Cable Shovel Build

[jerry56]

OK, I changed the rigging, this is more inline with how the clipper was cabled, still not exact but getting closer
I moved the boom hoist out to the boom tip


Then went back down to the cab


The pulley at the cab...


I think this is the configuration I'm going with. I'll change the pulley at the cab to something smaller and refine the yoke a little.... I might move it up just a hair cause now at full boom up the cable rubs on the yoke... Minor things, plus I think I have some sheaves for the head of the boom I like better..
And!!! I have half of the swoosh for one side done ... pretty much... now if I could get paint to flip it to give me the other side that would be great.... for some reason the command to flip isn't working, not sure why but I'll get it figured it out

[frizzen]

That's really looking wicked with the more complex reeving!!!

Have you hooked up a Rx & battery to boom & stick yet? I know i wouldn't be able to resist...

Looking at the pics some more, Would your boom-line crossover cable pulley at the house be able to work if you mounted it on some wire in a kinda U shape, maybe with the wire poked through some holes in side plates above that top servo? Or would that get too deep into interfering with the body?

I hate when the Photoeditor doesn't work with Paint. Did you try using the "mirror'' command?
It's a whole lot easier than dealing with stuff like pounce pads... Especially easier than using tracing paper, pencil graphite, trace the line, copy the line, to other side, trace hard over side that goes against paint, align on body, scribble line hard, start tiny masking on the graphite ghost...

[jerry56]

I might have tried it a time or three....It works really well... I was surprised and the speed of the servos and slew motor are almost perfect ... to me anyway not to fast and not to slow.... I'll try and get a video here soon, the body work and paint won't be done but it's working....
The cross over pulley kinda sorta needs to be centered up where it is I'll either move it up 4-5 mm or take off a few wraps of that drum... It only needs 4 1/4 wraps from full up to full down and the dipper only needs 4 so if I can keep the cable just to the left of center it will be fine....I'll figure it out...
The "mirror" feature is what's not working not sure whats going on. As for the rest of that, it's kind of what I planned to do if all else fails pencil and paper and into the scanner a couple times

[jerry56]

OK don't judge the operator he sucks....
First time outside in the dirt, it was really humid and everything seem to "stick" so it's not very smooth ..
I do realize I need to add as much weight to the boom since it doesn't have a separate crowd you need boom weight to help push the bucket into the dirt...all little details I'll get worked out... I got the graphics done-ish and sent them out to see if she can make them into decals or stickers...
All you have to do is click on the picture and it will take you to Flicker then start the video...
239_0602

[frizzen]

That's being pretty harsh on your operator... poor guy doesn't even have all the windows to look out that a Buckeye Clippers had.

Your cable probably has a little too much 'spine', based on seeing it springing out of sheeves when it is accidently boom-jacking.
Everything should start to polish up and move a bit smoother once you get some more runtime on it.

Video looks really good for early learning a machine. Which control layout are you using?

The Clipper looks pretty nicely sized for loading the TournaRocker

[jerry56]

LOL I did better before I turned the camera on...
The string is just cotton string it's pretty flexible but it's just for testing I have some black Kevlar string I'll use...
The dipper needs some weight, it's not even heavy enough to drop to vertical on it's own. But as you said it will loosen up as I use it more...
I have the swing and dipper on the left stick and the boom and dipper release on the right, seems easier to run it this way.
The TournaRocker looked pretty good with it, actually both my Tonkas look pretty good next to it ... Stripped it to bare metal today getting it ready to paint and started doing all the little things that need changed Hope to have it done soon.

[jerry56]

Just a little update... been dragging my feet a little on this one, but I do have some mundane updates....
I decided to make "pins" to replace some of the bolts in the boom area....
I just took some SS3mm rod and cut it to the correct length then chucked it up in the drill, then took my dremel with a thin cut-off wheel and cut a groove in each end. The groove is a little wide but seems to hold pretty well. I only needed to cut it down about .3-.4mm for the e-clip to fit good and tight..


Then I decided to see if I could do something to the boom to make it a little less toy like and a little stronger. It's only folded mild steel so it had a lot of flex and was easily twisted....



First I printed a piece to fit in the bottom of the boom so there was more material where the boom pin went through and used self tapping screws to hold it in place... that took the flex out of the mounting point





Then I made two small "pillows" for the inside of the boom where the dipper mounts, so now the dipper has some surface area on either side that keeps it from wobbling from side to side.



The boom tip was just folded over on itself and a single tack weld to hold it in place... I took some 5min epoxy and poured it in the tip, about 1/8 inch or so deep this bonded the the end so it was one piece..



Then I cut a piece of 22ga aluminum to cover most of the length of the lower boom. I used JB weld to glue it down. This took ALL the twist out of the boom and made it really rigid.. I was surprised and how well that thin aluminum worked, plus it makes the boom look a lot better..


I'm close to done just cleaning up some small things and painting stuff, waiting on my graphics, the swoosh has been the problem, I thought I had it but when she sent it back to me it was way to short, so we stretched it out a little and she is reworking it now.... Plus I realized if I have the door open on the right side most of the swoosh is gone and there is no place for the "winged globe".. so I'm trying to decided if I should leave it open and move the globe and deal with the missing swoosh or make a door and run the graphics over it.... If I close it up I lose the opening for my charging jack... not a deal breaker but inconvenient ...
Once I get the new swoosh back and finish up some details I'll post it up....

[frizzen]

I like your 'Double Spinamathing E-clipilizer' setup, looks way nicer than my 'drill & file' setup to do that with wobblier slots.

Boom enhancements sound really good on that C channel! (Trying not to joke about rigidity to an old boom.)

What if a guy made a slidey door to run inside the cab? Then you'd be able show off the graphics, let operator have some cooling, and battery access when it's time to take a break.

[jerry56]

I've thought about it.... You would still have to take the cover off to get to the battery...
Not sure how I would do a sliding door because the side isn't flat.. I'll ponder it for a while...

[frizzen]

If the cab wall around that door has a constant radius, it shouldn't be that hard to match that bend radius with the door and 2 tracks. Maybe look as using some Brass sheet and square tube, could even make a steel door if you feel hardcore.

But then i went back to look at pics, and that door isn't going to travel much forward before it needs corner removed, and aft looks like it goes flat to radius?

Maybe punch the charge jack down through the cab floor somewhere that overhangs the base?

[jerry56]

I don't think I'm going to get to "wrapped around the axle" on this.
I went back and looked at all the reference pictures you guys found for me and there seems to be some variation to the graphics... a little thicker, a little thinner, moved forward some a little farther back.. so I think I'm just going to wing it and put them on so they look right to my eye....

[ddmckee54]

If it's your shovel, and the paint job looks right to you, that's all that counts... Isn't it?

[jerry56]

Well... yeah... sort of I guess.... but I'd like it to look close to correct... LOL...

[jerry56]

OK... bout time to wrap this one up... the weather is cooling off a little so I'll be spending a little more time outside...
Just as a refresher this is what I started with


And this is what I wanted to build...or close to it


And this is what I ended up with


I had to make a few compromises along the way, the boom and dipper are fixed more like a Priestman Wolf... I would of had to make a whole new dipper, and I wasn't real wild about that since I wanted to keep as much of the original look as I could and still make it function...
It is said the original toy from 1953 was loosely modeled after the Buckeye Clipper 50 from the early 40s or so..so that's what I went with...
I put an aluminum backing plate in the bucket to help reinforce it and added about 6oz inside the boom so it would swing down better...
There are some differences but I think it's close enough for a toy....

[Zabco]

Very nice job, I like it. Thanks for sharing.

[frizzen]

Great to see another of these cable machines finding work again. I'm really digging this shovel!!!

Looks great in the new livery.

The machine looks sweet, plus you know it's going to be the only one of that type at any meet, event, or dirt pile

[ReneDK]

It has become super cool.... And as I
said, you are definitely the only one in that color and model.

[jerry56]

Thanks everybody....
Yeah there are some Huina conversions out there to make a shovel but not many Buckeye clippers....