OffTopic~ Big block of stone

[amdinc]

Nobody would knock that down but I know a couple of railroad collectors that would make that signal missing.

John

 

[metalmaster10]

If "manhandle" means climbing into the cab of your man-sized caterpillar backhoe with some 1/2" chains then I would say that rock is an easy task.
On the other hand I can picture a buddy of mine with that rock still on his truck next winter "for weight" but really he couldn't figure out how to unload it after the 100,000 lb track hoe made it look easy loading it.
Good luck.
Don't stand behind it and try to pull it off.... Your wife will be selling your stuff after the funeral.

 

[JoeE.]

Nobody would knock that down but I know a couple of railroad collectors that would make that signal missing. John

You mean the mailbox stand? It's the only one I've seen.

My evil step-mom was the only person who ever showed dislike for that thing~ "I can't believe you put that out front of your house- it's an eyesore". She finally died, so the devil has to put up with her now and I don't have to listen to her. Everyone else (especially the mail men) thinks it's neat.

My salvage yard buddy used some big huge links of drag line bucket chain for his mailbox holder. Welded the chain stiff and hung the box under it.

 

[jrmach]

Just tie a rope around the rock and rope around tree.Give er some gas and see what happens
Bed of truck would come off with my luck.

 

[JoeE.]

..On the other hand I can picture a buddy of mine with that rock still on his truck next winter "for weight" but really he couldn't figure out how to unload it after the 100,000 lb track hoe made it look easy loading it. Good luck

That's what I am afraid of. I have guys with big machinery... but I am really afraid that if I actually got one of the biggest blocks it'd be impossible to move to where I could make use of it.

That, and having a blowout on those old weathercracked tires on the truck! Only have to go a few miles to get it home... but down the highway and city streets!

 

[WizardOfBoz]

I get slightly over 3000 lb for that rock, btw,

2.7 g/cm3 x (2.54cm/in * 12 in/ft * 3ft/yd)^3 /(454g/lb) = 4277lb/yd, or 2.1 tons/yd of solid limestone.

I calculated 0.72 cubic yards for the rock.

One of the home remodeling shows (Hometime) showed how fireplace stones were quarried and cut. Huge shears crack the rock along the desired plane. Pretty interesting.

 

[Groovejivey]

I sense a hernia in someone's near future... regarding the mailbox mounting issues & vandalism, I "acquired" an 8' section of steel rail from a friend in the railroad industry after a particularly busy summer replacing my mailbox & mount repeatedly because the slacker asshole at the end of the street kept throwing 3 day parties that people would inevitably leave from in the most inebriated of ways. Long story short, I ended up with a mailbox mount that appeared to be a wooden post that had a steel core that was planted 4' in the ground & surrounded by 24" of concrete. It wasn't there 3 days before some drunken moron came down the street (probably the same culprit who was doing it all along) & decided to try to take it out. The bang woke me up at 3am, so I just rolled over & called the law. I knew what was up without looking... He went to jail for DUI (his 7th!), & they had to use a torch to cut his vehicle off the post. About 45 minutes to repair it & back in business. No more mailbox vandalism, either...

 

[JWaldo]

Had a neighbor borrow my 3/4 ton pickup to get some stone for a rock wall he wanted to build. When he brought it back he told me the brakes were not working. I took it out and very gingerly tested the brakes. They worked fine. When I got home I asked him how much stone he had in the truck? Some, he said. I had just had 9 tones of stone delivered so I asked, as much as this pile? Oh no, he said. Probably only half that much.

So 4 1/2 tons of stone in a 3/4 ton pickup. I'm surprised it moved, much less actually stopped.

Darn stuff is heavy.

Thanks,
Jim.

 

[mark costello]

FIL was out in His garden hoeing one evening. An old junk truck roars up and an arm starts a wind up with a baseball bat. FIL yells out, He's only about 40' away in broad daylight. Driver dumps the clutch and kills the motor, truck lurches and swinger misses the mailbox and hits truck fender instead. If He could have only ran up and wacked them a couple of times it would of been "more perfecter".

 

[RayG]

My son and I are busy making a new 8m long sliding gate, after a guy came around the corner too fast and ended up through the fence, he wasn't drunk, just stupid. His insurance will pay.

The new gate posts are 100 x 200 x 6 RHS ( That's 6" x 4" x 1/4" in case you were wondering )

Ray

 

[dgfoster]

My son and I are busy making a new 8m long sliding gate, after a guy came around the corner too fast and ended up through the fence, he wasn't drunk, just stupid. His insurance will pay.

The new gate posts are 100 x 200 x 6 RHS ( That's 6" x 4" x 1/4" in case you were wondering )

Ray

Well that is odd, I would have thought it would have been 4 X 8 X 1/4. You really must figure things oddly down under. Up here 25.4mm = 1" in all dimensions.


Denis

 

[Spyderedge]

Keep it outside your shop and tell your employees it's a gravestone waiting to be carved for the next person to break a tap.

 

[RayG]

Well that is odd, I would have thought it would have been 4 X 8 X 1/4. You really must figure things oddly down under. Up here 25.4mm = 1" in all dimensions.


Denis

Hi Denis, Yes, you got it right, it's 8"x4" I think early onset dementia is creeping in, I had to go and check...



Should still make an impression on the next idiot that comes around the corner too fast..

Ray

 

[dgfoster]

Hi Denis, Yes, you got it right, it's 8"x4" I think early onset dementia is creeping in, I had to go and check...

View attachment 99883

Should still make an impression on the next idiot that comes around the corner too fast..

Ray

Just good-naturedly rattling your chain, Ray. Regardless of the system of measurement, that is a pretty darn substantial looking post.

Denis

 

[gmatov]

With your dimensions, limestone at 160#, 3,111 #. Still an overload, I don't care what pickup truck you have. If you gave approximate dimensions, am wrong, but so are you.

GIGO.

George

Peter,

You are wrong. A cubic yard of concrete is about 2700#. WET!

After reading the rest of the thread, no comment.

George

 

[dgfoster]

With your dimensions, limestone at 160#, 3,111 #. Still an overload, I don't care what pickup truck you have. If you gave approximate dimensions, am wrong, but so are you.

GIGO.

George

The weight of a yard of standard concrete is 3600 to 4000 pounds"

"Concrete is measured by the cubic yard - measuring three feet by three feet by three feet, or 27 cubic feet. One cubic yard of normal concrete will weigh about 4,000 pounds. - See more at: Concrete FAQ's | CEMEX USA

Peter,

You are wrong. A cubic yard of concrete is about 2700#. WET!

After reading the rest of the thread, no comment.

George

The weight of a yard of standard concrete is 3600 to 4000 pounds"

From CeMex Search | CEMEX
"Concrete is measured by the cubic yard - measuring three feet by three feet by three feet, or 27 cubic feet. One cubic yard of normal concrete will weigh about 4,000 pounds. - See more at: Concrete FAQ's | CEMEX USA " There are many forms of lightweight concrete available

Incidentally, George, concrete does not really "dry" and therefore does not lose weight as it cures. When concrete cures or hardens it simply is incorporating the water in the mix into the chemical structure of the concrete. So, wet or dry it weighs practically the same.

Denis

 

[Greenwud]

My son and I are busy making a new 8m long sliding gate, after a guy came around the corner too fast and ended up through the fence, he wasn't drunk, just stupid. His insurance will pay.

The new gate posts are 100 x 200 x 6 RHS ( That's 6" x 4" x 1/4" in case you were wondering )

Ray

You will be filling them with concrete to "stop them rusting inside"?

I have a section of 6" spiral welded pipe here waiting to become the mailbox post next time it mysteriously snaps off in the middle of the night. No more dangerous than a concrete power pole or bridge abutment.

 

[hanermo]

The idea is cool, imho.

Moving 3200 lbs == 1400 kg of stone, alone, by hand, is both practical and eminently easy, if slow, imho.
Backyard boatbuilders routinely move and rotate upto 10.000 kg objects, even on their own.

A 2 ton (Metric) jack will easily lift any corner (or the whole thing), the chains needed are only 1/2" thick etc.

Comeon, guys, many people move lathes and mills with much heavier masses -- whats the big deal ?

Might need to lay out boards or wooden beams, then move it with a hand hydraulic jack for example ?
An I-beam or two for leverage and you can probably move from corners by hand, no need to use a truck to pull it.

Its slow, of course, compared to a real rigger with a crane, but you only need to lift it up once, right ?

 

[dgfoster]

<>

I have a section of 6" spiral welded pipe here waiting to become the mailbox post next time it mysteriously snaps off in the middle of the night. No more dangerous than a concrete power pole or bridge abutment.

I don't mean to start a huge philosophical debate, but there is a fundamental difference in the danger presented by the bridge abutment or power pole and the danger presented by a heavy steel post mailbox. The bridge and power pole have to be massively rigid and unyielding to do their necessary jobs. The mailbox does not. Secondly, bridge abutments on high speed roads are designed to deflect crashes and often have energy absorbing shields to reduce impacts. Power poles are located as far from traffic streams as is practical.

I fully understand the frustration of various posters concerning (often willful) motor vehicle damage to their mailboxes. And I get the satisfaction that could come from some jerk getting a "little surprise" when he decides to mow down a box. But, the hardened pole may not always find its intended victim. Innocent people slide off roads, have to exit the road to avoid an oncoming drunk, hydroplane, or misjudge a turn. As someone earlier pointed out there would be some serious legal issues I think if serious injury resulted not to mention your grief at dealing with the neighbor's teenager badly hurt by your trap. (Trap gun incidents seem similar---well intended, but often with tragic results)

Denis

 

[dgfoster]

As I reread my above post, it occurred to me that a more peaceful and perhaps practical approach to the problem might be to emulate traffic engineers' design of traffic light standards. I think, if I were confronted wtih this problem, I might make a nice steel 4X4 post and sure bury the base in a concrete. But join the base and the above-ground portion with a flange held by relatively weak bolts. Then repair of the damage is easy and nobody gets hurt. Or make the underground base out of a steel 4X4 and then just drop in a wood 4X4. Again repair is easy. At the same time, no dope can just ease up to it and push it over without at least denting his bumper. I guess there is no perfect solution.

Denis