Nice work.Where did you find green grass this time of the year?Welcome to the board.Ron G
That was last summer. Thanks ,Tom V
Nice work there,I love your work truck, got any more pictures of it?
CPS,here is a couple of the truck, thanks Tom V View attachment 77789
Nice.... I LIKE THAT, SOME FEILD WORK. :notworthy
Here are a few more.
Nice pics TOM V. Looks like an HC138 Link Belt in that crane pic.
Yes you are correct ATCO.
Awesome looking work there Tom. What are you running for a welder? Would it be ok to do that sort of work on a bucket with a small wire feed rig with .035 flux core and make a bunch of passes or should I use an arc welder?
Thanks for the compliment nedly, I am running Miller BIG 40 Diesel with a 12VS extreme, a S-22P12, and a Lincoln LN-25. On the bucket work I use Lincoln ultracore 1/16" dual shielded wire.
Yep, I've put an HC138 together a couple of times TOM V. We have a big 600 amp Miller in the shop that is set up for dual shielded wire as well, really throws out the weld when you have it cranked up.
Tom V, cool stuff man! On that mini-ex,did you use that "weldox" that I saw in the background? If so, whats the difference in weldox and hardox? Again, awesome pics and a wicked cool truck!
Thanks curb guy, I used weldox 130 on the mini boom repair. The weldox is a hi tensile steel and the weldox is a wear steel.
Line boring center pin pivot point.
Very nice, Tom. Great looking work, man I love that truck.
Great pictures tom keep them coming:drinkup I think its fair to say you ll be a great addition to the forum:drinkup Are you self employed or working for a company?
Thanks cps, and I am self employed.
Here is a before & after.
Nice work Tom- that bucket looks perfect. A few questions if you don't mind. Did you have the back of the bucket rolled and if so what does something like that cost? How thick is the cutting edge? What did you use for replacing the side sections? Any pics looking in the bucket, I'm curious how the corner shanks are fitted. Keep the pics coming :thumbsup
]RobVG, I had the bucket floor formed with a 1000 TON press brake. That one was 1/2"x42"x48" Hardox 400 and sold it for $650. The lip was 1 3/4" Hardox 400. The sides were 450 only because I had a drop of 1/2" hanging around. The corner shanks I cut in so the sides were not doing the cutting. Here is the only other pic I have, Thanks for your interest TOM V
Impressive!
I am glad to see cat isn't the only one who needs to get their trucks bored. Nice to see other peoples work for a change.
Very cool Tom. I see how you did the corner shanks now. Thanks!
Here is a 980C that had a pin come out while digging.
So did you apply heat just to the inside of the ears?
No Rob I cut out where the steel was cracked and pulled the ear in with a 100 ton center hole ram.
Tom V,very nice setup you have. Was wondering what the advantage of the dual shield wire is for doing the heavy bucket work. I've done some bucket work over the years and always used 7018 with a sa400. Using the wire interests me, looks like you have a good handle on it. Great pics, hope you have more.
Sorry Tom, I'm used to a rosebud and a 16lb sledge.
Good looking work TomV. The truck isn't bad either. Not many people run tandem serivce trucks, but i bet you got that thing packed full of goodies.
I have used dual shield wire for over 20 years,it saves a lot of time.
Tom, that is some great work! I love your truck too! I run a small side buisness doing the same thing you do...except im working out of an old chevy 2500 with a mid 70's Hobart welder. Total investment of $700 for the truck and welder haha I really hope i can step up to a setup like yours someday. Where are you located Connecticut?
Thanks Kev, I am from Bristol.
Wire vs stick Got to love the wire-once you have a good setup for the dual shield there is no comparison. Esab also makes a very good SS wire, Shieldbright-like the Dualshield it runs as good vertical or overhead as it does flat. Tom, that is a nice rig you have. Tom
Your right maytag the wire is the way to go. Thanks,Tom V
Undercarraige and a paint job
Here are a few line boring pics.
Here are a few more pics of line boring a EC280 at the boom base mounting lugs.
Great job tom, how do you like your york machine? I am thinking of replacing my line boring machine next year, il be giving york a chance to quote!
Thanks cps, I like the york just fine, I have had that machine since 1999 and it has been pretty much trouble free. My 1st choice was a climax but it wasn't in my budget at the time, but the york is plenty powerful. What machine are you replacing.
I have a sir meccanica machine cant say its been faultless! have it about 4 years now! but nothing major i guess! It does the welding also, bores bosses from 50mm-400mm (2"-16")
cps, I looked at one of those ,I think you would like the york much better. Good luck TOM V
Cutting 4" bars out of 3/4" Hardox 450 plate for my next job.
Tom, allow me to be the first to say ,you are the ZEN MASTER of bad *** tools! Just so happens, I was thinking about a line bore machine. How complicated is the set-up of those machines? Not to be nosey, how does one charge,roughly, for the typical boring job,on average? I've been very interested in those machines for a long time. I can see the need for that service around my part of the woods.Again, awesome pics and cool work!
curb guy, the set up sometimes takes 1/2 hour and sometimes it could take 2 hours, there are many variables. It all depends on what position on the machine, how bad the bores are, and what brand of boring machine you use. Thanks TOM V.
Beautiful shop truck.
Thanks Ryan.
Tom, we're practically neighbors! I'm a few minutes over the Bristol line in Southington. Do you have any more line boring pictures? I've always found that type of work very interesting but i've never had the opportunity to do any.
KEV, I just worked in Southington yesterday. Here are a couple of line bore pics.
More line boring.
My job for tomorrow. I'll try to fix this bucket up a little.
We have a bucket at work you could fix. Our welders are working on it when they get time. Its a 992 bucket that the floor and sides are shot.
992 bucket would keep me busy for a while Lee.
Progress on my bucket job. Should finish tomorrow.
Man you made some quick progress on that bucket, great looking work!
Thanks nedly, if the rain stops I should finish today.
Hi ! Tom V your work is simply amazing !!! great truck great work and last but not the least GREAT TALENT !!
Thanks for the compliment Andre, I just try to do my best.
Looks great Tom. Are you using a Air-arc to cut out the old welds or are you just using a cutting torch?
Thanks EGS, yes I am using an air arc. Had to do a little flame cuttting on the corner shanks.
Bucket completed.
Nice work! I like the way you put 'little' squares on the sides and bottom, never thought of doing it that way. I wish my hardface beads looked like that! What kind of rod do you use?
Thanks curb guy, the hardface I use is STOODY 101HC 1/16" WIRE. That is the best hardface I have used.
First off, great work and nice truck and tools. Question, why the bars on the bucket bottom, and the squares on the sides? My fabbing/mechanic budy and I are speculating on weather its for rock wear or ??? please enlighten, thanks. Russ and Dan
Thanks Russ, the bars on the bucket floor are wear bars, I always put them across the bucket so there are no paths for wear and it also stiffens up the floor. The squares on the side are the left over from the 8' bars and I made a pattern to trap earth,so it is earth to earth wear not earth to steel wear, just as you would have a hardface pattern on a bucket lip. It is also good in rock. TOM V
very nice work, thanks for the pictures
Thanks for the answer, Dan knew about the sides and mentioned earth to earth wear, I think he was holding out on me,LOL. We are doing some demolition and it is very hard on equipment, they broke 2 shear jaws already. same exact place on the part, the new jaw came with some big design changes in that area but they wouldnt admit any problems, funny huh? We have 3 buckets to rebuild and the bottom bars look awesome to improve strength.
Some fabricating.
Hey Tom, nice work as usual, what's the backside of that hitchplate like? Do you have gussets and braces to the receiver? How about once you install it?
That bucket shouldnt wear out any time soon! The hitch plate looks great, will you strip it all down before you weld it on? What wire will you use to install it?
You sure do some very good looking work. How thick is the new hitch plate? Sure looks great.
Thanks mitch, the receiver tube has gussets from the upper corners of the tube out 3/4" from the edge and the angled pieces cut out of the plate are the gussets to the bottom of the frame rails.
Hey nedly, those buckets I do will go about 5 to 7 years before we replace the wear bars, re-hard face the lip, and relace the first 3 squares on each side. I will use lincoln ultracore .045 wire to install it.
Thanks for the compliment, the tow plate is made out of 1/2" Weldox 100.
Cool Pics!
Do you preheat the hardox to weld?
It all depends, always on the cutting edge whether it is Hardox hituf or 400. When Hardox 400 and 450 is used in combined plate thickness of 1 1/2" and up you would preheat starting at 180 degrees to 350 degrees at 5". Hardox 500 I always preheat from 3/4" at 200 degrees to 5" at 370 degrees. I always preheat any weldment some just to help reduce any moisture resulting in hydrogen cracking.
Sounds perfect, Now to ask another question, we are going to build a new jaw for the shear and genesis says to use weldox 130, where do I look for a 6 inch thick plate?
typ4, my supplier does not have 6" 130, I will pm you a phone number for some one to help you. Good luck, TOM V
My job for today, EC150 hydraulic pump drive coupling.
What 'told' you the coupling was bad?
RobVG, On shut down, just before the crankshaft stopped turning there was what I would call backlash and it would have a metalic sound just as the engine came to a stop. Seen this before on a different model AKERMAN in the past.The rubber insulators started to fail.
Cool, Thanks
You got it Tom, it's a very distinct sound. Once you've heard it, you never forget that sound.
I am going to Southington this morning.Had I known you were close I would have stopped to say hello.I enjoy your posts very much.Ron G
Hey Ron, today I did some line boring in Bantam, I'll post a couple pics later, but I am in Southington quite abit, I'll give you a heads up next time I have some work in the area. Thanks, TOM V
Some line boring pics from today.
That would be great,I am sure that we know a lot of the same people from the past.Ron G
Awesome pics Tom, I want one of those line boring machines!!
Here is a 60" EC460 bucket in for some repairs.
True work of a "MASTER CRAFTSMAN"! That bucket looks awsome! Thanks for sharing and keep the pics comming!
Hi tom was wondering about your liqued nitrogen. Just talked to my local welding shop and they told me it will not stay liqued very long. How long can you let the tank sit? Nice work Jason
Our liquid nitrogen tank lasts about a week depending on the temp. It only cost us about $50 to get it filled at the local gas supply co.
Jason, I use liquid co2 to make dry ice, I have had tanks in stock for many months without any problems. The liquid nitrogen is constantly bleeding off, more so with higher ambient temperatures.
hi tom its me marc i think i met you at colliscion clinic once andy is a good friend or was it at kims shop tuff to remember but cant miss that awsome rolling tool box you call a truck, love it wish i had a use for a tool box that big,your work is beautiful,like a custom harley before paint.i need a bucket from a bobcat 331 looked at ,is it possible for you to take a look at it ,i know its a little small but it needs help.e mail me im in bristol,ct [email protected] MARC
MARK, I emailed you my number, give me a call in the morning and we will set something up asap. Thanks, TOM V
Thanks call you in the mornning
Todays job, Champion A471 with no vibe on rear drum.
you the man.............so everyone here tells me.
You are so well equipped Tom,hoist and everything.I would love to see you work if you are ever in Meriden or close by.Ron G
better working with him.................so i could learn what he has forgotten.lol this thread is all Conn people as of late. we should meet for a beer and swap lies lol.
I enjoyed the pics. Nice to see how its done in America
Glad you enjoyed the pictures Ray, you do some nice work yourself.
Todays job, DEERE 230LC sheared the bolts that mount the torsional damper to crankshaft. Post a few more later.
A few more from today.
That is one of the best equipped trucks, the customers in your area don't know how lucky they are. When I bought a backhoe a few years back, the dealer had to take care of some issues. His service truck looked like it would not even be safe to drive and though big had only a few basic tools. I would never buy from that dealer again, just because of the work the service department does. You have a class act, and it shows.
Thanks, I try to work efficiently and get the job done so the contractor has less down time.
WOW man you got some great looking work under your belt. Ide gladly let you work on my equitment any day.
Great work!!! Do you have any more pics of your rig?? It looks awesome!!! Thanks
Hi ! Tom great work , always more interesting to work when well equiped !!!!!
Thanks for the compliments guys, t_dirt there are a few more truck pics in thread called ultimate service truck.
Here are a couple pics of what I just started, AKERMAN H14BLC scrap handler arm line bore job.
My hat is off to you Tom and anyone having to work outside these days.I am sweating so bad I can't see anything.Keep posting,I am looking for your truck on a jobsite in my travels.Ron G
Line boring is my game and I'd be interested to see some pics of that Akerman boom getting done
Here are a few from this afternoon.
Great pics! Thanks. I see they are using spherical bearings in there.Dunno why manufacturers do that The hole has only got to stretch a few thou,no support for the bearing and the rot sets in. The line borer has put a real nice weld in there and done a good job of welding between the circlip grooves. Nice work! Can you tell me what brands the boring machine and the welder are? Bar looks to be 2.1/4 inch? When I get a spare minute I might post a few pics of some of my jobs.
Tom the thats nice the more i see of the boa the more i like it. I talked to eric after i talked to you and hes sending me some books.
Ray, the boring bar is a York with a 2" bar and the bore welder is a Bore Repair Systems.
+10 :thumbsup I read your entire thread. I'm a machinist but I don't know much about heavy equipment so my question may be a bit lame. Why the need for so many bore jobs? I would think there are replaceable bushings. Does all the knocking around and dirt eat out the bushing holes as well? I have an older Deere hoe that I might want to tighten up some day....maybe not as easy as just replacing the pins and bushings?
Many times where the pin is in a fixed position with no bushing the bores get pounded out and other times they are worn thru the busings.
And if that didn't happen we'd all be out of a job
Tom,I've been enjoying your pics. Got any more.What are you working on?
Bearings installed, back to the scrap yard.
Looks good Tom.
Hey Tom, I am doing an estimate for bucket link repair/replace, cab repair and glass replacement on the boss,s 490d . I will be working as a private contractor, can you give me a labor rate to put on the estimate, tools will be about 50/50 his and mine. And man you do some awesome work.!! Thanks a bunch Russ
Russ, my labor rate out east is $90.00 per hour but from what I see it varies depending on region.
Some line boring pics from this afternoon, AKERMAN scrap handler boom. Should finish in the morning.
Thats real onsite work How will the bar handle those inside bores? Will you need another bearing in there or will it cut without chatter? Nice work!
Ray, I cut one side with no problem, the bearing span is about 36". Thanks.
Hey Tom, great pics. It's obvious you take pride in your work.
Thats what I was thinking, the dealers are 110 out here. And we do better work anyway. Thanks for the reply.
Finished up AKERMAN boom this morning.
Look at that finish And no "posousification"in the weld either Good job. Its nice when the jobs are at ground level. I've got a 994 artic pivot coming up which I'm not looking forward to
Very nice looking job you did Tom, great to see such craftsmanship is still alive.
Thanks for all the compliments guys.
hi Tom My name is Dave and I am from Ontario Canada, I love to see some take pride in thier work and also give the customer what they are paying for . I have a question about your truck, how does the crane mount on the box . Is there support that go down and conect on to the truck frame . I have just bought a 1996 f350 with a willcox service body , I would to mont a crane on it . if you could let me known that would be great. thank You Dave H
Dave, here is a picture of a crane body similar to mine, hope it helps you.
Thanks Tom This will be a great help. Thanks Dave H
From the look of your work Tom you should get them very often, goes a long ways towards making a person feel good.
First off great work, next, is there anything you can't fix or refuse to fix? By the looks of what's been posted your a master of your trade and then some, there's nobody around me I know of that can tackle some of those jobs, but I was wondering if there are some even you don't attempt to tackle or is it just another challenge the harder they are?
Love the truck Tom. I'm in the same line of work as you are and I can't help but guess that your bed is a custom "one-off" production. You may have posted something about it and I missed it but did you fab the whole thing yourself, buy it, or have a shop build it for you? I can't find a bed that I really like and could build one but I work 10-12 hours a day for my customers and it would take me years to finish my own bed. I'm just curious. Thanks for any input.
Tom, Very nice work. I do the welding repairs for a few contractors in my area, and only wrench to get to what needs to be repaired. I was wondering do you pre-inspect a job for the materials or parts needed? It looks like some projects are very involved; I'm still on the "up hill" side of the learning curve for knowing what all required materials to bring. Some of the repairs are 2 hours away from the material supplier and the lost time can be a killer. I really don't want to carry 1000# of steel around all the time, so I try to bring a best guess from the contractors description of the damage... sometimes it works out. It looks like you have developed a tool "tote" system from your pictures. I'm thinking about going that route and getting away from everything in a big chest box, how do the totes work out for you? And any suggestions, or anything you would do different? Thanks for your time, and sharing your trade with us. Cash
Thanks Randy, to answer your question I would not refuse any type of repair work to any type of equipment. I have never turned away a job, and yes I like the challenging ones.
I would have liked to build my truck but it would never have got finished, so I put some drawings together and faxed them to four of the service body manufacturers, found one to build what I wanted, then ordered the chassis and had it drop shipped to the body people.
Cash, it depends what type of repair is needed, I have good customers that work with me so we can find cost effective solutions to there repair needs. Sometimes I do inspect what we have to repair and order parts to complete the job.
Here's this afternoons 911 call, a Deere 270C swing gearbox.
Tom,you have the tools.........look at that air gun,even set up for a 1" airhose to feed it.It must be fun to watch you work.Thanks for keeping us all interested.Ron G
Hi, that's way nice work. Noticed the quick connect on the Volvo 460 bucket, ever have to repair or build-up on of those Volvo systems? Dominion
Thanks, I have done a few of the VOLVO quick fit repairs, on the buckets and on the quick fit itself.
DEERE 270C swing gearbox noise caused from low oil level, the upper planetary had no lubrication causing the sun gear thrust plate to wear the into planet carrier. Replaced upper planetary and all bearings, reassembled yesterday and popped it in this morning.
Tom, I can't help but get the feeling that your customers get when the have a machine down and that big white Pete shows up. Good work!:drinkup
I worked for a guy in Granby that had one half full of water.The dip stick was missing and nobody had a clue. I dug a hole and walked the machine onto it and changed it.He also had a TD-15 that was thirteen quarts low on oil when I was hired as an operator.Ron G
I just do my best to get them up and running, thanks.
Ron, oil is cheap compared to major component repairs.
Ron I've got one better than that, I worked for a farmer one time, I was doing field work with one of his tractors and was told it was serviced and ready to go and to just jump in and go, so I did, it was running hot so I checked the oil to find nothing on the dipstick tube, I called him and told him I needed some oil and what was going on, he said no problem and he'd be right there and to wait at the road. Now this is the unbelievable part I even now don't believe it myself, he came with the waste oil from his vehicles and made me hold a bed sheet over the funnel and dumped some in until the chunks plugged up the sheet and then just dumped it directly in trying not the get too many chunks in as he went. I asked in disbelief why he didn't use good oil in his nice diesel tractor and he told me oil was too high priced and it used too much anyhow so why not just use old oil instead. I asked about the filter if that might need changing and he said he'd never done it ever on anything he owned so why start now. Over the years I never quite forgot that when I looked at used equipment and always tried to call the previous owner to ask about oil changes and maintenance issues. To this day I tell people that story and most don't believe but the farmer is still going today and still uses the same maintenance philosophy on everything he owns, the kicker that always got me was why use new oil in his vehicles but not change the filter and use old oil not meant for diesels in his diesels, never got an answer to that question but I'd never buy anything mechanical he ever owned or ever touched. Tom V I agree totally, oil is the cheapest maintenance item you can buy that'll save the most dollars in the long run.
This contractor was actually pretty good about changing the fluids in his equipment because he had a waste oil furnace so every year we would drain all the dozers,loaders and excavators at least to use as fuel in the garage. I often wondered if he would have done it otherwise. Randy,that is a great story and somehow I don't doubt you a bit.That farmer probably got good life out of his equipment too,there are some folks that the lord just watches over.Thanks for sharing that with us.Ron G
I knew a fellow that never changed the oil in his car, but would change the filter, and add new oil to fill it up. He must of had an angel sitting on his shoulder, as the cars seemed to last him a long time.
Todays job, a Giantvac leaf machine impeller came apart. Fairly new machine so it's worth repairing. I wiil fabricate a new plate for the blower housing to mount to.
Looks like it has been eating away at it for a while. Can you repair the impeller?
The impeller is bent, welds broke, just beyond repair.
Tom looks like you have been busy. At least its cooling down a little this summer has been hot did you make the jack stands. Steve
Get to work Tom,you slacker. We want to see more pics!:tong
Could be busier Steve, the stands are 12 ton OTC.
They look similar to the ones I see pictured in my CAT service manual. I hope they are strong enough for all of that weight
There good stands, I have four of them. Caterpillar part # 1U-7498
Are they the ones with the spring loaded castors? I've seen them around,they are very good.
No Ray, these are the OTC # 1778 12 TON stands, I would like to have a couple of those CAT stands, I think there capacity is 20 TON.
Cutting some HARDOX 450 into wear bars for a customer.
Quality workmanship, kinda lost these days, You inspire me to do better work myself, and maybe expand the skill set a little bit, thanks tc
Tom o/a cutting can produce a nice cut with correct tip/pressures/speed your work is proof of that. Have you ever seen or used a magnetic pattern flame cutting machine. I started building one out of 4130 tubing for light weight but never finished it.
Great looking work Tom!! JW
I just refilled my acetylene B tank....$51.00.It has almost doubled in price.I can't imagine having to keep a stock for work like you guys do.Ron G
We always have to do our best, what ever the job may be. Thanks, TOM V
Steve, I would like to see the pattern cutter if you finish it.
Thanks Jeff
Ron, I spent about $1400.00 last year on welding gasses, and it was a slow year.
Look into using LPG for cutting. Its a quarter of the price here.
Ray, I use acetylene, propane and propylene for cutting, I like the acetylene the best, it seems to be the hottest burning.
Yes acetylene is by far the hottest burning.LPG give a nice cut on heavy plate and you use a lot less and its a lot cheaper and me being a skin flint I use it
Ray, Do you find that cutting with propane gives you a "dirty" cut edge compared to cutting with acetylene and if so what sort of preparation do you need to do on the edge before welding ..?
Nige, here is a picture of 1" A36 plate, left side propane right side acetylene, edge prep is the same if you ask me.
tom.its marc call me left you a pm
Propane has the reputation of cutting cleaner than Acetylene here. Maybe we have different cuttling nozzles? Tom is right.Same preparation although propane is a colder flame and takes longer to get the steel to temperature before hitting the oxy
Ray/Tom, do you use different nozzles for cutting with propane & acetylene ..? That's always what I've used. It appears from Tom's photos above that the cut edge of the plate looks a lot tidier cut with acetylene than propane. I'd be interested to know if the same nozzle was used in the torch for both those cuts, it would explain a lot.
No Nige,the nozzles are completely different but fit into the same holder
1 st photo is a Oxygen / Acetylene gas jet and nozzle design. 2nd photo is a Oxygen / Propane gas jet and nozzle design. Here is a link to website that has an excellent comparison of acteylene and propane. http://www.cousesteel.com/AndysPlace/PropaneAcetylene.html
I was always led to believe that the propane nozzle (shown on the right) was 2-piece so that it could be cleaned inside due to propane being an inherently "dirty" gas, or am I mistaken ..? I'd always believed that because propane was normally used for heating purposes it wasn't necessary to clean it to such an extent as a gas like acetylene.
the propane nozzle is a 2 piece unit.
http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/11383500/Propane_Cutting_Nozzle/showimage.html
Tinkerer, excellent comparison I'd never seen that one before, now would you happen to have one on propane vs. propylene, I almost bought a duplicator torch a few years back and it used propylene and I'd never been around it or ever used it before and nobody around me had any experience with it either, could someone with some knowledge tell me the difference, I was originally told it was the amount of heat it put out was higher than lp gas. I've used lp gas for cutting for almost thirty years now and have never had a problem, some friends use acetylene, that debate will never end as to which is better, I think it has more to do with how you learned and what your used to using.
Both of these photos are of a cutting torch using propylene for fuel. As you can see they are not very good to use as a comparison to the first two I posted. Here is a comment from welding forum website. (quote) in the past years, I have burned many a tank of MAPP, many more of propylene and because of the mindset of todays construction industry,acetylene is used by the truck load. The conclusion I have had is, acetylene, the fast gas. Heats fast, gets used up fast, gets tips dirty fast, and because it self explodes at 27.9 lbs in the right conditions, will get you killed fast. Propylene, less heat means waiting a little longer, but still almost as expensive as acet. MAPP,a little colder still, but less cost. The 2 latter gases are propane with added hydrocarbons to make propane burn hotter. There is a couple more brands out there but just propane with the stuff in it so they can mark up the price. Propane and natural gas are about 500 to 600 degrees colder than act. Takes a little longer, but propane is 1/4 the cost of acet. and will last 5 times as long, no joke! Big outfits, with lots of thick cutting, use natural gas, but us home town boys have propane. Throw away your tip cleaners,very safe to use, cleaner cuts, less grinding. I am like rick, keep act. for welding or for carborizing the surface of a tool, and of course for filling garbage bags on 4th of July. Did I just say that? Shame on me. (unquote) I have no way of knowing if everything in the comment is accurate. I tried propane many years ago and didn't care for it. I thought it was just too slow compared to acetylene.
To be honest I find little difference between propane and propylene, I prefer to use propane over propylene, but I use acetylene for 70% of my cutting.
The difference in quality of cut is not much. What drive propane here is the cost difference.It a fraction of the price and last 3 times as long.
I'll agree with RayF on that completely, over the years I figured I'd saved enough on gas to help pay for a lot of tools.
I have to admit that I made an unfair comparison when I tried and discontinued using propane. Although it was 40 years ago when I tried it, I do in fact remember using my acetylene cutting tip with the propane. I was a kid that didn't know any better !
Removed this thumb from a DEERE 410G for some repairs. Looks like some one repaired this before.
Tom it's a mess but you love it. That web design look's just plain fatigued. It will be good to go when your done. Reckon the relief is set down to mfg's specs. How have you been doing the freakin heat is killing me.
Don't forget to show us the after it is fixed picture. Going to take a little strenthening, as it looks like it has been repaired a time or two. You will never know if you make it to strong!
Your soldering skill is pretty nice, Tom V, I seldom see such a good soldering around here.
Tom have you tried useing the propane tips with natural gas? I use it at my house mainly because I have a well and it is free. So seeing the gas is free I for one like it. It is a little slower at heating up thicker plates before you start cutting but other then that it does a good job for cutting especially for the price.
That's right Steve, but I'll make it right.
Kevin, I have never used natural gas, just about the same as propane I have been told. If I had I would use it.
Changing screens and some minor repairs to a Vibrotech SCM-75
Thanks Tom,keep them coming!
Tom. Just wanted to say thanks for sharing what you do. Love the pics, and its educating too. Jason
Hey Tom, is that last set of pic from the southington transfer station?
Nice Pics!!! Are you using CO2 or 75/25 Gas with Lincoln ultracore 1/16" dual shielded wire??
Hey Kev, that was Old Turnpike Road next to the transfer station entrance.
Buddy, I use Ultracore 71A85 which is designed to be used with argon mixed gasses. There is also Ultracore 71C designed for use with straight co2.
I wish that I had known that you were there,I would have boogied over to say hi.Ron G
Ron, never know where I'll be these days, all small one day jobs. Some days there is no work,I will pm you my phone number and you could give me a call, see what is happening.
Finished up my thumb repair today, here are a few pics.
Very nice Tom.....better than new.
I replied and will call you soon.Thanks Tom.Ron G
Tom with a job that nice what's with the spray cans. I think you need 10 coats of lacquer and buff it. How you been doin ive been out of town and now trying to catch up. Steve
Hey Steve, I'm doing allright, finishing up my Giant Vac leaf machine repair, I'll post a few pics later.
Here are a couple pics from yesterday. Post a few more later.
Tom, I notice you do a lot of work in what appears to be a fenced in yard. Do you have shop ?
Here are a few more pics of the Giant Vac repair. Delivered to customer this afternoon.
No shop, where ever the machinery is broke down I will repair it , that is my back yard where I'll take small fill in jobs, seems that is all I've been doing lately.
Hey Tom, I notice on the sides of the buckets you use square blocks, I usually have seen/done a hardfacing pattern. Just wondering if there is a reason for the blocks as opposed to hardfacing? Great work BTW and other's please feel free to weigh in I am curious on different methods. Thanks
Fran, I use the blocks for a couple reasons, there are always short drops or left over pieces from the wear bars so we might as well use them up. The pattern I make with the blocks traps more earth than conventional hardfacing so we are getting more life out of the job. It's also easier to cut off 3 or 4 blocks and replace them then to rehardface the sides of the bucket as it wears. My customers seem to get good life out of the buckets I recondition. Thanks for your interest.
I am of the same philosophy. I have always welded cut up pieces of old cutting edges as wear blocks and leave space between them. The dirt builds up and it takes a while longer to wear out a 1/2" or thicker piece of steel than hardfacing. If you run dozers, there is always a good supply of metal to make wear plates out of.
Thanks guys, It makes sense to me, I also noted you don't hardface the shank's or put wear plates in between your shanks on the leading edge of the cutting edge to prevent the " U" in the edge. Not worth it?
Fran, I do not hardface a new cutting edge or shanks, I let them work harden before I hardface them. I think there are some pics in this thread of a bucket that I put wear blocks between the shanks.
I do a lot of work on mining buckets where correct wear plates and hardware are important. Rather than hijack Toms excellent thread I'll put a few pics on my line boring pics thread
Here's a few pics from Friday, a Komatsu WA320 with no start condition and some service. I can't get over the price of the fuel stop solenoid, $377.00
You can spot a damn good wrench bender when they change filters and don't make a mess on the engine. If you got that solenoid from Kommie, yeah, they proud of their parts. :yup
I think I'd run a cable before I spent that
Tom komatsu is high in this area but volvo is the worst i think. I havent heard from smitty have you?
Hi Tom, Thanks for all your posts, I love to see all the things that you work on and make better than new. You are truly an amazing craftsman, your customers are lucky to have your services. Gary
Today's tale of disaster ......... see photos. A containerized Cat 3516 2MW genset engine, cylinders #10 & #14. The set was only being used for backup power and the operators had been running it for 30 minutes or so every week as per their normal procedure. They came to us and said that when they went to start it for its weekly run the engine oil level was "very high" but they couldn't see anything else wrong and could we go take a look ....... The first thing that hit me when I climbed into the enclosure was the strong smell of fuel. Dipped the oil and sure enough it was so high it was almost coming out of the dipstick hole and it reeked of fuel. A visual inspection of the outside of the engine showed a lump of aluminium about 1" square missing from the valve mechanism covers of #10 & #14. When we removed the covers this is what we found. Who wants to hazard a guess what happened ..?
Hey Steve, I haven't talked to Smitty since I spoke with you last. I think he's traveling alot with his new job, talk to you later buddy.
Thank's for your interest and the compliment.
I think a little too proud willie, should have been half of that price.
Top end looks pretty dry was it still oiling at all?.
Looks like the injector adjusting screws have broken off at the locknuts. Maybe overtightened during maintenance?
Looks like job security on that motor. Be interesting to hear how much damage has been done. I had a 69 Chevelle that did that three times before they put all new valve springs in the motor. Always bent the valve when the spring let loose, but that was all.
Good answers guys but nowhere near it so far ............. keep coming up with suggestions. Steve, It was not a lubrication issue, although I'll give you all a clue that a fluid was directly involved in the failure.
water run down the chimney?
Give yourself a pat on the back and a virtual CDM & Bar ......... The full story. The set was struck by lightning about 9 months ago and burned up inside like a crispy critter, including the generator windings. So it was packed off to the local dealer to sort it out. To reduce the height for transport the exhaust extension, along with the rain cap, was removed and a temporary plastic cover was installed to stop water getting in. All the time it was with the dealer the complete container had a tarp over the roof unless they were actually running it, which wasn't that often TBH. It was test run & witnessed by the people responsible for its operation before dispatch from the dealer. It had the plastic cover reinstalled before it was shipped back. When it arrived the people responsible for running it "forgot" to put the exhaust extension & rain cap back on. This was all fine & dandy while it wasn't running, but of course the first time it was given one of its weekly runs the plastic cap, which in all probability was just a sheet of PVC secured by Ty-Wraps, blew off and nobody noticed. Then we had lots of thunderstorms. In one period of a couple of days I think we had about 6" of rain. Obviously one of these storms filled up the holes that had exhaust valves open and the next time she was fired up ....... Woofa ..... Amazing that the operators: - 1. Couldn't tell a 16-cyl engine was only hitting on 14. 2. Couldn't see the different colour smoke coming out of the chimney. 3. Couldn't figure out why the area round the engine was full of blue/white smoke, there were holes in the valve mechanism covers FFS ...... 4. Didn't notice the smell of fuel or think it was worth commenting on. I've obviously got a load of photos of the individual parts involved after the engine was disassembled, but just looking at the photos above can anyone think of a reason why the top ends of both injector adjusting screws along with the locknut broke off..? I could understand it myself if the ball end of the adjuster broke off below the rocker but it didn't. It's the one part of the puzzle I am still struggling to rationalize.
Nige Many years ago I worked with marine diesels a lot of Cleveland (GM) and we would get water in the unit injector and the barrel and plunger would seize and cause similar damage, but having never seen the inside of the electronic unit injector I my be just spinning in the wind. But by looking at the injector it seems in by mind that fuel is metered electronically and the rocket assembly atomizes the fuel for injection. (SWAG)
As Richard said, the water ran down the "chimney" through the turbos - there are water marks in them about half way up the turbine wheel, and through the exhaust manifolds to the cylinders. It would appear that it went into certain cylinders whose exhaust valves were opne and completely filled the combustion chambers, so when the valves closed and th episton came back up that's what hydraulicked the injectors right out of the hole. When we pulled those 2 heads though, there was no sign whatsoever of corrosion so a hydraulic lock was not the first thing that came to mind. That threw us a bit, until we pulled the connections from the exhaust manifolds and saw the inside of the turbos. You're correct the action of the rocker provides the injection pressure for the fuel, it's controlled electronically. You can see what's left of the solenoid assemblies (the white bits) from the injectors on the LH side of the photos. Still puzzling what broke the tops of the injector rocker adjusting screws though .......
Here's a few from today, Akerman H10 boom cylinder repack with split packings. Had some loose track shoes also.
thanks for sharing the fotos. a guy like you you would stay busy year round in my parts. judging by the quality of your craftmanship you probably don't have many problems with having a backlog. regards, cd
Here's a few from today. Some minor repairs and a service.
Looks like you have busy Tom. I talked to Smitty tonight and he was in the hospital for kidney stones he's going to call you and give you the info on the cat we were talking about. Steve
Here's a few from today, Deere 450E injection pump install.
Some more good looking work there Tom. Nice work bench those tracks make, good idea to have some plywood. Sure beats things going between the track.
Looks good. I didnt know you could leave the shaft in the engine. I always remove it at the gear. Is it easier that way?
I like the installer you have for the butterfly seals Tom.
Yeah, how 'bout a little tutorial on those nifty installers? Oh, LOVE the pics!!
Although you take on what ever jobs that come your way, what do you ENJOY (if you can say that) doing more. The metal fab and reconditioning or the equipment repair like hydraulics, engine issues, service calls. Also if you could have more cabinets, what would you stock em with parts, tools, consumables, rigging???? You do great work. Thanks for taking the time to post some really good jobs. Its nice that you can do this and have the time to give some eye candy to us gear heads. Keep up the good work. Tom C
Thank's, that plywood is used for my creeper, but it worked out well as a work bench.
Willie, that is a stanadyne part # 13371, I have used it for 20 years or more.
Tom, I enjoy all phases of repair, if I had more cabinet space I would have more of everthing you mentioned above, thank's.
Here's a few from today, a 325B with some final drive issues.
Was machine tooling along and planetary hub popped off?
The crain is worth its weight in gold on that job! Is it a motor issue or has something broken up in the planetry?
No lubrication, bearings failed, then fell apart.
I was curious about lubrication because you can't see any oil under the unit. Kinda hard to say by looking at pics though.
Willie, it was bone dry in there.
Well, sucks for the customer the amount of carnage that results, but nice for the wrench not having to mop up stanky gear oil. LoL
Did i read somewhere on here before that parts sourcing is an issue with b series finals? Something to do with cat not suppling anything inside the main planetries?
Willie, you got that right, wow that oil stinks. When I changed the lube in my excavator it didn't take long to open the overhead door to get some fresh air. I guess it will stink big time for the owner, having to buy a lot of new parts.
Around here we call those types of operators "environmentally conscience" since they don't want to have any oil drip on the ground while its being worked on or being taken apart, saves worrying about spilling used oil, now how about the other final and pump system, are they about out of oil as well?
No Randy other side is full, the owner told me that three excavators were seviced one day about a year ago and one out of six planetaries was not refilled. I guess some one owned up to the mistake.
Ended up with a reman final, less down time, back up running this morning.
No muss....no fuss
bobcat 863 shutoff sol 400,00
Little too much for those things , I bought one last month for $377.00
Here's a few from this afternoon, pushing a little oil out the stack.
turbo seals leaking?
when the solonoid went,i was in the street friday nite to monday morning out came all the cones lol.
The turbo came apart.
pieces pieces or bolts fell out?
what a job.......nice work Tom V
A few shots from today.
Nice looking mess, must be one of the belly pans you have dropped. What have you got to do to the crawler? Thanks for sharing, some of your work, with us.
I dropped the belly pans on my 953 last week and was kind of embarrassed by the amount of dirt I washed out.:cool2
Transmission oil cooler hose so far.
Yeah, them things get hard as a brick bat from heat after some time. When they finally pop, make a helluva mess in there.
CM I dropped the transmission belly pan on a 953B once not expecting it to have as much dirt as it did I damn near broke my arm. The dirt was clear up to the top of the charge pump for the drive pumps.
Usually just set that particual pan down on my chest and roll out with the creeper. Tried it once with the D6...lil bigger used the jack. That trans cooler line runs the entire lenght down the left hand side correct? Trbo
An awesomely entertaining, thread superb work TomV
Yes, you are correct Trbo.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the thread.
Well that does make me feel a little better. I was concerned about how much I might have in there and well, the fact that I have ample time on my hands due to our wonderful economy. I ran the bolts out with an impact and let it down with a floor jack.
Hey Tom, Excelent work! How many hours do u have on that bucket? The first one u posted pics of.... Do u usually use the dual shield outside too or do u use a flux core wire? Thanks Todd
Thanks Todd, that was a 42" Cat 325 bucket, I had 33 hours into it. I do use the dual shield outside but it does not like the wind.
Here are a few from the other day, brake tube was damaged and leakig oil.
Tom, do you make your own hyd crimp lines? If so do you you use an electric or manual press and what brand? Thanks
I have a Gates mobilcrimp 4-20 with the air powered pump and dies 1/4" to 1 1/4".
A few pics from today, you now it's slow if i am building light duty trucks. Installed a hoist, body, and tow plate.
Tom did you fab the bed or just install it?
Nice Work Tom, Looking Good
No I just installed the body and hoist, I only fabricated the tow plate.
Tom, You sure do some mighty fine work. It is easy to see you take pride in your work.
Thanks for the compliments guys.
Lookin good Tom. Have you been enjoying warmer than normal temps in your neck of the woods? It's starting to get cooler here but the days are still pretty nice out in the sun.
Thanks, and yes I am enjoying the weather whule I can cause you know it's going to change any day.
Here are a few pics from today, a D5MXL in need of some minor repairs. Note the 2 piece idler.
Here's a few more from today, a Deere 450H was mistracking, found fault code F382 it was a faulty speed sensor on the right side drive motor.
I wonder if that is why I keep going in circles, I have a faulty sensor.
Awesome thread- spent the whole morning smiling... Hopefully, there's a future generation of professional in this pic
You should get that checked out.
Glad you enjoyed it, I think it's too early to tell, my son is only 8 years old.
It is never to early to start teaching them. Tom I finally mailed out your memory stick with the service manuals on it today. Let me know when you get it.
Thanks Smitty, I'll give you a call soon.
Here's a few from this morning, TD15 needed a turbo and support elbow.
Got it fixxed, no more going in a circle, pulled the nail out of my shoe, going straight again now.
Here are a few from this morning.
That bucket sure has seen some use! What's the repair procedure? Will the entire flange be replaced, or just a portion?
I don't no what I will do with it yet, customer doesn't want to put too much in to it, I'll post some pics when I figure it out.
those pins appear to be really small for that bucket, what's it used on.
The pin diameter is 60mm, and the bucket is for a VOLVO EC160.
very professinal work.....opps spell check not working
Here's the EC160 bucket repair, tightened up the holes a little, welded the pins in place, and welded a cover plate on each side.
I take it the excavator has a pin grabber coupler, no?
That will be taking a quick hitch for sure. Tom thats a good way to not only fix a mess but to improve the bucket doing by it. Good job
Great work Tom,yesterday one could appreciate the heat from that job around here too.Ron G
Another job that sure should make a customer happy. Looks mighty good, and should make the bucket last a long time.
Yes Willie it has the pin grabber style coupler, thanks for the compliments guys.
Nice looking job Tom!
Nice pics ,Tom. A question, if I may, How do you figure out what type and what style teeth you need for some of the buckets you rebuild? I sometimes have real trouble trying to figure out which brand,type,style,size,etc. some teeth/shanks are, especially if the #'s are wore off.Just thought I can't be the only one out here that runs into that problem! Thanks!
Hi Tom Was wondering what software you use for the Deere? I have not found much online about it. Great looking work and I love that Pete. Jason
The only thing I do if I don't know what I have is measure tooth, shank, and pin dimensions, and look in my HENSLEY reference guide. Always seem to figure it out.
I do not have any software for DEERE, only thing I have are service and parts manuals. Thanks .
There is the service adviser for j/d....but it is hard to get the dealer to sell it to individuals...
Hey Tom great work, i live in Western NY and I am just starting off and every time I see your work you inspire me more and more, would love to spend a week working side by side
Thanks and good luck.
Hi Tom, This is a top thread, great to see a one man show doing such quality work. That 'rig' of yours is something else, you obviously take pride in it. New customers would be impressed as quality of your work & truck - go hand in hand. I can't help but notice your "under the stars" workshop - looks residential, your neibours houses seem close - do they ever complain about noise? If I were grinding & banging like you must do, local council would shut me down in no time at all.
Thanks, I haven't had anyone complain since I have been here, I only bring small fill in jobs home, don't start too early or stop too late, work while neihbors are at work. I always try to help them so everyone is happy.
I’m a new member but I have read this thread from start to finish and there is some serious work carried out, Good Lord! I doff my cap to you sir. The range and depth of work carried out is something to behold! What makes me sad is that in the UK running a rig like this, you would have the stuffing kicked out of you by the Ministry of Transport with there rules and regs, also any insurance company you're with and last but certainly not leased our eye watering fuel prices! Tom keep up the good work it gives us young uns something to aspire to!
Here are a few from today, a KOBELCO SK350 H link got bent somehow, and the new pin will not pass through the bores. Jacked and tried to twist it back in shape, got the pin to hammer through but won't pivot, best I could get it so we must line bore to get the link just right. Also an example of a center hole ram used for bushing removal.
Tom hope you dont mind me asking but how do you remove the worn out bushings effectively ? Do you cut into them first with cutting gear then use the hydraulic jacks to remove them or just use the jacks from the start? Somehow ive gotten to the point where i can cut bushings out with Oxy/Acetylene and punch them out ,though learning along the way ive (Ahem) made some **** ups to put it politely. Yours humbley Alex.
Alex, if I don't pull them out with a center hole ram I weld on the id of the bushing and as it cools it will shrink, then pop them out.
Like Tom,I often weld them and then tap them out. Another good way is to set up a torch and putting it close heat a spot at the end of the bearing till the surface just starts to melt then run that melt line through to the other end of the bearing.Let it cool or toss some water on it and it will come out easy. In my job I see a lot of good bores ruined because someone not careful enough has oxy cut out a bearing or worse,gouged it with a carbon arc torch.
Which then earns them a good nickname like "Nick" or "Sexy Fingers"
Another vote for the "run a ring of weld round it and when it cools it will pop straight out" school ........ works on rolling element bearings too.
Ray, thats the way that i do them, cutting along the bushing but not all the way through, but i try two cuts at opposite sides then as its cooling tapping it out, next time though ill try welding it internally and cooling it with water. Thanks guys much Appreciated!:notworthy
Tom what kind of truck did you run before you had the big pete
Here's the last one, a 1998 C7500 with a STI body and 10k crane, served me well for 10 years.
Here's a few pics from today, an EC21O with some undercarraige issues. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE
The man even took the time to neatly pile up the pads, VERY nice. I have been looking through this thread and must say, you sir are a true professional. Happy new years.
Had to stack 'em up, so he could rest the bucket on the pile to keep the scrap thieves from carrying the pads off. Baffles me why anyone would drive the sprockets until they're nothing but nubs. Oh well,
Awesome thread Thank You Tom. Have been following and admiring the engineering. Not familiar with Volvo excavs but, *** happened to the sprocket? Do they seriously get that worn out or are volvos a different design?. If they are supposed to be like most sprocket teeth then I'm freakin gobsmacked how worn those are. Looks like somebody has been doing wheelies inside the track chains with them. Amazing stuff. Thanks again for posting.
Talk about getting his money's worth out of the drive sprockets. Had to be slipping and eating up the chain, I would think. Wonder why they let them go that far, knowing the extra wear that have has to been caused. Guess that only causes job security for you Tom, thanks for sharing.
I am going to say this is a result of this bad economy, people putting repairs off until they can't use their machinery. Hope 2012 is a little better.
He sure got everything out of them. Since you pulled the pads I asume you are putting new chains and installing the old pads, or at least new pins and bushings.
Replacing everything except the pads.
I am gonna ask a question that may have an obvious answer, do those two sprockets have the same hours on them? And if they do, why the HUGE difference in wear? I can't imagine that one sprocket holding the chain on 2:1 slope, seems the chain would just jump the teeth and down you would go.......make for a fun day anyways.
Yes they have the same amount of hours but the right side was worn considerably more.
I've seen this alot on crawler dozers/loaders - never on an excavator. Some operators seem to favour one side of machine, obviously the RHS on this one has done more rotations than LHS. thanx Tom
worn stuff
You beat me to it Willie. Me too Tom.:usa
Here's some from today, broken roller bolts slowed me down a little bit, but I'm getting it done.
Ouch! Those sprockets are in rough shape! Are you ready for tomarrows high of 23 degrees? I'll be layin on a nice concrete floor doin some trunion stand repairs on a Mack RD. Stay warm out there!
That's why I worked today until 6:00, to take advantage of the 40 degree weather.
Looks like the cold isn't going to last to long this time. Maybe back to 50 by Friday here, then cool off but nothing real bad, as of yet. Been a heck of mild winter so far.
Hope you were able to finish up today, if you did we like pictures you know. Must be cool there as you are parked a little to close to that portapotty.
Didn't finish, just have to tighten track shoes, only a couple pictures because battery in camera went dead. I'll post them later.
Here's a few I shot before camera died.
Thats just not cool, in the future, if you could bring extra batteries, it would be much appreciated. We need our fix of cool pics! Oh, and NICE WORK!
Hey Tom, do you torque down your track pad bolts? Was curious,that's all. I generally just hammer the s@#t out of 'em with a 1" impact.I'm always curious how otherb people do things.Keep the pics comming!
Thanks for the update, looking better with some shoes on the old girl.
1" impact wrench works fine as long as chains and shoes are clean, never had any track shoes come loose.
I had a customer one time ask why I was sanding the paint off ?? Itold him if you dont they wont stay tight ....His reply was "so thats why we cant keep the pads tight on that 6 " ....clean no rust bare metal ..
Always remove the paint!
you are refering to the paint on a new set of pads correct, so that the pads stay tight? Thanks
Must remove paint on the track chains and shoes.
Do you work alone Tom ? Awesome tread, awesome work. Thanks. Alex
Yes I work alone.
Here is a picture of the EC210 undercarraige job completed.
great work guy, bet the customer will now notice the difference!
Looks like that counterweight could use a new cutting edge too..........
Tom you truck is great!, how about a couple shots of just the truck ?,
There are some posted in thread called lets see your ultimate service truck.
Another job done, and off to the next one, thanks for sharing pictures from the start to finish, Tom. Guess the counter weight is the back blade for this machine.
Thanks Tom I'll go have a look .
Must be tough sometimes no?
I don't mind and if I had another guy he would be out on another job alone.
Tom nice work ever down in fairfield county
Yes but I haven't been down that way in a while.
Here's a few shots from today, bore welded and bored H link.
Nice Job as always Tom, hows the works book looking, plenty on? How has the York line boring machine held up for you, i'm thinking of changing mine soon! Aiden
How long does it take to set up your bore machine? And how long to weld and bore that H link? Really enjoy watching your work pictures. You do nice work.
Thanks Aiden, I have a little work lined up but nothing like it was 3 or 4 years ago, this past year was the slowest ever. The York machine has been good, I've had it now for at least 12 years and the only thing I had to replace was the brushes.
Unfortunately, thats the problem with doing quality work Tom, the things you repair dont break again. Great Job Again!
Set up is never the same, many variables as far as weld time those bores were 105mm x 130mm and took about 30 minutes for each.
Hey Tom, whats with the aluminum foil? Is that to keep the wind from getting to the shielding gas?
Yes Paul to keep the wind from blowing the shielding gas away.
Figured that. Keep the faith Tom, everything is slow down here too, too many uncertainties with the economy, and the crazy winter (spring) weather we're having now is not too good for us snow removal guys. Hopefully things will pick up for all of us soon.
Cat 330 or thereabouts Tom?
Ray, it's a Kobelco SK350.
Well I was close on the size
Installing some bushings this morning.
Wow!!!! Look at that work table.Great work Tom.Thanks for showing us how it is done.Ron G
Tom, Have you ever considered using liquid nitrogen to install bushes instead of loads of hydraulic muscle ..?
Thanks Ron, that work table is 2" plate that came off a tub girder welding machine I dismantled at National Eastern Corp. about a year ago. I'll see if I have any pictures of that.
Hey Nige, I do use liquid nitrogen and dry ice for bushing installation also, for the smaller ones the center hole ram works well for me.
Tom, You better pull the door shut on your shed, we have about 5-6" of snow today. Will be sending it your way soon. Yesterday it was 53 degrees worked in shirt sleeves in a trench extending an electrical service. Today 20 and blowing snow all day. Guess I knew it would happen, but sure have enjoyed the good weather. You sure do some mighty darn good looking work.
Tom, nice work, what clearance do you machine the bores to, for a press fit and a sliding fit ?
Yesterday morning 8 degrees, a little snow last nite, 40 degrees and rain today,I was inside line boring so I managed to stay dry.
For the press fits .001" for every inch in diameter, for slip fit it depends if it's a pivot or the pin is fixed, .001" clearance for every inch in diameter is my general practice.
Here's a few shots from today, line boring a SK270 at end of stick and bucket at both positions.
Looks like another lucky customer, having you around to bore his equipment. Did you weld this up then bore or did you install bushings? It would seem tough to have the correct size bushings for all the various equipment you work on, or do you order them when you get the job, and know the pin size. You sure do some very nice work, have always been intrigued by line boring, jobs. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Tom, I'm gettin' all jittery looking at all these pics of that line-bore set up,I gotta' get me one!
Thanks Tom V. Example: pin/bearing = 4" so the bore would be 4.004" for a press fit is that correct? I carry out some bore repairs here in Australia, I got the equipment due to the fact I could not always get someone to linebore when my customers required it. Finding information for clearances is one of the problems I seem to get. But taking time and not to rush the jobs seems to work. Thanks again.
A bushing with a 4" diameter would be pressed in a bore size of 3.996. A 4" pin with a slip fit would go into a bore size of 4.004.
This is Tom's thread so I don't want to hijack it. But if I can just say,with bearings,99.9% percent of them have the manufactures fit built into the size.eg. Cat bearing size 4.004" Cut the hole 4.000. Hitachi use a different tolerance so a bearing 190.35mm,cut 190.00mm
I am boring and bushing the bucket, and the stick is getting welded and bored to accept factory bushings. The bushings for the bucket will be custom.
Daterplant, RayF is correct, as you can see same amount of press fit.
Here are some pics from today, bore welding and boring.
Thanks for answer Tom, it would seem to be a lot of planning to have the correct parts for the numerous jobs you seem to be working on everyday. Being able to weld then bore to fit sure has to make for more happy customers. Oh yeah more work for you, once again thanks for sharing some of your great work with us.
Tom V, RayF, Thanks for the information, it will help a lot when I'm lineboring.
A few from today.
Some pics from this morning.
Hi Tom, in photo sk270 008.jpg of the borewelder why the block of wood ? I use the same borewelder.
Those are hub stakes, the wedge cut lets me adjust centerline of welder a little bit.
A few pics from yesterday afternoon, a Deere 270 in need of some pins and bushings at end of stick.
Very nice job again, don't think a person could tire of seeing your work. Thanks for sharing so often.
Tom how do you make sure that the line bore/welding set up is centered in the hole and straight from side to side?
Thanks, as long as I have work I'll share the pictures.
If the bores are not too bad I have tapered alignment cones, also have sleeves with some standard dimension o.d.'s with a 2" bore to fit my bars, and always pull some measurements.
Tom – your truck body/crane is by JoMac? Aluminum? http://www.jomactruckbodies.com/index.html
Good looking service truck you got there not a mechanic by any means but really like that set up. We use two F-550s but they are stocked up pretty good, we've got enough tool's in them that you have to have a cdl to drive them if you put a 36" bucket for 200 size machine in the back.We found that out the hard way on the side of the road!
No it's a FETERL body and crane, I think they closed up a couple years ago.
Thanks, thats a problem with the smaller service trucks, you have so many tools, parts, and equipment your just about to your max gross weight with nothing in the back.
i agree totally,thats why i went with the larger truck the last time i bought. your going to pay one way or the other might as well be comfy on the ride to & from jobs.
when I was in the UK I visited my brother in laws farm to see his brand new Mercedes Convertible.I got chatting to his tractor driver who said he wished my bro in law would spend money on his equipment. Same story as yours, old oil, never change fuel/oil filters!Ah well it works for some I suppose
Thanks Tom V; Now when I look at them I can see the two wedges, simple things get the job done. Nice work.
A few from today.
I love that porta power puller bushing puller. Looks like it has paid for itself for you a few times. You make everything look easy and straightforward. Gotta have the right tools for the job.
Do you have a hydraulic hose crimper that can hook up to that power pac? I would like to put a crimper in my service truck, but by the time you start stocking all the different fittings...
Yes I have a Gates mobilcrimp 4-20 with an air powered pump. There isn't room to stock fittings on the truck, so I just take what I think I need for hose and fittings.
Some pics from today, an ASV RC-30 with some hydraulic leaks. I think this is the smallest machine I have ever worked on.
New meaning how much can be squeezed into a small space, skidsteers. Nice jack stands, what is the capacity of that model? Hope you got it healed up, did you pick the skidsteer up with your service truck's crane? Not many people able going to steal them if you leave them sitting out at night.
Just a few orings took care of the problem, no I didn't pick it the customer had on the blocks for me so I did have to waste any time, just tear into it and get it done.
A few from today, a 580C swing and loader bucket cylinder repack and injection pump.
I have got to hand it to you, I have replaced the hoses on my backhoe off the control valve. Wish I would of done them all the first time. No room to work and having to remove a bunch of other hoses to get to the one you want was no fun. Not having the right tools made it a real night mare, on a hot Sunday, the first time. Got to take my hat off to all mechanics, who help keep these machines running.
A few shots from this afternoon, a Labounty 2500R with an upper jaw issue.
Ouch, Looks like it bit off more than it could cut, this time. Looking forward to seeing your fix on this, one. Sure glad you have work, so we get to see what you are doing. I sure enjoy seeing what you are working on.
You do a great job at bringing these beasts back to life. Do you specialize in customization rebuilds? When getting our Magnet Generators out there, in most cases we need to install them into already existing machines. This heavy machinery can be a pain to work with if you can't find a good specialist in the area.
I think we are replacing the upper jaw, finally getting busy hope it stays this way.
ThanKs, I will do any type of repair, rebuild, or install an attachment to any type or manufacture of machine.
I looks to me that Tom is in the business of turning to these for many customers. Glad to hear your work load is picking up, nice to have work lined up. For us it means we get to see more of your great work. A win win for sure.
Case cylinders this afternoon.
Hello tom great work , is that the OTC 1266 gland nut wrench and if so how is it ? Been looking for a decent one for a while and i can get Otc now over the pond here.
Thanks, yes that is the 1266 wrench it works o-k, don't use that much, couple times a year.
Tom
Tom New here been browsing for a while! I was wondering what kind of track torch do you have? And do you know if it is still available? Thanks Jerry
The track torch I have is BUG-O SYSTEMS GO-FER model. Good luck.
Tom Thanks this site is very cool, good work can learn something just from all the posts, Thanks keep them coming!! Jerry
Really nice pictures. Thanks for sharing them here at
that jaw pick looks familiar, so it wasnt just the cat shears we had.
It likely broke due to lack of maintenance, like most things, that knife should have never been allowed to get that round, the other edge is nice and sharp and they flip. Braking concrete will do that also.
I read through this entire thread, I am very impressed by the work you do Tom. I will have to check back regularly to see the updates.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it and welcome to the forum.
A few from today, 936 coupler some one tried to cut out bushings, but it does not have any.
At least he didn't keep trying.
I've been in the dirt biz for a long time now and seeing high quality repairs and fabrication has always intrigued me. Tom the work you have displayed here is first rate. On top of that the text you have posted only adds to the mountain of evidence that you know your s#**t. Have you much experience with changing a pin on loader bucket to a coupler mount? I'm guessing you have. I have a 3yd bucket, from a JD 544J, that I want to remove the pin-on ears and then mount the coupler mount ears for a JRB model 416 (it's actually a Worksite Pro but they are essentially the same). The ears are 1" wide and must be cut to the bucket profile before mounting. Seeing as we are probably more than a 1000 miles apart I don't see how I can hire you for the job. Would you be willing to tell me how long you think you would take to do the job?
Thanks DGODGR, I have done this type of job to a VOLVO L90C. I just pulled the customers file and I had charged out 33.5 hours of labor. Had to cut the radius in the coupler blanks to match the back of the bucket, alignment was done with round bar, tack in place and bridge it for distortion control. Also had to refabricate heel plates and there mounting structure, I had another L90 bucket I was able to pull some measurements off. Cood luck. TOM V
Thanks for your efforts to get back to me on this. I request some clarification. See text in red above. Can you please elaborate.
Tom I sure hope they only tried to cut out one bushing. Did you fill the cut with weld before you machined it? I was wondering if the interupted cut would be hard on your cutter, and possibly knock the bor out of alignment. You do get a variety of work.
I had used round bar in the lower bores where the locking pins go and a piece on the hooks then a couple bridges to hold the two pieces from moving while welding. If you have further questions I could PM you my phone number. TOM V
Yes they only cut one bore, I ground out the cuts and welded them up before I began the line boring.
A few shots from today.
Thanks Tom, Sure do enjoy seeing the line boring all set up. Looks like you had to eat you sandwich, early enough to use the tin foil to block the breeze. Sometimes the simple things work so well.
Hey Tom, just want to Echo the other guys here and say you do great work, thanks for taking the time to take photos it really does make for a great read.
Finished line boring the Hewitt coupler this morning.
Very nice looking job again Tom, like the added touch of paint. It just makes it look so much more professional, another lucky customer.
:notworthy Nice work. I'm starting up a mobile mech. buss. myself , here in Idaho.I have a small truck. I enjoy seeing your work.
Here are a few shots from the other day, making dry ice and installing some bushings.
Tom, what determines whether you use dry ice or, pull them in with your hollow-ram cylinder? And,if you don't mind me asking, where did you get that nifty dry ice maker?
Hey Tom, do they make special 500 lb rolls of wire for you, man you do a lot of welding, very impressive work.
I used the dry ice here because of the small size of the part and the bushings. I purchased the dry ice maker from my welding supply store.
No but when it was busy a few years back I would buy 4 to 6, 33 lb rolls at a time, thanks.
A few pics from today, installed a new Genesis 500R shear on a VOLVO 330B.
Is that for the machine that sheared of its last jaw ?
Yes kiall, we ended up replacing the shear on the EC330 with this new GENESIS 500R. Here's a couple more shots.
Here's a few from today, a 30" bucket off a 410 Deere.
I had to pull a bucket of mine back in place some time ago, I had to use two large center bored sections of round stock slipped over the bucket teeth to get some extra leverage to pull it back into place,then I was able to weld it up.
Some line boring today.
Very interesting stuff. Did you learn this through a welding program/school or is a lot of this on the job training/apprenticeship?
Tom, Some more great work, done by you. Did you add steel to the bucket repair, or just the weld, job?
No school, just hands on and always doing the best I could.
No steel added, just beveled the weld joint and welded it up with FCAW process.
Bore welding today.
Tom, You have a York boring machine, what bore welder are you using, is it a York also? Great Pics, I look forward to your posts every day.
The bore welder is a Bore Repair Systems BOA-211.
A few shots from today.
Hi Tom What method of removing the grease/dirt from between the join of bosses welded to plates, before borewelding? (with all the borewelding you carry out, you will know what I mean) I have tried a lot of things cleaning sprays etc. heating up the join to melt out the grease, seems to work best for me. Only it takes a fair bit of time.
I always cook the contaminants with a oxy-acetylene flame.
Thanks Tom v It looks like the only way.
Some shots from today.
Looks like you have another job done and more than likely another happy customer, also. Glad you shared the finish of that project.
Wow the work you do is very impressive and looks top notch to me, i just joined and went through page by page and it was an excelent read. I do have a question though. How did you learn to diagnose the problems off all those different machines. I have done a little bit of repair on a jeep wrangler and i just used the repair manual to know exactly what was wrong, and if i was wrong i could always return the part back to the auto store. Do you have something like a repair manual for all those machines? Or is that just years of experence that you use to diagnose different problems? I just find it amazing that you can diagnose the problems so easily. Keep up the good work:thumbsup:thumbsup
Thanks Nick, as far as diagnosis goes you need service manuals, experience, and patience. You can't just guess or start replacing parts, if I did that my customers would not call me any more.
A few shots from this week.
Some pics from today, PC240 swing bearing replacement.
On the swing bearing replacement- do you use both the jacks and the boom to drop the upper back onto the carriage, or just the jacks? I imagine its a tight fit, and a very slow process.
Pictrues Tom, These pictures have to be showing some of your best work yet, to me. I have wondered how this was done and the pictures sure have helped clear up a lot of questions in my mind. Looks like getting it apart would be a tough one, but back together all lined up and bolts lined up would be very tough, to say the least. Thanks much for taking time to share with us the great pictures.
Tom very impressive and thanks for taking time to show us how things are done. How come the lower boxs behind the cab are your service truck are not open ??? every other one is LOL
I used both jacks and the digging equipment to set the house down on the carbody, it took about 10 hours to remove and replace the bearing. I finished tighting the bolts and installed the swivel this morning.
Tom, I would of thought it would take a lot longer than that to do the job. Just looks like it would be a tough one to do, knowing what you are doing and being good at it has to help a lot.
It took a total of 14 hours including picking up and loading the timbers. Plus the customers mechanic was a good helper.
Some pics from a couple of todays jobs.
Tom i was going to ask if you had a helper on that swing bearing. lol I changed 1 on a cat 375 last year, i had the company mech & his helper, we changed it in day & half. there was a couple broken off bolts to deal with also.
A couple from this morning.
Tom, I can't help but think that swing bearing would would be a dirty ,GREASY, cluster of a job.Never having done one myself,yet.One of our 690E's I suspect will be needing that treatment soon.How tricky is it to raise the upper structure with the machine hydraulics,the boom that is? Seems as if it would be a little unstable,or no?Also noticed you changed the slew ring,also. Is it common to replace it with the bearing? Just curious because I've heard of just replacing the bearings one by one....take an old one out and put a new one in,so forth and so on 'till they're all replaced.Sorry for all the questions but you brought this on yourself by posting all these photos! Keep 'em coming...I really enjoy checking out your work!!
By the way,what is that thing sitting on your bumper in one of the above pics with the two hyd. hoses coming off of it??
Curb guy, it's not that bad of a job, I took the house up about 3 inches at a time, cribbing up as I go. Every one of these swing bearing jobs I have done I changed the complete slew ring or bearing, it's not worth trying to replace the bearings in the ring. The thing on the back of my truck is a hydraulic torque wrench.
Tom, I noticed that you were adding the Hensley "top loader" type shanks to that excavator bucket. I have found this type to be a bit problematic. They often break the roll pin and the roll pin can be very difficult to remove (broken or not) when the center gets packed full of dirt. I have one 8" bucket for my TLB and the top loader is the only shank I can use when the (3) shanks are so close together. I have not found a good way to remove them once they are packed w/dirt. Even reverting to the torch is not very effective because the dirt inhibits the process of melting the roll pin. What do you do? I have found a pre-emptive measure that helps the removal of the roll pin. I inject silicone or RTV into the center of the roll pin prior to installation into the tooth and shank. The only real purpose is to keep dirt out and it remains flexible so it does not interfere with the way the roll pin functions. I little anti-seize, on the outside of the roll pin, helps too.
Makes sense to me,about the slew ring. Thank you!
Out of curiosity just how big is your shop and how much storage do you have in it for all the stuff you don't take along with you every day in your service truck? Also do you always work alone, even at your shop or do you have helpers? You get more work done than I've ever seen done by one person before, either you never sleep, or don't stop working to even answer the phone, who orders your parts, does the paperwork, send out the bills, chases parts down and all the time killer jobs it seems I have to do, not to mention waiting on parts to come in that are right, or do you have a dozen jobs going all at once waiting on parts and work those that parts come in on? This is the single most informative thread on HEF, thanks for sharing with us, I can't tell you enough how much I enjoy it.
Looks great Tom, I am hoping to get a truck your size in the near future I have 5000 pound crane and a 11 foot body and I out grew them both in a hurry. How are you liking the BOA bore welder, that is the one I have my eye on.
Thanks Randy, no shop, no storage, everything is done on site or cutomers shop. Everything is in the service truck except the line boring equipment, which is in a gang box I crane in and out of truck as needed. I don't have a helper but I did last week for a day when I changed a slew ring. Most of the time I order the parts but the last few jobs the customers have been supplying the oem parts , which is fine with me. It really has been slow the last 4 years or so, but it is starting to pick for me this year, hope it stays this way, thanks and good luck.
Thanks Tozzi, the BOA has been good I have had it since 1997 and no problems.
what make is your hydaulic torque wrench
The hydraulic torque wrenches I have are both HYTORC, XLT-3 AND AVANTI-10.
Just replacing 2 shanks, not my 1st choice by any means.
Some pics from today, a 200 Hitachi needeing to be tightened up.
Some line boring today.
A few shots from this afternoon.
Damn, I wish all my welds look as good as the bead you laid down on the new hook.
Wow, just looked thru the whole thread. I work out of a service truck on trenchers, backhoes, bucket trucks, and digger derricks for a company here in OKC. The epuipment you work on and the quality of workmanship you put out makes me feel rather inadequate ( hope I spelled that right). Oh, your truck is a thing of beauty.
Thanks guys, here's a few pics from today.
That's awesome they provided you a fork lift to use as a work platform.
Yes that worked out well Willie.
Hey Tom V what brand of seal kits do you use for the excavator rams?
Of course they didn't Willie! Tom had it in one of those lockers on his truck!!
I have good luck with Hercules seals out of florida.
I use what I can get my hands on the fastest.
Ok...now that's funny! :falldownlaugh
Some from today.
Tom what would the cost be to line bore and rebush a 200 Deere exc. and repair the bucket similar to what you did on the last post. I have one needing about the same job and will have to take it to the Kansas City dealer for repair. Your posts and work are excellent and very informative and very much appreciated by all. Thanks again.
Is NOK seals widely used in NA?
Great job
Loaded this machine on Friday.A little history of this machine,it has been sitting unused for the last 2 and half years and it was time to bring her outta semi retirment she still needs a lot of work doing to her before she can start piling again
Well she arrived on site yesterday safe and sound and we had a bit of fun off loading her,when l loaded her the guys said ok you can go now everything is fine so off l went but what l didn't know was that they had to use the hydraulic jack to lift the trailer because the machine was to heavy for the hydraulics to lift.
So after they got the metal chocks out it was time to build a ramp and get her on site
A few from yesterday, doing some jaw maintenance on a shear. Cutting up every thing in this yard.
Line boring today.
A couple from this morning.
Glad you are keeping busy Tom, looks like you have been keeping the welder and boring bar busy. Not everyone has one of those, in their bag of tricks. Thanks for sharing, keep up the darn good work, also.
I hope the work keeps up, it has not been this busy for me in quite a while.
A few pics from this morning.
The same for myself. Holding my breath....
A few from this afternoon, an EC160 removing bucket and thumb, and installing a Volvo quick fit.
LoL, I love the rail spike pin retainer. :tong Do you knock those bucket pins out by yourself with a sledge and drift?
First time I have seen that type of pin retainer, and yes I popped the pins out myself, they come out easy if you have the weight off the bucket, easier alone sometimes.
True, they're typically worn enough to dang near fall out on their own. But I'm a small framed fella, swinging a sledge while holding a drift is a bit of a challenge for me, I rarely have the stamina to kick the sledge's arse, typically the other way around. I use a slide sledge, have a long one and a short one. Use my truck crane to hold slide sledge centered over pin and then I'm able to whack away with ease on the tough pins.
Looking forward to what it looks like when you are done. I have the same set up on my Case 130, would be nice to be able to change the bucket easier. I work by myself most of the time, so it can take a few trips to get everything lined up. Another great job of sharing thanks, Tom.
willie, that is spoken like a wise wrench bender. lmao it seems like we get smarter as we gain more experance.
LoL, age has a way of "seasoning" us FSERVICE. Good to see you're still with us bro.
Some pics from this morning. Could not finish, the dealer gave the customer the wrong pin.
A dealer supplying wrong parts. That must be a first .......
It must something in the air, I had my order goofed up also. Got to the job and did what I could went back to pickup my order and it was wrong. Just love it when your day is shot and have to move on to another job. Hope you are able to wrap up the job soon.
I like it when the dealer sends me a plain pin when I tell the parts monkey 5 times I REQUIRE a greasable one.
Hello Tom, Just wondering when you line bore, what are ur tolerances for a press fit bushing and a slip fit pin? Thanks and great work Todd
Todd, for press fits, for every inch in diameter I will give .001" interference or press. For slip fits, for every inch in diameter I will give .001" clearence.
I've been meaning to ask you that very question Tom, thanks for the reply. So if you were going to bore a hole to press in a 2 1/2" OD bushing, you would machine the hole .0025 smaller than the bushing?
That is a good rule of thumb there. Thanks Tom.
Thank you Tom for the info, Thats pretty much the norm up here in NH too I just got set up about 2 yrs ago and have been boring ever since. Its nice to talk with other people around and get there ideas too. Once again thank you Tom Todd
Per many Cat specs .001” is minimum and .0015”maximum per bore Ø typical Øs 2.5” to 6.5”. Installations via press-fits using the maximum should be considered mandatory, press fitting a last option versus cold shrinking (freezing) using dry ice or nitrogen and even heating the casting. Most bushings have a 32µ surface finish; typical as machined bores 80-120µ - peaks and valleys^^^^^^^^^^^^^. Pressing, the bush will shave off peaks and bend the peaks over into the valleys. Cold shrinking, slipping the bush into the bore after the bush warms up the peaks are spread-flatten out into the valleys via plastic deformation, provides a higher retaining force. Bore weld build up using wire with a bit of nickel alloy also increases the retaining force because the nickel alloy is tough resisting spreading-flattening into the valleys via plastic deformation, provides a higher retaining force.
Some recent pics.
A few more.
Very nice Tom. I will bite what is the blue thing on the shear, with hoses going to it? Did you ever get the correct pins and such for the quick disconnect?
The blue thing is a hydraulic torque wrench, the pin is in but the customer is away, hope to put the Volvo together next week.
tom is that the new shear u put on recently? already time to flip the jaws? shears are sure high maintaince, at least the ones i have been around. good for bussiness tho
Yes that is the shear I recently installed, it has about 100 hours on it, needed a blade flip and some welding.
Tom, you run a York bore machine, if I'm not mistaken. What kind of bore welder do you you like? I was looking at the York web site and they a pretty nice package with the the welder/ bore machine. Was wondering what your thoughts were on those.I've also seen "bore-tech" and "boa"? any comments would be much appreciated!
A BIG Werk-Brau bucket being worked on ....it's being cleaned up before heading into paint. We have made larger buckets, but this is the largest I have yet seen. I'm told we once made a bucket that weighed in at 9.5 tons. Either way, big buckets create a bit of buzz around here, and I had to stop in to check out this monster as I made my rounds on the factory floor.
We are just in the process of spending about $80k on a Climax B5500 hydraulic drive boring machine and a Climax automatic bore welder with all the bells & whistles. It was after discussions with TomV & RayF (thanks to both of them BTW) of this parish that we finally we settled on Climax. The only other type of hydraulic drive machine I would have considered was Caterpillar's one, but that was even more expensive than the Climax. For the type of work we do, bores up to 15", electric-drive machines are just not man enough for the job IMHO.
I have the YORK boring machine and a BOA-211. The bore welder is about 15 years old now and has been trouble free, but if I had the cash then I would have bought the bore tech and a Climax BB5000. The York machine has been good also, the largest bore I've done with it was 10". I guess it all depends how much boring you plan on doing, sometimes mine is running 3-4 days a week, sometimes it is sitting for 3-4 months. Good luck.
Some from today.
Oil Change?
That guy has one of everything for his buncher.
Dang right, ain't nothing more a PITA than doing an oil change on an industrial truck with it on the ground. The original "low rider".
See i told ya he had a fork truck on his service truck willie:drinkup
LoL, you may be right. :drinkup
Climax factory is about 1/2 mile from me, they make some cool stuff. And lately they have been working 2 shifts, which around here is remarkable.
Some from today, installed EC160 quick fit.
A few shots from today, a 450h with it's tracks on backwards and the cutting edge falling off.
new to posting in the forum but have visited often,, tom v your work is very professional!!! a couple of quesitons exactly what accurs when the tracks are ran installed backwards? i am looking for a 100 ton portable pin press anyone have any ideas?
$80K is a little out of my price range!
If I may ask,why do you use a welder from one manufactuer and a boring machine from another? I like the boa welder/bore machine set up.I also like the york system.I don't plan on doing a lot of that type of work yet, but if it takes off then...? Which one,or combination would you recommend? And thank you for all your advise,I REALLY do appreciate it!!
Hi guys, just a word of warning when dropping sump guards(belly pans), I recently had one of my JCB machines serviced the fitter was telling me one of his work mates dropped the sump guard at a refuse recycling plant and out fell used hypodermic needles. Luckily none stabbed him be careful out there.
I had a home made hydraulic driven boring machine when I purchased the BOA-211, and Bore repair systems did not have boring machines then anyway. Again I recommend the climax boring machine, the york would be my second choice. By the way York did not have a bore welder back when I purchased that machine.
A few shots from Friday, a volvo swing pinion seal replacement.
Dumped the gearbox oil in the slew ring base I suppose.
amazing thread, can't believe I haven't seen this thread before. beautiful work. a guy can really learn a thing or two going through this thread. if it ever gets slow in your area you should head out to the oil patch, good owner-op service trucks are always in high demand in the oil patch in Canada, probably the same thing going on in North Dakota I imagine.
As fast as they put oil in the gearbox it would pour out into the grease tub.
A few shots from the other day.
Tom V, I am very impressed with your work and equipment. I would love to learn your trade but I wouldn't even no where to begin. Thanks for posting the pictures. Rod
Should be "I wouldn't KNOW where to begin"
My favorite thread on the whole form. Thanks Tom! Jason
That is a nice Pete and really nice work pictures, Im new to this site and will soon post some pics of my ride as well. I have a 07 T300 and work on Overseas container handlers at railyards and seaports from De. to Me.
does your company make anything related to Heavy Plant or equipment?
Tom I love your work and only wish I could find someone as that’s as well balanced as you to hire for my company. Keep up the great work.
Some from today.
tomv, what size is that ram? rod? what kind of rod? i have a single acting (i think) 60 ton thru ram i just don't know what type and size of rod would be safe to use with it. thanks beforehand........theironoracle
The ram pictured is a 30 ton and 1 1/4" B7 alloy rod, with my 60 ton I use 1 5/8" B7 rod, and with my 100 ton I use 2" B7 rod. Good luck.
Love the 7inch Pipe on your Big Rig mate. What sort of power plant has she got mate?
It has a Cummins ISX 500 with a 18 speed behind it.
I don't know about everyone else, but I'm going through withdrawal. I haven't seen a post in 7 days from you Tom V. I hope all is well.
I see I am not the only one, I really enjoy seeing what he is working on. When he is done it looks better than new, people in the east are very lucky to have such a talented person.
Here's a few recent shots.
Thanks Tom for sharing the pictures, looks like the making of another happy customer.
Here are a few from yesterday.
tomv, just was looking up a new service truck builder teamco-inc.com (feteryl), your truck is in the brochure under "tandem" fyi........theironoracle
Tom, This has been one of the best treads I have ever read, on any forum. I have learned more reading and looking at your pictures. Thanks, for all you do. Mike
Very nice work. Ive been lurking here for months. Registered today just to tell you nice job.
Tom, I have a few questions for you, if you have the time to answer. 1. Do you do any other "on-site machining", shaft turning, keyway cutting? Any need for that stuff? 2. Would self shielding wire do as an effective job. I live on the east coast of VA, windy all day. 3. Owning a service truck with a crane, are there any certifications required to operate the crane(besides common sence)? 4. How much insurance do you carry, 1 - 2 million or more? 5. Do you need a summer intern Thanks for your time, Mike
Glad to see they are back in business, they build a good crane & service body.
Mike, it will take me too long to answer all your questions with my poor typing skills, I would gladly answer any questions you have, pm me and I'll give you my phone number. Tom
A few shots from the other day.
How the hell did they Manage to break a Thumb? Did you Know there a Picture of your Truck on teamco-inc.com
Easy Reid, I've seen it happen, pin retainer comes loose, pin sneaks out of hole, operator keeps working machine (baffles me), then, bent/broken thumb.
Very nice looking repair, Tom, as is the norm for you. Thanks for taking tme to share your work with us.
Some pics from saturday, another mini thumb repair to do.
Looks like I have to give you two thumbs up with this job. Want to try another one?
A few from yesterday, a Timbco forwarder with no hydraulic functions. No splines left on the pump shaft or drive coupling.
Yeah man, no worky too good with no splines on pump shaft.
How does that happen? Lack of maintenance, grease? Did you have to rebuild the pump, new shaft?
I would replace with new and good pump.
i have never worked on a wheeled timbco only tracked, usually there is a funk box which has three drives outputs usually driving 5 seperate pumps, 1ea for tracks, main implement, pilot (unless taken off of main control valve) and saw pump........one pump and no funk box oh how nice that would be...............................theironoracle
Tom V, what is behind the cab on this machine? on the tracked machines it is the main control valves but i see in this picture they are on the left side of the boom.......theironoracle
Thanks Tom V. Your thread has become addictive (cant wait to see whats new). Always learning something and amazed.
The fuel tank is located behind the cab.
Some recent pics.
A few more.
pops wrong post....
The first time I did this kind of job was on a JD 310c backhoe, I didn't have one of the two seals set in place correctly because it was folded back. what happened was the engine oil crankcase filled up with what seemed like 3 quarts of diesel fuel in about a minutes time of running the engine. After I installed it I had a quick question about something so I called the guy back who rebuilt the pump, I thank God I called because his Father mentioned the importance of the seals being installed correctly giving me the heads up to look for the oil & fuel mixing in the crankcase... not sure what would of happened filling the crankcase full of diesel fuel... I hope this info helps somebody some day because it sure saved my life ! Love your set up... God Speed and then some...
Yep it's happened to me before too joeeye59. I didn't have any problem on the first machine that I did cause I was told to make sure the seals didn't get folded back. On the next one just a couple of months later, I put it on and took it off at least 5 times before giving up and taking it to an expert. I had torn seals and folded them over and ruined a bunch of new oil before I gave up. They didn't tell me to keep the governor wired open like the injection shop had it when putting it back on the engine damn it!
d9gdon..., I had this excellent guy who sadly closed up shop and cannot be found anymore here in CT. rebuild my pump. he told me to keep this stiff wire in place while I install the pump, but I never realized the importance like you were saying the governor/throttle lever needs to be open..., too bad you had to go through all that...
Hi Tom, have you ever custom build a "fixed thumb" on a Backhoe, I say "fixed" because its not plumbed for hydraulics.., perhaps something light weight? a few manual settings so to fine tune it to operate accordingly to the type of bucket thats on it for the time being. Or am I missing the knowledge all together that there is an attachment made already thats out there for it? I'm building a stone wall and can use a thumb...., of course the conditions are of light duty for its use. something light weight. Joe
A few shots from today, a Bandit Beast with a C18 needing some exhaust work.
Joe, it would be cheaper to buy a thumb than for me to fabricate one, I would love to build one but the customer would hate the price.
Sorry Tom, I should back up here on having asked about making a custom thumb… First, I should say my John Deere 310c Loader/Backhoe has a Wain Roy quick disconnect hoe bucket. I can't find a web site on Wain-Roy product line, or even knows who sells Wain-Roy. Seems like Wain-Roy has been out of business being I find nothing on line, or am I missing something here thats going on with Wain-Roy? Anyway..., assuming Wain-Roy is no longer what other name do I turn to for looking for a fixed thumb, again to say being that I'm not plumbed for an operational hyd. thumb. thanks Tom for any light you shed on this for me is greatly appreciated, Joe
joeeye59, There was a guy who made one for his 310C or D that did not have an extendahoe. He was from Texas and was willing to share his plans. This was about a year ago. Search in the backhoe forum, I'd do it for you but for now I gotta go!
joeeye59, Can you use one like this ? http://www.ebay.com/itm/BACKHOE-THU...463?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1df9571f
Oh great! yeah I'll go back about a year in the date to look for it, thanks for the lead to look for it....
Nice find Tinker...! thank you... That looks to be what I need..., now I need to see how its set up and welded in place. It looks like one/two low profile brackets are welded into place on the dipper stick. this should look good when its removed so it don't look awkward, or have something sticking way out when its removed.... this is pretty much what I want to go for... thanks again! Joe
joeeye59, Here it is, in the shop forum...... :
Your the best..!!!! That is a great low profile thumb, I love it!!! ....Time to pull out the old Stick welder and dust off the torches....
Impressive stuff! I'm looking forward to more.
Hey tom I was wondering if I can get your contact info for a job in Monroe.........
Yes, send me a pm and I'll call you or give you my phone number. Tom.
For whatever reason I can't send you a pm geussing I need to upgrade my membership.....shot me an email [email protected] I know the job involves a broken boom on a 450 size excavator from what I'm told
A few from this week.
A few more.
Wore that bucket pin slap out. Hey Tom, do you know a source for bucket pins aside from OEM?
Hey Tom V I have a few questions about your York boring bar. How well does the York do on larger (6" plus) holes? Cut fairly well without drawing down the bar rpms? I run a Climax and for smaller bores (3-4") it cuts pretty well without slowing down. On bigger holes especially if I have to run a tool holder it will barely hold rpm. The drive motor is a Milwakee two speed mag drill motor. I've thought of changing it over to hydraulic or to a Meco four speed drill motor off a concrete core drill. Secondly do you run a borewelder? I'm running a Boretech/Climax and I love it. I would never go back to handwelding holes if I didn't have to. You do beautiful work. I definitely love the tandem axle Pete. Thats my goal for a service truck, a nice tandem axle with lots of storage.
I can tell you that if you buy non OEM pins, it pays to have the hardness checked. I had a pair of pins on a 375 excavator that one of them wore 1/2" in just 2 weeks, and that was with twice a day greasing. After it was broken, I had it tested for hardness, and I forget the numbers now, buy it was about 8 or 9 points lower than the bushing, instead of several points higher. The crew failed to accept the pin was going bad, since it was so new. Finally it let the bucket work back and forth side to side until it snapped the eye off of the curl cylinder, since the H link was tight and the main bucket pin was not. That was a costly lesson.
No Willie, no pin source but I have had them made before, not always cost effective sometimes its best to let the customer supply the parts.
The york does the job but it does lug down, and I run a BOA-211 borewelder.
Hey Tom, Thanks for your time yesterday about the problem with the 490d. I disabled the check valve on the injector pump and it got me going again. Where's a good place to get that pump rebuilt? Thanks again for the help.
The fuel shop I have used for 20+ years closed up last year, the last couple I had done I used H & L DIESEL but thats a little far for you, might want to try East Coast Diesel in Lynnbrook, NY. Good luck with it Paul.
A few shots from today.
Were the holes smoked on the bucket or were the hears bent? I did a similar repair on a 345 bucket. The stick pin was bent from being on a quick coupler. The bore welder you run is similar to our old Bug-O bore welder. Your welder has better controls. Are the bearings on the York bar spherical?
The bores were pounded out, the mounting bearings are straight ball bearings, two for each mount.
Some of todays work.
You sure do some nice work. It's nice to see others that take pride in their work.
Some from today, switched a Gledhill loop plow mount to a Tenco mount for a local municipality.
Nice work, is that a Plainville truck? Not many towns run Macks anymore.
Thanks, yes that is a Plainville truck.
A few from yesterday, a SE280 cylinder repack.
What to you use to install the cup seal in the gland ?
Very nice work ! I like that
Kiall, I put the seal in hot water for a few minutes then fold it, grab it folded with needle nose pliers and put it in the gland.
Some cylinder work from yesterday.
A few shots from today.
Tom, Thanks for sharing more of your work, I know I appreciate seeing the pictures, of your good workmanship.
Love the second vise! Mind if I use that? Nice workbench area too. In another section of the forum a question is posed regarding welding something on the service bed and whether or not there should be concern regarding truck electronics. What are your feelings regarding this? I know I have done it but usually throw the master on the truck first. Anyway great photos as always.
Tom, what do you do when the bore is scored or the gland is bad once you have them apart, do you remachine them or have the customer hunt for new or used parts and wait till the parts are in to continue that project? I just took a cylinder off my dozer blade lift and the ram was bent slightly and the glad was scored, I had to wait two weeks to get it back from a shop that specializes in rebuilding cylinders, they made me a gland and put in a new ram because they couldn't get the old one straight enough to work. I was just curious how you handled those types of situations?
I really don't weld on the back of my truck, if there is welding or fabrication to do in the field I would bring my horses and set a plate on top, instant table.
Randy, I do what ever the customer wants to do, sometimes new parts are cheaper than being down for a week.
Some from this morning, a Bomag starving for fuel. Found this strainer in the transfer pump, no one knew it was there.
Just spent the last hour or so reading through this fascinating and educational thread . Tom i'm in awe of your seemingly layed back approached (i maybe wrong ), your knowledge your workmanship , attention to the smallest details whilst carrying out your daily jobs , be it large or small the same attention to detail is applied and i applaud you for that sir ..... I have now subscribed to this thread and look forward to your next posting . Cheers Sean Digger operator for 29 yrs from the Highlands in Scotland UK
I'm a fairly good wrench and most of the guys I work with turn to me for mechanical stuff, but you my friend are a god lol. Wish I had a guy like you near me. I would work for free with you for a month or so just to learn. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Tom, going back to that JD 650H. That appears to the JD cly. with a snap ring on the outside with another in the middle of the gland. I always catch the devil trying to get those apart. I have had to chain between my service truck and the machine and jerk it apart. Even with the plastic ring filling in the grove. Am I missing a trick or special tool? You may be yanking them apart to, but the pics did not show that if you are. This is the first time I have posted on your thread so I will go on and get this out of the way. You do nice work.
Thanks guys, partsand service in regards to the deere cylinder I have only done a few of the late style as pictured, but never an issue removing the gland. No trick or tool, removed outer ring, pushed in gland, clean dirt and rust from bore, install filler ring, lubed and it pulled out fairly easy.
Sorry but trying to contact randy88 because i have a cemen tech Volumetric Mixer, 2006. Can not figure out how else to respond to his post. [email protected]
Thanks for the reply Tom V, I work mostly on abused logging equipment. I think a lot of the difficulty I have stems from the clys being overextended and creating a lip in the grove which I remove if it is there. The gland must driven past this ridge in order to remove the ridge and install the filler ring. This where the snatching begins.
Some from today, a GENESIS 500R blade turn and some welding.
Tomv, did you dual shield this welding? I tried this once and could not keep control of the wind and had to do lots of porousity removal and now use cored e71s wire but hate how finicky it is. Any suggestions? I use a trailblazer 302 with a suitcase extreme.............................theironoracle
Yes I used dual shield and wind is the enemy. No suggestions, if it is a small job I'll use 7018, if there's a lot of welding I'll set up the curtians, I've burned alot of dual shield outdoors, guess I've been lucky, not too often do I have to grind any welds out.
Easy day today, a couple hoses and some broken bolts on the c frame.
Do they operate it without the pin in the centre of the blade? Or have you removed it as part of the repairs? What size hose did you use? Did it fit under the guards alright where it normally would have steel hydraulic lines?
Same here, I have been super lucky running Dual Shield outside lately, makes the jobs go by faster and the customers love the look of the finished product.
Yes, they were running it without the pin, not aware the pin was missing until I arrived to repair the hydraulic leak. I used #4 size hose to replace the blown hose, must have been changed over previously.
You do great 1st class work Tom, and have very nice service truck and tooling. I'm a field-service welder/machinist currently at Holt Cat in Austin. Been with Cat dealers in TN and TX since 1980. We use Climax tooling including bore welders. Took me a while to warm up to the bore welder (because of set-up time) but use it on 90% of my align-boring jobs now. All of our field welders except one are rigged with boring equipment. I just found and joined the forum today, so look forward to learning and sharing here.
I have worked on a few of those deere cylinders that you are talking about, and have had to pull some apart with the forklift and floor anchors. I found if you have a cylinder that hits the end of the stroke all the time the retaning ring will cause a burr around the snapring groove, I have used a die grinder with a carbide burr and very carefuly worked around the ID to remove it make sure you don't hit the ram with the burr and flush well with solvent when you get it apart to remove any steel from parts. I always cringe when I drive the gland in and don't see a easy to remove snap ring and have to use the stupid filling ring. Steering cylinders on 7000 and 8000 series deere tractors are sure to have a good burr as the cowboys in the seat all ways turn the wheel till it hits the end of stroke or don't adjust there steering stops.
A few shots from this week.
A few more.
A few from today, cutting the damaged material out of grading bucket and thumb that had a slight mishap.
Finished up bucket and thumb for EC88 this morning.
A few more.
Darn it Tom you are the man. What great work you do, thanks so much for taking time to share some of it with us.
Tom, I've spent the last half hour speeding through this. Incredible work. I always see your truck around and a lot of your pics are within a mile of me I enjoyed seeing the ones from the Mareks' yard, my family's known them since Frankie Marek and Louie Fiondella were still around. Keep it up! Someone's gotta fix our screwups.
Tom, Did you drop a stack of dimes on that thumb you repaired? Those are some pretty welds. I also wish I had that magnetic drill press....plus all your other tools...all very impressive and thanks for sharing. on a side note about wishing for stuff: My dad always told me I could wish in one hand and **** in the other.
A few recent pics.
Greetings from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. :cool2 TOM V....Looking good, the standard of workmanship is impressive. Two questions about the Line Boring & Bore Welding: (i) After Bore Welding, how much weld is removed in terms of depth of cut....I take it you are doing a rough cut & then a finish cut? (ii) Using a Stick/Bucket pin & bearings on a 320C as an example, if it's greased at the correct interval how long (in service hours) would you expect it to last before it needs doing again? Have fun....& if you can't be good....be careful.
well we actually started this on saturday but because of the rain we had to put it off till today,the track adjuster is shot as the track came off on thursday and after puting it back on we tracked the machine to our make shift work shop where we tried to seperate the track but the pin wouldn't move so we spent most of today heating up the track and trying to sledge the pin out so after lunch l said 'to hell with it lets choose another pin' which we did and and the dammed thing just sailed out and after removing the idler all we got to do now is remove the adjuster and fit the new one then put it all back together. more pics of the reassembly tomorrow
It depends how much weld was put down, on average .150" machined out in multiple cuts. The hours are all over the place, seen machines have to be line bored at 4000 hours and seen them go to 10000 hours without boring, Just have to watch pin and bushing wear and replace as needed before its to late.
A small job from yesterday.
Thanks for the return Tom....soldier on & be safe. When Mr Murphy visits carrying a box full of Cosmic Laws you know it's going to be a bad day. As for the persistent rain....thank the machine driver for his contribution to Global Warming. Will today's pictures include the English equivalent of Tom's service truck....I'm thinking custom modified Scania with a super heavy duty Palfinger. Keep ya' pecker up.
sorry for the late reply but got a fever and had to have a couple of days off so back to the track adjuster,the lads took it off while l was off and when l looked at it l thought oh dear (well actually lots of swear words) the replacement sent from the uk is for a smaller machine so its on the phone to our parts guy in the uk and guess what he checked with the company in germany who deals in these machines and guess what they are obsolete and there are no seals available any more so its back to thinking what the hell do we do now so my pal in the uk says try your hydraulic man over here so l say ok take it to him and he says yep no problem be ready monday so we now have to wait till monday to see if it works oops the new one is a bit small do you think the seal is usable
Looks like an AKERMAN track adjuster cylinder in the post above, just resealed one a couple months ago, not obsolete at all, I purchased seals from the Volvo dealer in the US. In Sweden there is Almeboda if volvo can't supply AKERMAN parts.
A few from this afternoon, a 325C with a final drive issue.
A few more shots.
hi Tom,yep its an akerman H14,thanks for the advice l will pass it on to our parts guy in the uk because the volvo dealers hardly carry any parts over here
tom, great work, i wish i could have spent the last 17 years learning from someone like you! i have had very few (maybe 3) people cross my path (only a day at a time) with your talent and tools (none with all of those tools) anyway i went through your thread again and wonder how many of these tools you keep with you 100% of the time, i.e. rams, line bore equipment, jack stands, hydraulic torque wrenches, dry ice machine, you would have to have, oxy, acet, co2, 75/25 all of these bottles, adapters and rods for rams, where does it stop or do you just pack it all, absolutely amazing..thanks for the thread it is improving the industry for sure..................theironoracle
http://www.almeboda-maskinservice.se/ Huge inventory of both new and used parts for the Akerman and Volvo machines. If they can't find a part for Akerman it doesn't exist.......
thanks again about almeboda,l'am not that good on computers is there any way to get it in english-cheers Billy
I have opened the above link in *Google Translate* it doesn't look as if there has been too much effort put into the webshop....you could hit the *Kontakt* button & send them an email with your Model/Serial Number?
No english website, they are an old fashioned outfit that like to talk to their customers, not a bad thing, they also give great advice on repairs and such too.
Thanks, I just try to do the best I can to get the customers machinery back in shape with as little down time as possible. As far as the tools and equipment go, it's all on the truck except the line boring equipment and my track torch.
Some shots from this week.
A few more, the 325C ended up with a new final drive. The L90 needs some line boring, the lower pins were falling out, the upper was froze in, 30 ton of force and a wack with a 20lb hammer before it would move.
Never seen a quick hitch frame made from cast steel before. Have you welded the bores yet? Cast steel I take it?
Ray, all the L90,L120 quick coupler frames I've line bored in the past were fabricated, I was going to bore and bush this one.
Bore and bush will work OK. It may well be cast steel and be easily weldable. Drill a small hole somewhere it don't matter and see if there is any graphite in the swarf. (unless you are set on bushing it)
It's no problem welding on them, the upper pins that the worktool connects to are welded to the casting for example.
Welding may not be a problem but welding and machining will be if it is cast. The wrong wire or rod on cast and you end up with a weld just a bit harder than a dimond. Tom have you ever used any rockmount brand welding rod? They have a product called jupiter aaa for cast iron, That I have welded and machined quite a bit and it works well, it would of course mean welding by hand. Tom how many boring jobs do you do a week or month? I bought a boring machine a month ago and realy enjoy that kind of work. Great work you do keep it up.
Tom , on post # 699 you replaced a cutting edge on a EC88 bucket - is that a hardened edge that you was drilling with the mag drill? Can you give some information as to the bit you was using . Thanks
If as Per Eriksson says the pins are welded in its going to be OK to weld and machine it. A good idea if I can suggest to Tom who is a pro,is to take a cut through the bores before welding. Thats if he wants to weld it.
I bet Tom has it figured out. I believe I am going to try and rig up a truck like yours Tom, however I believe I will start with a 90's model kw. Pockets are still pretty shallow yet. I am having trouble locating an enormous service body like that. I currently run a Int 4900 with a dt530. Good truck but gonna need another one soon as I am growing at a decent rate. Figured iwould start early instead of having to have it right away. Do you know a manufacturers who built those beds so I can maybe find a used one somewheres?
where did you get that grease can
Hi Tom, I have bored and welded dozens of these coupler frames, they do weld ok without the weld hardening! i do all the line boring for a second hand Volvo dealer here and have seen some of these in real bad shape! great work as always Aiden
Hey Tom, what kind of hyd motor was plugged into the 325C final drive? Thanks.
The cutting edge was a Bucyrus blades 3/4"x6" beveled cutting edge, I don't know how hard that one is but I have drilled Hardox 450 before with out any problems. The annular cutters I use for drilling hard materials are M42 Tin coated and carbide cutters.
Ohiofleet, the grease pump in the picture was the customers but I do have 2 of those pumps. If your looking to buy one I think Caterpillar still has them available, p/n 7H-1660, Alemite may still have them also.
I really did not pay attention to the travel motor other than making sure it was clean at assembly time.
Some pics from today.
Originally I was going to bore and bush this, force of habit with castings. The bores came out fine.
Good show....looks a neat job. And good show to the other guy's who offered the "done it before" advise. :cool2
Yes good job. We learnt long ago to check the casting. I sent a man out years ago to do a link. He rang me and said he had welded the bores and when he went to cut them they were like glass. We checked all castings after that.
Teamco/Feterl 1-605-498-0610, ask for Jack. Good luck
Some L90 pics from yesterday.
A few more .
thanks Tom for the information on the cutters, i've used Evolutions cutters on my Mag drill and it dulled them almost instantly. Gonna find these and givethem a try.
A few pics from this afternoon.
Thats the go Tom Just pick up the whole thing! Well done
Tom, I like your version of homework. It is always an enjoyment to see the pictures of waht you are working on, and even more enjoyable is seeing the quality of work you do. You are one class act.
Tom Your thread is always interesting. I sure do enjoy that you take the time to show your skills and teach us a thing or two from each job.
A few shots from the other day.
Some very nice looking homework you do Tom. Pretty slick to just bring it home, to weld and bore. Wish you were closer I sue would have you do some of that on my excavator. Thanks for sharing your great looking work.
A few from this week, some maintenance and a broken grapple.
Looks like the grapple has been patched a few times. Maybe its time to come off and get freshened up.
You are right Lee, the customer knows what needs to be done but the lack of work and the poor economy has put a budget on this repair. I'll post some pictures when I get back to it.
If you would rather not it is fine, but since you brought up economy, it begs the question as to what you think should happen to help fix this. Iw oils not ask without voicing my own. Less government, more small business, more free enterprise, less regulation, less Obama. I think that if the government would just stay out of it so to speak our economy would fix itself out of self sustainment. I want to eat, therefore I work, therefore I make money, therefore I spend it, therefore I eat, therefore economy sustains itself. What is your view? I know this is not a political forum and If you don't want get it started just delete it.
I have too much to say on this subject so I'll just say this, the last 4 years have just plain sucked to be in business.
Tom- I see you got Schmidt's loaders serviced just in time for the snow
AH HA! I thought that faded airplane hanger looked familiar...
A few shots from this morning.
Tom - great work! Your attention to detail and clean work ethic is amazing. A few questions; I'm looking to invest in a OTC hollow ram. What would you recommend 10,20 or 30 tonn? The biggest piece of iron I see would be no bigger than 60 ton. For your press plates what did you do buy them? Or just get plate and cut out pieces in .25" increments with a 1.250" hole for threaded rod? Thanks, Derek.
The minimum size ram I would start out with would be a 30ton. My most used are 30ton and 60ton, the step plates I have made when ever I am at the machine shop, 30ton 1 1/4" hole, 60ton 1 5/8" hole. Good luck.
Tom, how do you poke out track pins? I'm going to assume,looking at your last photo, you use a "BFH". Just wondering what your preferred method is. I've always used a sledge instead of a press.Mainly because I don't have a track press, but that's another story. Love the photos!
Most of the time I use a 20lb hammer, I do have an OTC master pin pusher I bought used, the last time I used it was on a CAT 245 to put in a couple repair links. I would prefer the CAT 2 rod style press but what I have works for now.
A couple shots of the broken grapple put back together.
A few from today, repacking a couple hoist cylinders on a Fiat Allis loader.
I gotta ask what's holding the loader arms up? Looks like one of David Blaine's levitation tricks. LOL
Looks like he is doing one at a time if I were to guess...
Yes I did one at a time.
A few pics of a mini bucket I started on today.
Tom, You are handier than a shirt pocket, now to see how it looks when finished. Some insight as to how you are going to bend that plate to follow the curve would be nice, also.
The floor plate for that bucket will be made from HARDOX 450 material and formed on a press brake. I will post some pics as I go.
Do you have that done for you? We have a local company do ours, we give then a cardboard template of the profile and they bend it. Bucket bottoms, blade faces, all kinds of things. The brake must be a pretty good size to bend AR plate.
Yes Lee, I have a company with a 1000 ton press brake that forms all my projects such as this.
Drilling HARDOX 400 wear plate with a M42 tin coated annular cutter.
I kind of wondered if you had it bent that way so you get the shape right. Bet the customer will be one more of those happy ones when you finish.
You got to love the mag drills. They are a great tool and make drilling easy.
till somebody knocks the cord loose!!
yes you must love those annular bits.............theironoracle
Without stealing Toms thread a trick thats handy when drilling that quench and tempered steel is prior to drilling put a heat spot with the gas torch and let it cool out. It will anneal it and make it a lot softer to drill.
Thanks for the great way to drill hard steel, make sense.
wher did you get the grease can
Ohiofleet, you can get the grease pump from Caterpillar p/n 7H-1660 or Alemite 7149.
ohiofleet, there is a few on ebay under alemite part number................theironoracle
tom, when welding up holes that are really egged out, how do you get the welder to fill the low spots more than the other areas and still end up with a round hole? This has been bugging me so I have to ask. I agree on the last four years thing, but it doesn't look good to get out of the rut anytime soon.
I will bore the hole to clean/true it up, if it's egged out badly I would build up the low area by hand.
Going back to the drilling Do you heat it cherry red and the quench it with a wet rag?? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No, I drill HARDOX 400 AND 450 all the time with M42 tin coat annular cutters.
I have just read through the entire thread and found it very interesting and informative. I have a question, when ever these types of jobs come up in my life it is always muddy and raining or snowing and blowing and covered in 3 inches of grease and filth. Do you have them clean the equipment up before you get there or do you have a pressure washer on your truck? Thanks Gus.
If it's a planned repair the customer would most likely clean the equipment for me but the emergency repairs are almost always a mess, and no pressure washer.
Tom I asked about holding the bucket arms up on the Fiat 120. You replied your doing one at a time. How does the other cylinder hold it up? Do you plug the lines from the removed cylinder? Or how is it done? I've always leaned the arms on a tandem dump. It work well except the dump can get in the way. Thanks Randy
I removed the hoses on one cylinder in the lowered position, capped them off , unpinned the rod end, raised the loader arms with one cylinder, then removed cylinder. The arms had to be in the lowered position to remove the hoses and raised position to remove the cylinder from the machine.
Thanks for the explanation Tom. I like the idea but I wouldn't want to work under loader arms held up by the cylinder. My loaders are old Cat 988A's and 980B's. The cylinders are center mounted and you have to work under the arms. I bet with that Fiat you just pull out the bottom pin from below and remove the cylinder. No worries that way.
Some pics of the mini bucket going together.
Tom thanks for showing how tight you have that new piece fitting. Another very nice job!!!
A few more.
TomV, thank you for taking the time to show us all the fine work you do. I have found it extremely interesting and quite humbling considering my meager ability compared to yours. Merry Christmas.
Tom what if hardox steel is not used for a bucket repair but instead steel that a machine shop would have in stock? Also do you use 100% hardox even for the side pieces?
If I could not get Hardox, I would use AR400 or some other abrasion resistant steel. Knowing that A36(mild steel) is 120-160 brinell, A514(T-1 or weldox100) is 235-290 brinell, and Hardox450 is 450 brinell, I think a bucket repaired with anything else would wear quite rapidly. No not always 100% Hardox, it depends what steel I have on hand, but always some type of A R plate. This mini bucket I just rebuilt had Hardox 400 and 450 used on all replaced and added sections.
Once more a very impressive looking job Tom, sure should put a smile on your customer's face.
Some from today, a DEERE 550G water pump rebuild.
Tom, you cheated and brought it inside the shop. I seem to remember to always put a new shaft and a new impeller in a Deere water pump?
Your right, this got a new shaft, impeller, and seal. It was warmer outside in the sun than in the shop.
Short story about JD water pumps. After breaking a pump pressing the bearing out I decided to have the next one hired done. While waiting for a radiator to be recored I removed the pump and took to JD to rebuild. Put it all back together and hadn't run 15 min. when the fan blade and hub came apart and went right trough my new $1900. radiator. JD replaced all new at no charge.
Nice job how many hours on that bucket is that fluxcore wire u using or with shielding gas.
Hi Tom, Hope you had a nice holiday, and had a few days of! Look forward to seeing you work pictures in 2013 and hope you get plenty of work to picture! though im sure you will with your standards! Wishing you a happy New Year! Aiden
Thanks, had a little bit under 20 hours into it, and I used dual shield wire.
Thanks Aiden, had a good holiday, more days off then I wanted, not much on the books but as soon as I have some pictures I'll post them. Hope to have a better year in 2013. Happy New Year to you and all of the HEF members. TOM V
I hope you are a little bit busier than you want to be. That way we will get some more pictures of some great repairs done by you.
best of luck, Tom, and happy new year. I sure enjoy every one of your stories.
A few recent pics, cutting some wear plates out of the feed area of this chipper. Repairing a cracked hydraulic pipe for an Akerman.
A few more. A deflecter for an Elgin vac sweeper.
that shop floor needs some ice melt.
tom, since I don't know, what is "dual shield" welding wire? I suspect flux core and gas outer?
Dual shield is a flux cored wire that is used with a shielding gas.
Tom we see that all the time, they wait until the teeth wear down and upon doing so damage the links in the tracks as well from the sharp bite.
TomV, My cousins husband does similar work to you here in the UK, line boreing welding, fabrication but not the mechanical repairs, like you he does some interesting work, (to me anyway). I was talking to him before Christmas he said he was 65 years old in March, no intention of retiring yet,although he says he has thrown the 28lb hammer out of his van as he is not using it again. On the subject of bending metal, I carried out some civil engineering work at a steelworks in Sheffield a few years ago, they were making parts for military tanks, and were straightening 3/8" thick plate using an 8000ton press driven by water hydraulics. I asked the works engineer what the press was originally used for he said during the Second World War it was used for bending 20" thick armour plate for battle ships. The only press I have seen which is larger than this was a 10000 ton hot forging press in Forgemasters works, they forge 300 ton ingots with this for steam/hydro generation shafts etc. Keep up the good work - nice to see a professional at work - good luck for 2013. Ex tractor fan
A few shots from today, replacing a Vacon body.
Kind of looks like they left you holding the can! You sure get a variety of different things to do.
Hey Tom, what went wrong w/ the vac con? rust or worn thin from the inside out?
Mitch, it''s worn thin and rotted, replaced the inlet on top 7 years ago, lined the lower third of the body 3 years ago, rust is popping through all over, so it's time to replace it.
A few shots from today, Vacon getting a new body.
Do you like that tripod ladder Tom?
Not really, it's not mine, I would not buy one of those, I am used to my two sided ladder.
I'd like to know how the operator managed to bend a grading bucket like that .... Great stuff Tom
I"d like to know too but I was never told what happened.
TOMV, I just landed a job replacing three bottoms in excavator buckets, 2ea 66" 330 cutting edge buckets, 1ea 48" 330 digging, and 1ea 966g 5yd cutting edge bucket, i will be scouring your thread many times for tips and tricks and may need to ask a few questions along the way. thanks for posting all of this info hear..........................theironoracle
A few from today, replacing blades and some welding on a Genesis 500R shear.
Is that an old Cat 922 or 944 on the trailer in the background?
Yes there were two 922's that came in that day.
Wow!! Thats a shame. I have friends who could have used parts. Cash talks i guess
A few recent pics.
A few from today.
Tom what's the story on the cab being fitted to the Cat compactor? It looks brand new.
CM, all the glass was broken out, door was damaged, it was easier to remove the cab and work on it at ground level, also inside where it was warm so the urethane would cure better.
And with what urethane costs...best it works right the first time.
A few shots line boring a Timbco buncher arm.
At least that Timbco piece was inside. Sounds like you guys are getting pounded up there! How many ton capacity is that center hole ram?
That's a 30 ton, one of my most used rams.
Tom, I'm a relatively new poster that has been lurking for a long time. I am about to embark a line boring mission on my own equipment, one because no one locally does portable line boring and secondly because I have the mechanical skills and time to do it myself versus spending a large chunk at mill shop. My question I guess is; are there relatively economical ways for me to build own boring tools? or should I dive in and try to buy a system?
TOM, i am trying to apply some hard face to a bucket repair i just did, i can't find a good setting with this wire hopefully you can help. i am using a study .045, what voltage, wire speed, en or ep, gas? i probably have about 10 feet of 1/4" beed laid down and can't find settings that works real well.......help!!!!! theironoracle
Depends what STOODY product you are using, I use STOODY 101HC 1/16" with 75-25 gas@26v, 200a, dc reverse. If it was .045 I would start at 22v 150a wire speed you will have to play with. Good luck with it.
If you want to build one or get some ideas check out thelineboringbook.com .
Tom, Been looking through the thread. I know you get lots of compliments, but add me to your fan list, your work is fantastic. I just hope you're making a good living out of this, you should be. If only you were based near me I'd be a regular customer. It is awfully hard to find people to do repairs and modifications rather than just trying to sell you something new. Graham
Tom, Have you been busy with repairs from the blizzard? Some towns really took it on the chin... I suspect you may have had a repair or two??? Best Gary
Not any blizzard related reairs, but the storm put off a few jobs I was going to start this week.
A few recent shots, a DEERE 50C swing frame repair.
I thought you only put the bearing in the freezer. Look like the snow found your big sky shop door open. I used to have one just like that so know how nice it is to have a well vented shop. Glad you have some work, hope business improves for you this year.
Tom,I think we should swap locations. I'm boring a little cat 950 bucket in my shed today and its just on a 100 degrees. Not sure whats worst.Your location or mine. Is that swing tower cast iron or cast steel? Did you weld it or take it out for sleeves?
Tom that was what I was wondering if you bored it for bushings or it had bushings that were wore out that you had to bore weld?
The snow was over the top of my work table last week, hope the economy picks up too, thanks.
Ray, I don't mind the heat so I would not mind swapping locations, that swing frame was welded and hard to machine, I was able to machine it with sandvik inserts, took a little longer but the customer wanted the stock size bore dimensions.
Some shots from yesteday, a Kobelco swing frame getting bored and sleeved.
Looks like your bench is getting taller. Hope you are just a little busier than you want to be with work this year. You sure do some great looking work!
I had to registered so I could compliment you on the fine work you do. You have another fan.
A few recent shots, a DEERE 50C getting assembled.
Shrinking some sleeves for installation in a Kobelco swing frame.
A fill in job, got to fab up a tow plate for a Mack.
A few from today.
Glad to see you are staying busy Tom. Keep up the good work.
Tom, Can you do a walk around of your truck and all of the storage compartments? Josh
Tom, You do some of the highest quality work I have ever seen. Thanks, for all you do. Mike
Well done to this one it seem that it is finish to be look good.
Thanks guys, here are a few pics from today.
Nice work Tom!
Nice torch cut work Tom. I have to ask, is that from a torch jig or from a tip guide straight edge?
Willie, I cut the 24x32 rectangle out of the sheet with my track torch, the rest of the cuts were done with a hand cutting torch and magnetic combo square.
Tom, I assume that the smaller triangle pieces were used as gussets going from the lower part of the hitch back up to the frame? Looks like the whole truck is getting the frame painted. Looks real good. Your fab skills are top notch.
I really like that magnetic combo square. :yup Sadly, I don't have a track torch, but much like your square I typically use a piece of 1/2" x 2" cold rolled flat bar as a tip guide. That's some nice torch work you got there.
someone who knows what they are doing should remove that left rear air can and disable it before "the new guy" takes that top clamp off the spring brake and loose whatever body part is close, i have seen the results of this........theironoracle
to the Theironoracle question why would "the new guy" remove that clamp? I don't get it? I know all about spring brakes but why remove the clamp? Thanks Randy
just saying its the responsibility of us more experienced people to keep "the new guys" from getting injured on the job. things like this spring brake can that has been outlawed with the removable clamp on the "spring" end of the can is our responsibility to inform the "new guys" of, or just disable it to lessen the possibility of injury for others. just an observation.........theironoracle
I get it now. I never new they're made without a removable clamp.
Tom, I just purchased my first rolls of dual-shield wire from a freind that did not know what he had.He thought they were regular flux-core.They're Hobart fabco rxr .045. My question is, how does dual-shield wire run going vert. up?Having no experience with this wire,any tips you could give me would be a big help!Also where did you get that awesome magnetic square?I HAVE TO HAVE ONE!! Thank you!
I second the vote that tom v gives us a walk around and shows us more pictures of his truck and how he has his tools set up and how each compartment is utilized. Full disclosure. When he has time of course. He is a busy guy it seems. Nice work Tom. I bet you have plenty of satisfied customers.
I second the request for a tour of the truck.I would love to see how Tom,and others for that matter,have their trucks laid out.I've gotten some really good ideas from seeing how others have set up their trucks.
I don't know how that Hobart wire runs out of position but I can tell you the Lincoln ultracore that I use freezes faster than the Esab 7100 ultra I used to use, they both run good verticle up if you keep a short arc length. The combo square is manufactured by Cruise Industrial Controls, I have not seen those around for quite some time.
A few shots from today, a 550G needs some undercarraige work.
And I bet if you ever lost that thing that I'd hear ya cussing plum down here in TN. :yup
Thanks for the info,Tom.It just so happens that I actually found a retailer for those mag-tri-squares.McMaster-Carr.Thought I'd put that out there,in case anyone else just has to have one,like me.
nice torching bro
Some recent pics, 550 going together.
thanks for all the pics very interesting stuff your service truck makes us all jealous whats your hourly $ rate we could use a guy like you around here not to many independants left you are surely a dieing breed good luck and all the best kcco
Break any bolts in the roller frame, I don't like those full length guides.
agreed, we probably cant afford him though!
bwaa, like ATCO's punchline says he is priceless, not expensive..........theironoracle
Many happy customers will say it's true.
Thanks, I charge $95.00 per hour for labor.
Did not break any bolts, job went smooth.
A couple shots from today.
Tomv, i am wanting to buy a shop(single phase) cv welder to power my suitcase extreme, any later model miller welders you would suggest? I don't quite understand what i need by looking at millers website......thanks........theironoracle
You don't have too many choices, I think I would go with a XMT 350 cc/cv. Good luck.
excellant choice, have three in shop, have been workhorses. they are inverter style, miller used to make a single-phase cv power source that was pretty rugged called a shopmaster. inverter gets my 1st choice though.
thanks, tomv, i will pick one of those up next time i have a project that requires it. i did buy one of those shopmasters for one of my former employers shops it was hard to find because they didn't make them then either and had to look at lots of auctions....thanks again.......theironoracle
Excellent work. Thanks for all the pictures and information Tom.
Hey Tom, i saw KGM's EC160 with a mangled cab back around Christmas. Saw it the other day and its lokks like its back in action. Was that one of your projects?
No, I did not do the repair on their machine.
Keep up the good work.
A couple from today.
Hey Tom how do you charge for your line boring is it $95/hr plus a boring fee or do you do a lot by the hole as a flat rate ? I have been trying to do as much as I can by the hole as long as I have done that particular job before. It also helps that our local cat dealer will give a flat rate for a paticular hole on any cat machine, I try to stay at about 75% of there price.
Tom great stuff what stick is that on your truck. I do line boring my self have the 308 using york bars climax feed and spinning it with hydraulic motor. Are you in brs add? Great work most interesting.
This is really bugging me, did the owner mean to paint his end dump like the french flag? Anyway, good work as always Tom. When i grow up i want to weld like you.
Cowman, I charge line boring by the job, for example 330 end of stick $1000.00 plus travel. I was always less than the dealers seems they have dropped their boring prices in the last few years.
Thanks, the crane is a 14k lb FETERL and yes I was in the add back in 1999-2000.
The trailer was built for some one that did not take it and my customer got a deal on it.
Tom V your work is amazing. I am an apprentice and I have been following your thread for some time now and mechanics like you are a dying breed.
I'm new here and found this thread today, went through all 61 pages. Great.
A few pics from yesterday.
tom I was starting to wonder bout u, hadn't saw any pics lately from u!! glad to see that you don't have any snow on the ground now hows work there? Iv been very busy here, finally got some good jobs going around here
what was the problem Tom?
I am very busy myself, hope it stays this way for a while.
Just replacing some pins and bushings.
nice work om
Must b in the air today swapped the same bushings on a jd hoe today the whole time while pumping the cylinder by hand asking myself why i didnt buy a air over hydraulic pump for my truck. Do enjoy seeing the pics of your work. Thank you for sharing.
A few shots.
A few more.
That's getting your monies worth out of that idler Tom! - I hope they are replacing more than just the idler? It all looks pretty sad, even in the pics. On the last pic with the KX101 - that is in interesting looking hammer on the back of your truck, never seen one like it before, or is it just a pin laying on the tray behind a hammer?
The D5 needs a complete bottom, but only installed an idler, the hammer is called a knock out punch or back out punch, they are quite handy, I have a few different sizes.
A few recent pics.
A few more.
hey tom, is that a c-clamp you use to hold the idler wheel?
Mike, you know you should never lift with a clamp, that"s an idler lifting device.
A few pics from today, an EC150 with a bad planetary.
So it is.
oops, my bad. must have been the pic from far away. where would I get one of these idler lifting devices? www.kalecoauto.com ?
ok dumb question, how do you break/seperate the track on a crawler? pigpen60
found the answer. pigpen
Hi tom,what brand is your track press? looks like your keeping busy.
The press is an OTC, keeping fairly busy I hope it stays like this awhile.
A few shots from today, a SE280 with a pump drive coupling failure.
nice work Tom. how lucky that the coupling broke with such good access to the machine. I think if it was mine it would have been in the mud up tight against a tree
last time a machine threw a track on me I had to cut the fence to get it out
A c-clamp on the idler to lift it out! Genius. It's the little tidbits like that, that keep me coming back.
A few from the other day, putting the EC150 back together.
Replacing sprockets on an AKERMAN H16D.
Nifty circle burner ya got there. Did you use it to make the bevel on the hub as well?
Now thats is cool any upclose of the welds. And tomv if you would what diamater and pitch b7 all thread do you use the most we are making an accessory for it that i would like you to try out. Please pm me your mailing address
I figure you made the torch adaptor you’re yourself from a gas profiler head. But can you tell what wire you use in your feeder unit to give you gasless MIG/MAG. I take it’s one of inner shield range or similar. But which one do you use.
That's something I made up for cutting off Akerman sprocket rings, and yes made the bevel also.
Simply brilliant.
Thanks, here are a few more pics. Ended up having to extract broken bottom roller bolts, didn't take too many pics. The most popular size rod I use with the center hole rams is 1 1/4"-7.
I used ER70S-6 .045 diameter with 75-25 gas.
Tom, I can't compliment you enough on designing your cutting torch setup to cut those sprockets off. Could you post of photo of a close up of how you mounted the cutting head, so you can angle it to do the bevel.
Randy I took it apart already but it's no big deal to assemble it again, I'll put it together and take a few pics in the near future.
Randy, here are the pieces that make up the sprocket cutter. 3/8" plate with a 3/4"-16 nut welded on and a 12mm hole drilled at one end, a leg from my OTC 17 ton push-puller, torch holder off my track torch, and a short 2 hose machine torch. The axle on the AKERMAN is threaded M12-1.75 and I lubed up the washers and snugged up the bolt until the tool was rigid but had a smooth pull.
Cool pictures. I love to see all these working trucks and other equipments. I'm hoping to see more lots of pictures! :usa
Just shows how under prepared I am for some of the work might come across. Do you only use it for Akerman or do you use it on other makes. Good pictures.
you must have the corner on akermans! I have never even seen one at auction or for sale in publications. anyway as I have said before your work is amazing and it inspires me to strive to improve, and this thread makes the hole industry better...................theironoracle
That Akerman said Volvo on it, didn't it? I was wondering myself as I had never seen one with Akerman on it.
Mitch, that Akerman H16D did say volvo on it, some one painted it the wrong colors and put the volvo decals on it.
Tom v, dumb question but have you purchased any of the different nozzles for your sure shot sprayers? If you have gotten nozzles from who? What kind works best for what? I see them listed on milwaukies website but can't find anyone that sells them online. Besides brake kleen what else to you carry in them? Thanks.........tio
G'day Tom, Where could I buy a track pin removal tool with power pack and import it to Australia, they would be super handy over here? Cheers
The SURE SHOT sprayers I have come standard to spray a mist, or you can remove the spiral pin to have a stream spray. I use the mist with kroil and the stream with brakleen.
George, I would try BIGNOZZI in Italy or MARUMA TECHNICA, they have a distributor in the UK. Regards, TOM V
http://www.wtcmachinery.com/wtcmachinery-tooling.html.These work pretty good for us!
http://www.wtcmachinery.com/wtcmachinery-tooling.html
we have Akermans over here converted into pre cast pile driving machines,great machines
A few shots from this week.
A few more.
hey tom where do you buy your threaded press rods? sizes ? thanks for your input your the man jp from minnesota.
Mcmaster-Carr has them. Usually 1 1/4". Make sure you get B7 rod.
I have a fifty ton press ram will that rod take that amount of force?
tom.. I am thinking about refacing the blade on my old D6D.. where can I get the face material, and is it already bent to fit the curve or do you press it on then weld it up? this blade is really beat up, and all the pins/ball joints need rebuilt. I don't have a good idea how I can reweld the balls/sockets and keep a circular profile.. thanks..
You should be able to get B7 theaded rod from your fastener supplier, MSC, or Mcmaster as Mitch said, as far as size I would use 1 5/8" rod with a 50 ton ram.
I would make a cardboard template of the profile of the blade and have the plate formed with HARDOX or AR400, as far as the trunions/balls I have never built them up, always cut them off and relaced them. Good luck.
many thanks.
Tom, I know you said you like to have the customer source the parts most of the time, but in the event that they don't how do you or those in your line of business work that out. I was wondering if you just use a cash account at sway the cat store or jd store or if you have an actual account there like a regular customer probably would? We do all of our own mechanic work at the quarry, the only times we call someone in is if we need some specialty welding or if an ECM needs swapped on a piece, CAT won't give me that ability. And if you buy the parts, how much do you mark them up? You kind of have to have some mark up for going and picking them up and using your money and getting paid for them, to take care of expenses and the higher tax you are paying because of higher income don t you? Some of the parts get to be pretty expensive sometimes I'm just curious as to the procedure.
I always had the vendor supply the part. I have an agreement with my vendors that there is no more than a 10% mark up. If I were to purchase the part for the vendor and the vendor installs the part (say for instance an ECM) and the part fails in a months time, the vendor wont warranty his labor for it wasnt his part that he purchased. So I end up paying for a trip charge and the labor hours to re-install another ECM that was faulty even though the ECM part was warrantied. So because of warranty issues, I have the vendor purchase the parts to get my max warranty limits..........Just something to keep in mind.
I always work with the customers to get their machinery up and running. Sometimes I'll put the parts on my account out of convience, and other times the customer will purchase them. You should make 20 percent on any parts or materials you sell but that's impossible these days. I don't sell parts like I used to, many people turn to the internet to source parts, and you can't sell oem parts for more than the dealer gets so I let the customer handle the parts most of the time. I hope this answers your question.
A few line boring pics.
tom, I have all the upper joints all fixed on the blade for my D6D, straight blade that is, and I am down to the ball trunnions and bearings on the front of the push arms. do you just torch these out? It looks like they have never been out, but are really loose.. I am not sure but it looks like the nuts will have to be cut off the fastener bolts holding the push arm bearings to the balls, I cannot get a gun on them and I imagine that they are stuck tougher than a box end wrench can pull.. thanks for your help.
oldirt, I don't mean to answer for Tom but ,yes, I use a torch to get those and so does everyone I've seen do it. I hold the replacement end up next to the existing trunnion bearing, and make reference marks on the beam to give me an idea of where to cut. I don't know if thats right but its how I've done it. Tom will chime in and have a few other pointers I'm sure. Good luck!
ok, that is pretty much the way it looks to me too. thanks for your help. If I can figure out how to get those bolts out the rest probably will be easy.
Tom, What brand of shanks/teeth do you use on your excavator bucket rebuilds, who do you buy them through? We are getting ready to rebuild our bucket and need to do the shanks/teeth. Thanks!
Nedly, I have been using Metalogenia teeth and adapters unless the customer prefers something else. They have excellent wear life and good impact resistance. Check their website for dealers in your area.
Thanks Tom. Our local Nortrax carries them which is awesome. I'll be ordering a set, and taking pics of your bucket rebuilds with me when I go to drop off my bucket!
So i was trailing through youtube and who do I spot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AgM9an4AlU mr v himself
That's pretty cool...just the other day I was thumbing through a Construction Equipment magazine , and Tom was featured on a full page ad for Mobil Delvac oil.....I think that qualifies him officially as a "celebrity"?
reminds me of "tv tommy ivo" back in the day.. ok I am old.
I remember the 4 engine car he used to run
I always wondered why he used those buick nail valve specials. maybe they fit together better than any other big block.
Just have to be careful! This summer I built a heavy duty workbench in my garage. Long story short I ended up with a 3.5ftx8ft bench top that's about 13/16" thick. Top weights in at around 950lbs. Set it on top of some .gov surplus Stanley Vidmar cabinets (heavy duty!) ANYHOW... I had the top setup on a set of sawhorses outside to cut and weld it. One of my friends came over and needed to use my Bobcat which was in the garage with the benchtop in the way. He used an engine hoist to move it to the garage, 4 C clamps on each side and ran a chain through them. When it came time for me to set the top on the cabinets I figured, heck that worked great, even though I thought it was a bit crazy using C clamps to lift. Got it lifted up and I went to push the top over and a C clamp slipped. In a split second it pinned my fingers between the chain and side of the top. Luckily I had help so we were able to set the top back down and get my hand out. No injury, but I was lucky!
Hey Tom, haven't been any posts here for a while ..... everything OK? Not busy? or too busy to bother? :drinkup
Alrman,all is well, nothing too noteworthy to post lately, I'll see if I could find some recent pictures.
Tom Always interestn to see what you have been doing will be waitn!! Jerry
Here are a few pics of fork tine replacement I did.
Some line boring.
Idler replacement.
JLG 660 oscillation pin removal, had to weld a nut on the pin to pull it out of the bores. Here's a few removing a dump body.
Replacing cutting edge and drilling to put a bolt on edge.
thanks tom!! Jerry
JLG 660 boom cylinder pin froze in, welded a nut to the pin to suck it out.
Pin and bushing turn and segment groups.
Hey Tom, hope all is well, haven't seen any new post. Later, overworked.
I have sat and read this whole thing this afternoon. I am convinced I am not worthy to drag up this mans leads!!!! You do amazing work sir!!!!! Looking at your bucket repairs made me think of a story I heard at work. They sent a guy to cut the shank off a bucket, either a 1100 or a 1800 Hitachi. He did it in @ 15 min is what I was told. Cut right @ the shank and cut a notch in the bucket lip
A few pics from yesterday, a D6M with a loose blade.
Hi Tom glad to see you back on the forum. Hope you had a good winter.
Glad your back posting Tom. I missed seeing your work.
Thanks for the pictures. Do you use a bottle jack to raise the machien before cribbing?
Welcome back thanks for posting Tom, looks like some more good work in process.
That bottom pic would bring a tear to a glass eye Tom
A few shots from yesterday, D6M blade repairs.
Nice looking work. What are you using to weld that housing in with? Kinda looks like Fabco 802 wire to me. I love that stuff.
Nothing too exciting going on, but here are some recent pics.
Glad to see you back. You must be staying busy?
Tom V, good to see some pics, hope things are well, things must be busy? they are over here! TIO
Here are a few more.
Thanks guys, everyone wants me at the same time and can't be on 2 or 3 jobs at once so I loose some work when some customers can't wait, feast or famine.
you do some awesome work no wonder you are always busy
Im glad your staying busy Tom.. its that busy here also It never fails this time of year everyone wants something fixed cause winter is coming & they want to get all the work done before that happens!! glad to see you post again
Hi Tom. Great thread, workmanship and info you are sharing. Had a question about your recent D6M blade pivot joint repair. Did you weld in a new cat part or did you get a replacement machined? Was wondering because on the 6M and 6N on more than one occasion I've seen the bearing holder on the blade tilt ram rod end stretch, elongate and break due to maintenance and overload issues. At the top of the blade tower I notice there is clearance to get a custom bearing holder machined and installed that has a larger OD than the Cat OEM part. Just curious if you go OEM only, or make improvements to parts that you see commonly fail.
Tom, When you get a chance please up date this thread its one of the best threads on the internet. Your work speaks for itself, i take pride in what i do and its not a tenth of your quality even though i try. Josh
Hey Tom, I've noticed you use an array of various hollow-ram cylinders. How about a quick "show and tell" on the different rams you use and the "bits" that go with them. Thank you.
Very very nice work.
I've been away too Tom,nice to see that you are still here.Ron G
Ron, glad to see your back, good luck and HAPPY NEW YEAR.
A few recent repairs.
Some more.
Yes, made the clamps, I make the bucket templates out of cardboard so it could be folded and mailed to my steel supplier.
I might steal your clamp idea...if its alright with you. Mailing the cardboard to steel supplier is a fine idea....I'm guessing they don't mail the steel back to you lol?
Those clamps are very handy, I remember making those and someone said I was crazy to cut new clamps in half.
Nice work as always Tom.
glad to see your busy tom!! nice job on that bucket. keep the pics coming
Tom, how difficult is it to rebuild those hydraulic breakers? I picked one up for almost nothing but it does not work. Don't mind buying the parts, but they want a stupid amount of money to fix it. I'm always up for a challenge and have never worked on one before but, I don't want to waste money, either. Thank you!
More great ideas from your pictures, liked the clamps. Sure have a nice variety of work and do such a good job, no wonder you are busy. Thanks for sharing once again!
Not difficult at all, you must have the service procedures, follow them, and keep clean. The last medium sized hammer (RAMMER E68) I rebuilt with tie bolts ran about $9200.00 parts and labor. Good luck with it.
Thank you! Now, any advice on where to source the parts and service procedures for a RockRam hammer?
I always use oem parts, CAT, RAMMER, STANLEY, etc. I never heard of ROCKRAM, but someone should have parts and a service book available. Good Luck with it.
http://rockramparts.com/
Tom do you know how much your dry ice maker cost? We are going to be using dry ice to freeze brand our cows and was curious how much yours cost also how do they work? Do you inject oxygen in there and then that's what does it or what? I looked on the net and them little things looked expensive! Thanks Jerry
Jerry, I purchased the dry ice maker back in 1997 for $310. The one I have makes 2 lb bricks with liquid Co2, works well for what I do.
A few recent pics.
Nice work Tom.
TOM V, how long have you been in your own business, and how did you start out as a mechanic/welder? I know it's kind of a broad question, but I'm just curious because you show a lot of talent and professionalism in your work.
I started my business 16 years ago, as to how I started in this type of work I really don't have an answer, I have always pulled wrenches on everything from bicycles to motorcycles, cars, trucks, and equipment. It's all I really know how to do to make a living and I like it so I stuck with it. Hope that answers your question. Regards TOM V
Good answer Tom V! Thank you.
Nice work on that bucket Tom Looks like a Cat 330? I have one just about ready for the same treatment. Too bad you are on the wrong end of the country.
Thanks Jerry, it's for a CAT 336E.
Tom is that the way your normally do the bottom by runing the wear bars all the way across the bottom. Looks like a better idea then cat does it. I'm geting ready to do a 336d bucket next week. Is the bottom of the bucket 3/8 like the sides? Thanks for sharing. Jason
TomV may have additional comments, but I prefer doing it that way as it's just as effective as a wear bar compared to bars that are fitted linear with bucket teeth, and it's far faster and less costly to install as fitting them lateral doesn't require heating with a torch and bending the metal.
Thanks willie. I was talking about runing across the bucket going to the edge. Looks like the stock bucket has the floor welded I between the sides causing them to be higher. Looks like the way tom does it would be much better. Now I just need to find some ar400.
Jason, the bucket floor was formed out of 1/2" Hardox 450, and you are correct as the bottom was welded between the sides from the manufacturer,and the floor was wore out from the inside before the wear bars. As far as wear bars I have always put them across the bottom as they prevent abrasion from wearing the bottom of the floor, and also stiffens up the bottom. Regards, TOM V
Thanks Tom. Do you feel it's worth the extra price to use hardox for the bottom. Do you know what the factory uses for material? Thanks again for the info Jason
I think its worth the extra $$ to use the hardox or the AR plate!! It really makes a notable difference in the life of the repair.
I will have to call alro and get a price. The shop I talked to about forming it said 2 weeks. Looks like every one is starting to get bussy.
Jason, definitely worth it, at least use AR400. I don't know what the oem uses but it does not last very long.
Thanks for the input. I talked to alro today and they have a drop I can get at a reasonable price. Looks like you use 3/4 for the bottom wear bars on a 336 bucket.
Just to compare prices and lead time, give Leeco Steel a call. > http://www.leecosteel.com/
The wear bar I used on the 336 bucket was 1"x4" Hardox 450.
nowing I tried to send you a PM but I guess your box is full!!
New MILLER going on the truck today.
Nice. Did you wear the other one out? Or just time for an upgrade?
Willie, it's 17 years old, was getting tired, can't have it going down in the middle of a job so it was time to give her a break.
How many hours did you run it?
Has just under 5200 hours on it, still runs good, just some small things starting to go.
Amen, and after 17 years of service, I'd say it's earned some retirement time.
Did you trade it in on new one? Is that new one a 500D? Jerry
Jerry, I am going to keep the old machine for a spare and the new one is a BIG BLUE TURBO.
Tom, Do you have a shop in addition to your field service operation? Bob
No shop, repairs are done at customers yard or the job site.
Nice welder. Which engine? We have a Big Blue Air Pak with a Deutz engine that is invaluable.
I cleaned out my in box fservice
It has a DEUTZ TD2011 63 HP, same as the AIR PAK.
God Bless you Tom, another occupant of "God's Garage", great in the summer...not so much in the winter.
I like the oil cooled design. One less system to maintain. Lots of power too. Ours doesn't even waver when you turn the compressor on while welding.
How many holes can you drill with this annular cutter? I tried drilling holes in a scraper cutting edge yesterday with a 9/16" cobalt annular cutter and drilled 4 holes and that was it! Also saw Ray's pointer about heating where drilling do you do that? Thanks Jerry
Jerry, I use Hougen modified 12000 series M42 TiN coated cutters and have drilled [9] 7/8" holes in HARDOX 400 and still have the cutter in use. There are also rail road rail cutters available from TRAK-STAR that cut up to 400 Brinell.
A few shots from today.
How did the centre equaliser bar pin go Tom? They can be a pig to get out. Will the outer bores take a bearing or is it a machining job?
Hi Tom, looks nice and clean there, them snow banks still look tall.
Hey Tom that crane you got makes me kind of drool lipped. But I am sure that at times you wish it was bigger.
Ray, the center pin came out easy but the outer bores do need machining.
The snow is melting fast now, it's been a long winter.
Tom,good morning from Canadian west coast. When you installed the new Blue,did it take up much more space?
lovely clean little tractor.I have just put new ends on my D5H eq bar for the second time in 14000 hrs.
It is 4" taller, 4" wider, and 5" longer. The machine fits well on a 36" welder deck.
Thanks for reply,good to know
Pushing bushings in.
Tom what size of puller rod are you using? I may have something you may like.
Tom what size of puller rod are you using? I may have something you may like.
30 Ton ram with 1 1/4"-7 B7 alloy rod.
A few shots from today.
That view of that dozer is a familiar one to me. I've done that repair many times on track skidders. They are awful on track frame bores and equalizer bar bores. I remember on one I had to make a new fill port for the pivot shaft oil because the sprocket ate in to the pivot shaft bore housing. Needless to say the boring bar was out for the pivot shaft bores as well. The same customer asked me to weld/bore the end bores on the equalizer bar for their 527 skidder because they were in a pinch. I did the repair and it held up without breaking which surprised me. It was the same style equalizer bar that you have pictured for that D6. I would like to ask you a question as well so I don't feel excluded. Do you have problems getting around with your service truck being a three axle with that long of a service body? A pipe line friend of mine and I have been discussing that and I wanted to know from someone who runs a big service truck for a living. Thanks.
Doctor, no problems getting around, I always seem to get where I need to be.
Is that the 6M you fixed the blade on a few pages back? Its a nice looking machine , curious how many hours are on it as well. I have another question , I have been reading about the expander pin replacement system. Do you have any experience with these. They say it carries a 10 year warranty. If I don't trade backhoes I may do some pin and bushing work on the swing tower. It a 416C , they started to bushing the swing tower on the 2005 model 416 / 420 etc. I guess that's enough questions for now. Your work is interesting to me and others, its amazes me what different types of work you do.
****, yes that is the same D6 and it has around 6000 hours on it. As far as the 416c swing frame I would bore it to accept the later model bushings, I did a few Volvo EC55 swing frames where the early ones had no bushings, bored them out and pressed in the later s/n bushings.Good luck with your repair.
Yair . . . Tom V or others. I still can't get my head around how that darned pinned equaliser works . . . I think some one did explain it but I must have lost the plot. Briefly, as I see it, the centre distance has to alter as the frame oscillates from fully up to fully down, the widest dimension will be when the track frames are level and fully up or fully down would tend to draw the frame in toward the centre. Could you refresh this old blokes understanding of the geometry and how they compensate for what used to be the ends of equalizer free floating on the track frames. Cheers.
Scrub , I think the equalizer bar does what the swing arms on the older D6C , D7E F and others . It pivots to help keep traction or equal traction on both tracks as well as help with ride quality and keeps the front from separating. I could be completely wrong but on track. Thanks Tom for the reply. I hate to borrow 50 grand or more to replace my backhoe when a 10 grand repair could run me 5 more years.
Scrubby, I like the way you have managed to try to master the daft set up that CAT use on this E-Beam, the outer bearings need to slide on the pins in the track frame to cope with frame movement, to do this they need greasing etc about once a day the same as the centre pin, as this hardly ever gets done idiots like me get good coins to swap out these lumps of steel often, I don't even bother taking a snap of these jobs as its pointless as I have done so many, the centre pin location is nearly always knackered so it gets a few gobs of weld on it and a new pin stuffed home, its like CAT have sent me a Money Tree, High Drives I love them. tctractors
Yair . . tctractors Yes mate that's the part I can't get my head around. I will have to take some time out and crawl around one of those jiggers . . . they are few and far between in these parts. I keep living in hope that the lightbulb moment will hit me and it will all become clear . . . I originally imagined they must have some sort of an eccentric bearing in the ends of the beam that could rotate and compensate for the angle. On a similar light bulb moment (I may have mentioned this before) I was once woken up about midnight by an old bloke who had just realised why no matter how much he stiffened up the "C" frame of his Komatsu 65 it kept on cracking. I had been trying to explain to him for years how the hollow frame has to flex as the trunnions move up and down with the track frames . . . but he continued to add plates and stiffeners It was a cold night too but I stirred up the fire and we celebrated his enlightenment with a tot or two of rum. Cheers.
Scrub,there is a self aligning bearing in the ends of those bars and a big chunky seal to cap it off. If the grease is kept up to them we don't see much of them. I generally work on the tens and a few nines.The centres have what we call a compressed duck feather bearing which wears a bit. The frame bores are machined to a interference fit on the pin and the most common problem here is getting them out.If a 100 ton cylinder won't move it the mexican speed wrench comes out. If the dozer is on rock its not uncommon for the bar to break through the centre bore. Its an area Cat need to have a look at! Some weld them back up.Only works if their welding procedures are spot on. There are after market bars which have varying reputations and I have a mate who is milling them out of a solid lump of 4140. They seem to be going ok.
Bucket repair.
A few more.
Nice work Tom. Most look at a lip thats been torn out and run.
Yes,superb work Tom.Do you use a plasma cutter to make such clean cuts or is it just your skill as a craftsman?Ron G
Nice job Tom! I always enjoy your bucket rebuild pics!
Well Done!
Nice work on the repair Tom. That bucket don't look very old or worn. Looks like a case of poor welding quality on the manufacturer, from what the pictures show. It looks much better now after your work, and putting the teeth to the edge will help as well.
Thanks for the compliment guys, Ron all the cuts were flame cut.
I was afraid of that!I am happy to report that I can still turn wrenches,I adjusted the brakes on my wheelchair yesterday.Ron G
Ron, glad to hear you still pull a wrench now and then.
A few pics from today.
Lemme guess, main boom pin bushings. It's nice to have a monster crane on the truck. I have a 3 section 14,000 lb unit on my truck, sure is nice to be able to set the truck in one spot and pull all the cylinder off of a 400 size excavator. :drinkup
Thanks Tom,that 8mm combination was a handful. LOL.Your job site pics are what one would expect to see in an instruction manual.Yours are not really staged however,they are what one would expect to see whether there was a camera on site or not.Keep them coming.Ron G
Yair . . . RayF Thanks for reply upthread, I haven't been back to this thread of TOM V's for a couple of days and must have missed it. As I said I'll have to have a crawl under one of those jiggers as I STILL don't get how they accommodate the change in dimensions from level to maximum deflection. That is to say . . . with a simple pivoting bar the hole centres that attach to the track frames must be closer to the centre line of the tractor when in any position other than dead level with the frame . . . to take the analogy to extremes if it was possible to rotate the bar ninety degrees the three holes would be on the centre line if they were in line along the bar. I realise the movement will not be very much but I cannot visualise the type of self aligning bearing that would compensate. Cheers.
looks like a fairly new machine. Whats the story with it?
Peej, as Willie said boom pin and bushings. Willie, could always use a bigger crane.
Amen brother! :drinkup
ZX200 going together.
I'm just surprised a machine that new would need the main boom reworked unless the was a problem or it never greased
Tom, First, great work, you are a Journeyman. I notice that you seem to use several different size rams, what are the capacity of the solid and hollow core rams you use. Thanks, Bob
Got to ask one question, do you work by yourself or do you have any help at all? Most times I prefer to work by myself.
Peej, I don't know how new that 200 is, it has 4000 hours on the clock, the customer wanted to tighten it up.
Bob, the center hole rams I have are 17.5, 30, 50, 60, & 100 ton, the solid rams are 10, 25, & 30 ton.
****, most always alone, on occasion a customer will offer a helper.
Ditto. Most all mechanics work alone, and for a number of reasons. Most jobs are a one man task so that's the way we learned to do things. When things got a little heafty to handle alone, we figure out a way to do it alone, again, they send us out on a one man job. Also, having a helper means another person we have to keep an eye on, make sure this bolt got tightened, that hose connection is locked down, it's just easier for one man to go through a repair process and insure all things are properly done and checked.
A few bucket pics.
Tom, Thanks, very helpful. Bob
A few more bucket pics.
How many hrs in a job like that, tom?
Mike, I cut off the old wear bars, cut new bars to size, welded them on, and hardfaced the lip, charged out 16 hours labor.
Tom what wire are you using for the hardfacing? im almost sure your not using rods
FSERVICE, I'm using Stoody 101HC 1/16" wire with C-25 gas.
A few shots from yesterday.
cylinder repack/replace?
I like shears a lot no one round here will work on them except the dealer & me!! looks like a genesis from what I can see of it. will you R&R the cylinder or install a reman?
The one that I helped put back together after a rebuild was hard to get back in the hole. Wasn't holding my mouth right I guess. It was a Genesis. It was $7000 to rebuild but needed a new shaft.
I'm new on this forum, but i like to see all the equipment that is being fixed. Im also an self employed mechanic, (been working on my own for just 2 years now) and i'm getting in the grove off the more and more bigger jobs. started as a ag-mechanic and working for the last 2 years mostly in the heavy equipment. Like the work better. Just bought a Elsa line-boring and welding machine which i hope will be delivered later next week. The Volvo L150E is in my shop for some TLC on the lifting frame, so thats my first job with my own line-boring machine. i'm driving a Volkswagen Crafter (simular to the Mercedes Sprinter in the USA) fully loaded with tools and a small crane 0,5t/mtr. future plan is offcourse to have a truck, but those things where to expensive for me to buy when i started to work for my own..
here's some pictures off the volvo
Welcome to HEF BuMach Looks like you have a great shop to work out of. It is nice to see some members from other parts of the world come together and share experiences.
Thanks, i dont own the shop (yet). But im glad that i have the oppertunity to rent the place. I like to see all the big stuff being repaired. I hope i can get on the level one day.
Some recent work.
A few more.
Looking good, looking good. You had some weather to go along with it as well!
The wear plates on that bucket look like some kids art project. LOL Greyson
here's some pics, from my last 2 months. Putted on a long reach boom and stick on a Hitachi ZX800, line-bored a complete loadingframe off a L150E and mounted new bushings and pins. line-bored a complete CAT 908 loadingframe and mounted new bushings and pins. and i'm currently line-boring a quick coupler from a Volvo L120E. it's been quite busy lately, on those days you start thinking about hiring some workers..
some more pictures,
i've had the oppertunity to see this bad boy working: i don't know if it's the only one in Europe, but it's a Volvo with a 370 ton/meter folding crane.
A few more pics.
Some more.
tom you made fast work out of that job!! those hollow cyls are worth their weight in gold!!
tom v I know i have seen where you talked about the hydraulic torque wrench but I can't seem to find the post. I am thinking about picking one up for the tool box after torqueing new U bolts on a center point trailer suspension last week. we have trucks ,trailers, loaders ,excavators, crushers and what ever else I drag home from the auctions. what do you recommend I'am thinking 1"drive and that looks to run about 3,000pds brand,power unit etc. got some enterpact hand pump for port powers.
You are right, they work great for stuck pin removal and bushing replacement.
Clinton, I use a HYTORC SST-10 pump, MXT-3 1" drive that has a 3200 lb ft capacity and an AVANTI-10 1 1/2" drive that has a 11700 lb ft capacity. As far as a pump goes you need 2 ports and the proper valving to advance and retract the wrench.
Great photo's Tom, your work is always clean and crisp and NEAT. Two questions, 1) can the pump for the hollow core cylinders be used for the hydraulic torque wrench? 2) what ratio do you recommend for the hydraulic torque wrench tightening verses loosening; that is if the torque value is 2,800 foot pounds to tighten the fastener, how much torque would be necessary to loosen the fastener? Thanks, Bob McCloskey
Bob, you could probably make your pump work but you need a way to control advance and retract for every wrench cycle, an adjustable relief valve to set your pressure to torque table and 2 ports for twin hose connection. I hope that answers that question, as far as loosening I set the relief to 10000 psi so wrench has maximum torque.
Tom thanks for the reply, my question is, if the maximum torque requirement for the cylinder rod nuts is 2,000 foot pounds what capacity hydraulic torque wrench would, in your opinion, be needed to loosen them. I would hate to by a 3,200 foot pound unit and find that I need a 6,000 foot pound unit to break the nuts/bolts loose. I own Caterpillar 977L, 938G, D8K, D4G, 321C and two Dynahoe 290's
I have one from enerpac, and the roll of thumb is here twice the thightening torque for loosening bolt. Mine only pulls 6000Nm at max.
Bob, I don't know, thats why I have 2 wrenches.
Thanks Tom. Evidently the answer is twice the torque to tighten the fastener! Info from member BuMach, as noted by Enerpac. Bob
thanks , clint by the way love your truck looking for one similar for my mechanic
Atleast thats what it can take to get a seased up bolt out. I think for normal bolts which you just tightend it cant be that much since there should be any rust factor.
just buy the 1 1/2" hytorq & you will be happy!! I have it & don't regret spending the money now at the time I was looking I thought id never make it pay for itself but its saved my butt many times over!! its got me jobs that no one else has the ability/tooling to do so I can charge accordingly!!!
FService, So run me through the appropriate way to "charge accordingly" for special tooling. Do you bid this work? Is it a different hourly rate? I just want to be able to charge my " special tools" accordingly.....TIO
yes most of it is bid work. I have a place on my bills that says "misc charges" & I put the charge there for it.. I only charge extra for the hytorq wrench use & the track pin press use!! these were big investments & there has to be a charge for them & to be able to afford extras that go with them when somebody comes out with something new to get loose/remove!! my customers understand this charge cause they know I have the best speciality tools in this area!! you will have the odd customer that will fuss bout the charge but I usually don't want to work for them again anyway, let them call the dealer!!
i second that Fservice!
FService So in misc charges do you charge say like ($150 for track press day rent?). I do nearly 99% time and materials work. Thanks....TIO
I would just charge othermaterials or something like that. I usely do it like this. If i got a day full with torqueing i just put hydraulic torque on the bill. It all depends who the costumer is. Just make sure that you get back your investment, cause its a couple off €1000,- overhere and people will pay extra if you are the guy who can get the job done, same as FSERVICE said. Good luck with the investment!
yes I just put pin press $xyz, whatever your charge is in the misc. charges line... & the same on the hytorq wrench. it has worked out well for me doing it this way.
I found that explaining to the customer what the job requires before hand, rather than surprise them after the job is completed, that the need for special tools is required. Some think it's all done magically.
A few shots.
Nice Tom, I think I would recognize a bucket repaired by you anywhere. Did you remove that curved side wear plate where the side meets the floor before applying your "diamonds" or do you have a way to overlay it?
I added a section to each side to have a flat surface for the wear blocks.
Does looks nice! Good to see people who take pride in their work. I know it's just a bucket to dig in the dirt but no reason it can't look nice when finished.
Damn Tom,we don't stand a chance,like I could do it anyway.Absolutely superb work.Thank you for sharing.Ron G
A few pics.
A few more.
Wow, your customers really get get the goody out of their sprockets!! Do you sell those undercarriage parts to your customers?....TIO
Wow again,what nice work.I ran a Komatsu D21 for a spell with sprockets like that,you could not back uphill with it.Thanks Tom,impressive as usual.I broke a 1/2" flex handle bare handed taking it apart in the shop when we changed the undercarriage,a Craftsman too.LOL.Ron G
Very impressive work that you do, Tom. Looks like new dentures were needed on those sprockets. Kind of hard to see the block under the machine so it looks like you are holding up with your crane. Thanks for sharing!
Joe, the only parts I sold on this job were the two guide plates that I made, this customer opted for the china undercarriage parts that I will not sell.
Tom I have read up on your "work pictures" thread over the past several months and always enjoy seeing your work, it's very educational and thanks for taking the time to continue to post. Without trying to open up a can of worms... is it that you won't "re-sell" the chinese parts due to warranty concerns? I ask because over the past couple of years I have been purchasing aftermarket undercarriage parts from a vendor based on reduced repair costs to the customer. I always give the customer both OEM and aftermarket numbers and let them make the decision. Of course most aftermarket parts are chinese, korean, ect., but so far have not had to do any undercarriage warranty re-work (knock on wood) due to inferior replacement parts. I have however learned the hard way on aftermarket headgaskets, (without naming brands/vendors) and strongly discourage my customers from wanting to go with just to save a few bucks. Regards, Bob
Thanks Bob, I'm glad you enjoy the pictures but to answer your question in regards to aftermarket parts sales, I would sell BERCO or ITM but not the china. I have seen many premature failures in the last few years and I don't want to be the one selling that garbage. A few years back I installed a complete undercarriage on a D5H and before I left every bottom roll except one was leaking. I hope that answers your question. Thanks and regards Tom
Tom, Would you consider work in Northern New Jersey? Thanks, Bob McCloskey
That makes sense Tom, if you have been bit by a specific product you will tend to stay away from it. I read some older threads yesterday on undercarriage manufacturers and brands. The whole industry seems very intertwined and convoluted. Regards, Bob
Bob, sent you a pm. Thanks, TOM V
that customer got every penny out of that undercarriage there!!! keep up the good work & pics
How about this guys penny.
Well where I worked one of the "buzz words/phrases" management liked to throw around was "FULL UTILIZATION". This basically meant run to failure. Did not seem to matter what the consequences for lost production were or how much it cost to repair after failure. Like late in the season a few years back there was a speed reducer for the main conveyor in the quarry that was making noise and showing lots of metal in oil. Well instead of getting a new one ordered and installing it during winter shut-down they just left it in place for start-up in spring. Well after a few weeks the next season running it failed. Panic sets in and they get a new one air freighted in the next day! But they did get "full utilization" out of the reducer that failed. Of course if the one that had failed had been properly sized to begin with.........
Is that the shaft the idler once rotated on?? Boy his radio must be loud since he never heard the squeaking.....
I can understand as it just started making noise a few minutes ago.:Banghead And I'm sure the "spare machine" probably doesn't have as nice a radio so why mention a little problem like this.
Yup....the panic fix was charged under a different account number...along with the overtime to fix it. It's all about which account gets hit and how they are "balanced"....nothing to do with actually making product go out the door, nor profit.
That is also what we figured out about the reason they would hire outside contractor at probably 3 to 4 times the hourly rate to do a job our people had been doing for years. If our people did the work their hours would go in the spread sheet and be reflected in the "Tons per hour Worked" column. The outside contractors hours and rate was in a different column on the spread sheet. Now if some pencil pusher decides "Total Cost per Ton" is more important our guys will be working all kinds of overtime!
Hey guys, nice to see the pics what people did in the meantime. i haven't been sitting still in the same time either, i've had a Volvo L180F in the shop for some new bushings and new pivotpoint bearings. Here are some pics off the state off the bearing and the bushing.
here's some pics off the line bore job.
re-did a fix that the previous company did. They overbored the bore and put a bushing in there. This bushing came out, so i welded the bore up and re-bored the bore again. next week i'm going to have a look at a L150 to do some pins and bushings on. keep the shinny side up!
BUMACH, Hope no one ever finds out about these "new things" or you will be out of work! By the way very nice looking work, I've seen some line bore work that is not quite so pretty! Just wondering the hours on that Volvo, does not look that old?
Hello KHansen. I know. This one had also groeneveld greasing before we've putted Lubecore on it. On this machine a lot has to do with the way the ride the machine.. They really ride like they stole it.. For example the pivotbearings where broken so thats not normal wear. The bushings off the lifting cilinder where more damaged by overloading than just normal wear and tear. The volvo had just over 10.000 hours.
Well good thing they have you to patch them up when they beat them that hard!
I know this "full utilization" phenomenon all too well my friend.
I got to say Yes Sir
Stereo radios!! Too funny, kshansen. Maybe they'll have grease guns next...
What grade of carbide do you use? Do you use and indexable style? I don't have a bore welder so doing it by hand tends to be hard on carbide.
Hi Tom I am a bit late to this conversation. But I noticed this project just grazing through old posts. I too must say great work. I have this same bucket and I cant keep teeth on it. It has low hours on it and believe the roots are not worn out. I have tried two different pins, the rubber sandwich and the spring pin clip thingy. Still I get into a little hard stuff and I am roaming around the job site looking for the new tooth I just put on. At $80. a piece for the Henley 290 its getting expensive. The Henley is even made in China. And $10. a pin. The reason I chimed in is because you doing all that work on the bucket yet the customer didn't have you change the cutting edge with the new style twist lock teeth. I have found out that is the only solution to my problem short of welding them on. About $3000. all said and done. If your bucket owner is not losing teeth he must be digging only sand or bark mulch. If not please ask him what is his trick to keeping his teeth on.
Tom this is the project I was referring to in my last post
Jimco we had a bucket ordered and it had then teeth on it and we can't keep them on either and our dealer says then teeth are known for that so we are planning on changing to a twist design but if there is a solution that would be great also they not only come off easy they wear a lot faster! Jerry
I use C5 grade most of the time, MICRO 100 tool bits for tougher materials, and I do have a couple insert style tool holders with TCMT inserts which I don't use that often. One thing you should try is a straight grinder with a stone to knock down the irregular surface after hand welding the bore.
JIMCO, on that bucket the lip was in good shape, the shank to tooth fit was tight so there was no need to replace those parts. Those particular teeth are HENSLEY 330 parabolic style which are a chore to remove the pins, and this bucket went to work in a development that is all rock.As far as your bucket some vendors will give you a set of shanks to get you into their teeth. Good luck with it.
Very interesting. I stopped in to watch a local welder doing a line bore, and it wasn't going very well. (he was new at it) The weld (hand done) was really lumpy and the boring was suffering (only taking tiny little cuts) So I ground up a HSS bit for him with some better angles (much sharper, less of a club), and it calmed things down and allowed a greater depth of cut. IIRC I didn't see an inserted carbide tool anywhere in the kit, but he was only doing a 2 1/2" dia. bore. Maybe the carbide is only in the larger bore sizes ?
From experience hand welding bores to build them up plays havoc with cutting tools whatever type are used. What makes things even worse is people who hand weld bores longitudinally instead of circumferentially. I can never understand why they do that. A wire welder attachment to go with the boring machine matched with a suitcase wire feeder will pay for itself in literally a couple of jobs. On machine welds in bores we tended to use carbide tips for roughing and ground HSS tools for the final finishing cut(s). Obviously the limiting factor is the length of the carbide tool holder versus the bore diameter that is being machined.
Nige, I find that "carbide for roughing, HSS for finishing" odd from a machinist point of view. Hss can be ground really sharp, lowering the forces trying to push the bar off location. Yes you will need to run slower, but they do hold up. I have not run across any carbide that is as sharp as HSS, even with the positive rake carbide inserts I have used. And they can't take the abuse that the first roughing cuts are (intermittent, and scaled from welding) In the shop I have some coated carbide inserts that really hold up to the abuse of flame cut edges, but they are negative rake (leading to high cutting forces) And we are running them on the O.D. so plenty of stiffness here.
Thanks for the input everyone. Might try some hss.
Thinking back on this, his tool bits went straight thru 90 degrees. I was going to grind him up a couple of "double ended" ones for the roughing out, they would cut on both sizes and balance out some of those forces.
81 pages later you have your own magazine article http://www.servicetruckmagazine.com...5_low.pdf?cb=468a481b1dbecb2c9a25666c65c7e4f6 page 14
Cool!:thumbsup Nice article.
Congrats. Looks like I need more tools to keep up.
I was going through these photos again and it came to my attention that on some of the buckets; if Tom cut out all the worn areas at the same time, there would not be anything left but slag.
That's true, sometimes he probably could just take the holes and put new steel around them! When he is done they look better than most of them did when they left the factory.
I swear if I did not see Toms work I don't think I could ever tell anyone that I knew someone could do that.It seems like everything is planned to turn out like it does. I had planned to go see him on the job site one day before I got sick as he is from Connecticut and I recognize some of his employers from his pics but I never got to it and it does not look like it will ever happen.In my experience most shops don't turn out work like that.You would hate to get those buckets dirty.Ron G
I know what you mean, where I worked they had a guy who they sub-contracted jobs to who seemed to do more of what I called "cosmetic repairs". A crack in a bucket of say a 988H might get a fast hit with a 4 inch grinder and a single pass with 5/32 rod. Would look pretty but you knew it would be cracked again in short order. But he was faster than our own guys and his time did not go against the hours worked per ton of product so big bosses were happy. It's what shows on the spread sheet that counts not what makes sense!
Tom, I finally finished reading your thread. Absolutely amazing! I hope to find someone down here in Texas half as good as you. hugs, Brandi
Tom V. ... I am in awe of what you do. It's people like yourself who keep this world running. You're worth your weight in gold and more. And if guys like yourself are short of work, there is something terribly wrong with this world.
Thanks for the compliments, here are a few recent pics. .
A few more.
Great work Tom, as always.
what model number are those jack stand
CATERPILLAR P/N 1U-7498 or OTC 1778
Thanks for sharing Tom keeping us in our place.Ron G
You sure do some very excellent work, Tom. Thanks so much for sharing I sure enjoying seeing what you are repairing.
Hello . Its my first post on this great forum. Its cool because a member dont keep info. It interesting to see many information possible to find. My queation is:A cat interferance fit its .001 per inchs,anybody know a how many thousand of fit need for komatsu excavator? Its possible .003 inch per inches?
Hi Mink, That's an interesting question you have posted...Are you talking about a specific bushing to bore or pin to hole fit on the machine? I have never heard of a 3 thou per inch interference before...not to say that there isn't. A thou per inch is a good rule of thumb for a class 8 "heavy force" or "shrink fit". I would think that 3 thou an inch is beyond the elastic limits of any ferrous metal, especially cast iron. I would like to hear more on this too. Regards, Bob
Thanks Eter for your answer. Its for bushing in bore. Whats "class 8 heavy force". Im agree with you for 3 thou. It s very high and its a shoulder bushing with seal housing . With 3 thou probably broken bushing.
I own a machine shop. We use .001/inch for almost every press fit. For example, if I was using a 3/8 dowel pin, I would ream the press fit to .3745. It's a little tighter than .001/inch, but it works well and that size reamer is readily available.
I use 1 thou to but when i repair a cast iron electric motor cover housing, i use 1/2 thou per inch. Is more easyer to enter cast iron inner sleeve. I freeze it in co2 and push it in housing with hand. Not necessery use jack or other.
3 thou/inch is common on Hitachi diggers.
The last job i made is a komatsu excavator. Pin is 70 mm (2.756). Internal bushing is 70.36 (2.770) and external bushing is 85.12 (3.351). Logicaly,boring hole at 85mm (3.346) witch give .005 of thigthness. 2.770 - 0.005= 2.665 dia. of internal bushing after pressed. It remains 0.009 of space between pin ans internal bushing. I think it is much?
Thank you Ray!
3 thou per inch +/- (looseness) would allow for grease penetration...tighter fit, less grease...and according to my old machinists' handbook, this would be a "class 1" loose fit. I would think too that much of the "bushing to bore" interference decision would be based on the length of the bushing. I know that when I used liquid nitrogen to bring down a 9" diameter ring gear about 9-10 thou to go into a final drive housing...I was very glad that the gear was only about 2" thick because the temp equalization between the gear and housing happened very quickly ! That's good to know on the Hitachis Ray Regards, Bob
Been a lurker on this forum for a while and just joined today. The quality of this mans work is impeccable! I consider myself to be a pretty competent mechanic but if i had just half of the knowledge that Tom had forgotten in his career then i would be untouchable!! Hats off to you sir!
Welcome to the Forums NCHeavyDiesel!
Mink, on the press fits I usually use .001-.0015 per inch, NC thanks and welcome to the forum. Here are some pics from yesterday.
Looks like you need a new bucket
With his talent, the bucket will be good as new when he is done.
He probably has a plastic welder somewhere on that truck. Maybe he can hard face it with nylon.
Just stack another bucket in that one...soon you will have about a hundred of them...just like rabbits! Regards, Bob
Never work dissimilar materials would need to use polyethylene.
Tom i see you are doing some fairly good size cylinder packings....what do you do for the stubborn or large piston nuts?
1 1/2" drive impact wrench, excavator pushing on a homemade wrench,and if that does not crack em loose I'll send send it out.
A few shots from today.
TOM V, That sure is some nice looking March weather over in your neck of the woods Regards, Bob
Nice job on Brian's 650H Tom. I drove by as you were laying the tracks out. I was going to stop by and introduce myself but you looked busy!
TOM V. = That is just awesome to see someone doing quality work. I truly hope you make good money doing it. A lot of my customers act as if paying a mechanic is avoidable or not nearly as important as their social life. The welding work looked "TOP-NOTCH"! ROCK-ON!!!
How's that RacerBoy? Regards, Bob
i have a special toolholder with this toolholder i went from a cc08 insert to a 09 insert. now i use a 80degrees carbid insert a ccmt09T302, 304 and 306 those i use for a bit harder materials, i use a CCGT09T302 insert for the rest off the bores. These GT insert give me no fibration or heat. and can still put a decent amount of materials in front off the insert. These gt are grinded inserts, so they don't have a nose radius and are really sharp (like a sharp drill edge), but it suprises me how though they are also when going threw a welded bore. Almost just as though as a HSS drill. i had a few different brands come out with some demo inserts and i got one now who i think works best.
you got one hell off a truck Tom :notworthy its my future plan to have something like that too:notworthy
This ccgt is originaly for soft material ex. Alu or brass. I Didnt know its good for steel.
Yep i know.
some jobs i've been doing the last weeks. some line-boring on a Volvo loader, on a Cat trackloader and on the pushbars off a wheel loader. Final job is the replacement off the tracks on a Liebherr 984 and refurbishment and adapting off the removable track system. Hope to get this job done later next week.
is the 984 set up for demolition with the two piece boom?
Hi Mike, No this machine has a long stick (i dont know the exact length but its quite the thing)and a short one with a 11m3 bucket. Also since its a heavy machine(135metric tons) its safes a lot off weight without the boom on transport.
Here's a picture off the crane as it sits at the moment. This is with the long boom and stick.
Impressive. Thank you
BuMach not trying to be mean but this is Tom V's thread. You are sidetracking it with all of your posts. I think you should start your own thread. Your stuff is interesting and I would subscribe for sure.
Ow **** my bad! I thought this was a overall topic. My bad TomV i dont want to offend you mate
Bumach please post your new thread address on here so we can follow.
Yes,start your own and put plenty of pics up. We would like to see what you have been doing.
Ya, Good deal! I too like to see what everyone is up to and the pics make it more understandable / educational:drinkup Regards, Bob
hi guys, just made my self a thread: HeavyEquipmentForums so who ever is interested feel free to have a look.
TomV, You may have already mentioned it it this thread and I missed it reading through it. What type and size wire do you run for your bore welding? Also I been running the Ultra Core, great wire, was wondering which one you ran for your general fabrication work. Great work as others have pointed out very inspirational. I find myself at times saying "how would Tom handle this." Look forward to seeing more of your work posted in the near future. Oh and great truck, have shown pictures of it to a others always the same positive reaction.
WM, I use ER70S-6 .035 in the bore welder and the ultracore I use is 71A85 in .045 and 1/16" diameters,thanks and regards,TOM V
Tom I marvel at the quality of your work and the ability to see down the road and improve the product. We were looking thru the thread today and marveled at your truck. Asked my buddy what you think he paid for it. He said " A man with talent like that built it himself" One question. CO2 shield gas. I have been using it for years and it really does a good job for me. Supply house says it's guys like me that are a pain in the ass. They don't make any money off it like the tri mix and others Since it's a liquid state in tank it lasts forever. Some of the tanks are syphon, so they can be used for quick cooling. I think it gives better penetration. Your thoughts
Tom, Do you still use the Bore Systems welder? Just was curious as to why you did not go with the York Smart Welder as you use a York boring setup. Thanks
WB, when he purchased the BRS borewelder York didn't have their own to sell, they were peddling BRS.
Thanks for the clarification.
Tom, If you had had a choice would you have gone with the Bore welder that York offers now or would have stayed with BRS welder that you use. Thanks, respect your work and opinions.
. Tom This is on a cat 4-1 bucket on a 416it. Takes grease no problem and didn't make noise. Should I fix it ? Looks like the weld surrounding the bushing is cracking Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Some recent repairs, grizzly rebuild.
Here are some more, bucket hook fabrication.
A few more.
Some serious metal went into that bucket hook. They've got a pretty even coat of rust on that powerscreen.
Looks like that hook bracket will spread the tension out across the bucket hood nicely Tom. Don't see any leaves on the trees behind the Kobelco? Looks like you've been holding out on us!:drinkup Regards, Bob
Nice job Tom!!! Thank you for pictures!!!!
Link repair
Hello Tom. Im happy to see you again!
Here are a few more shots.
I like the KingMet teeth you fitted to that bucket.
Yes Willie they are a great product.
Here is a D6MXL I repaired last week.
Awesome looking work once again!!! Is that blade skin over layed or a whole new one?
Jerry yes the blade is over layed.
Deere centerpins.
Are you boring the Artic Tom? Looks like they are building them lighter and lighter. Good news for Line Borers.
Glad to see you posting more of your jobs. I'm always impressed with your work!! DB
Ray, no line boring on this one, lower bearings failed, common on smaller DEERES, this is the third one I have done without line boring, all with bad lower bearings.
Good to see you again Tom, your work is an inspiration.
Good to see you back Tom. How many hours on the deer loaders before the bearings failed?
Jason, that 544J had 5400 hours on it.
We have a couple of the 544k series and one of my customers has a couple but not over 3000 hours I will have to keep an eye on them.
This is the smallest bucket I've ever worked on.
Big or small ,they all wear out Tom and still squeeze a dollar out of them.
What brand hook as
Im pretty sure that's a Deere hookup for the mini ex line, maybe a 50 or 60 series machine? I think Weldco Beales makes it
Ok thank you
You are right Ray, Mink the bucket fits a DEERE 50, if you are referring to the weld on lifting hook it's a Gunnebo-Johnson UKN series hook.
glad to see you back Tom.. as always good looking work. bout how many hours do you have in splitting that & installing the bearings?
I billed 17 hours labor with a couple other repairs, I think I had about 12 hours into the center pins and steer cylinder bushing r&r.
I have a customer with 2 of those same machines, im sure the time is coming that I will have to be doing it for him,, thanks
Some recent pics.
A few more.
Some more.
Good job Tom. Nice to have some news from you!!!
I thought you had left the country with all your marbles, good to hear from you
good looking plating on the ford,
A man after my own heart...tossing those Cat side pin teeth and replacing them with King Met teeth. Returning that bucket to the customer now requires wearing sunglasses.
Hi Tom, Im going to keep this thread in mind. I run a snow plowing company in windsor locks, ct with 5 pay loaders. Your experience and workmanship might just come in handy to me someday. Thanks for the great thread! Brian
Nice pics Tom...those little Fords seem to have more hydraulics than iron wrapped around them. Regards, Bob
Here are some pics of a few small jobs.
Replacing center and oscillation pins.
Some more amazing repairs that you have done. Your customers a quite lucky to have someone who is so very talented.
Wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas !!
Same to you sir! Stay warm and dry if you can!!
Merry Christmas to all as well from way out west
Tanks you. Merry Christmas to all
Merry Christmas to all from Florida where I am wintering, and enjoying the warm weather.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year! May 2018 be safe and prosperous for all of us on our small planet!!! Keep out of the bight friends!
Merry Christmas
Tom, thanks for sharing all your great work. Merry Christmas to you and all the other HEF members. Darryl
Some recent pics, same old thing.
A few more.
Some more.
Lineboring today.
As you said more of the same, the same great work that is so interesting. You do some of the very best work I have ever seen. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Nice work Tom. Good to hear from you!!! How do you go about bending the base of the bucket, on a press brake?
Thanks,I had it formed on a press brake from my steel supplier.
Tom, what is the link off of that you bored? Regards, Bob
Bob, that is a coupler for an orange peel grapple to mount to a Sennebogen scrap handler.
Do you take a drawing or template to to the steel supplier to get the correct profile?
It isn't the same old thing for some of us ! Thanks for taking the time to share your work experiences.
Yes, I make a cardboard template and mail it out to the vendor.
I assume a side profile for curve, with witdh, and thickness of plate?
Wishing all Our forum members MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Same to you Tom
Merry Christmas Tom! Your photos and taking the time to answer questions are gifts to us, all year round!
Merry Christmas Tom ! Its been toooo long since you have been posting on HEF. I miss seeing your work procedures and awesome photos.
Merry Christmas Tom ! Its been toooo long since you have been posting on HEF. I miss seeing your work procedures and awesome photos.
I'm just going out an a limb and say that someone who does work of the quality I've seen in his posts is probably so swamped with work he doesn't have too much spare time to post here. Tom V hope you are doing well. Ken in NY
Tom, I just read ALL #1340 posts.... I know there were some repeat questions, BUT I wanted to say GREAT JOB!! Your work all looks amazing. I am a farmer, and do most of my own repairs on my equipment. I just found this forum a few weeks ago and have found it useful to see how others do projects, and appreciate all of the ideas, pictures and tool information.
Tom V
Tom your shop and my shop apears to have the same color of roof when the sun is shining
A few shots
Damn that's mechanic porn.
WOW!
Very nice. Currently doing a bucket rebuild using your bottom strip and side block pattern. TIO
I consider it brilliant. Bottom strip and side block pattern gives ample wear plate to protect parent material but at the same time the spacing between bottom strips andside blocks allows plenty of natural material build up between the blocks to help assist in wear. Just freaking brilliant.
Good to see you and TIO posting again ! Tom; Did you get a new shop ? I think I remember seeing a lot of your photos that were taken in a yard.
No new shop, same old thing, here's a few pics from this week.
Yay ! A John Deere 450H LT getting a new lease on life. The best finish dozer I ever ran in that size.
I always appreciate your posts Tom V, keep it up.
Thanks, I'll try to post some pics in the near future.
Yeah, I'm glad to see you back!
TIO too!
You must be good when you can turn a 450H into a 650H.
That happens when they sell used equipment.
wonder who I could get to turn a 555 into a 955l
Several Benjamin Franklin's could do it.
Nice to see new posts, Tom. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has missed them!
Hydraulic cylinders this week
Some more pics
Hydraulic torque wrench is the way to go but I think you need some more vise-grip C clamps. Tom have you ever used chocky bars for wear protection?
Now that is just flagrant cheating. I have to do them with a pipe wrench while pinned to a drawbar. OK, so sometimes I use a 30 ton excavator to break the nut loose. I keep a white lab coat in the pickup so it's legal.
Love your welding table, the top looks like 1" plate? I built a small roll around table using 1/2" plate - 20 pounds per square foot.
Got to get one of those white lab coats to keep in my service truck just in case.
Could never afford the cleaning service to have a White Lab Coat!! Kept them TOO Dirty!
I have guys aks me all the time how I got so dirty . I tell them I can get dirty in a hospital?
Looking at this again, is your table stainless or just cold rolled steel?
Tom V how do you like the service body by now? Care to share a review on what you do and dont like? I talked to a Teamco salesman the other day so i was looking for input.
I like the Feterl body, they built it to my drawings I know they redesigned their bodies but I am sure they are still quality.
I just finished reading this whole thread. Also took almost three pages of notes for reference. I hope this thread is not dead. Thanks Tom, for sharing your work. Stay safe.
Thanks Stick, I'll get some recent pics posted so this thread isn't dead, life's been crazy.
Here's a 20 ton trailer restoration I just finished.
Super nice work.
Here is a RAMMER E68 hammer rebuild.
nice details!
Keep them coming. I really enjoy your work
SO GLAD to see you are back. I have missed seeing you work.
Have a few more pics.
Glad to see you posting again, Tom. Did you get a new worksite ? If I remember correctly you were working outside most of
Nothing new, just doing it wherever the machinery is.
Here's a few line boring pics.
Not boring to me, thanks Tom V.
Here's a few more boring shots.
So boring! Hahahaha!
Beautiful work !
That's a pretty fancy line boring set up.
IMHO if you want to do good quality work you need good quality tooling. Tom, along with RayF & BuMach, was a great help to me when we were speccing up our line boring gear for the last job. We ended up going with a hydraulic drive Climax setup in the end. It cost $85k and that was 10 years ago.
Always intrigued me when the guys with those setups would show up, money was high but far cheaper than all new parts.
As I said at the time, it was costing us £30k to get a set of loader arms & a bucket line bored using the only outside contractor capable of doing the work. Simple maths indicated that doing the same job three times using our own kit we should already be into savings. Last time I was on site the line boring rig was still getting plenty of work, it must have paid for itself 100 times over by now.
MS Lime Quarries company I worked as Contractor for had a Mobile Machinist on retainer, likely could have owned his company and equipment some three or four times over for the amount of moneys they paid he and his field hands. That ended as were bought out by a larger concern that did not keep machines into Forever Status as did themselves. FRU CO or Fruin Colnon/Fred Weber Companies was bigger into newer machines, trade ups, trade outs and scrapping those that had little remnant value even as still working. Never understood that mentality either. KNEW MS Lime had spent over $100k in 1983 dollars for line bore weld and machine work on machines I did the disassemble and reassembles on in 83. Mobile Machine shop cut way back in 85, closed house in 86, the owner went to work as a welder for a different concern until retired in late 90. Did not ever ask why could not keep the company or why worked as a employee last four and half years, he died in 92 at 67yo.
The gravel pit that has helped me recently got a large line boring set up. They did smaller line boring but upgraded because it made more economic sense to do the larger jobs themself. One of guys said it can cost 10K to do one job depending on the complexity. Even to do a basic straight forward line boring job can start at $1000 to have someone come out.
Just to set up the machine can take a full day, squaring, centering, not including if have to weld or bush the holes out to start.
I ran a Kwik Way and Van Norman line boring equipment for automotive engine blocks and small diesel. Both same basic machines with few differences, this was 35 plus years ago and the both were 20 years old then. Very time consuming-most wouldn't bother they would find another acceptable core block. But those blocks were dirt cheap compared to buckets. Oldest block I completely machined-deck, bore and main line was a 39 Buick Straight Eight. Oldest block I bored was a 1917 Buick.
Van Norman was what I learned on in Trade School, used one also at Continental Rebuilders, Carrie Ave STL MO back a few decades was just a heavier unit for Cummins and Det Dsl.
We don't make much money but we make a lot of friends.
That's true Ray
Some more boring today.
Looks great. I really like that little thin table top.
I wish the internet would have been around when i did some boring. I didnt know any thing about it or know any body to ask. Every thing we used was stuff from the scrap. I think the boring bar we used on Jaw crushers was a shaft out of one of them with the ecentrics turned down. We used a motor with a reduction box running a belt to the shaft. It was not good on my nerves . We even made alot of stuff to mic the bores with the bar in place. I wish i had some pictures of the stuff i did back then. I did bore some stuff with a engine boring machine that was every easy. I know it takes skil to setup and run a factory set up but everyone should have to start out with a junk yard set up.
Here are the only pictures I could find of my hydraulic driven, home made line boring machine.
A little welding today.
Do you put relatively short welds to control distortion or just a little awkward to do?
Tacked it in and proceeded to put down 10" to 12" beads, skipped around side to side, no science on this one, just an old dump body.
Relining can be tricky.
Here's a couple shots of an overlay on a 35T truck body I did a while back.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Hey thanks Tom. Sorry I haven't commented, just finished a long move from chitcago to Tennessee. That tag trailer looks great. I am going to do pretty much the same to my small equipment trailer come springtime. Now that I'm out of the rust belt, time to make everything nice. On that dump trailer, did you remove the old floor? I'm guessing you did by looking at the fit up of the new steel. Man you do incredible work! There are a few excellent guy's doing Youtube video's on this type of work. If you get enough followers I hear you can make serious side money. If you ever got into that I am sure you would rocket to the top really quick. Haha I just had to mention that because I'm sure everyone here would love to see you work live. Thanks for your time, stay safe!
I think there used to be good opportunities to make money on you-tube but they changed the rules regarding advertisers several years back and made it a lot harder to make money.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Merry Christmas and a Happy and safe New Year to all!!!
Happy New Year now as those Down under have already reached that!! Can only Hope and Pray 2023 is a Better year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Some recent pics, center pins on a 966d.
The D's are getting back a bit. An easy tractor to bore on.
Bad pin on a deere mini.
325 with a broken boom cylinder pin.
No boring on this one Ray, just pins and bearings
A few recent jobs, EX100 with a leaking swivel joint, aka rotary manifold.
Here's a nice old D7F reselling cylinders.
Air arc and grinding yesterday.
That's a really well kept 7F.
That 7 is a real creampuff,a pleasure to work on compared to the late model Bulldozers.
The manufacturer says to use 98% argon 2% oxygen. How well is it performing with the 75/25 mig gas? Awesome rig and excellent work, thanks for sharing.
Hey Z, in my STOODY product selection guide it states 98/2, 75/25, or co2, the larger diameter wire it can be used with co2 or open-arc. I use 1/16" with 75/25 with excellent results.
A few recent pics.
A couple more.
A couple more. View attachment 281653 View attachment 281651 View attachment 281652
Some lineboring and pin work on a 85 Hitachi
A few more from this job.
85 all finished.
That OTC 17 1/2 power twin looks familiar! Many moons ago first boss at the shop bought a set of OTC pullers: 17 /12, 30, and 50 tons along with an assortment of hand powered pullers. If I recall the full set including a couple hand pumps and one electric pump went for the outrageously high price of $5,000.00! Yea that was a few years back!
Started ripping this 135 down today, replacing every pin and bushing.
That 17 ton is nice and light to use on these small machines.
Those machines look too new to need line boring. We're they never greased?
SSSHH! If someone finds out about what a grease gun can do Tom will be out of work!
The 135 has 5000 hours on it and we'll lubricated, the 85 has 1180 hours on it and also well lubricated, these things start out with excessive clearances and poorly finished parts = prematurely loose machines.
So rather than lack of grease it is the excess clearances both letting grit get in to act as a grinding compound along with the slop hammering the metal out?
Exactly Ken, pounded out.
A few recent shots.
A few more.
Interesting. Our 2011 321DL has over 8K on the clock and the bucket pins are still tight. Great work as always Tom!
And more
You do nice work!
More
Couple more.
CM, that's excellent, this was the second 135 I've rebushed both with around 5000 hours.
Today's work.
As it should be Tom.
That's not heavy equipment but line boring for Harley axles would be pretty cool to see.
Finished this TD7E a while back.
Tom, You a imploration to us all, thanks.
No updates in over a year. I hope Tom V is ok and still at it. I love this thread
Sorry, life gets crazy, I'll get some recent pics up soon
We all have missed seeing the Awesome work that you do and look forward to seeing more pictures. Thank you for taking the time to show us your work.
Here's where I left off ,some pin & bushings on a 325
L90 cylinder rod repair
Some lineboring
135 undercarriage work
More lineboring
Some engine work on a snowblower
Paint job
More paint
Little more paint
Paint
Almost done
Deere 50C broken stick
Some dozer work
It would be a shame to get that truck dirty .
Some more pics
Few more
More pin & bushing work
The Sleeper has Awakened!!!
What are they hauling with that truck? AR400 seems like a little overkill for that size of truck. It will last forever though.
No such thing as overkill in this business
There's a new floor in my dump truck, not sure what material but the box is pretty beat up. It was owned by Lafarge at one point so thinking they were hauling broken concrete with it. Sides are dented and the original floor has holes in it. Replacement floor is in good shape though. The original floor looks like it's only 3/16" so is pretty light duty but it was a plow truck so might have been spec'd. that way for hauling sand.
Awesome work Tom ! Thanks for coming back and posting examples of your amazing talent. I wish RayF would come back. He also had super interesting projects in his posts.
I 2nd that for RayF. Miss seeing the work he did, truly a master at his trade like Tom is.
Yes, RayF is the best
We use 10" jr channel for fenders with 10 gauge plate on the inside, almost operator proof
The ramps on my trailer have heavy wall square tube sides with 2" angle cross members except the V is up so there are double the edges to drive on and less space between cross members. They also have built in legs that rest on the ground when the ramps are down. Eliminates putting too much upward lift on the hitch. Years ago a guy moved my skid steer a few miles on his car trailer pulled by a Nissan Pathfinder. Backing up the trailer, the back of the Pathfinder was 2' off the ground. Skid steer weighs 4800lbs. so technically wasn't overloading the trailer but a little much for the Pathfinder.
Hello. I saw a lot of photos of examples of excellent work. We have two loaders, the connections of their buckets and arrows are badly worn out, they have large workings. We will replace the fingers, and the holes need to be restored. Question to the specialists. What do you need to talk about with those who will offer their services to understand what these people will do well?
Impressive work! Do you chalk the ground where the machine was when removing boom, just to make it easier to get it back in the right spot when reinstalling? Or is there another reason? Thanks for posting!
It would help if you could post some pics. of what is worn out and needs fixing. Are fingers the bucket teeth or the mointing ears? Sometimes a new cutting edge is the best option if the teeth are loose because the edge is badly worn.
Just show the repairer your concerns and I'm sure a a professional would give you proper guidance to repair the buckets, good luck with it.
Exactly, just to get it back for assembly.
Thanks!
MERRY CHRISTMAS
To you too!