I've put together home made track pin presses out of threaded rod and made a C press out of 3/4" mild steel using a 60T Enerpac ram. Spent all day Monday (which lasted into Tuesday) fighting with a 336 track. The guy likes to cut corners and just beats the crap out of his machines. Showed up to service 1 336 for another company and then put some track pad bolts on his machine. He 2 broken pins and a master link that was backing out. Started on his machine at 10am. Didn't leave until midnight..............that's when I turned back into a pumpkin. I needed to take Tuesday off to recover. I got the **** beat out of me............... So..............I'm looking at the TracBuster 2000 from Canada. For about $16,000 US I can get the pins, rams, and C frame. I already have all the other crap they want to sell me. I have an Enerpac pump, hoses, gauges, etc. Anybody use one?? Have one?? How do you like it?? Any shortcomings?? https://tracbustertrackpinpress.com/tracbuster-2000-track-pin-press/ Was also looking at WTC Machinery FP100 system. Haven't received a quote from them yet. https://www.wtcmachinery.com/produc...ame-100-ton-portable-pin-press#7764-downloads So just doing some inquires and polling amongst my buddies in the industry. They are very gung ho and excited for me to get one. Any idea how much I should charge to rent this thing out?? I'm thinking $500/day.............guess it depends on who it is. Also.............what or how do you go about charging for pin press service??? So hooking up your computer to a machine or truck gets a Dianostics charge of $125, welding I charge a welding machine rate plus consumables. What would be fair for Pin press service?? Thanks
$500. daily rental seems fair, but seems unlikely you'd get it done in a day. I'd picture it when undercarriage needs to be replaced. Maybe cut the old rail. I apologize for my lack of experience, never done it. Do you use the press to install the master pin, or just remove? I've seen the oxygen lance used to punch through the pin, then it comes out with punch & hammer. Might dry ice help with installation?
Sometimes a link or one side of the link might get cracked at the track pad bolt and needs to be replaced. Sprocket and final drive replacement.......you'll need to split the tracks. The press would both install and remove pins from the tracks. Master pins are usually a hundredth or thousandsths smaller than a regular pin. Dry ice is -109F/ 78.3C Liquid nitrogen is -320F / -196C I use liquid nitrogen. I have a 10L dewar (just a special insulated container for liquid nitrogen) and pour it into a playmate cooler that was getting thrown away. Most of the pins and bearings and bushings fit into the Playmate. I've found the plastic cooler with lid works much better than a cheap styrofoam cooler that I bought. The styrofoam cooler boiled the liquid nitrogen right out............never kept the cold in like the play mate. Oxy lance is good if the pin is junk and needs to be replaced. Once you get it out, you still need to put a new one in. Most times you can just pop the pin out with the press and then put it back in when your done. Just tired of fighting with this stuff. Getting too old to swing the big hammers. Seem to do it enough where its time to buy the proper tool. Have other people in the industry and who own equipment who want to rent it. And these people I have no problem renting/ loaning tools too.
You asked about getting it done in a day. Popping a pin on an excavator is usually pretty quick. Release grease in tensioner, squish it back a bit, take 2 track pads off, press pin out. Maybe an hour or 2........depends on distractions and phone calls.........then your off to the races. There is NO SUBSTITUTE FOR THE RIGHT TOOLS. That and knowing how to use them. You don't know what your missing until you use the right tools.......seems to be my case anyway.
$16k looks like a good price for what your getting. Do you use a crane on the service truck to move it into position ?
Yes...........crane is a necessity for holding the track press in place, picking the up the track and lowering it to the ground. The track press and C frame weigh 500-600lbs. Thinking about going with the WTC machinery FP100 press. They seem to have the best set up compared to the Trac Buster.
I always just show up with new pins, nitrogen and pin lance off the bat. I can buy a lot of track pins for $16k. I have thought about it many times but can think of other things to spend that money on
Oooohhh dude............I'm with you there on spending the money. I've fought with 3 different CAT 336's and a 329 in the last year. I built a homemade C press out of 7"x 3/4" flat stock and a 60T double acting cylinder. Worked well until this past Mondays adventures. I'm 54 now...........not the young lion I used to be. Monday's nightmare crippled me for Tuesday. Tools breaking............push pins bending.........the back of the C press that holds the bottom of the jack, with doubled up 3/4" plate was bending up. It didn't go well. LOL.........my wife called me around 11pm because I didn't hear or respond to her text at 10pm asking I was OK. She was just making sure I wasn't crushed under a piece of equipment!! A buddy of mine told me...........upon discussing my plan to make the pin press............he said "Sometimes you need all of that 100T to push those pins back in and get them out". That is what was going through my head that night. And bantering the thoughts and discussing the idea of purchasing one, I've had a bunch of buddies in the industry (whom I talk to all the time.......batting around problems, have you run into this before, what do you think about doing that, etc) who have said if I buy one they'd be eager to rent it when they need it. Thus the kernel of the idea of just purchasing one. The need is there. I can have it paid off in 2 years..........well, have it pay for itself. Just tired of beating the crap out of myself. It would be like having to use a gin pole instead of having a proper crane on the truck. Gin pole would work.........but oh man, that crane is so much easier to use!! I think I may go with the WTC Machinery FP100. It would be $14k US for the press and the medium and large pins and receivers. The TracBuster is $13k US for the C frame press and just 3 different size pins pins. The receivers for the push pins on the TracBuster are the same size.............so removing the push pins and putting a replacement track pin in to get it started could be pretty sloppy. I like the idea of having a tighter fit on the new track pin to reduce the chance of it going crooked. And getting the pin press, I'm sure my rotator cuff's would appreciate me not swinging the 20lber anymore.
I do the same here. I'll burn a pin, freeze a new one, then a bit of heat on the link boss and they usual pop right in with a few small hammer taps. 16K? I haven't done enough pin/ link replacement in 20 years to justify that cost.
That's fine........to each their own. Some people love sports cars and hot rods, others don't. I'll assume that your using master pins to freeze and pop back in. There is going to be a $500 charge in the bill for popping pins out to split tracks and put them back together again. Just like there is a welder time charge, mileage charge, Oxy fuel charge, etc. Monday was the catalyst.........had lots of time to think about it Tuesday while recovering. And yes............have thought long and hard for many years about buying one.............and didn't. I spent $800 for 20 ft of 3/4" plate, plus the jack, plus the power pack, plus my time cutting, welding, and putting it together...........lets not forget lathe time turning the pn pushers. In the end, with time and materials; I was more than half way there to buying one. You guys do you. I'll do me, my back, my rotator cuffs, etc.
It’s your money my friend.
I'd look at the used market. Business liquidation, stuff like that. I can't justify twice the price just so I can put the first scratch on it. All my junk is used and works like new. Just a thought
I don't always do track work, but when I do I prefer a track press.
Dont get me wrong, I would love to have one but there are a lot of other things higher on my list. Bore welder and better boring machine are pretty high up there at the moment.
I hear ya...........I have a buddy that I either sub that work out to or borrow his machine. He is also one of the people who would be renting the press. Between trying to keep up with servicing machines and putting out fires there doesn't seem to be enough time for anything else...........just wondering what next year is going to bring.
Have looked on and off for a few years. Need to be in the right place at the right time. Have had buddies looking, found them, texted or emailled me........and they've already been bought. They don't last long on the open market. Just at that point where either bite the bullet and stop wishing or live with the frustration and aggravation of dealing with what I've got. Put quite a bit of money and time into making something that isn't working for me. Just time to buy one that is properly designed and made and stop wasting my time trying to be cheap and make one. Maybe if things were slower. Sitting in cab of truck ordering parts right now..........LOL. Taking a break and organizing my thoughts for the days ever changing priorities. A little distraction helps to clear the mind sometimes.
With supply chain issues worsening and availability of a replacement pin questionable at times the press would be a better choice as could reuse a old pin for a short term if did need a replacement until it arrived. For older and Orphan Machines it is not a question of saving pins but a necessity.
Here's a little food for thought. Check with your insurance people and see if you are covered when renting out or loaning your tools. I own a 100 and a 50 ton press and I don't loan either. If you want to hear a horror story about a track press wreck PM me. I have never heard of anyone charging separate for a press. Was the track you had problems a PPR track? If you deal with those you will need more tooling. I have been doing this about 50 years and it don't get easier. Good Luck Bob
The proper way to do under carriage/tracks is when it gets worn out---------- sell it.
Didn't even think of the litigious end of it. To busy looking at trying to get one. YOU bring up an excellent point regarding that. No, the track wasn't a Positive Pin Retension (PPR) system (I added that for anyone else looking at this thread who might not know what PPR stands for). Just a 2" pin squished into a really tight hole on a CAT 336 that has had the track thrown a couple of times because the tensioner was screwed up and the owner didn't want to replace it. Then monkey's hammered the track back on with the bucket. It was driven around for a while with a broken pin because.........hey, it moves just fine with a broken pin. I don't want to take the time or spend the money to fix it right now...........so the links got screwed up.........etc, etc, etc. Now it's an emergency and needs to FIXED NOW and CAT didn't have all the parts.........BLLLAAAAHHHHHH. So, ultimately; my body pays and my mental attitude pays for trying to ETHNIC rig the track back together. The WTC Machinery FP100 does have additional tooling for the press for a PPR system. I've been querying the sales guy on what size the side plates are and what thickness they are. I think I like that system better than the TB2000. More versatility. But, according to the sales guy at WTC; the side plate thickness and what material is used is TOP SECRET. CAN'T TELL YA, OR WE'LL HAVE TO SHOOT YOU!! That pisses me off. As for a separate charge..............do you charge separately when you plug your laptop in to do diagnostics?? I do. The truck dealers do. If I spend all day heating the **** out something or cutting with the plasma cutter or gas torches............there is charge for that to pay for the gas or welding machine and consumables on the plasma cutter. I charge $130/hr dock to dock.........plus $1.25/ mile travel. That $130 is pretty cheap compared to CAT, Volvo, or John Deere. That hourly rate gets you the diesel powered toolbox with the tools and me. Anything else that is substantial is extra.
LOVE THAT!!! Same guy.............he owns a 315. Bushings are completely gone on one side, sprockets are junk. Just one 1 side. For 3 years now he's said he's getting rid of it. Trading it in and getting another machine. It will happen soon.........BANG!!!............Hey, can you come fix the track?? I need it now!!..............NO!!! LOL
Didn't you say you needed a track press for the KW??? I think it was for the brake chamber pins................LOL. How's that project going, D?? I haven't checked in on the progress as of late. I just want to be rich, buy a mountain in Maine, build a house on the side of it, and fly my helicopter in and out..........no access road. My neighbor, in Maine who built his log house 20 years ago up the hill from our camp wanted to do that; wasn't going to have the road plowed up to his house and use snow machines (snowmobiles) to get up and down. Park the cars by our house. Wouldn't have been able to get insurance if he did that. As it is..........the oil company won't go up to the houses after the first snow, the power company hates going to his house in the winter, and the fire dept certainily isn't getting up there!!LOL My parents built our camp back in '67 (you know.........back in the 1900's!! As my nieces and nephews say....LOL). Got up that road with studded snows and the one wheel drive station wagon. NOW THAT taught you how to drive!!LOL
I have 3 Track Pin press sets and like Bluox I have been at this work for more than 50 years so I have a good idea of the work involved, you will see loads of interesting snaps of my work in the Caterpillar sprocket pulling thread, anyhow the pressing of Master pins that are 6 months old or more is a total waste of time, just cut them out with the gas and stop messing about as the cost is not worth it as the pin will have loads of wear, the D8 runs a 50mm pin not an 1" 3/4 as listed try the old Vintage D8 for this size, anyhow I really only press new pins in and it's not a game I would let anyone use my kit as it can soon go wrong, I work by myself near always and would not be happy to have any Tom Dick or Harry stood around in case of drama, the pin press in the above script looks a handy thing for someone but not for me it's to ungainly and bulky, I would have a pin pressed and gone while you would still be looking for your number 23, as for earning coins I charge my standard rate plus an extra press charge, or quote a price for 1 or 2 pins to be pressed knowing that the second pin in the other track (often) takes only a few min's to press as all the kit is out, I use the 2 CAT tension rod system it has now been superseded by CAT's money men but I love as it's light strong and works a treat, Big Nozzi do a mean press also Berco but as for hire tools I would forget it, also the $500 charge thought you might struggle to get fools to pay this sort of coin, in the U.K. Equipment owners would just laugh. tctractors
KW is sort of on hold at the moment as I heal from a slight tumble, cracked a pair of ribs.
Slight tumble? Another 50 bucks you would have been totaled. Bob
So you use a tie rod system?? Trying to educate myself on which way is the best to go..........so please bear with in mundane questions. How many ton ram do you use for the D8's?? I work by myself as well. Its when its 10 pm and I've been out all day, the tools are breaking, my body is breaking down, and I'm out of patience that I create my own drama. I'm sure with practice I'll get as good and fast as you. LOL.......maybe I should come over for the summer and apprentice with you!!
Sorry to hear that!! I hope they heal fast..........but sadly, at our age bumps and tumbles are felt for weeks instead of days or hours back when we were young bucks!!
I was worth a buck back then, only 0.89.
The insurance has gotten the total bill from the doctors and the hospital yet. One more cotton swab and he'll be totalled!! LOL
It would be great if there was away to real know if it was a smart move to spend the money on some thing. I guess if you dont owe alot on other stuff and you are going to stay in the business then it would be ok. I think there are times when buying a tool,truck or piece of equipment dosent make scents and will not pay for its self alone but it helps out so much in the big picture its the best money ever spent.
It sounds like you are working on old busted and worn out tracks that should have been replaced completely anyway. I feel you pain and understand what you are working with. I've had to do that on Komatsu PC1000 tracks when they first came out and we had multiple machines in the territory. Pins were breaking and the broken pieces were still inside the bushings. I forget the size of the pins but we had to use a 200 ton press to try to push the broken stuff out. Gas axed the main parts of the broken pins out but there were always pieces of shrapnel imbedded on the insides of the bushings. At first we would just have one broken pin at a time and then several at a time and then we were replacing multiple links in sections. Would cut the sections out, trim off the ends of the bushings and then put the sections in with master pins on each end. It took just shy of 100 tons to push one side of the master pin. When the other side would engage with the far link, 200 tons would not be enough to get the pin flush with the outside of the link. We had one side stick out and rub the track guides and that was just the way it was going to be. That much pressure would also compress the links too tight and now the pad bolt holes would not line up so you could put the pad back on. You had to heat and beat on the side still sticking out to get the pad bolt holes back in line. About two years of covering warranty claims on the tracks and Komatsu brought out an update with new chains and that problem died away. I've seen lots of bad things happen on the 100 ton C frame presses and was real nervous on the 200 ton press. It used four big rods and a press plate on the far end to push against. Renting out something that can make that much pressure is just not something that I would ever consider. Big hammers are bad enough for flying steel.
JOHN, WOW!!! It's almost like you were there!! LOL Was that you lurking in the shadows of the dark night?? Yeah, by the time I got to the track pads.........finish line and my bed in sight..........I had run out of patience. YES, the bolt holes didn't line up!! Off by 1/2 the bolt diameter. NO............didn't take the time to mess w/ the links. Pulled out the blue tip track pad hole adjuster while muttering to myself........."4 tracks pads..........pack up........get out..........4 track pads..........pack up.........get out............come on........you can do it...........KEEP MOVING!!! DON'T STOP!!! DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!! JUST DO IT!! LETS GO FARRELL!! MOVE WITH A PURPOSE!! "(my old sergeants voice in my ear). And if someone asked me to moneky w/ a PC1000 track...........hard pass, thank you for asking!! So.........what are your thoughts on keeping the links from getting squished together?? I've thought about........after this last debacle........making a jig with a spacer to keep the links in place while they get squished. Also wondered if 100 tons is enough or should go w/ a 150T unit. And the debate on C press or Tie Rod rages in my mind daily. What thoughts, good sire; on Tie rod versus C press?? Just in from putting a Hiab knuckle boom back together again on a form truck. Started at 5am to beat the heat. Finished at noon..........thermo meter says its DAMN HOT (95F) out there. Might be time to try out the swimming pool we never use. The dog uses it more than anyone!!LOL As for renting it out.........it would be to my buddies who are also heavy equipment mechanics. Gonna have my lawyer draw up a release of liability..........I guess. Just need to get one first. Which one??? No idea. Done w/ hammers though.............all done.
I don't owe money on anything. I buy everything with cash...........or I put it on the company credit card and pay that off the same month. I HATE OWING THE BANKS ANYTHING!! Right or wrong............thats my mentality. I don't buy toys ............if I'm going to buy something, then it needs to be useful and earn me money. I look at it this way............I could probably turn around and sell it a few years from now or whenever and not lose money. In fact, it would probably appreciate............based on the way commodities and tool and equipment prices are going. Just don't want to buy something and say.........Gee, I should have gone with the other system...........this one doesn't cover all my needs. Febuary 2021 4x8 sheet of AR400 $627 Febuary 2022 4x8 1/2" of AR400 $1850.........***!! And honestly............nobody knows how long any of us are going to be around. Maybe I'll keep going until I'm 70?? Maybe next week I'll say SCREW THIS!! I'M DONE!! COME ON HONEY...........we're moving to Maine (that ain't happening for 4 more years............kids need to finish high school........then ship them off to college). Maybe the dog and i will move to Maine..............NOW YOUR THINKING WITH YOUR DIPSTICK JIMMY!! LOL A couple hundred million more dollars and I'll be taking the helicopter to the airport, to take the jet to the next airport, then take the helicopter from that airport out to the yacht crewed by the bikini clad babes.............with the dog. And all this turning wrenches crap will be behind me. THERE!! How's that for a plan??!!LOL
Umm, maybe you should go lay down in the shade and rink some water...
I find this an interesting thread as I've always done most everything with cash on the barrelhead and/or handshake agreement. I'm going from memory and copying a youtube video for mine. I have a double acting 100T hollow ram cylinder and some grade "8" acme thread rod with nuts for the bulk of the press. Press plates and drive pins are not yet made. I have the hydraulics capacity in the shop. I've never worked on an excavator as they just weren't any kind of common when I was working on machines. 100T would push any pin I was around out of a dozer or loader frame so my question would be are excavator pins that much harder to push than a large dozer? I used to break track on a TD25B series with one of these fairly easily but the press wasn't mine and was shop property to use. Truck mounted hydraulics and a small "jib" crane which was truck mounted made it fairly easy.
I wouldn't have stayed in the dark if I were there. I know your pain and would have lent a hand or run away "depending on your greeting." We stopped trying to push regular pins in for broken ones. If you look at a track press for turning pins and bushings you will see that they only press on one side of the link at a time into a middle anvil. Once you see that you can understand why you can't press a standard pin all the way through from one side to the other. For the spacing the dealer made up some thick plates that they bolt onto the links using the bolt holes to keep the spread just right so the pads could be installed. For the PC1000 machines I cut a piece of shelby tubing to fit around the bushing for a spacer. It was less to carry in the track press box. I prefer the C frame press for the machines smaller than a D8K size track. Once you get into the D9 size and up you need the bigger press if you are going to try fixing broken pins. I got to where I wouldn't fix those any more. Just tell the customer I would install a new set of tracks and sprockets anytime he had them on site. The biggest problem I've had with that press was the spacers that go on the end of the C frame. They always got mashed up because someone would use the wrong size or use them for something else or they would get lost or someone would beat on them with a hammer and so on and so on. I did like the reach rods on the 200 ton unit as there were four of them. I could balance the cylinder on the chains and drop the hook on the crane and then pick up the push plate and position it on the rods. It was all a pain to do but no other way to do it. Having the press set is a lot more professional looking to your customers but I can't say just how long the pay back period would be. Years ago one of my colleagues asked the same question of me and we broke it down. Was about ten years to payback plus the maintenance on the press for the dents and dings on the set pieces and the fact that the pumps out at that time would get to 10,000 PSI about a dozen times and then drop off till you had to fight getting things pressed. They usually ended up only getting to about 8,500 PSI which was marginal for pushing a high drive pin back then. The business he had back then would only see less than half a dozen uses a year. Just didn't pencil out.
I feel if you are up to cutting slots in plates to make the pad fit you need to really think about the task as all you are doing is damaging someones equipment, the cylinders I use are 105 ton and 74 ton standard CAT Service press items, I do have a 200 Ton hollow cylinder for nasty jobs, there is a trick you can do so when you press up the pin it keeps the link spacing correct to always fit the pad, I have a large range of dummy pins up to 63mm that make things very easy and a load of press head collars to fit from a Fiat FL4 pin up to the largest pin I need to press in at 63 mm, i also have short dummy plates that I can bolt to the links to retain the bolt spacing, I don't use these very often as I like to think I can do things faster with the trick, the 2 Tie rods are still in the CAT tool book and work well , I would think hard about blowing big coins on something that looks an animal to mess with, I have posted plenty of pictures of pin pressing and know how to make it pay, the secret would be do the job yourself with your own kit, let no one hire it or go near it and you have a Market to yourself, if they want a pin pressed they come to you only, the difference in pin length and Diameter due to who's made the chain will also get you struggling, so always check the pin is the correct spec before getting any kit out, also always get the Equipment owners to supply all the hardware then you cannot get in the wrong, I have about 2 ton's of press tooling so I get plenty of Rum jobs, sadly I am at the end of my time now and have already cut back to having Sunday afternoon off 2 times a month. tctractors
Sunday afternoons 2 times a month off..........my wife would never let me get away with that. Had a blow up a few months ago. Said I was working too much. She has work for me here AT THE HOUSE!!! LOL So the tracks pads were folded, bent, and mutilated. One of them was cracked already. Had to play mix and match to get them to go back on........I didn't label which pad came from where. They wouldn't go back on unless they were in the proper order. And I completely understand where your coming from and I agree with you. Tired, out of patience, should have said screw it, packed up and came back in the morning when dark hit..............but he needed his machine up and running for first thing, blah, blah, blah........... I can imagine you have 2 tons or more of fun little items for your presses. I've perused a bunch of your pictures...........very interesting. Wish you lived closer so I could learn some of your secrets. Love to learn new things..............but don't love learning the hard way. My uncle, who taught me how to run crawler cranes; used to say "Experience maketh a teacher." and "Sometimes education is expensive......." after you screwed something up and had to repair or replace it. So in your opinion..............100 tons is good size?? Don't plan on attacking D8's or D9's. CAT 336 is maybe the biggest excavator I will probably attack.
Well, at that point; I was in a foul mood. Probably wouldn't have gotten the warmest greeting. Not too many people I know who do tracks...........actually none that I know of. It was late...........so I really couldn't have called anyone to pick their brain anyway. So you prefer the C press.........TCtractors (I think) prefers the tie rod rig........easier to handle (I think I'll agree on that). Think the 100T rig is big enough?? I honestly haven't run into anything over 2". And its hard for you to say which rig would work for me..............guess I need to start somewhere........**** or get off the pot. And thank you for offering to help that night..........or run!!LOL I appreciate your insights..............FROM ALL OF YOU!! Looking to learn from others experiences and mistakes before I can make my own.
Took a dip in the pool with the dog..........sippin Ice coffee right now, in the AC. Blah........5pm......still 88F.
I am about in the same boat as you are over buying a trailer. I need a bigger trailer were i could almost double my load per trip. If i could double my loads per trip it would save time and make it more profitable . I also think i could sell it if i dont need it i know i would have to take a loss if i did. I have 2 trailers i would sell and would want to but the way things are they wouldnt bring much. I also think about giving up the scrap business .
Good morning Tony, In some of your pics you have a RED cylinder setup with ears welded on it for pulling and you also use it/ have it setup for pushing pins. Who makes that setup?? How many tons is that?? I looked in the CAT tool catalog and didn't see a setup like the one your sporting. Thank you!!!
How about you and me split that $16K and we'll call it good!?
Found the video that got me started on building mine which is similar, but has differences.
LOL.............Sounds good!! I'll hold onto it until you need it?? Then we meet in the middle??LOL Short little trip!! Want my Venmo account?? You can send the money!!LOL
Thank you!! I'll look at it tonight. Emailled WTC Machinery asking for prices for their 150T tie rod kit..................Tony TCTractor got me thinking and wondering. Go BIG or GO HOME?? Isn't that the mantra in this industry?? Or is it work smarter, not harder?? Old Timers...........its a bitch!!
The Red cylinder I bought new imported from Italy from Big Nozzi, the make massive Track press machines and have been around for years, the cylinder is a 105 ton job and is built the same if not better as the CAT cylinder/s that I also use, with these cylinders you can tackle F/Drives on CAT Komatsu Fiat and plenty of other kit, you can also press in track pins and bushings if you know how to and have the tooling, my work involves track chain with a pin size below 65mm so Excavators around 60 metric tons down, on small kit like D6D and below I often use a 74 ton cylinder as it fits the same press head and rods but is easier to load in my banger, all the go big or go home stuff you need to save if you are looking to work on similar size equipment as myself, a large press will restrict you working on the regular jobs like 20 ton swingers etc, to pull and push sprockets is easy enough but it's a lot easier if you know what you are doing and have the correct kit or the brains to work things out, I have 50 years+ in the pot and possibly done more F/Drives than anyone I know so I have the Badge and Stripes, think what work you want to or expect to get and don't waste coins on something you might never use, I have already said chop out pins and press in new don't waste your time pressing worn out crap and then you have to learn the secret of how to keep the link space correct to be able to fit the plate. tctractors p.s. I have just looked at the 200 Ton video, the chaps look to have a bit of D5B (6.91 pitch) chain to work on and that many bits a bobs it's like a Rubic Cube, I would be loading my kit back in the truck working out the Bill while those lads are still trying to work out how to assemble their fine tool, laughable would be the word.
Tony..........I appreciate the feedback. Please understand, I'm starting with basically nothing and am looking to buy a good starter set. Yes, I understand you have a plethora of experience and knowledge doing this.......that is why I am inquiring from you. I wish, as do many others on here; that you were closer so that I could come and spend some time with you to learn your secrets and hard won knowledge regarding final drives and pin pushing. I want to be that sponge to soak up knowledge. I'd love to be able to know it all, but I don't..........I readily admit that.....hence the multiple questions. When I was growing up, my family had a pile driving company. I soaked up whatever knowledge and experiences my father, uncles, and grandfather shared with me. Learned to drive tractor trailers in the yard when I was 10 or 12. Summers, my brother and I spent cleaning the boilers, painting the booms and cabs of cranes..........whatever we were told to do. Learned how to run cranes after we learned how to maintain them. I went to college and got my civil engineering degree because I was the heir apparent. Family in fighting destroyed the company while I finished college. Ended up working on a tugboat after being offered a job. Went from coastal tugs pushing fuel to ocean going boat. Worked my way up from deck ape to chief engineer and held a 200T masters/ 500T mates license. Have traveled from Venezuala to Quebec, Canada and every where in between. Experience of a lifetime!! That was in my 20's. Got tired of going away and put my college degree to use. Worked on the Big Dig in Boston for 10 years with one of the major heavy highway companies. Figured I'd be with them for life...............wrong. They went bankrupt. The bonding company ended up finishing their contracts. Got another job with another heavy highway company. Thought I had it made in the shade. Nice salary, $850/month vehicle allowance, fuel card, fast pass, and they provided 100% coverage for good health insurance to their engineers. 6 years with them.........my daughter was 2.........she was diagnosed with leukemia. My wife and daughter lived at Childrens hospital in Boston for 8 months during the worst part of her cancer and treatments (its all good now........she's 15 and strong and healthy). I ended up getting laid off 6 months into her treatments. I'll never......ever........forget that day when I walked into the hospital room at 1pm instead of showing up at 5pm as per routine. My wifes face brightened and she said "What a nicce suprise!! Your here early!!". Then she must have read my face and I had to tell I had just been laid off. Nothing but a number to them. The costs out weighed the benefits. Something I didn't know and found out a few years later..........the more you use the health insurance, the more it costs the company in premiums. I was costing the company a boatload with the insurance because my daughter got sick!! Found that out a few years after I got laid off from a friend in the company. That was when I made my decision to start my own repair business. I enjoyed the work, something I could do by myself, and I already had a bunch of tools........not nearly enough, but quite a bit more than I needed to start. My biggest lament has been not being able to soak up ALL of my fathers, uncles, and grandfathers knowledge regarding construction and equipment repair. They could take a crane apart and have it back together again the next day, it seemed. I would have loved to be able to plug into their brains before they passed and copied all of that knowledge and put it into my head!! 2 generations of experience and knowledge gone!! And every new generation needs to learn it for themselves either the hard way or from someone who has been there and learned the ins and out. So dude..........this is why I and others pepper you with questions and ask for your sage advice. So we can, hopefully; learn from your experiences and hard won knowledge. So when you say I need to learn the secret of keeping the link spaced and you would have already had the job done and figuring the bill before the manufacturer had the bits installed and they started work.............great. Guess I'll just figure out for myself what might be a good starting point and entry press and hope I've made the best choice that I can expand on. Not trying to be discourteous. I appreciate everything you've imparted and the time you've taken to reply. Your just being a little cryptic. This is the rig I would get if I were starting and out and this is why. This is what I do to keep the spacing between the links and why. Thank you again........
Brother, sounds like you got 'er all figured out with the regard to 336 track work you seem to be working on a lot...lots of people come on here with questions looking for advise and such...same people get responses with years of cumulative experience/advise and then just want to debate it. Hope that the decision you finally make on your tool purchase fills the need, provides a good return on your investment and more importantly, you are comfortable with the decision you made to invest/purchase the press in the years to follow (and just so you know...there are much better investments in life than tools). Regards, Bob
I'd like to think I do............but I don't. Wish I knew all there is to know about heavy equipment.........I don't. I guess I'm going to go with the 100T press from WTC Machinery. That seems to the most prevalent size going. What swayed me on that setup is they have the tooling for that rig for the Positive Pin Retension system (PPR)..............so should I need it or run into a machine with it, well it will be available and I won't have to figure out on my own what the tool should look like or how its designed. NOW, the caveat to that is; hopefully they've already spent the time and have it dialed in so it works. I think we can agree (I know I've run into this before) that just because you buy a tool for a purpose or task, doesn't mean its going to work. Bought a few tools only to have them not work or need modification. Still trying to wrangle over the C press or tie rod system. Both systems have there pro's and cons. I've asked the manufacturers if they have sold any in New England area so I could go and look at one, maybe try them out, and ask the owners opinions. No such luck. I've asked for current customers references and if I could call them to speak with them......they are unwilling to call the customers and get that permission and won't give their info out due to privacy (which I get). So, in a nutshell; best guess it is!! (Much like diagnosing an intermittent problem!!LOL) As for much better investments in life............YES!! The beauty of working for yourself is you can TRY and set a schedule. My wife had to travel this week for work and I've taken my daughter to 3 dentists appointments getting her braces off. She got to eat her first corn on the cob last night in years!!! I think that was awesome to be able to be there so experience that........mom was pretty bummed out she wasn't here for that!! Little things like that...........priceless. Now if I were still working for a big corporate heavy highway company..........nope!! I invest my money in things that are going to make me money. Tools make me money. I've run into the need for a track press more than a few times. Time to just bite the bullet and pull the trigger and buy one. The need is there. I also do some heavy investing in the stock market and other financial instruments. Yeah, the market is down.........but I look at it as everything is on SALE for bargain basement prices!! Just pulled the trigger today on more CAT stock. Have been mulling that over for the last 6 months. They are into more than just heavy equipment. Thank you for your input..........I appreciate it!!
I didn't know that PPR was available for an excavator so I checked my book and low and behold it lists it for the forestry machines. That would be logging shovels, bunchers and processors. I find that odd because I've probably measured more undercarriages on forestry machines that all the PSSRs in this territory combined. I've only seen it on large dozers, D9, D10 and D11. I don't know that you can push a master pin on one of those machines with a 100 ton C press. Maybe someone can pipe up and inform us.
Post some pics when you get it!
Can appreciate the Keystone thread arrangement and step to stop the one end of tie rods, nice less cumbersome than C Type.
You, sir; would know better than I regarding PPR. As for a D10 or D11..........I would be a bit dubious, myself; as to whether the 100T unit would work on that size. And honestly, I don't think I'd want to play with something that size. I'm just not sure where the PPR system is used and what size its used for. I'd rather have the option to be able to tackle a PPR system if need be. So the 150T tie rod setup is $16k without the tooling. Decisions, decisions......... John..........what book is it that you refer to?? I'd be interested in looking at that. Mike L.............as soon as I get it, I'll post pics. Maybe if your down this way you could come over and check it out.........Hell, I'll even offer to drag it up with me next time go up to camp. You could come down to Augusta, we could meet up, and check it out then!!! LOL Dmiller.........when you say 'Keystone thread arrangement and step to stop' ..........the Keystone thread....is that like ACME thread?? (I'll have to google that) Like saying 'Hand me that Crescent wrench' is the same as saying Adjustable wrench?? Or a circular saw is also a Skilsaw??LOL
Everything you wanted to know about ACME thread and thread rolling................. https://www.keystonethreaded.com/why-roll-threading/ Dmiller...........thank you for giving me the impetus to google Keystone Thread. Awesome video and explanations on ACME thread. And I learned a new term for ACME thread as well!! Pretty interesting on how they make the thread on the rods. Look at the size of the driveshafts on the video!! Tell me there is some torque that isn't being applied!!LOL On the tug I was last on we had 2000hp Fairbanks Morse engines coupled to Lufkin reductions gears. Gearing was 2.341-1. 12" shafts going out to the wheels. Sometimes you needed to get under the deckplates for whatever reason, close by couplings. The joke was, there wouldn't even be hiccup.........just a pink mist if you got tangled up.
Edition 17 Cat Custom Track Service handbook. i worked on Fairbanks Morse 38ND81/8 generator sets in the Navy.
LOL........yup!! 38D 8 1/8 opposed piston, direct reversing, medium speed diesels!! Incredibly quiet compared to Alcoa's or EMD's. Those engines just purred along. Changing out a liner was a BEAR though, compared to the EMD's!! LOL Fairbanks had a shop in Norfolk, VA on Tidewater dr...........if memory serves correctly. Every time we were in Norfolk, I'd go off shopping!!!LOL Used to do some wheeling and dealing in there. I had to rent a U haul one time to bring my prizes back to the boat!! I was banned from making 'UNAUTHORIZED' purchases after that. The company was sympathetic with me when I explained what I bought, why, and how much it would have cost them if we went 'the normal channel'. Good job, nice haul..............don't ever do it again!!LOL
We had two of them for reactor support. 1000KW for reactor fill and auxiliary support. Turned 900 RPM, had twin fuel injection pumps per cylinder, dry sump lube system, air start, two stroke monsters. The navy provided us with all the special tools to work on them if they had problems. We had fuel dilution problems because oft he JP-5 fuel we had to run. Changed all the injection pumps out on both engines. Had water get in the day tank of the forward diesel another time and the filters worked. Killed the engine instead of ingesting all that water. During a bearing check we found a broken rod bearing shell and had to change it out. Not a lot of issues in the four years I was on that boat. PM me your email if you want a copy of the undercarriage manual.
Our engines were set for 800 rpm..............maybe 820 rpm rack trip out for overspeed. We cruised at 720 rpm. We had a couple of shaft generators set behind the reduction gears. That was beautiful, because we could shut down the scream'in detroits gen sets. It was such a relief to be able to switch to shaft gensets after we were offshore and stretched out (barge on a long wire). Cool the gensets down at idle and then such satisfaction shutting them down. A kind of peace settled over the whole boat. Firing up one of the detroits in the middle of a cruise, without being close to an expected port...........that was usually a good sign of trouble and caused the whole boat to turn out. If we got into the crap and needed to slow to a jog or a walk to keep the barge from getting beat to bad then we had to fire the gensets up. Amazing how tuned in you got to a boat and its usual noise, shudders, and vibrations. Was that an upper or lower rod that broke?? Still remember setting up the chainfalls for the up crank removal. Used 6 of them spread along that crank, marking the vertical drive, disconnecting all 10 rods...................10 cylinders.............20 pistons!!! We didn't have problems with fuel dilution because we just burned No. 2 fuel. Changing out an injector was pretty easy.........as I recall........just pull the old one, put the new one in, and set the shim height with the pump stroke gauge...............only easy if you know how to do it. Man..........I haven't thought this much about those engines in a long time. Fairbanks Morse.........suck, squirt, squish, bang, blow...........repeat hundreds of times a minute!! Those engines were just about bullet proof. We had made a run up to Levi, Quebec through the St. Lawerence. Coming back we had exhaust gas coming out of the FW expansion tank. Cracked liner............kept getting worse as we chugging south. Company wanted us to keep going, because if stopped in O'Canada again then that meant a pilot in and out of whatever harbor we chose, shipping agents, and dealing with customs. Finally talked them (das company) into letting us stop in Shelburne, Nova Scotia to change out the liner. We were heading down to Pascagoula, Mississippi from O'canada. Ahhh..........good times...........ohhh, we had really crap weather forecast for going across the gulf of Maine...............hence, NO WAY, JOSE!! We stop and fix!!LOL Joke I usually played on the new guys. Mid watch........put survival suit on.........show up in pilot house ......."I've got good news and bad news.......whadda wanna hear first??" The good news!! "Ok...........the fires in the engine room are being put out!!" what's the BAD news??!!! "We're sinking!! That's what's putting the fires out!!" Quick shine of the flashlight on my chest showing the bright orange gumby suit............"I'll see you guys back at the life raft. Last one out don't forget the EPIRB!!" LOL
I can't remember for sure anymore but I think they were eight cylinder. I was told the double fuel pumps were to ensure the engines could take the startup load that would hit them in a reactor fill. You bring back some memories though talking about the feel of the ship. Our berthing was above and to the back of the aft engine room. Most everyone would wake up when something changed.
RIGHT!!!! Amazing how in tune you became to the boat........your home. Just remembered some fun moments, thinking back...... We'd get in the gulf stream and the flying fish would be everywhere. At night, they seemed to get confused and aim for the deck lights on the boat. If it was nice out, people would leave there portholes open to get some air into their cabins. A few times, we'd scoop one of the wayward fliers and toss them into a cabin or 2. It seemed more often than not, the crew member whom we'd played the gag on would sleep right through the flapping of the fish on their bunk or in their cabin. They'd usually find it at watch change. It was hard keeping a straight face in the galley when they were telling you all about it. I think Fairbanks had 6,8, 10, and 12 cylinders. Pretty sure about the 6's and 8's (you confirmed this on the 8's). Definitely had the 10's. I was told they used the 10's in WW2 subs. And the I think I remember reading in a manual about the 12's. A 50-100 rpm change would bring people up out and pretty quickly. If it were rough out, then not so worrisome. FACTTR (Flat Ass Calm Teeny Tiny Ripples........a real log book entry for both engine room and pilot house.........I can't think of who invented that..........but it stuck forever) If it were smooth and nice, engine rpm changes would bring you up and out to see what was going on. Now keep in mind.......we're usually offshore whatever the best route and currents are. Heading S we followed the TV route, catching back eddies off the gulf stream. Coming N, we stayed right in the heart of the gulf stream way offshore. I'll take you up on that track book, thank you!! I'll PM you after the weekend.
Ok...............so after mulling, stewing, and analyzing..........I finally pulled the trigger on a 100T pin press from WTC machinery. I was in a quandry over getting the 100T press or the 150T press. 150T press was $5-6k more. I talked it over with a couple of my buddies. That really didn't help........."Yeah, 100T would be GREAT!! But it would nice to have the 150T in case you ever need it........." So I took a week or so and dwelled upon it. Monday the sales rep called. I got more info out of him on that call than I had the other 4 phone conversations I had with him. I was so pissed that I was going on Linked In looking for someone else in the company to talk to. I asked him in the intitial coversations, which track press they sold the most.............his answer was "Well, it all depends on your needs........" How to dance around the subject. He gave more ambiguous answers to my other questions. Yesterday he called and gave definitive answers to my questions. I told him flat out, this is the best conversation we've had in all the times we have talked. Don't be ambigous and give people answers. He told me yesterday that they move more 100T units than anything else............after I asked him for a 3rd time in the 4 different phone calls. Anyway..........I can feel my heart rate going up thinking about the previous calls.........its on order. I'll post pics when it shows up.
So the 100T Ball Joint press shipped Friday..............according to tracking, will arrive at the terminal on Weds. Sadly, with this heat we've been having.........not looking forward to it showing up. Just means more bull work of taking tracks apart.............been busy cleaning condensers and stuffing 134 back into them. Gotta keep the meat linkage cool otherwise the heat disconnects it from the controls and you get error messages!!LOL
Well...............I picked up the 100T press yesterday afternoon. Is it sad that I felt kinda like a kid at Christmas morning??? I unstrapped the press and box of fittings in the yard of the freight company, inspected quickly, then loaded it up into the truck. It was kind of funny. A guy brought the pallet out to the truck and positioned himself right behind the back bumper with it 3 ft in the air. He looked at the mess in the back (I hadn't made room yet) and asked "Where do you want it??" I told him just put it on the ground, I'll be all set. "How are you going to get it into the back of the truck??" I have a crane. "But its too heavy to lift and get it into the truck by yourself?? I'll just slide it as far as I can with the forklift" I have a crane. "Did you want to unstrap it and then put it in without the pallet?? I think we can do that." I have a crane. Just put it on the ground please. It took a while but I finally conveyed I didn't need the forklift. So I got the kit home, pulled out the hydraulic pump and hoses after looking it over. Started coupling up the hoses.........the fitting for the retract cylinder was in there hand tight. Started looking further...............bolts not screwed all the way in...........***. Ok, we treat this like a Harbor Freight tool. Go over and check every nut and bolt. Tightened the hydraulic fitting, the extend fitting was tight, tightened all the other bolts..........the bolts for the ram were loose too. The bolt (1/2" x 13) to hold the receiving collar wouldn't screw all the way in. But someone had put some ooommph into tightening that. The bolt came out all burred up. Chased the bolt hole with a tap. I didn't have another 2 1/2" x 1/2" bolt to replace that one. Chased thread on bolt with a die. NOW.............WOOHOO............We're ready!! Put some juice to her!! Extended the ram to its limits, brought pressure up to 9k psi.............no leaks!! Retract ram........bottomed her out............ran pressure up........4k..........5k............6k............needle bouncing........***. There is a pressure relief valve next to the retract fitting. Nothing in the manual regarding what the setting is. I had ASSUMED it would be 10k psi. Keep in mind........I've been studying this manual so I could know it when the unit showed up!!! So the pressure relief valve vents to atmosphere.........the brand new manual sitting on the back bumper is now soaked in oil, my new phone that replaced my phone that got crushed by a dump truck tire last week is now covered in oil, my glasses are now speckled in oil (we all know how much fun it is to look through a windshield covered in oil). I'M PISSED!! I call WTC...........woman answers the phone...........I coarsely ask to speak to tech support. What model?? FP100 What's the problem?? I need to know what the pressure relief valve is set at. She then takes on an air of superiority........"WELL.........the pressure relief valve is set by the manufacturer at their factory." GREAT!! WHAT'S THE SETTING??!! I didn't ask WHO set the pressure relief valve. PLEASE give me tech support!! It's hot, I'm covered in oil, my phone is covered in oil, the manual is soaked, and I need to do my own QC on a unit I just paid over $15k for..........***!!! So tech support gets on the phone and explains that pressure relief is set at 5k psi. WHY ISN'T IN THE MANUAL???!!! Ahhhhh.......it should be. 5 minutes on the phone while he looks through the manual..............."Yeah, your right. Its not in the manual!! Here........let me give you a few email addresses you can write to make them aware of the lapse of information." I told him to email me those addresses. Like getting a toy at Christmas and its already broken!! Then throwing a little more salt in the wound............a bunch of paint had rubbed off during shipment and there were discernable holidays on the whole paint job. I saw this unpacking it at the freight yard. Figured they put it together while the paint hadn't cured yet. Wasn't too concerend about it. Over all.............big initial let down. I'll have to pick up another box of bolts today to fill the bin. I walked away last night and just let it sit hanging on the other trucks crane. I'll post pictures later tonight. Hopefully I've got the kinks worked out and it will perform flawlessly. Just not happy. On a positive note............the range of push pins and track pin holders look nice and should be useful. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.......
Where are these pictures I heard about?
WHO TOLD YOU ABOUT PICTURES?? SSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!! SECRET PICTURES!! Here ya go Mike, Fresh off the fork lift. I cut the banding off and cut all of the plastic wrap away. It was well packaged w/ a stout 'pallet' Home and hooked up.........running the ram out to test it and check for leaks. Just a view of the whole setup. Pump, hoses, etc.
This is the large pin assortment (I think.........I just grabbed a box and tore it open). Hot, end of day.......probably been hosed down with hydraulic fluid. These are the adapters for the pins in the box that I opened. 4 pins.........5 adapters. You can take the driver out and put the track pin in to drive it in. Flat face drivers. Some longer than others. The bottom left adapter with the roll pin showing on the inside is threaded into the ram, then the tool holder is put in. Camlock action on the roll pin
Cam lock pin and tool adapter Pin holder mounted in cam lock adapter The whole shooting match assembled........if you zoom in I have text descriptions
Mounted in the press..........the bar sticking out is for twisting the camlock in. Cam lock adapter.........note roll pin inside for camming action. Left handed thread Cylinder rod end with LEFT HANDED THREAD
RECEIVER MOUNTED IN END OF C PRESS.........again, zoom in and you can see annotation text
I'll post more later. Tried doing this from my phone last night.........I'm not that adept (as you can see from the size of text annotations) with phone or laptop. It's only easy if you know how to do it!! If you want particular pics of something............shoot a reply and I'll try and get them. Guess next week we'll take it out and fire it. LOL...........so when I was playing with this, after I got hosed down with oil, covered the phone in oil, soaked the new manual.............I heard a high pitched squealing from around the corner. Dog had gotten into a wood chuck. Dog faired fine, big fat woodchuck not so much..........had to drag the dog off, bring her home, grab gun, put woodchuck down, and then back to my problem at hand. Just wasn't in the mood for that at all. Felt bad for the wood chuck.
I cant under stand why its so hard to find out the good and bad points to some thing you want to buy . About 2 times in 100 will you run across a guy that will tell you flat out what you need to know. Good luck it looks like it should be a great tool to own.
GAWD I hope so...........that initial disappointment of having to go through and torque everything down...........because it was all loose or partially threaded in, needing to take a tap and chase the threads, running the die down the bolt that was galled up from someone trying to force it in (and me finding out I don't have any more bolts).........that was a kick in the teeth. The breaking point was oil spraying all over everything..................because they put a pressure relief valve in but don't tell you its set to 5k psi.........and everything else is rated for (stated in the manual) for 10k psi. It was the insincere "Sorry....." from the company. I'll take it out next week. Got a dozer to changes sprockets on..........need to pop a pin on that. CAT 330 that needs sprockets too........but I think that has master links. Those will be the litmus test and shake down cruise. Work my way up to bigger stuff.
Sucks to hear about your troubles. Hopefully once you get the bugs worked out it will work flawlessly. Looking forward to seeing it at work!
Yeah..........me too!! LOL Looks like its a well thought machine. It may turn into one of those.............WHY DIDN'T I BUY THIS SOONER!!! things. You don't miss what you've never experienced. Worked for years without a crane.............don't know how I did without it (well.........I know.........didn't lift it or found an excavator or loader.....or struggled). This Tuesday will be trial by fire. Diving on Sunday to move some moorings.............pulling out the 2,000lb lift bag and playing with that...........I'll bring one of those and a 1,000lb bag (well its 1100lbs/ 500kg) Getting paid to go swimming?? Ok!! But how are you going to pick them up?? Your crane won't reach way out here!! Bouyancy my friend, bouyancy!!
Maybe I should wait until Thursday of this week.............forecast for Thursday.........99F for a high, probably 80% humidity!!! Gonna have to sneak up to Mikes house and find out where he keeps his umbrella!! I've got a plan in my head for a misting system on the fan.........55G barrel of water in the truck, a pump, fan on high, and some nozzles on the fan!!! Now........just have to figure out the GPH. 10 GPH would work.
10 GPH works out to 21 ounces per minute. Think about someone squirting you with a large drink every minute. You'll be soaked ! Might as well work in a rain storm. Or maybe snow making during the Winter. For Summer cooling, you'll want the water to evaporate before hitting you and the machine as droplets. A repurposed paint sprayer to put mist into the air stream.
Lowes has a misting fan that sits on top of a 5 gal bucket you fill with water.
I’ll trade you my umbrella for your track press. Then you’ll have shade and won’t get all sweaty doing track work! Don’t answer now, just give it some thought.
And its cordless!! One of the reviews said the batteries last 2 hours each, which is nice. Now the conundrum................buy this and have more different batteries. I use Milwaukee and have a plethora of those. My wife likes to go out and buy cordless things..........we have some Dewalt cordless tools (small shop vac, a brad nailer, and somethine else). Then she bought some green cordless hedge trimmer. Sent that back and got a milwaukee. Just seems we have bunch of different cordless tools that take different batteries and then some of the batteries get crap run time and there is only one. You'd need to rig up a way for the bucket and fan to hang off the crane. Reading the reviews, people seem to love them. And then my other thoughts are............here in New England, we really only get a week or 2 of the really HOT icky weather..........do I really need it?? Or just suffer through with the fan and Mikes umbrella I'm going to steal??LOL Its like when we get the artic vortex.............you just layer up and suffer through. Then when it warms up to 20F after a week you feel like its spring time. I've got a couple of torpedo heaters in ready reserve for those days. You get the calls that "It won't start......." Jumper cables on the batteries, blasting heat underneath............usually fires up after 30 minutes or so of defrost. Those just sit all year, take up space, collect dust, get in the way..........LOL
I bet if you look on EBay you can find an adapter to adapt your Milwaukee batteries to the Kobalt tools and for us it’s a few months of hot nasty weather but balanced by a usually mild winter so fans and shade are a must down here. Some of our field mechanics use Pipeliners Cloud umbrellas.
The misters work well but make bare steel rust fast.
We don't need no stinking umbrella!!LOL My umbrella........
100 tons Bison track pin press https://bisonpowertools.com/goods-24
What size are those threaded rods ?
М 36 strength grade 14.9 + special nuts.
I used one of the "Bison" pin presses to remove a really stuck kin pin in a truck axle. A bit heavy to manhandle but was manageable with a helper to set up. I made a round adapter for the pin to push through mating to the spindle lower arm and once set up, the pin let go rather suddenly with near 25 tons against it. If looking for something easy to setup and simple to use, this is one to consider. I have no affiliation at all but have used the product and only relaying my experience(s). I've also used the same press to break a track on a D5B tractor and is was the same experience; good.
Monkeywithawrench How are you liking the press now? Do you feel like that model/brand is good quality? Minus your initial unboxing lol
So I've used the press only 3 times on smaller machines. This picture is from me using it on a CAT 312 with front blade. Customer had me take a link out because his track adjuster wouldn't tighten up the chain anymore. The bushings are all worn down to the pins. He just wants the low buck option to remedy it. Sooooo..............the customer is always right.........right?? So I've used it on the 312, 315, and 316. It fits between the blade just fine (I was worried about that). So compared to the old way of doing it.........BFH.......torch to take out old pin, etc. This was the cats ass!!! First time I used it I was very excited, to say the least; compared to the old way. Old way I would have worn out, sore, probably bleeding from a few spots, burned at least once, frustrated, sore (yes..more sore than sore), tired, and profanities galore flying from my mouth while I questioned (once again) my life choices. My first couple of tries I had a hard time keeping the frame lined up on the track keeping the driving pin pushing straight. The receiver bushing would want to move off the link and twist the frame. I think the press went up to 5-6k psi on the initial push before breaking the pin free. The pin had been wearing on the lower track guides so it was a bit mushroomed maybe on the end?? On the list of things to do is get a pressure gauge that records (marking needle) the max pressure. I can't remember what they call them.........I have some for 3k psi for setting relief valves. Putting the new pin into the links I chose a driving pin holder that was just about the size of the new chain pin. Inserted the new pin into the holder and started into the link with that. After that bottomed out, I put the the flat face tooling onto the ram and finished it that way. I worked out. So all in all.............I like it. Basically the first one I've used and owned. Only watched and helped with a tie rod unit. I'll equate it with not having a crane for years and then getting a truck that has one...........how did I FUNCTION without it!! I think I like the rigidity of the frame for holding it in place compared to the tie rod unit. BUT you can always take up the nuts on the tie rods or back them off to adjust the ram position. The framed unit you need to wait while you run the ram out or back in............think after you get the pin popped out.........takes a while to get the ram stroked back in to pull the C frame out. I think I have some track work this winter on a 336 and a 329. That will be a good test. The bigger chain will probably make things go smoother. My buddy ended up picking up a WTC 150T unit a few weeks ago. This is a tie rod unit. Takes the same tooling as the 100T unit (I think.....just from looking at it). It was one of those right place, right time, right person deals. Picked it up for $2500 with alot of the tooling. That's a big ram on that thing!!
I was wondering the same thing. What does one call those gauges? This is what I found ... "...A "Peak" or "Max Pressure" indicator can be added to many gauges to indicate the maximum pressure or temperature reached in the system. This additional indicator will stay at the maximum reading until reset by customer when desired by using the supplied tool. The tool can either remain on the gauge or be removed to prevent tampering or accidental resetting. This type of additional indicator is known by many other names such as "Follower Pointer", "Drag Pointer", "Tell-Tale Pointer" or "Slave Pointer". Available built to order in nominal diameters 63/100/150mm and normally supplied dry (without glycerine). Glycerine filled is an option on the 100mm diameter only at additional cost." From this site... http://modusgauges.com/special-purpose-instruments/peak-/-max-pressure-gauges/cat_29.html#:~:text=A "Peak" or "Max Pressure" indicator,or temperature reached in the system.&text=A "Peak" or "Max,reached in the system.&text=or "Max Pressure" indicator,or temperature reached in
So one flaw with the unit............and its a minor one. This attaches to the ram. A bushing goes into this to hold the proper driving pin. This tiny delicate little screw gets screwed against the pin to hold it in place. See pic below.................... So this is a pic of the pin bushing inserted into the receiver. Note the hole inside the bushing for the delicate little screw to go through. Guess what happened to that delicate little screw?? Folded, bent, mutilated and mushroomed!! The hole in the bushing will accept a 1/4-20 bolt. Or maybe drill and tap to a 5/16th?? Silly idea to put such a delicate little screw in there. Anyway...........the cap screw wouldn't come out because the end got bent and threads deformed. Heated the **** out of it and tried running in and out to straighten it and get the screw out so I could put a bushing in to start the new chain pin into the link. The screw snapped and I ended up drilling it out. Destroyed 2 of my precious Vortex drill bits in the process. So I haven't modified it yet.............trying to take advantage of the 70F days we're having.............while getting rusty plow trucks ready to do battle. So this is my only beef ................other than THE **** JOB OF QC THOSE CLOWNS AT WTC DID regarding this unit. Funny, but I wrote those clowns at WTC a very long letter, with photo documentation; detailing their failings regarding QC, fit, finish, and torque of the fasteners (Let us not forget the lack of mentioning the relief valve nor setting of said relief valve in documentation provided) and I never heard back from them. One would expect, maybe; a reply of 'Thanks for bringing this to our attention.' at the very least............apparently not. Probably just another case of 'We don't care, we have your money now.........' alot of that going around lately, it seems.
NICE!! I just did a quick search on the Winters website.............no joy. I'm going to have to dig up a gauge out of the truck. I'm pretty sure they are Winters gauges that I have. I'll look tomorrow. Thank you for digging that up!! I appreciate that
Yes those are puny. Maybe once you got that out and threads clean you can replace with an Allen set screw so it's not in the way?? Also they make an adjustable 2 way chain to hold those pin presses. I'm not sure of the make or P/n but I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow for you. It's very handy for quick adjustment for tilt instead of your come a long. With that being a double acting cylinder does it really take that long to retract? I'm assuming you are using a 110v pump not a hand pump...
Here is a picture of it.
Wow..........I can't think tonight...............just had to look up who makes the pump I have. I use an Enerpac air/hydraulic pump.........not electric. Pump for double acting cylinder...............slow............but have you ever had the wonderful fight with GFCI's on electric units??? I prefer the air instead of dealing with those GFCI's, thank you very much. Might be a little slower............but they work all the damn time.
No I haven't ran into those kind of troubles with one yet. I've used this style pump many times in different applications and my only troubles have been only a leaking pump. They are expensive right at $3,000 but they are quick!
So is there a locking feature on the other side of the block?? Keep it from see sawing back and forth if you pressed down on the end of it?? I kind of like the positive locking action of the come along. I can see me tripping or stumbling and reaching for the end of the press and WHAM!! bad things happen..............blood, cussing, fussing, more questions about life's choices, etc. LOL
Lol yes It's positive both ways!
I have fought many a battle with GFCI's and extension cords running through snow, mud, etc. I HATE IT!!!! Yeah, the electrics are faster.............air is more reliable (my opinion.......and experience when its wet out). I have a Miller Airpack and my hydraulic driven compressor on the truck. Chances are one of them will work for me. I really hate playing find the fault when I want to use a tool. I even hate it when I'm chasing a wiring harness.
Who makes it?? I can't see on the pic. I've got to hit the pillow.........my body says it 12:40........my clock says it 11:40...........pumpkin time!!
I definitely can't argue on reliability your right on that. If you too get one of those adjustable blocks it is very tempting to leave an impact hanging off the adjustment bolt.... don't do it. Your noggin will thank you sometimes I just have to learn the hard way!
I'll check the mfg tomorrow. Good chatting thanks for the info on the press.
Nice chatting with you too!! Happy to share what I know. Thanks for showing me that block............I appreciate that!!
Last job with bison track pin press
I've got one just like H621, had it for years, the older I get the better I like it, had to reseal the cylinders this past summer, have two pumps for it, an electric and an air operated pump, both came with the press I bought used many years ago. I also have an assortment of hydraulic gear pullers that came with the press used at the time, along with a host of hollow bore cylinders, cylinder spanner wrenches and enough stuff to fill a small enclosed car trailer at the time, used every one of them over the years and looking back, the best money I ever spent and also remember everyone thinking and saying at the time I needed to be committed to a mental ward for buying it all..................today is another story, I've heard hundreds of times how great it was I bought it all and how cheap it was now looking back on what I paid. Standing there holding the button while you press out or in a master pin or anything never gets old. The older one gets, the nicer it is to use hydraulics to do most everything, the whole hold the button or pull the lever to transmit tons of power to save wear and tear on your body, is the only way to go. Great purchase and just remember what you paid for it, so in 30 years from now you'll get more for it used than today price new is, pretty much how things work out in the end, especially good quality tools.
Sorry it took me so long to post but here's the ordering info.
Nice!! Thank you for looking that up and posting it. Looks like they are about $800. MRO supply lists a LR2000 but it looks like an engine leveler. https://www.mrosupply.com/hydraulic...O4gCU8bYJAfHm0iBWGG8HWxxYH9wl1WhoCdiwQAvD_BwE These guys show a pic of the chain leveler. https://www.gghyd.com/cylinders/flo...team-load-rotor-2000-lb-upc-662536001298.html But they both have the same model number "LR2000". Gonna have to make some phone calls later this week.
If you don't need one that fancy, even Home Depot has them https://www.homedepot.com/p/American-Forge-Foundry-Engine-Tilter-INT582/207047692 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=engine+sl...sb&atb=v342-1&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images I had one similar, just acme thread that moves the center of gravity, worked well for many years. Joe H
Well it's here twice. Why isn't there a delete option on edit?
So I got called to work on a 580K to reseal some pistons. Home owner borrowed it long term from a 'friend'. Bucket piston and outrigger piston needed to be resealed. The Home Owners son, who is quite handy (his words, not mine); tried to do it. Pin on the front bucket cylinder stuck in there good. He couldn't get the bolts off from the front. There is nothing left of the bucket on the front. The pin on out rigger was mushroomed on both ends from beating it cold with a sledge hammer. I did the front piston, used 1/2 a tank of oxy/acetylene heating the pin up to get it to move. Had been really hoping to get both done in 1 day.............NOPE!! Went home at end of day, loaded up track press. Showed up next day.......grind, grind, grind.......got one end un-mushroomed. Track press on...........7k + psi to break the 1.5" pin free. Gotta get a max pressure indicator gauge for the pump. Every time I use this I remember how much fun it was to HEAT and BEAT the pins.........and how sore I was the next day!! I added $300 to the bill for popping that pin out..........after trimming the mushroomed ends. And they decided that since I was there.......this was first thing on the first day...........Hey, would mind resealing the boom cylinder to?? Since your here......... I had to explain to them that I don't carry seal kits for every color and variety ..........that they need to be ordered. Next week sometime........and now I'm remembering next week is almost Christmas!!! Oh boy.......
A press is a very handy tool. But some presses don't fit or if they do fit they are not strong enough to push or pull the pin out. I learned a technique for burning out hucks on rail cars 35 years ago . I have since removed many a 6 inch by 1.5 to 3 inch diameter pin with a plain Oxy-Acetylene torch that uses a special technique to get a hole completely through a 6 inch pin. Whether I make it right through or not there is so much of the pin center missing that a fast chilling with cold water will shrink the pin greatly. I have tapped out many with a 4 pound hammer that 50 tons would not budge. I will see if I can draw a picture that explains how it is done. The last one I did with just a torch, The shop foreman and welding foreman were ready to cut out a large section of the frame on a grader to get it out. I had it out in less than 30 min., with this technique and there was lots of big eyes. Learned the technique in Transcona Welding Shops of C.N. Rail in 1984. Just a couple small tricks to make it successful versus a failure. Will see if I can post the procedure on the weekend. Simon C
Gas lance is what many refer to them as. The portable pin press also works great as a portable press for anything else, we made a plate adapter for the end, so we can press bearings off of shafts in the field as well once the shaft is off whatever it is on. It was a bear to handle, but using a crane with a basket on the end of the cable, we hoisted it up over 80 feet to then hook it to a stuck bearing on the head shaft of a grain leg because we could get new bearings, but the not the holder the bearing was in, so we had to press it off the shaft far enough to cut the balls out of the bearing and not light the belt in the leg on fire, or start the corn in the leg on fire either. That took a slotted adapter we cut with a torch to fit on the end of the press so it slid over the shaft so we could then press the bearing out away from the housing about six inches or so, after we worked a half a day to get it away from the housing about an inch to fit in my cut adapter plate, wasn't pretty, but worked great once set up. Not sure the manufacturer even thought anyone would hoist a track press over 80 feet in the air in order to use it though. The pump also works great to prelube and make sure all the oil galley's are open and working when we overhaul engines, just hook the port a power hose up to the oil galley on an engine once its assembled and flip the engine over, take the pan off and you can see as you start the power unit up, if all the rod and main bearings are lubing like they should, along with all the rockers, also done this a few times when engine in machines I've bought had too low of oil pressure, before tear down we flipped the engine over and took the pan off, hooked the port a power up and discovered that one of the oil holes for the spray lubers was too large, shooting a large diameter of oil stream and once fixed, brought the oil pressure back up to normal operating pressure again without having to overhaul the engine, [hence the reason why the prior owner sold the machine, he didn't want to overhaul it]. The air pump we use all the time on my shop press, we made a hydraulic cylinder holder that fits my press, used a junk long cylinder, think maybe 30 inches long or so that sticks up above the press and once in, we can then shove in one push, key way broaches all the way through and have a two way air operated hydraulic cylinder. We then made another adapter to fit a shorter larger bore cylinder to it for a standard press cylinder using the same air pump for the track press to power it, built a small sided platform for it to set on at one side of the press and also remove it to use with all the hollow bore cylinders I have, that way if someone is using one power unit, we can keep going with the second air unit that came with the track press setup. Hydraulics are literally the best invention ever designed to save a person's back and body. The only issue we've had with the air operated pump is when it gets cold out, the silencer screen and filter will frost over and plug up and it then the pump won't work, to remedy that, we just unscrew the filter/silencer and let it bark, but have to use ear plugs instead, also had it on a few occasions, where the air lines and pump itself would freeze up due to frigid weather and be unusable and then we'd have to swap out and go with the electric pump instead till warmer weather came back or else you need a space heater aimed close enough to the air pump to keep it thawed out and working, much like any air impact wrench.
Nice set up and good work. I gotta say though............if a customer of mine saw me with that kind of set up trying to save a $50 pin, they would flip. My torch set up has that out in less than 5 minutes. I do the same with rail pins. It's always nice to have those kinds of tools for sure, but the expense versus the reward has never been that narrow in my world.
Exothermal lance, slice rod, brocco rod............some trade names for the lance. Worked on an ocean going tug, commercial diver.......still have my gear for underwater cutting and welding. After all.........what is a commercial diver?? Just someone who does it under water!!! The Brocco rods are coated for working under water........any Brocco rod/ Slice rod is basically a small diameter iron powder pipe. Lit with electrical current with oxygen being fed to promote through 100% oxygen.........my mind is failing trying to describe the process.........but thats it in a nutshell. I have slice rods...........this is sitting on the guys lawn......in pieces. And I guess he's particular about the grass. Spilled some hydraulic fluid and he had a coniption about the grass is going to get ruined. I mentioned burning a hole in the pin with the slice rod..........oh my, how will we protect the grass?? Why the **** did you take it apart here then?? Is what I asked. Oh well.............new pin and burning up the lawn were not cost efficient for him. Grinding the mushroom end and pressing were. And after I got it out..........this was the home owner "See!! Now you don't need to order a new pin!! You can just use the old pin." (ohhh boy!!) Randy.................I learned something today!! Never occurred to me to put the hydraulic pump on an oil gallery!! I've plugged them into 1/8" pipe thread or put a grease coupler on them to blow out and open up clogged grease fittings before. Never thought about engine oil gallery........makes perfect sense. New TOOL FOR THE MENTAL TOOLBOX!! Nice!! I've made up plenty of 'special wrenches' out of plate for rudder post nuts or prop shaft nuts. The tug I was on swung 88" stainless steel props, 5 bladed on 10" shafts. The son had called me around Thanksgiving about doing this. I told him to give 3-4 weeks. Last week he texted about being hot and bothered because I wasn't jumping on this right away and getting it done. I thought they might need it for a job. Front bucket is junk........all rusted out.....not saving it. They have no plans to work it..........maybe in the spring. Took it apart on the lawn. Plenty of places off the driveway in the woods to work on it. I don't know. Then they are asking about replacing all of the hydraulic hoses. I don't mind the work..........but please put a plan together of what you want. Oh well...........it's money.
As vetech63 said how many jobs will it take to pay for these expensive tools. If i can do it with a torch or lance, that is good enough. Customers just want it fixed without all the bells and whistles. Exothermic lances work well , but sometime they will not fit where a torch will. If a guy gets the grease or as much as possible out before burning, it always goes better. Need to have a large size tin or steel plate on the ground to catch the melting pin puddle because if it lands on concrete it will pop very badly. Handy to have someone standing behind you at 5 or 6 feet away directing air at the back of your head to stop the glasses from instantly fogging. Need good leathers and a water hose to quickly chill the big hole just put in pin to shrink it. It can be done very fast if organized with good torch and tip and sufficient gas and oxygen. Few of my tricks. Simon C
Lots of reading... My two cents worth. 100tons isn't enough. I've used a 150ton c frame style pin press and it struggled doing 30-40ton excavator tracks. I don't doubt that that tonnage is capable but in some instances struggles. I have the WTC 250 ton press. Bought used at RB auction then spent a bit on tooling. Couple things I'd like to share. WTC are a great outfit to deal with. Very helpful. The 250ton press is hideous in every angle except ability. It's a two crane job and is better to have two pairs of eyes with developed brains behind them. The more links you press the better you get and develop a system. I've got it down pretty good now. Good luck with your decision.
D11 link replacement
I've pressed many pins out over the years, not to save the 50-250 dollar pin, but to save the three weeks downtime while waiting for new pin to show up, and now with covid 19 a part of new lives, more like the six months waiting for the parts to show up might be closer to the reality of it, not to mention spending days on the phone trying to even find anyone who might be able to get it at all. Broke an excavator pin last year, think I posed questions about it on HEF here as well, turns out its discontinue due to covid I was told, basically hasn't been made it years, so got the whole BS story about needing a newer machine, fine, how much is that pin for a brand new excavator, that same cylinder pin, totally stunned the parts and sales guys as to why I wanted, it, since it didn't fit my machine asked them again, how much is it and how soon I could get it..........turns out, it too wasn't available and couldn't be quoted a price. Now that puts a whole new spin on that concept of buying a new machine for parts availability doesn't it, shut them all up right then and there, so I told them, maybe I'll go buy a brand new different brand excavator and do the determination by if that shaft for their new machine could be bought new...............turns out I tried that too and no that cylinder pin couldn't be bought for three other brands of new excavators either, all were on back order as well or not available at all and all blamed it on Covid as to why the parts couldn't be bought new, for their brand Took months to even get the shafting to make the pin, because the bulk shafting itself was on back order and everyone blamed it on covid. The days of just ordering the new shaft or pin and getting next day are over around here, and to have a machine shop make the pin, depending on the size takes a lot longer as well, as they say torches are faster to disassemble anything, but in the end, might end up costing the most when figuring downtime and parts unavailability so cost effective has a whole new meaning the last few years, didn't think I'd ever view it that way, but I guess the world is changing and maybe not for the better in many ways. Never thought I'd ever say myself, wait a second, can the new pin even be bought and if so how long will it take before you just torch it to pieces, or worse yet, just let it slop about six more months and when the parts finally do show up, we'll worry about it then. New age thinking I guess for a simple old problem.
As " Simonsrplant " said, there is no substitute for big equipment if working on big dollar equipment. How much customers want to pay depends on big production job or getting it fixed in next month or 2. If your going to torch out always good if it is a centre greased pin to blow out the grease into a rag, put a wire with 1/8 inch 90 degree bend on end into grease bore to find out which direction the grease cross drilled hole is. You want to start the burn 1/4 inch or so away from where that direction is and come back to that cross drilled passage when 80 percent around on burning. Before you start burning you can try to wash out any additional grease from bore and blow out thoroughly, but make sure whatever you use to wash out the grease is not laying close by as it will ignite once the sparks start flying. Not even a bad idea to have clean coveralls on that dont have any flammable residue, or you will go up in flames. In the end what works for each situation will be different. WTC makes a sledge hammer setup for knocking out pins that will work and some have made their own. A little heat and 12 LBS of hitting has taken many out. Simon C
I don't believe anyone here is criticizing the the tool purchase or the reasoning for its use. If it was taken that way the I apologize for that. My point was for my own operation with what parts or machine shops that are available to me at this point in time.....it would be extremely unfeasible for my own operation. There will always be occasions that that type of tooling is necessary, but I have the option of using the local dealer for their press equipment in those situations so I don't have $40k invested and sitting around for months not even being used. If I did undercarriage work full time? Thats a completely different story.
I'm sure everyone here can agree............the more tools you have, the more options you have to do a job. Slice rod/ exothermic lance, torches, presses, sockets and rachets from 1/4" to 1 1/2" drive. When a regular socket won't get on it, maybe a crowfoot will........nope, not enough room........now you get the flare crowfoot and that will get in there. The more tools you have, the more options open to you......... Simons............for the majority of my work a 100T press is going to do the job. Shortly after I bought that, my buddy managed to pickup a 150T WTC tie rod unit . Now I have that option available. I spent alot of time trying to figure out 'WHAT SIZE DO I WANT'. I pulled the trigger on the 100T. Track work is NOT my mainstay. I have a 10K crane w/ 25ft reach. Are there times I wish I had the 14k crane with 30ft reach.......yup. Randy............Your preaching to the choir. So tired of listening to the COVID excuse. I've got a friend who has a machine shop. I've had him make up quite a few pins out of 4140HT stock. So far.........I haven't run into a situation where I can't get steel to make things......so far (knock on wood). Had an EIK long reach boom that needed new pins and bushings brom the boom/ dipper stick down to the bucket. Pins and bushings were in Korea.........lead time was 2 weeks........then to get them shipped was more time. Made new pins to fit CAT bushings and seals. Line bored the holes in the boom to fit the bushings and seals. EIK didn't have stock on some of the bushings. Just easier to get CAT stuff in the future. So far I'm happy w/ 100T press. I'm 54..........can't turn wrenches all your life. If I need a bigger press, well; I have the 150T option from my buddy. After that...........I give up. Anything that takes over a 3" socket.......not playing.LOL My 2 cents...............and with inflation, that aint worth much anymore...........probably close to nothing.........so my opinion doesn't count anymore!!LOL
Also regarding the pin press..................makes putting a new pin or the old pin back in SOOOOO MUUUUCCCHHH easier!!! Old method.......soak new pin (or old pin) in liquid nitrogen to freeze. Flap disc to clean up old hole taking new pin, mic hole, mic pin. Sledgehammer to beat pin in.............sometimes it goes right in without a fight, sometimes it doesn't go in and fights you. Track press...........POW!! ZOOM!!! RIGHT TO THE MOON!!!.............pops the pin right in. Another bonus to having the track press.........easier pin installation. Just wanted to add that. (Edit) Vetech............not sure if your speaking to me when you say your not critizing. I never took anything you had to say as critical. I agree........most customers who own companies that do this for a living wouldn't hesitate at all........Blow it out!!
Wasn't being critical of anyone, just explaining how things have changed in my portion of the world. Sorry if it came across wrong.
LOL..........oh man.........this is getting confusing!!LOL Randy............I was addressing what V Tech said in his post. Too funny.......anyway. Randy, no apologies necessary. I don't think anybodies being critical of anyone here!! (GROUP HUG!!)Lol I've only got 1 feeling left at this point in my life. My wife took that and put it up on the mantle with my balls.LOL No feelings left to get hurt!!LOL VTech.........see what you started!!! YOU critical b*****d, you!!LOL Anyway............taking today and hiding from the rain/sleet/ snow. Sick kid home. Good day to just hide, sit by the fireplace, bring some wood in, clean the driveway, and finish Christmas shopping. Merry X mass, ya filthy animals!!! (from Home Alone)
Who would criticize anyone for buying a tool? Even my wife knows tools are good. Joe H
Joe H. True story, years ago my wife came to see me at the shop I was working in. Just so happened that the Snap On guy was there. Right up on his truck she went and ripped him up one side and down the other. Now, guys being as we are, we all crowded in to watch a guy get his *** chewed, happy it wasn't us !! She informed him, in words he could understand, that if he couldn't sell me more tools then she would call the Mac tool guy and see if he could do better !!! Back in those days our tools were tax deductable, and she, (we) needed those deductions. Snappy was stunned, told her he had wives yell at him before but NEVER for not selling enough tools !! He promised to do better....and he did... I have been lucky, she has always understood those tools pay the bills, and were never questioned.
Wife one saw the Snap-on guy as Satan's helper. Wife two says buy it. No longer Snap-on though, retired from it. Joe H
Don’t know if it’s relevant anymore but....Had an OTC 100T C frame with electric pump. Used it very often. Bought it reasonable and it paid for itself quickly. D9l and or EX800 was about as big as it could do. Did not regret the purchase. Wish I still had one
Was almost glad retired from the business to a different career at end of 90s, managed to continue with side work at home from last day in a Garage in 96 to 2000 then started selling it all off, Dope I was. 2010 bought this place then bought a loader and needed about half what I had basically given away at prices to make it all move, stuff I had left over helped on the C15 and KW work where only had to buy a few pieces to make that work. Still kind of regret ever having sold any of my old tools, yet is no way would go back to working as I once did as Body has told me cannot do it as once did.
Bison 100t track pin press
I’ve been seeing those bison presses online. Are you a dealer?
I’m is Bison, we makes and doing service with our local community.
What’s a 100 ton setup cost with the pump?
Brand new $12K full kit (press, tooling and electric pump) also available additional kit for this press
What’s in the additional kit?
Waiting to see this technique...
Mike, you get this, will be king of yard work for quite some time!!!
Last one we did was on a 45 ton Timberjack fellerbuncher. Roughly D7 dozer sized undercarriage. The main guy doing the work was almost 80 and made us look bad. Used a 20lb sledge to knock a pin out and reinstall.
The main guy doing the work was almost 80 and made us look bad. Used a 20lb sledge to knock a pin out and reinstall..... Them "old guys" have technique. My 74 year old hay mentor stacked a whole hay wagon behind the baler, alone. The next year, TWO high school "Football players" almost died on the same job.
Sucks being the better man at age. I too have swung a Twenty, still have one, do not and did not ever like it. Baled in my teens, did some as a favor to a friend years back and it too like to have killed me, was high heat no clouds and High Humidity with no breezes, we all took a beating that day young or old.
I’ve never seen a pin driven out successfully with a hammer. Most of the time we cranked up the press and hid behind the truck. The bad ones we had to crank up the press and smack the top of the frame with a bfh. Sounded like a shotgun going off.
Heat and Beat, praying did not de temper the link segments too badly.
Bison 80-ton pin press with punching adapter
In sandals really !!!! At least he is wearing gloves. d.d.
Harold Mathewson was 75 when I was 25. Not tall, but very BIG! He had a John Deere M, twin cylinder small tractor after he sold the farm he mowed the roadsides for the town. It must have been out of time, it kicked like a mule when crank starting. Harold held the crank two handed & the front of the tractor would jump as it kicked! In an earlier day he bought his hay baler. I don't know the weight of his bales. He had a teenager stacking bales on a wagon built for loose hay. Harold walked out to pick up bales with a hay fork. He would use the fork to offer them up 5-1/2 feet above the ground to be taken by the helper and stacked.
Bison made a new video about portable track pin press
Its a crap video that shows how to wreck up the press kit not impressed 1 bit, the press was heading to fall on the floor and smash the oil line off at the end, if you go in for this type of work the press must always be hanging on a strap or supported.
3rd person ?
Georgia Iron: Here is the technique. Here is the low budget way to take pins out as per previous posts. It is important to get grease out of pin if it is center drilled and cross drilled. Grease reacts kind of violently to torching. This picture is of about a 3-4 inch pin. To start with we will assume the pin is horizontal. We have to have a catchbasin or dirt hole for the molten steel coming out to fall into cause if it falls on concrete it will pop up and burn you good. You need to have on good leathers, good torch with tip to cut 6 inch plate if that is the length of the pin. You will need a high output fan behind you aimed at the back of your head to stop the extreme heat coming off the pin from fogging out your glasses. I use a guy with a 1/2 inch air line blowing freeflow at the back of my head from about 4 feet behind me.This is to ensure there will not be any fogging up issue. You will need a garden hose or something similar to shrink the pin the second the torch shuts off. If it is an non greased pin then proceed with the torch,. however make sure there is no cumbustibles around to burn machine down. If it is a greased pin then blow out the grease and wash passage with a little varsol but this needs to be cleaned before the real job. A wire with a 3/16 bent 90 on the end can be used to find cross drilling by pushing it in and the bent 90 will eventually hit a cross drilled hole.. Move a little ways from the cross drilled hole and this is where the torching will start. Think you will need about 50-60 PSI of oxygen and about 6 pounds of acetylene. You will be making about a 2 inch circle with the torch. It will require a full 1.25 to 1.75 turns to blow out the opposite end. The first rotation will take about 45 seconds or more to do as a 2inch circle is more than 6 inches in length. It is a good idea to get yourself in a good position first and do a trial cut with no torch on to get the idea in your head, and the feel in your arms. Make sure the air source at the back of your head is sufficient. It is a good idea to have the hole at a 10 to 20 degree upward slope to help the lava run out, as it will be a fair river coming out. You will be torching very slowly around until you make it to the starting point again. I have had a torch cut out but if the oxygen is still on and the travel speed is slow enough it will keep cutting. Good to do practice run first as I said before. Once finished first revolution keep right on going in same direction for round 2. There will be a tremendous amount of heat at this point and you can start the second turn in same location as first turn without ever stopping. The last time I did one I hit hardened grease about 4 inches in that caused a few fire balls to shoot out but I kept on melting until the Attempt had failed or so I thought. I did not make it through but had a 2inch hole in the pin 4 inches deep that was red hot. Hit it with the garden hose till cooled right off. Did a short hole from the opposite side of the pin with same technique and hit the same grease passage but put a sizable hole in pin. Hit it with garden hose also. Took out a 4 pound hammer and with about 5 taps the pin was out. It shrunk that much from going from red hot to harden hose cold, with about a 2inch hole in it. The welding foreman and shop foreman were both in disbelief as 75 tons of press at 10000psi did not move it. I have done the spring hanger pin on an old Mack truck that was about 1.25 inches diameter and 5-6 inches long, and when the first half was burn't out and cooled the pin tapped out easily. We use to burn out 5-6 inch 3/4 hucks at the railroad with the same technique. Please have a fire extinguisher or 2 on hand and wear all the safety gear. This is not a substitute for an oxy-lance or bigger press, but unfortunately they do not always fit and I own neither. Hope this helps. Simon C
I bought a pile of near-new Berco Cat D4 size track chains recently from a port that had some handling experiment going on. They purchased a pile of these chains, they barely used some and seem to have never used most of them. Then then set them in a storage yard for about 5 years, then they sold them as scrap. So I fought off a few other interested buyer and won them. But the link numbers are all over the place, most seem to have 44 links and a couple have 30 links. I sold 2 sets of chains to 2 different buyers who own old D4C's and they need new tracks, so I need to adjust the track chains to 36 links for these guys. The last time I set foot in a track shop, they essentially wanted a AU$1000 just to even press out one pin. The local track shops get spoilt beyond belief with mining companies giving them $100,000 track jobs every day. I got a quote on turning pins and bushings in a set of D7 a couple of years ago and the track shop quoted AU$11,000 for the job!! What a joke! Essentially, they indicated they couldn't even be bothered with a D7 pin and bushing turn, seeing as they do several D11 tracks and mining shovel tracks, every week. With all this in mind, I set out to build my own little portable track press - at low cost. I knew a salvage guy who had some 50 ton press cylinders for sale, so I went and bought one off him for AU$400. This cylinder is made in Taiwan and seems pretty well made. It has a 10" (250mm) stroke, so that was what I was mostly interested in. The cylinder is secured to the base plate by 2 x 12mm HT bolts, there were 2 convenient threaded holes in the base of the cylinder. I acquired the following to complete the job - some 5mm plate offcuts, 2 x 500mm (18") diameter x 50mm (2") thick pieces of scrap plate, 4 x 36mm high-tensile (grade 8.8) x 1 metre long, threaded rod, and a full box (25) of 36mm nuts. The 5mm scrap was $1 a kg, the 50mm plate offcuts were high-tensile Bisalloy and cost me $20 for the 2 pieces. The 4 x threaded rods cost me AU$180, and the box of nuts was AU$65. I worked out a simple press plates design, and made a cardboard template of the shape I wanted. I got the 50mm plate plasma cut by a local metal-fabrication company. It took me a while, either no-one wanted to cut it, or they wanted multiple hundreds of dollars to cut it. The company that ending up cutting the plate, did it for AU$100. Too easy. I even got the remnants back off them. The plasma cutters did a pretty neat job, accurate to within about 5mm and only needed a small amount of clean-up with the angle grinder. I bought a Chinese mag drill (AU$250) and a 36mm Chinese carbide annular cutter (AU$36). I used the mag drill and annular cutter to do the 8 holes in the 2 plates that I needed. Those annular cutters are great, took me about 15mins per hole, taking it easy. The drill even came with a coolant bottle, so I could keep coolant running on the cutter to ensure it kept sharp. I had to trim the centre hole I had installed in one press plate with a die grinder and a carbide burr to get it to a more accurate shape. Didn't need a machined finish, just needed it reasonably round, which I achieved with a final cleanup with a drum sander. I made up a track chain support plate out of the 5mm scrap plate. I used two small blocks of hardwood to set it on, over the threaded rods. The hardwood blocks protect the threads of the rods, and I can adjust the height of the support plate simply by cutting the blocks to size to match whatever variation of track link I'm working on. I'm just setting this press up for small tractors, I don't need to work on big tractors any more, this is essentially a hobbyist/farmer/collector setup. The threaded rods should be good for 100 tonnes, but I'm just using the 50 tonne cylinder at present. If I need to "upgrade", I can always go to a bigger tonnage cylinder, the frame is more than capable. The final piece of fabrication involved machining up a support collar to support the link against the end plate. Fortunately, stepdaughters partner just bought himself a nice little Taiwanese lathe, and he kindly offered to machine up the collar. I cut a piece out of the 50mm scrap plate remnants and he went to town on it with the lathe and made the collar to my template and plans. The final part was to install a cut-out in the collar to accommodate a reinforcing rib on the link that stopped the collar from giving its full support to the tapered face of the pin boss (see arrow on link photo). I made this cut-out with the die grinder and a 1/2" carbide burr, and it worked just fine for fit. Lastly, I cut a couple of pieces of 12mm bar about 185mm long, bent them to about 80° in my portable 20 tonne, 250 mmm (10") wide plate/bar bender, and welded them on to the 500mm plates for lifting eyes. Yesterday, I went out to my block in the country where the tracks are stored, set up two old benches to hold the chains and the press, lifted the chains into place with my tractor crane - and I'm pleased to report my little press works a treat! I got 3 pins pressed out before my little Honda-powered air-compressor quit for an unknown reason, possibly a faulty spark plug. I ran out of time to fix it, I'll get back onto the track chain shortening/lengthening project later in the month. Suffice to say, I've got a track press that works great, it cost me less than AU$1000 all up. I already had the little Chinese foot-operated press pump, I probably need to upgrade to a large pump unit, as the 1.6 litre capacity of the little foot pump is barely enough for the full stroke of the press cylinder. I have a spare electric pump with a bigger capacity, I just need to set it up, as it was originally designed to hold off spring-loaded disc brakes on industrial equipment such as conveyors.
More photos (seems like there's some forum limit, where I can only post 4 photos at time) ....
And more photos ....
Nice job, sir!!!
I must admit, I stole the design off the Chinese track presses I saw photos of on the 'net!! It's a nice feeling to steal something off the Chinese for a change!! LOL Most of the Chinese ones appear to use only 3 threaded rods. I was going to go with 3 rods until I realised that the 3-rod design crimps the access room for sliding the track chain through, and the plates for 3 rods needed to be a lot bigger (and heavier) - so I went with 4 rods instead. Plus, 4 rods is more strength overall. I must say I'm very pleased with how it all panned out, and how good it works. Didn't take a whole lot of labour overall, either.
But still.............you thought about it, planned it out, sourced out the plates and who to have cut them.............AND THEN FOLLOWED THROUGH!! So much more satisfying when you use something you put together yourseld.........AND IT WORKS!! Again, nice job........... I tried putting to together a C press w/ a 60T double acting hollow cylinder. Used 3/4" plate.........didn't turn out the way I wanted and ultimately it didn't work. So I went the easy route and bought a 100T C press. My homemade C press is still laying on the ground mocking me.........LOL.
Excellent Job on Your Build. With very little modification you could adapt that for up to D7 or D8. Like your adjustable wood block trick to adjust the bed height for different height track centers. On the side the pin comes out looks like you could easily modify end plate for bigger pins. How many inches is there from centre to centre of your 36mm rods. looks like close to 12 inches. Could not of done a better job. Congratulations Simon C
No worries, most people don't use enough plate. There's a reason why the store bought track presses are that heavy.
Simon C - I haven't measured exactly, but the threaded rods are 1 metre long overall, that is a standard size available to purchase. I remember I did some quick calculations (don't know where I put the piece of paper now) just to ensure I had enough room to get full stroke on the cylinder with the track links in place. I can push the pins right out of the links, and still have an inch or so left on the cylinders 10" stroke. The pin hole in the end plate is 55mm or just over 2-1/4", so yes, I could do bigger track links, but I wouldn't like to try and do whole D8 tracks, the way I'm doing the D4 size ones - but I guess I could hold the press over the track frame, and do a single D8 track pin with it. Digger Doug - You're not wrong on needing the metal thickness, especially when the tonnage is getting right up to big numbers. I weighed every part of my press, and this is what I got.... 50mm (2") end plate with hole .................. 32kgs (70lbs) 50mm (2") endplate attached to cylinder ... 33kgs (73lbs) 24 x 36mm (1.417") nuts .......................... 16kgs (35lbs) 4 x 36 threaded rods ................................. 24kgs (53lbs) 50 tonne cylinder ...................................... 31kgs (68lbs) All-up weight ........................................... 136kgs (300lbs) I can disassemble the press and handle every part by hand, but when assembled, it's a crane job to move it around! Interestingly, I have a smaller C-shape frame made from a single piece of 1-1/4" plate that I used many years ago, to press pins out of a hydraulic jump arm Shearer plow. I put my 20 tonne Enerpac porto-power in that C frame with some of the above D4 pitch track links, and the C-frame started to buckle at the knees, and the porto-power was near its limit, and those D4 pins still showed no sign of moving! I reckon I was getting up to close on 40 tonnes pressure with this 50 tonne cylinder before these pins moved, so even smaller track pins take a lot of tonnage to move. Can't believe I knocked out and in, so many D7 track pins when I was younger, with just a sledgehammer! But I was much younger and fitter then, too - and we generally ran a team of 2 or 3 guys on the sledgehammer to keep up the beating effort!
A 16 pound sledge in the hands of a strong and accurate swinger is stronger than 100 Tons in my experience. Simon C
I have never heard of anyone hanging a 90lb jackhammer horizontally and going at the pin that way.....
True--Paul Mauer AKA the Large German.
New member here, digging up an old post. I have a press like this, and some other attachments. What would be the best way to market it for sale. Thanks.
Facebook heavy equipment mechanic groups would be a good place to sell that press. Guys are always looking for them on there.
Thanks for the reply, I will give that a try.