October 4, 2024

Hitachi EX-8000 Mining Shovel parts being cut out by Don Campbell .

Hitachi EX-8000 Parts- Todays picture shows me duplicating some of the first parts for the shovel bucket. First I trace the patterns out on the steel, then I use the nibbler to get a rough shape, then I use the hand shear to get a closer cut, then I use the hand sander to finish each shape in the sheetmetal. You can see the parts I am holding are done being shaped but some of the parts on the workbench still need more shaping. The first two weeks things go pretty slow and it doesn’t seem like much progress is getting done. Then when I get to see the first few three dimensional parts it gets exciting to me.
FORTY NINE DAYS OF RUNNING – Today I headed out the door to run my morning 5K run around Gaylord. It was very windy and rainy but I know the weather is going to get much worse than this in Nov.
Tomorrow is the big day for me to hit 50 days of running 5K’s.
Four months ago I could not run two blocks.
My secret is I am enjoying the morning runs with no expectations of time , I don’t care how long it takes me , I rarely even look at the clock before I leave the house. It is pure running enjoyment for me and as I get thinner it even gets more fun. It’s really hard to believe this old body can do this. If I was thirty or forty , running 50 5K’s in less than 60 days would be no big deal, but in my 50’s I think it is probably less common to begin running at this level. Even a couple times a week would be more common but for me to run 50 5K’s in 56 days as I will have done tomorrow morning , that is pretty cool for me.
Deb is still training every morning too while I am running, she is going her own pace and I pass her and then come back and we finish walking three extra blocks after the run together.
CAT 797 MONSTER MINING TRUCK- It is looking like my next large model project I may build starting after Christmas could be a Cat 797 Mining Truck. I built the Cat789C so this will be fun to make a 797. Not sure what model number yet, depends on the info available.
ONE WEEK WITH NEW FUEL PUMP- Today it has been one week now since I replaced my fuel pump and all the problems are solved.
All the fancy machines the mechanics have today and they kept jerking me around charging me hundreds of dollars. I kept telling them I thought it might be the fuel pump and they kept charging me for all kinds of stupid stuff that did not fix it. I am so glad I read on the internet the dozens of people who have had so many fuel pump problems. I guess mechanics should read those posts, but then they wouldn’t get to keep charging people for all the other parts.
I took my truck in several times , waited hours and hours only to get charged and drive it home still not running right. They would keep saying ” just drive it a couple days and it should be fine” What a bunch of crooks !!
Anyway today I am very happy that a dummy like me was smarter than them, ha,ha.
Have a great Sat. !!!!