DruidFab VA-r

[v8druid]

Finished off spiral wrapping the loom on the left side - incredibly slow ol' job, for what it is, but worth the effort IMHDO, to protect it all





Also stuck a bit around the one Tee feed to give 'em both something to slide over, if they contact at all, in motion.




Then turned my attentions to that 3 ft bucket that's been 'loitering' by my bench for a few days but that was yet another story, as you know!

well it was


here one day last week .
So much so, that I went and ratchet strapped the VA-r to the bench early in the morning, in the pi**y wet rain that accompanied it.





Would've been gutted to see it blow over, off the bench. It's well top heavy, sort of and a parking plate is an essential for it I think!!

Eventually stopped raining, but still mega-windy; 55-60mph gusts, to dry it out a bit.
So thought I'd have a couple of hours on a base plate for the VA-r

spent a bit of a Sunday making up some brackets .....





In deference to the neighbours they didn't get cleaned up Sunday, so set about 'em Monday with the 5" and the die grinder.

After getting 'em cleaned up and 'decent', I set 'em out on the metre square piece of 10mm plate that got welded to the VA-r base for its original trip to Raglan for plumbing.



stitched 'em first and then firmed 'em all up



Although made and set out for the usual 70mm pins, I've a few 65s sat about which are [a] easier to get in and out and [b] not in use on other things, so opted to use a couple, as this is not going to be doing anything more demanding than keeping the ol' VA-r upright, when off the 'Drema,



Didn't get carried away with the fit on this, as a bit of slack'll be helpful for sure in the future use of this item.



Having thought about securing the pins for a few minutes (they'll need keeping in place whilst it gets moved about) I opted for a simple solution, which could easily be reversed if I ever wanted to use them elsewhere.

couple of crossbars one end



And some good old fashioned M16s the other



Might replace 'em with some big Lynches when i come across a few!

This should keep it safe and upright when not 'at work'!!

I've measured up the dedicated pipes for it, when I had it on again, showing it to my BIL (brother in law), after he'd asked how it was coming on

I've yet to give it a maiden voyage, with a tool pinned under it and will most likely first try it with my forks, as I have a particular job I need to do, which is why I originally started to build the rotater.

Apart from the next stage, which is to build a quick hitch, to replace the underside pin-on cheek plates I also have a small modification I'd like to make to the main centre pivot pins

With it's current set up, all the forces in a forward or backward movement are purely on one pin, longitudinally, as they are only captured on the outer face of the upper pivot plates.

I want to replace these pins with two that are threaded to take a thrust washer and nuts inside the lower unit, to transfer the forces to both end pivots equally and hopefully will stop any tendency for the upper pivot plates to spread, under load.

As I no longer have my own lathe currently, I am going to have to get these made for me.

As I've already said, I've also been 'pottering' with a few other items, along the way, too and will try to put a few of these up shortly too.

[v8druid]

In case anyone's been wondering, I thought I'd give this my own 'name' to my own take on a rototilt/tiltrotater
It is after all a variable angle rotater - simple as!! - They're all VA-r,s, really

[v8druid]

Only been 'pottering' a bit, recently, as the weather has permitted and I've been trying to get these done for ages





A new Ying tong arrived recently, that I'd been waiting for, so I had to exercise it a bit





Got the first one done and was beaten by the bloody rain again!!!





Decent enough fit on an old 40mm rod I had handy.




Got them both done and lifted the VA-r back up onto the bench to get 'em installed.

I didn't want 'em floating about on the rods and marking them so had to capture them internally.
I was going to use a couple of jubilee clips on the soft cush, but not enough room inside the spacer so it had to be the ubiquitous 'cable ties' - again.
Also applied a layer of silicon between the cush wrap and the rod to assist in keeping it put!





More silicon around the holes in the spacer halves and clamped in spot ready to stick 'em together.





used an old 'half' of a previous attempt at a set of these from a while back, that I was not happy with, for a rod guard to weld 'em up, together with some masking tape, to keep the spatter at bay, just in case!!





It worked just fine and no incidents with the rods, or anything else for that matter
e


Got both sides on and nicely captured with the silicon and grippers internally. Having set, the stuff in the spacer holes holds 'em fairly stationary,whilst still allowing a bit of flex/movement,for when they get to meet the cylinder end cap!!

[v8druid]

Couple of coats of paint to keep the rust at bay ......








Job done - much happier about using it now, as I'm theoretically no longer able to overload the brackets with a return stroke that is always looking to go that extra 40mm - it now comes up against a positive stop.


Whilst it was on the bench I thought I'd also have a quick look sorting out some guarding/covers for the 'guts' of it, to try an' keep the elements at bay, a bit and teh crud out as much as poss.!!


Templated what I want to achieve .......








....... cut some Lexan, to shape and marked out the bend points, ready to go visit Richy, the last of my old employees, who bought my lil' hand folder and a load of my other kit, shortly, to form the Lexan - great stuff - retains a fold line a treat and is bloody tough ol' stuff!!


Had got a suss on how they'd be retained, just got to get 'em bent to shape first!!


As some of you may have already sussed, there're a lot more here - http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/v8...b%20VA%20Rotor - for those inclined to take a look !

[v8druid]

Eventually got to go see Richy with my bits of Lexan and put some folds into 'em!





Then spent some time creating some fillets to enclose the sides of 'em!











I've still to drill and tap some fixings to the VA-r lower section to hold 'em in place, but they should keep the bulk of the damp & dirt out and will do for now.
Would like to create some in ali eventually, I think, but a little TIG will be required to get those made up!






Between the so so weather and Mrs D's wish lists, I've not had a lot of time to get the fixings done.
Plus the weather's picked up a bit, this last week and the ground's dried out enough for me to do a bit more spoil shifting too, so that too has taken a bit of a priority. (and that's a whole other story for yer's)

[245dlc]

That is excellent what you have done there Graeme, I don't there is too many people in this world that could build themselves their own tilt-rotator or VA-R. I'm hoping some time after we have settled out west that I can finally pursue my dream of having my own machine and possibly my own VA-R (most likely an Indexator one). I'm thinking that it could help give me a leg up on the competition and help attract work that would be difficult to do otherwise. Keep us posted on your projects there as I'm finding them very interesting.

Bert

[v8druid]

Right then - had the VA-r back on the dipper today to try the ram stops ..... they work a treat!!


full right .....








.....and full left








Can run it now without fear of 'over-cooking' it on the tilt buttons !!


Forgot to measure the available range, but looking at the upper's pipe guarding'll give you a fair-ish idea of the total available, as the rotater's ring-gear is parallel with it in full right/left positions. I'll measure that tomorrow for an idea!




Also needed it on to get those guards secured in place ........



..... as with it upright I couldn't get at it to drill and tap the fixings for the guards








I also swapped the ring gear grease nipples to a pair of 'flats', [a] for ease of use, [b] they're a lot less vulnerable than conventional nipples and [c] a bloody sight easier to get at with the aux Q/Cs in such close proximity.





The eagle eyed, may also have spotted that I've changed the aux Q/C's orientation too, to aid getting 'em coupled up.
Was gonna be tight with 'em parallel to the pick ups and reckoned this'd be a far easier proposition.





Only thing left to do is sort out some dedicated 1/2" pipes, the right length, which although I've measured it twice already, I'm still thinking about, to try to get 'em 'bang on', as fully crowded, the 'P' is going to need to be just right. The 'T' return pipe isn't such an issue, as it's unlikely to ever get trapped, by a dipper!!
I am even considering bringing 'em both to the back end of the upper in steel, despite the effort required and going 'flexi' from there on.


As usual, any comments are more than welcome!

[v8druid]

That is excellent what you have done there Graeme, I don't there is too many people in this world that could build themselves their own tilt-rotator or VA-R. I'm hoping some time after we have settled out west that I can finally pursue my dream of having my own machine and possibly my own VA-R (most likely an Indexator one). I'm thinking that it could help give me a leg up on the competition and help attract work that would be difficult to do otherwise. Keep us posted on your projects there as I'm finding them very interesting.

Bert

Thank you Bert ....... some very kind words there Boyo.

I hope your move brings you all you'd like too mate. It's a fair old thing to do, to up-root and ship out.
Without doubt a tilty would give you an edge, especially once folk can see what can be done with one. An expensive edge and a long term proposition, but they are without doubt, amazing tools to have.
Indexator certainly seem well put together and the Scandies love 'em - Maskinisten's full of 'em (and a couple of other DIY tilties too)

As you're not likely to have anything in the way of support for whatever you buy, the choice would be critical and I think IMHDO your choice is a good one. Frank is really the man to speak with though, on that subject. He's a clever Viking!!

Got a few other projects yet to put up, so as they say, "watch this space"

[245dlc]

Well there are a few in Canada, I ran a New Holland/Kobelco E50 a few years ago that had an Indexator and they are trying to get a bigger foothold in Canada and probably the U.S. I'm hoping that I can get one where I can hydraulically disconnect it from the machine as the one I used was a straight forward pin on. At least if something were to go wrong with it I could disconnect it and still operate the machine. My thoughts on the subject are that after being in business for a few years and having some steady clientele then I would look at putting one on the machine. It'll be a little while before I have my own machine but I don't think it will be long.....

[v8druid]

Well there are a few in Canada, I ran a New Holland/Kobelco E50 a few years ago that had an Indexator and they are trying to get a bigger foothold in Canada and probably the U.S. I'm hoping that I can get one where I can hydraulically disconnect it from the machine as the one I used was a straight forward pin on. At least if something were to go wrong with it I could disconnect it and still operate the machine. My thoughts on the subject are that after being in business for a few years and having some steady clientele then I would look at putting one on the machine. It'll be a little while before I have my own machine but I don't think it will be long.....

Your biggest decision in the method of attachment Bert would be :-
S type pick ups

or
conventional?

If you go S type, after having owned the machine for a while, you'll have to change all the pick ups on all your att.s.

Going with a conventionally dimensioned quickie would mean being able to use std att.s and be able to fit a tilty to your existing hitch.
However, height is the biggest issue with this route, as the S type are very low build heights.

I'm surprised that there are importers over there, as it's seldom mentioned.

Would you not be better off having 'the edge', first as last, to promote your alternate 'angle' with and win on the fact that you'd be ultra-versatile in tight spots?



You off on your expedition tomorrow?

[AndrewMawson]

When you bid for jobs, do potential clients actually appreciate the manoeuvrability of the VR/r, or do they just assume that you can get to whatever they want doing. I suppose what I'm saying is the advantage often more in saving you time than having an apparent edge on the competition?

[ianoz]

Hi Andrew , The Druid , bought the machine to work on his place ,so is not going to hire it out .

[245dlc]

Your biggest decision in the method of attachment Bert would be :-
S type pick ups

or
conventional?

If you go S type, after having owned the machine for a while, you'll have to change all the pick ups on all your att.s.

Going with a conventionally dimensioned quickie would mean being able to use std att.s and be able to fit a tilty to your existing hitch.
However, height is the biggest issue with this route, as the S type are very low build heights.

I'm surprised that there are importers over there, as it's seldom mentioned.

Would you not be better off having 'the edge', first as last, to promote your alternate 'angle' with and win on the fact that you'd be ultra-versatile in tight spots?



You off on your expedition tomorrow?

Well the one I operated had the 'S' type set up but the tilty was pinned to the stick, I'm probably buying a used machine to start things off with, and usually the quick hitches in Western Canada are quite a bit different than in the U.K. or Europe, that however is starting to change a little bit.
And yeah there are importers but it seems like the majority of tilty's are in Eastern Canada in provinces like Ontario but Indexator seems to be pretty eager to get more of them in the country, they posted several testimonials the other day on their youtube site.
https://www.youtube.com/user/RototiltNorthAmerica

The plan is to leave tomorrow but I have a little more mechanical work to do to my truck before we hitch up to the camper and leave tomorrow morning so hopefully we can 'get 'er done' once my friend is off work this afternoon.

[Nobody]

This is the most impressive self made mod I've ever seen Very nice work! Your threads is pure gold