I found a book in a junk shop - it was the story of Bob LeTourneau. A brilliant man with an amazing imagination, who built astonishing machines. We need more men like him !
A great man. More proof of just because you didn't go to college doesn't mean you can't gain the knowledge. There's a lot to be praised about the self taught.
I read the book top Stuff. My late father ran some of his equipment. A 222 scraper.,drawn scrapers, and a tournament dozer. They all did their job. Aussie contractor
When I was a AgMech student at Clemson, we toured the facility at Taccoa, Ga. I don’t remember seeing anything made from components. They made most all of those huge machines from raw materials. They probably bought the copper wire to make the electric motors with, and maybe some bolts. One of the things that impressed me was the skill of the forge operator. He demonstrated that he could gently crack a pecan with the same huge hammer that stamped out massive parts for the earth movers from chunks of red hot iron.
I was sick today & looking on RU-vid I ran into your FANTASIC video on R G Le Tourneau & his life. It's a great video not too long, & filled with enough facts & pictures to keep the viewer interested. A great job & I have subscribed & will watch all of your other videos.
He always knew he was on the right track when his competitors called his designs "that crazy LeTourneau stuff". Some even claimed RG stood for Rube Goldberg... Quite a legacy that lives on today at his school in Longview TX.
75% of the earth moving equipment used by the Allies during WW2 was made by Letourneau. Everything he designed was simple and rugged. RG found that the strongest welds were laid on horizontal surfaces so built jigs that rotated the components to facilitate that. He preferred steel rope controls over hydraulics since that gave the operator the ability to make fine adjustments. Letourneau also produced all sorts of cranes. A huge amount of his older equipment is still in use around the World so each owner of the company stays busy producing replacement parts for them..
my dad worked for letourneau westinghouse at rydalmere new south wales the manager was charlie apacka? went to primary school with his daughter before his returb to the usa this was in the 1940s ,the factory produce the giant scrapers .the christmas kids christmas parties were wonderful
At the Vicksburg MS site, hebuilt large molds and molded concrete dome houses so that all the workers from out of town to live on site. They had pipes running cross ways in the floor like a raditor. Hot water was used to keep them warm in the winter.
Here is a funny story,the Canadian forces bought two Marathon-Letourneau Letropik aircraft crash cranes.CFB Bagotville got one with 14 bolt hubs but the wheels were 12 bolt,CFB Cold lake received the inverse.They had to exchange the wheels by train across the country😂
I read a book on this guy, truly amazing. He thought and created things so different. He came up with the one axle tractor that is the front of an earthmover/scraper. Maybe he was part alien. : )
He would go into backwater areas, level a mountain and fill in a valley to make a plant. He hired unskilled locals and trained them to work in his plants which became economic powerhouses for the region essentially eliminating poverty in that area. Africa was the only place where this business model failed due to the apathy and mutual hostility of the local population.
Information was ok. The stupid flash and the noise were so annoying I thought about turning it OFF. The flash and noise are totally unnecessary and detract from the video.
This might have earned a like had the AI script been better. Several times during the story it seemed to jump ahead and skip large parts. Might want to proofread better.
They were interesting designs but they never cracked the mining and civil industry because the competitors like Cat and Liebherr invested in a dealer and maintenance network close to where they were to be used. I worked for BHP and our equipment is required to be in full operation 24/7 with a 4 hour maintenance once a month. LeTourneau could never match that.
1 Corinthians 13:2 was a philosophy of his which is the last phrase “If I should have faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing.”
I find it amazing that he thought electricity could power his machines all those years ago . It’s only in recent years we are driving electric cars that actually rival petrol cars.
