Every Construction Machine Explained in 15 Minutes

A very quick overview of nearly every machine you'll see on a construction site
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It takes a lot of big tools to build the roads, dams, sewage lift stations, and every other part of the constructed environment. To me, there’s almost nothing more fun than watching something get built, and that’s made all the better when you know what all those machines do.
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[@PracticalEngineeringChannel]

🏗Hope you don't mind me trying something a little different. What machine would you add to this list? 👷Watch all my videos early and with no ads: go.nebula.tv/practicalengineering

[@CharlieBehrens]

Hi Grady, I'd love to see a series of construction techniques that have moved to fully electric machines instead of gas or diesel. Bobby Llewellyn on the FullyCharged channel has covered some of the smaller ones, but what about that big gear that has moved over to cleaner power?

[@emrahdincer]

I'm already watching at Nebula to support, but there's only the auto-generated subtitles; not the ones that directly come from your text. That's a bummer for the hearing impaired. Just FYI.

[@elijahjns81]

Thanks! Fun video.

[@whirving]

How about on the various compaction machines/processes such as dynamic compaction or vibro-compaction. I've worked around both and they are fascinating but I don't know the science of what makes them work.

[@RobertCraft-re5sf]

just wish you would still put googly eyes on things ...

[@athompso99]

I wish this had been an hour-long video that went into more depth on each machine. Two other industries with lots of bizarre equipment that I'd like to see explained are Railroads, and Forestry.

[@GreenGj-]

If you want to see how steam engines and railroad equipment works, hyce (Guy who volunteers at the Colorado Railroad Museum and worked for BNSF) has a great series called railroading 101

[@amethysttalon3507]

Mining is another one that I think would make a good video!

[@athompso99]

Oh yeah, that channel is great! I was thinking more about modern maintenance-of-way equipment, much of which is baffling to the casual observer.

[@cyrilio]

A special about building railroads would definitely be appreciated.

[@Kenionatus]

I think he should get a partner who's more involved with the day to day business of construction than an civil engineer to co-write that episode if he didn't already for this one. You know, engineer ivory tower and everything.

[@serbianman8789]

I think we are pre programmed from birth to get excited when we see excavators and bulldozers and other construction equipment i swear.

[@francisschweitzer8431]

It’s the TONKA chromosome

[@phlezktravels]

only if you identify as male 😜

[@nowanimportant8887]

Fr this vid just speaks to my inner child.

[@thomasrogers8239]

It's the: "I play in dirt and these things move dirt too" mentality

[@fishlickmustaches8088]

Yeah when I was in daycare other kids were learning the word cat and I was trying to learn the word bulldozer 😂

[@ZGryphon]

I spent a summer in college working on a large construction site, and during one of my first days on the job I received a piece of advice from one of the equipment operators that has stayed with me for going on three decades now. Lucien was an ancient French Canadian who drove the bigger of the two excavators on the site, and I'm pretty sure could have performed heart surgery with it if he'd had to. One morning before climbing into his office for the day, he noticed a bunch of us young guys standing around admiring his rig, gestured to the business end, and told us in his impenetrable Acadian accent, "You guys stayway funat bocket. Thas donzhrus." Best safety briefing we got all summer.

[@sanjaymishra7892]

Nice

[@jonslg240]

Your description of dangerous is very donzhrus! 😂 love the story I also love how he titles this video "EVERY MACHINE" but then gives us qualifiers several different times of "I can't list them all" Lol, duh, of course he can't.. so why say "every"

[@grn1]

@@jonslg240 Clickbait works. Many great creators hate using clickbait but in order to get enough views to keep their channel (and often their business/sole source of income) going they've gotta use it.

[@Super-Animation]

This started to feel like a children's book in the best possible way with how you kept up the pace and succinctly explained each machine

[@idcanthony9286]

Right? I am laying in the couch watching this and I almost fell asleep lol. But I loved it!

[@kodys2087]

The best parts about being an engineer for a company that makes heavy, off-road, industrial machines is 1) seeing them working out in the real world and 2) having scale models of those machines on your desk to drive around.

[@agoogleuser1188]

I am beyond jealous rn

[@johantaube3022]

I fully agree. I'm an engineer for Volvo. Sometimes I find myself building features for machines I didn't even know existed a few weeks earlier! Always awesome to go on site-visits and see everything in action

[@pyromain]

@@johantaube3022 i fully agree, i'm an engineer for valve. sometimes i find myself building features for sentries i didn't even know exists a few weeks earlier! always awsome to go on a balcony and see everything dying

[@colestowing8695]

me...sitting thinking about a guy in a suit and tie playing with little construction equipment at his desk (and questioning my life choices)😁

[@SpicyTrifongo]

What about making overly complicated products with intentionally obfuscated ways to fix them so you can charge people more for service? That #3?

[@magnum_dingus]

CAT dealership mechanic here. Loved it. Would also love to see one on the forestry side of things. Skidders, feller-bunchers, knuckle boom loaders, etc.

[@arturzimplayerpro2573]

thank you

[@Mothyone]

Question I machine the boss, pinlock and put the spotface on buckets why do you order the spotface on buckets? Yall don't need them to be within a tolerance for the pinlock, but so many requests come in hey no disrespect your buying and I enjoy the process of doing it just curious why it's a preference? Thank you for your time.

[@victorzocom]

Excavator 0:45 Skid Steer 1:03 Loader 1:26 Dump Truck 1:44 Articulated Hauler 2:13 Scraper 2:22 Backhoe 2:41 Bulldozer 2:52 Trencher 3:07 Grader 4:00 Roller Compactor 4:17 Asphalt Paver 4:43 Slip Former 5:05 Asphalt Mill or Planer 5:40 Paving Train 5:59 Trailer 6:26 Light Tower 6:28 Air Compressor 6:35 Diesel Generator 6:47 Crane 7:00 Pipe Layer 7:06 Telescopic Handler 7:22 Boom Lift/Scissor Lift 7:40 Bucket Truck 7:53 Road-rated All-terrain Crane 8:00 Rough-terrrain Crane 8:22 Crawler Crane 8:35 Tower Crane 9:09 Launching Gantry 9:32 Pile Drill Rig 10:22 Pile Driver 10:36 Mixer Truck 10:55 Concrete Pump 11:20 Ride-on Trowel 11:40 Mobile Batching Plant 11:50 Shotcrete 12:15 Directional Drilling Machine 12:37 Soil Nail Rig 13:04 Grout Plant 13:17 Wick Drain Machine 13:27 Cured-in-place Pipe Lining 13:43 Tunnel Boring Machine 14:02

[@jcorkable]

Anybody have alternative/slang terms for any of these? I’ll start, excavator gets called hoe or track hoe

[@grondhero]

Thank you! 👍 This should have been included in the video.

[@Chameshi]

@@grondhero there was a brief mention of it at around 3:20, but yeah it was not given for every machine

[@Trademark9er]

Backhoes are JCBs or diggers in Ireland

[@xersxo5460]

This comment needs 1k likes

[@tgruetzm]

My wife and I have always enjoyed your videos. Our son (18 months) is obsessed with construction equipment. We don't really let him watch TV unless he is sick but we discovered this video today and have NEVER seen him so happy and engaged beyond seeing the vehicles in real life. Thank you for inspiring the next generation of engineers!

[@leenevin8451]

Is that a good thing not being allowed to watch TV?

[@whirlwind872]

​@@leenevin8451depends what you watch. When you stop watching TV you realize how terrible it is on the rare occasion you see it. The main drawback of not watching TV is the social aspect, since youll be out of the loop on some things. But as far as content goes, theres much better content online than on TV

[@rogink]

Lego mostly seems to be film characters there days, but if you can get hold of the simple blocks, no doubt that would inspire your lad to create his own construction projects. I'm impressed that he can follow this fast moving content. For something slower - and more age appropriate - I'd suggest 'Bob the Builder'!

[@dkortman6496]

@@leenevin8451it’s best to limit a child’s interaction with devices nowadays. Basically everything on the internet has found a way to hijack your brain’s attention and reward mechanisms in ways that will keep you engaged and consuming as much as possible. This can lead to an addiction and/or reliance on technology at an early age for kids, as well as poorly influence the development of their brain prioritizing things like instant gratification and emotional dissociation. Many parents nowadays will give a child an iPad to watch kids shows when they’re upset just to ‘shut them up’ which is a big culprit of the aforementioned effects. This will lead to the child relying on that instant gratification to ‘deal’ with their emotions by basically just blocking them out by being distracted by carefully curated shows to keep a child’s attention span on track, making sure that kid consumes as much time on their videos/shows as possible. So yes, it’s a good idea to limit a child’s interaction with TV’s, internet, video games, and other electronics to avoid these adverse effects until they start maturing and slowly let them have more and more access. If you want the best results for your kids, stick with hands-on activities and tasks that keep them entertained and reinforce those good habits. It will go a long way.

[@mightymak1416]

It’s fantastic that he enjoys the video, but I think only letting him watch TV when he is sick might lead he to connect sickness and TV/treats, he might learned to act sick to watch TV, which won’t be great

[@mr.d.rektorstudios]

Every time Grady talks about how much he loves watching construction, it reminds me of my idea that I think state departments of transportation should set up live feed cameras of the worksites, and put them on their websites and youtube channels, and when a job is done, take that video footage, speed it up to a more reasonable watchtime, and then upload those as well. Not only would people enjoy watching it, it would raise awareness about just how much the process involves, be useful for education, get more people interested in going into those fields, and it would (hopefully) encourage onsite safety.

[@JeffMTX]

Very smart! It would make drivers more accommodating of this traffic jams too

[@PianoKwanMan]

Some do! You can watch a bridge being demolished and rebuilt in a few days. They make amazing promotional materials. So, the company releases them, or put them on a public webcam.

[@rogink]

As a junior engineer one job I was on was an underground reservoir. I set out the excavation area and was expected to check on progress. But I remember being mesmerised watching the skill of the excavator operator digging and trimming each slope. I probably should have been planning for the next stage of the project!

[@Julia_and_the_City]

Since you asked: I'd like to see various vehicles in the logistics industry explained. I've seen so many different kinds of forklifts in my life and I find it fascinating to figure out why they're shaped the way they are! You covered one of them here and it was interesting.

[@user-jy3nm7tf1l]

@@David-bv6xz kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoXNc2WDfLxreKs

[@mildly_miffed_man1414]

@@David-bv6xzthis is a video about construction equipment man.

[@EthanBammerlin]

@@mildly_miffed_man1414Grady asked if there were machines from other industries we’d like a video about at the end

[@jordanamoth6724]

One thing you missed is a hydrovac. It uses water to remove soil around existing pipes so it's safer to dig around live wires

[@dalegribble-thehumanicicle86]

It’s a lot easier to dig though electrical with an excavator. Trust me I’ve tried it before.

[@seanrogerson4120]

Or colloquially, a sucker truck! Good pick.

[@test40323]

I really had no appreciation for civil engineering until I discovered this channel. Thanks you!

[@WinstonSmith0824]

Ditto

[@graysonmclester9137]

Love the video! Sad one of my favorites didn't get a mention: the snooper truck. A cousin to the boom truck that. Instead of lifting the bucket to a high point, it is designed to allow the bucket to go underneath the truck. They are typically used when inspecting a bridge, the truck parks ontop of the bridge and the boom is used to move the bucket so that the occupants can inspect the underside of the bridge for damage or other signs of wear that may need to be fixed.

[@justindunlap1235]

I was wondering what those were called, I recently watched one in action inspecting bridges. The operator was doing an impressive job coordinating with the driver to maneuver the boom through the steel trusses.

[@Merennulli]

I don't know how often they are used, but I see them about 3 times a decade inspecting some part of the twin bridge I use every day. It's 2 near identical 3 lane bridges and they just close off a lane and creep along it, putting the bucket between girders.

[@bp-ob8ic]

Those are being replaced by drones, but it will be a while for full buy-in. The best part is that there is no traffic interference.

[@bruhice6058]

@@bp-ob8icI’m not sure a camera will ever be as good as hands on. At least not until AI gets involved

[@bp-ob8ic]

@@bruhice6058These drones can carry a variety of sensors, including x-ray and infra-red. While hands-on is great, the ease of access allows the inspections to be more more frequent, and provides more specific detail than the average eyeball. AI is already involved to help avoid the structure where GPS is not available. I suspect that AI is also used to enhance the defects detected.

[@mafarnz]

The machine that you call a pipe layer is very common in the railroad industry, where they are called “side booms”. They are commonly used in derailment cleanup jobs. Two or more side boom dozers are really useful for picking up and moving rail cars back to good track or moving out of the way for track rebuilding. Large heavy locomotives can take 6 or even 8 side booms to pick up and move, which requires careful coordination by each operator.

[@samchen9951]

This needs to be a monthly series where you feature interesting machines and explain their purpose. Please like this comment if you want this to happen!

[@SkyhawkSteve]

I spent 20 years as an engineer at one of the "big yellow machine" companies, and it's a challenge to keep up with all of the stuff being produced! A bit more detail on each subgroup of machines might be fun. Even I learned a bit in this video!

[@swolebro]

Why are they all yellow anyway? Is it to make them high-viz so they don't get lost deep inside your tool bag?

[@plazmaguy13yago9]

CAT?

[@woolsheepthree]

​@@plazmaguy13yago9🐛

[@SkyhawkSteve]

@@plazmaguy13yago9 Yep. Their web site actually has a pretty good breakdown of all the types of machines that they make, and I think it explains the functions too.

[@rogink]

Seeing that shot of different plant made me think - why are they all yellow? I suppose it's obvious with hindsight - the colour stands out, especially on a construction site. But someone must have thought - this is a good idea. Of course it's only moving plant. Tower cranes always seem to be red - probably cheaper paint.

[@StageManagerKieran]

I would love to see a breakdown like this for the airport / airline industry!

[@Floydian4everr]

Be a good one for when you're stuck at the airport

[@muenstercheese]

oh yesssssssssssss there are so many good airport vehicles

[@Zakster90]

7:05 “this is a pipe layer” 😂that’s what my wife calls me too

[@leozaro4531]

As someone who works for a Caterpillar dealer I loved this video. I would be really interested to see you cover the automatic grade control construction machines are using now. Great video!

[@brycenelson3171]

The precision those operators can achieve with such massive machines is truly impressive!

[@jppitman1]

Indeed!! To illustrate, some years ago I was watching some talk show and on the stage was a dressed model and a type of heavy machine with a large claw on it. The task: to undress the model with that claw down to her bikini. It was one of the most amazing demonstrations of heavy-machine skill I’d ever seen by its operator. The model stood there with total faith and trust.

[@IdentifiantE.S]

Fr 😮

[@sanders22158]

I was at the Space Center in Hunteville yesterday, and there was some construction going on in between the 2 buildings, so I engaged in the time honored tradition of standing around watching construction vehicles

[@josephmuxlow2873]

It would be pretty cool to see a list like this with mining, forestry, and agriculuture since each industry has unique machines built to withstand their own enviroments. We see construction a lot around our lives, but many people never get to see the forestry, agriculture, and mining industries that together form the basis of society

[@truevision1463]

In India, we call every excavator a JCB, regardless of the actually company that makes one. A skid steer is called a Hitachi.

[@SteveRamsey]

What a fun, interesting video! Great job Grady!

[@cjamesfox]

KZbinrs watch KZbin?? Are we going to get some concrete jobs with some of the wood projects?

[@ironnwizzard]

I'd watch that collab!

[@dcurry7287]

​@@cjamesfoxSome of Grady's oldest videos on this channel are woodworking/lathe projects. Check em out, they're pretty fun!

[@chriswilson2961]

This was definitely worth the 15ish minutes of watching. Like many, machines are very interesting to me. Thanks for doing this overview and yes, would love to see you do another on this topic.

[@usablellc6735]

Yeah, we need machines from other industries AND a separate video on each of the machines you've covered. Great stuff! I look forward to all your videos.

[@FAS1948]

I was extremely lucky as a young man to be employed as a trainee manager for a quarrying company. In addition to learning all the office jobs, I was able to play with the big boys' toys outside. We had loaders, dozers, dumpers, hydraulic excavators, forklifts, and rope operated clam shells and draglines. We used a backhoe to dig out dozers when they got stuck, because we could 'walk' it across any ground surface. You're right about the different colloquial names for machines, because I was aware of differences even in quarries 30 miles apart.

[@DemetryRomanowski]

I own an excavation contracting company, and I was surprised that you as an engineer were able to basically hit the nail on the head how we use these machines.

[@bhoutdoors507]

Engineers aren’t all bad… just a bad stereotype

[@Ben.....]

he may know what they are, but asking him how much they cost to run

[@kwaherikwasasa]

when I was a kid, 50 years ago, all the small contractors had backhoes, why have they been almost completely replaced by small excavators?

[@DemetryRomanowski]

@@kwaherikwasasa yes a backhoe is great it can do anything a skid steer and mini ex can but for double the price. Backhoes still have their place. Best for quick repairs when you need to travel around with it, without the need to call up a float.

[@cheoa1473]

ok

[@polarbear1888]

An oil and gas version of this would be super cool! Lots to explore from the drilling to pumping & treating to refining and distributing

[@SamuelDrury]

Agreed. And every article about hydraulic fracturing has a picture of a drilling rig for some reason. Some of my family still think I work on a fracking rig after all these years lol.

[@jsihavealotofplaylists]

with blower skids and nitrogen trucks too because idek what all is used

[@masonjones9829]

My mind was blown with the auxiliary axels on trucks! I’ve lived my whole life thinking those were just spare tires!

[@ActingLikeABoss]

Most of the machinery we use when building substations are mini excavators, skid loaders, dump trucks, line trucks, bucket trucks, stinger trucks, mobile swing-cab cranes, manlifts, scissor lifts, wacker packers, roller packers, bulldozers, trenchers, morookas, front-end loaders, georgia buggies, air compressors, and tuggers. It’s pretty neat that I’ve been able to operate almost all of these machines just from becoming a utilities electrician.

[@jordanashe2586]

Similar to the bucket truck is the line truck. About the same size as a bucket truck, but with a crane arm and auger to drill and set utility poles. They are also able to transport the poles to the site as well. It’s fascinating to watch a good crew using a bucket truck and line truck in harmony to build utility lines.

[@Aquila_V]

We always called them cherry pickers growing up

[@RevMikeBlack]

Bobcat: The ultimate gardening tool.

[@danl6634]

2 hired hands with shovels riding in the bucket: the most versatile attachment ever! 😂

[@Woodsy3211]

Correction - the ultimate de-gardening tool.

[@brycedonfrancisco2926]

Last year I started a job in the construction field as an electrician. On the days that I'm working at a larger job site, the best part of my day is watching all the big trucks move dirt.

[@Wolfepup23]

I work in an aquatic facility. While I find all of your pump and water videos fascinating...it's our forklift that we all love to drive! A common question is "Gotta go fetch tank, who wants to fork it?" and I will have two techs and a grad student running for the key cabinet!

[@Tapitus-totalus]

Fine, I'll be that guy 0:31 Excavator 1:03 Skid steer 1:26 Front loader 1:44 Dump truck 2:13 Articulated hauler 2:17 Scraper 2:41 Backhoe 2:52 Bulldozer 3:06 Trencher 3:44 Road construction 4:00 Grader 4:12 Compactor 4:43 Asphalt paver 5:01 Concrete paver thingy 5:24 The thing that scrapes off the top of a road 6:19 Trailery equipment 6:49 Cranes and stuff 7:04 Pipe layer 7:21 Telehandler 7:36 Boom/scissor lift 7:59 All terrain crane 8:19 Rough terrain crane 8:32 Crawler crane 9:05 Tower crane 9:28 Bridge gantry crane or something 9:48 Drill machines 10:12 Pile drill rig (pig) 10:31 Pile driver 10:45 Concrete handling machinery 10:53 Mixer truck 11:18 Concrete pump 11:36 Concrete smoother hoverbike 11:46 Local concrete bakery 12:02 Concrete sprayer 12:24 Directional drilling machine 12:51 Weird and unusual machines that I'm not gonna name 13:57 Tunnel bore

[@sirvix9024]

You are that guy pal, you are that guy thank you so so much

[@hanneken4026]

Maybe Grady could pin this comment at the top?

[@wetpaperbag1346]

4 year old me would be so happy to watch this as a daytime special. Please do more content like this, it's fun and appeals to a broader audience!

[@smidge-J]

one of my favourite machines is the water cutter. It shoots high pressure water directly onto the road surface to cut it up a bit, rough up the road surface a bit so there is more grip on the road, and less chance for frost and ice to form. A lot easier than having to repave entire sections of roads, especially in rural areas.

[@sunso1991]

i work in construction and engineering in the DC area. i really love watching the construction equipments do their stuff. Exquisitely engineered, expertly operated, tough and strong like titans. Such a confident and purposefully existence

[@jmyyer]

Would love to see tours of the factories building those machines !

[@Pretagonist]

I once went on a guided tour at a liebherr factory building excavators and large material handlers for ports. It was fascinating.

[@haywoodjablowme899]

They do exist on youtube if you search for *insert manufacturer here* factory tour

[@AnanasWolf]

In the Netherlands we got another specialised machine for paving, called the street printer. It's used for brick roads. It might be a funny machine to give a look at

[@stepheneyles2198]

Is that the one they feed blocks into by hand? Saw a video of it somewhere, no doubt a quick search would bring it up! ;-)

[@Appa-the-husky]

Yes, it is still hand-work but standing. Way better and faster.

[@jamieoglethorpe]

Back in 1973 I had a summer job as a labourer on a highway construction project in Cornwall, UK. One machine was a one-man soil compactor, used in confined spaces, such as trenches being refilled. It consisted of a two-stroke engine causing a flat plate to vibrate. It was made by a German firm, Wacker, so guess what it was called!

[@axem.8338]

I am not in the construction industry, but from when i was very little, I always was so fascinated by these machines but didn't understand their purpose. Thank you, Grady, for showing us. Also, please do more lists on trians, mines, and various other industries.

[@joshuapreusser2265]

Pretty sure this could easily be turned into a series to cover a lot of other industries: forestry, mining, railway construction, and canal/bay/waterway dredging and maintenance. Of course it's also interesting to see how many machines from agriculture get adapted to use in other areas as well - especially given the large variety of equipment used in all the various forms of agriculture. In fact it's been years since I've seen a dedicated scraper/earthmover, as most large construction sites I've seen in the south eastern US are more likely to use a tow-behind version pulled by a large articulated farm/ag tractor --- with the tractor occasionally pulling multiple in a chain. Will also frequently see large/heavy disk harrows/plows on construction sites to loosen/breakup/dry(?) the soil/clay for other equipment to work. It's fun to see & learn about the equipment that literally changes & builds civilization - especially since the types of machines and equipment continue to grow and expand into new areas. In the last year I've seen my first stone slinger truck driving down the road (something I never knew even existed until watching an Essential Craftsman video about them).

[@graysonwilliams4826]

I’m a farmer and machine nerd. He needs to do a video like this for agricultural/forestry equipment.

[@dang48]

I was watching the demolition of an old factory near me and was impressed at the skill at which the various machines were used. One front loader was taking down a wall and had to stop to check on something. The operator used the boom to support the now weakened wall while he did his check. They had skid steers there as well and what impressed me was that one was lifted to the roof by a crane and was used to remove stuff from the roof.

[@Badge124]

Many years ago I would read the same book to my 1 year old son every night. It was a book about construction and logging machines and he was fascinated. This brought back memories. Thank you.

[@chiefsilverback]

I love a machine that designed and built for one very specific purpose. A great example is the machine they use to lay and compact the ~18" wide strip of gravel/aggregate on edge of rural roads (at least up here in New England).

[@sylvestervats]

This was so good and I learned so much! My dad is a civil engineer and I've accompanied him various times to construction sites (mainly tunnels) where he'd explain me how these machines work- so lucky to have seen the TBM in person! Being a Petroleum Engineer myself I'd love it if you made a similar video for Oil & Gas Industry as well. Thanks for all the hard work!

[@sabertoothtrucker4531]

I gotta say, as a fellow construction machine enthusiast myself, but also transportation and general big machine this is one of the best lists out there. you pretty much covered all the major construction machines out there. There was one machine I was hoping you'd mention but I didn't see was the Line Painter or Road Striper; a specialized truck that paints the lain and dividing lines on the highway or any roads. But other than that a very great video!

[@TheLyricsGuy]

When I was a kid I had a bunch of realistic tractor toys for the sand. I loved those things. So cool to see all of the different purposes of these impressive machines.

[@dannuccio5842]

I am a grown man but my inner child loves seeing and learning about this equipment 😂 I would love more videos on industry-specific equipment (oil, railroad, etc)

[@wyatt8770]

Another piece of equipment you might see further north are construction heaters. Particularly large pours of concrete need to be heated to cure. Sometimes this is handled with external heaters that get ducted into a structure, and sometimes with heaters inside of the structure. :)

[@clee8768]

Dealt with this exact opposite issue just today. Concrete arriving on site at 95 degrees down in the Florida Keys. Not going to work out real well.

[@ew3612]

Just dont try to warm your feet for too long with a herman nelson or you will begin to wreck your boots. Those things are life savers during the winter.

[@Gamerboi1027]

at least where i am you dont see construction at all during the winter because its too cold. the one job i had in construction that worked through the winter almost everyone quit within 2 weeks of new years, well everyone that wasn't in an office or a cab

[@filanfyretracker]

@@clee8768 I hear in some places they dump shitloads of ice into the mix. and on exceptionally large projects subject to high heat such as when they built Hoover Dam, the concrete is water cooled with pipes buried in the pour.

[@ew3612]

@@Gamerboi1027 Where is that? It might depend on your industry too. Im in the oil and gas industry in Alberta/Saskatchewan and during construction projects, we will still work when ambient is between -30C to -40C and with the wind -50 to -55. Those are the coldest days which I have worked in and im not too keen on having to do that again. Nobody quit though, just a lot of complaining.

[@DanielleWhite]

Milled pavement is often a bit of a concern for motorcycle riders. If, as happens with wear, the cutters are uneven it creates longitudinal grooves and the bike's wheels tend to follow those. Growing up in northeastern Pennsylvania a sign of larger building construction (bigger than houses) was borehole drilling to determine if coal mines are under the site. There are maps from the coal companies but they are known to be inaccurate.

[@ericpaul4575]

Sometimes the maps were off on purpose. If a shady coal company wanted to steal the coal from the land they did not have rights to, there was very little to stop them.

[@WoWKackorot]

Those gigantic quarry machines are phenomenal. Like something out of sci-fi

[@brendanhall6097]

I have absolutely no clue why I'm so interested in a random video in my feed about machinery, but here we are, and this is amazing

[@TheDayzman]

The only thing I am missing (probably only because I have worked on one) is the drilling rig. Mostly used for wells but also for construction if you need to dig below the ground water. Than you install a couple of temporary wells with big pumps to actively lower the groundwater level.

[@robmurphy806]

You forgot to mention geotech drills for subsurface investigation or diamond drills for mineral exploration. Third generation driller and I've worked with diamond and geotech drills mostly but have worked with cable tool and rotary well rigs.

[@BarBar3ar]

A version of this for mining would be pretty cool. I know about the big things like bucket wheel excavators but I bet there's all kinds of weird specialized equipment for the constraints of underground work and for mining various materials

[@nomoneyglobal]

Im a mechanic/yard hand at an excavation firm, I get to play with all these toys everyday and here I am on my night off watching a video about them.

[@stephenbenner4353]

Dredging rigs are interesting. They’re used in certain kinds of mining and maintaining harbors.

[@10tacleMatt]

This video really takes me back to my childhood, watching the same few VHS tapes about farming, construction equipment, and tools.. Over and over again.. I really hope it inspires the next generation, or even some people in a different field to really indulge in the seemingly instinctual love for these big irons!

[@NickMacKenzie]

This was such a nice tour of the different machines that are more common. I'd love to see your take on machines that humans use for different parts of the built environment that enable agriculture activities!.

[@crytocc]

A couple machines that might be worth covering in a future video: - Barge cranes - Transport barges - Heavy transport rigs that can move or install entire prefabricated bridges, like those of Mammoet (I don't know their proper name) (All of these are somewhat commonly used in the Netherlands, I don't know how common they are elsewhere)

[@jnic2003]

it would be pretty cool to see him do a dedicated video to the whole marine construction industry

[@bobgabriel2538]

I cannot fathom why someone would not want to be an engineer or in the trades! I'm an Electrical Engineer but am just as excited about Mechanical, Civil, and Industrial engineering and all of the trades that support engineers. Thank you, Grady, for bringing our cool stuff to the masses and thus encouraging more people to enter the engineering or trades professions.

[@dazac21]

Having worked around most all thoses machines I think you did a great job. Doing a list of semi trucks and trailers would be cool. Most people don't realize how many different types there are

[@LucarioBoricua]

Or just how specific they can get in their functions. Most people know of general stuff like flat beds, dump trucks, single unit box trucks and tractor-semitrailers with intermodal or tanker containers, but there's definitely a huge world beyond these.

[@graysonwilliams4826]

Please do a similar list with agricultural machinery! I’m a huge farm equipment nerd, there is such a huger variety of cool machines used in different sectors of agriculture.

[@graysonwilliams4826]

@@David-bv6xz lol no

[@envitech02]

As a kid growing up in the 80s whenever I see construction machinery I get all excited. I wouldn't mind to watch the construction work all day long, more interesting than watching TV. Bulldozers, excavators, backhoes, cranes, you name it. As my mom was a smoker, I'd often get discarded cigarette boxes. So what I'd do is to find a pile of loose earth and used the flap cover of the cigarette boxes as a pretend front loader. So much fun!! I'm middle aged and I work as an engineer now.

[@ZZ-sb8os]

Thank you to all the asphalt workers, you have my respect and admiration for doing job I could never do

[@zeruzio1345]

I know of a two year old boy who will very much enjoy watching this tomorrow.

[@man_on_wheelz]

I was afraid you were going to go this entire video without mentioning the one machine that makes most of my work projects as a drafter in telecommunications engineering possible. The directional bore machine, but heck, you've made a whole video about these amazing machines! Felt like you saved the best one for last which warms my heart! Currently at work drawing plans for how to directional bore a fiber optic line right this moment. It's really fascinating to watch these guys work whenever I have to be on site.

[@Barga6464]

i remember back when i was a kid having VHS tapes of construction demos and all around heavy equipment operation. its so nice to have a modern medium for it now

[@sarah-marc]

I work on railroad for 33 years and you could make a episode of its own just to name the various machines we use there. From the single hi-rail pick-up to the huge undercutter, there's a world of its own.

[@Steamrick]

I think it's fascinating that purely construction / civil engineering focussed channels like Practical Engineering and The B1M have managed to get to 3 million subs and beyond.

[@jeffreysmith4586]

This would be an awesome series! I'd love to see a more in depth video about machines used in the residential landscaping, arborist, and lawn care industries.

[@chedsd2clips465]

For residential work it's mainly skid steers, mini walk behind loaders, mini ex's (excavators), small trenchers and an on road dump truck but that's really it outside of the hand machines they use

[@phillipmoore6295]

I'm a retired Operating Engineer, IUOE Local 15, 38 yrs. I have run or worked with all of the machines that you depicted. I would however, add two machines. 1. Pipe pulling machines. Such as Ditch Witch or Vemeer LM 20, 40. (Used for irrigation and small water mains.) and 2. Brocks, remote controlled swiss army knives. Which are use in places too dangerous for a manned machine to work.

[@Sandy.J.Lloyd.Sr.]

I would like to see an episode of machines used in the space industry, even small handheld tools would be interesting.

[@stz03]

Elevated scrapers are the coolest; but love the utility of the small skid steers!

[@davidhaddad7301]

My inner 5-year-old is so excited right now.

[@seanbrockest3888]

I work in an underground mine. We have a lot of this equipment, but it's all been modified to be no more than 6 ft tall, some of it even shorter. It's really hilarious seeing a 5-yard scoop that's only 72 inches tall, but we don't have any other option.

[@AnonymousMycologist]

6 year old me would have loved a video like this being shown in school. 24 year old me loves watching it at home.

[@ComfortRoller]

I cruised timber for a few years. I used to take half days off to watch the falling crews and choker setters clear a hill. Impressive amount of material moved with a tower

[@Beryllahawk]

Great video! My little brother used to get SO excited whenever we saw a backhoe, hehe. (Nowadays he's more a computer geek.) Really good little overview here, and I'm glad you mentioned colloquial names - makes me feel a little less silly to have NOT known the "standard" names for things. The bucket truck for instance, which all my life I've heard called a 'cherry picker,' and the asphalt mill especially - which my stepfather told me was a 'road chewer!' (I'm assuming he 100% made that one up!) I was thinking about your channel just recently too, because I watching an old ep of Modern Marvels (the one on superhighways); they had a big section about the High Five in Texas, the really tall elevated highway project. I remembered when you discussed the Big Dig road project and thought to myself - 'Grady made this more interesting.' Thanks for the video!

[@Merennulli]

I think I have heard "road grinder", but not "road chewer". I like that better.

[@Sebbekss]

I always loved seeing different work machines as a kid, wondering what they were for and asking the workers. There seems to be some audio glitches in the video, like at 12:15, thought you should know!

[@Dutchguy.94]

You missed my favourite machine, the brick road laying machine. Which is common here in the Netherlands. Its super satisfying to see it lay out a carpet of perfectly layed brick.

[@mittfh]

One smaller machine often seen in the UK is a front tipper - often handling only a few scoops of an excavator / backhoe (backhoe loaders are colloquially called "JCBs", as the company was the first to produce a dedicated backhoe loader and achieved almost complete market dominance over here) but very useful on smaller construction sites. Construction sites will usually also have mortar silos - these both store 250 tubs worth of dry mortar mix, but at the touch of a button, dispense a batch and mix it with the relevant quantity of water to produce a perfect mix each time. For taller buildings in tight spaces, we can also deploy a "self-erecting tower crane" - typically, the tower is solid steel and folds down for transportation, and is operated from ground level. There are also heavy duty mobile cranes, where when moving from site to site, the counterweights will typically follow behind on a separate truck.

[@gratedcampbell9553]

The explanation of all explanations

[@countchompula1896]

Forestry, Mining and Agriculture have the most interesting machines to me. Feller bunchers are terrifying lol.

[@tablatronix]

Around here large projects create their own gravel of various sizes, It is fascinating to see the process from drilling blasting to the machines that crush the aggregate down into various sizes needed, sometimes there can be a line of 4 machines to make all kinds of gravel fill sizes on site.

[@chaboikiril3846]

Again, Grady…words can not truly express how much I enjoy your videos. Not only the content, but the way it’s presented. The visuals are wonderful. Your commentary is both informative, and concisely expressed. You truly are a gift that keeps on giving. Keep up the excellent work! I will impatiently await the next video 😁

[@chaboikiril3846]

@@David-bv6xz absolutely nobody on an engineering KZbin channel is asking for unsolicited, unrelated, and unnecessary religious propaganda. Peace be with you, but maybe take this conversation to a page not dealing with science. Most scientific people aren’t going to be convinced to subscribe to a very antiquated book of stories.

[@BlackringIII]

Please do a video on subterranean or open-pit mining machines! That would be awesome.

[@nathanieljames7462]

Yes! And boring machines too!

[@MaeLSTRoM1997]

I dont know how many people would choose to watch boring videos

[@terrsus7676]

​@@MaeLSTRoM1997lol

[@smidge-J]

I work with those bucket trucks on the lines heaps, and I've done a fair bit of work with milling and paving operations, often paving up to 10km a night. I love watching heavy machinery doing stuff it was specifically designed for.

[@HondoDogman]

Grady brings with this video the same sense of nostalgia I had as a kid for construction vehicles that only got revived after I moved to San Antonio last week and looked over at the new highways being built . Glad to see this video!

[@wyndwalkerranger7421]

Thank you for your videos, as a retired civil engineer I really enjoy them. Would like to see a video on electronic grade control or grade control in general.

[@basshead2003]

Copperhead Marie uses grade control on a number of his dozers and graders. He’s done videos about the system he uses, but I can’t remember how much detail he goes into.

[@brandongaines1731]

I've seen those tires-in-a-row compactors in use at I-70 pavement replacement work sites through Kansas, and though I could tell that they were some kind of roller, I couldn't figure out what they were used for. Also, those pipelayers are often used by recovery companies to get big locomotives back onto the track after a derailment, often working with 4 such vehicles: 2 with the crane on the right, 2 with the crane on the left, positioned around the locomotive in such a way as to ensure proper rerailing of all of the locomotive's wheels with all 4 pipelayers facing the same direction. It's often the most efficient way of doing the job, proving that a machine doesn't necessarily have to have interchangeable implements in order to be useful in multiple different scenarios!

[@randyyyyyyy6977]

You just made my two year olds day, this is the most excited I’ve ever seen him for a video

[@BenLeeredbikemaster]

I'm a truck driver in the US, and I love seeing all these at work all across the country. I've even operated one or two of the machines in this video, though not any of the big stuff lol.

[@sirBrouwer]

The only add on to all these would be a basic tractor. Atleas where I live they are often both used as a addition to dumptrucks and for bulldozer/wheel loader like work. Do to there use on farmland they are very good at driving on mud at places where a dump truck might get stuck.

[@MichaelSnasdell]

Brilliant, really enjoyed that. As a fan of big machines, it is always great to get an insight into what some of the more obscure ones do. 50 years old and you still can't keep me away from building (construction) sites or new roads being laid. Thanks Grady, keep 'em coming.

[@seanrogerson4120]

I like your comment about the myriad different names people use. I've been a special inspector for 11 years and I always tell new people that the toughest part of construction is learning all the names. Woe be on the inspector who uses the wrong name for a piece of machinery to the operator!

[@sandypeachus]

Grady this was fantastic, thank you so much! I'd love a short series of videos on other large scale industrial vehicles and machines, like you mentioned at the end of your video, like those involved in drilling, mining, space launch, marine, manufacturing, etc.