Self built mulcher .

[Taylortractornut]

IH I hate to hear about your accident, I gotto spend 10 weeks banged up from a car wreck when i was 21. It was heck knowing my loader was being run by a stranger all those nice spring days. I have a friend that worked for a clearing and ROw company. The old man that had the business couldnt find a suitable carrier for his company. They needed a machine with a fair ground speed and variable drive. He said they found an old burnt JD 750 hystat dozer. They stripped it down and put a Cummins on theback over the finals They put a winch on the back.

The Cab set down over the front idle on the doers original frame. They had a small straight blade mounted to it for pushing back trimmings. Behind the cab he had a an Alitec boom with a saw head and an auger drive for pole setting. I remembered watching it work, Later they took the boom off and put a muclher on it in place of the blade.

 

[Renze]

It was a hobby , it was about expressing my creative side , it is the knowledge that I own and drive the only one of it's type on the planet , but your just not going to understand .

Oh yes i do understand, but i just wont submit any more to my creative side because then my project list grows like the plague, and i have a daytime job in which i can express my creative side, which takes up a fair amount of my energy...

My biggest problem is time.

 

[Eagleview]

Just ordered the new oscillating track base for my mulcher project . It is 16 weeks ex factory and then shipping but Ive got some healing to do anyway . Everything is brand new on the machine so far , so now I don't want to spoil it by using a second hand engine so will choose a new one . I am having the track plates drilled before they are heat treated so that I can fit Urethane or rubber track pads so crossing roads will not be an issue .

 

[Hookblock]

I saw this and thought of your thread, I always enjoy your projects. Sorry to hear about the leg.


Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers - Unreserved Equipment Auctions

 

[AKfish]

Yeeee HAAA!!! **** the torpodoes - full speed ahead!!

Very glad to hear you're movin' forward... albeit a slower pace and with a bit of a crab to one side (at least until the cast comes off)!

Tried to read the dimensions on the design draft for the chassis and couldn't make it out.

How big is it?

AKfish

 

[Eagleview]

Thank you Hookblock , it's even self powered . It's hard to believe how hard it is to find an excavator track base , they are snapped up quick for mounting drilling rigs on .

AKfish , it is 3 metres/10 feet long . It was a bit longer than that but I now want to overhang the engine a little more rearward to counter balance the cutter head and take some weight off of the front idlers , so have cut it back .

TTN , it sounds like a beast , do you have any photos ?

I have a few engines to check out when I'm back on my pins . Both the Cat and Cummins 24 valve are around 300hp and are light weight . The Cat comes as a Yacht pack , it comes complete with a forward/reverse transmission ready to just drop in the hole . A Jack shaft from the trans to a carrier bearing at the front of the machine and then a 2500 series PTO shaft with CV's to the head .

 

[Renze]

Iron horse, the tracks i replaced (asphalt pavers) at one of my former jobs, were replaced because the volcanised rubber pads were worn: They replaced the grousers every year, and the second year they put on a fully new track.
I'm not sure if bolt-on rubber pads last as long as volcanised rubber pads. Gotta ask a track guru.

 

[archeryantny]

Awesome thread! I hate finding these threads before completion, the wait is killing me. hows your leg, hope all is well?

 

[Eagleview]

Thanks for your concern , they took the cast off yesterday and fitted me with a brace . I was shocked to see how emaciated my leg is . Ive got a long road in front of me just building it back up and getting it to work again . Being the actual knee , Ive not only broken the Tibial spine that the tendons attach too , but also have done tendon , muscle and nerve damage . Funny how your life can change in a split second . My partner has had to learn how to syphon Diesel to get the generator going as we are not on the grid , she's had to learn how to pump water up to the header tank and yesterday she changed the LPG bottle over . All I need to do now is to show her how to drive the machinery so I'm not holding my customers up .

 

[archeryantny]

If you weren't roughly 10,319 miles away, I would definitely come over and give you a hand. But considering it will take a 27 hour plane ride and who knows how much longer by truck, I'll leave it to your partner, sounds like she has it under control anyway.

With injuries like these, having patience is probably the hardest part.

As for your partner, good for you, sounds like you got a good one. I'm sure she is proud to show you what she is really capable of. If she gets into the machinery make sure those property lines are clearly marked or else neighbors might get some free land clearing . Get well soon.

 

[Eagleview]

Thank you for your kind thoughts and yes , she's a good girl .



I havn't done anything to the machine as you would all imagine , but I have some photos of the cabin and hood together which may wet your wistle for a while . It gives an idea of what it will look like when finished .

 

[archeryantny]

nice man, just pushing them together would of tested my skill level. looks good:thumbsup:

What are you planning in terms of a roll cage or brush guard?

 

[Eagleview]

It will be similar to this but will have steel mesh across the front screen and upright sweeps on the sides to keep the branches away . The tracks are wider than the cab so they will keep most of them away . The front shot of the cabin in post 51 shows the lower crate base , the tracks will be at that same width , 2 metres .

 

[Taylortractornut]

IH I dont have any pics of the mulcher. I had them on my old computer that got deleted before I could posdt them. I havent seen the machine lately. THe last I had seen they had rented it to a Gas exploration co and the ywanted to mount a nother boom to it. It worked good especially when made from easy to find JD parts.

 

[tlbuser]

It gives an idea of what it will look like when finished .

Getting a little bit more back to normal? The combo pics look good. I see you ordered the custom logo lettering No blackout window tint?

 

[Eagleview]

I see you ordered the custom logo lettering /QUOTE]

I'm afraid to ask what it says on the windscreen , the first caricature looks familiar tho .........

 

[jayste]

Iron Horse, I'm liking this thread as well as this land clearing forum. I'm looking forward to the "MACHINE" when you get back to working on it. Better wait for a little more healing though. Don't need to be dragging that leg around for the rest of your life! BTW, I like the F-truck build. One problem, you put the steering wheel on the wrong side!:thumbsup:

 

[Renze]

is the project still going ?? its one of the more interesting ones on this site. would love to see more !

 

[MarkV]

is the project still going ?? its one of the more interesting ones on this site. would love to see more !

I also hope Iron Horse is recovering from the banged up leg enough to get going again soon. I really enjoy you guys that seem to be able to build anything.

MarkV

 

[Eagleview]

I'm sorry chaps , Ive been away from the site for a while .

After the accident and subsequent loss of earnings , I had no choice but to cancel my order for the new track frame . However , I have since bought a low hour excavator track base from a machine that was involved in a fire . I will cut 700mm (27.5") out of the center section next week so as to make the tracks 1900mm(75") overall , the 2000mm(79") wide mulcher I will build for it will then clear a wider area for the tracks to enter unobstructed . This makes for a steady forward pace as you don't have to keep reversing too take another bite to clear the tracks . I have also just bought a tip/dump truck that was involved in an accident and has a broken dead axle that I need to repair . I cant seem to help myself and slow down and heal , my gammy old leg aches of a night time and keeps me awake so I should be listening to my body but am to stupid for that .

jayste , the new F250 cabin I used was from the US and was LHD , it was a huge job to bring that wheel across . You blokes that drive on the wrong side of the road cause us no end of headaches when we bring your vehicles over here .:confused2:

Thank you also Renze and MarkV , I know how it is when your wanting to see more done and it feels like it's taking forever so I hope to ad some more pics soon .