Green Construction Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com Green Materials General Remodeling Plumbing Electrical Painting HVAC Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:54:42 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 GreenConstructionContractorhttp://feedburner.google.com M Brace Raised Bed Gardening http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/m-brace-raised-bed-gardening/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/m-brace-raised-bed-gardening/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:54:42 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=127

If you’ve ever wanted try raised beds, either to extend your gardening season or because you have limited garden space, now you can do so without having to spend hours building a bed. The M Brace makes it easy for anyone to create a stunning raised bed for gardening. You can use this device to create a raised bed in your actual garden, or you can use it on a patio or other hard surface in lieu of container gardening.

The M Brace is especially nifty for people with very limited space because you can buy the braces and then decide how big you want your garden to be. Many people are intimidated by the idea of raised beds because of all the planning and building involved. You have to decide where to put the bed then you have to measure and decide how large you want it to be before you start building. Then comes the actual building, which for some people is enough to keep them from ever having the raised bed they dream of.

Now, whether you simply want warmer soil for certain plants or you want to take container gardening to the next level, the M Brace makes it so simple for you to do that. All you'll need are the boards for the sides of the bed. Get them all the same length if you want a square bed or get them in two sizes if you prefer a rectangle. That's all there is to it. No blueprints, complicated instructions, hammers, nails or screws required. Purchase the lumber precut and you won't even need a saw.

All you do is decide where you want your garden bed, put your braces in place and slide the wood into them. You don't have to measure and be exactly precise and as you slide the wood into the braces because they automatically move into the right position because of the length of the wood. Once you've put the wood in place and you have the height where it needs to be, you’re finished building your raised bed.

There's never been an easier way to achieve this. You don't have to be mechanically inclined. You don't ever need to have used a hammer or screwdriver in your life. The only thing you need to be able to do is lift the wood into the braces, and because the longest side you’ll want to build is 12 feet, almost anyone is able to do this.

If you’re container gardening now in large pots or buckets as many people do with limited space, imagine having your own little garden plots instead of just a few containers. It's easy to achieve that with the M Brace. They come in sets of 4 and are easily ordered online. They're attractive, too. You can choose from several different die-cut designs like carrots, swirls or a sun design so that your raised bed looks exactly how you want it to. And the M Brace is made from recycled materials, which makes your already green garden even greener.

Photo Credits: http://www.artofthegarden.net/

Originally posted 2010-04-28 19:19:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Online Stores ]]> http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/m-brace-raised-bed-gardening/feed/ 0 What’s the Purpose of a Concrete Stamp http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/whats-the-purpose-of-a-concrete-stamp/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/whats-the-purpose-of-a-concrete-stamp/#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:12:18 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=124

A concrete stamp gives poured concrete the appearance of almost any type of surface you can imagine will from cobblestone to brick to wood, depending on the design of the stamp. A sidewalk, patio or driveway can be poured and made to look like something else with a concrete stamp.

Concrete stamps are small and handheld and simply pushed onto the concrete while it's still wet. Landscapers, contractors and remodeling companies purchase these and use them but so do some homeowners who are working on do-it-yourself projects and pouring concrete around their home. There's no special training required to use a concrete stamp but it needs to be done with care in order to get a good and uniform look.

To really pull off the illusion of having a stone walkway or brick patio, the concrete should be colored and textured and then a concrete stamp can give it the final touch. There are some situations where you may need only a few stamps or even just one. But in some applications, you need to buy a large set of several to create a large repeating pattern. When one particular design needs to cover several feet of concrete, for instance, you need several stamps that work together to create it. Because these are small handheld items, it's laid a square at a time. A small repeating pattern may only take from one to a few stamps.

Concrete is one of the more inexpensive services you can have around your home. It costs less than the brick or natural stone, by far. So for the homeowner who wants the look of a flagstone patio or a natural river stone walkway, using concrete to create the illusion of that surface is a much more cost-effective way to do it. It's also easier to do yourself than trying to lay a brick or stone surface. That's a very time intensive project because each piece is laid individually. With concrete, you pour it and smooth it and simply stamp it to give the appearance of the individual pieces like bricks, stones and pavers.

When coloring concrete to prepare for the concrete stamp, color can be mixed in with the concrete before it's poured or it can be added after. Obviously, color that's added during mixing is a better, more long-lasting choice because the color is in the entire depth of concrete. Before you use a concrete stamp, you have to add an agent to the top of the concrete that will allow its release, called release agent. Without this, the danger is that you'll use the concrete stamp and when you pull it away, you'll pull wet concrete away with it, ruining the surface.

If you want to use a concrete stamp, it requires some careful planning so that you're ready with each step once the previous one is finished. Contractors know how to plan for this project, but if you're doing it yourself you'll probably want to start with a small area first to get the feel of it before you try to do something large like your entire patio.

Photo Credits: billso

Originally posted 2010-04-14 03:56:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Online Stores ]]> http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/whats-the-purpose-of-a-concrete-stamp/feed/ 0 Advantages of Crawlers http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/advantages-of-crawlers/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/advantages-of-crawlers/#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 02:07:37 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=121

Crawlers can be any type of heavy-duty, outdoor equipment fitted with tracks instead of wheels. The term is most often used to refer to a heavy-duty tractor fitted with tracks but is also used to refer to anything from skid loaders to massive excavators that use a track system instead of four wheels. It's rarely ever absolutely necessary to use a piece of equipment fitted with tracks over wheels. But it's very often preferable to do so for both safety and efficiency.

The main advantages of crawlers over vehicles with wheels stem from the way the tracks allow the vehicle to move. In a muddy situation or where there is any type of slick surface, a crawler is a much better choice. That's because the track makes contact with more of the ground at one time than four wheels would. That allows for maximum traction over any type of surface but is especially good at offering more traction on mud, ice or snow.

If you look at wheel design for rough-terrain use and the appearance of the track, you'll see similarities as far as the ridges and tread. But only the bottom of each wheel makes contact at one time which offers a very small number of treads. The track extends along each side of the tractor allowing several treads to make contact with the ground at one time.

This works very well in a soft ground or mud situation because instead of four wheels which can sink, the track is one long surface with the weight distributed evenly across it. That offers more support for the vehicle and helps it move along rather than go down into the ground on the four contact points of the tires.

Another benefit of crawlers is that because of the way the tracks are designed, they do less damage to the ground as they move than wheels could. They compact the ground less beneath them than wheels. Because it's simply a larger surface in touch with the ground at one time, there's less sinking and gouging of the ground which leaves it a smoother surface for the other equipment and makes it safer.

Crawlers can be very small pieces of equipment or very large ones. The larger the equipment is, the more likely a crawler and track function is going to be helpful. When you think of large earth moving equipment like excavators that are typically moving over nothing but dirt after construction has removed trees and other obstacles, the benefits of tracks become clear. Construction can continue more easily after rain with crawlers because they're not hampered by the mud. And the construction area itself will be less bumpy and ridged when using crawlers than it would be using wheeled vehicles when the ground is wet or soft.

If you're considering crawlers, you do have to take into account the higher cost of the equipment and the higher cost of maintenance and repair because the track system is a much more complicated set up than wheels.

Photo Credits: Timitrius

Originally posted 2010-04-13 03:51:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Online Stores ]]> http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/advantages-of-crawlers/feed/ 0 Using Dozers http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/using-dozers/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/using-dozers/#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:51:34 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=117

Dozers and crawler tractors have many things in common. In fact, crawler tractors with blades designed for pushing on the front are often called bulldozers. But dozers are usually larger and are designed just for earth and material moving, while many crawler tractors can be used for a variety of purposes by changing the blade attachment to things like buckets, forks or other pieces of equipment.

Dozers are designed to do one thing and that's move earth by pushing it. Unlike bucket tractors that scoop earth and lift it in a bucket to move it from place to place, dozers merely push what they want to move. The blade on front is slightly curved to make the movement easier. The blade isn't designed to lift the materials but only push it forward and out of the way.

The blades on dozers are curved from top to bottom and differ from the blades on things like snow plows that are curved to the side. Snow plow blades are designed to scrape and then funnel the snow to the edge. The blades on dozers are curved in such a way that the materials don't funnel to the side, but instead keep sliding back down the blade to avoid spilling over the top of it. This keeps the dirt or other materials in front of the blade and allows it to be pushed straight ahead.

Dozers, like crawler tractors, run on tracks rather than wheels. This makes them the ideal earth-moving equipment in many different situations. Construction and earth-moving equipment with tracks do less damage to the ground that they run over. In a muddy situation, for instance, a piece of heavy equipment on wheels is going to sink at least a little at the points where the tires touch the ground. Because tracks distribute the weight more evenly from the front to the back of the equipment, there will be less sinking, rutting and gouging. This holds true in situations where there's no mud, but very loose dirt as is usually found at most construction sites. Less gouging and rutting means safer, smoother operation of the other types of equipment that are on wheels.

Dozers with tracks also can be used in situations where using wheeled vehicles might be impractical. Very rocky terrain, uneven, slightly graded or rough terrain could prove dangerous for equipment on wheels. But dozers, because of their tracks, get excellent traction and are much less prone to tipping because their weight is distributed evenly along the length of the tracks. And because tracks essentially have dozens of treads and points of contact at one time instead of just a few that tires have, they can handle things like snow, ice, mud and loose soil much better. Work could go on somewhere with those issues with dozers when it would have to stop with other types of equipment.

Overall, a dozer is most useful when you simply need earth or other materials pushed, and you have other equipment like bucket tractors to lift the dirt to put it in a dump truck or take it to a fill area.

Photo Credits: Dafydd359

Originally posted 2010-04-12 03:45:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Online Stores ]]> http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/using-dozers/feed/ 0 Where Excavators Fit In http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/where-excavators-fit-in/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/where-excavators-fit-in/#comments Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:32:38 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=114

Excavators range from mini-excavators that are used for light-duty digging to mammoth pieces of equipment that weigh over 1,000,000 pounds and have over horsepower behind them. These are serious pieces of earth moving equipment typically found only at construction sites, river dredgings, forest clearing, mining and other major excavations.

Mini-excavators are used for smaller jobs than the large ones and are often not actually dedicated excavators at all but tractors with backhoe arm attachments or skidsteer loaders with backhoe attachments. While they do excavate, calling them excavators isn't entirely accurate. There is a difference between backhoes and excavators that comes from the way they're constructed.

A backhoe is typically a tractor with attachments on the front like a bucket and the backhoe arm on the back. Even though the arm is mounted on the back of the tractor, that's not where the backhoe arm gets its name. It gets it from the way it digs backwards, pulling the dirt toward the tractor. So front loaders with backhoe arms mounted on the front are still often called backhoes, as are small tractors with the arm on the front. Many pieces of equipment people commonly call excavators are typically small tractors or skidsteer loaders with the backhoe arm mounted on them.

Regular excavators are large pieces of equipment with a dedicated arm that can be removed. Another chief difference between an excavator and a backhoe is that the excavator is designed so that the cab and the part of the machinery that holds the arm can turn 360° while the bottom of the chassis stays still. Excavators are also always on tracks rather than wheels because tracks offer better weight distribution the length of the equipment. They're so heavy that this is necessary in most construction and bare dirt areas. Backhoes are usually on wheels.

An excavator's bucket can be changed out for other attachments, even though the arm is permanently mounted to the chassis. The arm is articulated and comes in two parts. The part connected to the chassis is called the boom and the second part that holds the digging bucket at the end is known as the dipper or the dipperstick.

The digging bucket, which is sometimes called the claw, can be changed out depending on the type of digging that needs to be done. The bucket is often called the claw when it's the type of bucket that has teeth on its edge. This is designed for digging through hard ground or rocky ground. It cuts through the dirt and digs it away, and often has cutters on the edges to make this process easier. This is the type of bucket that you think of when you think of steam shovels from the 30s and 40s.

A bucket with a straight, blade-type edge can also be used on an excavator for digging up muddy ground or soft earth. And the bucket can be changed out for other attachments like drills, pile drivers, borers and other equipment designed to punch through rock, mine or use in demolition.

1967 NORTHWEST EXCAVATOR/CRANE Mdl.41 1967 NORTHWEST EXCAVATOR/CRANE Mdl.41 46 Bids US $3,550.00 2h 4m
John Deere 135C Excavator Final Drive John Deere 135C Excavator Final Drive Paypal 0 Bid US $4,250.00 5h 55m
1990 CATERPILLAR E120B EXCAVATOR 1990 CATERPILLAR E120B EXCAVATOR US $17,900.00 6h 54m
Bobcat 331 Excavator Bobcat 331 Excavator Paypal US $12,900.00 8h
Kubota KX121 Mini Excavator Job Ready KX-121 Kubota KX121 Mini Excavator Job Ready KX-121 22 Bids US $10,100.00 12h 32m

Photo Credits: access.denied

Originally posted 2010-04-11 03:41:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Online Stores ]]> http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/where-excavators-fit-in/feed/ 0 Which Floor Sander Do You Need http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/which-floor-sander-do-you-need/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/which-floor-sander-do-you-need/#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:08:53 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=110

A floor sander is a piece of electrical equipment used to refinish or repair a hardwood floor. From the huge, heavy drum sanders down to a handheld edge sander, these are pieces of equipment that are necessary to give your floor a professional and smooth finish. There can be problems using a heavy piece of equipment like a drum sander without knowledge of how to do it properly. Not only can it put the operator risk, but it can seriously damage your floor.

Companies that refinish hardwood floors will use drum sanders because they're fast and when you're experienced using them, it's less likely there will be problems. Someone who has operated a drum sander many times knows how quickly to move it over the floor to do an optimal job. Someone inexperienced can leave gouges and then scrapes on the floor they're trying to smooth. They can even remove a great deal of the wood. Because of the speed at which the sander runs and its heavy-duty operation, an inexperienced sander can remove from an eighth of an inch to a quarter of an inch of the wood floor without even realizing it.

There are options to a drum sander, such as an orbital sander or square sander. An orbital sander weighs less and is easier to control. But because it's a lighter-duty piece of equipment, it will take far longer to do the floor than with a drum sander. This is why companies generally stick with the drum floor sander. The square sander is simply a sander that shaped like a square. This allows the sander to get right up to the walls and eliminates the need for an edging floor sander later. But it also takes far more time to do the same job as a drum sander. An orbital or square floor sander may be better choices for someone unsure of how to go about sanding as they can help prevent mistakes and accidents that spring from inexperience.

Someone using a drum floor sander incorrectly can damage the floor simply by going against the grain. Drum sanders have to be operated in the direction of the wood grain and have to be constantly moved. Letting it sit in one spot will simply grind the floor away and leave a gouge. An orbital sander moves in a circular motion and can be used without worrying about the direction of the grain. An orbital floor sander needs to keep moving also, but a small pause will not do damage like you would with a drum sander. A square sander also won't cause that problem because they're a less aggressive piece of equipment

If a drum or orbital floor sander is used, then an edge sander will be needed to finish off the edges of the floor. This is a handheld sander that runs on electricity and has a dust bag like the other larger models. You may also want to use a vibrating floor sander after using the drum sander just to finish it off and give the floor the smoothest surface possible.

Photo Credits: abbybatchelder

Originally posted 2010-04-10 03:37:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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A pipe bender is a handy piece of equipment if you find the need to bend pipe for either functional or aesthetic reasons. You need to choose a pipe bender according to the size of the pipe you want to bend and the radius of the bends that you want. It's important to use a pipe bender as opposed to a tube bender when you're ready to bend pipe because these two things are measured differently and what works for one will be inappropriate for a similar size in the other.

Tubing is measured on the outside while pipe is measured on the inside. Using tubing on a pipe bender will almost ensure that you kink it, while using pipe on the tubing bender will result in an imperfect bend because it won't be sized properly. The bend radius refers to the tightness of the bend. A 90° bend radius would be pipe that is bent at a right angle. A pipe that requires a smaller bend radius will be bent in a longer, slower curve.

You can typically purchase two different types of pipe benders such as one that stands alone on its own legs and is called a vertical-type bender. A horizontal-type bender is portable and can be placed on the ground or a table. These can be powered by a hand pump or electric motor. A pipe bender designed for different sizes of pipe will come with different shoes or dies that allow for different sizes of pipe to be properly bent. Most pipe benders fitted with the correct sized shoes and dies can easily handle pipes from 2 to 6 inches in diameter. You may need a larger machine to handle anything much larger than that.

If you need pipe that maintains a consistent diameter on the inside, you'll want to use the bending process known as either mandrel or draw bending. These help maintain the diameter of the pipe more than other methods of bending. Mandrel bending involves inserting a mandrel inside of the pipe to maintain the integrity as its bends, and draw bending is done with dies that help keep the inner and outer parts of the pipe stable to create a perfect bend.

For less precise work, press bending is the easiest and fastest method. This type of pipe bender holds the pipe secure at two points and presses between them to bend the pipe. It results in an imperfect diameter on the inside and can crush and deform the pipe a little bit where it's pressed. It's excellent for things like exhaust pipes or anything that's hidden from view and does not have to be absolutely perfect.

For pipes that need a very gentle bend or very slight bend radius, rolled bending or ring rolled bending is a good option. Most of the inexpensive, hand-operated pipe bender machines use either rolled bending or press bending, so if you need a different type of bending you'll want to make sure the machine you're looking at offers it.

Photo Credits: evershedm

Originally posted 2010-04-09 03:31:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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  • skidsteerloaderFork Loader or Forklift Truck A skidsteer loader that is fitted with fork attachments is known as a fork loader. There are a variety of reasons why using a Fork loader might be preferable at any given time than using a forklift truck. First of all, a skidsteer loader is a very adaptable piece of......
  • dozerUsing Dozers Dozers and crawler tractors have many things in common. In fact, crawler tractors with blades designed for pushing on the front are often called bulldozers. But dozers are usually larger and are designed just for earth and material moving, while many crawler tractors can be used for a variety of......
Online Stores ]]> http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/choose-the-right-pipe-bender/feed/ 0 Backhoe, Mini-Excavator or Excavator http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/backhoe-mini-excavator-or-excavator/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/backhoe-mini-excavator-or-excavator/#comments Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:19:07 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=104

A backhoe is a piece of earth moving equipment designed for digging. There is a common misconception that the entire vehicle is known as a backhoe when actually it refers only to the attachment with the digger on the end. This two-part arm with its bucket used for digging is technically the backhoe attachment. But it's also common for tractors that have a bucket on the front end of the arm with the digger on the back to be called backhoes.

The arm with its clawed scoop designed for digging is also found on a piece of equipment known as an excavator. There are generally two types of excavators: the standard type and a mini-excavator. A mini-excavator is usually a skidsteer loader which is a very small type of front loader with a backhoe attachment mounted on the front. A regular excavator is a huge piece of equipment with an arm permanently mounted on the chassis.

The difference between excavators and backhoes lies in their uses. A tractor backhoe has the scoop bucket on the front for lifting and moving earth and other materials and the backhoe arm on the back. It can be use for both those purposes where an excavator is used chiefly for digging and earth-moving whether it's a regular size or mini-excavator. Excavators are also on tracks rather than wheels.

A backhoe attachment can also be put on a front loader and interchanged with other things like a bucket, forks, blades and other attachments. That makes the front loader or a skidsteer loader used in this way a multipurpose vehicle. That can save a company money if they don't need a dedicated backhoe or excavator because they can get several different uses out of one piece of equipment.

Backhoes are called "back" not because the arm and bucket are mounted on the back of the machinery but because the hauling action or the digging action is done back toward the tractor. The two-part arm consists of the first part that's attached to the machinery called the boom and the second part on which the bucket is mounted called the dipper or dipperstick. This arm raises and lowers the digging bucket which is facing the operator. It digs down into the earth and pulls back toward the tractor. That's why when this arm and bucket is mounted onto a front loader, it still called a backhoe.

Renting a backhoe is a popular option for people who don't want or need the extreme expense of purchasing one. But because this is a heavy-duty equipment for digging in even hard and rocky ground, it's best to hire someone to operate the backhoe and rent the service rather than the equipment unless you're trained in driving and operating one. Businesses that need backhoes can purchase used or reconditioned models if their budget won't allow for a new one. A reconditioned backhoe will probably be better in the long term than a used one because it will come with a better warranty.

Photo Credits: mag3737

Originally posted 2010-04-08 03:54:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Online Stores ]]> http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/backhoe-mini-excavator-or-excavator/feed/ 0 Using a Pipe Threader http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/using-a-pipe-threader/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/using-a-pipe-threader/#comments Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:13:10 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=101

A pipe threader is a piece of equipment that allows you to cut threads in the end of a pipe. It's a piece of equipment that uses dies that you can change out for different sizes to grind threads in the ends of different sizes of pipes. If you use an incorrect size die for a pipe, the threads won't cut properly and you could end up ruining the end of your pipe.

You can choose between an automated threader and a manual one, with most contractors and plumbers who might find need to regularly cut threads into a pipe choosing automated for speed and efficiency. Someone who cuts threads into pipe only occasionally will probably be better off purchasing a less expensive manual pipe threader. Different dies can be purchased to allow it to be able to be used with most pipe. As some automatic pipe threaders can easily cost $2000 and up, a manual threader that cost a bit less for the occasional use or the rental of the equipment is probably best for most homeowners.

It only takes a few minutes to thread a pipe even using a manual pipe threader. You put the pipe into the vise to hold it steady and then make sure that there's nothing inside the pipe with a pipe reamer. After you use some grease on the end of the pipe to make for easy cutting and less friction then you place the threader on the end and simply turn. Manual threaders are called ratchet threaders because this turning takes place in a ratcheting motion

Once it's finished, you simply unscrew the threader from the pipe and you're finished. An electric pipe threader is basically the same except you secure the pipe and use a foot pedal to run the machine.

If you're ready to purchase a pipe threader, choose a model that matches the size pipe you'll regularly be threading. A 300 is the standard model but if you'll be cutting pipe less than 1/2 inch in diameter and more than 2 inches in diameter you'll want to use special dies to do so. If most of the pipe you'll be cutting is more than 2 inches in diameter you may want to buy the next biggest model of pipe threader. Universal dies can help your pipe threader work on a variety of sizes of pipe, you may simply need to use a special die for small pipe or much larger pipe.

If you're considering buying used or reconditioned, it's necessary to take the machinery apart and really examine the individual pieces. Ask if the machinery was disassembled and sandblasted as it was reconditioned to show even minor damage that needed repairs. Disassembling the equipment and examining it can show if other users used it improperly and didn't grease the bearings well. Buying used means you're buying it as is, and equipment may break down more quickly. But buying a reconditioned pipe threader means that it was restored to as factory new condition as possible.

Photo Credits: tan_khuu

Originally posted 2010-04-07 03:49:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Online Stores ]]> http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/using-a-pipe-threader/feed/ 0 Fork Loader or Forklift Truck http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/fork-loader-or-forklift-truck/ http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/fork-loader-or-forklift-truck/#comments Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:03:14 +0000 Green Contractor http://www.greenconstructioncontractor.com/?p=98

A skidsteer loader that is fitted with fork attachments is known as a fork loader. There are a variety of reasons why using a Fork loader might be preferable at any given time than using a forklift truck. First of all, a skidsteer loader is a very adaptable piece of equipment. When the forks are attached, it can be used for material handling just as a typical rough terrain forklift that would be used outdoors. Usually, the forks won't go as high as they would on a typical forklift because of the way the hydraulic arms work on a front loader. So they're not designed for high lifting like some forklifts are specifically designed to do.

Because a skidsteer loader is a very small piece of equipment for the jobs it does, it may not have the same rating as far as the weight it can carry. It won't be rated for weights nearing those of a heavy-duty rough terrain forklift. The important thing is to make sure that the fork attachments you choose are rated for the type of weight you need to carry, and that the skidsteer loader you're attaching them to is also rated for that much weight.

When you have a fork loader, not only can you use it for material handling with the forks but by removing them and using other attachments your loader becomes a multi-purpose vehicle. There are attachments for things like stump grinding, snow removal, sweeping, mowing and a variety of other things. And of course, the loader is designed for buckets and scoops for earthmoving and moving things gravel and asphalt from place to place.

The skidsteer loader becomes a fork loader with the fork attachments and can be used for transporting long or flat objects outdoors. If you need to move things indoors like pallets or other items, you'll need a forklift truck. That's because like outdoor, or rough-terrain, forklift trucks, a fork loader runs on an internal combustion engine. These should never be used indoors because of the exhaust fumes they put out and the danger of asphyxiation, fire and explosion. For indoor purposes, you need a forklift truck that runs on electricity through a rechargeable battery.

While there are some loaders that do run on electricity as opposed to fuel, these are designed for light duty like a lawn or garden tractor. For any type of construction work or earthmoving you might find at a construction site, a skidsteer loader and other fuel-powered heavy equipment are necessary. Other benefits of a skidsteer loader with forks as opposed to forklift trucks or other equipment include the size and the steering.

A skidsteer loader is designed differently than a typical tractor because the wheels on each side move independently. This allows it to turn into very small space. And because it's a smaller piece of equipment than a typical tractor, it can fit in smaller areas, too. That and the variety of attachments for it make it the ideal piece of multi-purpose equipment.

Photo Credits: 176th Wing, Alaska Air National...

Originally posted 2010-04-06 03:42:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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