Some Dirt Movin'

[B4D2USA]

It's been a while since I posted any pics from the CPHQ/house project. I have posted some of these on other sites and didn't want to leave you folks out. I was cutting and filling with the Caterpillar 933 to level up the top of the hill for excavation layout. Hopefully, the neighbors Komatsu excavator will be onsite soon and we can get some pics of the actual foundation dig.

[Muz]

Cool .. thought you ripped all the trees out ? I know I would .. unless you need them for shelter .. or lightening conductors .. and I aint joking hehe

[ianoz]

Great Photos Bruce ,I look forward to seeing The headquarters building as work progresses . No doubt you and Julie will keep a good photographic record of the build . Be interesting to see the american way of building a house .

[B4D2USA]

Cool .. thought you ripped all the trees out ? I know I would .. unless you need them for shelter .. or lightening conductors .. and I aint joking hehe

I am awaiting the final layout to determine if I have a few more to take down. Julie loves trees, I hate cleaning gutters. BUT, I love Julie so I guess I will be cleaning gutters :wub: I have already figured that lightning protection will be a neccesity and I have a source. I worked with them when doing project management on sky-scrapers in Chicago.

Ian, thanks for the comments. So long as she keeps snapping them, I will keep posting them. She never lets me put up photos of her (Women!).

[ianoz]

So bruce , Any progress ?

[Stock]

Aaaaaaaaauuppppp there Bruce how is the progress............

[B4D2USA]

Sorry Gents, I have been onsite the last few days getting ready for the excavating contractor (Yes, I know, why don't I do it?). Julie and I have been clearing away the piles of logs that are too small to take to the mill for lumber and too big to throw on the burn pile. Some are nice sapplings that may make interesting stair parts, others could be used for rustic posts or supports. Some are good for firewood only, but a lot is some good smokinh wood for cooking out or soking meat. About 100 years ago, the site was an apple orchard, so we now have a great stockpile of apple wood.

The story behind the excavation: My neighbor across the road has a Komatsu PC120 that he offered me the free use of if he could store it until he gets it sold. All good by my estimate. When I went with him to check it out and get it started, he seemed to change his mind and was only interested in selling it. The price is very attractive, but we're watching our funds. Before making that commitment, I checked into the cost to rent a comprable machine. The shortest rental I could get was $2,000 for a machine a little bigger than the PC120. I then solicited bids from a few local excavating contractors. The most reliable of the three requests was $2,500 to excavate and use the spoils to build up my roadbed (his equipment and manpower). The cost to buy the neighbors Komat was $7,500. So, there in is the reason to hire the job done. Just figuring re-fueling the machine if I were to rent one, plus the cost to deliver and pick up, it would have cost more to do it myself than let someone else take the risks.

The work starts Weds. of this week with the concrete foundation work starting immediately after the dig. Yes, pictures will follow.

[ianoz]

Good to hear progress is being made . I look forward to seeing what you do for footings.

[B4D2USA]

I just thought I would show you folks the load I took to the sawmill. The big pine will be turned into a beam or two for the living room decorative works. Most of the remainder is cherry or oak and will be milled to woodwork.

[245dlc]

Wow those are some good sized logs Bruce, looking forward to seeing some pictures or video of your basement excavation. Hey what kind of shape is that PC120 in? He sure isn't asking much for it.

[B4D2USA]

Wow those are some good sized logs Bruce, looking forward to seeing some pictures or video of your basement excavation. Hey what kind of shape is that PC120 in? He sure isn't asking much for it.

Bert, Once we got the batteries jumped, she started right up and sounded good. No funny motor noises. The dipper and boom cylinders leak, so a rebuild is in order. He claims one drive motor is "slower" than the other, but he didn't think it was too terrible. I watched him bring it out of the barn and in low, it didn't appear to be a problem. Some folks I talked to thought it might be a clogged line or filter. He said he replaced the pins in the bucket with newly fabricated and hardened ones. When he demonstrated it, it was good and tight. If you are really interested in it, I could get some photos from him. He told me the bucket capacity is 1CuYd.

The weather forecast is good for the next week, so we should have some productive days. I am hopeful at least.

[245dlc]

Hmmm.... sounds interesting if you don't mind I'd like to see some pictures or at the very least find out what year it is. I don't really have the money at the moment or any jobs coming in except for a guy asking me to dig a hole so he could replace his waterline which I can't do without a cage, sewer and water license, and a small ground crew plus the extra liability insurance. What I'd really like is if somebody calls me to dig a big pond or clear a large piece of land then I could justify buying or leasing something and make the money back.

[Muz]

He claims one drive motor is "slower" than the other, but he didn't think it was too terrible. I watched him bring it out of the barn and in low, it didn't appear to be a problem

That machine will have a variable swash plate type pump I'd imagine, so the most likely cause of this problem is a worn seal in the rotary distributer valve down through the centre of the slew ring. A swine to sort depending on the valve, but its a complete oil drain to fix usually to get it off, unless you can plug the lines as they come off. Most manufacturers allow a certain tolerance in speed variance of the motors so a little is acceptable, but if its significant it will annoy you a lot, not least of all because one side will be down in power too, and that can be significant when it comes to debogging and getting your self out of a wet bit, when you need a healthy flow to both tracks and the dipper ram simultaneously

[ianoz]

If its a duel Hydraulic pump type , one pump could be a bit weak . That would mean two of the funtions IE boom lift ,slew ,dipper boom or bucket will also be slower or weak .. Or Drive motor weak .. THere is 3 hoses going to drive motor The small hose should be the case drain ,if there is a fair flow of oil out of it ,would mean the drive motor is on its way out .
But as our mate Swishy always says , "i do stand to be corrected "

[Dan]

I think its a single axial piston swash plate on them .. if there is another pump, it would be a bolt on gear pump that operateres the servo system .. might just be a relief valve needing adjusted, but that would mean another service would be down in power too more than likely, and I take the view that the fix is always the worst bitch out of the two possibles