Tired of front mounted offset boom machines and their limitations, and a niche market for dh mountain bike trails, as well as sensitive forestry operations, we decided to build the ultimate mini excavator. The undercarriage is from a cat 307ssr, the drivetrain and cab is from a John Deere 50d, final drives and 115l fuel tank are komatsu Pc78, the boom is custom built as well as the rest of it. I'll skip the boring deconstruction cleaning up burned machines phases Here is the main upper chassis hanging for welding Undercarriage mostly fabricated Oh and it's going to tilt for steep slopes
Well this looks interesting. TIme to get some popcorn.
Then I got to start painting things After a few weeks of making hydraulic lines, figuring out hydraulic schematics and almost going crazy I got to put the two halves together and make it do funny things
Fast forward to this week, it's driving and we've started to do a bit of testing... Once the tilt rotator and bucket or grapple is on, it should have about 23-24' of reach. And some lifting tests with a 4500lb lock block, relief setting is stock John Deere so we should get some more out of it. The valves to activate the Tilt cylinders aren't wired up yet, so there is no oil in them, but here's what the tilt looks like on flat ground. We started this in may, and should be ready to work by mid next week for a test job, I'm getting really excited to get back in a machine and out of this shop!
That creation is damn impressive. Keep the progress pics and commentary coming.
Good job, u should upload this beast to youtube...
This is the stuff I like to see! The phrase built, not bought just took on a whole new meaning with this beast.
That is fantastic. If it works as expected you will be so far ahead of the competition in your niche work you will hopefully be overrun with orders. Can't wait to see it in action. Graham
Very impressive!!! Lots of injenuity and talent.
That's also part of the point, I will own this machine outright, no financing, no payments, I will have over 1000 hours into it, but it's mine at he end of the build and that's worth it to me.
I will once it's got a bucket on and all the hydraulics are functioning.
That's a very cool project. Did you start with all salvage machines? Looks like you guys have some excellent fab skills.
Yes, 2 burned machines and a rolled over machine. Cheap parts!
Looks very nice
Just wired up my electric control valves and it works!
Very impressive Coastal ! That will sure be handy working on slopes .
cool, got a question, what would be the biggest angle of slope you need to climb, and will those shoes give enough bite before loosing grip on the ground? would it pay to weld ice cleats on to bite into the ground to prevent sliding on steep grades?
We have cleats in the plan, that's a great point, whether it will be add ons to make it like a single bar grouser or ice cleats has yet to be determined. I just went to another dirt pile to max it out, and see what it would do,and this is the result. As you can see that is a bit more slope than it will level it, but that's pretty extreme, the bucket is full of wet clay and there is no counter weight on the machine but it's surprisingly stable. The angle measured there is 30 degrees of tilt with the machine which translates to a 57% slope. I wouldn't want to be in anything steeper than that without winch lines.
maybe its just my computer, but I dont see any images, just 2 of these
That is looking great, some nice fabricating clean looking job
Cool project. Another question for you. Why the stick cylinder on the bottom of the stick and boom and not on top like a conventional excavator?
Hmmmm weird, do you see the original pictures?
It's setup with a forestry twist, so it will have huge lifting capacity, the boom cylinder is from a 70, the stick cylinder is the boom cylinder from the jd50. Also keeps everything safe and protected.
I think its the way they down load to my computer, I went back and saw them, now there gone again, I saw the original pictures..this has happened before, I thinks its time for a computer upgrade..lol
Haha ok it works from my phone, still welding on the machine as we speak.
Trackgrip in NZ make bolt on grousers that take very little time to install. With those you can have the best for all ground conditions. Well done on your build.
VERY Cool
Hmm I'll have to look into that! Cost is an issue too... Steel and welding is low cost.
That is real impressive! Nice work. I'm sure you will have plenty of work for it in the near future. Now that people have an idea what can be done you might find some copycats soon.
That's awesome!!! Nice work.
Haha ya, there's more coming, we started on a tilt rotator today for 360 rotation on the attachments, should be awesome to run. but interest is buzzing around here, I don't think it will be hard to keep busy. Thanks! Took it to the scale today to see where I'm at, 13,500lbs so far. Not bad for the amount of steel in it. No tin body work on this thing!
No counterweight at the back ?
The engine cover will be 3/8 steel and rough 700 lbs, that's all we need.
Haha ya, there's more coming, we started on a tilt rotator today for 360 rotation on the attachments, should be awesome to run. [/QUOTE] You can't beat a tiltrotator for speeding up awkward work. Definately a good addition to the machine. I have one on each of my excavators and wouldn't be without it. Graham
Building your own tilt roter? How close to the tracks can you get with your bucket. Looksvery good.
I spy CBS mudflaps on that truck. BC?
I've only run tilt buckets, so ya the rotator is exciting! Yes, cutting the tilt parts today and in the morning, we're using a worm gear rotating device from something else, it should be pretty tough. With this old John Deere bucket this is where it sits, we're building new buckets and a rake to fit the tilt rotator, and that extra length should get it almost to the tracks. Ya I'm from Kamloops, building this machine in south Surrey.
Absolutely awesome job .... be interested to see your Tilty ... I've built one for my 15t duck and there's a LOT to it
it's a bit of a lump, but works a treat
Nice!!!, that must weigh around 800 pounds on it's own.... I am really enjoying this thread Love it when cool new things get welded up!!!!!
This gets more impressive as we go forward.
Here's the base of my tilt rotator... It's only about 3" thick, the tilt part is cut and will be fabbed up next week. And today I started the engine cover, 3/8 mild steel. Coming up with a venting design: And tweeked and burned out
Hey that's pretty cool!
I know what that rotator came off of and the good thing is you can always put the forks back on and you'll have one more use for the machine
The mere mention of a home built tilty will attract a certain Druid from the other side of the world This forum could suck up any spare time you have left Druid. I suppose you can still post with Clara on your lap AusDave
Hahah busted! And ya forks for the excavator is a must.
I'm in the Loops couple times a month. Actually from the area. Keep it up, that machine is freakin' sweet!
fork rotate-er ..... which i turned into a bar bender ... a long time ago ........ which i turned into a tiltrotater with a little 'effort'
more pix here of my build ..... http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/v8druid/library/rotator?sort=2&page=1&postlogin=true started out as a simple rotater, but thought as I was doing it ........ what if I just? http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/v8druid/library/Druidfab VA Rotor?sort=2&page=1&postlogin=true " the rest's history ", as they say forks and grabs are what these things excel at ..... pretty handy with a bucket too 60 degrees of tilt is also very useful
Ahhh cool its been in the back of my mind figuring out how the fork carriage will have to sit, and that's pretty much what I had in mind.
Cheers ..... there's plenty of pix, if they're any help, in those links and the 'story' of the build is in the BCEF forum ....... was well worth the effort
LOL Dave .... you know me too well Boyo .... Graham pointed it out to me the other night. Got a new recruit to compete with Clara, early Thursday morning mate .. in me thread ... usual place
I went home for the weekend, but the fellas kept at it in the shop building a rake for me.
looks a hell of a rake for a 6 tonner .... some lovely profile and MIG work there Boyo Magic eye or template profiler ? .... fabrication was my game for 35+ years
Magic eye, awesome but finicky at times. Rakes 50" wide but has a short profile, tips are u400 and the rest is 100 I believe.
Is that Mig or Metal-core? Looks like somebody has a pretty steady hand.
It's MIG welded with a big old welder, the kids a good welder!
Must have been burning pretty hot. Looks like it could be spray arc. I'm guessing he's gonna put some more passes on some of the welds?
It's a big 3 phase welder, it'll blow through 3/4 plate like it's nothing if you're not careful. And ya I think it's spray arc at the voltage it runs.
Yes I saw the new competitor for Clara on the British forum. Congratulations! Hope you get some time with your yellow equipment. However grandparents with seemingly spare time are much sought after... Regards AusDave
Got a good start on the cab guarding
And got the back doors all done I wanted easy maintenance on this thing.... Nailed it!
That is some serious cab guarding.
I see someone actually understands line of sight for the cab guarding. Great Job!
Beautiful work
Played around with the lightbar brow this morning and I'm pretty happy with it now, so close to final paint job....!
It took until right now to notice the roadbuilder style cab riser.
Good eye! It puts me almost level with a dump truck so it's great for loading trucks.
Very nice work! Is this machine going to be available for public viewing at some time? Surrey's just a hop skip and a jump across the ditch from me.
I'm working on it all weekend haha
And painted the rest of it....
Also cut out parts to make a 54" cleanout bucket, here's the ar400 cutting edge being made
Love the build, thanks for sharing. If you run it as well as you built it (which I suspect you can) hopefully you show some of the jobs you do with it!
I really like the tip over cab,only an operator would think off that. Well done
Most, if not all forestry machines with big cab risers flip down like that for transport. I wouldn't have considered doing it with a short cab riser, but i bet it will be handy getting at hoses/wiring.
Got the thumb built today, going to get a cost of paint in it tonight, so close now! If you're noticing the extension on the cylinder top, that mount is designed to run the bucket cylinder on the inside with the quick change flipped backwards if I get more into forestry work and get a grapple with a saw going. Mike, the designer thought of everything.
I will for sure, hope to have it working next week.... I'm out of money lol I can't take all the credit, John Deere thought of it first, and it was because the wizards at John Deere or Hitachi decided to put all the hydraulic valves under the cab... I opted to put the fuel tank there so hopefully I'll never have to tilt the cab , or at least not for a long time! Ya regardless what's under there its been handy while building to have that easy access.
There was a dump truck in the yard today, these trucks have tall sides maybe 11' or so off the ground, but it loads it with ease. I added maybe 10 degrees to the John Deere quick change to get more curl in for loading trucks.
Simply amazing work. I may have missed it somewhere in the thread, but did you have an engineered plan/set of drawings to start with, or did you just have an idea and build and figure it out as you went along? Either way, impressive.
No engineer, just my friend the genius and I designing things as we went. I'm taking it home today finally.
Can't wait to see pictures of it in action.
Got it home for some proper testing, when it's tilted it gets amazing traction, and it's the same sensation as riding an escalator. It's so weird, but very cool!
I want one....
Very nice work, Love the ingenuity!
Yes this is a very nice project. What type of machine or plasma cutter did you use to cut out the parts for the grapple, rake and various other pieces. It seems to cut very nice much better than I can seem to do with my hand held unit?
It's a really old torch burn table with an eye that reads your drawings.
That’s so nice it’s almost a shame the use it on the job.
Looks fantastic - you should be proud of yourself.
Unbelievable amount of work that must have taken. And the results! Incredible. That is a beast. Haha, I do slight mods to mine, but you've made a transformer. Really like how you beefed up known weak spots, using large pins, and not using tin. And lights! Really something. Would love to see it in person. Curious, what size engine is in that? Oh yeah, how much do you figure you boosted psi over stock?
but what's happened to the tilty build ? Stunning job Boyo ..... that is SOME tool
Just finished it yesterday!, well short of a paint job. Oh and a dig bucket too. Only pic I took, was in a rush to get home.
It's a yanmar 4 cyl from a John Deere 50d, i put a gauge on the main control valve, stock was 3200psi, I cranked it up to 3700 and added a bit of rpm too. Thanks!
Good to know! Thx. My machine has a virtually identical engine, in terms of specs (2.2l Kubota 40hp). I have toyed with adjusting pressures, but to just within specs (solved a thumb overpowering bucket issue).
Ya that's a bad situation having the thumb over powering the bucket, it is the leading cause of smiley face shaped cylinder shafts. Lol
Well it snowed a whole bunch, I need to clear these tracks asap!
Hauling some logs today.... Definitely needs a rotating grapple.
Great photos
Good to see you are getting some work out of it and those are some beautiful shots.
It would be hard to get any work done with that view!
Definitely the money shot! The other pic, on page 2... Of course, I am trying to figure out where you are...in snow. Not in my hood, unless your up on the backside of Caren Range, but you look to be on a plateau. Sort of reminds me of the 'coke'. I think you said VI somewhere. I haven't traveled a lot of VI, except the hwy.
Kamloops, well its kamloops in the very far background. Snow almost melted this weekend, been raining and warm.
Got my tilt rotator on, bit of a screw up with the bucket Mounts... I'll remedy that later, but it's all plumbed and works.
Looks great. You will certainly appreciate how versatile it makes the excavator. You will be able to lots of awkward stuff without repeatidly having to move the machine. Graham
Something else I need for mine.... Nice work. You continue to amaze!
This is assume, lots of respect for what you've accomplished with this build.
Thanks! Building more things for it right now.....
Can't wait to see what you'll make next. There are an almost inexahaustable list of attachments that may come in handy. I know nothing about forestry work apart from what I read on here, but I seem to recall you build trails. If so, a grading beam the right width will get you a nice smooth finish in a third of the time it takes to grade out with a bucket (I prefer one without a roller so it doesn't get gummed up and you can pick up material with it). Also a sheeps foot compactor attachment for stabilising material you have moved. Then the fixed blade tree shears look straight forward enough for a man of your skills. Graham
It'll be top secret until it's done... But it's forestry related.
Well with Christmas just around the corner you'd better hurry!!! Everyone will want a christmas tree harvester/wrapper/stacker all-in-one attachment for their ex.
You're in Kamloops? Awesome, I have to see this beauty some day. I'm just out past Savona.
I am considering my own build, but getting educated with this stuff is a little challenging, would you mind to tell me if your machine uses a rotary union to feed your track motors. And if so was it off of one of the donor machines.
Yes that's mandatory, I used the rotary valve off the John Deere 50. Ya I'm in Monte lake, the other side of Kamloops!
Swapping it over to forestry mode for the new attachment... Bucket is just on for demonstration purposes lol.
Waiting to see the hot saw on it!! Great work! Darryl
I would like to do a build like this some day. Yours is class act. Thanks for keeping up the post.
You're on the right track....
Ah, shears perhaps....? Anxiously waiting. Love your build! Darryl
You're first guess was the closest... It's a hot / cold saw, the flex plates are where the saw blades will go, we are having 2 custom made 16" blades made up. The whole blade system retracts to facilitate normal grapple usage without a saw in the way. It should allow me to cut a 12-13" tree when it's done.
Why an intermittent hotsaw over bar saw?
That’s gonna be such a versatile machine. Niche logging ops since it’s a more compact machine? Do bar saws require oiler like their little chainsaw kin? Merry Christmas Darryl
Yes, if it has a bar, it has an oiler.
Okay, thanks. So I suppose a disc blade would require less maintenance?
A few reasons, the big brother of this design started with a bar saw, but it was slow, had lots of pinched bar issues etc, this system fixes all that.
Yes exactly! We are starting an ecosystem restoration forestry job in a provincial park on Jan 2nd! Merry Christmas to you too! Rob
Coolest machine I have ever seen! As a machinist and occasional fab guy who uses a midi regularly around my place moving trees dirt etc., I really appreciate the work that went into this and the usefulness of this tool-especially with all the attachments! Very very nice!
Thanks I really appreciate that! We've been hammering away at this attachment and got it cutting wood yesterday.
That's coming along great! I agree: the fab work on this project has been amazing. Darryl
Nice! Looks like it's working!
United with its big brother today.
Looks like it’s working great! You’ve already started working in the park or is this a trial run somewhere else? Have a good weekend. Darryl
Working in the park already, things are starting to pickup as we get a system figured out.
Is that some kind of clam bunk setup you got going on on that excavator in the video with the self loader?
Yep, that looks like a clambunk on the blade of his bigger machine.
Ya that's exactly what that is.
I was trying to figure out what I was seeing when I watched that the first time! Looked at it again and now I understand! Slick set up!
I wonder how using excavator undercarriage skidding wood will pencil out? I would think the wear would be terrible
I wondered about that as well, especially with the tracks being ran “backwards”.
It's been running like that for 4 years or so and has literally done hundreds of kms of skidding. Tracks are getting worn, but they weren't new to begin with.
There is a Menzi track machine set up just the same in UK. Pick the logs up as you go rather than sending a forwarder for small loads. Luckily Menzi’s have auxiliary hydraulic circuit on the undercarriage as standard so didn’t even have to put extra plumbing in. Graham
Cleaning up the branches from logging...
Looks like you’re putting in some long hours. The rake works great! Darryl
My cutting head didn't work out...so we chopped it up and made a dangle grapple out of it...just added a bar saw to this.
Chainsaw bar installed!
Thats neat, hope it works well for you!
Still trucking along....
Just finished this thinning job... I had to rake up most of the logging debris and haul it out... Finished product turned out good though!!
Beautiful shot!
Have manufacturers been chatting with you about your build? Your machine outshines anything on market today. Easily see the above pic on a brochure.
Not yet! But thank you.
Built a forwarding trailer, mainly for fence posts. Picked up around 2000 acres to fence for bison.... Gonna be busy! Side note... I hate my tilt rotator.. Its way too heavy. Going to chop it up and just build a tilt adapter. And use the rotator for something else.
what are you using for a post driver?
A hoe pack from a cat backhoe
Looks awesome! Can you grab/set/hammer the posts from the cab or is it a two man operation? I figure judging plumb from the seat is tough. What’s going on with the wheel hub? Looks not there in the first picture.
Still a 2 man show, and the wheel is the wrong bolt pattern in the first pic... Just a mock up to hide the hideous wheels that were on it. Lol
Cool and great job! You have a good idea!
How long does it take to drive a post? Your soil fairly soft?
Vibrating posts in seems the way to go. Much less damage to top of post than using a post puncher. Shame about the tilt rotator, but that is joy of custom build, you can't try it before hand to see if it is right for you. My yard it littered with great ideas that didn't work out as I thought they would. Graham
When you are done putting the posts in you could build a quickfencer to put up the wire. Having seen one in action at a show they are so much more efficient than doing it the conventional way. http://www.quickfencer.com/quickfencer-360-self-propelled-track-machine/ Graham
These are 10' 5-6" posts, the first 2' takes about 20-30 seconds, but that last foot can take a while longer depending on how many rocks are down there.
You know it...we're already plotting designs for something like that.
Alot faster than an auger and packing bar! How about without a point on the post? Haven't found a supplier for posts with a point. I need an easier way, getting old and tired. Saw a YouTube where a guy built one with a concrete breaker. Breaker was mounted on a I beam with hydraulic cylinder to push breaker. Would just need auto plumb function.
Looking good as always, Coastal. I know you like to tinker with stuff, so i'll just leave this here.
This is going to be a big fence!
Beautiful scenery! How many feet? What kind of wire? I presume you purchase posts already pointed?
Rob, have you thought about a two-way bucket for non-forestry uses, such as pictured in the following? http://www.digrock.com/2way.htm A childhood friend is the inventor. They are easy to build (just one bend). The only use-restriction is that pounding with them will warp them. Neill
Hmmm that's interesting, never seen one! It would actually work great on this machine as it's got a lot of pushing power with the stick cylinder configuration.
I'm not sure on the feet yet, but it will be 2000 acres roughly, electric wire and pointy posts!
I see a few pages back you posted it with a another big brother what is it based on if you made it yourself
That was a Komatsu pc128uu machine
Do you still have it
No it wasn't mine, just built in the same shop.
I took a dangle grapple from another machine and made it a power grapple .. I love it!
What a slick setup you’ve built! Great build! Darryl
Added the forwarding trailer today!
Nice setup!
This is really cool, talk about a jack of all trades
Awesome, how tidy you are stacking those logs!
What a neat setup. Great thread, prerty awesome machine you've created
Thank you!
That is really cool, where abouts are you in BC?
Coastal, I was looking over your thread again and realized you had removed the stock single top roller and put two on top- and used bottom style track rollers. What are the advantages of the double roller setup on this size machine? Certainly is a much more robust looking set up!
Hey I'm around Kamloops.
Well, it looks cooler, and it supposedly makes it easier for sticks and debris to fall out rather than getting packed between the track frame and the track by making a bigger void.
Trying out some bolt on rakes for my power grapple. They work pretty good but are a bit too wide, I've since chopped off the outer tines.
It does look good, but I also like how it gets the track up. Seems it would be easier to clean out under it. Currently on mine with the single roller, it’s a bit of a pain getting the shovel in there when it’s really full of mud. May have to do this when I get it back in the shop this winter.
I really want that power grapple as well!! Have a bunch of down timber cleanup to do in the woods on my property- that power grapple would sure make it go smoother!
It's a wonderful tool, I honestly don't think I'll ever put my thumb back on, it seems so archaic in comparison.
Here's a bit of cleanup I did with it the other day:
That 1st pic is exactly what my property looks like. After every winter there is more to clean up. Bucket n thumb work, but it’s awkward to maneuver thru the stuff you don’t want to damage.
Ya the bucket and thumb gets frustrating after a while!
You really have demonstrated how a properly equipped small excavator can be the swiss army knife of tools. well done.
Well thank you!
Today I took the rotator off my original tilt rotator that I didn't like and mounted it to my wood splitter... The original wood splitter worked but was kind of clumsy. This is going to work out well once I get the hang of it and proper length hoses.
Just saw that on youtube. That has to make picking rounds up easier than a fixed head.
Yes much easier, the original one I'd spend more time trying to get a round aligned than actually splitting.
My neighbor had a NT 3 point splitter where the wedge moved back and forth with a foot on each end so it'd split both directions, seems like that might work well on an excavator
Ya that'd be a good style of splitter for sure saves a bit on cycle times
Im waiting for you to step it up a bit and add a saw . Looks good !
@Coastal put a new video up yesterday. What are you doing with the slash after piling?
Thanks! It was all burned, burned for about a week to get rid of it all.
Biggest bonus feature of the wood splitter... Splitting right into the truck.. Saves so much time and effort.
Now that's the way to do it!!!!
Coastal, That is such a sweet set-up you’ve built....the machine plus the attachments!! Thanks for the vid and pics. Darryl
Thanks!
Hope you are keeping busy @Coastal . Don't forget to post some pics/vids every once in awhile.
You bet, back to fencing right now!
Still at it... I like this machine, but also now realize there's lots I don't like. The 50d engine doesn't make enough power to run the 75 sized final drives fast enough. It has lots of torque in low, but man it's slow all around. The 50d engine also is short on power to run any good hydraulic attachments like a mulcher, or harvester. The ac system barely keeps up. Overall I just wish it was a bit bigger I suppose. Still pounds posts very efficiently and is hard to beat for that, but lots of room for improvement!
Any way to get more power from the current engine? That is one awesome machine you have built there THANK YOU for sharing it with us
Dang sucks to be you Coastal. Cant imagine having to look at that everyday.
I've been looking at motor swaps, or feasibility of adding a turbo to this engine, but then it becomes an issue of pump sizing, valves etc etc... Might be a lot of work for an endless hassle. But I just don't know honestly lol!
Ya it's really difficult having to stare at that view!
Yeah that is difficult working conditions. Doesn’t seem to be a crackhead in sight to try to steal the tools out of the truck!
Turbo and intercooler would help with power loss at altitude, but you'd still have 50-sized pumps. I'm surprised the AC won't keep up. Isn't it the 50d cab with guarding? Do you think a 75 carbody would be big enough or would you want to go even bigger if you started over?
Ya it's the 50d cab... Not sure why it won't keep up either. If I started with a 75 complete I'd probably be happy with it. But a 135 would be good too.
LOL, yep - bigger is usually better
It seems its always - i need just a little more reach, a little more power and etc etc! LOL - at least in my experience! Just keep reminding yourself its paid for and your making money!
Ok. So I'll give you 4 cases of beer and $2k for the hunk of crap.
Ha,ha I'll give you good Canadian beer that you will actually want to drink
I'm gonna wait until he's built and got too familiar with the 135 I see coming, then I'll bring out the English Beer offer.
True story... Sure is nice to not have payments!
Any reason you went with the Biojack over TMK? I like the looks of the moving blade over pulling the tree into a stationary blade with a TMK. Any idea what it's rated for in hardwood? TMK 300 is suppoused to do a 10" hardwood, but I imagine it will struggle with a 10" osage orange.
Biojack in my opinion is a superior product, yes it costs more, but I can use it as a wood grapple which you can't do with a tmk. Cutting trees is great, but what do you do with them once they're on the ground? I hoe chuck as much if not more than cut with it. Second, it grapples before it cuts, making it a much safer shear especially if you're working around houses or power lines, most other shears cut as they are grappling. This 300 is rated for 300mm, I just cut a 330mm (13") pine a couple days ago. They rate for a 10" cut in hardwood, and I don't doubt it would do it with ease. For me, definitely worth the extra money!
So the cutter uses a shear instead of a saw? Does that mean the wood is wasted or used for fire wood?
Yes this one is a shear. This project is for a city, and most of the wood is small and useless. We are going to send some samples to a mill shortly to see how much fiber is pulled.
I got some custom made tracks on today, since you can't buy single bara for mini excavators. In my quick test, these proved to be amazing for climbing hills. Very happy,!
A couple more
Those do look very effective! And the hill you’re on makes for a convincing argument! Where did you get those?
That's quite a set of toe nails you have there. Do you have enough weight in the machine to make them bite. You have become quite the R&D engineer!
Yes they seem to grab well, got them from www.interiorundercarriage.ca Oh ya it seems to be heavy enough, it was nice climbing a hill with no slipping. Makes for comfortable climbing with no puckering!
Next project.....
That's kind of fancy for the woods. Is that an extension stick?
Loved the last build. Gonna enjoy watching this one!
Keep the pics comin’
It is an extension stick, I just removed it however and made it a really long fixed excavator stick.
2 questions for you. 1. What is the next project? Looks like an oversize Kubota with a cab from an old crane, and a self leveling undercarriage. 2. On your smaller machine, what size plate packer do you use for fence posts? I'm looking to get a 60 class machine and am curious if it's big enough to run a plate packer for the occasional fence post project.
Looks like somebody had a wheeled harvester parts machine sitting around and put the cab, possibly the leveling system, and stick from the harvester on an 080.
It's a Neuson Harvester, roughly a 12 ton machine. As for packer, I run a Stanley HS6000, its a bit heavy for the machine, but it packs a punch! My machine is based on a 50 so you'd have no problem with a 60. Nope, just some crazy Austrians!
My first guess was crazy a Schaeff excavator. The more I looked at it the more convinced I was that it was a Deere harvester cab on an 080.
That's a pretty wild looking machine! For the plate packer, did you weld a centering "ring" right to the plate packer or did you weld the ring to a plate then bolt that plate to the plate packer so you could use it for compaction and also driving posts?
With the content of the original thread, that's probably a pretty good guess. lol! Yes it needs a ring...and I've modified it into an Oval with partitions, so you can use different parts of the plate to pound in different conditions. The outer edges of the plate actually drive better than the center. I welded it on because I have no patience to drill holes in 1.5" plate.
Sounds like it will be an interesting project how long are you going for? any longer than the original extended condition? or something really long...
The same length as the original fully extrended, with the long straight boom, any shorter and the geometry doesn't work for tree shears and grapples working in close.
Is this going to be a thinning machine? Are you making another swiss army knife with a quick coupler and an extra circuit for rotation and other things?
Yes exactly the plan, I'm mating a John Deere 75c stick to the factory stick, I don't plan on digging with it. Just felling, raking, grapple work etc.
I worked for Rocan Forestry and we likely imported that Neuson. We were the North American rep for Neuson forestry products, which later got named MHT. I imagine it has a deutz 5 Cyl? They were great thinning machines. The parallel loader worked great. Just be careful with the log swing base, there were a few that cracked. I believe the loader was from loglift, but my memory is fading. There was one for sale in Nova Scotia not long ago.
No way! This is a deutz 4cyl, 100hp. They have eliminated the swinging boom I heard it was a weak spot as well. I bought this one in Nova Scotia actually and had it shipped west.
Right, it was a 4 cyl. See, my memory is fading hahaha. We had a similar loader on the Rocan Enviro, which was a wheeled harvester for thinning. They both ran the Logmax 3000 sized harvesting head. Enjoy the Neuson, its a nice machine! I saw one on the roadside last summer, but I can't recall exactly where it was. When it came to the MHT 20 Ton harvesters, they were the most productive harvesters in the area. We didn't have good support from MHT though. We couldn't get parts to rebuild pumps for example. Nonetheless, enjoy the Neuson! Its a nice machine.
Made some headway, moved the cylinder for the stick to the bottom, what an amazing increase in lifting power. In the factory position I couldn't budge those 2 logs with the stick controls. It's set at 4400psi...and it wouldn't even try to lift them. Now it lifts them effortlessly. I was hoping for a bit more extension, but that's all I get using the factory cylinder and trying to let it close up nice and tight. Now the Deere 75 stick is attached, I can put the cylinder and linkage on, and get some hoses to the cylinder and we're getting close to work ready. As it sits, it has 9.5m reach at ground level measured the way equipment brochures measure from the center of the swing bearing. A new 135 sized machine is around 8.2m for comparison sake.
Getting close now, just need a quick change and some plumbing.
I like the crown of snow on top of the cab protector. The new stick looks great.
there are lots of good ideas built into that little machine... just dont overlook the stress load thats being placed on the superstructure lift/tilt cylinders when they are extended... it may be more than you realize as the machine is lifting, swinging and being shock loaded at times... its an extreme dynamic load, rather than a static load which is not nearly as stressful....
Getting close now.... Building a quick change tomorrow, spent today converting the hydraulic system from harvester to excavator, moving pilot circuits, adding a directional valve, and finally making it work on the joystick buttons.
Do you still have the DT360 swapped super duty? I was looking into doing the same and found your build thread on another site Your custom builds are truly impressive, I've really enjoyed following your unique projects.
No I sold that a couple years ago... I have a boring Dodge now. That truck was one of my favorites.
Got it up and running doing some testing... Pretty good so far other than a couple big leaks I missed.
These pictures are calendar worthy. Wow.
Thanks! Good ole Samsung!
Same shear you were using on your smaller machine or did you upsize?
It is the same shear, but I might upgrade to the 450 on this machine later on.
Had the Neuson out on its first job, and it performed quite well. Had a few small issues and minor leaks, but overall it's an amazing chassis for stability and comfort in the forest. With the reach I have, I can treat a 60' swath from one trail, and with it's very low ground pressure my trails are very easy to tidy up after. The next modification will be to make the boom lift higher so I can work in closer when I need to. There's a few Undercarriage issues like track tensioner springs are either worn out or broken, and I have a new set of custom ordered single bar track pads for it.
Great Pics @Coastal , but you forgot the video.
Thank you! Hahah not sure how I forgot that.
After the first job I realized the stick was a bit long for in close work and hoe chucking, so off it came again. I removed 20" from the stick and now it seems to be pretty close to ideal. Also it makes it fit better for transport as I can tuck it in with an attachment on. Spent some of Sunday clearing and thinning some land at home for a future cattle area.
Very nice!!!!, looks like you're having way too much fun
I'm just starting to be able to walk my 1/4 mile+ of trail in my woods, as the snow keeps melting. I found that I was hoping to see a lot of dead fall etc., so I'd have a good excuse to get the U25 S and the tractor with it's chipper out! The chips go on the trail, so are put to good use, they make a perfect bike or walk surface.
Awesome project Coastal! I loved reading your build thread a few years ago on the F450 DT360 swap. Love to see the updates coming on this (and any other cool projects you have).
What breed of cows do you run? Might I suggest Scottish Highlanders.
Any updates on either of these two machines?
This is the sign of a true artist in fabrication and machine versatility. A manufacturer should be paying him royalties while they build these on a production line! Nothing beats experience on the job site.
I'm so sorry to see what is left of the custom built machine on one of the fire aftermath videos.
That sounds horrible, sorry to hear this, what happened?
Oh no.....
What happened i loved this one off machine
The area Coastal lives in has had a bad run in with a forest fire. I saw a video that showed the burned out hoe. Out of respect, I don’t want to post the clip or a link. Hopefully some day he is back on and will share it.
That sucks, one awesome machine gone. Ed
This thread was shared over on the forestryforum. I hadn't previously seen it and these machines are incredible. The amount of work done on these in just a few days is insane to me... Well done and I'm terribly sorry to read the last few entries to this thread. Something tells me @Coastal isn't held back much...
Just got a notification, and yes the poor little machine is gone... swept up in a wildfire. I'll post some pics tonight
can you link me to that thread?
Sorry to hear it burnt up! https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=99842.960 Mike's post is #968, so I linked to that page, but there's another 48 pages of goodness that go along with it.
Costal, I am so sorry for your loss. What a great thread on the build.
What a bugger Coastal. Hopefully MK 2 is on the drawing board.
That really sucks that your custom excavator got burned up. Can any of it be reused? In 2010 I caught the edge of a major forest fire. I was lucky as I got to my property before the fire came through. I was able to move my equipment to a cleared area and used my water truck to soak all around an old 5th wheel trailer I kept tools in and my dirt bike. The fire marshal was surprised I was able to save basically everything. The fire boss came down and took the mask off of his face and gave it to me. He appreciated my help but told me to leave if it got too bad. I'm sure I would have lost some equipment and/or the 5th wheel had I not been able to soak them down and/or move them. I like the show Timber Kings and was devastated to hear that Pioneer Log Homes lost millions and the owner moved an RV on site (after previously sleeping in his truck) to try to save as much as possible. I think there were 3 or 4 multi-million dollar homes almost ready for shipment that were lost in the blaze. I'm sure they lost a lot of premium timber and machinery too.
How did the rest of your equipment fair?