Frankenstein Crane

[Nipels]

Originally Posted by sparkycuda

Wow! That reminds me of inside a Bucyrus-Erie 38B. Fully mechanical, with air operated clutches and brakes, open gears and sheaves. Looks to be quite large - what are approximate dimensions of what you have already? Add an angle-iron boom, flat track pads and ready to go. Will the crawlers also be mechanically driven from the upper works? I remember replacing the center shaft on a mechanical crane was a pain the the a$$!
Keep up the good work.

Ken

Boomed up it is a little above my waist. The cab is about 12" by 18". I would love to make the tracks mechanically driven but I haven't thought of an elegant or even practical way yet. I might just crap out and run a swivel wire harness through the center and have two motors run each track drive. I don't think I have enough of these magnetic clutches left to attempt mechanically driven undercarriage, especially not having both reverse and forward independent tracks. Maybe I can figure something out.

https://ibb.co/HtH0jF1
https://ibb.co/PY7QJv8
https://ibb.co/6nHf5v7

I finished putting the chains on the hoist drum and swing clutches. I started wiring it up. Hope to have it somewhat working in a few days.