Small faceshovel versus smaller conventional excavator

That scooper is somewhat similar to the Bucyrus Erie 60-S prototype.

Crazy they didn't think of fitting a 4n1 bucket, would have improved the cycle times hugely.

Neat to see in action, that is quite a linkage set up!

BC Placer gold said: Neat to see in action, that is quite a linkage set up! Click to expand... I think of all those pins & bushings to wear out.

Tones said: All of that is correct Dave but equally there are plenty of situations where a shovel would be superior and more cost efficient. One job I had was running a track mounted crusher, loading it with a excavator and working alone. Sitting on a bench feeding the crusher then having to come down a clear the heap from the end of the belt was a PITA, a job were a shovel would have made complete sence to use. Click to expand... I worked at a sand mine with a similar arrangement. Problem was the ground conditions were very poor and the face was prone to sloughing off. It came to a head when the bench caved and dumped the excavator halfway info the pit. Production shut down, MSHA was called (and very unhappy about the arrangement being used), just a mess in general. Management asked for suggestions to improve methods, I recommended a small face shovel to feed the screen while keeping the operator off a potentially unstable bench. It was never seriously considered and the mine shut down at the end of the year due to poor economics resulting from unpredictable deposit geometry. Chasing pay zones works with a high-grade gold mine, not so much with sand and gravel.

I got sent this picture last week. 315 with a custom front and 4n1 bucket supposedly put together to dig basements under existing buildings.

hvy 1ton said: I got sent this picture last week. 315 with a custom front and 4n1 bucket supposedly put together to dig basements under existing buildings. View attachment 362819 Click to expand... Interesting they went with a GC version for such a custom build yet it has some sort of aftermarket electronic box on the stick. Also gotta be careful with that hose block on the nose of the stick. Cool machine - thanks for sharing.

1956. 1 of YouTube videos

Modern little Moxy

hvy 1ton said: I got sent this picture last week. 315 with a custom front and 4n1 bucket supposedly put together to dig basements under existing buildings. View attachment 362819 Click to expand... That's an interesting setup. I'd like to see it in action. So... Would you dig over the idlers or the finals with that one?

Deere500a said: 1956. 1 of YouTube videos View attachment 362820 View attachment 362821 Click to expand... Are those hydraulic hoses on the boom and behind the bucket? Don't think that would be factory?

CM1995 said: Are those hydraulic hoses on the boom and behind the bucket? Click to expand... The bucket on that one was converted from cable trip to hydraulic cylinder

hvy 1ton said: I got sent this picture last week. 315 with a custom front and 4n1 bucket supposedly put together to dig basements under existing buildings. View attachment 362819 Click to expand... I've been on lots of sites were this would be in it's element so much so it would put a conventional excavator to shame. Don't know about that box on the dipper though, could be a recipe for disaster of the electronic kind.

hvy 1ton said: I got sent this picture last week. 315 with a custom front and 4n1 bucket supposedly put together to dig basements under existing buildings. View attachment 362819 Click to expand... A few miles down the highway three brothers took over their father's business moving houses. Often they put them back where they were with a new cellar. Years back they had a surplus 6 X 6 with a Bantam excavator mounted on it, and a 12000 LB Track loader with Drott skid loader. Terrified me seeing a 19 year old driving under a cribbed up building digging for basement walls. One 3 story they did had I beams spaced 12 feet apart sitting on 7' tall stacks of 6 X 6 cribbing. Looked unstable as Hell. I think a gust of wind would have tipped it over. They will leave a 10 foot gap in the foundation wall to dig the center out after the building is back on a new foundation.

It seems shovels are pretty rare, I've not used one. It's an interesting concept. Certainly digging from a bank of loose gravel, a shovel would work well. Digging a hole from level ground, and breaking up hard bank soil, a hoe can take advantage of gravity to help pull material loose. Go back 50 or more years there were no excavators in my rural area. Gravel pit owners had cable shovels to load trucks. Cellar holes were mostly dug with bulldozers, or track loaders. Pretty slow compared to a modern excavator.

Sometimes I wish I had a proper shovel bucket

Small hybrid shovels were short lived by 60s replaced by new track & wheel loader designs that took over. Overseas neat to see new models of small shovels v US.

My dad bought a Koehring 405 front shovel in 1958 for use in building logging roads. That didn't work out at all so he installed a set of tongs on the end instead of the bucket for loading logs on trucks. Apparently that didn't work out profitably either because he pulled the shovel front off, installed a 60' crane boom and a clam shell bucket and used it to clear land. That worked until he passed in 1971. The front shovel was displaced by track and wheel loaders. The air tongs were displaced by heel boom loaders with live grapples and the clam shell would have been displaced by hydraulic excavators with thumbs for clearing land. Technology always moves forward in efficiently and displaces what came before.

John C. said: My dad bought a Koehring 405 front shovel in 1958 for use in building logging roads. That didn't work out at all so he installed a set of tongs on the end instead of the bucket for loading logs on trucks. Apparently that didn't work out profitably either because he pulled the shovel front off, installed a 60' crane boom and a clam shell bucket and used it to clear land. That worked until he passed in 1971. The front shovel was displaced by track and wheel loaders. The air tongs were displaced by heel boom loaders with live grapples and the clam shell would have been displaced by hydraulic excavators with thumbs for clearing land. Technology always moves forward in efficiently and displaces what came before. Click to expand... In the evolution of machines I'm surprized how far we've come in so few years. My world is rural. No new technology comes here until it is profitable. First excavators came here in 1979 in the aftermath of a flood event when the Federal Government paid to ?dredge? miles of brook beds. Last year the decision came down: There will be NO dredging, even to save life & property.

Willie B said: In the evolution of machines I'm surprized how far we've come in so few years. My world is rural. No new technology comes here until it is profitable. First excavators came here in 1979 in the aftermath of a flood event when the Federal Government paid to ?dredge? miles of brook beds. Last year the decision came down: There will be NO dredging, even to save life & property. Click to expand... Fish are more important than people now.