backhoe from scratch and scrap

[grouch]

My spare time for backhoe building took a severe hit about the time the above photos were taken. I had to build a house. My son talked me into acting as 'general contractor' as well as doing the framing, flooring except for kitchen and bath, cabinets, interior trim, finish grade, and deck.

The man who did the excavation has a grandson who is naturally fascinated with earth-moving equipment. His son poured the concrete for the basement (dead straight, too) and helped in many ways.

So, I built a backhoe for the grandson:





The grandfather had bragged about how quickly the youngster learned the controls on the Kobelco trackhoe. When presented with the little yellow backhoe, grandpa took at most 5 seconds (he was already walking away by the time the camcorder was ready to record; I had flipped the switch as he was walking toward the kid) telling the young fellow what the levers were, and he was off on his own:
(screenshots from the video)


Look close and you'll see tennis balls stuffed in the ends of the tubing. Don't want wasps interfering with his work.









Naturally, his dad had to play with the toy, too:

[Kbeitz]

I don't know why I could not find a LIKE button..
But I like it....

[grouch]

Kbeitz,
Glad you couldn't find the button; your comment outranks a button.

Thanks.

[grouch]

There were no 4 inch square tubes in my salvage pile, so I split a 4 x 8. Naturally, it went a little wonkers.


The two pieces bolted back to back while I tried to grind the edges into something resembling straight.


Lots of tacks and I still, to this day, have a tendency sometimes to pile up the weld. Most of that bead is just wasted rod.




Hmm. If you look closely, you can see the first backhoe I built in the center background where the biggest glare is. That was made for my son when he was little and is the same design used for the yellow backhoe shown earlier.

I don't remember how I got those pieces unbolted after welding the 4th side on each.








That's a 3/4 x 1-1/2 flat bar drilled for M16 bolts.

[grouch]

Many tractors have this very handy feature called "steering". It shouldn't be given up when adding things to the tractor. Modifications to the newly built subframe were needed to recover that handy feature.






Testing and whittling went on until there was adequate clearance throughout the range of tilt of the front axle and steering.








Finally! Ugly last cut but _last_.


Apparently my Clarke metal bandsaw was new at this time. It has since bit the dust due to plain bushings instead of bearings in the idler wheel. It sure made a wonderful difference while it lasted, though.


Many hours of grinding were saved by that little saw.




Seagull alert!




Oh, those nasty birds.

[Ox]

I'm loving taking your trip with you through your pictures.

I also hate welding vertical or upside down.  I never got the hang of it either.

[sandhills]

I'm enjoying this as well, thanks for taking the time.  I don't mind vertical welds so much but anything upside down, well let's just say I tend to weld myself as much as the metal  :.

[grouch]

Thanks Ox and sandhills.

I was just about to start another barrage of pictures and it gave me that "Warning - while you were typing... ". 
Thought I had these all sorted out, but still having to whittle the pile down some.

[grouch]

Still custom-fitting the frame to the tractor.


There are always things in the way.




Still piling it on. Part of that, I think, comes from learning to weld using oxy-acetylene. It was a slower, more relaxed welding and I could take my time watching the puddle and filling it to any level.


The phrase every good welder hates, "It's ugly, but it'll hold". The ugly doesn't do any holding; it's the fusion under the ugly that's holding. I'm still trying to eliminate the ugly.




Oily rag - check. Dried twigs directly under welding area - check. Disconnected hydraulic lines almost directly over welding area - check. Hydraulic fluid all over the steel surrounding the weld area - check. Yep, ready to weld with the machine cranked to the max.

I usually create some smoldering fires when I weld. They're almost always the dried leaves, seed pods and twigs from a redbud tree growing right beside my welding table. It provides shade in front of my garage.


Base of the part that's going to sit on the pad shown in above photos.


Piling on even when doing horizontal flat welding.  :(




I don't remember if I stopped here or finished filling that bevel. Maybe it'll show up in later photos.

[grouch]

Continuing...




When you don't trust your welding and don't know what forces are involved, you tend to weld everywhere you can poke a rod into.






Power steering lines clear.


Bolted -- grade 8, 1/2-13.








It's drooling.

[grouch]

These boxes (left and right) had to be cut off later. The movement of the loader posts stripped the holes in the cast bell housing. I think there was too much post above the attachment point and too much abuse by the operator.

[grouch]

A little side note here. Anybody noticing the dates on those photos might wonder why I managed to get only 1 loader tower (post?) put on during '08. Here's some evidence that I wasn't slacking off the whole year:


Note the tractor holding one end of the trim for me. Never could convince it to climb a ladder; always insisted on working from the ground.

[grouch]

Front loader needs a bucket. Did you know you can drive a ~3900 lbs tractor over 3/16 inch plate and not bend it a bit?




Oxy-acetylene cutting 3/8 inch plate into strips.


Side view of quick and dirty torch trolley guide.


Overhead view.


Plan B for bending the stubborn 3/16 plate.




Didn't work very well.

[grouch]

Front bucket build, version 1.






Note the curve in that back piece. Sledge hammer and rosebud worked. Not pretty, but they worked.

[grouch]

Stiffening the upper edge.


1/4 inch wall, 2 inch square tubing.




A neat shop is a happy shop. Mine growls at me.


That's 60 inches wide and 24 inches from that 3/8 inch edge to where the (lumpy) curved back attaches to the bottom.

[grouch]

Closing it up.


Ends are also 3/16 inch plate.




One of the 3/8 inch strips cut earlier -- transition from bottom to back of the bucket.

[thecfarm]

You sure do some nice looking work.

[grouch]

You sure do some nice looking work.

Thanks, but man you got me worrying about your eyes!
;D

[Ox]

I like the way you think.  I wish my stupid brain worked better to come up with some of your ideas.

You mentioned stripped holes in the casting of the tractor for the loader mounts.  How did you fix them?  Helicoil type repair?

[Kbeitz]

Last week I had an 8ft 6x881/2" thick I-beam that I needed to get strait.
I used my backhoe. I put the hoe bucket on it with pressure and lifted the
out riggers off the ground This put all the how and back of the tractor
weight on the center of the I-beam. Then I had to take a 10 lb sledge to
it as had as I could swing to get the thing strait.

[grouch]

You mentioned stripped holes in the casting of the tractor for the loader mounts.  How did you fix them?  Helicoil type repair?

I didn't fix them, I just did away with those side mounts. Patience; I promise to get photos up about that bug.

Last week I had an 8ft 6x881/2" thick I-beam that I needed to get strait.

You're confusing me with those dimensions.

Had to use my backhoe on Saturday to refine a path to a 13 ft red oak log, about 23 inches at the base. The approach came off the end of a pond dam, across the narrow spillway, then up the other side. It was just right to get me stuck at the bottom -- rear wheels losing traction as the tail of the backhoe frame hit the ground. Had to make it a gentler bowl to get tractor and log arch in and then out with the log.

[grouch]

Remember the 2 inch square tube?


Why did I do this to it?




This is the eventual cutting edge of the bucket.
Molten steel shrinks as it solidifies.


Sides got reinforced with the 3/8 inch plate, too.


Look at all that chipped slag in the bucket.




That OSB blocking part of the doorway in the background is to keep a dog out and keep the dog from getting blinded by the welding.

[grouch]

The exhaust system interfered with the loader frame. So...


A piece of scrap flat steel cut to match the original exhaust flange (well, it matches where it counts), and a piece of scrap 2 inch pipe (nominal trade size, actual 2-3/8 inch O.D.). That lets the exhaust turn upward much sooner -- right alongside the hood.


Needed more chunks of 3/8 inch plate to begin making a quick attach system for the bucket. I used the specs for SAE J2513 (PDF).




The hole was supposed to be tangent to those lines. Close enough.


Leaving a little fudge factor and grinding room (as if enough grinder discs hadn't been sacrificed re-doing bad welds already).


Can't apply much pressure with a clamp in that situation, but it only has to hold things still until tack welding.








The quick attach doesn't need that center part, but I might, later.




Should've removed the slag before taking the picture.




6011 rod, flat to edge, welded horizontal flat, and I _still_ got undercut. That takes special talent after so much practice.

[grouch]

First test of the bucket -- on the wrong end of the tractor.


Looks a little light on the front feet.


And a little heavy on the hind feet.
Does that bucket make my tractor look fat?


Should steer nice and easy.




It's not even full. Bucket capacities are usually given for a heaping bucket. I might have gone a little overboard with the size of this bucket.

The 3-pt hitch is rated for 2645 lbs and it couldn't lift that bucket. I had to back into the gravel pile and use that slope to help lift the bucket.




Maybe I should've checked the density of various materials and figured out a bucket size that way, instead of just saying, "I want it 2 ft tall, 2 ft deep and 5 ft wide and with a curved back".


It was a useful test.




Saved me from a lot of wheelbarrow work.

[grouch]

Work on the tractor side of the quick attach system.


This was set up with stops to be repeatable for 4 pieces, each with 2 holes.






One of two, mostly welded up. All parts cut from 3/8 inch plate.


1 inch diameter pin still fits after welding.




Two pieces, no ends yet.


Starting to figure out the 7018 rods. Must've sneezed about mid-way through that one.