CrankyCrafstman Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Hey all I'm at it again...lol. yes it's another project. Actually it's a load for my XL Specialized HD130 drop nose RGN lowboy trailer, XL 80 jeep, dual nitrogen charged booster/stinger and Peterbilt 359 heavy haul tractor. It's going to be a Cat 374F L excavator almost completely scratch built. I ordered a Cat C15 resin engine from Moluminum and I'm using some tracks I got from Bruder toys. This view shows the real Cat 374F L. This view shows a closer look at the body of the excavator. this view shows my scale drawing of the big Cat 374. this is a plan view of the big Cat. I don't have all the pictures of the 374 that I need, but I do have a 1/50th scale Cat 390F L and a Cat 349F L to use for references. here is a view of the Bruder tracks. These are actually for there mini excavator in 1/16 scale, but work out perfect for the big Cat 374. view of the other side of the tracks. side view of the tracks. end view of the tracks. They work out to be 1.25" wide which is 31.25" in 1/25th scale or 30" in 1/24th scale. this is my temporary undercarriage setup that I made to figure out all the geometry. more of a top view of the tracks. I have a feeling that this is going to take quite a while to get finished, but I'm plugging along...lol. well that's it for now be back with more updates soon. Ron G 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 I'll bite......harv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 Thanks Harv 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 OMG i like that one will try to follow you thats somthing i whant a big excavator nice work on the tracks Mark 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 4 hours ago, mark31 said: OMG i like that one will try to follow you thats somthing i whant a big excavator nice work on the tracks Mark Hey Mark I didn't make the tracks, they are from Bruder toys. There a kind of nylony plastic, but definitely workable. Everything else except for the C15 Cat engine will be scratch built. Ron G 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 Hey all Small update for you all. I have the bodys base pretty much done. I made it out of some 0.06" thick black plastic sheet. this is a view of the operators side. same view, but more from the side. rear view of the base. view from the front of the base. this view is from the side opposite of the operator. top view of the bodys base. The cab area is in the upper right. The hydraulic tank is on the opposite side at the front. The area in between them is were the boom pivot and boom cylinders will be, also the swing motors will be here too. The rear most area is for the motor and in front of that is were the hydraulic hose stand for the boom and stick will reside. Well that's it for now be back with more updates soon. Ron G 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1to1scale Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Amazing project, I have been waiting for someone to bring out an excavator kit, but you actually made your own. Great work! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FME erk Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 I shall watch this hoping I can get some ideas about building the body as I would like to do a particular English lorry . . . . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 Thanks guys Small update for you. I have the main boom pivot and boom cylinders mounting/pivot bracket done. this view shows the pivot bracket in place on the body base. I also added the main deck to the base. view from the front of the boom pivot in place. I made this from some 0.06" plastic sheet glued to 0.03" plastic sheet in order to get to 0.09" thickness for the 4 sides. In between these I added some 0.04" x 1/4" plastic strips to form the 2 uprights. I glued these to a piece of 0.06" thick plastic sheet to create the pivot bracket. Well that's it for now be back with more updates soon. Ron G 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Very nice work Ron, I will follow with interest. Cheers Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 great start Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Thanks guys Ron G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Hey guys Another update for you guys. I've done some more work on the base. I added the main pivot bearing to the bottom of the base. I made it so that it attaches with a 2-56 bolt that will allow it to rotate. I also made the 2 swing motors. this view shows the bottom of the base with the bearing surface added. this view shows the bottom of the base with the pivot pin area for the undercarriage sitting in place. this view shows the boom pivot bracket, the pivot pin part for the undercarriage and the 2 swing motors. this view is of the pivot pin area that will eventually become part if the undercarriage frame. top view of one of the swing motor. side view of the swing motor. this view shows both of the swing motors. I had to grind the bottoms out of some 1/8" thick plastic sheet. The rest is made from 1/2" & 5/16" plastic tube and some 0.03" thick plastic sheet pieces. The bolts are from Meng, 2.2mm and 1.8mm heads, that I had to individually cut off of the plastic piece they come on and install with some CA glue. Sounds complicated but it wasn't that bad. this view shows the swing motors in place on the boom pivot bracket. this view shows the boom pivot in place on the base. top view of the whole thing temporarily sitting on the tracks. Well that's it for now be back with more updates soon. Ron G 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 what can i say great going Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Hey all Well not so great Mark. You know the old saying 1 srep forward, 2 steps back. Well after rechecking my drawings and photos i found out I made an error.... When I started to draw the rear view in order to get the counter weight right I found out I made the base to narrow. I had it at 9' 0" which put the boom pivot bracket off center, plus it just lookedway to narrow, opps! So after some calculations I ended up making it 10' 6" wide, with 10' 0" track gauge instead of 9' 0" that I had. It looks way better now. Hey Jeff definitely going to need permits for this one...lol this view shows the newly reworked base. top view of the new base. this view is of the bottom of the base, you can see the piece that I had to add to the middle of the base this view shows the new base with the boom pivot bracket sitting in place on the base. Hopefully I won't mess up again, yeah right! who am I kidding. Ron G 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 Hey all Small update for you all. I have the front idler wheels done. here it is, I made this from a piece of 3/4" P C pipe.that is 1.07" O.D. plus some plastic strips glued on the center of the wheel for the track guide. Then some 7/32" & 9/32" plastic tube for the hubs. this view shows both of the idlers. this view is were I'm at up to this point. It doesn't look like much but it was a real challenge to figure out and build. Ron. G 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Awesomsauce !.....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 Thanks Harv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belugawhaleman Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Been having a look. very interesting. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Keep this up and someone from Peoria Illinois will be calling you in for an engineering job !! Excellent stuff, Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Thanks guys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyCrafstman Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Hey all Another small update for you all. I have one of the drive sprockets done. this view shows the drive sprocket and the idler together. I made the sprocket out of the same 3/4" PVC pipe that I used for the idler. The teeth are made from some 1/8" thick plastic sheet glued together to make it 1/4" wide. I drilled out the notches for the track link pins with a 1/8" diameter drill bit, all 20 of them. I then ground out the center of the sprocket teeth to the OD of the PVC pipe. I glued this to the center of the peice of pipe, I then sanded it to the correct diameter. I added a piece of 1/8" thick plastic sheet cut to the ID of the pipe and glued on to the outer edge of the sprocket and some 7/32" & 9/32" diameter plastic tube to create the hub. To this I added some 2.6mm Meng bolt heads, and presto chango you have a drive sprocket...lol more of a side view of the two. end view of the idler and the drive sprocket. this view shows them next to a scale. this view shows them sitting on some of the track peices. this view shows the idler and the drive sprocket in place in the tracks. Well that's it for now be back soon. Ron G 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Good « old-fashioned » scratchbuilding skills at play here, and in what a way ! Hubert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 23 hours ago, CrankyCrafstman said: Hey all Another small update for you all. I have one of the drive sprockets done. this view shows the drive sprocket and the idler together. I made the sprocket out of the same 3/4" PVC pipe that I used for the idler. The teeth are made from some 1/8" thick plastic sheet glued together to make it 1/4" wide. I drilled out the notches for the track link pins with a 1/8" diameter drill bit, all 20 of them. I then ground out the center of the sprocket teeth to the OD of the PVC pipe. I glued this to the center of the peice of pipe, I then sanded it to the correct diameter. I added a piece of 1/8" thick plastic sheet cut to the ID of the pipe and glued on to the outer edge of the sprocket and some 7/32" & 9/32" diameter plastic tube to create the hub. To this I added some 2.6mm Meng bolt heads, and presto chango you have a drive sprocket...lol more of a side view of the two. end view of the idler and the drive sprocket. this view shows them next to a scale. this view shows them sitting on some of the track peices. this view shows the idler and the drive sprocket in place in the tracks. Well that's it for now be back soon. Ron G 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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