Post Trenching Trench Cleanout - MicroHoe

[BobRip]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Very nice job. Along with you and J.J.s idea of a trench filler I think you have the project covered.
Would like to see this in operation if possible.
PJ )</font>

So would I. I have tested it a little, but I want to fill in the welds some more first. I pulled it through some soft ground last week and it cut right through a one inch root. I suspect you could actaully dig trenches, but it would be kinda of slow. I will get some pictures in a few days.

Bob Rip

 

[J_J]

Bob, while you are in the welding mood, one of these would come in handy for removing roots. All the power of the machine is concentrated in a small area.

 

[BobRip]

I kinda made one. I took an old bush hog blade and welded it to a 2 inch hitch. It works pretty good in very limited testing. The one you showed has a better shape for root pulling. I could grind the bushhog blade to look a little like it.

JJ, thanks for all of the comments. You have been a big help.

I have a lot more of the 2 inch square tubing and 5/16 inch plate, so I can make a lot more attachments. I am welding a log splitter for a friend this weekend. It is a home made unit with a electric motor. We will see how this goes.

Bob Rip

 

[toy]

several years ago [before I got a tracter] I neeeded to dig a long ditch to run a water line and I didn't want to dig it by hand so I got a peice of chanel iron a couple peices of strap metal and a 2" peice of square tubing to insert in the reese hitch on my truck. I rigged it up like a plow on the back of my truck and put the truck in 4 wheel drive. I dug a little hole for a place to insert the contraption. I got in my truck with the wife watching my progress I started out slow , didn't seem to strain my truck at all. Looked in the mirrow and saw my wife smilling with thumbs up it was working gave it a little more gas , didn't want to spend all day digging the ditch you know, well I felt the extra strain then and it keept on going then suddenly my truck freed up and the smile left the wifes face knew something was wrong got out to see what I had done the chanel iron couldn't hold the strain and it broke. Needless to say I didn't have any more chanel iron my plans stopped in its tracks and I "spent all day" digging a ditch". I'll always beleive that would have worked if I had of had enough steel to reinforce it so it would have took the strain. The wqy I had it fixed the dirt from the ditch would slide up out of the ditch in the chanel iron and would have slide off to the side of the ditch.

 

[MossRoad]

$10.00 slicer thingy. Scrap angle iron, plow share, bolts and nuts. Works great in forward to slice/edge sod and soil. I'm thinking of putting a bent pipe on the bottom to lay cable. Digs about 10 inches deep. I broke the bolts on a large root. Maybe I'll get some grade 8 next time. If I turned the plowshare backwards and pulled it, I'd probably have an easier time with roots.

 

[SnowRidge]

<font color="blue"> $10.00 slicer thingy. </font>

There you go with all those hi-tech terms again. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[MossRoad]

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I didn't know what else to call it. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[pequeajim]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( $10.00 slicer thingy. )</font>

Moss, you scare me...

I can see it now, MossRoad vs. Jason /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[BobRip]

I fired up the welder last night and it started acting strange and would not turn off. I spent a couple of hours working on it and figured the control board was bad. It's about 20 years old and was given to me. It had a few problems when I got it and I fixed them. I figured that it would be difficult to find a new board and nobody at Lincoln would know anything about it. I called them up and after calling multiple telephone numbers got a technician. I was very pleasantly surprised about how much he knew about my welder, told me what to buy and where to get it. He also knew what other componets might have failed and how to bypass the stitch welding board (it might have been damaged by the other board failure). I called that number and the part was in stock and the guy there knew a lot about the welder too. This kind of knowledge is rare today. My only complaint is the board was about $200. A new welder would be $1200, so that's not too bad. My hats off to Lincoln for supporting a 20 year old product.

Bob Rip

 

[MossRoad]

Lincoln has always been a reputable company and that is an example of why. I learned to weld on their machines in tech college over 20 years ago.

 

[bbabineau]

JJ

Is this an attachment that you made or just one that you found a picture? I would like to consider making one similar and wonder if you can tell me the size of the bucket. From the picture I am imagining it to be about 8 inches wide and 18 inches deep and about a foot tall at the back end.

Bob

 

[bbabineau]

JJ

To clarify my question, I am referring to the yellow attachment that you apparently found pictured on the Web. Can you give me a guess as to the size?

 

[J_J]

I found the picture on a web site. I would just be guessing, but your assumptions are about right. The bucket could be any dimension you want. I would even make several bolt on buckets. A 4 in , 6 in, 8 in, 12, or a V type bucket for tapered sides. You could put teeth on the larger buckets. The buckets are easy to make if you can weld. I would cut out a model for the sides, and use it for all the buckets. The center plate or back plate could be cut out of 1/8, or 1/4 in steel plate. You could also make so it would push or pull.

 

[J_J]

I found this picture of a sloped side bucket or trencher.

 

[bbabineau]

JJ

Thanks - that last one is even neater than the yellow one. I think this may be my first attachment project. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Bob

 

[BillCroasmun]

A little off topic but I was wondering... on this attachment and other small buckets with teeth I often see the outside teeth angled out slightly. Is there a good reason for building them this way? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[keeney]

RE: "The trencher for my 422 puts some of the dirt back in the trench..."

Looking at the pictures of the Power Trac trencher, I can see why it is giving you problems. Its missing the "crumber" that is usually used on these smaller trenchers.

The crumber is a small spring-loaded curved flap that is held by a bar extending the length of the top of the trencher with the crumber angling down over the end. The crumber flap drags on the bottom of the trench, pulling loose dirt along the trench and falling back into the chain to be carried out.

I would be careful about the concept of clearing the trench with a micro-hoe or narrow shovel on your power-trac. The problem is that involves driving back over the trench. Unless your trench is perfectly straight, you are going to find it difficult not to get the wheels on one side or the other too close. When it caves in, your machine will be stuck with two wheels down in the trench (don't ask me how I know this).

Enclosed photo is of the Toro Dingo trencher with Crumber.

- Rick

 

[BobRip]

Thanks for the info. I used the microhoe today just to test it. It packed dirt into the bucket and I had to hose if out. Not too successful. I did not use it on a trench, just some ground that I had dug up a month back.
Maybe it will work better on a trench, or maybe I will get stuck.

Take care,

Bob Rip

 

[J_J]

Bob, a box like structure will tend to pack. The answer to this is to make the back less wide than the front. It would do the same job, but the dirt should fall out better, unless you are digging in clay.

 

[BobRip]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Bob, a box like structure will tend to pack. The answer to this is to make the back less wide than the front. It would do the same job, but the dirt should fall out better, unless you are digging in clay. )</font>

I actually did that, but the difference is only about 1/8 inch. I wonder how much I should have used.
Bob Rip