What do you do if you drop a small tool into the area around the winch drum?

donkey doctor · Mar 20, 2020

wornout wrench said:
Oh the horror.

Nice job on those models.

So now just imagine, in real life. Me, 5'9", 200+ pounds of solid muscle (errrr, just a little white lie) having to squeeze my largeness down between those 2 drums, twist around a couple of shafts and work on the travel down drive on a mechanical machine.

I'm referring to a Madill 044. Google one and look at the images.

Just imagine me stuffed down in that hole for a few days and now you know why I refer to myself as the wornout wrench.

Hey Donkey Doctor, if your out there care to confirm

Horrible hole to work in. Gear dope, jaggers, sunflower seed husks, lunch bx left overs, snoose, and of coarse there is always the yarding engineer who likes to p**s on the drums. Did I forget anything. d.d.

wildpig1234 · Mar 20, 2020

Just thinking about what are the crappiest places on a beat up old crane, I would think that this potential space that stuffs get collected probably qualify as one of those dirty places. I guess the other places could also include inside the engine compartment?

How about inside an old beat up crane cab?

The cleanest is probably an open surface where the rain does the washing job naturally and frequently? lol

Welder Dave · Mar 20, 2020

I remember seeing a package with a universal fix it for all the do hickeys, thing-a-ma-jigs, whatcha-a-ma-call-it's, etc. Instructions were to chew till desired consistency and apply where needed. It was a piece of Bazooka bubble gum!

wildpig1234 · Mar 20, 2020

Liebherr LTM 1350

There's no getting down into the winch area, even after unwinding all the rope, on this one....lol...

John C. · Mar 21, 2020

Bad places on a crane? Between the engine and the gear train. Under the upper horizontal swing shaft if independent swing and travel. Worse, under the upper horizontal swing and travel shaft if the machine doesn't have independent swing and travel. Under the carbody and above the gear box for the travel shaft. Anywhere between the chain case and the horizontal drives. Anywhere around the boom hoist. This all apply to the Koehring in my avatar.

wornout wrench · Mar 21, 2020

John C. said:
Bad places on a crane? Between the engine and the gear train. Under the upper horizontal swing shaft if independent swing and travel. Worse, under the upper horizontal swing and travel shaft if the machine doesn't have independent swing and travel. Under the carbody and above the gear box for the travel shaft. Anywhere between the chain case and the horizontal drives. Anywhere around the boom hoist. This all apply to the Koehring in my avatar.

Hahahaha
John, I did lot of American crane work.
There is no good place.

Mother Deuce · Mar 21, 2020

wildpig1234 said:
Lol. thanks for the entertaining answers. I guess i can make my models a little more realistic by taking a drill to the bottom of the model? I do notice that this area on an old used crane seems to be very dirty on a lot of the pictures.

And yes, it would be a real PITA to have to unwind most of the ropes to get in there to retrieve things. even just unreeling all the "rope" on my model crane is tiresome for the fingers....lol...

Not also to mention the fact that unwinding the "rope" on the model a lot of times causing the rope to jump off the pulleys....lolll..

The first time I sat down in a rope shovel, the operator looked at me and said "Job 1 is not throwing the ropes."

wornout wrench · Mar 21, 2020

Mother Deuce said:
The first time I sat down in a rope shovel, the operator looked at me and said "Job 1 is not throwing the ropes."

Oh, I have stories about that too.
I used to warn the apprentices.
DO NOT BIRDS NEST THE CABLES, THE OPERATOR WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU

Mother Deuce · Mar 21, 2020

LOL He had done it at some point. We were sitting in P&H 4100 and he made it clear to me that filling the house with rope was not an acceptable sin.

wornout wrench · Mar 21, 2020

The old Madill towers had dogs on the drums for parking.
If you forgot to set the dogs and the air bled off, oh yeah, bad things.

It made the most interesting sound.

RZucker · Mar 21, 2020

I was given the opportunity to play with a long handle B-E with a drag bucket, don't remember the model #. It was only drop and drag but I was politely told to "GET OFF THE MACHINE NOW!". I guess I'm not friction crane material.

wornout wrench · Mar 21, 2020

Oh, I can run any piece of old logging equipment
But NEVER get me confused with an operator

I used to take the apprentices out into the forest and show them how to run the machines. Hard to diagnose and repair a machine if you can't try it out.

wildpig1234 · Mar 30, 2020

So finally had time to add the luffing jib to the sennebogen 5500... which pretty much double its height. Height configuration is about 45m. There is one more main boom and one more jib section i couldve use but didnt since this was going to be displayed on my desk. A few plastic bolts did get dropped but good thing they didn't fall into the winch area!

I was able to recreate the famous NYC crane disaster a few times while I was building up the jib and connecting it to the main boom. The jib makes the crane 100% better but it's definitely could be dangerous if you don't lower it down correctly for parking.

John C. · Mar 31, 2020

The machine I've seen like that, Demag 4000, had to have the wheel horses installed in order to lower the jib. That is a cool model.

wildpig1234 · Mar 31, 2020

most of the crawler crane i see don't have a jib configuration. i guess that's mostly used in the building related construction, esp inside cities?
jib looks cool though

wildpig1234 · Apr 3, 2020

The LR 1600 getting built up. the hs 855 looks tiny next to the LR 1600 and a 12m LR 1600 boom section.
I really want to see an actual 650+ t crane but they are so just hard to find....lol... i guess a fair amount of people here seen these?
Even the winch drums are huge on these!

wildpig1234 · Apr 5, 2020

LR 1600 A frame reeved. 16 sheaves on A frame, 17 on the crane . I get to taste a little of what's a PITA it is to do the reeving .Good thing this won't have to be taken off even if the crane goes back in the box.....

I guess in real life, most crane A frame is reeved only once and that's it? Although i think i've seen some big cranes that also have detachable A frame? what a pain!

.....lol..

wildpig1234 · Apr 5, 2020

Even with a short 30m main boom, LR 1600 is huge compared to HS 855...
I want to see some 600+ t cranes, but i guess you will only see one at petrochemical or power plan sites mostly? Looks to be too big for most road construction or routine building sites... Anyone got any suggestion where else i can swing by to see some heavyweight cranes?

Welder Dave · Apr 5, 2020

How about a ring crane. A diecast model for sale was listed at $3995.00. If you want something bigger Mammoet is apparently developing a 24,000 ton version!

https://www.constructionscalemodels.com/en/mammoet-ptc-twin-boom-ringer-crane-wsi-wsi410006

https://cranemarket.com/blog/mammoe...-crane-with-stoof-engineering-and-innovation/

wildpig1234 · Apr 5, 2020

Welder Dave said:
How about a ring crane. A diecast model for sale was listed at $3995.00. If you want something bigger Mammoet is apparently developing a 24,000 ton version!

https://www.constructionscalemodels.com/en/mammoet-ptc-twin-boom-ringer-crane-wsi-wsi410006

https://cranemarket.com/blog/mammoe...-crane-with-stoof-engineering-and-innovation/

I thought SK10000 was huge, the mammoet is even bigger...lol... but that article is from 2016 so it's 4 yrs later and they still haven't released it i guess?

Yeah, that ptc model is out of production so the price is "a little inflated" on that site...lol... There's also a separate luffing jib set for the ptc. fully built that thing is more or less 4m high!

The sgc-120 ring is also available directly from sarens for "relatively a lot cheaper" than that ptc sale price on that site.

I am trying to save up for the soon to be rereleased CC8800 with boombooster.

Just wish i can find a place to see these 600+ t in action but its so hard to find anything bigger than 200 t crawler....

What do you do if you drop a small tool into the area around the winch drum?

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