Druidic exploits of a various nature!!

[245dlc]

I would imagine the tow point/hitch/hook/pintle would be on the dozer blade of the duck that seems to be pretty popular from what I've seen on Facebook and elsewhere. At least then you just have to lower the jack when you want to unhook and lower the blade to disconnect without any hand cranking. I'm curious about getting hydraulics to it?

[v8druid]

greetings sports fans! I'm back





some *****ng **** took out my phone line last Tuesday afternoon .....I saw the junction box hanging off the pole and out in the road in the morning and before I could get back up to it with a step ladder ........ beeeeeeeeeeep on the end of the line and router blank junction box and 20 ft of cable ............. gone !!!!!


If this .......





........ hadn't arrived 6 hrs earlier, than the tracking had said it was gonna be here, ....... I'd probably have saved the bugger !!!!!!! ...... and the buggeration factor of days of waiting for a repair!!!!!!!


well as said ..... it arrived





Bit smaller than I'd anticipated





but in bloody great condition .....








haven't had a great deal of time to do much to it other than give a bit of a clean off and de-oil the ram ...... as Frank, the guy from Norway on the CEF, also arrived Tuesday evening and have been doing the 'mein host' bit, 'til Saturday morning !!


I will have to have the rest of the hydraulics apart for emptying/blowing out, 'fore it gets shown any of the 'Drema's QCs or bio. :


have to say ...... the rotator'd make a fine MkII VA-r ..... or a smaller one even !!


( Sparts found a new source of 'cuddles' )

and a few things got the 'Frank seal of approval' ......


..... as did the 'Drema, after an hour or two's eye-balling and playing with



(Vid link to follow ....... if it ever finishes loading !!!!!!!)


I think Frank also brought a bit of his weather with him, in his wake ....








Dunno who was more surprised to see this lot Thursday evening / Friday morning !! Me or him !!


Fortunately it'd mostly gone by the end of Saturday !!






this eventually loaded .......

To be fair ..... Frank had been in her about 3 minutes, my rotate is reverse to his and he was having to re-learn/remember to use foot-pedal power for all the motions on the VA-r,
instead of just using his thumb-rockers ... mine's buttons and prop. oil, on the left trotter

....... don't think the bucket would've been his first choice ....... if he'd been at home ..... in fact I doubt he'd ever seen one like it on his dipper

Apologies on the vid quality ...... didn't really think about doing it, 'til it was 'occurring' so was a bit of a hurried affair

[v8druid]

Down here that trailer would be pushing £1k so that price is a bargain.

by the time I'd have it home Andrew it'd be pushing £2.25K ...... so hardly a bargain Boyo ...... or do you have a typo in your post?

[v8druid]

That trailer looks really good for its age.. 3-way tipping can get real handy too..
The only real concern you got is digging out of it with your over sized grading bucket by the looks of it the rest is things you can deal with, and probably would have to eventually with any trailer.
well then, it's a matter of price. Almost perfect, and perfect migth get much more pricey

Know what you're saying boyo ....... but !!!

It is good for its age ..... in the pix ...... but I've been there before, where the camera says one thing and reality, stood before you, is a totally different animal
[See Devon Duck, in the duck hunt thread] ...... http://www.plantandconstruction.co.u...uids-Duck-Hunt

I would be a little more enthused, were it closer ..... so I could look at it, negotiate with the guy, face to face (waving a wad of folding beer vouchers ) and it'd not be such a costly exercise, to have it sat on me patch ...... we'll see how much more willing he is to negotiate, after he's had it sat for a while

3 way would be handy-ish, but not a pre-requisite

As you appreciate ...... the big issue for me is its width ..... or lack of it. This is going to be a 'tool box' as much as a load carrier ... and I need to be able to fit 'my tools' in it ... to shift 'em about the place as I need them.

[v8druid]

Where / How will you mount the tow point ?

I would imagine the tow point/hitch/hook/pintle would be on the dozer blade of the duck that seems to be pretty popular from what I've seen on Facebook and elsewhere. At least then you just have to lower the jack when you want to unhook and lower the blade to disconnect without any hand cranking. I'm curious about getting hydraulics to it?

The 'Drema has a tow point, on its arse guys ..... between the legs ....... my blade is on the front

the hydraulics are a matter I've given considerable thought to, whilst keeping me eyes open for a mobile tool box

I've 6 slip rings through my central rotary coupling .... one is neutral, three control the valves for the blade and each leg, leaving me one spare

now that spare could be either used for one 6x2 diverter valve and could control a tip function, quite easily or .........
with some crafty wiring, I could use it to control a relay bank, to give me a series of 'alternate' uses, for the other three circuits currently being used for the blade/leg valves and have a considerable variety of differing functions for the existing control switched selections ..... sneaky eh

So ..... hydraulics ain't gonna be a problem


'Course ..... I could also change the slip ring set up too, if I wanted ..... for not a lot ... plenty of 12 way about, at very good prices. That would give me eleven ways and a neutral .... or a hell of a selection with the above relay bank idea!!

Or..... change the whole thing to a canbus set up and have dozens of choices ....... getting a bit exotic then though and TBH .... a relay bank for changeovers on the existing circuits'd more than cover probably, all I'd ever be able to dream up for hydraulic requirements, 'downstairs'

[Nobody]

Hope you've been well

What catched the phone line? you sure it wasn't a wheeling drema??

Sturdy looking that grab! Simple design with only one side moving can be a pluss Less crap going wrong, and wont open into other objects if you'r stacking close to something
What's the gap width?

I can feel Franks frustration, though he plays it cool
Jumped into a rental stressed out and in a hurry once with opposite controls, as the hired operator who owned it had to take some calls.. Nearly took out a groundy and hit a theethed bucket so it tumbled down a short but steep hill, landing out of reach Complete brain malfunction! Even normal stick movement got wierd because of it.. Never again.

Anyways, masonry coming up or having the grab for parts??

[v8druid]

Hope you've been well

What catched the phone line? you sure it wasn't a wheeling drema??

Sturdy looking that grab! Simple design with only one side moving can be a pluss Less crap going wrong, and wont open into other objects if you'r stacking close to something
What's the gap width?

I can feel Franks frustration, though he plays it cool
Jumped into a rental stressed out and in a hurry once with opposite controls, as the hired operator who owned it had to take some calls.. Nearly took out a groundy and hit a theethed bucket so it tumbled down a short but steep hill, landing out of reach Complete brain malfunction! Even normal stick movement got wierd because of it.. Never again.

Anyways, masonry coming up or having the grab for parts??

Aye, well aside from the **** who took down the phone line must have caught it on a tractor trailer, or a curtain sided truck perhaps ?
'Twas too high for most things ..... so annoyed I didn't get to it first and stuff it back behind the pole

The Auramo looks like it's going to be a handy unit ... we'll see once I have a chance to have a bit of a play with it

[Muz]

Aye, well aside from the **** who took down the phone line must have caught it on a tractor trailer, or a curtain sided truck perhaps ?
'Twas too high for most things ..... so annoyed I didn't get to it first and stuff it back behind the pole

The Auramo looks like it's going to be a handy unit ... we'll see once I have a chance to have a bit of a play with it

Once watched a farmer with a trailer loaded with straw take out every line in a small town street, he had the bales on a four legger about 16 feet .. was pointless gesticulating as he was well past after I noticed .. but... thought of all the punters suddenly disconnected .. and those that got phone calls from their alarm companies as their house alarms got triggered

[Nobody]

Seems popular to tear down phone lines with tractors x)

Muz's story () reminds of one of my own..
It was in Kristiansand last summer, where we had our rig right next to a road crossing of the railway.
Some local excavation firm had a tip place on this side of the rails, main road on the other side.
As we where sitting outside the wheeled barracks (kinda like a camper, dunno proper term) eating lunch, a tractor came back after tipping his load with the bed raised, heading straight towards the crossing and the 15k volts overhead line! Everyone froze for a second while realizing the inevitable.... In that second he caught a phone line and clamped the brakes, meters away from getting fried Lucky day The drivers knees where visibly trembling as he got out of the tractor..

[v8druid]

Seems popular to tear down phone lines with tractors x)

Muz's story () reminds of one of my own..
It was in Kristiansand last summer, where we had our rig right next to a road crossing of the railway.
Some local excavation firm had a tip place on this side of the rails, main road on the other side.
As we where sitting outside the wheeled barracks (kinda like a camper, dunno proper term) eating lunch, a tractor came back after tipping his load with the bed raised, heading straight towards the crossing and the 15k volts overhead line! Everyone froze for a second while realizing the inevitable.... In that second he caught a phone line and clamped the brakes, meters away from getting fried Lucky day The drivers knees where visibly trembling as he got out of the tractor..

Lucky boy ...... I've seen a tipper truck hit an an 11kva line with the body up ..... made a hell of a mess of the body and a guy take out a lower voltage cable with his 360, coming off the side of a low loader ...... hit him out the cab and burnt the soles of his feet

[v8druid]

Once watched a farmer with a trailer loaded with straw take out every line in a small town street, he had the bales on a four legger about 16 feet .. was pointless gesticulating as he was well past after I noticed .. but... thought of all the punters suddenly disconnected .. and those that got phone calls from their alarm companies as their house alarms got triggered

loaded a bloody big silo on a truck, laid down, years ago ..... was about 17+ft high ..... only had to go about half a mile ...... through Merthyr .
Ran along side it with the crane .... jib tele-ed out about 15ft and a crowd of guys on top with brooms and tee-poles ....... hold up what we could get ... move truck ..... move crane ..... repeat operation, etc ....... took longer to move it, than it did to load, unload and relocate the bugger

Traffic was bloody chaos ...... plod came along, saw what was 'occurring' and buggered off out the way ......... those were the days .... early 80's .... get away with murder

[Nobody]

Wish i experienced those good old days

[Stock]

Wish i experienced those good old days

No you don't brcause by now you have the bad back, worn hips, no hair and a gut from sitting in a machine all day, then there is the deafness, the intolerance for modern music disinterest in electronic programmmable items etc etc.............................

[Nobody]

No you don't brcause by now you have the bad back, worn hips, no hair and a gut from sitting in a machine all day, then there is the deafness, the intolerance for modern music disinterest in electronic programmmable items etc etc.............................

Well.. I can check off a couple of those the gut has clearly made it's appearance already, and intolerance for modern music is all there. My deafness is selective until further tho

[v8druid]

Wish i experienced those good old days

A lot less 'crap' to put up with, for sure