Hi there - I grew up running a 1963 Cat D4c, so I feel qualified to give at least some notes: 1. Nice work. Building a road on thick sod is frustrating as hell, and you took it in stride. 2. Yes, you can boost the throttle about 10%, which should even out the power. 3. Does this model not have a low range? That speed looks like 1st gear in high range. 4. Philosophical Rant: Dozers of this era cannot just move dirt at will - you have to work with the land contours. Just keep that in mind. All in all, I am very happy to see how you operate this old girl. I watched all of your restoration videos, and it made me very happy.
*- Thanks for the help you bring to Matt.* *- Not being an operator, I rely on sound and what I have heard and seen before, so I, too, wondered a about the gear choice, or if he was in high range.*
Matt, here's my two cents worth as a forester: on your chunk of dirt you don't really need to put in any skid trails/service roads just yet. that can wait until the time you go to harvest your timber. by the time you get there things will have grown up and the situation will look quite different than it does now. the stumps you've been grrrrr-ing away on will have rotted by then also or be so compromised that you won't even notice 9 out of 10 when they pass beneath the tracks of the tractor. keep any machinery out of the stand as long as you can to minimize any damage to the root systems of the trees you have to work past. the other thing is that the size of your property is so small that it would make more sense to shovel log it when that time comes. while i'm no fan of shovel logging, in your case it would be the best option. that eliminates the need for an extensive skid trail network and you can pile the brush for burning at the same time you're forwarding your logs. that way your equipment footprint is massively reduced and in turn, ground compaction is not an issue. ground compaction is a problem on your side of the cascades because of the runoff you see in the winter months. you're essentially in a temperate rainforest, so the looser you can maintain your soil profile, the less problems you're going to have later with erosion. in your shoes i would start looking for a grapple or a young boom and cab riser you can stick onto that hitachi you're working on.. the other recommendation i would have for you is to start an aggressive pruning campaign as most of your trees are now tall enough you can safely prune them to about 6 feet in height off the ground. if you do one or two each saturday, in about a year you'll have the bulk of it done. the pruning serves two purposes: one is you're creating defensible space around your home. even in western oregon wildfires do happen in spite of the copious amount of precip you get there. the other is, if you leave the pruned branches scattered about, you're recruiting beneficial fungi that form a mycorrhizal symbiosis with your trees, thus acting as an impromptu slow release fertilizer. another aspect of pruning is that you'll be creating high value clear timber in the butt log if you run thru and prune up to 20 feet over the course of the next 20 years. the other aspect is the increased amount of growth your trees will be putting on as the crowns are forced upward. right now your timber is spaced a little far apart so your trees are going to be a bit woofy for the next 20 years until the canopy closes in overhead if you don't prune them in your reforestation plan you'll have to submit to the state of oregon when you go to harvest i would include a few more native species to your area such as port orford cedar, western red cedar, pacific madrone and of course a spruce or two but maintain the primary species of doug fir you have now. a few red alders will also be good nitrogen fixers for regenerating stand after harvest. although scotch broom has become naturalized in your neck of the woods, and is a good nitrogen fixer, i would avoid letting it take foothold at any price as the stuff is an invasive species and will crowd out any saplings and seedlings for the first 10 to 15 years of growth after replanting. cheers mike
Great advice Mike, I have been reading up a lot on pruning and clearing and you are absolutely correct. Madrone grows wild like crazy here, and there is actually quite a lot of it mixed in on this parcel. It is so slow though, it might get overtaken by the fir. Regarding scotch broom, it is the bane of my existence I have almost completely eliminated it from my property over the past 5 years (you can see a couple yellow plants in the drone footage). Used to take me 80 hours a year to clear it, but now I can do it in 2 as there are just a handful left. A lot of the large sections in the drone footage are areas where scotch broom had taken hold and choked out the fir seedlings.
@jakebroesky4409 the primary species he has looks to be doug fir with a few spruces mixed in. on the west side that's a fairly common stand composition that occurs naturally. soil compaction is a problem because it can take ten to twelve freeze/thaw cycles (years) to loosen the soil profile back up to where the precip can effectively penetrate the ground and not run off, runoff increases the potential of serious erosion. loose soils also allow the tree roots to penetrate the ground deeper and faster which is good for wind resistance. you can gage the size of a root system loosely based on the size/diameter of the crown. they are roughly the same diameter down in central CA on Fruit Growers ground i saw a plot where they came in with a huge ripper and ripped the ground 4 to 5 feet deep. it looked like a moonscape and the sierra club was howling blue bloody murder... of course those dingbats would bitch if you hung them with a new rope. that site prep was the best thing for that piece of ground is it was hardpan down to 4 feet and no water could penetrate when it rained. it also created a ton of micro-sites for natural reseeding for the sugar pine that used to be there. it would be really interesting to see how that place has shaped up in the last 30 years. the reason he was having problems with those old stumps is because doug fir has a lot of pitch in the roots and stump. a pitchy stump can take 30 to 40 years to rot to the point it can be easily removed. i've seen a log brought into the landing where i was able to collect 5gals of pitch as it ran out of the heart check. another 5 to 6 ran out onto the ground not counting what ran out back out in the brush before the log was flown into the landing.. this was in Drain, OR.
And I wager?? For generations to come, .. long after we are all gone, this Cat will still be pushing up stumps, and leveling driveways!! It's basically starting anew life, as a brand new machine!
What a lucky D4. From seeing it dragged out of the bush, a sad, neglected, forgotten, with no future, rejected old machine to a proud contributor to society. Thank you Matt for performing and documenting its rehabilitation.
For any newer viewers of the channel, I’d recommend going to the beginning of the playlist for the dozer project and getting a look at the ball of rust that eventually became this fine specimen. Pretty remarkable. The mechanical machine has the stuff to do whatever you ask of her. The carbon-based machine showed signs of steady improvement as the video went along. I predict an unstoppable road building team in the near future. It’s great to see her running and working! 🥸👍👀✅
Only the dickhead ones, the guys that enjoy operating and like to see others starting out will give pointers and critique helpfully some may say it nicer than others though
@@jeffjenkins9529 I won't sugarcoat it: it's tough. The russians are throwing everything they can everywhere they can. It was even tougher this winter and early spring. We barely made it with FPV drones substituting for artillery/rockets to hold the line, yet we still lost Avdiivka, a major FOB in the East. But just weeks ago, when Congress finally approved the military aid from the US, look at us - we're destroying air bases in Crimea and AA batteries in the South and East. I just wish politicians could see things as they really are - there's no parley with the bear. We're paying the price with our own lives. Frankly, I could be drafted tomorrow. Mentally, I'm ready for it, but I'd rather live my life as it was pre-war: watching Matt and Charlie fixing dozers and excavators. Life pre-war seems like a dream. I honestly can't even tell right now if it was real.
Yes more throttle! I kept thinking it sounded like it was idling and wanted to say "throttle up!" every time a stump stopped you. Anyway, live and learn. You did an amazing job on the restoration and I'm sure you'll get the hang of operating with more practice.
Wow Matt has that dozer come a long way from the day you pulled it out of the forest, weeds and all. You do realize the dozer will get dirty😁 It's great to see that puppy out there doing it's thing, you havin fun?😁
The blade angle / tilt will be the next thing you should adjust , as it makes a big difference on how the blade cuts . Too steep an angle and it will want to cut big divots , too shallow and it will want to just ride along the top and not cut into the ground very well . This is going to be something you have to adjust constantly for different soils , and even the same soils will behave a lot differently depending on moisture content through the seasons . All this in addition to controlling the blade height . I think you did pretty ok for your first real test of that little wonder . The bigger stumps , will move a lot easier if you can dig down and around them , and , you may have to work from several angles on them . Or wait until the Hitachi is done and just pluck em right out , lol .
Yep! The excavator will make quick work of those pesky stumps but until then the D4 has more than enough power to clean up those trails. Another satisfying dozer video.
I agree, keep the engine speed up, you do not want to lug it. On the stump removal, use your blade tilt and with the low corner dig down in front of the stump. Then raise the blade as you push to help roll the stump out. With your blade horizontal you are wasting energy pushing dirt with the stump.
Awesome to see the old iron working the land, thank you for the trouble to film it. A couple tidbits about dozer vs. stump, if I may. First when you address the stump consider the likely radius the roots grew to and try to start cutting way out there. When the stumps are as short as you have there's not a lot of leverage for the blade to work with on the trunk of the stump so starting wide breaks the roots purchase and offers the dozer more leverage. Second, when you do sock into the stump and the dozer starts to stall try lifting the blade at that moment. Raising the blade and walking into the stump will often roll them right out rather than killing the motor. It can be a lot to juggle and I understand the hesitancy to commit to the blade lever when there's a chance of killing the motor but you can switch hands for the main clutch because there's really no need to be steering while pushing that hard. My Dad has a great big old IH from the 40's and he calls it the International Harvester Fitness Machine because you can get pretty busy in the cab of one of these.
I got to operate a dozer for the first time 2 years ago at age 64...could not wipe the smile off my face! What a blast. I feel like if I had jumped on one when I was sixteen that would have been my life long profession.
I main thing I learned with my D4 was to Not feather the clutch!, fully engage your clutch, it's not a pickup clutch that is designed to partially engage.
All the hard work on th e dozer and now you get to play an learn everything about it an how to run it.. maybe a house screen in front of the rad that way it don't plug up the fins.. and you can pull it out easy and give it a bang to clean it out or custom made screen kind of thing. Leaf blower could help with blowing it out back in the bush if not near the air compressor too. Have fun bud your earned it!!
What an accomplishment. How satisfying it must feel to use that machine for the purpose that you bought it for and to know that you rebuilt it all. Great job.
Awesome seeing the dozer in action. My first experiences with a dozer where more or less the same as you had. Every machine is a little different and it might take time to master all the operation actions. Your property sure looks nice.
Mat,enjoying the fruits of one’s labour must be a great feeling it’s not a D12 but it sure looks fine,the way it started certainly tells you that that everything is as it should be enjoy,thanks for the vid,Perth🇦🇺👌👌👌👌👌
I've said before but will say it again, I think you did an absolutely incredible job with the restoration of the D4. The quality of your video work deserves credit as well, it's better than many so called professional RUclipsrs with actual camera operator production team. If they are just Christmas Trees even you little mini excavator with a thumb should be able to pull them stumps out shouldn't it? From the videos I watch a Dozer just doesn't work well for clearing trees & stumping.
Good to see you and the dozer getting to do some work. You put so much work into it that I can understand how careful you have to be. The excavator will be even more fun. You have a great place to use them!
Sounds like the engine is running on very low RPM, even though you just rebuilt it. Any diesel engine needs to be hot to work efficiently, running on tickover or just above is not good for the engine. You will see a difference if you up the revs. Most all heavy equipment has a set working engine speed, tractors, excavators, generators , and even bulldozers and all need to be hot compared to gas motors.
Wait, when you get the hatachi going then those stumps are history Matt! 👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻 If you gouge the ground too deep, then pick up and go over the dirt and back drag it to fill it in! You’ll get the hang of it with time and practice my friend! Very nice property Matt! Beautiful! If you knew traveling the path, it will pack down with time! I think you’re doing a good job and getting used to the dozer already! 👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻 The corner of the blade is used for stumping and if you angle the blade brother and use the point of the blade as you stick the stump picking the blade up at the same time! Great video and 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 for your first time my friend! Stay positive and definitely don’t cut yourself short, you will get it Matt! Good job and good video! Kirk from Louisiana sending prayers and positive energy your way for you and your family! Oh and Charlie Girl! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🙋🏼✌🏻✌🏻🤜🏻🤛🏻👍🏻
Stumping with small machines is really hard on them. Even with a Volvo 220 Letsdig18 said stumping doubled its hours which is why he upgraded first to a Hyundai 330 and then recently to a Volvo 350.
Hi Matt and channel. The machine sure sounds smooth and well tuned . Where to practice as to grade of roadway. back blade motion will assist to level things. The technique as to float the blade in reverse to level and clear any grass, dirt or wood debris. Your operator methods looked fine. Think safety ahead in operator skill. M.
Was really cool seeing your whole property like that, looks amazing. So gratifying seeing the dozer rebuild working well. Thanks for sharing that and really love watching your channel.
It's great to see it finally being used. You couldn't of picked a much worse job for your first attempt. Stumps and grass take some skill to do a good job. From now on seat time is the best way to learn. If the fan is reversible change it to blow out through the radiator or try to find another one. Blowing the air out will keep the radiator a lot cleaner.
Excellent presentation. Really like how you reflect on your work as well as self-critique. The future looks promising because the more experience you get with your machines, the better you will be at the desired goal you set for each one. Of course, I believe you know this already. finally, Look forward to viewing more of your videos. I'm very interesting in seeing the end result of your cleaning the pathway. Peace.
I think you did just fine...you are learning by doing so there will be times when you can see where you want to improve...nothing wrong with that all all. Going slow the first run is good anyway so you can get a rough idea on the course you want...you can come back later with a higher throttle to clear the more stubborn stumps! I makes me nervous when Charlie gets so close to the equipment while it moving...but she seems to know when to get out of the way :)
You are doing great Matt! You might want to go through with the excavator and pluck those stumps out, and while you're doing that you might want to attach a wagon of some sort to drag those stumps out of the field. You will thank yourself later! Stay safe!
Nice to see the Cat out working off some paint. Now Matt just has to figure out the learning curve operating it. I've no doubt that he'll figure it out pretty quickly.
Being one of the many who have watched you toil over this rebuild from square one, I have to say it is both a pleasure and a relief to see the old horse chuffing away as it was designed to do all those years ago. And to you, knowing that all the internals are correct and accounted for, that satisfaction is doubled! I think Doggo was hoping you'd disturb a geriatric rabbit!
Dozer looks great , just need a little seat time , it will come . Didn't realize the big excavator had a baby lol , seen ya moving it at the beginning. You're going to have a nice group of equipment for your property, that's great !!!
Excellent shake down run. The rattling panel is only a sign that you are not perfect…..yet. Kudos! I also annoyed you from the beginning, it’s been blood, sweat (and snow, and rain) and didn’t even see the tears 😂. Wish I had it 😊
Very nice! Great to see it get a bit of a workout and that engine sounds very smooth. You will get more comfortable with it quickly. Dozers are deceptively difficult to run.
Everybody has trouble the first time you will learn quickly. It is hard to see the corner of the blad but that is what your blad is doing good luck stay with it.
Daddy’s girl is out there to help you! She’s a sweetheart! Charlie girl!❤️❤️ Good job on the dozer rebuild Matt, it’s perfect for your needs there! 👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Blade control will take some time to get a feel for. After you get the stumps cleared, and the ground loosened up you may find that back-blading gives you the smoothest surface. Great to see it finally in action!
Well, you just had to go and get it dirty, didn't ya. Seriously, I think that I may have heard adrenaline in your voice. Your excitement for using it shows. 👍👍👍
Sounds really good , and so quiet with that muffler on there , couldn’t tell if you were wearing hearing protection that’s something you should all ways do with any out door machinery
Hi Matt. I have been following along on that whole rebuild and really enjoyed it. It was really awesome to see it in action and that looked like a ton of fun. I look forward to seeing it in action again and i am looking forward to seeing the excavator in action as well. Keep up the great work!
When you go to grade, keep your right hand moving on the blade control. Constant little adjustments up and down as you move forward. That will keep the blade from digging in. You can always smooth things out in reverse with the blade in "float" !
Love the mini excavator. That is so cool to see her working. Those old stumps sure are tuff. The D4 is alive and well. Thanks for the video and the sky cam shots were great.
When taking out non rotten stumps, try cutting away at the dirt to each side of the stump, then when you push on the stump itself, you concentrate all your force on the stump. It will also cut the roots to both sides making the stump easier to take out. For your first time, you did great! When you dig in too deep, you can correct it right away by raising your blade, driving the blade past the pile of dirt that was in front of the blade, stop and lower the blade just beyond the dirt pile, then back up with the blade dragging the pile back into the divot and keep going for 4 or 5 feet. Then raise your blade and back up a little more so the dirt is in front of the blade again. Lower the blade and give it another try! Back blading is often easier to keep from digging in and maintaining a level surface. Back blading also packs the surface rather than tearing it off. You might also consider that you don't want your trail to be lower than the area to each side of the trail. If it is, it will always be muddy as the water will flow to the valley you created. Build your path up so it is higher and it will remain dry and solid. This is easier to do with the excavator than the dozer. You'll figure it all out. Don't expect to get it all perfect on the first go. It takes years of practice to learn the tricks. I'm no expert either, even though I have had my machine for 20+ years.
I'm sure you will get a lot better with practice. It reminds me of when I first started running the backhoe, lol. That was probably a pretty difficult spot to learn on too, with all the stumps , and trying to work around the young trees
You’ll get there bud! I ran a front end loader for a year without much of any experience, I got better every month. Learn by doing, it really is the best way.
Great video! It's really great to see the fruition of all of your hard work being put to use! You will learn. We all do. I'm sure there is and educational video on RUclips on how to use it! LOL I am so happy for you! It's so beautiful there!
dude, I cannot believe you rebuilt that thing by yourself with an engine hoist. I have seen some crazy cool stuff on youtube but this is by far one of the best things I have seen.
Iffen you find a stump that gives the dozer a hard time, you do have a winch on the back end that might be able to take care of it ;) Nice yard and nicer job on the rebuild and even sounds great too.
Good job Pilgrim for your first time. I'm no expert either but you'll want more throttle, just saying... Otherwise play around and you'll figure out the rest. Nice to see you finally reap the rewards of all your hard work!
Lovely plot of tree-land to retire on. And heaps of things to get both machines working on. Are the tracks for harvest access or just general ease-of-access? Might pay to plot your route with terrain in mind so you can build in drainage for snow/rain run-off. Not sure if fire is a big issue, but here (Oz) it is and being able to get a spray rig thru there might be important (especially if the trees/lumber are your retirement fund). Btw - get some good earmuffs.
Hiya Matt, I ran dozer and equipment for many years. I think you are doing great! Every hour you spend on that dozer you will become better and better. An old timer told me when I was a young man "better to have your tracks a tiny bit loose than a tiny bit tight" his words always served me well, so I will share them here. I have been watching your videos for a while now. I look forward to them. I think they are just fantastic.
![OhGeesy x Lefty Gunplay - What It Iz [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/L0yzW9t2ixk/mqdefault.jpg)
That dozer has come a long way...I remember when you first picked it up, what a difference between then and now.
Good
and when it was in thousands of parts laying all over his shop floor. This is really a great series.
Hi there - I grew up running a 1963 Cat D4c, so I feel qualified to give at least some notes:
1. Nice work. Building a road on thick sod is frustrating as hell, and you took it in stride.
2. Yes, you can boost the throttle about 10%, which should even out the power.
3. Does this model not have a low range? That speed looks like 1st gear in high range.
4. Philosophical Rant: Dozers of this era cannot just move dirt at will - you have to work with the land contours. Just keep that in mind.
All in all, I am very happy to see how you operate this old girl. I watched all of your restoration videos, and it made me very happy.
I wondered if it needed to be a higher RPM.
@@Scott-bw4ogmaybe that’s why it wasn’t getting hot
*- Thanks for the help you bring to Matt.*
*- Not being an operator, I rely on sound and what I have heard and seen before, so I, too, wondered a about the gear choice, or if he was in high range.*
Definitely more throttle and less clutch feathering.
Charlie is so cute! "What are we doing today dad? Oh, we're going in the woods and making a trail? Ok, I'm in, lets go!" LOL
Matt, here's my two cents worth as a forester:
on your chunk of dirt you don't really need to put in any skid trails/service roads just yet. that can wait until the time you go to harvest your timber. by the time you get there things will have grown up and the situation will look quite different than it does now. the stumps you've been grrrrr-ing away on will have rotted by then also or be so compromised that you won't even notice 9 out of 10 when they pass beneath the tracks of the tractor. keep any machinery out of the stand as long as you can to minimize any damage to the root systems of the trees you have to work past.
the other thing is that the size of your property is so small that it would make more sense to shovel log it when that time comes. while i'm no fan of shovel logging, in your case it would be the best option. that eliminates the need for an extensive skid trail network and you can pile the brush for burning at the same time you're forwarding your logs. that way your equipment footprint is massively reduced and in turn, ground compaction is not an issue. ground compaction is a problem on your side of the cascades because of the runoff you see in the winter months. you're essentially in a temperate rainforest, so the looser you can maintain your soil profile, the less problems you're going to have later with erosion. in your shoes i would start looking for a grapple or a young boom and cab riser you can stick onto that hitachi you're working on..
the other recommendation i would have for you is to start an aggressive pruning campaign as most of your trees are now tall enough you can safely prune them to about 6 feet in height off the ground. if you do one or two each saturday, in about a year you'll have the bulk of it done. the pruning serves two purposes: one is you're creating defensible space around your home. even in western oregon wildfires do happen in spite of the copious amount of precip you get there. the other is, if you leave the pruned branches scattered about, you're recruiting beneficial fungi that form a mycorrhizal symbiosis with your trees, thus acting as an impromptu slow release fertilizer.
another aspect of pruning is that you'll be creating high value clear timber in the butt log if you run thru and prune up to 20 feet over the course of the next 20 years. the other aspect is the increased amount of growth your trees will be putting on as the crowns are forced upward. right now your timber is spaced a little far apart so your trees are going to be a bit woofy for the next 20 years until the canopy closes in overhead if you don't prune them
in your reforestation plan you'll have to submit to the state of oregon when you go to harvest i would include a few more native species to your area such as port orford cedar, western red cedar, pacific madrone and of course a spruce or two but maintain the primary species of doug fir you have now. a few red alders will also be good nitrogen fixers for regenerating stand after harvest.
although scotch broom has become naturalized in your neck of the woods, and is a good nitrogen fixer, i would avoid letting it take foothold at any price as the stuff is an invasive species and will crowd out any saplings and seedlings for the first 10 to 15 years of growth after replanting.
cheers
mike
Great advice Mike, I have been reading up a lot on pruning and clearing and you are absolutely correct.
Madrone grows wild like crazy here, and there is actually quite a lot of it mixed in on this parcel. It is so slow though, it might get overtaken by the fir.
Regarding scotch broom, it is the bane of my existence I have almost completely eliminated it from my property over the past 5 years (you can see a couple yellow plants in the drone footage). Used to take me 80 hours a year to clear it, but now I can do it in 2 as there are just a handful left. A lot of the large sections in the drone footage are areas where scotch broom had taken hold and choked out the fir seedlings.
@jakebroesky4409 the primary species he has looks to be doug fir with a few spruces mixed in. on the west side that's a fairly common stand composition that occurs naturally.
soil compaction is a problem because it can take ten to twelve freeze/thaw cycles (years) to loosen the soil profile back up to where the precip can effectively penetrate the ground and not run off, runoff increases the potential of serious erosion. loose soils also allow the tree roots to penetrate the ground deeper and faster which is good for wind resistance. you can gage the size of a root system loosely based on the size/diameter of the crown. they are roughly the same diameter
down in central CA on Fruit Growers ground i saw a plot where they came in with a huge ripper and ripped the ground 4 to 5 feet deep. it looked like a moonscape and the sierra club was howling blue bloody murder... of course those dingbats would bitch if you hung them with a new rope. that site prep was the best thing for that piece of ground is it was hardpan down to 4 feet and no water could penetrate when it rained. it also created a ton of micro-sites for natural reseeding for the sugar pine that used to be there. it would be really interesting to see how that place has shaped up in the last 30 years.
the reason he was having problems with those old stumps is because doug fir has a lot of pitch in the roots and stump. a pitchy stump can take 30 to 40 years to rot to the point it can be easily removed. i've seen a log brought into the landing where i was able to collect 5gals of pitch as it ran out of the heart check. another 5 to 6 ran out onto the ground not counting what ran out back out in the brush before the log was flown into the landing.. this was in Drain, OR.
So cool to see you operating the dozer after all the time spent rebuilding it.
This is were your excavator will come in handy stumping 👍👍👍👍👍. D4 is awesome bud💯💯💯💯💯
The ultimate reward for all your hard work and expense. The old CAT should give you years of good service on your property.
And I wager?? For generations to come, .. long after we are all gone, this Cat will still be pushing up stumps, and leveling driveways!! It's basically starting anew life, as a brand new machine!
What a lucky D4. From seeing it dragged out of the bush, a sad, neglected, forgotten, with no future, rejected old machine to a proud contributor to society. Thank you Matt for performing and documenting its rehabilitation.
This comment made me smile.
For any newer viewers of the channel, I’d recommend going to the beginning of the playlist for the dozer project and getting a look at the ball of rust that eventually became this fine specimen. Pretty remarkable. The mechanical machine has the stuff to do whatever you ask of her. The carbon-based machine showed signs of steady improvement as the video went along. I predict an unstoppable road building team in the near future. It’s great to see her running and working! 🥸👍👀✅
It's unbelievable what it was, to what it is now. Remarkable!
You must be making a lot of Dozer drivers cry watching this but practice makes perfect good on you fella
Only the dickhead ones, the guys that enjoy operating and like to see others starting out will give pointers and critique helpfully some may say it nicer than others though
I think that's how we all started, and no dozers where hurt or harmed in this video 😅
Giving new life to these old beasts this is the real magic!
Greetings from Ukraine!
How are things in Ukraine?
Slava Ukraine!
@@jeffjenkins9529 I won't sugarcoat it: it's tough. The russians are throwing everything they can everywhere they can. It was even tougher this winter and early spring. We barely made it with FPV drones substituting for artillery/rockets to hold the line, yet we still lost Avdiivka, a major FOB in the East.
But just weeks ago, when Congress finally approved the military aid from the US, look at us - we're destroying air bases in Crimea and AA batteries in the South and East.
I just wish politicians could see things as they really are - there's no parley with the bear. We're paying the price with our own lives. Frankly, I could be drafted tomorrow. Mentally, I'm ready for it, but I'd rather live my life as it was pre-war: watching Matt and Charlie fixing dozers and excavators.
Life pre-war seems like a dream. I honestly can't even tell right now if it was real.
@@randogame4438 Героям Слава!
@@jeffjenkins9529 RUclips hides my reply each time I post it, that's weird 0_o. So let's just say: it is tough (
Great job on the dozer! The only way to get better at operating it, is to operate it!
Yes more throttle! I kept thinking it sounded like it was idling and wanted to say "throttle up!" every time a stump stopped you.
Anyway, live and learn. You did an amazing job on the restoration and I'm sure you'll get the hang of operating with more practice.
You've got talent, keep showcasing it
Wow Matt has that dozer come a long way from the day you pulled it out of the forest, weeds and all. You do realize the dozer will get dirty😁 It's great to see that puppy out there doing it's thing, you havin fun?😁
What a beautiful piece of land!!
The blade angle / tilt will be the next thing you should adjust , as it makes a big difference on how the blade cuts .
Too steep an angle and it will want to cut big divots , too shallow and it will want to just ride along the top and not cut into the ground very well .
This is going to be something you have to adjust constantly for different soils , and even the same soils will behave a lot differently depending on moisture content through the seasons .
All this in addition to controlling the blade height .
I think you did pretty ok for your first real test of that little wonder .
The bigger stumps , will move a lot easier if you can dig down and around them , and , you may have to work from several angles on them .
Or wait until the Hitachi is done and just pluck em right out , lol .
Wow! Love watching that old D4 working hard after all your hard work on her.
I've said it before and I say it again, your videos are more interesting than any Hollywood "blockbuster"
People dont know how much fun that is !
Yep! The excavator will make quick work of those pesky stumps but until then the D4 has more than enough power to clean up those trails. Another satisfying dozer video.
That 120 is pretty small for stumping but it is better than his D4. Letsdig18 upgraded to 300 class excavators just for land clearing and stumping.
I agree, keep the engine speed up, you do not want to lug it. On the stump removal, use your blade tilt and with the low corner dig down in front of the stump. Then raise the blade as you push to help roll the stump out. With your blade horizontal you are wasting energy pushing dirt with the stump.
Awesome to see the old iron working the land, thank you for the trouble to film it. A couple tidbits about dozer vs. stump, if I may. First when you address the stump consider the likely radius the roots grew to and try to start cutting way out there. When the stumps are as short as you have there's not a lot of leverage for the blade to work with on the trunk of the stump so starting wide breaks the roots purchase and offers the dozer more leverage. Second, when you do sock into the stump and the dozer starts to stall try lifting the blade at that moment. Raising the blade and walking into the stump will often roll them right out rather than killing the motor. It can be a lot to juggle and I understand the hesitancy to commit to the blade lever when there's a chance of killing the motor but you can switch hands for the main clutch because there's really no need to be steering while pushing that hard. My Dad has a great big old IH from the 40's and he calls it the International Harvester Fitness Machine because you can get pretty busy in the cab of one of these.
You must be very proud, that little machine is awesome!
Glad to see it running. Enjoy the learning process.
I got to operate a dozer for the first time 2 years ago at age 64...could not wipe the smile off my face! What a blast. I feel like if I had jumped on one when I was sixteen that would have been my life long profession.
Dozer runs great. Job well done.👍
I main thing I learned with my D4 was to Not feather the clutch!, fully engage your clutch, it's not a pickup clutch that is designed to partially engage.
Very good tip. Older retired cat mechanic told me the same thing, on my D4
All the hard work on th e dozer and now you get to play an learn everything about it an how to run it.. maybe a house screen in front of the rad that way it don't plug up the fins.. and you can pull it out easy and give it a bang to clean it out or custom made screen kind of thing. Leaf blower could help with blowing it out back in the bush if not near the air compressor too. Have fun bud your earned it!!
What an accomplishment. How satisfying it must feel to use that machine for the purpose that you bought it for and to know that you rebuilt it all. Great job.
Awesome seeing the dozer in action. My first experiences with a dozer where more or less the same as you had. Every machine is a little different and it might take time to master all the operation actions. Your property sure looks nice.
Mat,enjoying the fruits of one’s labour must be a great feeling it’s not a D12 but it sure looks fine,the way it started certainly tells you that that everything is as it should be enjoy,thanks for the vid,Perth🇦🇺👌👌👌👌👌
I've said before but will say it again, I think you did an absolutely incredible job with the restoration of the D4.
The quality of your video work deserves credit as well, it's better than many so called professional RUclipsrs with actual camera operator production team.
If they are just Christmas Trees even you little mini excavator with a thumb should be able to pull them stumps out shouldn't it?
From the videos I watch a Dozer just doesn't work well for clearing trees & stumping.
They were all trees for lumber, some of the stumps are actually quite large!
Nice piece of ground- looks like we can look forward to lots more content once the excavator is done, then a dump truck, then maybe a roller.
It's good to see you put that machine back to work. Nice Job Matt!👍 That excavator will be the machine to remove those stumps. One day soon.....
Good to see you and the dozer getting to do some work. You put so much work into it that I can understand how careful you have to be. The excavator will be even more fun. You have a great place to use them!
Great seeing the old gal get back to work. I'm sure it's a joy to operate. Even drone footage! Love it!
Nice Dozer, works well! Don't do like me and regret those sharp corners I wish I did'nt do. There's always that longer trailer one day comming in...⚜️
Yeah it was already a problem for the ATV...going to smooth those out!
Charlie blazing the trail for you! lol Thanks for the video.
Sounds like the engine is running on very low RPM, even though you just rebuilt it.
Any diesel engine needs to be hot to work efficiently, running on tickover or just above is not good for the engine. You will see a difference if you up the revs. Most all heavy equipment has a set working engine speed, tractors, excavators, generators , and even bulldozers and all need to be hot compared to gas motors.
you more than make up any short comings with your amazing mechanic skills. great work
Wait, when you get the hatachi going then those stumps are history Matt! 👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻 If you gouge the ground too deep, then pick up and go over the dirt and back drag it to fill it in! You’ll get the hang of it with time and practice my friend! Very nice property Matt! Beautiful! If you knew traveling the path, it will pack down with time! I think you’re doing a good job and getting used to the dozer already! 👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻 The corner of the blade is used for stumping and if you angle the blade brother and use the point of the blade as you stick the stump picking the blade up at the same time! Great video and 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 for your first time my friend! Stay positive and definitely don’t cut yourself short, you will get it Matt! Good job and good video! Kirk from Louisiana sending prayers and positive energy your way for you and your family! Oh and Charlie Girl! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🙋🏼✌🏻✌🏻🤜🏻🤛🏻👍🏻
Stumping with small machines is really hard on them. Even with a Volvo 220 Letsdig18 said stumping doubled its hours which is why he upgraded first to a Hyundai 330 and then recently to a Volvo 350.
Hi Matt and channel. The machine sure sounds smooth and well tuned . Where to practice as to grade of roadway. back blade motion will assist to level things. The technique as to float the blade in reverse to level and clear any grass, dirt or wood debris. Your operator methods looked fine. Think safety ahead in operator skill. M.
Was really cool seeing your whole property like that, looks amazing. So gratifying seeing the dozer rebuild working well. Thanks for sharing that and really love watching your channel.
Great to see the first time out perform so well !
Oh NO, don’t get our fully restored dozer dirty.😂, nice job, you soon got the hang of it. Beautiful property btw.
Good to see you actually starting to use it. Well done. I am not a dozer operator but in my opinion you did okay.
It's great to see it finally being used. You couldn't of picked a much worse job for your first attempt. Stumps and grass take some skill to do a good job. From now on seat time is the best way to learn. If the fan is reversible change it to blow out through the radiator or try to find another one. Blowing the air out will keep the radiator a lot cleaner.
Excellent presentation. Really like how you reflect on your work as well as self-critique.
The future looks promising because the more experience you get with your machines, the better you will be at the desired goal you set for each one.
Of course, I believe you know this already.
finally,
Look forward to viewing more of your videos. I'm very interesting in seeing the end result of your cleaning the pathway.
Peace.
Don't worry about how it looks, if I had done this there wouldn't be much more left...
Great job, you'll get the hang on it!
🤣👍👍👍
wow what a beautiful place lush green
Beautiful, she fired right up! Love how Charlie has to be right in the action. 😂
I think you did just fine...you are learning by doing so there will be times when you can see where you want to improve...nothing wrong with that all all.
Going slow the first run is good anyway so you can get a rough idea on the course you want...you can come back later with a higher throttle to clear the more stubborn stumps!
I makes me nervous when Charlie gets so close to the equipment while it moving...but she seems to know when to get out of the way :)
Great accomplishment on the dozer, it works nicely. Also, you have a beautiful piece of property, the soil looks great. Thank you for sharing.
You are doing great Matt! You might want to go through with the excavator and pluck those stumps out, and while you're doing that you might want to attach a wagon of some sort to drag those stumps out of the field. You will thank yourself later! Stay safe!
It must feel great to enjoy the fruits of your labor and to operate this sweet machine to improve your beautiful property. Congratulations!
Nice to see the Cat out working off some paint.
Now Matt just has to figure out the learning curve operating it.
I've no doubt that he'll figure it out pretty quickly.
Awesome place there. Nice to own some land away from town. If you were into archery what a magnificent place to set up a 3-d animal target range.
Wonderful plan, glad to hear someone the idea trees are there future.
Being one of the many who have watched you toil over this rebuild from square one, I have to say it is both a pleasure and a relief to see the old horse chuffing away as it was designed to do all those years ago. And to you, knowing that all the internals are correct and accounted for, that satisfaction is doubled! I think Doggo was hoping you'd disturb a geriatric rabbit!
Dozer looks great , just need a little seat time , it will come . Didn't realize the big excavator had a baby lol , seen ya moving it at the beginning. You're going to have a nice group of equipment for your property, that's great !!!
Excellent shake down run. The rattling panel is only a sign that you are not perfect…..yet. Kudos! I also annoyed you from the beginning, it’s been blood, sweat (and snow, and rain) and didn’t even see the tears 😂. Wish I had it 😊
Your new trees are really putting on the new growth. Good retirement plan!👍
Soooo cool to see the dozer in action! She ran great, you should be very proud! Then your property, Gods world right there!
Very nice! Great to see it get a bit of a workout and that engine sounds very smooth. You will get more comfortable with it quickly. Dozers are deceptively difficult to run.
Everybody has trouble the first time you will learn quickly. It is hard to see the corner of the blad but that is what your blad is doing good luck stay with it.
Charlie "All that digging and we didn't find a single bone. Atleast we found a ball." 🤣
Looks like fun! I’m sure you will only get better with practice!
Such comedy of the shot of you starting the dozer and then emerging on the tiny backhoe. 😂😂
Dude I can't believe I am watching this. I watched from the beginning you getting the dozzer tell today. 😮
Daddy’s girl is out there to help you! She’s a sweetheart! Charlie girl!❤️❤️ Good job on the dozer rebuild Matt, it’s perfect for your needs there! 👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Blade control will take some time to get a feel for. After you get the stumps cleared, and the ground loosened up you may find that back-blading gives you the smoothest surface. Great to see it finally in action!
Well, you just had to go and get it dirty, didn't ya. Seriously, I think that I may have heard adrenaline in your voice. Your excitement for using it shows. 👍👍👍
Sounds really good , and so quiet with that muffler on there , couldn’t tell if you were wearing hearing protection that’s something you should all ways do with any out door machinery
Great job that dozer running sweet
Hi Matt. I have been following along on that whole rebuild and really enjoyed it. It was really awesome to see it in action and that looked like a ton of fun. I look forward to seeing it in action again and i am looking forward to seeing the excavator in action as well. Keep up the great work!
When you go to grade, keep your right hand moving on the blade control. Constant little adjustments up and down as you move forward. That will keep the blade from digging in. You can always smooth things out in reverse with the blade in "float" !
Love the mini excavator. That is so cool to see her working. Those old stumps sure are tuff. The D4 is alive and well. Thanks for the video and the sky cam shots were great.
A may zing Matt, the culmination of your efforts!
I think someone made a really good job of rebuilding this D4😊
When taking out non rotten stumps, try cutting away at the dirt to each side of the stump, then when you push on the stump itself, you concentrate all your force on the stump. It will also cut the roots to both sides making the stump easier to take out. For your first time, you did great! When you dig in too deep, you can correct it right away by raising your blade, driving the blade past the pile of dirt that was in front of the blade, stop and lower the blade just beyond the dirt pile, then back up with the blade dragging the pile back into the divot and keep going for 4 or 5 feet. Then raise your blade and back up a little more so the dirt is in front of the blade again. Lower the blade and give it another try! Back blading is often easier to keep from digging in and maintaining a level surface. Back blading also packs the surface rather than tearing it off.
You might also consider that you don't want your trail to be lower than the area to each side of the trail. If it is, it will always be muddy as the water will flow to the valley you created. Build your path up so it is higher and it will remain dry and solid. This is easier to do with the excavator than the dozer. You'll figure it all out. Don't expect to get it all perfect on the first go. It takes years of practice to learn the tricks. I'm no expert either, even though I have had my machine for 20+ years.
Word of advice- stay well away from the pond unless you want to have Dave Sparks bring all his heavy rescue stuff up to get it back out again.
I'm sure you will get a lot better with practice. It reminds me of when I first started running the backhoe, lol. That was probably a pretty difficult spot to learn on too, with all the stumps , and trying to work around the young trees
You’ll get there bud! I ran a front end loader for a year without much of any experience, I got better every month. Learn by doing, it really is the best way.
Man nice awesome toy great job nice too see your hard word fixing the dozer working like a charm 👍
Nice to see that monster in action! You may need to get a seat belt for the ole' girl.
Cool Matt, you’re always busy with your projects brother! Good luck my friend, take your time Matt! You got this!
Great video! It's really great to see the fruition of all of your hard work being put to use!
You will learn. We all do. I'm sure there is and educational video on RUclips on how to use it! LOL
I am so happy for you! It's so beautiful there!
You are supposed to push the stumps out of the way not drive over them😂😂😂😂
dude, I cannot believe you rebuilt that thing by yourself with an engine hoist. I have seen some crazy cool stuff on youtube but this is by far one of the best things I have seen.
Iffen you find a stump that gives the dozer a hard time, you do have a winch on the back end that might be able to take care of it ;)
Nice yard and nicer job on the rebuild and even sounds great too.
Good job Pilgrim for your first time. I'm no expert either but you'll want more throttle, just saying...
Otherwise play around and you'll figure out the rest. Nice to see you finally reap the rewards of all your hard work!
Matt, keep your RPM's up. I will come. Lookin good! It's been a long process!
Slow and steady wins the race. I'd love to have a little dozer here but they don't work well with lava rock. Great job for first time!
Its always so satisfying when you can put a piece of machinery that you have rebuilt back to work. Great job!
Lovely plot of tree-land to retire on. And heaps of things to get both machines working on.
Are the tracks for harvest access or just general ease-of-access?
Might pay to plot your route with terrain in mind so you can build in drainage for snow/rain run-off. Not sure if fire is a big issue, but here (Oz) it is and being able to get a spray rig thru there might be important (especially if the trees/lumber are your retirement fund).
Btw - get some good earmuffs.
Awesome machine, id suggest building a Root rake for the dozer to pop out those stumps and not plow so much dirt!
Hiya Matt, I ran dozer and equipment for many years. I think you are doing great! Every hour you spend on that dozer you will become better and better. An old timer told me when I was a young man "better to have your tracks a tiny bit loose than a tiny bit tight" his words always served me well, so I will share them here. I have been watching your videos for a while now. I look forward to them. I think they are just fantastic.
Great restoration job Matt, nothing like seeing your classic Machine, come back to life, from a long sleep.
Sounds good with plenty of D4 power! Good job.