Removing large pins: Anyone use one of these???

[Reg]

...and what is WRONG with Chinese peanut butter ?
and,,, oh nevermind.

They're all Pnue
3 copies of the HF one for one of the $ears...

I don't s'pose either one wouldn't crack wide open if you drop it from waist high (2ft in your case) onto a concrete slab. They're both throwaway tools, not Snap-On or Mac.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Yeah, the electric jack hammer could make very short work of any stuck pin... provided I could find a flat bit, make some sort of guide or template... and then get two other people to hold it steady in the horizonal position.

Let's just hope it doesn't ever come down to that!

Dougster

No clue what "jackhammer" you have, and I don't recall the specific model of my Bosch "demo hammer", but.... Bosch makes an attachment that's specifically designed to drive electrical ground rods with their electric hammers. They work just fine for driving pins, ect.

There's bound to be a formula for estimating collateral damage to the human body from using a BFH, relative to one's age. At 60, BFH is anything over 16 oz.

 

[Dougster]

...and what is WRONG with Chinese peanut butter ?
and,,, oh nevermind.

They're all Pnue
3 copies of the HF one for one of the $ears...

I don't s'pose either one wouldn't crack wide open if you drop it from waist high (2ft in your case) onto a concrete slab. They're both throwaway tools, not Snap-On or Mac.

Ouch, ouch again... and double ouch!!!

What can I say to this? I like to own and use higher quality tools when I can afford them. I rarely overpay on anything (those who know me best know how extremely "frugal" I can be)... but I do demand decent quality when it matters.

And, by the way, in this regard, recognizing how hard it is to even find American-made tools anymore, I've found that Taiwan beats "mainland" China every time when in comes to air tools.

You can take that last "Dougster" statement to the bank!!!

Dougster

 

[Dougster]

No clue what "jackhammer" you have, and I don't recall the specific model of my Bosch "demo hammer", but.... Bosch makes an attachment that's specifically designed to drive electrical ground rods with their electric hammers. They work just fine for driving pins, ect. There's bound to be a formula for estimating collateral damage to the human body from using a BFH, relative to one's age. At 60, BFH is anything over 16 oz.

The brand name rubbed off my "used and abused" jack hammer long ago. I'm sure it was nothing very impressive or memorable anyway. Still, it is amazing what I have put that thing through... including loaning it out repeatedly for purposes I don't even want to know about! At this point, it owes me absolutely nothing.

It is tough getting old. It is especially tough when you are physically handicapped since birth and spent far too many years sitting like a lump behind a desk instead of having a physical outdoor job that by its nature kept you healthy and fit. I am now trying to makeup for lost time, and it is actually working to a large degree, but swinging a sledge hammer at my backhoe repeatedly without much effect is not my favorite thing to do... no matter how great the exercise value may be.

Dougster

 

[AlanB]

No clue what "jackhammer" you have, and I don't recall the specific model of my Bosch "demo hammer", but.... Bosch makes an attachment that's specifically designed to drive electrical ground rods with their electric hammers. They work just fine for driving pins, ect.

There's bound to be a formula for estimating collateral damage to the human body from using a BFH, relative to one's age. At 60, BFH is anything over 16 oz.

I saw something written about how the odds of missing what you are trying to hit with a hammer, are directly proportional to how expensive and fragile the piece you are trying to miss is.

I always leaned to the "all things are magnetic" theory, such as, you don't think Aluminum is magnetic? Try drilling a steel bolt out of an expensive aluminum housing and see just how "magnetic" aluminum is too that drill bit.

Good luck pulling your pins Doug, my experience has been that it is more about getting everything perfectly lined up, then the amount of force it takes to remove it.

 

[Dougster]

Good luck pulling your pins Doug, my experience has been that it is more about getting everything perfectly lined up, then the amount of force it takes to remove it.

I wish it were that easy... but installation of my fixed thumb showed otherwise. Unfortunately, some of the pin holes simply did not line up as well as one would hope. A little excess paint, grease residue and perhaps some corrosion as well did not make it any easier. That's why I wasn't kidding when I made the remark about hoping that my most recent job (which included the most backhoe hours worked all season) actually loosened some of those nasty pins to the point where their removal would be a little easier.

Dougster

 

[D7E]

Just heat around the pin without heating the pin ,With a torch and she will pop out ?

 

[Dougster]

Just heat around the pin without heating the pin ,With a torch and she will pop out ?

Don't think I want to take a torch to my Bradco backhoe! I think I'll stick with liquid wrench and try these air hammer bits I ordered. Again, most of the problem I encountered last time was due to manufacturing-related misalignments.

Dougster

 

[john_bud]

Dougster,

First off, when you get that new bit for your air hammer, grind the leading edge to a nice smooth radius so it won't snag on the bushing and chew the shnickers out of it. Bushings are expensive to buy, expensive to take out and expensive to put in. Then cut a piece of brass or wood and put it between the bit and pin. You can quickly mushroom the pin and that makes it "hard" to remove. If you have a garage with a stout header, you can chain the boom / dipper to it and with a chain fall or come along, remove all pressure from the pin. A large engine hoist may do the same thing. If you don't remove the pressure, it won't come out easily. Also, if you don't have any way to move that awkward and heavy chunk of metal smoothly by thousandths of an inch, I don't think you will get the pins back in. Having it balanced in the air by a chain so you can wiggle and jiggle it is the difference between getting it back together and learning a whole new set of cuss words.


Next, if the pin hasn't been out in a long while and possibly hasn't been lubricated, it may be grooved. The non-wearing areas of the pin may be quite a bit larger than the worn spots. That can make them catch on the bushing and be a real bear to take out. Also, if they are that worn, the bushings probably are too. If they miraculously were not worn, driving the jagged edge of the pin across them will typically bugger them up bad requiring them to be replaced.

Have you gotten a list of all pins and bushings for each joint that you are going to mess with? You should, so you will know just how much the replacement $$$ will be. Pins and bushings can easily run over $1000. If you need a machine shop to replace bushings plan on about $50 - $100 per bushing. Smaller is cheaper, your hoe is probably full of smaller cheaper bushings. Also, if you do go to a shop make sure, in writing on the work order, you add that they are not allowed to use a cutting torch to remove the bushings. It's commonly done and it nearly always grooves the housing and messes it up bad.

 

[Dougster]

Dougster, First off, when you get that new bit for your air hammer, grind the leading edge to a nice smooth radius so it won't snag on the bushing and chew the shnickers out of it. Bushings are expensive to buy, expensive to take out and expensive to put in. Then cut a piece of brass or wood and put it between the bit and pin. You can quickly mushroom the pin and that makes it "hard" to remove. If you have a garage with a stout header, you can chain the boom / dipper to it and with a chain fall or come along, remove all pressure from the pin. A large engine hoist may do the same thing. If you don't remove the pressure, it won't come out easily. Also, if you don't have any way to move that awkward and heavy chunk of metal smoothly by thousandths of an inch, I don't think you will get the pins back in. Having it balanced in the air by a chain so you can wiggle and jiggle it is the difference between getting it back together and learning a whole new set of cuss words.

Next, if the pin hasn't been out in a long while and possibly hasn't been lubricated, it may be grooved. The non-wearing areas of the pin may be quite a bit larger than the worn spots. That can make them catch on the bushing and be a real bear to take out. Also, if they are that worn, the bushings probably are too. If they miraculously were not worn, driving the jagged edge of the pin across them will typically bugger them up bad requiring them to be replaced.

Have you gotten a list of all pins and bushings for each joint that you are going to mess with? You should, so you will know just how much the replacement $$$ will be. Pins and bushings can easily run over $1000. If you need a machine shop to replace bushings plan on about $50 - $100 per bushing. Smaller is cheaper, your hoe is probably full of smaller cheaper bushings. Also, if you do go to a shop make sure, in writing on the work order, you add that they are not allowed to use a cutting torch to remove the bushings. It's commonly done and it nearly always grooves the housing and messes it up bad.

All good points JB. I should have pointed out that I am mainly concerned with bucket and bucket cylinder-related pins at this time. I think we did a fairly good job last time at exercising, lubricating, aligning and relieving loads, but it's certainly possible I could do even better.

As you properly point out, I do not hammer directly on any pin and will certainly not do so with the air hammer. I've tried various spools made of steel, plastic and hardwood. I have not yet tried brass. In fact, I don't even know where to buy a brass spool. Any ideas?

Dougster