• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Cable Control Blades

DPete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
1,677
Location
Central Ca.
I grew up with # 25 & 29 cable controls, if everything was in good shape it was a good system, if you have enough cable on the drum the dozer would go down indefinately unlike hydraulic that rods out. Got expensive to maintain and operators that knew how to run them retired. Just don't spill fuel on your brake band or the dozer won't stay up, don't ask me how I know :D By the way for you cable guys the lined discs out of a D7 dry deck steering clutch work in the 25 & 29 ccu. Toward the last they got so expensive we started buying good discs from the junked out D7's. I like todays hydraulic dozers much better but glad I had a chance at old school cable
 

dieseldave

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
337
Location
egg harbor NJ
I grew up with # 25 & 29 cable controls, if everything was in good shape it was a good system, if you have enough cable on the drum the dozer would go down indefinately unlike hydraulic that rods out. Got expensive to maintain and operators that knew how to run them retired. Just don't spill fuel on your brake band or the dozer won't stay up, don't ask me how I know :D By the way for you cable guys the lined discs out of a D7 dry deck steering clutch work in the 25 & 29 ccu. Toward the last they got so expensive we started buying good discs from the junked out D7's. I like todays hydraulic dozers much better but glad I had a chance at old school cable

:exactly I like the #29 on my D9- I was sure I was going to have to switch the machine to hydraulic, but decided to try it for awhile and gave up any thoughts of a changeover years ago. The #25's are good, too, but it's a pain having to be clutched in to have power to it. I have an old WWII D7 with a LeTourneau cable control, not as nice as the Cats but perfectly usable. If you think getting parts for the Cat CCU's is tough, try it with the LeT:pointhead:D Good tip on the D7 clutches, I'll have to remember that:thumbsup
 

Attachments

  • equpiment pictures 2 104.jpg
    equpiment pictures 2 104.jpg
    64.2 KB · Views: 2,726
  • equpiment pictures 2 092.jpg
    equpiment pictures 2 092.jpg
    61.7 KB · Views: 2,426

roddyo

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
788
Location
Arkansas
Occupation
Manipulator of the Planet
D7 17a

When up to a friends house yesterday that I used to work for. His old 17A was parked by the barn. Notice the seat off it, Steering clutch troubles BTW. They finally got tired of working on it and got a newer tractor. A 48A.:D

We had 2 48A's and a 17A when I was a kid. First thing I remember was sitting on the 17.
 

Attachments

  • newpictures 209.jpg
    newpictures 209.jpg
    50 KB · Views: 2,680

Woodbrothers

Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
11
Location
Odessa Missouri
We have a 1955 D8 15A1137 serial number which makes it a torque convertor machine and makes it a series D machine. what is a D8G? which is a 15a also but was made in 1955-58? whats the difference between a series D and a series G? and im in the process of cleaning it up for a show in lathrop mo in 2010 for the acmoc kansas city club and i was trying to figure out what color it is supposed to be painted? any help would be appreciated.
 

2stickbill

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
677
Location
Romayor Texas
Occupation
Sniffin diesel fumes.
We have a 1955 D8 15A1137 serial number which makes it a torque convertor machine and makes it a series D machine. what is a D8G? which is a 15a also but was made in 1955-58? whats the difference between a series D and a series G? and im in the process of cleaning it up for a show in lathrop mo in 2010 for the acmoc kansas city club and i was trying to figure out what color it is supposed to be painted? any help would be appreciated.
Cat Yellow.
 

q4016lanz

Active Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
38
Location
Gin GIN Qeensland Australia
Hi this is our old HD5B allis 1947 cable blade 2.71 GM around 40hp
picture001-1.jpg
 

BRO

Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2013
Messages
9
Location
North Alabama
I am trying to Help a Friend He is 75 years Old Paul is a Really good Person, He has a 1950 D8 Cable Drive the STEERING is STUCK, Will you Please give me Advice how we can get it un Stuck my Telephone # is 256-886-0557, Paul Tel #is 256-878-8224 CELL 256-572-6994

I personally Know Nothing about Heavy Equipment, I have always done my own Mechanic work Art of Deduction Trial & Error my age is 65
 

Chum Duffy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
Messages
57
Location
Northwestern PA
Occupation
Owner of Duffy Inc excavating and trucking co.
Whike not the norm I recall seeing a TD20B with cable blade so your into the mid sixties with cornbrand..........

Dad had a later model TD-15B with a cable blade. It had a front control, towing winch on the rear, it had a power shift transmission, It seems to me it was a 1968 model. The majority of cable dozers had rear mounted cable control units or "C.C.U."Few dozers had front C.C.U. witch were bulky and not able to be hidden away, The need for a front C.C.U. was to free up the rear for other attachment such as a towing winch , a rear C.C.U. " for towing rippers, disc," and other rear mounted attachments. I also have seen cable bladed Caterpillar's in the mid 70's D7F-94N and D8H's-46A later five digit sn
 

blademan150

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2011
Messages
81
Location
No. Il
Occupation
Retired Local 150 Operating Engineer
Me and Chug  1970 Hidden Lakes 001.jpg We had this slide bar 8 and a few 13a and 14a's in the 60's and 70's that we'd drop the blades and hook up pans to. I got so used to sitting on the arm rest seat for the pans I'd even run from there with the blades on. Wouldn't all safety people soil themselves if they saw this now!!!
 

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
Nice photos blademan150. Im sure it took some skill to operate the cable rigg. Date on the photo looks like May 74. Running old iron back in the 70's Thats pretty cool:thumbsup.
 

Chum Duffy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
Messages
57
Location
Northwestern PA
Occupation
Owner of Duffy Inc excavating and trucking co.
Fun times!!!!

Blademan150, I also have spent my fair share of time on the arm rest. Pulling pans were one of my favorite tasks to do. Most of my time was spent on 2U's with either a cat 435-F or a old woodridge scraper, both were about 14-18 yards or so I think. Boy oh boy wouldn't OSHA have writers cramp before they were done with one of those units. However they would move a lot of dirt a short distance in poor conditions pretty easy. When conditions justified it we continued to use crawler tractors with cable pulled scrapers on production jobs in to the the mid 80's.










as late as the mid 80's
 

tctractors

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
2,382
Location
Worc U.K.
I have been reading all these postings with the mouth open a fair bit, I must live in the Past somehow as its a regular job for me to strip out CAT and Komatsu CCU's and fettle up towed Scrapers, I myself love the cable style Scraper to the wet style setup, the weight thing with cylinders and oil lines is 1 thing I find a minus, plus the cost and damage factor that is not a small worry for spending out on, so I still think a bit of wire treaded through a few wheels is a great low cost way of getting a job done, there is a few contractors running wet CAT 463 box's about in the U.K. that have been converted, but I still love the CCU and enjoy working on them also using them, it might seem hard work or tough to get along with them, but its all down to a bit of knowledge and liking what you do, I could say that I have not been to Work for over 30 years as I love what I do so it cannot be Work.

tctractors
 

glenlunberg

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2013
Messages
282
Location
United States
Occupation
Supervisor
The old cable control blades are pretty awesome. Just wondering if someone still using these kind of old models of cable control blades.
 

tctractors

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
2,382
Location
Worc U.K.
glenlunberg, you should come to the U.K. its still like a new invention, all my customers that pull scrapers use string through a CCU to earn the Coins, parts are still easy to find also its possibly a used to it style that keep things this way, I would have around 10 tractors that regularly pull Cable Scrapers that I work on, the Tractors range from D4 to D8 the oldest 1 is a 14A in the CAT stable,the Komatsu Tractors are D65-D85's, the 155's now are not common to find in my Area.

tctractors
 

D6 Merv

Senior Member
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
653
Location
Coromandel Peninsula. New Zealand
Occupation
Self employed bulldozing contractor with a D6D D4E
Hi Tony; what cable control was on the D4 ? Onions 12 or 14 at a guess, few of them found there was down here along with ALOT of onions scoops :):drinkup
 

LDK

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
219
Location
UK
The latest model D8 I came across that was a base tractor (no hydraulics) with a cable blade was a K. This was in the late 70's and it belonged to Mitchums of Burwell in the UK. I can't recall seeing another K set up that way.
 

ol'stonebreaker

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2015
Messages
333
Location
Idaho
Occupation
retired
This thread brings back lots memories of pushing gravel to a crusher w/ a 14A w/ a U- dozer. Just load 'er up, pop a little slack to it, sit back and take a nap all the way up to the feeder.
Mike
 
Top