Mobile sandblasting fast tracks the Caterpillar D4 "Lil Lefty" project! & Stuck chains? Episode

[@TomTeater]

My goodness, 😮

[@lifeafterourloss]

This one saved us quite a bit of time! Thanks Tom and happy Fourth of July! 😊👍

[@dwjr5129]

Man, that saved you guys so much work. Worth every penny, no doubt.

[@squatch253]

Really makes me miss the mobile sandblasting guy that we used to have here! I bet what he did in one day here saved you and Cleaner at least a month of labor.

[@cherylf.6959]

WOW...that was amazing 🎉 great choice in getting a mobile sandblaster.

[@fredblogsmac.5697]

put the tracks in a diesel barrel for a few years?

[@TJAkin]

Thanks for the laugh on those quartered frame rails. Once you see it... haha. It's going to be a nice one with fresh paint and internals overhauled. great work.

[@rodneymacfarlane1707]

GOOD VIDEO THANKS / THAT HOIST YOU AND GREG MADE WOULD LOOK GOOD PAINTED / HOW HARD WOULD IT BE TO. SPLIT THOSE FROZEN TRACK LINKS / CHEERS.

[@lifeafterourloss]

I think we'd like to paint the hoist some point. I think we have a few tricks up Our Sleeve to get the track chains loose. 👍

[@tomarmstrong4156]

You need to submerge those stuck links in water (or diesel if you can). It will take time for anything to seep in there.

[@lifeafterourloss]

For now it's just a few cans of penetrating oil. Later I will take it out and power wash it. But I will pay close attention to in between the links. 👍

[@jazzerbyte]

Kudos to Blastmaster! I wonder what kind of special tool would be strong enough to exercise stuck track chain links enough to free them up? It might be as big as Goliath! 🙂

[@lifeafterourloss]

I think the sandblaster saved us months on this project! I'm thinking that that chain is just going to take persistence and maybe some patience. 😁

[@tmscheum]

Yay! 👍👍👍

[@johnalexander4356]

I know you don't want to contaminate that chain and make it hard to paint. But if you let it soak in a tank of diesel, it would loosen up. I've had to do that a few times and it always helped. Maybe a coats of paint before soaking it.

[@lifeafterourloss]

That's a good idea. I think with a combination of soaking it and working it we can get it where it needs to be. 👍

[@johnberndsen5614]

put the chains in the water tank for a while

[@ramosel]

I just had some work done by a dry ice blaster... Zero residue... except for the rust and paint that come off what you are having blasted. I used a broom magnet on the rust. But there is no blast media left on the ground when they are done. The ground up dry ice works like ground glass but then just sublimates from a solid to a gas and floats away. They do a lot of work in commercial kitchens.

[@lifeafterourloss]

That is a brilliant idea! I never knew it existed. Was it costly?

[@keithwarkentin]

Hey Aaron just a suggestion and I do this with my 555 because it’s a 1978 and it’s just for our use so if it breaks down no big deal but I bought a brand new grader blade 26 inches long and welded to angles anyway it fits across the teeth on a 24 inch bucket so if you take your chain outside block it up the way you had it but have the chain turned the other way so you can lift the bucket up 4 inches or so and hammer it it might shock it loose but I wouldn’t recommend that you do it on one tooth but if it’s spread over 4 it shouldn’t hurt your machine it’s no different than ripping frost I hope that helps if not just ignore me 😀🇨🇦

[@lifeafterourloss]

I'm not going to ignore any suggestion. What's a good idea but I think what it really needs is just a little bit of folding and unfolding. Combined with soaking it and penetrating oil and a good power washing I think it will do the trick. The welding a blade across an old set of teeth is called a butter bar. A lot of pipeliners use them. They're also great for cleaning ditches nice and smooth. Appreciate the suggestion! 😊

[@keithwarkentin]

Yes I made mine for exposing sewer and water lines but I made mine so it bolts on the holes for the side cutters and then it’s not welded I can take it off with 2 structural steel bolts and then I can rip frost and put it back on and make a smooth cut and no teeth marks but I always keep some used oil for stuff like that especially when I ran the trencher after every job used oil on the chain 😀🇨🇦

[@lifeafterourloss]

That's clever, bolt on is always better than trying to drift out those keeper pins!

[@keithwarkentin]

😀🇨🇦👍

[@terrywitt5543]

Heat it hot spray it down with water

[@toma43]

You won't be able to get any penetrating oil in those links. Just for fun that one that is close to the end, why not throw that in a tub of water for a few days and see what happens. Many of us would like to know.

[@lifeafterourloss]

We have a few tricks up our sleeve. One being the pressure washer, ☺️. I may still give it a dunk too. 👍

[@gerardfricot3009]

What was the cost of the blasting?

[@lifeafterourloss]

I think it was around $1200.