homemade wooden excavator
 

a few years ago my brother in law was injured at work and is now on disability and was going insane trying to stay occupied. He loves working with wood and one day decieded to build an excavator. No pictures or 1:1 model in mind, just his own creation.
He built it like it was his job...woke up in the morning and would work on it for 8 hrs a day. Monday to friday. Took about 2 yrs to build. each track pad is individually made of purple heart, i think its a rosewood or mahogany? I cant remember. so many types of wood used. White oak, pine , birds eye maple for the bucket and seat in cab. the tubing used to duplicate hyd hose is actually the outer insulation of typical house wiring. the fan in the engine compartment actually spins if you blow gently on it!! cylinders move in and out and are also made from 3 or 4 different types of wood.
I'll see if i can convince him to make a video and explain all the intracate details.

anyway! enjoy! the track frames are just over 9 inches long to give an idea of size. He went with no pics and followed no scale......just built it.

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...ator/image.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-09.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-10.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-01.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-02.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-04.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-03.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-05.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-06.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-07.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-08.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-09.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-11.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/image-12.jpg


i just noticed, i forgot to open the cab door and get a better shot of interior detail:eek:

thanks for lookin.:)

Mario

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Beautiful build. The detail work is outstanding.:cool:

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

wow that is unbelievable! im blown away!! how long did it take?

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

All I can say is WOW!!! Amazing detail!!! The workmanship is super. He is a true craftsman. Thanks for sharing.

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

that is insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! work of art!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Working about 8-10 hrs a day, Monday to friday... About 2 yrs.

Mario

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Wow! Great job:D:D:D

Cheer's, Neil.

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

WOW!!!! Now teach him out to make one out of metal and your all set!! ;) Great craftsmanship and you can tell he pull his love into it! The details are amazing!

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Hey all.....

So my wonderful brother in law just sent me some pics of a few things he made for me as a early birthday gift! :D:D:D and also as a repayment for the 3 10ft long birds eye maple rough cut planks I found for him... ( I've been told that 1 mature birds eye maple tree can be worth up to 30 thousand dollars!! )

He said he's got more in the works and would only share this so far.....

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...pseb68d7ed.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...ps829ff35d.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...psb59790cd.jpg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...psd8938d4f.jpg

he said the sides of this one are made from 1/64th thick mahogany!

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...psdce2d9cd.jpg

Cant wait to see what else he has in the works!:D

This stuff along with my crates and pallets from Sharkey is going to make a great looking load on the trailer or as cargo at the dock!:D:)

thanks for looking

Mario

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

That stuff is sweet Mario! I love the boxed up printer parts!

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Now those look Sweet!

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

those are really fricken cool!

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Your right Aaron. I wish he was into metal work but you can't help but appreciate a master of any material.:cool:
I love the fact his work can play a part in our RC company, even if its not metal work:)
The funny part is....I was 6 yrs old when he first started dating my sister!
Great guy, and will cherish all his work for years to come:). Thanks Ron :cool:

Mario

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Mario, your brother n law is extremely talented. What a master piece.

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Susan and I just got back from a family visit up in Thunder Bay. My brother in law, Ron , had yet to see any of our RC fleet in person so I packed up and brought Sue's truck, the lowboy and our loader to show him. When we got there I had an idea to take some pics of his excavator on our trailer:D

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...s41c126b3.jpeg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...s2bc96154.jpeg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...s2a03eabb.jpeg

as you can see, he's added lights. I asked him where he got the led's. From a small flashlight he took the bulbs out and mounted the switch on top of cab. I looked in the engine compartment and saw no batteries so I said, where's the batteries??

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...s5fb41b1d.jpeg
http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...s4f192a6f.jpeg

check out the little clips he made to secure the wiring. the red tape area is temporary as he plans to build a little electrical box for the connection.
the crazy guy went as far as installing grease fittings on the cylinders using pin heads :eek::)


http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...s683a1679.jpeg

here's some pics of his latest work.... the CN tower made completely of matchsticks. The restaurant part rotates just like the real one on the tower!:eek:

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...sba868ffb.jpeg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...s7f8c53e1.jpeg

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...s9fee4b7d.jpeg

thanks for looking. :cool:

Mario

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

the woodwork is really detailed...it looks fantastic :D

Re: homemade wooden excavator
 

Great stuff!