Confessions of a Newbee

   / Confessions of a Newbee #1  

75H2

Silver Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
201
Location
Johnstown, Pa
Tractor
MF GC 2300
I bought my first tractor a few weeks ago. It's a MF SCUT. This is only the second time I've had to play around with it. We are having a house built and it's not quite finished yet. The yard is littered with discarded blocks & rock from the excavation. I tried for about 10 minutes to scoop up a football sized rock just so I could practice with the loader. After at least 20 attempts I got it in by chance. I must have slid it about 50 yards through the snow. I had the bucket too high and it slid under. Too low and the tractor spun on the ice & snow. I can see this is going to take much longer than I thought. I'm still trying to remember which way to move the stick in relation to where I want the bucket to go. Thank god the wife wasn't there. I know she would have video'd it for future embarassment.
Any sage advice out there?
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee #2  
Three things: Practice, practice and more practice. Actually, you have the perfect practice grounds if your lot isn't yet graded. Try different angles on the bucket. In your defense, picking up a loose object like that is one of the harder things to do with a FEL.
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee #3  
RobS said:
Three things: Practice, practice and more practice. Actually, you have the perfect practice grounds if your lot isn't yet graded. Try different angles on the bucket. In your defense, picking up a loose object like that is one of the harder things to do with a FEL.


seconded.

The first time I tried to pickup up some concrete pieces with the FEL, it made me think "why did I buy this". Before you know it, you won't seem to slow down when your doing things.

No real sage advice to give, youll understand once you get the hang of it. Describing how to lower a FEL quick and easy (so that your not rocking the heck oout of it) is easier to type than to explain. Keep trying with the FEL and remember that there are more than raise lower and curl functions. There is a float all the way forward, see what it does. There is a raise and curl position. there is a lower and uncurl position. Work at them all. Seriously, before you know it, you'll want to try your hand with a bigger machine - just to see what it can do.

Try moving the lever/stick part of the way and not all the way, for some touch, and look at your level indicator (it helps alot).
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Try moving the lever/stick part of the way and not all the way, for some touch, and look at your level indicator (it helps alot).[/QUOTE]


Unfortunately, I don't have a level indicator. There is a piece of yellow tape on the top of the bucket. If that's to help me se level I can't figure it out
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee #5  
75H2 said:
Try moving the lever/stick part of the way and not all the way, for some touch, and look at your level indicator (it helps alot).


Unfortunately, I don't have a level indicator. There is a piece of yellow tape on the top of the bucket. If that's to help me se level I can't figure it out[/QUOTE]

I have a Kubota which comes with a factory installed level indicator. the level indicator is real easy to make, all materials can be bought at home depot. All it basically consist of is a 5 ft- 1/2" round rod that has an "L" shaped 2" bend on one end of the rod. The "L" shaped part is carter pinned through a 1/2" drilled hole in bucket support bracket which is welded on the back side of the bucket. This is so the bucket can swivel freely. The other end of the rod passes through a 1 " hole in an "L" shaped bracket (1 1/2" angle iron) that is screwed to the inside of the load arm where it can be seen from the seat. Set the tractor on level ground and level out the bucket. Mark the rod (mine has a notch ground in it) at the bracket on the load arm indicating level. Now every time you roll the bucket back until the visible mark is at the bracket the bucket will be level as long as the load arms are level. if you have time go by a kubota dealer and look at their loaders and you'll what I am trying to describe here. As I said it is really nothing to make and I don't quite understand why any one would make a loader that didn't have this cheap little device already on it. Good luck,
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee #6  
Don't worry, picking up a rock with a bucket can be **** tricky at any time. It was probably one of the more frustrating things you could have attempted.

Heres my tip... Forget about the left/right, up/down arrows. Instead try to invent some 'logical' images in your head that connect your hand movement to the action of your loader and bucket.

For example imagine that the up/down lever is fixed directly to the loader arms (like a toddlers plastic ride-on tractor). When you pull the lever towards you, the loader arms come up. When you push they go down.

And instead of 'left/right' hand movements, think in terms of 'in/out'.
When you move the lever to the left (thats IN towards the centreline of tractor) you are keeping stuff IN the bucket. When you move the lever to the right, (thats OUT towards the outside of the tractor you are keeping stuff OUT of the bucket.

What I'm trying to say is that you may never memorise that 'left means curl' but you can easily memorise that 'IN means IN'.

That was my little trick anyway, til it sort of became automatic. Depending on your set-up you may have to think up different images.
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee #7  
Practice, practice, and more practice and do not "grade" yourself performancewise. To some people I sometimes really look like I know what I am doing on the tractor and then I go and prove them wrong :rolleyes:. There is a definite learning curve to tractor operation :eek:. FEL work can be frustrating in the beginning. Hang in there and keep the posts coming :D. Jay :)
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee #8  
75H2 said:
I bought my first tractor a few weeks ago. It's a MF SCUT. This is only the second time I've had to play around with it. We are having a house built and it's not quite finished yet. The yard is littered with discarded blocks & rock from the excavation. I tried for about 10 minutes to scoop up a football sized rock just so I could practice with the loader. After at least 20 attempts I got it in by chance. I must have slid it about 50 yards through the snow. I had the bucket too high and it slid under. Too low and the tractor spun on the ice & snow. I can see this is going to take much longer than I thought. I'm still trying to remember which way to move the stick in relation to where I want the bucket to go. Thank god the wife wasn't there. I know she would have video'd it for future embarassment.
Any sage advice out there?

Easiest basic thing to do when trying to pick up anything with an FEL is to try to drive "uphill" when picking up rocks, etc. That way gravity rolls the rocks into the bucket. Even if it's a 2* uphill angle, it's easier than going the opposite way into a 2* downhill angle.
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee #9  
75H2 said:
I bought my first tractor a few weeks ago. It's a MF SCUT. This is only the second time I've had to play around with it. We are having a house built and it's not quite finished yet. The yard is littered with discarded blocks & rock from the excavation. I tried for about 10 minutes to scoop up a football sized rock just so I could practice with the loader. After at least 20 attempts I got it in by chance. I must have slid it about 50 yards through the snow. I had the bucket too high and it slid under. Too low and the tractor spun on the ice & snow. I can see this is going to take much longer than I thought. I'm still trying to remember which way to move the stick in relation to where I want the bucket to go. Thank god the wife wasn't there. I know she would have video'd it for future embarassment.
Any sage advice out there?
If worse comes to worse I can cheat a little and push the rock into the BX23 loader bucket with the 60'' front blade on the BX1500.
 
   / Confessions of a Newbee #10  
I've got probably 20 hours or so using my boxblade, and still feel that I'm not getting great performance. I've practiced and practiced and it is still frustrating. It's helpful for pushing dirt around, and I've used it to manage large debris fires, but when it comes to getting a grade nice and smooth...:confused:

So, as everyone is suggesting, technique plays a large role in performance.
 
 
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