It's time; either get started or....

[Short Game]

Being on "guvamint" payroll (pension) severely limits one's options, no?

Being on "guvamint" payroll (pension) severely limits one's options, yes.

No cost of living raises for a few years for the vets. Just a war on "entitlements." I ask 'em, "now why do you suppose they call them, 'entitlements?'" If I didn't have this place to hideout in the brush, I'd be stuck with the rescue missions in the city.

Geezo, don't get me started...

Just because I have a tractor in no way means I have much else in common with the average demographic here.

I came here for help with my tractor addiction, and all I seem to find are enablers.

 

[chad22]

looking good Norm. :thumbsup: I've got my backhoe back together just this week. I took a break from it for awhile since I was getting settled into my new "new to me" mobile home. A friend gave it to me, he just wanted to move it off his property. Couldn't turn that down. All he wanted was $30.00 in gas to move it over here.

Anyway a relative of ours is having sewer issues. Got a clog 35 feet from the house. She asked me if I could dig it up for her and get the clog cleared. I told her sure.

She doesn't have much money either so I told her. Just paying for the gas would be enough. It's a win, win. She gets her sewer line fixed and I get to play with my new toy. :thumbsup::laughing:

Her son tried digging with a shovel but gave up after digging down a foot. lol

I tried out the backhoe yesterday and it's working fine. Just got to clean out the carb and might have to put an overhaul kit in it. But then it will be good to go.

I fixed my pivot. Did away with the pipe, and used a piece of the square tube and a pin through it. It works much better and I was able to make a better mount for it.

I got a kit and rebuilt my pump. And instead of the belt I used jaw couplers this time. Much better.

I cut down the stick a bit so the bucket would clear the ground when towing it.

As I get the money I plan to put some wheel motors on the back to make it drive. Then I can put a blade on the front to backfill trenches. And level ground.

I cut my axle into and put the hubs up front. I'll have to get another pic of it once the weather clears up.

Chad

 

[NormL]

Hi Chad:

It's good to see you have your BH in operation again.:thumbsup: I had to chuckle when I read your comment about that lady's son giving up after digging down one foot! Obviously not possessed of the same sort of energy you had when you were in your early teens.:laughing::laughing: Looking forward to the pics you mentioned.

Once I have the renovations to the small corner of my Quonset completed and some heat in there, I plan to get back to the project.:thumbsup: It was a crazy summer this year what with our son's wedding and now our youngest daughter is moving out to the West coast, too. Guess who will be getting to know the drive through the Rockies real well! I suspect that shop time will be at a premium even in the winter months.

 

[chad22]

Hi Chad:

It's good to see you have your BH in operation again.:thumbsup: I had to chuckle when I read your comment about that lady's son giving up after digging down one foot! Obviously not possessed of the same sort of energy you had when you were in your early teens.:laughing::laughing: Looking forward to the pics you mentioned.

I sure am glad to have it back and hopefully for good. That's true he must not be possessed with the energy like I was. He's 20 and I'm 23 gonna be 24 on March 8th.

He's my cousin. I had to laugh the other day when he came by the shop with a friend and told me that he gave up digging. He said I ain't digging that by hand. I'll wait for you to get down to the pipe first. Then dig out around it.

We gotta go down 6 feet before we hit the pipe. I know I couldn't hand dig that anymore.

Hope your able to get some more shop time in. I bet you can't wait to get on that thing and dig.

Chad

 

[Short Game]

I was going to post some pics here of building my trailering rig yesterday, but wouldn't you know it, my computer would not boot up. I borrowed another one and that's what I'm on at the moment.

Anyway, I got the frame welded up to the connecting parts that are pinned and bolted to the backhoe now. That frame is bolted back to the cross-frame that holds the axle. What with voting and getting a computer, I didn't have time to get the tractor out to lift it back off the blocks and set it down on its wheels. When I get that done I can start shortening and refitting the tongue. Some progress, anyway.

Welcome back, Chad.

 

[NormL]

I sure am glad to have it back and hopefully for good. That's true he must not be possessed with the energy like I was. He's 20 and I'm 23 gonna be 24 on March 8th.

He's my cousin. I had to laugh the other day when he came by the shop with a friend and told me that he gave up digging. He said I ain't digging that by hand. I'll wait for you to get down to the pipe first. Then dig out around it.

We gotta go down 6 feet before we hit the pipe. I know I couldn't hand dig that anymore.

Hope your able to get some more shop time in. I bet you can't wait to get on that thing and dig.

Chad

Ah kids these days!:laughing::laughing: Why, when I was your age.... Can't say I blame him, though.

I have been putting in a few hours here, a few minutes there, getting the walls up and the electricity back on so I have lights, and power for the saws. In the interim, winter has arrived. The snow we got is likely going to melt but there will be more coming shortly so I had better move the lumber inside so it stops getting wet. When it's all done I will have an 8 x 20 foot area to work in and be sheltered from the cold. The first project will be to track down the reasons for the no - start problems I'm having with the old garden tractor I bought this past Spring. I used it quite a lot throughout the Summer and I had just hung the snowthrower on it when it decided to balk at the prospect of doing some actual work. I guess if I have to, I'll start a thread on the parts/repairs forum and get some advice there.

As for having to wait to start digging with the backhoe, I know that once I have it operational, the first one hundred hours or so will log on in a hurry. There is soooo much backlogged work for it. Trenching will probably come first. There is several hundred feet of that to do. I hope it will work to use it for sculpting slopes and cutting swails, too. Also, once I have developed some proficiency with it, I expect there will be custom work I can hire it out for. This machine will be able to pass through most garden gates so I can go in where other larger machines cannot. That should be of interest to landscape contractors who don't have their own diggers. Lots of idle dreams and speculations but hey, why not?:licking:

 

[Short Game]

Okay, I got some pics uploaded.

Back at it soon. Rain coming any time now. I wish I had a proper shop. Going to pick it up and set it down on the wheels next.

The trailer was for a really heavy 17' outdrive. I cut it way down. The axle is over 7 feet wide. That will make it tough to get into tight places, but it's what it is.

 

[NormL]

Short Game:

You've probably thought of this already; down the road sometime you may want to adapt that setup onto a tractor. Looks to me like you already have the subframe built.:thumbsup::thumbsup: Looks strong to me!

 

[Short Game]

I actually hadn't thought of that. I'll have to look at some frame mounts to try to get a notion.

I was just out futzing with the tongue. It's quite long, and I was going to shorten it, but now I don't know. I have it back where it was originally bolted on, and I think I like it. It would make it easier to back up. It's got a slight twist in it, as does that frame I have it hooked to, though not much. The boat was given to me while I was away (in other words, the owner knew she couldn't afford to get it seaworthy so she parked it on my place and left me the title). It filled up with rainwater and being on a slight sidehill, it tipped off the trailer, punched a hole in the hull, and twisted the frame and tongue. (Anyone want a boat?)

Anyway, I think I can cheat the twist out of it by welding it in with the twist corrected. If I didn't tell anyone, it probably wouldn't be noticed.

 

[NormL]

I actually hadn't thought of that. I'll have to look at some frame mounts to try to get a notion.

I was just out futzing with the tongue. It's quite long, and I was going to shorten it, but now I don't know. I have it back where it was originally bolted on, and I think I like it. It would make it easier to back up. It's got a slight twist in it, as does that frame I have it hooked to, though not much. The boat was given to me while I was away (in other words, the owner knew she couldn't afford to get it seaworthy so she parked it on my place and left me the title). It filled up with rainwater and being on a slight sidehill, it tipped off the trailer, punched a hole in the hull, and twisted the frame and tongue. (Anyone want a boat?)

Anyway, I think I can cheat the twist out of it by welding it in with the twist corrected. If I didn't tell anyone, it probably wouldn't be noticed.

And,...there's no one on here that would rat on you, is there?:laughing:

 

[Short Game]

And,...there's no one on here that would rat on you, is there?:laughing:

I knew I'd be safe... ...posting it on the internet.

 

[chad22]

Looks good Shortgame. :thumbsup: I played with my backhoe today. I had to swap engines out on it though. That's what I spent most of my time doing to it today.

The engine I had on it was good. But the dang carb was shot. And a new carb is like $150.00 which I don't have at the moment. So an engine swap it was.

Then this carb was flooding out. But turns out it just had a little varnish sticking the float and needle. Cleaned the carb and got it running at least half decent.

Before I go digging the sewer line this week I'm digging out my well pit and making it a bit bigger. It's hard for me to get in and out of that small opening and the space is really confined. While working down there the other day getting it ready for a pump. I hit my head while standing up. lol :laughing:

I figure I'll dig the well pit out first that way I can have some time to test it out and look for anything that might need reinforcing or what not before I go dig the sewer. So far it's looking good.

Though I know I'm gonna have to put some bigger wheels on the front because the swing pin drags on the road. lol

But the bigger tires and wheels can wait until I make it drivable. I'll be pulling it down a dirt road for the moment anyway so no worry's about damaging the asphalt. Or concrete.

I cured the pulling itself around part though. I leave it hooked to the truck while digging. It works out great that way.

I was gonna take a short video of it digging today but lost my camera. I probably lost it while moving things from my camper and into the mobile home.

Hopefully I can find it soon and get some videos and pics of the backhoe now that I got it going again.

Chad

 

[mjncad]

The boat was given to me while I was away (in other words, the owner knew she couldn't afford to get it seaworthy so she parked it on my place and left me the title). It filled up with rainwater and being on a slight sidehill, it tipped off the trailer, punched a hole in the hull, and twisted the frame and tongue. (Anyone want a boat?)

Is the boat's name the S.S. Minnow?

 

[NormL]

Hi Folks. Remember me? I was building a mini back hoe last year in summer. I wimped out when the weather I like to work in went South - literally!:laughing::laughing:. That's when I began to winterize my "Summer shop". I'm happy to report that I have that done and am able to work in relative comfort. It is a temporary setup and not meant to be anything more than a heated shelter from the elements till time and money allow for nicer digs.:licking::thumbsup:

I have resumed working on the BH recently and now I'm concerned about the outriggers. You will see them in one of the photos. I made them similar to what I've seen in photos of trailer type BHs. What has me worried is that they seem a little too close in to where I'll be trenching. When I am swinging a bucket full of diggin's to the side I'm wondering if it will be tippy. I guess I can make them longer. If I do that, I wonder how springy those things might get. The reason to have them swept away from the rear of the tractor is to keep the other end from getting too light when I'm digging. I'm hoping for some feedback on this.

 

[rsewill]

Well, it might be better to add weight to the front of your tractor and have your outriggers be at 90 degrees - now that you already have them welded in place... You will find that they will always be in the way, having them splayed out the back.

 

[NormL]

Well, it might be better to add weight to the front of your tractor and have your outriggers be at 90 degrees - now that you already have them welded in place... You will find that they will always be in the way, having them splayed out the back.

I may try to move them away from the swing path tomorrow. Like you said, they are welded in place at this point. But if this ain't workin' it ain't stayin'!:ashamed:

 

[NormL]

I've rotated the outrigger mounts a few degrees and just tacked them this time. Even without lengthening the arms I have gained a fair amount of width for it's stance. If that is still not enough, I can add a few inches on each side to widen the stance of the machine some more.

Chad, I've had that piece of frame off to do mod's and then put it back on to see how it works fairly often by now. How many times did you say you did that with yours? I may be catching up to you with that dubious statistic.:laughing:

 

[jenkinsph]

Good to see your industrious side but having spent a lot of time on a backhoe I would not recommend splaying the stabilizers to the rear. You will find that they will get in your way. If you are concerned with tilting the machine while digging I would adjust the weight on the front of the machine.

Usually what happens when learning to operate a backhoe is that while crowding the dipper without adjusting the boom you tend to lift the tractor and slide towards the bucket.

I would also recommend you compare the forces on your machine to other backhoes of similar weight, there are lots of reasons why the manufacturers have similar design specs.

Very interesting and fun project :thumbsup:

 

[NormL]

Good to see your industrious side but having spent a lot of time on a backhoe I would not recommend splaying the stabilizers to the rear. You will find that they will get in your way. If you are concerned with tilting the machine while digging I would adjust the weight on the front of the machine.

Usually what happens when learning to operate a backhoe is that while crowding the dipper without adjusting the boom you tend to lift the tractor and slide towards the bucket.

I would also recommend you compare the forces on your machine to other backhoes of similar weight, there are lots of reasons why the manufacturers have similar design specs.

Very interesting and fun project :thumbsup:

Thankyou for your insight and advice.:thumbsup: I do not have a FEL for this tractor so the weight in front will be less. I have been positioning the stabilizers rearward behind the pivot, thinking it would help with the front to rear balance. The dozer blade which is going on there will help but will still not equal the weight that a FEL would provide. From what you are saying, I take it you recommend extending the stabilizers (outriggers) at right angles from the pivot. I can still do that at this point. If I go that route I'm wondering how much weight I'll have to add to the dozer to help hold the front of the tractor down.:confused2:

 

[chad22]

Chad, I've had that piece of frame off to do mod's and then put it back on to see how it works fairly often by now. How many times did you say you did that with yours? I may be catching up to you with that dubious statistic.:laughing:

Looking great. I'm waiting to see it in action. Can't quite remember how many times I've had to take my backhoe apart. But I'm guessing I said somewhere around 100 times.

Before I got it back together for what I thought was gonna be the last time for awhile. I was digging in the yard and the tubing where I had the stick cylinder mounted snapped off and how weird it didn't break while digging but just while raising and lowering the stick up in the air. :confused2:

So I pulled the stick off and loaded it into the back of my pickup and headed to the shop where I have my welder at. Then I used a piece of 2 inch thick steel from an old hitch that had just the right size of hole in it for the cylinder pin and welded that down into the tube. I'll have to get a picture of how I made the repair. It actually made it better and stronger.

Chad