so waht ya doin today?

Ian · Jun 21, 2018

Bret wanted a 2" hole in solid rock, I was telling him how I do it with a small genset and the biggest hammer drill made, and up to 2" x 2' overgrown masonry bits. Most of my fence line is exposed, solid rock, no dirt at all and sometimes not even any scree on the surface. The rest is calichi which will turn tee posts into zed posts when using a mansaver unless you drill a full-depth pilot hole first. A trick for remote farm and ranch fence is get some worn-out 1.5" S-cams from a truck shop's scrap pile and weld them onto the bottom of a pipe for a post, then drill your hole in solid rock at 1.5" and hammer the S-camshaft down in there until the pipe is flush.

Pistolero · Jun 21, 2018

1.5 inch S-cams.......OK, I have worked on a lot of equipment but have no idea what an s-cam is.

Got the gist of your problem, though. OUCH, hard to deal with that much rock . An John Henry
is dead, and so is his steam drill competition.

Bill

Bret4207 · Jun 21, 2018

Ian said:
63441, the SDS Max rotary hammer. All the others on that page are hammers only, not for drilling holes.

Gotcha. Thanks. I think they have some newer models with more power (Nnnnnnnnnhhh!!!) that I saw in the last flyer I got.

JWFilips · Jun 21, 2018

Try to read through all this thread!

fiver · Jun 21, 2018

an S-cam is used in large 18 wheeler truck brakes.
it turns on a rod pushed by the air can and pushes the top of the pads apart to stop the truck.

Ian · Jun 21, 2018

Think of the worn-out ones as very strong steel round bar heat treated for maximum resistance to fatigue and torsional flex, in convenient lengths from a few inches to three feet, and only valued at about four cents a pound.

Bret4207 · Jun 22, 2018

S cams. Back when I was gainfully employed I saw lots and lots of S cams. Good idea!

Full day of baling ahead.

Pistolero · Jun 22, 2018

Ah, thanks. 18 wheelers and air brakes is above the level of vehicles I have worked on.
My E250 Supervan was the most heavy duty vehicle I spent any time working on. Much heavier
everywhere than an ordinary E/F150, from lug bolts to disk pads, and more. First time with
a floating axle rear end, and the abominable twin I beam thing. Lotsa fun with worn
kingpins in a big old van. :rofl:

I see the point now Ian. I was imagining something with an S shape that would compress
as you drove it into the hole, sort of an ultra stiff S shaped spring. Now I understand just a
cheap source of high grade steel pin to weld on bottom of pipe and drive into rock.

You can learn something every day if you'll pay attention.

Bill

Winelover · Jun 22, 2018

Took the girls (Cindy and Bella) out fishing this AM. Now, I get to clean them. All caught trolling 800 Series Reef Runners.

27" and 30" Striped Bass

17" Largemouth

Had to throw back a 17" Walleye (one inch short of minium)

RicinYakima · Jun 22, 2018

Please come up here, no minimum size or limits on walleyes here! Can't kill enough of the things.

fiver · Jun 22, 2018

they are tough to come by here, but no size restriction on the one lake I do manage to get them on.
I generally won't keep one under 16" or so.

I got nothing done today, except most of the yard watered.
not really an accomplishment since I use the hose on about 20x20' in the back and about 25x15 on the front.
the rest is handled by the sprinkler system I have out back and the partial system out front, the front is kind of a pain to move around, but I have it down to about 5 hose moves and do it over 2 days then let it go for 2-3 days, then reverse the process.

tomorrow will be a different story I guess we're going to do Littlegirl's patio tomorrow and the kids are going to pick up where they left off on the paint prep last year.

Brad · Jun 22, 2018

Worked for 8 hours then dinner with the wife.
Played on the lathe and began work on a new whacker for the hinge on moulds when bullets don't want to drop. Got a handle and shaft made. Handle might be a bit heavy so I may hollow it a bit more.

KeithB · Jun 22, 2018

Ah, you got started on that project. Post pictures when you're done.

Brad · Jun 22, 2018

Will do. Balance will be an issue. Handle is a bit heavy even with it being 7/8" diameter with a 1/2" hole 3/4 of the way thru it. May take out another 1/8" from the inside to reduce weight.
Head will likely be brass if I ache enough on hand. Brass will add a little more weight than steel and that is a good thing from a balance point of view.

Tapper I made for the lathe worked great even with a standard hand tap. I was amazed at how well it worked.

Ian · Jun 22, 2018

Delrin???

I worked all day, spent the evening with wife and baby, then loaded some 30-30 and packed up enough rifles and ammo to arm a regional uprising for a long overdue fun shoot with an old friend.

Brad · Jun 23, 2018

There will be a delrin cylinder on the outside of the head. There will be a bit of brass or steel under the delrin to add some mass. Keith also suggested a bit of preload on the delrin so I will make a plug to fit the top soma screw can add that load.
I ordered a chuck of 1" delrin, I just don't know if that is the best size. A bit small possibly. I can easily get some 1.25 or 1.5 in and make a replacement part in the future.

Bret4207 · Jun 23, 2018

Best mould knocker I've found is a rawhide mallet.

Spent yesterday haying. Did one load of squares before some ancient bolts on the square baler flywheel let go. No real damage, thankfully, but I think grade 8's are the right thing to use. Finished up with the round baler. Meanwhile, over in the field next door, a 3 or 4 man crew did probably 8 times the baling I did with 2 or 3 tractors and 60K worth of equipment vs my $5K in equipment and a 1.5 man show. Those air conditioned tractor cabs and super fast net wrap balers sure are pretty...

Winelover · Jun 23, 2018

Bret4207 said:
Best mould knocker I've found is a rawhide mallet.

That's what I use. IIRC, the six ounce, jeweler's mallet. Have the next size up and it's a bit too heavy.

S Mac · Jun 23, 2018

I made it home from the big city, don't see how people live in a place like that. Not for me.

Rick · Jun 23, 2018

S Mac said:
don't see how people live in a place like that. Not for me.

No kiddin huh. If you think that's bad try LA or even worse NYC with basically the same number of people but in only 1/4 the land area, just stacked on top of each other 100 stories high. But in reality that is a wonderful thing, if they didn't live like that they would ALL be out in the country side with us.

so waht ya doin today?

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At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.

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At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.

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North Central Arkansas

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At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.

North Central Arkansas

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.

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