Lattice Boom Crane Build (Wood)

[Espeefan]

Wow, that boom looks really nice. Patience taken in building it piece by piece sure paid off. Love the lathe, ahem, drill press. Hey, sometimes you have to get creative, and make do with what you have on hand. Great work!

[Rvjimd]

Video of the first boom lift!

http://youtu.be/nNIgltD1WKg

Jim

[modelman]

Looks good jim-this looks big for a 1/50 scale model. Is there a scale for this build?

[Rvjimd]

Tom,

No scale, I just stole a lot of the engineering from the Menck. The boom is 24" and the Menck is 18"

Planning to put it to work on a barge for dredging and unloading sand and coal barges.

Jim

[NYHowie]

Looks great so far. Can't wait to see finished.

[Rvjimd]

Got some more done on the new crane. Pivot servo and a cab and it should be ready for full blown testing. Oh, and I still have to cut down the clamshell a bit.

http://youtu.be/GTUO113rr3c

Jim

[TRUCKMAKER]

Nice! what are you using for cable?

[Rvjimd]

TM,

Cable, very hot topic! I had some old cotton thread. It was a bit to thin to look good, and NOT very water proof or abrasion resistant. So I went to the fabric store and got two types of thread, neither of which are what I wanted.

Cotton embroidery thread looks perfect for size and multi stranded wire rope look, but it is also cotton and won't wear good.

The other stuff I got is nylon coat and button thread. I think it is just a bit to fine and doesn't show up as well as a larger fatter thread does.

So, if you have some ideas, let me hear it...

Jim

[TRUCKMAKER]

Not sure what diameter your looking for but here is 1/32 and up wire rope. I would think this would work and look great if you could find the size you want.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-wire-rope/=ny7o6m

[Rvjimd]

TM,

I think actual wire rope is going to be to stiff to wrap and unwrap from the drums properly. I want to find some heavy braided fishing line and see how that looks.

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Got it rigged and hung the clamshell on it, added a pulley for the calming line and off to the pond to find some boulders to UNLOAD!

Really fun to be able to UNLOAD as well as load!

http://youtu.be/dWZLuts7A4M

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Did someone mention feeding the fish from the barge? Here it is!

http://youtu.be/JdipPcwN_n0

Still have some "tuning" on the crane, and finish the cab, and practice with it so it don't look like somebody at the carnival trying to win a stuffed toy!

And, I need to copy the radio settings to my other transmitter and bind to the boat so I don't have to switch one off just to run the other...

Jim

[TRUCKMAKER]

That was a great video Jim, the crane is working great! Those fish will teach you how to operate it with precision The way they're moving the barge around . Can't wait to see one jump into the barge or come up to the clam

[Rvjimd]

Ah, you're giving too much credit to the fish.... I think a lot of it was me being rough on the pivot control. I noticed that when I watched the video, when I swing to quick, you can see the entire barge move.

I'm getting a few items tuned up, adjusting the travel and rates on servos and practice, it should get better in a while.

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Got the calming line working nice now. Here are some pictures and video of my setup.

http://youtu.be/awJMB02iTPo

Jim

[Rvjimd]

I'm sure most of you could see this coming, but it hadn't even crossed my mind. I was at the loading dock practicing with the new crane and clamshell. Moving boulders from the dock and hopper barge to a pile at the end of the dock. Then I saw it! The little rubber tire loader sitting there, hey, try and lift that by the cab and put it on the work barge!

Here is the video...

http://youtu.be/LWivEc-_NXw

Jim

[Supermario]

Originally Posted by Rvjimd

TM,

Cable, very hot topic! I had some old cotton thread. It was a bit to thin to look good, and NOT very water proof or abrasion resistant. So I went to the fabric store and got two types of thread, neither of which are what I wanted.

Cotton embroidery thread looks perfect for size and multi stranded wire rope look, but it is also cotton and won't wear good.

The other stuff I got is nylon coat and button thread. I think it is just a bit to fine and doesn't show up as well as a larger fatter thread does.

So, if you have some ideas, let me hear it...

Jim

Hey Jim, just had a crazy thought....What about a couple strands of magnet wire wound together? It may spool up and reel out ok due to weight of bucket and boom? Maybe cook the coating off to improve how well it winds on the drum?
Like I say, crazy thought from out of now where.

Great build! Love it!

Mario

[Rvjimd]

Mario,

I have some on hand that I'll take a look at. I got a three pack and the small stuff is really thin! I think it is going to have too much memory and try to stay curved when it comes off the drums.

Problem with the clam operation is it is easy and pretty much a given that there is going to be slack line on one of the two main drums some of the time. This causes a lot of issues where the line comes off the tip pulley or the drum. I may add a few more guides like on the calming line pulley. And, I tried my second line, thin nylon, but it is too stiff. The embroidery thread actually worked better because it was very soft and flexible.

Still searching...

Jim

[Supermario]

Ya, I tested some wire after posting and realized nope. Crazy part of the idea was suggesting before testing...lol

So here's my REAL crazy idea.
We all know how strong spider silk is correct? You may have heard about this already but scientists have found a way to produce spider silk from a goat's milk! A female goat gets the gene that creates silk in spiders. The off spring of that goat then produces the enzyme which creates silk in it's milk which they extract and use to make super strong silk fibre!

So, ......looks like you need one of those magic goats!

Mario

[Rvjimd]

Well,

My neighbors have chickens, I wonder if they make rope for model cranes?



Jim