Druidic exploits of a various nature!!

[v8druid]

Forgot to say earlier in the week, with all the excitement of me filter arriving ..... these arrived from Hydrema Monday .....



Seal kit for that leaky leg !!

Reckon they’ve been sat in the stores a very long time, looking at the various faded labels that have been layered onto the bag!!

Now ..... do I replace everything when I go in there .... eventually, or just the cap seals????

I know I’ll have to get the piston off the rod to do ‘em ........ but !! Do I disturb what’s on there and replace ‘em ..... bearing in mind they are fully functional, or just tuck the new ones away for if or when I do need ‘em ????

May well take the cap seals into me local boys and see if they can match ‘em up, before I fit them.

I know Tim, on t'other is going to say .... fit the lot ...... what’s everyone else’s opinions?
At a hundred quid a set plus shipping and VAT .... I see no sense, in fitting for the sake of it !!

[v8druid]

Thursdays have become Clara days .... [and the odd few others; too] ,,,,... and little gets achieved on a Thursday morning, at least, until she nods off after her midday feed.

Not the greatest of mornings, but brightened up, but that N westerly has kept it pretty cool, ..... but doing a great job of drying things out.

Took said little un for a perambulate up the drive after her feed and off she went ... sweet as and I eyeballed the field access for me tipping spot ....... nice!!

The pix don’t really give a realistic idea of the terrain, as per usual ......









....... or the true scale of the sink hole I’ve been allotted to fill !!
The one pile already in the middle is what got dropped there months ago ..... when I decided it was a tad too wet for a second one !!!!

Today however was a different story !!

Got the ‘Drema fired up and left her warming, whilst I enticed the dumper into life .... not been started in months and the old ‘Ever-ready’ was a bit reluctant .... but got there in the end and she fired up her usual good self.

Stuck Mick’s 5 footer on the VA-r and trekked off up the ramp and tidied the width of it up a bit on the way ..... being able to adjust the angle of the bucket is great ... for getting it looking more ramp like in double quick time!!

Not quite the ‘first bucketful’ of me new ‘digging season’ ... but the ‘first, really full one’.





I didn’t manage to break the VA-r and it’s pretty handy at getting at it from all directions, especially with 120 deg.s of tilt, for a bit of side on loading!!

First dumper load of the year .....



And the fourth and last one, heading down to tip .......





Just as it started to leather it down!!!!!!

Field was slick coming back out and it’d only rained for about 5 minutes at that point!!

So that put paid to today’s antics.

Good though the VA-r is for getting at it just right .... its heavy and a big ol’ crowd.
I’ll tidy up the bank’s batter a bit, next time it’s dried enough to ‘play’, then drop her off, in favour of my favourite 3 foot ‘edger’ and shift some volume, PDQ.
Can always stick it back on for trimming up as required, once I’ve shifted a dose of spoil, ‘conventionally’.

I’m giving even more serious consideration to a mod. to the upper half’s pins, takig ‘em from fixed to loose, to give me the option of dropping the Miller and pinning the VA-r on direct .... and losing a good 250mm in height, ‘praps more ...... would make a BIG difference to the geometry !!

[v8druid]

Day shot to sh*t yesterday morning ..... had to dash off into town with the poorly Mog, to the vets at 11 and gone lunch time before I finally got ‘out on the job’, wound up the dumper and warmed up the ‘Drema ... ready for a bit of action.

Load #15 and the last for the day, off up the drive......



Managed to get 10 done between 2.30 and 6 o’clock ..... when I got collared for tea !!

Was going to drop the VA-r off, but having trimmed up the bank a bit and ‘moved on’ to the spoil,



I couldn’t resist leaving it on for the convenience of being able to attack it from any angle ...... and TBH, the practice won’t go amiss ..... getting there though and getting the right buttons 90% of the time.
I also opened up the flow restrictor a bit, as things weren’t happening fast enough .... might open it up completely next time .... or take it out the line. Getting more than happy with my left foot’s ability to ‘control the action’ OK.

#15 going in the sink hole .......



Room for a bit more yet .... a lot more !

Making a hole in it..........quietly !



....get all this down to the level I’m sat on, and the banks all trimmed up tidy, then I can start to reduce that down a level/couple of feet at a time ..... ‘til we get to the boulder layer !!

Once I get this all flatted down, I’ll have some where to ‘stand off’ from, to tackle yon tree’s ‘dismantling’ and then grub the stump out, as much as poss..
Don’t want to drop it in one, for fear of ripping the bank to hell .
Job for the basket, ‘praps the FLT mast ...... and me BIL with Charlie the chainsaw, playing a leading role!!

Couple of full days shifting muck and we should be somewhere near !!

Bloody throwing it down with rain again this morning!!!!!

[ianoz]

How did you managed to photoshop the Blue sky ? Looking good Graham , hope the rain holds off so you can get your teeth into it .

[v8druid]

How did you managed to photoshop the Blue sky ? Looking good Graham , hope the rain holds off so you can get your teeth into it .

rang up the weather shop and ordered some up for the photoshoot ... can rent it for about 15 minutes at a time

Getting an embargo on rain is a different 'kettle of fish'

Wet day again today ....... poxy ****ing weather

[v8druid]

was about to post this last night having gotten it all loaded up ready ........ and the 'net disappeared

So pretend it's yesterday guys .......

Can’t recall whether I mentioned it, but Pam’s daughter was 30 Sunday and her hubby was 30 on Friday , so Sunday night was a bit of a bash at a local hotel ..... 80s theme, fancy dress .... an amazing turn out from all their friends with just about everyone costumed up ....... and the music was great [so was the food]!!!

Sunday afternoon was spent inflating balloons ..... blow ‘em too soon and the gas escapes from latex balloons .......



Tool box seemed the easiest place to fill ‘em all, without ‘em getting away.

Sunday was a very late night, by the time I’d ferried everyone about and gotten home to bed. Monday ....... didn’t start too early .......... and was wet anyway, so not a lot did !!!

Today however dawned blue and sunny and although I was up and about by 7.30, the morning just vanished, assisted by Clara and GrannyPam .... eventually got out there, topped up the dumper’s fuel tank, as I couldn’t recall what was in it and with the anti theft/splash plate in the tank is damned near impossible to dip/see/suss what’s in there.
Stuck another 10 litres of Plantohyd in the ‘Drema, now the level had settled and got wound up for some dirt shifting.



VA-r is still on .... so convenient to use and digs well even with the 5 footer on it ....



.....did take a 3 footer up with me this morning, but didn’t need/use it.
Made a decent hole in it ......



.......and shifted another dozen loads .... had hoped to have done more but just didn’t seem to be ‘motoring on’ today, for some reason and had a few interruptions through the day.

#27 dropped in the top side .........


...and’ll start dropping some into the lower, deeper area tomorrow .... forecast is good !!
The Jake is gonna have to venture in there and square it up a bit shortly, so’s I can see where I’m going with the depths?

Fair bit out today though ......



A good session tomorrow’ll have the bulk of this level out and I can get the banks trimmed up to shape!

[v8druid]

Well a good session was had ...... another 15 loads gone and a BIG hole in what was there

Stuck Mick’s 3 footer on today ..... bottom’s well past its sell by date, but a good edge and new teeth .. the bottom’ll survive!!



A real nice bucket for dumper stuffing .......



and suited the huge crowd geometry I’m contending with ...... TBH, a normal bucket set up after this is going to feel weird .... especially not being able to tilt it or turn it !!!!

this bank would have been hard work without being able to use the VA-r ......



And I’m rapidly getting the drop of ‘driving it’ ...... looked ok this evening after #42 went into the hole.



We’ve actually had quite a decent, pleasant day, today and the ‘Drema’s been basking in the sunshine most of the day ........



And she got left up there tonight, after I’d had a tidy up ...... first time I’ve dared in a long time .... supposed to be dry overnight and tomorrow.......





It had better be!!!!!
The VA-r has worked well and I am very pleased that I’ve not managed to break it yet It’s a very useful tool and I can well understand now just exactly why tiltrotors are as popular as they are in the market .... whoever’s you choose, with a bucket on it ..... as I’ve said before, with forks on they are a total no brainer .. A must have!!

[ianoz]

O to be able to dig with a mud bucket .I shifted about 160 Metres today .
Doing a road into a property. The other day dug out the bank on the creek crossing , Unloaded the Grid .Spent the rest of the day stockpileing the Gravel .
Today loaded and carted the gravel .Put a couple of pipes in a Gully . Then stockpiled more gravel .

[v8druid]

O to be able to dig with a mud bucket .I shifted about 160 Metres today .
Doing a road into a property. The other day dug out the bank on the creek crossing , Unloaded the Grid .Spent the rest of the day stockpileing the Gravel .
Today loaded and carted the gravel .Put a couple of pipes in a Gully . Then stockpiled more gravel .

C'mon now Ian ........ don't be kidding us all that you been working!!!


'Snot what you tell me!!

[ianoz]

Strange but true Druid .
Went and did a fenceline Clearing job today . 5 hours in ,blew a hose in the bowels of the machine , so got to search and find it .
Not Happy .

[v8druid]

Strange but true Druid .
Went and did a fenceline Clearing job today . 5 hours in ,blew a hose in the bowels of the machine , so got to search and find it .
Not Happy .

Bugger ....... you don't have a lot of luck with the hoses on that old girl do you Ian That is bloody annoying ...... especially away from your workshop ........ I'd offer to lend a hand, but you's a bit far away

[v8druid]

My net is doing my swede again!! ........
All sorted last night and came here to post, when the 'puter says ....... "you have no internet connection" ...... not what the 3 lights on the router said !!

So unplugged the bloody thing in disgust and went to bed ......... seems OK this morning ....!!!!?????


so again guys ...... you're reading the below, last night

[v8druid]

OK ..... having looked at the last post ... I apologise if I seemed to be preaching the tilty gospel a bit there guys .... but I’d had a good day and even more so, with using and getting the hang of it !!

After I’d had me tea, tidied up and deposited #42 in the hole, I decided before the light went to ‘throw’ the Dane over the grass beside the drive, as I trundled past it on the dumper.

Did a few runs up/down and it cuts well ...... then I got to one of the trickier/more exciting bits ..... and it ‘bit me’ ..... again!!!
Slid sideways and I’m heading for a big ‘off’, if it hadn’t been for the long suffering fence’s intervention !!!
Reckon a few feet of Armco’d be a better bet in that spot !!

These had arrived earlier in the week, .......



...... but hadn’t gotten round to sorting their installation out, as I’d ‘been busy’ and had a few incident free ‘mowings’ recently.

Anyway ...... well and truly stuffed in the ‘catch fence’ and with the ‘Drema parked ‘up top’ a long rope and the dumper seemed favourite .... ‘cept Pam’d have to be sat on the dumper !!
Rope attached both ends ...... “Um how do you drive this again?” ...... “same as the last couple of dozen times you were on it babe !! ... it’s in second ... fwd/rev on the switch .... simples” !!

I’ve barely put a foot on the running board of the Dane and she was off .... **** me ... “WHOA!!!! “
After a further explanation of ‘slowly’ and watch me not the bloody horse at the end of the drive, we had another go, which was a bit more successful !

Untied both ends and burgered off back up the drive with the Dane to its shed .... grass was by now positively wet.....and I’d had enough ‘closeys’ for one night.

Parked it and headed back off on foot to see WTF she was taking so long and Pam’s just negotiating the 12ft gate .... on the 8ft wide dumper ... backwards !!!

Now she’s usually pretty good on it and at the wheel generally, so was surprised when there was no grief, or argument when I said “shall I have it and park it up”

As I get on and Pam moved over to the foot board she says it’s smelling ‘odd’!! ...... one sniff and my first Q is have you been driving with the handbrake on?????
“Where’s that then?” ..... “same place as it’s always been babe ..... here beside yer bum”

“Ah, maybe then !!“ the small whisp of smoke as I looked down was also a bit of a give away !!!! So that was a thousand or so applications gone West, but no real damage (as such) done!!
Mental note to self ... assume now’t...explain everything – TWICE !!

Anyway, ‘twas alright when I checked her over yesterday morning, ready for action, having cooled down and gotten re-adjusted up to hold !
More on yesterday’s exploits later.

This morning was very hazy with the sun trying its best to make an appearance, so thought while I let the grass dry out .... in the field ...... I have a very healthy respect for wet grass thought .... I’ll swap the tyres on the mower, so’s I can finish off later today when everything was nice and DRY !!

Motored the Dane up to me boxes/bench and got its arse air-borne, wheel off and deflated.



A right lil’ bitch to bust the bead on .... God knows how long it’d been on there ... but got the damned thing off eventually !!



The tyre full of aging OKO was not a pleasant surprise!
Fairly soft, what was on there, compared to what I had to wrestle back on !!
Got the easy side back on with a well aimed SLAM ...... the outer was a different proposition ..... would rather do a MUCH bigger wheel ... less mobile, so bolted the lil’ bugger to the bench ..... and continued the wrestling match .... wheel nil ... Druid one ....



And left it bolted down to remount the beads



Even well soaped up, it took 40 pounds to pop up – damned near double their working pressure !!!!

So ..... refit and do second one ......... nah, nothing is ever that simple!!

Some time later ...................... and with the beast in bits ........



And I am cursing the design of the handbrake mechanism, the tw*t who’d been at it before, snapped one roll pin and replaced the other with a tatty old R clip ....... the reason being that it needed sorting/repair/adjustment to cope with the new ‘booties’ !!

I am just contemplating lopping 3” off me pin punch to give me just the right length in an effort to stop the bloody thing going all shapes with the first clout each time, when a mate turns up, on his way home from a job locally, as he often does, with a van load of his tools too ...... and a set of short pin punches.

A few coffees later and it still took the gas axe and multiple cherry red-ings to get the bar steward out .......



...but out they were and could pull the rest to bits, free and lube it all, re-route the earth lead and throttle cable from their ‘fouling’ locations and re-adjust and shim up everything else. The roll pins are going to get replaced with some larger items ..... when I find where the hell I’ve put me box of 6mm roll pins ...... these 3mm just aren’t up to the job and too sloppy now after years of abuse!!

It went back together in better fettle than it was though and the second wheel got ‘the treatment’



Even fuller of manky, stale OKO ..... jeez did it ever stink !!

Tyre on and ‘the beast’ was ready to rock ....



Just in time for tea !!!!!!!

Pam says to me ...."so what you been doing today then?” ....... don’t ask !!!

[v8druid]

Back out, cleared up the carnage ........ and it had to have a test drive ..... traction, by the bucket load and it had to get a try out on a bank t’other side of the drive, which the turf tyres had positively refused to even try ....... massacred it and all the bloody mole hills !!

I was impressed ...... Pam says “ is it better then?” having just done the length twice, once in each direction ....... “What do you think??????!!!!!!! .. I couldn’t even persuade it up the shallowest bit last time Pam!! ”
Clung on like a limpet !!

Today was going to have been a day in the hole with Jake, re-acquainting my head with his X pattern !!!

Load #55 went in there about eight o’clock last night.......



....... and ‘the dig’ is looking pretty good IMHDO .... well reasonable at least .... some trimming up required here and there, to get the lines right, but getting there.





I know I did rather blather on about ‘the virtues of tiltys’ ..... but this made life so much easier, yesterday ....



For all sorts ....



And just didn’t need to move at all, to produce this.......



I’d like to think it ain’t toooooooo bad for a first attempt .... by an amateur !!
Need to get up on the top edge with some pegs to get the line sorted tidy, as I just can’t see WTF I am from below it, as it’s way above my head/eye line and then get the batter tidied and smoothed off to a better line. Just ran out of day, yesterday!!

In case anyone’s wondering HTF my memory keeps track of the load count ...... I cheat ..... got one of these !!



So ....... tomorrow weather permitting and it’s supposed to be GLORIOUS, it’s gonna be a JakieB day, sorting the hole, ready for some more !!

[v8druid]

JakieB got woken from his slumbers again this morning, after giving him the once over, ready to ‘do battle’ with [a] the field and [b] the spoil heaps ......





Jake contemplating the descent, whilst I closed the gate behind us .......





Exciting was one word ... bloody scary could be another two !!! some interesting angles were reached at times today !! ...... I have no idea what the safe limits are for the Ol’ CX on cross slopes, but it did not feel at home on some of the slopes today !!!!


Worked me way around it all until I could start to get on it, from the top ......





And only had a bit left to do .......





When it pissed down ....... major thunder storm ..... and I burgered off up the field .... while I could !!


It gets bloody slick ..... quick, in there !!!!


What’s left can get done next time I go in there, after several, with a big ‘S’, more loads get distributed about the perimeter and lower extremities .... still a fair bit left to fill and I’ll track this down a bit, ....... once it dries again and probably get a lot more on top of it all.


Can’t believe I was at it 5 hours ...... total concentration .... I was knackered, when I got back to me patch and gave ol’ Jakie a thorough greasing ...... he was starting to groan a bit now and again !!


A quick tea and shot off into Abergavenny for a hit on a couple of supermarkets .... I like these late shopping hours ...... no-one else about.


Driving into town and see this ‘thing’ in the distance, which can be seen from just about anywhere in the town.


Bit of overkill, I reckon, for what they’re doing ..... but great publicity ..... didn’t get close enough to get a real good look at it, but I’m guessing it’s possibly a luffing Wolff ?





Looks like there’s going to be some ‘building action’ on my old workshop site at long last!!


Let’s hope it doesn’t end up looking like this un ..... somewhere in Liverpool a while back!!!!!!!







Think that’s knackered !!!!!