Backhoe Build A Backhoe For PT425... It Could Happen

MossRoad · Apr 3, 2006

No. The backhoe is still tops. But I need to finish them both. Too many things half started and not finished. Got to get them all done. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I also picked up a bi-metal blade for the band saw. I figured bi-metal worked so well for those hole saws, it couldn't hurt to try it in the band saw. $19.00.

MossRoad · Apr 3, 2006

J_J,
I don't have any hydraulic cylinders that are suitable yet. The instructions that I have call for 16" cylinders with clevis ends. They attach to tabs that are welded on in the centerline of the square tubing. I want to get all the parts for the thing cut out first, then I can start tacking things together and making measurements for the travel that I want to achieve. Then I will be able to determine the actual cylinder lenghts that I will need.

Spiffy · Apr 3, 2006

I'm probably getting way ahead of things here; you'll probably want to play with it first. However, you may want to think about a couple extra cylinders for "center" stabilizers or I just got some great advice from Rip (in a thread I started in the construction forum) about using a piece of channel to lock the oscillation (great on uneven ground, not so great for BH work).

MossRoad · Apr 5, 2006

I don't plan on having it be able to toss around the PT, but know what you are talking about. That oscillation is a great thing until you just want the unit to hold still and be a solid piece of steel. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

J_J · Apr 8, 2006

Hi David, Have you done anymore to the backhoe? I purchased one of those hydraulic crimper kits to make my own cables. We will see if that works out. I am thinking about running some of my cables inside the 4 in tubing, and using bulkhead fittings to connect the cylinders.

I had to tear down my Hydroback cable unit. I thought the cable was bad. The pedals were very stiff. I tore it down, and cleaned every thing, and Teflon lubed every thing. Didn't find anything to cause this problem. It's now up on blocks so I can adjust the Hydroback when Terry sends me some parts. Apparently the previous owner took it apart and didn't put it back exactly right.

MossRoad · Apr 8, 2006

No. I haven't done anything this week. I was down in the Smokey Mountains Monday through Friday on spring break with the wife and kids. Did the hiking, go karts, miniature golf, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and a bunch of other stuff that cost too much but was still fun. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I did see several small backhoes and took some pictures of a JD7 on a small JD CUT for reference. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

So you're going to try to make your own hydraulic lines? I've seen the kits but am still too far off for that step yet. I also though about running the lines through the tubing for protection and neatness. The only gotcha I see about that is the possibility of it rubbing inside somewhere and not being able to see it before it is too late. But that may outweigh the protection it would give the hoses.

I read about your hydroback while I was in the hotel in Pigeon Forge(they had free WIFI). It was nice to put the family to bed and wind the day down by reading TBN stuff. I think it is wise to put it up on blocks while adjusting it. There is a real danger of running over yourself. I had to make similar adjustments to our old IH tracotor every so often. It would start creaping and that is dangerous. I'll watch your other thread to see how the adjustment goes. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

KentT · Apr 8, 2006

Ah... a vacation to "tourist trap USA"...

That's "home" for me, but I can't handle the traffic and congestion now. So, I bought my "retirement site" on the "quiet side" of Smokies, near Townsend. It's actually in Walland:

Walland in Relation to Pigeon Forge, etc

MossRoad · Apr 9, 2006

We drove out of Cade's Cove to Townsend and then up 321 back to Pigeon Forge on Wednesday evening. I could not believe the number of cabins there now. The roads up the sides of the hills and the missing timber were unbelievable compared to just a few years ago.

Spiffy · Apr 10, 2006

( Ah... a vacation to "tourist trap USA"... )

We were down that way last year; beautiful country, but the 10mile stretch of tourist trap about made us sick. We did find a peaceful horseback ride (the guide even got himself lost; judging from the lack of hoof/human prints, not just part of the act either /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) and Cade's Cove was pleasant too. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

KentT · Apr 10, 2006

( We were down that way last year; beautiful country, but the 10mile stretch of tourist trap about made us sick. We did find a peaceful horseback ride (the guide even got himself lost; judging from the lack of hoof/human prints, not just part of the act either /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) and Cade's Cove was pleasant too. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
)
I know what you mean. When I was a kid, that road into Pigeon Forge was a little winding 2-lane highway... by the time I was in HS it was a divided 4-lane. Now it's a 3-lane parking lot in each direction... I avoid it at as much as I can. My older brothers went to HS with Dolly & Stella, but I went to a new school (at that time) in Seymour.

However, after moving all around the country for 30+ years, I hear my roots calling me home... My Dad's side of the family settled in the "Sugarlands" not too far from where the HQs for the national park, and my mother's family settled in Cades Cove. I have a 50th anniversary commemorative poster of Cades Code hanging in my office that's taken from the same overlook as the pic below. It shows the cemetaries where both sides of my mother's family are buried -- Myers in the church cemetary and Chambers in a lttle family plot just inside the edge of the woods...

So, after looking for several years, and watching the area develop more and more, I ended up buying a tract in the hills of Walland -- pretty much off the beaten path, but still accessible to the park and the rest of my family... it's 21 miles to the airport, 13-15 miles to the hospital/shopping/etc, and about the same distance from the park (by road -- by air, its about 5-7 miles)....