Unit Cable Hoe

[Jared]

Originally Posted by SmallHaul

It is just a single loop of steel with pulleys on top so, the cable setup must keep the tower in position?

That's called the jack boom. The boom hoist holds it from flopping forward and the weight of the boom/stick keeps it from flopping backward. The boom hoist has about a four-part line. Then when you're digging deeper you lean it forward a little and when you're digging shallower you lean it back a little as needed. i think there are usually three or four sheaves on it. Two on the outside for the boom hoist and one in the middle between the uprights if using a two part line to the top of the stick or two in the middle if using a three-part line. I would recommend finding an old copy of "Moving the Earth". Among other things, there are good explanations of revolving shovels and the various attachments.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MOVING-EARTH-WOR...item5adc732dc6
This is close to the one my dad has, which I think is a '60's vintage. I don't know if the later editions have as much cable machine stuff. It ain't cheap but it's worth it! Every kind of earthmoving machine is covered.

Looking good!. I know this is more of a proof-of-concept thing so maybe you've already considered this, but splitting the end of the stick into a "Y" and attaching each leg of the Y to the bucket would help the bucket fill rather than dirt piling up against the end of the stick.