977L yes, no or maybe???

Yep with steel prices inflated the scrap market has been lingering between 280 and 320 all year in NorCal. I took out a vineyard and will make more on the scrap than the dozer work.

Wish was that way here, still not over $140/t for any given rise then falls back

Rigidarm said:

Yep with steel prices inflated the scrap market has been lingering between 280 and 320 all year in NorCal. I took out a vineyard and will make more on the scrap than the dozer work.

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That has me curious, I thought they were only putting in more and more vineyards. What are they converting it to? Houses?

Not houses in 99% of the cases. The typical vineyard in California gets ripped out or cut to root and grafted to another variety within 14 years. There are very productive old vines (anything 25 or more years) but many things happen that calls for changes: Consumer demand of a new style, disease such as red leaf, low and declining tonnage per acre as the vine ages.

They do that here as well, MO Wine Country!!

I figured since you were ripping it up and pulling the trellis it was being converted to another use. Is it not practical to leave the trellis in place? I don't know about vineyards.

Rigidarm said:

Yep about 15hp more than the k. I have seen some undercarriage repair work that has opened again and is leaking. I’ll start on it in a month and start a new thread with lots of pics. I’ve got a big ripper to put on. I have to keep it locked up in my building here in Ca because of all the meth rats. Space is tight in the building so I am anxious to complete it and get it to me secure properly in the mountains. Damn meth rats will pull parts and sell them for scrap steel at 320. per ton today’s price. Wasn’t that way around my shop 20 years ago. Nothing went missing in the yard… now metal won’t last a night.

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I was thinking about traction to pull that ripper. Double grousers would do well I think. Of course everything depends on on the ground you run in and how wet. I will also want to run in the winter in my hilly woods. For myself I have like new triple grousers on my 977L and if I only get new rails I was going to do something I've heard called "corking". Used up in snowy high country. It wasn't explained well. I see it as not just getting good side hill performance but adding a bunch more pulling power. I'll be getting some grouser weld on extension bar about 1 1/4" tall and thick as fits and doesn't try to pierce into the ground too easy, could even be wider at the top if they sell it. Two pieces 1/3 the width one on each side in front. One 1/3 wide on the rear grouser in the center. Don't forget more stress will be on everything after this modification.
Best of Luck!

Corking is for ice and frozen ground. They are generally cut fairly short so they will penetrate. Cutting them too long would defeat the purpose. I'd guess around 2-2 1/2 inches long on a 977. They also have to have wide enough spacing. When used in summer conditions on harder ground they could put added strain on the drive train. Would be good to look at pics. of machines that have been corked. There are a few different patterns used. Also have to be careful welding them on and put the ground clamp on each individual pad so the current doesn't go through bearings or harm other components.

Cat977,
Haven't heard the term "corks" for a while... The bush guys around here use them all the time but call them ice grousers. They are simply short sections of square bar, maybe 3/4 x 1 and about 2" long, welded kind of randomly to the tops of the grousers on just about everything with steel tracks in the woods. The bits of steel are kept small to ensure penetration into ice or frozen stuff.

I've seen them for sale by the track rebuild peddlers and it seems to me they are short bits of grouser bar. But most guys just use bits of scrap steel.

I had to get some ice grousers on my old farm D6D for doing my driveway--it's cut out of a sidehill and is sloped a little to the outside edge so is dynamite to anything on tracks when things are slippery. My son went over the edge a couple of winters ago but he was on the lower end and only went down about 20' so the only casualty was his underpants.

We ended up welding a bagful of 5/8" hex nuts to every 4th grouser and that fixed the issue. We went so small because of the machine is run year round and we didn't want to tear up hayfield if we had to cross it.

Your application sounds more like a traction issue so I'm sure you are on the right path. Steering will be tougher for sure and you will rip up anything you run over, especially when turning. I'm guessing it will be tougher on steering clutches and brakes.

The BC Workers Compensation in my area dictates any tracked machine doing bush work must have single or double bar grousers--no TBG in the bush. I've got an old ex-bush excavator that is 70,000 lbs with 24" single bar grousers--its a rototiller wherever it goes, straight line or not.

Jon.

The grouser bar for corks is much harder and longer lasting. It also has built in bevels for sufficient weld size and penetration. It costs more but lasts a lot longer. I believe you can buy pre cut ice lugs/corks.

Here is a chart to show what sizes are out there for grouser material. I got this from Brandt Tractor.

Hey some excellent comments all around! A bit of last to first. James if you can make it work as a farmer, that's just good old work Kudos! I think our friend Rigidarm may be doing the same thing, could be moving into grape farming! The letter T, bar on James chart is what I'm thinking of. Some of the "eventual" work is peeling off layers of limestone using some really super duty pallet forks. This would put you on bed rock grinding away strait on looking for traction. This makes Work Harding steel look real nice. I don't want to bite in too much, and I also want some sideways and diagonal grab for snow and loose rock. Putting roads in these side hills could use some I think. Call them Town and Country tracks, or maybe all terrain cause there going to stay on year round. Having the 3 point contact on each pad should keep the load even on the pads and rails. At least when conditions aren't right I can pull a retirement walk out strike! Or just use the 977K witch is an excellent machine.
The 5/8" nuts sound good shouldn't put much load on things. In dirt they should just sink in and not bother much of anything. I've got a 1972 225 Cat ex. that's done a little in the winter woods, ex. bucket's are real good for pulling you out of a bad spot. Sawmilleng if I could sneak that rototilling monster onto my place I'd use that too!
As long as you stay above ground it's a Good Day!