What's your hoe doing?

[T-town]

I had cracked a seam in an old bucket trying to pry apart some of the rocks in this bunch...decided they would stay put after that..
.. did a patch on the bucket and still sits as a spare

Better Homes, Rocks and Gardens here we come

thanks.... one of my summer jobs in my (much) younger days was on a small landscape crew in the poconos.....some people there spent an awful lot of coin for their 'scape. The 'woods cows' loved them!

Anyway, always a passion for the hardscape ... even when 'forced' as a youngster at home

The material ( soil,rocks) all come from onsite. The modified for the sitting area came from a barter... 3 triaxles for an old 4cyl/stnd Ranger ( 97) that had a bad slave cylinder(178k) that I had no gumption to fix....

.......but I did have to buy some fescue seed....and the mulch, which is from hemlock logging

 

[davo727]

I still have an old international 250a hoe sitting here. Spent about a zillion on hoses and still everytime I tried to use it something else broke and it still wouldnt get even mid size stumps out. I gave up and bought a Case CX130 exc.

 

[aighead]

That's a lovely spot T-town!

I have a bucket with some cracks that were exposed upon trying to drag a bulldozer around that I haven't done anything with yet... I probably should!

 

[Swetz]

T-town,
That landscaping looks great. They always say a man needs to know his limitation...I do... I stink at landscaping! I just lack the artsy flair. My wife tells me what to do and it looks better than I could ever imagine...LO

 

[T-town]

Thanks guys....

I have an ulterior motive.....well several I guess..
One goal is limit lawn.... and get things to the point of not needing a trim mower or needing to use a string trimmer.
Just sit on the 0-Turn and marvel at the newly cut grass..... while enjoying a beverage.
Little by little we are getting the 'outside' set up. Mt list for next season is growing..... but it does give me reasons to get out of bed..

 

[Swetz]

Just sit on the 0-Turn and marvel at the newly cut grass.....

good

while enjoying a beverage.

GREAT!


LOL

 

[aighead]

My place is the same where my wife has a great mind for landscaping projects, she starts them in some state of madness and it comes together looking great!

 

[casey518]

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Beautiful. Its people like you that prove how much work those old machines still have in em. Even with all the required tinkering you still end up way ahead of where you'd be had you not had a machine at all! Nice work!

 

[T-town]

still end up way ahead

.... your right there!! If she shut down tomorrow ( don't think she will ) I'd still be way ahead... and that's not counting all the FUN ...

..and thanks.....Mrs.T came home from a trip, took a look and smiled.

 

[NH575E]

Had trees down and cut up all over the place waiting for conditions to burn. Our granddaughter was wanting to have a party with a bonfire at their house and my son in law showed up with a dump trailer and hauled it all off for me. 4 loads.

Now on to sifting out piles of dirt and smoothing out some ground.

 

[casey518]

Had trees down and cut up all over the place waiting for conditions to burn. Our granddaughter was wanting to have a party with a bonfire at their house and my son in law showed up with a dump trailer and hauled it all off for me. 4 loads.

Now on to sifting out piles of dirt and smoothing out some ground.

Nice. Haven't had much rain here in ny. Statewide burn ban in effect until at least the 15th maybe beyond.

 

[Willie B]

That's a lovely spot T-town!

I have a bucket with some cracks that were exposed upon trying to drag a bulldozer around that I haven't done anything with yet... I probably should!

I really enjoy bucket repair/reinforcement. I don't get to do it often enough. I'm not at a place I want to damage my bucket for the satisfaction of fixing it. Done it a few times, I enjoy it. Wish I could find someone willing to pay me to fix buckets. Big machines to move them, big torches, arc gouging, and big welders intrigue me. I'm sort of an amateur.
Truth is most major damage, you'd be more cost effective buying a used replacement.

 

[T-town]

cost effective buying a used replacement

..agree there, however...

... a 'true cost analysis' has to include the "fun" factor...

 

[Welder Dave]

When buckets are well over $10K you can do a lot of fixing at less cost than a new bucket. There are a lot of used buckets though.

 

[aighead]

I'm kind of assuming with my lack of welding skills that a new bucket may be in my future anyway, so I may as well try it.

Is it suggested to disconnect batteries prior to welding on a bucket? Is the battery disconnect switch enough to "disconnect"?

 

[colson04]

Didn't get any pictures, but I pulled the old Deere out of the weeds, greased her up, and shuttled some material around yesterday. I had piles of bricks/blocks from a demo job that were donated to me for fill, along with about 10 yards of fines that had washed out of my driveway. I gather them up.a couple times a year after heavy rains and haul them to my fill zone. Once washed out, they'll never stay put in the drive again. Start to finish, I think I spent an hour in the hoe. Farthest pile was about 800 feet from dump zone. It took 7 trips, but the ol girl moves at a snails pace compared to newer equipment.

I was surprised to find a dead battery, but then I realized I hadn't touched the poor thing since April. It wasn't too dead though, a quick jump off my pickup and she lit right off. Winter blend diesel should be going to the pumps soon so I'll pick up 10 gallons and top it off before winter really sets in.

 

[Willie B]

I'm kind of assuming with my lack of welding skills that a new bucket may be in my future anyway, so I may as well try it.

Is it suggested to disconnect batteries prior to welding on a bucket? Is the battery disconnect switch enough to "disconnect"?

In a perfect world you'd remove the bucket from the tractor while you weld.
Older machines with less electronics seem fine. Avoid putting electricity through any two parts of the tractor. Many years I used my loader bucket as a welding table. Clamp the work lead directly to the item being welded. I've never had an issue.

 

[casey518]

Set several blocks today, I spaced the wall back as far as I could but its barely enough space to get the machine back there, and forget the outrigger. Had to use my big ol jack under the hoe frame. Works but tedious. I have underground utilities in the hillside so thats all the space I had.

 

[T-town]

Over 10 years back, I had a dozen or so Norway Spruce seedlings that were left overs from an Earth Day give away to the young schoolkids..... Had them in pots at the old house... drug them up here to the 'new' land and 'heeled' them against a stone wall. After planting 6 along our drive over the years... I had a couple left.. and there were getting a bit tall...
So I put in a new planting bed ( one that was planned for some time) and using the spruces to screen some views down the hill....
1st prep... peeling sod
#2 dragging a lone boulder up the hill ( keep my front bucket healthy!)
#3-4 now I have to mulch and water ( for days)


I'm hoping they will re-root.....

 

[T-town]

...and the 'new' view from the house....


.... ran short on mulch.... and the beds need enlarging ... but the trees are in!..... good 'till spring.

Trees are muted this fall... maybe the lack of water in Aug/Sept?? Foreground grass is new and has been watered...