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Having a blast

Started by Paul_H, November 03, 2005, 11:32:44 PM

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Paul_H

Things have been winding down with the mill and it's been too wet to haul out back so I hired on with a local logging outfit til snow flies.They have a few excavators hired on with a highways contactor that is building a highway into the Callaghan Valley for the 2010 Winter Olympics and I'm running a Kobelco SK350 prepping and mucking out for the blasters.



Stripping the rock.The guys in the backgroung are loading the holes for the blast,it took four of them 9 hours to load and prepare to blast last Saturday.









I had Sunday off while Brian shoved the rock off of the road with the D10





Early Monday morning I crawled up on the pile and threw the muck down to Bob and he shoved it of the road to the fill with the 966 Cat





I'm having a great time working there and it's good to see how the big outfits go about it.The one thing that is hard to get used to is having to stop and let traffic through.but working with Bob and Brian has been good.They are both around 60 and have been in construction all their lives.Lots of laughs and good stories at lunch time  :)

I'll post more tomorrow.




Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

DanG

Great pics, Paul. 8) 8)  Looks like you guys are really making your equipment earn its keep! :o
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Paul_H

Thanks DanG.
They always put the hired machines on the rock pile,some things never change  ;D
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Norm

Cool stuff Paul, that kind of work is my dream job.  8)

That D-10 makes the payloader look like a toy, looking forward to more pics. :)

OneWithWood

Whoo-hoo, big boy toys  8)

Looks like a fun an interesting job.  I have always wondered hoe those roads were built without falling off the mountain.
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Scott

 Cool shots Paul  8). I always wanted to do work like that. Keep the pictures comming  :)

Paul_H

Well,when I showed up this morning,there was only the drillers,surveyors,and another smaller excavator working and we only went until noon.It seems that there is no place to place the gravel and strippings until the bridge is in place so we're down for a bit.It has snowed on us last night and today so we might be down for the count soon.



Driller running a Furakawa putting in holes for the shear line



sending muck down to Brian who is loading it onto Bob's truck with the 245 Cat



Bob is a teamster and he's been trying to educate me on how important it is to stop for coffee at 9:30 and 3:00. I was only in the IWA for a total of two months in 1982 so I told him to be patient :D He's a good guy.





Finally climbing down off the ramp at 4:00 pm Thursday,4 days after climbing up of the road.The Kobelco has a custom fuel tank and gaurding package built by T-mar.The fuel tank holds at least four days fuel which was a good thing.






A before and after pic taken from pretty close to the same spot.That's all the pics for now.I would have liked to get more of the crew but it didn't work out.

Scott,Norm and OWW
it is fun especially when working with a good crew that is willing to share their knowledge and experience and I look forward to getting back there if possible this year.Tomorrow I'm back on a logging road driving a Moxie,no coffee breaks  ;)




Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Tom

Looks like a great time.  I love big equipment and would have loved to bring a chair and watch even if I couldn't run any of it. 

Did The warden let you out of the cage?

Paul_H

Quote from: Tom on November 04, 2005, 07:31:37 PM
Did The warden let you out of the cage?

At 9:30am,12:00 noon,3:00pm and 5:30 pm but I snuck out for a few pics  ;)
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Jeff

How does God get those great big trees you guys got out there to grow in that rock?
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Norm

Thanks for the additional pictures Paul. Now tell this flatlander what a Moxie is. ;)

SwampDonkey

Quote from: Jeff B on November 04, 2005, 08:35:59 PM
How does God get those great big trees you guys got out there to grow in that rock?

Them rocks are the fertilizer. :D ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Paul_H

Norm,
A Moxie is a 6 wheel drive articulating/occilating dump truck.It works well for steep muddy areas.I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.We were snowed on most of the day today and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,everywhere I go... :)

Here is a link to an auction that shows the same model and vintage
(1996 MT-30)
               Moxie

The door on the moxie I was driving has the door held shut with a bungee cord and whenever I hit a rough spot the door opens then shuts,all bloody day.Anyway,my brand new cell phone fell off my belt and some how slipped out the door this morning. My son had just set it all up and I was learning how to take digital pics with it but now it's a part of a logging road  :-X
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Norm

Thanks for the link Paul, guess I've not seen those around here. Sorry to hear about your new cellphone, sounds like you guys fix doors around there pretty much like we do here also. Well except we'd use baling twine. :D

Frank_Pender

Do not feel like the Lone Ranger
Frank Pender

Paul_H

Took my camera to work again today but had it secured to the back of the seat so it wouldn't do the cell phone thing  :-X

We moved the Moxy(i was spelling it wrong) excavators and tank drill out of the way last night so the Grapple Yarder and loader could pass us on the "Y".As he was turning to head up the road,the track on the Grapple yarder slipped off of the front idler and blocked the road and kept us busy for an hour.We ended up hooking the grapple to a log that was held securely by the EX400 excavator and when Dave tightened up on the log it lifted the track off the ground and helped the track back on.



passing on the "Y" about the time the track jumped


it's back on and we're all happy about it


Gary and Frank pumping grease back in to tighten up the track.Frank is smart cause he's just holding the coupler while Gary pumps the frozen grease(I'm smarter because I have the camera and everybody is on guard and hasn't noticed I didn't pump)  ;)



My freind Frank.Good logger and he'll keep you laughing all day



Harry (Hey) doesn't like working Sundays but they won't let him quit  :)



Ready to go again



Pulling guylines,getting ready to yard
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Paul_H




A few pics to show how versitile the Moxy is.It can turn around in the same space a pickup truck takes and you can kick the back end over to dump off the side of the road.If done right you can back over your pile with the next load and dump



This is the swivel joint that allows the Moxy to occillate.It has the large bearing and the center pins behind it that lets the truck turn sharp
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Norm

Those Moxy's look darn handy Paul, how many yards can they haul? Looks like winter has moved into your area. Neat to see how you folks do things out there, sure different from my area.

sprucebunny

Great pictures, Paul. Thanks  8)

I want one of those Moxys ;D ;D



                          ............ and about 10 acres of bank run gravel to fill it with  ;D :D ;D
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Scott

 Really cool shots Paul. I'm in college right now to be a Industrial Mechanic but if that falls through I'm seriously thinking of heading out your way for awhile. the more pics you post the more I want to be out there  :D.  A lot of guys run those Kobelcos around here , supposedly theyre one of the smoothest machines around. I like the Tmar gaurding packages. theyre feul tanks are the only ones I've seen that extend the full width of the machine and the catwalks, all the other ones are only as wide as the machine. Anyways thanks for the pictures and keep up the good work.  8)

Paul_H

SB,
from the pics I've seen of your place,the Moxy would be a good fit but when they breakdown it can be costly.On a decent road you can travel along at 30 mph and the Moxy has signal lights too.
Norm,
I think the Moxy holds around 15-18 yards but I don't know for certain.The wheels are still cutting through the snow up there and I think tomorrow is my last day there on the Moxy but I wouldn't want to wander around on the hills if things freeze upI don't have any problem saying "no"



Here is a little excavator I rented in the Summertime and considered buying it off of the owner for $4000.It has a 12 hp diesel and does a surprisingly good job for it's size and there is a niche for it around here but in the end,decided to pass.

It was fun to run  8)

Scott,
Finish your schooling first and then come out.Unless we get a major earthquake,BC won't be going anywhere for a long while.If you ever decide to come out this way,I'll try to help you out the best I can.

Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Tillaway

Man I need to start taking a camera to work.  Just today one of the crews was trying to jump a track back on a 071 Madill.  You know Paul on the Sherman tank carrier.  How we won the war I will never know.  They were trying to lift one side with the guy lines and a dozer.

Current yarders working on my sales include;
071 Madill, TMY40 Thunderbird, TY40 T-bird, 6140 T-bird, 50' Washington Swing- this one can grapple yard, 60' Skagit truck mount drums date from the 40's with a 60's model tube powered by a 500 cadillac with a bad alternator.  I will be getting a "Yoader" or two pretty quick. 

The TY 40 was hung 3000' to the tail hold for a few settings.  It was a 'bit" dicey but they managed to pull it off. They only had about six wraps on the skyline drum and the mainline was nearly tapped out reaching the back, almost 2000'.
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Paul_H

Those little 071's had a M6 undercarriage I think.There are a couple still around the area here that work occasionally.



I spent a couple of really cold days on this 071 in late November 2003.The yarder was on loan to a local farmer that was putting in a 8" waterline for irrigation and I kind of volunteered because Mark is a good guy and we have done some horse trading before.
The waterline was put in underneath the Lillooet river by a directional drilling contractor but the pipe didn't have any water in it when the flood came in Oct and the pipe floated right up to the top of the river.
We ended up pulling the line out of the river with the 071 and the remaining portion behind the machine was pulled out with a D7.




Our job with the 071 was to drag the 8" pipe back to the bluff in the picture above(around 800',can't remember) to the intake.Mark and his son Peter are heading across and have a long hike back up to the bluff.We used walkie talkies to communicate and I hugged the muffler for warmth while they hiked out there.




Here is a picture showing the butt rigging which would normally have chokers hung from the bullhooks.We used it to attach the pipe.
At night we had to hang ribbon on the lines that were suspended across the river so we wouldn't snag any aircraft   :)




The  3 guylines were anchored in the ground to "deadmen". This pic shows part of the tank undercarriage.

It was a fun couple of days and just after Christmas Mark and his wife took everyone who helped on the project out for a Prime Rib dinner and some good visiting.

Tillaway,
I hope you remember to take your camera out with you everyday.I would love to see some of what you are doing down there

Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Tillaway

Looks like that 071 was missing a vital piece... like the cab.  :o

My wife controls the cameras, I would have to sneak the digital out.

Whatever those chassis are they sure throw tracks.  I think they will go faster than I would want to ride too.  Our roads can be pretty steep > 20% on some so moving one down hill through switch backs tends to take a while.  That and the steering is a bit "iffy" at times.  One contractor that had very little experience tipped one off the road last year while moving it.  Something about a steering issue common to them.
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Paul_H

That missing cab was why I was so ccold  ;)

The brakes on the M6 originally  had mechanical levers to apply them and the bands are in a oil bath.On the 071,they were modified with air pots and unless they are set just perfect they want to steer one way so you have to play a game of catch and release to compensate and it can get spooky because it swings the machine back and forth across the road.The undercarriage wasn't designed for that kind of weight either and sometimes the tracks want to snap,then you have no brakes  ???

I hope you can sneak the digital out of the house and get some pictures posted here again.  :)
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

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