The First Thing

[Arcane]

My 4115/410 FEL/ 46 BH will be delivered tomorrow. First tractor for me, and I've been mining the archives for information. I extend my thanks to all in this forum who have contributed so much.

I've got 6 acres or so of fields, woods and stone walls, some sloping land, and a long list of "first" projects:
- pulling shrubs near the house foundation
- removing and burying 4-6" cedar tree stumps
- moving and burying a stack of too-old firewood
- digging bays for compost, mulch, etc. into a bank
- moving a rockpile

I'll also be rebuilding lots of stone walls, but expect that I won't have the necessary touch with the machine to do anything delicate for a good while.

Here's my question: What's the first project you would do to familiarize yourself with a tractor/FEL/BH? And yes, I'll have the dealer thoroughly demonstrate the machine and I'll read the manual first...

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I would stay away from the "house foundation" work until you are comfortable operating the hoe. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I had never used a hoe before and when I first got it I spent more time trying to figure out which lever to pull than I did using it! Now it seems like second nature. I have the exact same set-up (4115) and I think you will be very happy with it. This weekend we are heading up to our property to clear some more trees and stumps. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jeffinsgf]

I think I would start with your firewood burial. Not much can go wrong there. The cedar stumps might be next, but that can be tricky, and your burial project would be good backhoe practice for the root digging.

I agree with jdgreen4me.....stay away from the foundation for a while.

 

[Arcane]

Thanks for the helpful advice. I dug holes and broke through an opening in a stone wall. I chewed up a lot of roots today digging holes, got stuck and unstuck a few times, and had a blast.

The manuals have so many interruptions for warnings that there is very little content on actually doing something like digging a hole or getting under a rock with the FEL.

Interesting what you learn when you go below the surface.

 

[trlong]

Arcane,

Sounds like you're having a great time. I also have the 4115, 410, 46 combo and can't belive it has only been a year since it was delivered. I turned a bit over 300 hours this weekend, having moved about 160 yards of fill this last week, filling an area in front of my house that gave me a lot more practice in the finesse of keeping all four wheels on the ground.

As you've been reading a lot here, I'm sure you have heard, repeatedly, "keep it low and slow". I would offer two excercizes to familiarize yourself with your new machine. First, if you have, or can make a pile of fill or stone on a level area, try filling just one side of your FEL, SLOWLY, and then curl and lift, VERY SLOWLY. As you feel the opposite side rear tire start to lift in the air, drop the load back down. This should give you a pretty good feel for how easy it is to tip over, even just using the FEL, if not on level ground, evenly loaded, and kept low. Second, with your BH while on level ground with your stabalizers firmly planted and with no one and nothing within reach of the entire arc of the boom, dipper, and bucket, swing the boom. You have probably already noticed how fast the boom will swing and lift, compared to the speed of the dipper and bucket. The speed that boom moves gives one a pretty good respect for how gentle you need to be with that lever. I can't seem to get my wife to understand that she has to stay way clear of the entire tractor when I'm using the BH. She does not understand how fast that boom can travel.

Have fun and stay safe (and wipe that grin off your face or your wife will think you're playing, rather than working /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ).

Tom