RDrancher's Photo Thread

[Piston]

RD,
You have some awesome pictures and seem to be very knowledgable with what you do :thumbsup:

I seem to remember in a land plane grader blade thread, that you had been looking for a grader plane for your business, it looks like you found one?

 

[RDrancher]

LJH - You can cut rocky soil, but back dragging doesn't work to well. Sifting can be accomplished by stockpiling and using the bucket teeth to filter the rocks up the face and over the top. The 4in1 bucket I was using has a leaky cylinder so back dragging opens it up a little. I take advantage of the flaw and use it for a sifter. I'm the only one that rents it so I haven't told them so I can use it that way.

DT86 - The Kubota is a rental. In these economic times it makes more sense for me to rent anything I don't use at least 50% of the time. The cab is spacious, that's for sure! Its a great machine, but one thing I don't like is that if its equipped with a deep enough bucket to back drag with the bucket heel (works excellent with road base) you can't see the leading edge or corners of the bucket without leaning WAY forward (and I'm 6' tall). I'd look pretty hard at the JCB before buying one. Check out youtube videos concerning arm-play.

Piston - I ended up getting a Landpride for a great deal through my Kubota dealer. I just ordered another set of blades to mount for planing in reverse.

 

[LJH]

LJH - You can cut rocky soil, but back dragging doesn't work to well. Sifting can be accomplished by stockpiling and using the bucket teeth to filter the rocks up the face and over the top. The 4in1 bucket I was using has a leaky cylinder so back dragging opens it up a little. I take advantage of the flaw and use it for a sifter. I'm the only one that rents it so I haven't told them so I can use it that way.

Ah ha! Sifting with the bucket teeth, now that's pretty durned clever. I thought maybe you had some kind of nifty portable gravel screen. My Baby John's bucket don't got no teeth . I may scrounge around for some heavy-gauge screening and rig one up. Thanks for the reply!

 

[RDrancher]

Here are a few photos from today.


I had help today so I started on the french drain. Apparently the pool contractor connected the fill valve directly into the main water supply without a backflow prevent valve. The homeowner knew better and had him change it but the pool company got the last laugh. While re-routing the line (goofy routing I might add) and putting in this little retaining wall (completely incorrect as a matter of fact) they must have hit the main and broke it. They repaired it but never primed or glued the coupling and obviously didn't pressure check it before back filling either! So this turned out to be the source of all of the water surfacing inside the water boxes below the wall...that the plumber said was from over watering the lawn. We got it all put back together and left the hole open so I can check it again in the morning. I can't believe how many schedule 20 main water supplies I've seen since I've been here in Texas. It's hokey and just plain stupid IMHO.

 

[swick1]

I agree with you on the water line. I see lots of silly stuff around here in wv too. I love the kubota paint scheme and I've been looking at kubota or john deere for my mini ex purchase in a couple of years.

 

[RDrancher]

Ah ha! Sifting with the bucket teeth, now that's pretty durned clever. I thought maybe you had some kind of nifty portable gravel screen. My Baby John's bucket don't got no teeth . I may scrounge around for some heavy-gauge screening and rig one up. Thanks for the reply!

A Ratchet Rake works pretty good too.

I need to build one of those screens for my place. I've got stockpiled dirt from various jobs out back that I need to sift through. I'd sure like to "borrow" the one the county road and bridge fellas have down the road. :laughing:

 

[LJH]

From some of the horror stories I've heard and a bit of personal experience, pool companies seem to fall into the same category as mega-banks & politicians in the ethics department.

I used to moonlight driving a truck & pup for a pool company to make some extra play money. Those guys would cut corners and cheap out everything they could, including paying less than minimum wage to the poor illegals who did the manual labor. I finally quit working for them when they refused to fix the truck brakes - there was no adjustment left on most of the wheels, the stinkin' thing would not stop with a load and I was supposed to dodge the scales. Nope, later for that! The cheap bastages eventually went bankrupt - too many consumer lawsuits would be my guess.

 

[RDrancher]

Yep, back in the day I used to form and pour two or three decks a week for a "name" pool company. I had better luck getting paid by hunting down the manager at his favorite bar.

Funny thing mentioning your truck experience. My first full time driving / operating job was for an old drunk. Nice guy, but didn't take care of anything. He owned an old Ford cabover single axle dump and Ford skiploader. Funny story...The first day I worked for him (before I even met him!) I picked the truck up from the shop, early in the morning and in the dark. It broke down in less than a city block. After the mechanic got me going I headed up in the hills above Hollywood to haul dirt for another guy. Coming back down the hill (first load), I put on the brakes and the cab flopped forward, pinning me up on the windshield along with my lunchbox and toolbox! Luckily, at the bottom of the hill there was a "t" intersection with an ivy uphill on the other side. I went up the hill (still on the windshield) until gravity took over and flopped the cab back down, throwing me and my now-open toolbox and lunchbox up on the shelf behind the front seat. If that wasn't enough, when I was getting on the freeway (same load) the truck overheated, blowing off the radiator cap and the lid on the shelf behind the seat, filling the cab with steam. It was quite the day!

After a few months of the same type of wild days in the truck I told the guy that "the next time it breaks down I'm leaving it right there!" Of course it did, and I left it right there and hitch hiked home. I was so fed-up I never even called the guy to tell him where his truck was. A few years later I ran into him and he acted like nothing ever happened. I asked him about the truck and he said the highway patrol had called him to let him know that the truck was in impound. He thought that someone had stolen it. He never did ask where I'd been for the last 3 years! Drunks can be pretty funny sometimes.

 

[LJH]

Let's hear it for the ivy! :laughing:

Good lord, that one truly takes the cake. I've had some hairy truck-related episodes but never a horizonal windshield ride, oy. How long did it take to get your heart rate back to normal after that little interlude???

Thought someone stole it ... that would be a pretty desperate and/or stupid truck thief, eh? :laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[RDrancher]

All I can say is I'm sure glad I was still a youngster. These days that kind of excitement would give me a heart attack!