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Thread: Wood model excavator

  1. #1
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    Wood model excavator

    This is a 1/12th scale model that a fellow I know did in 2006 and 2007.
    The model is all wood, consisting of cherry, walnut, and maple. He spent over 2000 hours building it.
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    Where's the beef.

  2. #2
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    Wow. Did he use a laser to cut out the parts?
    Where did I put that tape measure...

  3. #3
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    That is pretty cool, but are you sure that's 1/12 scale? That would mean that one inch on the model is the equivalent of one foot on the real thing. That appears to be based on a much larger excavator than that...more on the order of a 1/24 scale. Just curious (pics with a ruler and a reference to which real-world excavator it is would be cool...).
    Jason

    "Don't get stuck on stupid." --Lt. Gen. Russel Honore


  4. #4
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    It looks about right. In the second pic, there is a guy standing on it and figure he's 6" tall, that would make it a earth mover sized machine. I'm sure he placed well in a juried fair.
    Michael Gibbons

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  5. Thumbs up

    Great workmanship. Thanks for sharing.

  6. #6
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    Beautiful wood and an outstanding piece of woodworking!!!!
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
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  7. #7
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    That looks like the RH400 its a 1000 ton unit with a 85 ton bucket (45m3 bucket) capacity. The worlds largest hydraulic excavator
    EPILOG LEGEND 32 60 WATT, CORELDRAWX5, PhotoGraV2.11, strip heater, PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA

  8. #8
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    The model is 1/12th scale. The excavator in question is a 350 ton machine that was made by Caterpillar. They no longer make it, but the model was built with some information provided by CAT, and drawings done by myself, based on their brochure. Since brochures are never fully truthful on dimensions, etc., I drew it up as best I could, but his model is above and beyond my drawings, so I know he had reference material that I did not have. I have several other pictures that I would like to post, but their file size is too big. There are other models that he did, and I have pictures of, that I will post shortly.
    The tracks consist of over 2300 parts,just to give you an idea of the complexity of the model. It is approximately 54" long fully extended, 18" wide, and about the same in height. He lathe turned over 50 actual feet of 3/32" dowel-stock, just for the railings. The curved portion of the railings is made by miter cutting short sections of dowel, then gluing the pieces together to form the curve. I believe he also sanded the joints, as well. The only laser cut pieces are the open grid walkways, and the various grills. He had a method for making "diamond treadplate" using a tablesaw.
    On a sad note, he passed away early last year of lung cancer, so we will never be able to see more of his fantastic work.

    If anyone knows of a photo resizer program, I will attempt to post the larger pictures, so you can truly see that he had a gift with wood. His name was Charles (Chuck) Fisher, and he lived in Bloomingdale, Michigan, if anyone is curious about him. In my first conversation with him, I asked him how he got his start. He told me that he used to build church pews. One day, he heard of a contest for wooden models, and since he had already built a much simpler bulldozer design, he entered the contest and won first place. After that, he just built models in 1/12th scale, because he found out that he was good at it. I think that is a mis-statement if there ever was one. He was great at it.

    Anyway, I am going to try to post several more photos of his work. I think you will still be amazed.

    Regards, Colin
    Where's the beef.

  9. #9
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    I hope they show up.
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    Where's the beef.

  10. #10
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    Some more.
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    Where's the beef.

  11. #11
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    More again.
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    Where's the beef.

  12. #12
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    The planet is a lesser place for his passing.

    His work is amazing. It belongs in a museum.
    Where did I put that tape measure...

  13. #13
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    His work is in private collections. Typically, the amount of work spent on his models was around 600 to 700 hours. The excavator took over 2600 hours. Bear in mind that the typical work year is only 2040 hours, so he spent over a year on this. The enclosed photos are of the excavator, as well as a Mack DM800 tractor, lowboy trailer, Caterpillar D11 dozer, and an off road Caterpillar 777 hauler towing a heavy haul trailer manufactured by Towhaul of Minnesota, I believe

    Because of the amount of time spent on these, the cost to buy one was not cheap. His Mack DM800, lowboy and Caterpillar D11 dozer sold for $63000. While that sounds like a lot of money (OK, it is a lot of money), when you consider the hours per model, he averaged around $26.00 an hour. While that is not bad pay, it seems low for his efforts.

    As payment for the drawings, he sent me a dozer model that I will post a photo of. He charged $600 for it when he sold them to individuals. WhenI received it by USPS, it had been damaged. While no parts were broke beyond repair (two track sections were split in two), the roof and roof supports, and a hydraulic cylinder on the blade were knocked loose, in addition to the previously mentioned damage. I have repaired all but the cab supports and roof, but holding the 1/4' square supoorts with a shallow compound miter cut on each end in place long enough for the glue to set just hasn't tickled my fancy yet. Maybe one of these days, I will get that finished.

    The first picture is like the dozer that I received from him, the next three are from the excavator, and the last is of the Caterpillar D11 dozer. If you look carefully at the railing bends, you can see the miter joints he used to create the bends. Also, look at the ends of the mufflers. They are drilled out. Just more attention to detail.

    Regards, Colin
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    Last edited by Colin Giersberg; 03-02-2008 at 12:56 AM.
    Where's the beef.

  14. #14
    That's some amazing work. Thanks for taking the time to show that to us.

  15. #15
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    Colin

    I've only seen work that rivals those projects by two people. Nicolai Medvedev, and Susan Allen. (Gem Carvers)
    If he sold those for the prices you stated, those people made a very wise investment.

    That is truly, truly, amazing work. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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