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

[NormL]

I didn't see anything else, but I heard some swearing. .

Nah, that wasn't what you heard;:laughing: That was just an exclamation of surprise spoken in my mother tongue. It would be printable if it were translatable. I sure am glad my foot was out of the way when that tack weld let go!

I started welding the components of the pivot today. The first two show the placement of steel pieces around the stub of the axle. In the first photo you can also see the piece of DOM I'm using to replace the cast iron that I had machined away. I had to leave some though because it is integral to the function of the seal under the inner bearing of the hub. The third photo (ugly, ugly:ashamed shows the whole thing surrounded with short bits of flat welded together to hold the whole business in place. I went for strong, not pretty. I'm hoping it's pretty strong! That one is not finished yet as I need to support it some more from underneath. I will caution anyone trying this kind of pivot to be VERY particular about testing the swing of the boom box after every tack weld till you are certain it will swing freely. Expect to grind off some of your tack welds a few times before everything is up to snuff.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm really enjoying watching this boom pivot come together. That's going to make the end result very smooth and very sturdy. Again, great thinking!

 

[NormL]

There!! That's done for now. The swivel action on the pivot is complete and now it will be on to putting the rest of the mounting steel for the boom and it's cylinder. Once I have all that put together I'll be filling in the welds and taxing the capabilities of the welder - again!

The first two photos show the pivot platform removed from the tractor and on my bench, getting the axle stubs welded on and the pivot box bolted on. Third one shows the assembly back on the tractor. I'm here to tell you that it is getting right heavy.:shocked: It's going to have to come off a few more times and when I do that I'm going to take the pieces off one at a time. Chad, I'm remembering what you said about how your back was aching from the many times you had to disassemble and reassemble yours! And your back is probably some 45 years younger than mine.:laughing::laughing:

 

[chad22]

Chad, I'm remembering what you said about how your back was aching from the many times you had to disassemble and reassemble yours! And your back is probably some 45 years younger than mine.:laughing::laughing:

Oh yes. Glad you remembered. I'm 23 years old. My back is in reality 23 years old. But it felt so much older when performing the disassemble and assembly all those times. :laughing:

For some reason ever since my brother picked me up that one time "I was 9 or 10" My back hasn't been performing like it should.

I don't remember exactly where he picked me up. But when he did about 4 minutes after. I couldn't move. If I wanted to move though. I had to crawl. I was like that for around a week.

Ever since that incident. I can't bend over for very long 10 minutes and I have to get up or I'll be stuck in that position. :laughing:

Chad

 

[NormL]

Oh yes. Glad you remembered. I'm 23 years old. My back is in reality 23 years old. But it felt so much older when performing the disassemble and assembly all those times. :laughing:

For some reason ever since my brother picked me up that one time "I was 9 or 10" My back hasn't been performing like it should.

I don't remember exactly where he picked me up. But when he did about 4 minutes after. I couldn't move. If I wanted to move though. I had to crawl. I was like that for around a week.

Ever since that incident. I can't bend over for very long 10 minutes and I have to get up or I'll be stuck in that position. :laughing:

Chad

Hmm... I'm no doctor; but that's something I hope you did not neglect to see one about. What I do know is that stuff like that comes back to bite you over and over the older you get. I can't throw a ball overhand with either hand any more. Arthritis has set into old injuries that I neglected to get treated appropriately.:ashamed: I wish you all the best dealing with that.:thumbsup:

 

[Short Game]

Geez, I have blown rotator cuffs and an exploded 5th lumbar disc. These things stay with you and the cures can be worse than the problems. My back is cooked tonight from just such antics as you are describing. Most likely, a doctor will bill you for telling you that your back is messed up.

On edit:

Actually, that reminds me of a story: A guy went to doctor after doctor to try to learn what was wrong with his back. Eventually, all of these doctors got together and discussed his problem. They unanimously determined his diagnosis and treatment. His back, they said, was hurting because his wallet was too thick. They knew just what to do about that.

 

[NormL]

These things stay with you and the cures can be worse than the problems. .

I know what you're saying! I went for physio because our group plan covered it but by the time I did that the "window of effectiveness" had closed up and it proved to be a waste of time. Now I just work with the discomfort till it gets a little much and then it's "Lazy-boy" time. That's why ordinary tasks can take me multi times longer than they should. But hey!, eventually I do get' em done!:thumbsup:

 

[mjncad]

I can sympathize with everyone who has back pain. Last year I was assembling a project, and I was taking it easy as I could feel my back wanted to go out. In spite of being careful, one little move blew it out. I could barely move and all I could do was stand there for 30-minutes. I called everyone I could short of 911 to help me get inside so I could get to the industrial strength pain killers. Just my luck, no one was home.

I finally managed to sit down in a lawn chair and my neighbors got my message I left them. They helped me inside, got me some pain pills and locked up the place for me. I was out of commission for about 10-days.

The docs have said I have mild scoliosis and the beginnings of arthritis coupled with muscles that tend to cramp now and then. Not much can be done, and like others have said, I hear the cure can be worse than the ailment. I just live with it and it gets worse with age. Getting old sucks.

 

[Short Game]

Getting old sucks.

But you have to consider the alternative.

I blew out my back about thirty years ago. Drunk and stupid, I tried to lift something I could not. My fifth lumbar disc sounded like a starting pistol when it popped. I overdid it yesterday working on getting my shop reorganized and starting on building my log forks. I'm in bad shape today. Not as bad as it gets, but bad enough. Yet, I'm drawn to the shop. Can I trust myself not to make it worse? My mom is 95 and thinking the alternative is looking better. I'm 64 and figure I'll get over this setback.

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

...or take the day off?

 

[chad22]

Hmm... I'm no doctor; but that's something I hope you did not neglect to see one about. What I do know is that stuff like that comes back to bite you over and over the older you get. I can't throw a ball overhand with either hand any more. Arthritis has set into old injuries that I neglected to get treated appropriately.:ashamed: I wish you all the best dealing with that.:thumbsup:

Thanks

I didn't go to the doctor when that happened. I was stubborn then and you piratically had to drag me to the doctors. I hated going to them. :laughing:

Well I still do hate going and haven't been to one since I was 16.

My mom did call the doctor the day it happened and he said if I'm still unable to get around within a week to bring me to the hospital to get checked out.

He did try talking to me on the phone and trying to get me to come in. But I refused. lol

He said he wanted to take an xray. But then I would assume he would have just prescribed me some pain killers after the xray was done.

I'd go to the doctor but I assume there's not much they could do so I figure I'll just take pain killers and live with it.

Chad

 

[NormL]

But you have to consider the alternative.



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

...or take the day off?

I took the day off.:laughing::laughing:

Wow! Reading about what you gentlemen are dealing with has me counting my blessings!:thumbsup: Stay safe, all of you!

 

[mjncad]

But you have to consider the alternative.

Yet, I'm drawn to the shop. Can I trust myself not to make it worse? My mom is 95 and thinking the alternative is looking better. I'm 64 and figure I'll get over this setback.

My Mom was 2-months shy of 91 when she died, and 18-months ago I would have bet good money she would have made it to 100. She told me she didn't want to see 100. The age number didn't bug her; but what pissed her off was not being able to do the things she could when she was younger.

He said he wanted to take an xray. But then I would assume he would have just prescribed me some pain killers after the xray was done.

I'd go to the doctor but I assume there's not much they could do so I figure I'll just take pain killers and live with it.

Chad

I hate going to doctors too; but those industrial strength pain killers help a bad back feel tolerable. At least my doctor usually has a dirty joke or something politically incorrect to tell me, which makes the long drive and crappy parking easier to bear.

 

[2LateIWon]

wow great job so far

 

[NormL]

I have put in some shop time in short bursts when I can find the energy. It has been hot by our northern standards: into the nineties, sometimes 97 -99. And dry, too! I know; you good folks would like to cool down to temps like that but keep in mind our blood is thinner. Right now my weather station tells me it is 89 and the system responsible for this is moving out of the area. Maybe I can start doing stuff outside without getting drenched in perspiration for a change.:thumbsup:

I finally have most of the bits together for the pivot box and am verifying clearances everywhere along the travel before tacking it up. Some Photos to give you a visual image of the project so far. I'm showing one of two cylinders available to me If I can use them. They are more cylinder than I need, I know. 16" reach is a bit much but 12" might not be enough. I guess I'll have to get one and compare them. I don't think I need more than 2" bore either, and that big Bertha I have there is 3". Before I tack those 1/2"x4" plates to the pivot box I need to be sure which cylinder I'm using and that I have the holes for the pins in the right places. If anyone sees a problem in there anywhere please let me know. I'm treading on unfamiliar ground here!:confused2:

 

[NormL]

I've decided the cylinders will be the 12" stroke variety!:thumbsup: That will eliminate a couple of issues where the cylinder mounts to the pivot and the boom. I need the cylinder to fit between the same flange that encloses the end of the boom and the outside dimensions of the 3" is too large to fit in there. The other issue would have been where the cylinder rod attaches to the boom. That would have been a monster of a bracket and even I would not have been happy with that.

 

[NormL]

I finally found some time to play in the shop. Here are some photos of the bucket so far. I took a page out of Iplayfarmer's script and obtained some pipe material. The welding shop guy didn't feel like cutting off what I needed and just sold me the whole thing. It's about 20" in diameter by 32" long. I can use it to build a lot of buckets!:laughing::laughing: For now I'm building one that's 12" wide.

First photo shows it tacked together; the rest after welding and grinding. I have some grader blade that I'm thinking of using for the cutting edge. It's pretty heavy stuff so it might not work but I'm sure it would make great teeth if I cut 1.5" pieces off and welded them onto whatever I wind up using for a cutting edge.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I remember thinking I was pretty clever when I thought up the idea of using a section of pipe for the bucket. I'm flattered that someone is copying the idea. It looks like you're going to have yours up and running before mine. Be sure to let me know how it works.

 

[mjncad]

Using pipe is a good way to go to solve a tough fabrication matter for us mere mortals without access to serious metal fabrication tools.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Norm, I also meant to mention that I love seeing how you are using (recycling) old materials for your build. That makes it even more interesting to follow this thread.

 

[NormL]

I remember thinking I was pretty clever when I thought up the idea of using a section of pipe for the bucket.

More like genius if you ask me!:thumbsup: