I had previously determined that I liked the backhoe plans from UBuildItPlans.com, though the CADDigger from CADPlans was a close second. So I obtained plans in late April 2007 and started preparing.

This project would be built in my garage. My garage is a 26'x40' pole barn. It has a broken cement floor on one end (remnants of a previous carriage barn) and a dirt floor on the other end. Better yet, the dirt part was dug out (by hand) a couple of summers ago in preparation for good backfill and a new cement floor. Then a job change and lack of time prevented the completion of that project. (Maybe yet this fall....) So in the pictures you will see the dirt floor, drain tile, and messy shop. Such is life!

In May, an old l&g tractor was purchased through e-bay for $135. The front tires wouldn't hold air and the mower deck was shot. But the 16HP Briggs Twin engine worked just fine, and the seat was in good shape. Being a vertical shaft engine instead of horizontal, I would have to make some adjustments. But I would have more available horsepower than specified, and electric start, to boot!

I purchased steel to start making the required pins and bushings. I also purchased the kit available from UBuildItPlans.com that contained all the bronze bushings and the large bushing housings made from D.O.M. tube for $300. As far as I could tell, that price was only a little over the cost of material, and so seemed quite reasonable.

Two other primary tools purchased through e-bay were a heavy-duty 3/4HP drill press ($78) and a 4x6 horizontal band saw ($100). I can't imagine taking on this project without these. 135-degree split-point drill bits, sized from tiny through 1-inch, and some other miscellaneous tools were also purchased. Now I'm really ready to get started!

I lead an interesting double life. At heart I am a farmer / country boy. But by profession I am a computer professional with an excellent job in the city. Many of the people I work with find fascinating the things I like to do with my free time, as it is so foreign to what they do. Some of these pictures are intended to help the uninitiated understand various tools and how they work.

Here is a little trick. When I was cutting the holes with the hole saw, as expected the hole saw became quite hot. And as it heated, it quit cutting as well. I took a block of ice about the size of my fist and held it against the hole saw while cutting. The cooling effect made the holes cut MUCH faster.

The end-piece was easy to build. Getting it welded to the axle was tricky. The axle piece was cut at a certain angle OUT, then the end-piece had to be attached at a certain angle DOWN. The orange clamp was first used to clamp the pieces of angle, where the bottom of the angle was flush with the angle cut on the axle. Then the end-piece was placed flush against this and tilted until it reached the proper angle, then clamped in place. Once a few tack welds were added, all the clamps could come off.

Note in the background that the main portion of the bucket is becoming my tool tray. Now what am I going to do when I need to build the bucket?

The purpose of the rear legs is to hold the backhoe up when the wheels are in the towing position (in the front). When digging, the wheels are in the back and the rear legs are up and out of the way.

Here is another trick if you don't already do it. Freely mark up your parts to keep track of which side you are looking at and which way it goes. When you are building a component on the bench, flipping it around, etc., it's very easy to loose track of what side you are looking at, and then screw something up. The markings made it very easy to keep track of what I was looking at.

This thing reminds me of some sort of giant salamander or hooded gecko lizard or something.