Quote:
Originally Posted by SmallHaul
It is just a single loop of steel with pulleys on top so, the cable setup must keep the tower in position?  |
That's called the jack boom. The boom hoist holds it from flopping forward and the weight of the boom/stick keeps it from flopping backward. The boom hoist has about a four-part line. Then when you're digging deeper you lean it forward a little and when you're digging shallower you lean it back a little as needed. i think there are usually three or four sheaves on it. Two on the outside for the boom hoist and one in the middle between the uprights if using a two part line to the top of the stick or two in the middle if using a three-part line. I would recommend finding an old copy of "Moving the Earth". Among other things, there are good explanations of revolving shovels and the various attachments.
http://cgi.ebay.com/MOVING-EARTH-WOR...item5adc732dc6
This is close to the one my dad has, which I think is a '60's vintage. I don't know if the later editions have as much cable machine stuff. It ain't cheap but it's worth it! Every kind of earthmoving machine is covered.
Looking good!. I know this is more of a proof-of-concept thing so maybe you've already considered this, but splitting the end of the stick into a "Y" and attaching each leg of the Y to the bucket would help the bucket fill rather than dirt piling up against the end of the stick.