Caddigger 508 for 1512

[gary noblit]

Lincoln tombstone welder (ac only) started to make some funny sounds and would trip the breaker. Have to check it out soon but to solve my immediate welding issues and to use a harbor freight gift card I picked up a cheap inverter welder.

https://www.harborfreight.com/merch...erter-welder-with-electrode-holder-64978.html
Running this thing on 240v it is a beast! I can’t believe a welder weighing 17lb has this much power. Not sure how long this cheap welder will last but not much $ invested in it.

Bernie,had to look up the welder,that looks pretty good....

 

[bpientka]

Completed the plumbing last night and did a test run! It moves and digs. Still need to use it more to work the air out of the cylinders. One cylinder needs to be moved slightly but outside of that looking good.

Remaining items
- hose management
- adjust placement of 1 cylinder
- bushing to keep cylinders centered
- weld in bushing for manual thumb
- reposition seat slightly back
- final mounting of valve. I have set it up so valve bracket is bolted to frame. This way I can adjust the valve location up/down as needed.
- grease fittings to add.
- grind/smooth all sharp edges
- prime and paint

 

[twthompson]

Bernie,had to look up the welder,that looks pretty good....

I would like to hear what you think of the welder after using it a few times.

 

[bpientka]

Hoped for more progress this weekend but ended up working Sunday. The remaining list is getting shorter!

I gave the harbor freight welder another work out yesterday after work. Still working well. Used 6011 and 7018 rods. Both seemed to perform well.


Remaining items
- bushing to keep cylinders centered - two sets need to be welded on.
- weld in bushing for manual thumb
- grind/smooth all sharp edges - half done
- prime and paint

 

[bpientka]

Everything clean up and primed today!

 

[bpientka]

Well after a light sanding and a wipe down of the primer the yellow came out!

 

[bpientka]

If I wasn’t taking the picture you would see the big smile on my face!
Backhoe with trenching bucket (6”).

 

[gary noblit]

awesome job Bernie

 

[jkoenig]

Great looking rig! Nice job. I’ll bet you do have a great big smile-for a month!

 

[bpientka]

In sunlight!

 

[tlavalette]

Are you satisfied using just hydraulic hoses instead of hose to steel tubing to hose? I'm getting ready to put a loader on my "green" 400 tractor and have thought of using just hoses. Great job btw. Looks awesome!

 

[John Wyrick]

That's a great looking machine! Nicely done!

 

[bpientka]

The hoses seem fine to me. My suggestion is to weld on multiple hose clamps (Hose Clamps | Hydraulic Hose and Hose Assemblies | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com )

These really help the install and make the mounting pretty clean with hoses.

 

[1811Cub]

That is a thing of beauty right there.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Very nice!

 

[gary noblit]

I totally appreciate all the effort it took..wow

 

[bpientka]

Here is a video of the basic operation of the backhoe.

I did have one issues with the tractor 3 pt hitch. While digging out a stump I noticed the top link mounting plate was bending the 1/4” steel on the 3 pt frame. I suspected this would be an issue. Took me longer to remove the hitch and reinstall it than to fix the problem. Added some 2” square tubing and some reinforcement plates to the hitch. Later today I will add my final support brackets to the tractor. These brackets will connect the 3 pt hitch to the loader frame on the front 2/3 of the tractor.

 

[bpientka]

The usefulness never stops! I just had solar panels installed on the edge of the yard. Had to take down 9 trees! Backhoe did an ok job of digging out one stump 8” tree with the 6” trenching bucket. I needed to dig out two more and I wanted to be more efficient.

Built another backhoe add on option “root ripper”. Basically the available blade portion is 17” long and made up of 1/2” thick steel. I started about 12-16” away from stump and worked my way around the stump. Did a nice job of cutting roots.

My problem turn out is there were two stumps (see above photo) which grew together. So after cutting roots around the stumps things were not moving.

Got out the hand shovel and dug a hole on one side big enough to slide a floor jack in. The floor jack lifted the stumps as single unit. Due to weight I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. No way cub is going to pull this mess out of the hole.

So the stumps were free but weighed a lot! Quick text to the neighbor to see how much his tractor would lift. Didn’t get answers but I could hear him start the tractor up!

Well I hate to say it. Sometimes the Cubs just don’t have enough power!

 

[bpientka]

Well finally gave the caddigger a real test! I replaced a 80ft long drainage pipe. The 6” bucket made a great trench and worked pretty good to backfill. Overall 80 ft ditch around 20 inches deep. Once I got into the rythym it worked well.

Not as fast as a mini excavator but way faster than a shovel!