We do it not because it's easy, but because we seriously underestimated how hard it would be!!

[Joe]

Hi all, sorry I haven't been on here in a while. I've been terribly unwell, suffering from an affliction we believe to be far more contagious than concrete fever and unfortunately, considerably more expensive to control.

While I don't believe there's a cure, the condition can apparently only be managed with a strict detox from Facebook Marketplace, the internet and all auctions.

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem...

Well, here goes.

I have an attachment problem.

I started the year with a bucket and a set of pallet forks. I'm now up to 9 attachments with a 10th on the way.

The little MT100 was originally bought as a support piece of equipment but has quickly become a core part of the business.

Some of the attachments are older and need a bit of tidying up or modifying to get them working exactly how I like.

To accomplish this, I'll be extensively using a highly advanced design system, allegedly developed by German scientists spirited out of Europe after the war and subsequently perfected by NASA.

CAD. Cardboard Aided Design.

It's a highly sophisticated process involving cardboard, a marker, a tape measure, sticky tape, mind-altering levels of caffeine and delusional levels of confidence.

So sit back and indulge in a little schadenfreude as you watch me miscut material, burn holes in perfectly good steel while attempting to weld and wonder why the f**k I've got a bolt left over after putting something back together.

 

[V8Druid]

this is gonna be good
oh and C.A.D. stands for Chalk Aided Design in Druid central

 

[Bri963]

this is gonna be good
oh and C.A.D. stands for Chalk Aided Design in Druid central

Crayon Aided Design here - when I manage not to eat them.

 

[Joe]

Been a very busy week, or 10+ days. I've lost track at this point.


I'm now 4, going on 5 weeks into what was supposed to be a 1-week commercial project, and it's been taking up most of my time and energy.


In an attempt to get ahead I've had to hire a labourer an excavator operator and bring in a second excavator. So much for staying a one-man band.


Fair play to you guys who employ and keep a crew of lads going. It's bloody hard work. The dirt is the easy part, running a business is hard, But I'm learning plenty in this first year.


Anyway, onto this weekend's project.


I normally head up to Fort McMurray for work during the winter but this year I decided to bid on some snow-clearing contracts and was successful. Nothing particularly exciting but it should keep the machines earning through the winter and most importantly I'll be home every day.


I picked up a 48" utility blade over the summer as part of that package of attachments I bought. Whoever owned it before me certainly got their money's worth out of the cutting edge.


It's been sitting for a while, so the hydraulic fittings need replacing, and I'll put some new hoses on while I'm at it.


I've removed the old cutting edge and bought some ¾" thick by 6" wide yellow urethane scraper material, apparently the same stuff they use in cow barns.


Now comes the overthinking part.


My original plan was to use the old steel cutting edge as a giant washer or squeeze bar to clamp the rubber against the mouldboard. The rubber still needs cutting to length and drilling but the old edge is already countersunk so that saves a bit of messing around.


I'm thinking of leaving about 2" of rubber exposed below the blade. Enough to flex over uneven concrete, but hopefully not so much that it folds underneath itself.


Then I had another idea.


I've also got a brand-new steel cutting edge. I could sandwich the rubber between the old and new edges, using the new one as a backing plate. Then, as the rubber wears down, I could remove the new steel edge and expose another 2" or so of rubber.


The downside is that the whole sandwich would end up around 1¾" thick, which seems like it might create a fair bit of leverage on thmouldboard.

The MT100 is also due an oil change.
Normally, I drop the oil go and have a mug of tea and by the time I come back most machines have finished draining.


Not the MT100.

That thing drains oil slower than a wet week in July. It's more of a come back the next morning job.

Last oil change I even did it on the trailer to see if that would help.

 

[Joe]

Crayon Aided Design here - when I manage not to eat them.

I like the purple ones

 

[Joe]

this is gonna be good
oh and C.A.D. stands for Chalk Aided Design in Druid central View attachment 86158View attachment 86159View attachment 86162View attachment 86161

That's some very tidy work I must have a look on your page and see the build.

 

[V8Druid]

That's some very tidy work I must have a look on your page and see the build.

cheers, not sure if it's in here Joe ... pre dates this forum's existence and the old CEF it was on is defunct ... some pix here though https://app.photobucket.com/library/albums