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My first track loader!

boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
I figured I'd hit water, but I was able to go deeper than I thought. It started bubbling up out of the ground when I hit about 6.5 or 7'. I didn't stay down in there long for fear I wouldn't be able to back out. :eek:

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Hope it's big enough for all the rock!

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Just big enough.

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OldandWorn

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Messages
908
Location
Md/Pa
Really nice pics boone! Can you imagine if we were still using film camera's. If I tried digging a hole like that on my property I would end up with twice as many rocks as I started out with. :(

One of my cliffs down by the river. No vans yet though. :cool2
 

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boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
Thanks Scott, fun indeed...tiring too lol!

Wow, that's what I call some ledges O&W. Do you get many rock falls? Looks like some of those sheets could slide off any minute. Having my little digital camera makes it so convenient to stick in my pocket and use when I "think" I have a good shot...most times I don't so I just take pics in volume and hope that statistically I'll have something worth showing! Glad to hear your not living in the van yet :)
 

OldandWorn

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Messages
908
Location
Md/Pa
Yeah, I delete most of my pics after going crazy with the button. I've only had the property for about 1 1/2 years but no major rock slides yet. There is about 600' of this stuff and I'm constantly picking up smaller rocks off the road. A large stump fell one time that required the front loader of my hoe to move it out of the way.
 

Bryan1

Active Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Messages
37
Location
Australia
G'day Boone,
Eh mate great read and I mean all 21 pages of them too. After reading this thread I do want want to start on my ol' MF50B hoe but looks like I'll need to wait yet another month as when a drill grabbed at work I broke 2 of my fingers. Also I can't say I've any of those track loaders over these parts but I really gotta take my hat off to ya for one great rebuild job.

Cheers Bryan
 

boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
O&W, it's amazing where those trees will grow. Looks as though some are growing out of the rock.

G'day Bryan. I'll be on the lookout for a thread on your MF50B! Just be sure to nurse those fingers back to health - pity about the accident.

I remember when I was younger, the man who installed the septic system where we lived used a MF 3165 (??) backhoe. Reminded me of a Ford 2000 or 3000 tractor outfitted with a backhoe, much heavier of course. He hit rock while digging for the tank and he had that machine rockin' all over the place. It was old and wore out, but it must have been a good hoe. He used it everyday putting in septic tanks. He never hauled it either - drove it everywhere he went all over the county.

Planning on an early date with the loader tomorrow. Have many project to do with it yet.
 

boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
Saturday started early. Some of the tin on the outbuildings was looking a little ragged. Went around adding a few screws.


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On the loader, we tightened a couple of bucket teeth, greased her up and refueled. It was a long hot day but the loader performed flawlessly. We spend most of our time digging trenches to hold big rock.

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Ended up fairly fortunate by not finding rock in the holes. This one rock pictured in the bucket was one that I broke off on the edge of the wall. It decided to come out of the wall between the tracks. :mad: It got jammed between the track and the wall. Once I got out of that pickle I hopped off and took a break. Sorry I didn't get any pics of the bucket overflowing.

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boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
This was the biggest rock we've unearthed and been able to push to date. We're constantly amazed at what this thing will push, but this was truly a battle of the titans here. Got it to the hole and laid it to rest. :cool:

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boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
Update from this past Saturday...

Started 7am. Another day of what feels like abuse of the machine - digging up rock. We've have an isolated little strip of land that's covered in rock. If we don't get rid of the rock where a bushhog can get at it, it'll just grow up again and our clearing will be in vain.

More rock == more trenches. It rained Friday so the dirt was prime for digging - also cut down on dust.


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Started on my 4th rock hole today. Decided to make this one much bigger and wider. Even with sometimes 2 yds in the bucket it still took longer to dig this hole than I thought it would. My only complaint about this loader is visibility. Hard to see how much of a cut your digging. But, I'm finally getting the feel for it and more efficient at digging these holes.


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boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
Getting deep now...


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Didn't get too close to the edge when pushing these up for fear of the wall caving in. Have a few more to push in here, but this should allow us to get these a bit below the surface when we're ready to cover.

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boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
We've gone from this...


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to this...the walnuts were about the only trees worth keeping...they're ugly so we may end up letting them go, but for now we're keeping them...just a few more rock to go


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Starting to shape up and look nice.


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boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
Out of all the days we've been clearing and the rock we've been in, I haven't seen one snake...until today. At one point I was spotting for dad. After he pushed into a rock pile, he came back out with something hanging down out of the bucket. I looked a little closer and saw it was a female chicken snake that the bucket had cut in two. Hated we killed her. She was pregnant with two eggs.


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I saw what may have been her mate a few minutes later coming out of the same pile. He was probably 5' long. Wasn't aggressive at all. While I was watching him from a few feet away, a field mouse or mole scurried by my feet...made me jump a little. :rolleyes: :)


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OldandWorn

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Messages
908
Location
Md/Pa
Boone,
There are quite a few other trees growing out of the rocks not seen in the picture and it amazes me also. That is one big rock you have there! Were you able to move it to one of your holes? I'm starting to trench for power on my property and the rock collection is growing. I'm not sure what to do with them at the moment, other than pick some places and start piles. An old dump truck or dump trailer sure would come in handy for moving my rocks around. Have you thought about starting rock piles or boundaries instead of burying them?

Your machine could pass as a model in a kids dirt pit in that one side view looking down in the hole. :D
 

boone

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
Ewww snakes

My sentiments exactly!

O&W, finally got that gigantic rock into hole #3. It was mostly downhill to the hole after the loader got up over that edge. It was push a bit till it dug in, flip, push a bit, flip. Everytime it flipped and landed, my brother who was on his tractor a few yards away would turn and look. Said he could feel it land everytime.

The location we're clearing is kinda the center-piece of the property so we're trying to go for a clean look. Rock boundary wall wouldn't be a bad idea. Dunno, I couldn't wait to dig some holes with this thing, so just figured this was a good excuse. :D

I took that one picture from atop the dirt pile. I thought that was a neat angle. In that same pic - notice where the barn swallows let us know what they think of this kid's toy being in the barn? :rolleyes:
 

boone

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Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
1,047
Location
AL
Tuesday, July 5th - got to the farm at 5:30am :sleeping. As oppossed to playing in the rocks, we're going to tackle a project that we've put off for quite a while now. There's a ditch between the house and the barn that has a few small trees (sycamore, thorns, cedar, and a willow) growing up. The ditch has such steep sides, it's just awkward to get at by hand or tractor. Enter the 175. We'll use the loader to shave the banks and cut a new slope. Dad and brother will be spreading the dirt with the Kubotas.

The main reason we've put off this little ditch project is that the stream that runs in it is spring fed and so even in the dryest of times it still has water in it. It's not extremely dry now, so I'll just have to be extra careful.

Here, I'm standing on the culvert to the road that leads to the barn. The land out from the culvert has a small pool of water for where the cattle would drink (if cattle still roamed here). It's somewhat sloped already and the ground is extremely soft - we're not touching this. We'll start out further down and take it all the way to the little hedge line where the road is.


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Getting a good start on the cut. You can probably see the glare of the water to the left of the big pile in the middle.


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The 175 was hungry and dirt was on the menu! :D Got into a bees nest in the clump of trees to the far right. As soon it shook, they came after the loader. I thought I was on their menu, but they left me alone.


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