Great Dane excavating co.

[Cooper]

It’s been a while, I have been having a hard time getting into the forum, been really slow. But I have still been making progress on the loader







And Benny stopped a while back, one with the rc4wd loader

[Cooper]

One with the skid steer in the bucket



And love this one of Benny’s loader with a full bucket



Still have had time to keep moving material

[Cooper]

[egronvold]

Just insane

[kerst]

Wow!

Kerst

[JAMMER]

Hi DB it looks like you have gotten the mill figured out by the looks of your loader. Ed

[Zabco]

Absolutely incredible work! Thanks for the update photos.

Is that a certi-flat welding table? Been thinking of getting one. How difficult was it to assemble? Stay as flat as they claim?

[Cooper]

Thanks guys!! Yes it’s a certi-flat table. All laser cut pieces and very little draus to clean up. Assembly is very simple and straightforward. A couple taps with mallet and clamp together then weld the tabs/slots. Pretty clever idea for getting a pretty flat surface. I don’t have anything long enough or accurate enough to inspect the 4’ length of table to see how flat it is. 4’ Carpenters level is closest thing for me and table is probably more flat than level. I also got cheep bar clamps , removed end and welded a 3/4” bolt to bar. The stronghand tools are just nuts in price and cheep bar clamps are fine for what I use to clamp stuff down for welding. Moreso just clamping to weld and not trying to clamp down a warped or bent part. But yes I like it very much and am happy with the table. Kind of wish I got a bigger one .

[Cooper]

These are the clamps I made.







Handrail parts



Fender mounting braces.



Wire distribution block hidden in rear bumper



Rear bumpers for articulation of rear axle, and steering hydraulics mount



Hydraulic tank. Plenty of oil, and this time I made a bottom drain.

[9W Monighan]

Going along very well I see. I like the handrail mounting hardware.
I was looking at a acorn welding table a couple weeks ago. Would have taken it with me but a little too heavy for my box trailer. The table measures: 5' x 6' and weighs 3850# Taking a bigger trailer next trip.
You planning on coming down to Brownsville in August?

[Zabco]

Like your clamps, great idea. I agree with you that the cost of the commercial "welding" clamps is insane. I usually buy the cheapest Harbor Freight clamps I can find for welding. Like you, just want to hold parts in alignment. Burn up a HF clamp or three it's no big loss. Also like the handrail ideal. How are you going to attach the stanchions to the pads?

[bigford]

Whats taking so long?? You'd think you're making each part by hand

[Lil Giants]

Good work Cooper, great to see progress on this again.

[skeeter]

You're making good progress on this

[Cooper]

Originally Posted by Zabco

Like your clamps, great idea. I agree with you that the cost of the commercial "welding" clamps is insane. I usually buy the cheapest Harbor Freight clamps I can find for welding. Like you, just want to hold parts in alignment. Burn up a HF clamp or three it's no big loss. Also like the handrail ideal. How are you going to attach the stanchions to the pads?

thanks guys,

zabco, not sure what your referring to on the stanchions and pads? steps? if so industrial aluminum adhesive, (have to keep me in mind, I have no idea what some of the proper names of things are) my self earned degree in redneck engineering keeps me in the stupid simple relm two left feet and all thumbs sometimes

[Zabco]

Originally Posted by Cooper

zabco, not sure what your referring to on the stanchions and pads? steps? if so industrial aluminum adhesive, (have to keep me in mind, I have no idea what some of the proper names of things are) my self earned degree in redneck engineering keeps me in the stupid simple relm two left feet and all thumbs sometimes

I was referring to the vertical components of your hand rails. Technically rails refer to the horizontal bars and stanchions are the vertical supports. But you answered my question anyway. Thanks and sorry for confusion.

[Cooper]

Here are the handrails using silver solder

[Cooper]

And I have been wanting to make some sort of fixture for this type of work so I finally got around to it. Alum plate and small pieces with a groove in them for standoff’s. If laying flat on steel I risk the chance of soldering to steel plate. Laying on aluminum plate the alum sucks the heat pretty quick. So with the small standoff’s I can quickly heat and solder parts together. Also made clamping bars so I don’t have to worry about de-soldering or bumping existing joints/parts.









Now only thing I have to figure out is a more precise way to bend things. Maybe next project

[egronvold]

Not only are you making a great model, but the tools are also one of a kind

[modelman]

Looks great cooper-I cannot imagine how many hours you have in that soldering fixture but it is necessary. When I was building sometimes I felt like I spent more time making special fixtures than working on the model. After this project it will probably sit and gather dust but hey that's what make things interesting. Nice work!!!!