sequoyah101
Silver Member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2009
- Messages
- 157
- Location
- East Central Oklahoma
- Tractor
- CaseIH 50A, CaseIH JX95, CaseIH JX80, Allis 190XT, Daewoo DD80L Dozer, Schaeff SKL831 Loader, Komatsu PC40-7 Trackhoe, JCB 210S TLB, JD750, JD820, Kubota FR3680, Kioti Mechron
Notwithstanding that the driver is made in China, the 350E I just purchased is one of the most satisfying devices I have ever bought. Montana's larger drivers are supposed to be made in the US. I bought the forklift frame mount model and it will need a stopper plate to keep the bottom from wandering left and right. Simple enough to make a clamp. The device is very heavy and even with help it is heavy to lift over the top rail of the forklift mount. This is easily solved by setting it on a block and then hooking it like a skid steer bucket. It falls right into place that way.
One of the nice things about the machine is that it is fully field serviceable and Montana supplies the tool kit, charge valve and instructions. Their seal kit is about 120 bucks.
Field service was the downfall of my adaptation of a Stanley model BR-67 hydraulic jack hammer, the device was nearly new having set in a pioneer tool kit for over 20 years but the seals were probably old and failed. I could not find anyone to service the tool and Stanley uses a proprietary charge valve they will sell you for $650. A standard hammer service charge valve is around $100. Anyway, by the time I repaired the jack hammer I would be into it for nearly a grand and not certain it would hold up. The jackhammer guide bushing is not as stout as the one on the post driver and you exert a lot of lateral force in straightening a driven post. That may have been what wiped out the seals on the jack hammer in the first place. They did disintegrate though.
The driver cup on the Montana is well surrounded and bushed to resist lateral loads.
We drove braces and corners today, 10 pieces of 3-1/2", 15.80 lb tubing even through some floater sandstone rocks. It paused, but with a little down force and a little more flow went right through. Most posts were driven right at 4 feet deep.
You need to stop and check vertical mostly because even a loader with bucket level swings through an arc of varying distance from the original center. The chain for plumb works well since the eye can discern parallel down to fractions of a second but you can only see plumb from the loader seat in one direction. We used a bullseye surveyor's stadia board level which is too precise making it tedious and so just a little torpedo level will do. The best solution is to build a mast so I can do this without help since it would hold the post and the driving head would go straight down.
Thought about making a short video but with one of us leveling and one driving there was nobody to film.
I'm sure some people need a bigger driver but for our needs this one seems just right at 350 ft-lbs of energy, even the BR-67 at 67 ft-lbs was adequate. My only disappointment is that the drive cup is limited to 4-3/8", just 1/8" short of driving 4-1/2" pipe. Why make this limitation when it would be so easy to open up just a little more? I believe I can make an adapter but it should be solid since the last one I fabricated was destroyed by just a jack hammer. If I could find a chunk of drill collar that would work great. If I was still working it would be easy to come up with a dutchman.
Driving is so much more satisfying and effective than drilling and concrete or lugging sackcrete. Foam? No, not a serious solution for fences with 6 strands pulled as tight as I can get them.
One of the nice things about the machine is that it is fully field serviceable and Montana supplies the tool kit, charge valve and instructions. Their seal kit is about 120 bucks.
Field service was the downfall of my adaptation of a Stanley model BR-67 hydraulic jack hammer, the device was nearly new having set in a pioneer tool kit for over 20 years but the seals were probably old and failed. I could not find anyone to service the tool and Stanley uses a proprietary charge valve they will sell you for $650. A standard hammer service charge valve is around $100. Anyway, by the time I repaired the jack hammer I would be into it for nearly a grand and not certain it would hold up. The jackhammer guide bushing is not as stout as the one on the post driver and you exert a lot of lateral force in straightening a driven post. That may have been what wiped out the seals on the jack hammer in the first place. They did disintegrate though.
The driver cup on the Montana is well surrounded and bushed to resist lateral loads.
We drove braces and corners today, 10 pieces of 3-1/2", 15.80 lb tubing even through some floater sandstone rocks. It paused, but with a little down force and a little more flow went right through. Most posts were driven right at 4 feet deep.
You need to stop and check vertical mostly because even a loader with bucket level swings through an arc of varying distance from the original center. The chain for plumb works well since the eye can discern parallel down to fractions of a second but you can only see plumb from the loader seat in one direction. We used a bullseye surveyor's stadia board level which is too precise making it tedious and so just a little torpedo level will do. The best solution is to build a mast so I can do this without help since it would hold the post and the driving head would go straight down.
Thought about making a short video but with one of us leveling and one driving there was nobody to film.
I'm sure some people need a bigger driver but for our needs this one seems just right at 350 ft-lbs of energy, even the BR-67 at 67 ft-lbs was adequate. My only disappointment is that the drive cup is limited to 4-3/8", just 1/8" short of driving 4-1/2" pipe. Why make this limitation when it would be so easy to open up just a little more? I believe I can make an adapter but it should be solid since the last one I fabricated was destroyed by just a jack hammer. If I could find a chunk of drill collar that would work great. If I was still working it would be easy to come up with a dutchman.
Driving is so much more satisfying and effective than drilling and concrete or lugging sackcrete. Foam? No, not a serious solution for fences with 6 strands pulled as tight as I can get them.
