Cable Shovel Build

[jerry56]

Well it's time to start building this.


I feel like I've learned enough to be dangerous so here goes my first cable machine if I can get this one right .... or close to it... I have a bunch more I want to do....
( disclaimer the dates and modeling information is just what I found on the internet they may or not be accurate I just took it at face value)

First this is a Structo front shovel from about 1953ish as far as I can tell, it appears to be modeled after the Buckeye Clipper from the late 30s early 40.
I want to keep the original look of the toy as much as I can and still make it functional, I will have to alter it but I want to keep it at a minimum. I will try to make it look as close to the Clipper as I can but may use a Priestman style boom and dipper configuration...




The plan is to cut the cab off the base so I can lift it off to get to the interior, I'm going with a lift off shell because I cant see any good place to cut the cab roof off and not have an ugly cut line out where it's really visible.
And since one set of line go thru little holes I'll either need to "slot" the cab or just open the front up completely

I got that part done, it went easier than i thought.... I used a dremel with a cut off wheel they welded this thing one in about 2 inch runs... no spot welds.The sheet metal is way to thin to use as the base so I'll have to make something...


The running gear is off the shelf Huina 1550 with the upgraded metal slew gear and motor. I wasn't up to try and scratch build this part....and this piece works pretty well.


There aren't a lot of pieces to this thing....




I decided to just cut the front face out to expose the cabling drums and make it easier to lift the top off, it will impact the "streamlined" look of the clipper but I need to be able to easily get the cab off...
I 3d printed a base plate, it's 6mm thick, just a solid slab of PLA this way I could design in the openings for the slip ring and slew gear....
I just made it a square piece because the cab is kind of odd shaped and none of the corners were the same so I just printed a big square and hand cut the corners to fit.

The base, slip ring and undercarriage went together way better/easier than I thought they would..
[

I also needed to make a "dust" ring or collar to cover the slew gear on the Huina it's part of the cab base.

[frizzen]

Very cool looking facing shovel! Can't wait to see what you've go in mind for this one.
Wow, i really expected there to be more parts to one of those.

I don't think you'll have a problem with getting it working. Once you understand the reeving, the old Cable Machines work pretty well.

[jerry56]

I keep going back to all that data you posted, looking at the way the different machines were configured. I feel like I have basic idea of how I want to reeve it.
Nope not much to it.

[jerry56]

I made some progress on the drum assembly... I started this part almost 2 weeks ago just took me a while to get it posted...
I started this before I saw the drawings for the Buckeye clipper so my drums aren't configured exactly correct but I was already well into it before I saw the drawings plus I had cut the cab so there was no turning back....
I cut 2 pieces of aluminum sheet to match the angle of the cab and notched the back to get over the slew motor..


Then kind of sketched out where I hoped my drums would land... I kind of used the layout of frizzens Michigan crane and 3d printed my drums to approx the same size

I'll bolt up a couple pieces of aluminum angle to the front edges so I can bolt them down.


I printed some spacers for the servos I'm going to use so I could space them back a little


When I printed the drums I put a 3mm recess in one end to center the round servo horn... the made the through hole about 6mm. so I could get a screw a
through it to screw it to the servo

6mm just happens to be the size of the ball connectors I'm using to support the other side of the drum.. I talked to Scott (smallhaul) at cabin fever and he didn't think I needed the off side support but I was chicken and added them anyway I'll re-evaluate before I do my cranes.


It all fit together like I hoped, which was a surprise


Now I just need to print some pulleys and figure out how I want to mount them on the boom and bucket.

[frizzen]

Cool looking servo rack! Looks like it's really coming together

I don't know if my Michigan crane actually NEEDED to have the other side of winch drums supported, i just thought it seemed like a good idea for as much boom as i planned to make it swing. Something about putting less stress on plastic servo horn. I know Smallhaul has a ton of experience working with Unit 357s, and even with the aftermarket Long boom extension have a little different leverage.

[jerry56]

That was kind of what I was thinking... It probably didn't need them but it seem like a good idea....

[frizzen]

Are you thinking of adding another small servo pulling cable to trip the dumping latch, or going to stay with something more like the original toy chain?

Also with the tapered edges on your winch drums, I'm wondering if your cable will want to wrap cleanly or want to climb up the taper and out of the cable bed?

[9W Monighan]

Use this design for your point sheave etc.

[jerry56]

Frizzen... I plan on a micro servo slipped in the dipper arm, I'll 3d print a latch similar to the orginal-ish and just pull it with some "cable" with either gravity or a spring to help push it back in to latch it...
I've been experimenting with boom hoist and dipper arm cable configurations and so far the drums have worked pretty well...just using cotton string it seems to wrap on the drums pretty even..
9W Monighan ... the sheaves are my biggest problem, I've tried several different designs and these are the ones I dislike the least not happy with them but they seem to work... I have found some different ones with a better cable groove (for lack of a better term) But I need to remix them to get the size and style I want... I wanted a more spoked look but I'm not great at using tinkercad so I went with the holes. the groove in these new one more closely match the ones you posted.....

One other question for anybody following... is the Buckeye Clipper in the pictures a pure white or do you think it's more of an off white.
I'm going to attempt the swoosh on either side, it looks like it might wrap around the back but I can't find any pictures of the back of the cab. I may just end it at the edge of the side...

[frizzen]

I don't know about that Buckeye Clipper livery, but here are some Repop ads from the company

https://www.americanikons.com/produc...on-ditcher-co/
"Buckeye Traction Ditcher Company"

Swoops on both sides. . 1937 ad

In the full resolution pic (copy url, remove h before jpg), check out the lower inset picture it top right. I think it looks like the upper shape probably stops on the cab curve, lower shape looks like it may run horizontal across back?

1945 ad
This model 50 had the house door open, but gives better hints about paint going around the corner
https://www.nesys.org/HCEA/AdPix/Buckeye_m.JPG

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Pinstripes only. Model 70


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Bowling Green State University Library apparently has some good stuff in their archives
https://lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/134
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USA millitary tech manuals for Buckeye 70s
TM 5-1197, TM 5-1198

[jerry56]

That's what I thought also....I may have to take some artistic liberty with that....
Those are about the best pictures I've seen....

[jerry56]

Time to figure out the cabling.... I made a pattern of sorts for a yoke to hold my boom and bucket sheaves, it's pretty basic since I'm not exactly sure of what I'm doing LOL

I also made up some brackets to attach my sheaves to



since this is just for testing I just used a little E6000 to glue the in place for now...
Getting the rigging done

This is a basic setup but it's not even close to the way a Buckeye 50 clipper should be but it is really clean and it works...







I'm just using cotton string to test with I have some black Kevlar string I plan on using ... I like this but it's not close to what it should look like.... but it works so I'll see about re-configuring it to something closer to what it should look like.
Still trying to figure out how to get the graphics on it... I'm no artist....
I'll up date once I get the next cable configuration done.

[frizzen]

I'm really digging how this looks with a boom and some lines.
Looks like you've got a great start at the reeving!

For a little more mechanical advantage and getting closer to pics,
I might want to print 2 more of the small pulleys, mount each one on outboard sides of the boom tips Hoist pulleys. Then move the "pulley that's currently lifting the boom" back to the house at top of winch rack as a line crossover.
So you would go from dead eye, boom, winch.
To more like dead eye, boom, house crossover, boom, winch

Can't wait to see this moving dirt

[jerry56]

That's kind of what I have in mind, plus that's more in line with how the Buckeye was cabled...

[frizzen]

There's a...Look "Mevac''... ad with a cable hoe that has really good paint detail at front of cab.

The 1937 "Engineering News Record" ad should let you get their correct font and logos to scale and send to be made as stickers / decals

[jerry56]

Sorry Frizzen not sure what I'm looking for with those leads... you have to 'splain it to me

[Krewmember]

Here is some ads I have found on the web.















Hope this helps.


-Shawn-

[jerry56]

It does ... a lot... I think that MEVAC ad is the one Frizzen was talking about.. Thanks guys..

[frizzen]

Sorry about that, i'm having issues with this site security stuff. Hadn't ment for that to post yet, i'd started writing and had to do something else.

I'm happy that it's fairly easy to find stuff on your machine, searching for anything with my Crane just brings up funny looking bird pictures...

[jerry56]

Thanks to everybody who helped find this stuff... I searched Buckeye clipper but never saw any of this... So thank you ..!!!!
It's made me re-think a couple things I was going to to....
I've changed the cabling, and how I planned to cover the 4 holes the toy cranks left...
I have a friend that does T-shirt graphics that can make me a set of stickers but I have to come up with the image...I'm not as worried about the graphics right now cause I can add them any time....I'm really close to a test drive...
On a side note... keep all that crane stuff... It's probably next.. I found a video of the crane rolling up on a work site a long time ago but didn't book mark it and now can't find it....