I started my backhoe Root Ripper.

   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper. #31  
Wow ! I'm so jealous ! Very clever setup, impressive. Keeping this hacksaw table jig in a corner of my mind, maybe someday ...
 
   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper. #32  
You’re inspiring me to make a ripper. Not there, but closer. My concern is the necessary hardness to withstand wear on the serrated cutting edges.

I’ve build a tree puller (fun to make) so welding & fabrication isn’t lost on me.

As for portable band saw setup, I use one from SWAG. It’s a stand that can quickly be detached for mobile use. They have neat stuff.
 
   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper.
  • Thread Starter
#33  
Do you have a post with pictures of your tree puller? I would like to see it very cool. I will have to see if I need to temper the front of the ripper with a torch. I did see couple of others that did not do this they just cleaned it up after every few uses. I thought about welding on the front teeth weld seems very hard.

I saw the SWAG table but I wanted to be able to chop with it also. So far I have used it chopping a little more than standing.

I did chamfer the new pin ends that I made. That really helps a lot.
 
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   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper. #34  
A ripper and thumb are ALMOST visible on my project list; here's a crude paint sketch of my tentative tooth plan, with a smaller than industrial size hoe you'd need to scale it accordingly... Steve
 

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   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper.
  • Thread Starter
#35  
@BukiCase
That is funny. I just bought a set of AR500 targets to make a shooting tree. (another welding project) I was wondering if anyone had used some AR500 on their ripper.
Do you know of anyone that has used this design? I would love to know how it performs.
 
   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper. #36  
"Do you know of anyone that has used this design? I would love to know how it performs."

Not exactly, just looked at a LOT of rippers - several with teeth, some so aggressive the hoe would probably pull the rest of the tractor over on top of ya :eek:

Best I can offer is - I've built a lot of projects, and MOST work as I envisioned (some after version 2.0, most with no, or minor, tweeks) - been retired since 2013, last 35 years as instrumentation tech in heavy industry (rare metals), last 10 running a rotating shift maintenance crew with 2 electricians, 2 millwrights, 2 pipe fitters, 2 weldors, 2 machinists, and 1 instrument tech (me) - to a man, when I put in my retirement papers (I wuz already 67) they did their best to talk me out of it; they all knew they'd never find another "leader" that'd work as hard to keep them safe AND actually know what they did, make actually USEFUL suggestions, etc... Steve
 
   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper.
  • Thread Starter
#37  
That is the nice thing about this forum. There are people with lots of great backgrounds and real work experience.
That’s not my background I was an Electronic tech in Navy then I worked in Information Tech and now an IT consultant/programmer.
I do research a far amount for my projects. These are my biggest welding projects so far. This is the first time I have dealt with ½ thick and 3/8 thick metal for my projects.
I will be trying out my ripper soon but if it does not perform as I want, I will be changing it. I have a fair amount of material to work with. It is always good to hear other ideas.


My ripper is ½ thick I probably could use scrap AR500 for the teeth. One of the target places might even sell some scrap cheaply.
 
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   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper. #38  
Sounds like we had similar backgrounds for at least PART of our lives; I spent 4 years in the Army Security Agency back in the '60's, cold war electronic snooping stuff - graduated tech school top of my class, agency needed 2 more instructors so spent next couple years teaching, then a year TDY as a trouble-shooter all over the place - when I got out, first job was with Memorex - video tape division first, later on a design team in their digital development lab (when hard drives were same size as your washing machine) - started my own company (moonlighting at first) in TV and recording studios maintenance/repairs, moved to Hawaii for a couple years (Startup company, video/audio sales/service, calibration lab) then back to Oregon shortly after my dad died, nothing in Oregon paid crap in electronics at the time so found a job in instrumentation, etc...

Probably the main diff between us - when I was 9, Dad bought a little 1 acre piece of raw property to build a house on - it sat right on the road, but on a cutbank so the property was about 7 feet ABOVE the road. He found a used "mini-cat", little baby dozer with a 9 horse crank-start motor, mechanical 3ph, mechanical blade, found a used "slip" - think "wheelbarrow without wheels, no front tip-up, longer handles, pivoted cross-bar with a hole for a chain - one person drives the tractor, other holds the handles down and tries NOT to get flipped over it :eek: - Since Dad outweighed me by about 90 pounds at the time, I got to drive - Beginning of an addiction :thumbsup: - Next door neighbor had a small logging operation, saw how much fun I had with the TOY cat, next day I got to drive a D8 up in the woods; addiction now fully formed :rolleyes:

Lot MORE water under THAT bridge, but I'm ALREADY good enough at sidetracking threads :laughing:...Steve
 
   / I started my backhoe Root Ripper. #39  
" I probably could use scrap AR500 for the teeth"

Good luck tryin' to GRIND any of that; I got away with torch cutting on one job replacing wear strips on my 2' hoe bucket (AR400) - about 12 years ago I had the strips plasma cut by steel supplier, then 7018 stitch welds/heat-bend with torch, stitch, repeat... Before I started, I didn't like the edges of the strips. Too sharp and rough, and I didn't think it'd be fun to bump an elbow on the bucket when walking around the tractor, so I grabbed my 9" grinder, clamped 'em in a vise - it took about 30 minutes PER STRIP to put enough of a chamfer on the edges to even NOTICE...

That's why, on that sketch I did I briefly mentioned how I'd do the "dominoes" - first thing would be to set my "flange wizard" to cut @ 45 degrees, and "rip" the long way on a 3" wide strip; THEN I'd cut however many dominoes I needed off that beveled strip, and mount the point of each bevel AWAY from the ripper (see sketch).

Doing it that way would save trying to cut a dozen or so LITTLE pieces at an angle, cause I doubt you're gonna cut that stuff with anything LESS than O/A or plasma, unless you have access to a laser or water jet... Steve
 

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