Finally Building my Backhoe

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm finally building my backhoe. It's going to fit on my very little Massey 1215. I've done a lot of sketching and a lot of asking questions here on TBN. I decided that the only way it's ever going to happen is if I just get started. I don't have all of the details worked out, but I'll work them out as I go.

I've posted pics of the first two hours of work. I cut the pieces for the main boom. With a little imagination you can see it put together in the second picture. The short angle at the bottom left of the picture will attach to the swing box. The top right of the picture is where the dipper will attach.

I anticipate that this project will take a long time for two reasons. Reason 1: I'm busy with a number of different things. I'll probably only be able to put in a few hours a week on it. Reason 2: I don't have the best of equipment nor a nice shop to work in. I'm working in the garage with an old stick welder, an angle grinder, and a chop saw.

Even though I'm planning on making very slow progress, I'm giddy with excitement. I've been planning this project for years, and it's finally begun. I wanted to get this thread started tonight to update my progress. I'll include a few more details of my plans in a later post.

[Iplayfarmer]

Here are some of the details of the plans...

I picked up the hydraulic valve and some of the cylinders a year or so ago at a farm machinery salvage yard. I had the forsight to take my buddy along with me who knows the guy that runs the yard. I got a 5 spool valve, a 3 spool valve, and about 10 cylinders of various shapes and sizes for $300. I figure about $200 of that was parts specifically for this backhoe.

I have a couple of golf course reel mowers that I bought this past summer for the engines and miscellaneous parts. I'm planning to poach the pins and bushings from the pivots that the reels ride on as my articulation points. They even have built in grease zerks. Cylinder clevises will pivot on 1" pins that are surplus from my brother-in-law's shop. He uses a ton of 1" rod, but he can't use anything shorter than 6". He's offered to bring me all of the pins that are close to 6".

The steel I've purchased has come to about $300 total, but I won't use it all for this project. This main boom that I've already cut out was 3/8" wall 3"X4" tubing. I also have some 7/16" wall 3"X3" and 3"X4" that I'm planning on using for the mounting frame, etc. I also have a section of 7/16" thick plate that is about 2 feet wide by 8 feet long. I plan on cutting out the linkages, pin attachments, and other incidentals from that. The same BIL that is giving me the pins has a plasma cutter at his shop, and he's offered to do whatever detail cutting I need done (life really is about who you know).

I came accross a PTO hydraulic pump in the want ads this past summer. I paid $200 for the pump and a 10 gallon reservoir. My test and calculations on the pump put it at about 9GPM. The filter body and other hydraulic system accessories will come from one or more of the golf course reel mowers. I will size hoses as I get the backhoe built and probably order them from www.surpluscenter.com

The backhoe will be subframe mounted. I have a subframe that I built to attach a loader to this tractor. I'll tie into this subframe for the backhoe too.

So far the total cost is about $700. There will be some other expenses like DOM tubing and whatever I come up with for a bucket. The biggest expense I still expect is the hoses. I think the hoses will all come to something over $200. There's a little part of me that wants to see if I can build this thing for under $1K. The rest of me just wants to build it as good as my abilities will allow. The overall goal here is to make this backhoe as functional and usefull as possible while keeping it small enough to fit well with my tractor. This translates into balancing reach, depth, strength and speed with weight and working within the horsepower limitations of the tractor.

[Scotty370]

I love the concept of bringing a project to life with limited tools/resources! I'm a stick-weldin'/torch/chopsaw/angle-grinder, no-shop, driveway weldin' guy! Be sure to continue with photo's etc! ~Scotty

Edit-So, that said, I'm a design-guy in the Winter, 'til the snow leaves, in the Spring!

[Iplayfarmer]

I love the concept of bringing a project to life with limited tools/resources! I'm a stick-weldin'/torch/chopsaw/angle-grinder, no-shop, driveway weldin' guy! Be sure to continue with photo's etc! ~Scotty

Edit-So, that said, I'm a design-guy in the Winter, 'til the snow leaves, in the Spring!

I'm a build it through the winter so I can use it in the spring/summerfall guy. Of course there's a good chance this project will last through the summer into next winter.

[dcyrilc]

I'm a build it through the winter so I can use it in the spring/summerfall guy. Of course there's a good chance this project will last through the summer into next winter.

Nothing wrong with that - my barn rebuild is a four to five year project.

[Iplayfarmer]

I paid $33 today for 8" of pipe.

Of course the pipe is 16" diameter and 1/4" wall. I've attached a picture of it. It's going to be the bucket. You may have to use your imagination a little, but I'm going to cut the circle in thirds. One of the thirds will be the arcing bottom of an 8" wide bucket. The other two thirds will be welded together to be the arcing bottom of a 16" wide bucket.

I also got some 1" Schedule 80 pipe. The ID is slightly less than 1", and I'm hoping I can pick up a reamer or drill bit to bore it out to perfect. I'm not planning on having anything articulate within the pipe. I'm using it to weld on the outside surfaces to hold the pins that the rams will articulate on. All told, I spent $60 on steel today for this backhoe.

I spent about two hours working on it tonight. I drilled four holes.

[mjncad]

I'm looking forward to this taking shape.

I don't do cold very well, and I'm frustrated to no end to get back on a project I'm getting close to being done with.

If only I hadn't lost a week of warm weather at the end of October to what I think was the pig flu, I would be done.

[MJPetersen]

I am really looking forward to seeing this come together in the next months. I have been dreaming and planing on building a FEL and backhoe for a couple of years now, but have not made the step of starting. I have several other projects that need finishing first--that seems always to be the case.

Mike

[Iplayfarmer]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I've been dreaming of a backhoe since about the second day I had my tractor. I love designing almost as much as I love building, and I've spent countless hours drawing and redrawing plans. I've also been collecting parts and pieces.

It's fun to finally be cutting and laying out parts. I'm going to an auction today, so I probably won't make much progress today. The backhoe will still be there next week, but the auction won't.

[dcyrilc]

I paid $33 today for 8" of pipe.

Of course the pipe is 16" diameter and 1/4" wall. I've attached a picture of it. It's going to be the bucket. You may have to use your imagination a little, but I'm going to cut the circle in thirds. One of the thirds will be the arcing bottom of an 8" wide bucket. The other two thirds will be welded together to be the arcing bottom of a 16" wide bucket.

I also got some 1" Schedule 80 pipe. The ID is slightly less than 1", and I'm hoping I can pick up a reamer or drill bit to bore it out to perfect. I'm not planning on having anything articulate within the pipe. I'm using it to weld on the outside surfaces to hold the pins that the rams will articulate on. All told, I spent $60 on steel today for this backhoe.

I spent about two hours working on it tonight. I drilled four holes.

Any reason for buying schedule 80 instead of schedule 40? Schedule 40 is 1" ID... schedule 80 starts from the same OD as schedule 40 and thickens the wall leaving a smaller ID. In theory, drilling schedule 80 out to 1" ID leaves you with schedule 40 pipe.