Picked up a new tool for working around the pond and property, I think it will come in pretty useful. The list of projects is long, it will keep me busy for years. It's kind of handy that in addition to improving my pond(s) and property I also enjoy collecting, restoring, and using old equipment. One of my fellow members in the Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owners Club(ACMOC) bought this with me in mind at an auction, if I didn't want it he was going to flip it and try to make a few bucks. Sold it to me for what he had bought it for and I'm happy to have it. Thanks.
Bryan
If you run out of projects, you are welcome to work on some of mine:)
I am nearing completion of my latest pond using much smaller equipment.
Ah, that new car smell...
Another project...
Very nice Bryan!! Glad you still stop by and read the forum from time to time. Take some pictures of your pond and let us know how it is doing? Are you going to expand your pond?
What fish do you have and how are they doing? I need to put in some predators in the spring and may be asking other SW MI pondmeisters to split an order of SMB or HSB with me.
dam that's a monster, get some stuff done with that bad boy... let the work begin hopefully it wont cost you to much in repairs if you need to do anything to it.
RC
Would love to have one of those at our place. Right now, fortunately, we can hire our neighbor and his track hoe to do a few things for us when needed. But that would be a great "toy" to add to the collection.
Would you mind telling us how old that machine is, how many hours it has on it and what something like that goes for ($$)?
Thanks. I plan on attending a Ritchie Bros. auction this fall just to educate myself on used skid steer and mini-excavator pricing for a hopeful future purchase. BM61.
I've been watching them on a couple auction sites trying to educate myself a little. Would like to buy one this fall or winter.
As far as antique Cat stuff, I know where there is an RD6 (or could be an RD7) a neighbor has sitting in his pasture. Or at least it was the last time I ask him about it about ten years ago. 3 cyl I think so that makes me thing it is an RD6. LeTourneau dozer blade on it.
Always thought someone should restore it.
RAH, I like your project! I'm trying very hard to ignore my increasing desire to build something. I'm thinking a CJ7 with small block Chevy and automatic. Strip it down to the frame and piece it back together my way. Don't need it at all, but can't stop building it in my head. Guess I miss having a shop.
Easy trivia: what did the RD designation mean on those old cats? They were initials.....Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the modern diesel.
In the next series they dropped the "R" and became the numbering series used ever since, D3,D4,D5,.......D11. Prior model series was 15, 20, 30........60.
Many people forget to capitalize the Diesel designation, not knowing it is a proper noun since it is a name.
Wow. That pretty well exhausted my knowledge on both old Caterpillar stuff AND English.
The M37 will be a project with my son. He favors old Mopar. We will probably keep original, or at least not do anything to prevent full restoration. No long trips at 5 MPG. It requires at least 69 octane gas:)
Canyoncreek, I do plan to dig some deeper holes in the big pond and do some other work around there, it currently averages 6'-7' deep. I'll try to get some pictures sometime. I currently use that pond for duck/goose hunting, several hundred ducks use it daily. I'm also planning to dig an additional small pond mostly for fishing and swimming, it will be in the 1 to 1.5 acre range. I don't think I'll be ready for fish yet this spring.
Bassmaster61, it is a Cat 215B LC, right around 40,000 lbs. and was built in 1985. One of the guys in the club has a full set of manuals he is sending me, I hope to have those in the next week or so. Depending what you get you could pick up something similar in the $15,000 to $30,000 range.
Snrub, that RD6 sounds interesting, too bad I already have several other projects lined up! LeTourneau made some interesting things, I have an Airborne pan scraper built by them that I really enjoy. Thanks.
Bryan