When I was 8 or 9 I spent a week watching a machine much like this trench for a water main to feed a new housing development. It may have been larger but can't be certain. They were having traction problems so they bolted on some angle iron grousers on the tracks. Got a wicked sun burn that week but was fascinated by all that machinery motion.
Dad had a No.1 Buckeye, that we laid clay tile behind, never did any plastic. Thanks for the memory, Dad's had a four cylinder engine, sounded just like that. I heard the other day, a neighbor, went over and rescued her out of the weeds she'd been sitting in for the last 50 yrs. I hope he can get her running again.
That is badass!, equipment built back then were built tough and with real American steel!, i operated heavy equipment for 46 yrs and I'd rather have older equipment than the new crap they build today!, I got rid of both late model diesel pick ups and purchased 1971 ford f250 4wd hi-boy as my daily driver no 400 sensors, or computer and they dont build a truck to pull like this one!. I'm old school!, Great video!.
Great showing I was thinking when the dirt comes of the conveyor and you visualize a wheelbarrow next the dirt on the ground that is a very impressive pile of dirt .p.s. In the 1950s my Dad would take his smoking pipe and tobacco pouch and shovel and re dig the ditch lines .And he would do that for 2 to 5 hrs a day until it was all finished and then milk his herd of Guernsey cows .Back when men new what work was . Thank you for showing the marvelous machine 🇺🇸
The operator,s a top bloke , knows just how often to keep checking the levels , marvellous old machine , & a lovely sounding engine , no doubt petrol powered , ( gasoline for our U.S. mates ) , anybody know what make this engine is ? .... the surveyor who aligned & level - judged the sticks knows his stuff , he or she is just as important as the operator , because , water just won,t run uphill ! Who needed lasers when you,ve got daylight & experienced minds .
The engine is most likely a Ford Flathead four cylinder as Ford produced it mainly for the Jeep and the earlier cars prior and during the second world war. Though I could be entirely wrong. I can honestly imagine a farm cja-2a with those tracks and some agricultural wheels and a flathead ford v8 doing farm work like a badass. Real machinery ladies and gents.
From what I can see, it looks like a Hercules flathead. That combined intake and exhaust manifold was typical of them. They were pretty hard on fuel but absolutely indestructible. I have a probably 1940s vintage Lincoln Electric SAE-300 portable welder with a Hercules QXLD flathead 6 cylinder. I have a machine shop and it's still my every day welder for field repairs. Purrs happily at idle, and one of my favorite sounds in the world is the bark that comes out of its straight pipe when it throttles up as you strike an arc
The trencher's digging bit is really interesting. It's built as a mono wheel so it's totally hollow in the middle. It looks cool as hell. The machine sure doesn't move so fast but that's just a matter of perception cuz digging it with anything else would be slower I'm sure. Not only is this old machine still useful but it's still in use. That's probably the most impressive thing about it. Okay, the wheel and tracks are the coolest parts but that's still a close third.
They just don't make machinery like that no more! When the crap they produce these days is as old as that machine, & has an many hours as this machine, these new machines will be long retired & worn out.
I enjoyed that but the backfill drag didn't seem to be doing an awful lot more than just covering the pipe meaning you would need to go back and fill it properly, I think I'd have made a scraper blade or something with maybe a heavy roller behind to re compact the earth.
You dont want to fill the trench to fast the drag was to jest to cover it this is what we call shading the pipe if you get to much dirt to fast you can crush the pipe but if you cover it and then fill it in you are less likely to damage the pipe
About halfway you can see the gent taking one of the level-posts out, straight in front of his nose is a black level-board to check depth of digging. The lever to adjust that was operated about three-quarters through. The operator sure knows his onions, top man!
gary24752 the level-posts are set out way in front at regular intervals. These have to be removed when he gets close, but he has already been taken level from the next ones by then. Purely by eye and in case of dips or slight bumps, also by experience. Water will still flow if the pipes are not level, ground may heave or shrink, but quality of the work done, also depends on tightness of the clay pipes, the kind of backfill, or even the covering of the pipes. This depends on soil and costituents, like iron. Iron will leach out and can block pipes soon, but can be cleaned by jetting.
@@ypeveldhuis4527 I understand all that but what you are not telling me is what exactly is he sighting with on the machine. The trenchers I remember as a kid on the farm used string lines and there was a bar on the machine that coincided with the auger to set the depth depending on the elevation of the string line.
What an incredibly neat old trencher, the engine is definitely a 4 cyl and if I were to guess I would say a Ford but its a down draft carb so not sure? In todays world, at least in the US you would have to look near and far to find anybody who could run this unit, the number of mechanically inclined people in this country is going down more every day, I am afraid to say. Then you have the fact that is so "deafening" LOUD and there is no cab with A/C to sit in, and what not power drive guidance system? WHY is is so slow? The last two generation of kids in this country would have NO interest in this what so ever and IF you could ever talk them into running this machine they would destroy it and want 60.00 per hour to do it!
you can't speak for every young kid. I'm only 23 and I started my business with old equipment like this. I can figure out how to run almost anything in a few minutes. but I honestly just try to keep my 3 dump trucks busy they make me the money so I can play with all my old equipment.
@@evananderson3350 Evan your right on my generalizing mistake sorry about that! With that said I applaud your efforts is starting your business with what available and affordable I wish you the greatest success!!!
@@zarb88 First place you would not want a ditch in the middle of a fiield and yes so the plow would not dig it up. A lot depends on the elevation of the outlet.
That strap and little bars sticking into the ditch sides are doing a fine job, if you pull all the dirt back in at one time you are likely to land a rock on the tile and smash it flat, plus you can check elevation easier if needed. This guy seems to know his business.
