Skil Saw vs. Basketball Hoop

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Skil saw wins. The basketball hoop we have at sweet home Chicago is no more.

As part of my Fathers' Day wishes, I let Cpu and Bpu know that I really wanted a reciprocating saw, aka Milwaukee Sawzall. When it didn't materialize, I figured I would see it for my birthday. I was right.

There are as many reasons to want to own a Sawzall as there are things to cut with one. And you can cut anything. Drywall, sewage pipes, lathe, conduit. Personally, I was going to cut down my hoop.
  1. Too close to the windows of my house.
  2. Too close to my deck.
  3. The park, 1 block away, has a full court.
  4. Rusty vagina-like gap growing a maple tree in it.
It turns out, it also had hornet nests in all the pipes, and the back nine looks so much better with it down now. It looks like we have loads more space.

It was pretty easy going. I grabbed my work gloves, a ladder (which I almost put into the power lines!), and ran the extension cord from the garage to the hoop. Cracked open the satchel that came with the saw and popped in the metal cutting blade. Set the sawing speed to 2/6.

I tried sawing off the ends of the two bolts that held up the backboard, in hopes of pounding the bolts out. Too rusty. I had to make 4 more cuts to sever each bolt around the pipes holding it up, and one more in the adjustable height mechanism.

With that down, it was pretty easy going cutting the pole down. I did it in 3.5 foot lengths, so everything fits in the garbage bin. I had helped Plumber Uncle cut out the fused galvanized sewage cleanout in the basement with his Sawzall, so I followed that as best I could remember.

Bpu cheered me on from the dining room; I had woken her from her unusual nap. And then she asked to see the tree. I had forgotten there was a maple tree growing inside. I boosted her for a look into what Cpu is already calling the pole stump: Vlad the Impaler. Still growing.

It turns out the reason it's growing and the reason for the rusty vagina in the pole, is that there is cement inside the pole until just that height. The water must have worn its way through over the years.

Just have to smash up the cement base and cut up the remainder now.

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3 Comments

I loved how Bpu kept calling encouragement such as "Daddy, you're doing a great job!"

Nice use of the reciprocating saw!! The basketball hoop didn't stand a chance. Allot of people have never heard of a sawzall (reciprocating saw), it's a great tool to own for amateurs and professionals.

Absolutely! Those things are the best; I think I've used it to do everything from the hoop, taking apart wooden shipping palletes, cutting 4 inch iron sewage pipes. Sheesh. They are amazing!

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