down over night to prevent her going on a little joyride on her own in moonlight 😂😂

[@crashk6]

Nice one Mark! Genuine mechanical ingenuity, with a healthy dose of Make do & Mend. It's almost like it was made for it! Add a lick of paint to keep the rust down, and the casual observer would never guess it wasn't an original attachment. (Edited for fat fingering the touch keyboard.)

[@martincraig1974]

I love that thing iam trying to do my mum's garden and its a nightmare trying to dig out bramble roots 👍👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@reactiontoeffectiveenemyfire]

Good stuff keep em coming 👍

[@LucasRichardStephens]

Nice one!

[@peterhall5458]

Good recycling idea that👌🤔

[@obviouslytwo4u]

Fantastic Mark finally has a KZbin channel.

[@spungletrumpet]

I've had the channel for quite a while.. I just need to get round to making some more videos to put on it! :)

[@eddymaddix1786]

"Who knows how long this will go on for but you know it's lots of people being creative, something to do. We're all having a great laugh being indoors" Not so much of the "great laugh" nearly a year on but thanks for the video.

[@michaeltoner1993]

great job! would be cool too see how the garden turns out

[@antmerritt]

Superb! Never thought rotavating could be so much entertainment! Cheers Mark, stay safe, stay sane! 👍😁👊

[@jasperedwards3341]

hayter condor are still made but you gat the older model i had 2 ,,26 inch hayters with rear roller

[@HT-io1eg]

Genius bodging!

[@Simon78]

Nice work mate 👍

[@edgeeffect]

Great stuff.... I like the odd rotorvator.... and that certainly was an odd rotorvator....

[@spungletrumpet]

Using it is a bit like wrestling an angry bull, but it gets the job done. Best not to use it if you want to still be able to play guitar for a couple of days after though! ;)

[@Ragnar8504]

@@spungletrumpet I've seen several rotovator videos on YT and each and every one of them looked like someone wrestling an angry bull so I suspect it's the technology itself rather than your impressive improvisation!

[@petrosros]

Your Chickens appear to think they are rabbits.

[@AlmightyGodsWorldIsBeautiful]

painting fences all day today, thought I'd treat myself to this before I go off to work

[@ASCIITerminal]

One of my lockdown creations was a planter made out of an old fence, but nothing as impressive as this!

[@stephenwilliamson1491]

You live in a house mark looks a big one at that sort of exspected you to be living in a nice challet like max

[@spungletrumpet]

Yep, we rent a place in a swamp at the back end of a cattle farm, next to a big muck heap. I'd be useless off-grid!

[@woodswomansoul]

You've got the bravest chickens I've ever seen, she didn't even flinch when you started the engine!! Good job, although I would have thought you may have gone for mini-explosions rather than rotavating...

[@spungletrumpet]

Our hens are well used to explosions, both intentional and non-intentional! Half way through the filming, one of them was digging under one of the tripod legs, which caused the camera to tip over. I'm sure she did it purposely!

It looks like it has been built to fit ! :-)

[@spungletrumpet]

It had been modified to fit on to a different type of 'garden tractor', I wonder if there was some sort of standardisation of the widths of the mounting points. All I had to do was modify the holes and bend the angled sections a bit.

[@BoredoldPunk]

Now it's got me panicking I should have my own veggie plot.

[@spungletrumpet]

I don't recommend it. It's one of the hardest ways there is to get hold of vegetables. And when you don't get round to doing anything with your plot for a season you end up feeling really guilty! Any sane person would just turf it over and find a good local farm shop! ;)

[@BoredoldPunk]

Yeah, just the end of the world like you said, can't buy any frozen veg right now ;) I'd just end up feeding the wildlife anyways, my dad used a pellet gun on the rabbits, seeing as we were on the first floor and about 200 yards away, never did much more than scare them, the one time he actually managed to kill one was when he traded the gun for a printer.

[@martinfortune9988]

Keep the videos coming Mark you’re good

[@DragonsFireMetalWorx]

Repurpose old stuff to do new jobs? Hell ya! Nice work buddy

[@chrisharden3934]

Nice work!

[@jasperedwards3341]

merry tiller had a mower conversion

[@conorgraafpietermaritzburg3720]

Very good, If you still had the Wolsley engine you might have battled a bit more

[@arefsum]

Cool machine :-)

[@TheMrWoodsman]

Make do and complete the job in hand is my way of life.

[@BrianM0OAB]

Blimey, not used one of those mowers since 1975 :o proper blast from the past for me :) be seeing a Fordson Dexta or Major next.

[@Mark-xl8gg]

October here, your not escaping twenty twenty yet my fine friend

[@twwanderer]

Thanks for the video, the frankenvator looks like a total beast. Any thoughts about building or bolting anything else on the front?

[@spungletrumpet]

I might bolt one of the Tesla coils to it when I've got one working nicely! :D

[@twwanderer]

@@spungletrumpet Tesla coil and a flagpole or sign announcing when the Project Awesome show is to start would be very on brand!

[@jasperedwards3341]

hayter condor mower

[@jasperedwards3341]

heath robinson

[@adamheazlett1179]

Working in the workshop is a lot easier

[@stevegrim]

Covid 19 would have been made redundant if you had dug that by hand as the work would have killed you.

[@spungletrumpet]

Well, COVID might kill me yet, as I live with a frontline NHS worker. But hard work certainly won't.

[@bishopbishopiii6899]

Any update mark

[@spungletrumpet]

I broke the bearing on the merry tiller gearbox. I may well do a video about the repair when I do it. Just wish the rain would stop for a bit!

[@alanhoughton3252]

Hey Mark less yakin an more action required.