My 'old' projects

[gerrymoore]

Hi all. I've only just found out how to upload photos so I thought there may be some interest in a few of my past 'projects'.

I'm particularly proud of the excavator...I built this from scratch with only a 130 amp stick welder, a 9" grinder/cutter and a pillar drill. It took me 6 months and I had to learn all about hydraulics as I went along.

The luna loop was copied from an original design and was very popular amongst the local kids.

The mini bike was a failed business venture...I made a few of these hoping to seel them but ran out of cash...two models ...one using a Honda 2.5hp and the other used a 4hp motor and would wheelie!!

My present 'project' is to build my own CNC plasma cutter....watch this space!

cheers

Gerry Moore

 

[Chipper]

Excellent impressive stuff...

 

[chunkolini]

Fantastic, low tech and high energy produces good works.
It must have been so satisfying to operate a digger you made yourself.
Top marks, Chunko'.

 

[gerrymoore]

Thanks for the kind comments.

I had a quick look at 'chunkos' website and I'm very impressed!! I too have a passion for sculpting...here's a few I've done in the past.......the Easter Island MOAI is 6 foot high made of fibreglass from an original steel mesh and plaster 'plug' .....the 'Moraira Man' is made from welded steel rod and painted nylon mesh (the wife is the better looking one!!)...the golfer is just from steel rod. Now I have a plasma cutter (yet to try it out though) I hope to be able to make more complex designs.

 

[TheJoker]

Awesome! Love the bike and the excavator!

 

[excossack]

I like the mini digger.
Aloso noticed you have a Wirral phone number on the Luna. You still on the Wirral or in Spain?

 

[BigWeld]

The digger is a real piece of engineering art the rest are nice too, it takes a well kitted shop and a fair amount of know how to turn out gear of that calibre.
Nice work gerrymoore

 

[^neo^]

Any more pics of the wife?!

 

[gerrymoore]

Hi guys...thanks for the comments....I sometimes look at photos of the excavator and wonder how the hell I made it!! I was working as an electronics engineer in Plesseys Liverpool at the time and the fact that all the guys I worked with said I couldn't do it just made me want to even more!!!

I'm self taught at welding...originally a TV engineer then progressed to telecoms and computers. I've just been sorting out my 'new' compressor and hope to try the new plasma cutter tomorrow......can't wait :-)) I hope to start making my CNC machine in the next week or so.

Hi excossack......I lived on the Wirral (Higher Beb) for 50 years before moving here 8 years ago. I haven't retired so have to make a living and it's getting harder like everywhere else!! We have a holiday apartment we let which keeps our heads above water!!

It's VERY hot here today...I was welding in just my shorts and sandals earlier...not recommended!!!!

Neo...my wife will be made up with you!!!!

 

[excossack]

I know Higher Beb.
A mate has moved to Moria D'Ebre (not sure of the spelling), Tarragona region
Any more info on the digger?

 

[chunkolini]

Like the sculptures, the golfer seems slightly familiar, I have pondered making glassfibre or whatever skinnd figures like Moraira man, and I love the Moai, for years I have been avoiding making a large one of these skinned in sheet metal. But thses suppresed ideas usually break out in time.

keep it up.

Chunko'.

 

[gerrymoore]

The digger story.....I had always been fascinated by these machines and could stand for hours just watching them!! It was when we decided to open up our drive to hold two cars side by side and I had been digging with a spade for an hour and thought to myself I think I'll hire a mini digger!

Checking out the cost for daily hire I then decided to buy one and then sell it - wow they were expensive!! Why not make one - I said to myself...as you do :-0

That was it....I started taking photos of every digger I saw and cutting out pictures from magazines. My toolkit was a big garage, pillar drill, welder, 9" grinder and a baby oxy/acetylene unit with cutting torch (that I didn't know how to use!!)

I had no idea at all about hydraulics so started reading as much as I could...this was 1989...no help from the internet in those days!!

I got hold of a new 11hp motor - unfortunately it had a vertical crank but it was cheap!

I also heard of someone scrapping a dumper truck so then I had a hydraulic pump, oil reservoir and a few other bits I thought may be useful.

I found an ad in the Exchange and Mart offering surplus hydraulic rams so off we went to Bristol........

The guy was very helpful.... if a bit bemused at my 'project'....but a couple of hours later I have 5 new rams, five control valves and a load of hardened steel pins...back to the Wirral pronto!

My father in law offered to help and, after buying a load of steel both new and scrap, off we went out to the garage.

It took us 5 hours to drill two 2" holes in the first piece of steel to take the bushes for the hardened pins...the largest drill I could fit in the pillar drill was 16mm but I had a load of huge drills turned down to fit ther poor thing...boy did it struggle with a 2" diameter bit!!! I knew then this was going to be hard!

Using the photos we managed to get the chassis together...I wanted it to be towable and to fit through a 2'6" doorway so it was based around the Powerfab mini excavator...I took a lot of photos of them :-))

The real fun came with the hydraulics....I found a local supplier who was very helpful - again a bit of disbelief that I was 'making' an excavator! We'd measured for all the hoses and he made them up for me but didn't crimp the ends on....I had to fit them all to the machine and mark in paint the orientation...you can't twist hydraulic hose so the fittings have to be right.

Eventually we had all the hoses fitted, the reservoir filled with new oil, I fitted a pressure gauge (reading 3000psi!!) and a relief valve and we started the motor.....this was around 6 months from when we started!!

Great, the motor fired up and spun the pump but....the rams would hardly move and the motor was almost stalling...:-((

After a long talk with the hydraulics supplier we realised that the pump from the dumper was way too big and needed a much more powerful motor. I bought a smaller pump and we tried that....bit better but still not right....luckily the guy was very understaning and 4 pumps later we had success...the new pump was tiny compared to the original but it certainly had plenty of oommph!!

So from that day we did a little bit of fiddling around and then anything that could be dug up was!! Took a while to learn how to drive the thing as well as we'd had no training.....we were lucky no one got hurt (or killed!!)

I dug up the new drive...if you look at the photos, the Lunar Lopp is parked on the results......I wondered then was it all worth it........

I sold the excavator to an underpinning firm in Crewe for £1800...not much more than it cost me to build..but what an experience.

The only problem I have now is that when my wife asks me to do anything and I say I can't, the stock reply is 'you can build and excavator but you can't dry a few dishes!!! ....you have to laugh :-))

 

[TheJoker]

Fantastic!

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

brilliant stuff!

I like the Lunar Loop too...fancy making one for the grandkids.

Did you use it at the Sunday Markets/car boots? Could be a part-time business there.

Regards
Peter

 

[Arsonista]

Inspiring, Gerry. Well done.

 

[gerrymoore]

Hi Peter...the Lunar Loop was made when I was out of work through redundancy - around 1991. It was a copy of the SpaceBall (£10,000 at the time). I made it with my father in law helping again. Had the hoops made by a local heavy engineering firm and di the rest including the trailer myself. I had to have it checked by a qualified engineer so I could use it at fairgrounds and fetes etc. with public liablity insurance.

It made quite a lot of money over the summer - the Tall Ships came to the Mersey and there were crowds everywhere..we took £400 in one day...but the muscles in my arms where done in at the end!!

It failed once in action and we were lucky no one was hurt....one of the welds snapped..not one of mine but the firm who made the hoops ...and they were professional welders!!!

I sold it to a guy in Manchester for £2000 so it was worth it..and a lot of fun!

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

nice one! How did you charge, 50p a minute, etc? I guess you'd get the child strapped in, give them a twirl horizontally and then turn the wheel left and right?

I happened to be over at Lytham last year (I think, the Open golf was on around there, Southport?) and the Tall Ships were at Liverpool again. We were lucky to go on the Friday as the crowds on Saturday and Sunday looked horrible, absolutely packed solid.

Regards
Peter

 

[gerrymoore]

Hi Peter......depending on the venue and the number of 'punters' we charged either 50p or £1 for about 1 and half minutes. Wasn't just kids though, we had plenty of adult riders but had a pair of scales with us...nobody over 13 stone got to ride :-))

We started off with a wheel to turn the vertical axis but it was too hard..ended up becoming an expert in avoiding having my arms removed by the spinning hoops!!

Only thing we had to watch was girls with long hair getting caught in the 'works' always made sure it was tied up out of harms way.

The seat was a Corbeau Rally jobby..cost nearly £150 if I remember...we had a very strong locking device across the seat that held them in...also a special strap over the feet to stop them 'dangling'.

We always drew a large crowd...even at Sunday car boots and the like.

I only rode it once..I enjoyed it...but I could never believe the speed the kids wanted to 'twirl'...they used to shout faster, faster until we just couldn't get the thing to spin any faster......and then get off and go back to the end of the queue for another go !!!!

Happy (unemployed) days................:-)))

here it is at New Brighton..summer '92...............seems like yesterday.

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

Nice description.

Thanks.
Peter

 

[pedrobedro]

I know Higher Beb.
A mate has moved to Moria D'Ebre (not sure of the spelling), Tarragona region
Any more info on the digger?

I have a site in my bookmarks for someone who sells plans for these things here. I read it every so often but never ordered any.