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typical day in the life... in the woods

Started by northwoods1, January 19, 2011, 03:39:47 PM

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northwoods1

As I was heading out to my cedar job this morning I noticed the neighbors crew was all parked out at the shop so I stopped. They were gathering forces for the project of the day, put the track back on the Timbco. Well who could refuse that kind of fun so I offered to head out and supervise the project and give encouragement.  :D
Actually did not go to bad. Got the master pin out and unrolled the track, slid track down hill using the 170 Franklin, walked the timbco down on to the track, pulled the track back over the rollers and buttoned it back up. They were all imagining it was gonna be a real b$*&ch but low and behold it didn't take much time at all. Actually I was thinking it was gonna be the same. but sometimes things just go smooth. If you can call a track coming off going smooth :D, but that is the reality of logging. You learn to face bad situations and not let it bother you. It is the norm. Just another day. Had some good laughs in the process , never fails when we get together we talk about all the other things that have happened in the past that were so hard to deal with. It is what we now laugh about :D my camera battery died 1/2 way through because only 10 degrees, but you can get the idea how much fun we were having. And I actually did provide help! When it was back on the track I suggested putting a big bar over the rear sprocket and hooking the track to the bucket on the 170 and pulling it on, slipped right on. Then the track adjuster grease fitting would not go in and I cleaned it up and had to touch up a few threads with a file and I got it back in. The whole time the operator, good old AL, was saying "I don't how that track cam off, I don;t know how that track came off!" hilarious... We got done by 11:00 am.
























CX3

Awesome pics.  Looks like a whale of a project.  And youre more than right, a guy just needs to calm down, sit back, think it through, and most things go together pretty nicely.  That is one of the hardest lessons I ever needed to learn after buying my own machinery.  Now when stuff breaks, I just ask how bad it really is, instead of screaming and running through the brush like an idiot throwing stuff ;D
John 3:16
You Better Believe It!

Maine372

ah, la vie du bois.

my first commercial endeavor in logging was stump cutting 4ft spruce and stacking it on a trailer behind a IH td-6 crawler. so i learned about the joys of tracks at an early age.

its nice when you have another crew nearby willing to lend a hand. ive helped guys, and been helped. rarely is any money involved, it all comes out in the end. but if we are near a store lunch is usually provided. :-)

Kevin

Nice job recording the event.
I thought the argo tracks were going to be a nightmare but once you develop a plan and a method there's really nothing to it except a little time.
Good job.

Autocar

Great pictures Ive always said when you can't laugh and have some fun on the job it is not worth working there.
Bill

barbender

  A spit track or a flat tire are two ways I really hate to start a day, it does help to have some "emotional support" from a friend when dealing with that kind of stuff :) What kind of processor head is that on the timbco? Maine372, My grandad had an IH TD9, I remember lots of thrown tracks and frozen clutches :(
Too many irons in the fire

Maine372

it was hard enough to learn to drive a crawler with 6 thousand levers, but i think the first time i was on it i had to put it in reverse to turn right. what a pain! a couple wooden plugs and a gallon of WD-40 and patients. use a stick against the hood to hold the clutch lever back and eventually they let go.

Ed_K

And I thought my td6 was the only one that had these problems. I sold that machine 15yrs ago (to a friend)and when i go by i look the other way :D.
Ed K

barbender

Yep when I ran grandpas' TD9 the clutch on one side was froze, so you had to back up to turn the other direction. I managed to break the mainshaft in the tranny, well, first I think I knocked a couple teeth off of a gear. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, so I kept going (duh) and then the mainshaft broke. I hear they were notorious for gears breaking.
Too many irons in the fire

NB sawdust

Looks like fun !! Just wondering how many of you guys split the tracks like this . I always fight with them with a chain and sometimes another machine.If it is new undercarriage sometimes it is too tight and we have to split it .I have put alot of them back on with a chain though . You get good at it quick if you work around old gear like I used to.....Tis is a picture of me putting the tracks back on a pc 600 komatsu hoe using a 200 komatsu . The night shift guy got one track right off and tried to walk it out of the way on the other one and the bucket.....and got the other one off the idler . This is what i showed up to in the am.heavy metal.

2308500

with an excavator, usually you can put it back on with the bucket and a couple chain ratchets and bars, without breaking the chain...............but that dangle type processor pretty much eliminates that method

NB sawdust


NB sawdust

It can be done with the harvesters too ..... but i don't have any pics.

pineywoods

I have a small chinese dozer that throws a track at the drop of a hat. I got to where I can put it back on in less than 30 minutes. Usually use the winch on the front bumper of my toyota pickup. One nice thing..The tracks are a bit different. All the pins are the same master pin, so I can break the track anywhere it's needed. Still not any fun, especially in the middle of a big mud hole.
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Bobus2003

That is something i hate, Throwing a track on my Link Belt.. The dangle head more of a hinderance than help.. I typically use the Skid Steer or skidder to help put it back on

northwoods1

Quote from: NB sawdust on January 20, 2011, 06:34:36 PM
It can be done with the harvesters too ..... but i don't have any pics.


When the track on the Timbco started to come off, Al noticed it right away when it was just off the front sprocket. So he went to get the forwarder operator to help him put it back on. But as he was trying to pull it on using the head and a chain and moving the machine forward, the guy on the round was not able to signal him when it started to go awry and he drove the track right off the entire works. So that is why it had to be split. Fun :)

Norm

I absolutely hate putting tracks back on. Usually it's back somewhere you can't get any support equipment to and you're by yourself so a nice long walk helps to cool you off from being pithed at yourself for doing it.

Magicman

I guess that's the reason that big boys haveta have big toys.   And lots of them.   ;D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

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NB sawdust

Tracks always know when it's time ....usually when I am already mad or friday afternoon when you planned on quitting early!!!Stuff like that used to really bother me ,but as time passes i have learn't to wake up and brace for the worst instead of getting my hopes up  ;)

Ed_K

Rita calls them days,Tuesdays  :D . I got good at getting the old td6 track back on with crow bars,if I caught it just off the drive sprocket.
Ed K

northwoods1

Quote from: Ed_K on January 19, 2011, 08:33:01 PM
And I thought my td6 was the only one that had these problems. I sold that machine 15yrs ago (to a friend)and when i go by i look the other way :D.

That is funny :D

One of the guys in the photos , the guy on the ground w/the zz-top beard and mad trapper hat had a td-6 that he fixed all up. Man , he did the tracks and welded up the sprockets , went through the entire machine. Spent weeks and weeks in the shop working on it. I do believe he preferred working on that thing to going to the woods :D ended up selling it , never really used it much after fixing it.

CX3 , I have to say your observations and approach to logging is exactly the way I think works best :) those are real words of wisdom.

Somebody asked what kind of head was on that timbco, and I have to say I actually forget what kind it is. It works good though, when it is working :) that is an older machine I think a 90' , i'd be afraid to guess how many trees that thing has cut. Probably enough if you put them end to end it would reach the moon :D



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