That’s the first time I’ve heard anyone ever acknowledge “top down ditching”...you are very correct my friend...most people don’t know the difference...most people dig bottom up and it’s not the most effective way to dig...especially in rocky and wet ground...I’ve done a great deal of pipeline and when you are digging miles of ditch a day with a crew you want to know how to do it the fastest and neatest way possible...top down all the way!!..keep up the good work!!
Perfect pad dirt. Good job, sure it's beneficial to have a laborer in the ditch, some jobs we get that lucky, others, we're completely on our own. I operated equipment for 36 years, primarily excavators and rubber tire backhoes the last 20 years. Wish I had a GoPro available to me back then, I was always proud of every job i excavated and would of been proud to share with the world. Great video, keep up the Journeyman craftsmanship.
You are right about the dirt you dig,it makes a big difference on your ditch.one thing I learned is not all backhoes are created equil. A three stick case with foot swing gives you a edge on moving your machine around.i learned on a JD410 2stick .i like them both.
Just wanna say thanks I've learnt so much from your videos.I'm just starting out with my own backhoe Business. Cheers from Darren Wells In queensland Australia
There are other channels with more subscribers, but your image quality is top notch. On trade secrets: most often when you try to give someone helpful advice, they ignore it.
You are correct, seat is important but the right kind. What sets you apart from the knuckleheads is you care and have pride in your work. You mentioned something that is close to my heart, my grandfather was a life long machinist and mechanic, he had to a few rules he pounded me with and one was to "learn something new everyday" it keeps your mind sharp. His rules guided me my whole career. Now I'm disabled and I only work on my cars on good days, I watch your channel and others (including the guy in Idaho with all the yellow trucks) to keep learning and I love it.
Thank you Jim!!! This comment is like a bar of gold to me! Your grandfather was a very wise man, and I’m sure you are better for it, I bet you have many things I could learn from! Keep on learning my friend. Mr Anderson is a national treasure in my book too.
You are for the best at footings that I have ever seen! Thanks for all the knowledge and advice! I definitely like your way of top to bottom on digging them. Thanks again Frank
It's obvious you're a good operator and take pride in your work. I am more of a hobbyist that occasionally has to dig a ditch on the farm and have always dug bottom up and my ditches rarely look good. Next time I dig a ditch I am going to try the top down method it makes sense that it will make a nicer ditch. My ground is sandy and river rock so no mater what i won't have nice clean sides but maybe a nicer top edge.
Thanks! You will find that it seems slower, but you will move a lot less dirt if the ditch is clean from top to bottom. It will also cause less damage if you encounter a buried pipe.
Back together and at it again! Must have gone together well. Yeah, that was a good livestream the other night! Glad I made it! I don't even run construction equipment and have learned a lot from you, Frank! You're an excellent teacher and it's obvious you know what you're doing and walk the talk! Great video! Thanks for sharing! Keep on making backhoes great again!
Awesome video. I run a mini ex and am about to do my first footing and I love your tips, top to bottom digging, small steps and lots of getting the machine straight first. Thank you! Michael
I worked in material so hard today that my mini wouldn't even keep its ditch due to lack of power weight and side cutters. You do perty work Frank and thanks for your time
You've reminded me of something that happened to a good friend years ago. He had run a hoe for a long time and was better than average but got away from it for about ten years. He got another one and was having a hard time doing anything even close to what he had been doing years before. He told me that he was done with it and was going to sell the backhoe ! I stopped by and watched him for a while one day and noticed something was wrong because I knew that he was good on it! I convinced him not to get rid of the hoe before going to the EYE DOCTOR ! In the years that he didn't have a hoe his eyes had been getting bad but he hadn't noticed it. When he got his new glasses he was back to being better than average again, and very happy ! 😊 Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍
Love your Vids Sir. always giving unselfish details about your trade. I own a '94 Case 590 and although it's old, I enjoy using it on the farm. About to dig my first footing for a new shop 40x57. A little apprehensive to be honest! Jay
Totally correct about operators. Had guys think speed is more important than accuracy! Their more proud of production than quality ! I would love to see some front loader grading tips. Thanks
I see yer workin around another H&H crew , The key to any kind of operator is patience and practice no matter what kind of machine you operate , the reason why Frank is a great operator is because of me .
I am obviously getting it watch this video. Question: Towards the end of this video, and before you moved off of the long ditch, what were the high spots/mounds periodically spaced apart. Looked like the shovel guy was doing some dressing up of them. Loved the narration you were giving. Thank you sir.
Yes sir. Start it square you'll have a better chance finishing square. My experience with digging has almost all be around utilities. I know I couldn't dig a square to save my life and I always knew my limitations. We had a couple backhoe operators one could feel anything and we said he could tell if it was plastic, steal, cast or soil pipe and could probably tell what color it was before he uncovered it but the other operator it didn't matter what you were digging you always were calling other shops to fix their underground utilities after he was done.
The problem is when the first part of the ditch, is the last part of the ditch (short ditch). Home owner, new to all this. Got a micro mini Kubota K008-03 excavator for personal use. Digging a ditch for a row of mail boxes, a drunk knocked down, ran over. At '75 it's all good.
Putting in a 4" irrigation line at 3', 200' long, with laser for depth control, today & Friday, thanks for the review of digging tips. Doubt it will be as nice as you do it but gonna be buried, lol. Thanks.
Love your videos the only thing I see that you could use is a cutting edge on your bucket I run a backhoe for local highway dept and use one al the time I make mine out of cutting edge for road grader with two backhoe teeth welded to it when I don’t need it I take it off and put two teeth on real simple but it works just like a straight edge bucket when it’s on
Duatin Hall thanks! I have one sounds like it’s pretty similar to yours. It works well for grading but I don’t like how it digs. Appreciate you watching
Thanks for replying it does dig different in different ground but I’m also a young pup you have forgot more then I’ll prob ever know thanks for the great content and feed back you have some of the cleanest ditches I’ve ever seen !!
To start a trench straight try putting a temp stake in the dead center of the boom on the first dig about Fifteen feet out front. Just like sighting a cannon. Can't miss.
Most concrete contractors I work for always want the grade on or a bit deeper than specs call for. If I’m an inch low that’s too much, but it does happen from time to time.
Take pride in your work and the job always looks better. Your jobs always look good that is why you are still in business. Pretty red clay you are playing with.
bill gipson yes sir I learned on a Ford four lever, not sure I could still run one smooth, but I did for a while. Thanks for the comment I really appreciate it!
Just once! That’s what I want... to get a chance to dig in soil that good.... just once. (Understand that it’ll still end up resembling a hog wallow...) But I want the chance to dig it anyway! Thanks Frank.
See you got a nice clean straight ditch. But take your time. I dig the same way as you, but I just have to go faster otherwise I'd lose my job and it's still not fast enough for my foreman. He says he can dig fast and keep it clean but if you look at his ditch, it looks like the picture you showed. Whereas mine is more similar to yours. But I'm the bad operator I guess. I don't know. I feel like as an operator, no other operators really like you. They're always better, they're always faster, so on and so forth. Even if they're truly not. Probably the most frustrating thing in my experience.
Lol operators who brag themselves up are usually hiding the fact that they ain’t that good! Proof is in the work, I know there are some out there better than me, but I’m going to make them work there a** off to beat me. Don’t worry so much about all the talk, sounds like you care about your work, that is important. As for speed, I find a comfortable pace that I can maintain all day will work out better for productivity, and safety.
@@Digginok I totally agree! "Hey look how fast I can dig this trench!" But it's 10 ft deep no benching no slopes. They think they're sloping but it's not a real v ditch. Down here it's 1-1.5. So when we're 10 ft deep in a 2 ft wide ditch we need to be 15 ft wide with a bench or slope from one side. Total we need 30 ft, not including the 2ft ditch itself. These guys "slope" looks like someone took their foot and brushed the side of the ditch. It's basically a straight wall ditch. Told my foreman that ditch is trash and if OSHA comes you're fucked. Especially because you're the foreman, and you dug it. His response, "Fuck OSHA.." okay. I know my worth and I used to be the guy in the ditch laying pipe. Still do honestly. They say the best operators come from guys in the trenches. I know what my guys want. They want clean edges to lay tools, pipe soap, pipe, water bottles, etc. They want a nice ditch. It makes working easier. I know because I was there. I've been in good ditches and horrible ditches. My reply is you'll have to wait if want this done the right way.
We have red clay here in the piedmont North Carolina and there are different types of brick are made here . Looks like good brick clay . Are y They any bricks made in OK ?
I know exactly where ya are coming from with bad dirt. We dig between footings and basements around 300 units a year and I’ve seen a lot of piss pore dirt. What really gets me is when it’s engineered compacted dirt and ur trying to dig footers and everything caves in
Good hoe operator can feel the dirt and know what it’s doing at the tip of the tooth. And to know just how far you can push it without failure for production. Always paying attention to every move. But I think slowing down and taking your time is most operators problem.
Now Lookie Here Frank , If J Pay Dirt Says Your The Best Then Thats The Way It Is ! My Experience As A Surveyor , Most Of Those Guys Would Try And Hit You With The Bucket Or Just Plain Run Over Whoever Was Closest
That skid-steer operator would piss me off why can't he approached from where you started and work continuous with you instead of approaching you from behind and slowing you down
Jealous of you guys that get to work in consistent soil types like that. Here in the northeast, you could dig a 80 foot ditch 3 feet down and hit boulders, ledge, gravel, sand, clay, and wet mud all in one ditch.
That’s the first time I’ve heard anyone ever acknowledge “top down ditching”...you are very correct my friend...most people don’t know the difference...most people dig bottom up and it’s not the most effective way to dig...especially in rocky and wet ground...I’ve done a great deal of pipeline and when you are digging miles of ditch a day with a crew you want to know how to do it the fastest and neatest way possible...top down all the way!!..keep up the good work!!
I have always felt that my job as an operator is to make the shovel man's job as easy as possible.
Great work as always, Frank
Me too, that is the mark of a good operator. Thanks
I enjoy your brutal blunt honesty. Refreshing. Im sure your shovel / spotter man respects you too.
I appreciate that
Perfect pad dirt. Good job, sure it's beneficial to have a laborer in the ditch, some jobs we get that lucky, others, we're completely on our own.
I operated equipment for 36 years, primarily excavators and rubber tire backhoes the last 20 years. Wish I had a GoPro available to me back then, I was always proud of every job i excavated and would of been proud to share with the world.
Great video, keep up the Journeyman craftsmanship.
Thanks!
Nice job thanks for sharing your experience.
You are right about the dirt you dig,it makes a big difference on your ditch.one thing I learned is not all backhoes are created equil. A three stick case with foot swing gives you a edge on moving your machine around.i learned on a JD410 2stick .i like them both.
Just wanna say thanks I've learnt so much from your videos.I'm just starting out with my own backhoe Business. Cheers from Darren Wells In queensland Australia
Thanks for watching! Glad you have learned, best of luck to ya!
There are other channels with more subscribers, but your image quality is top notch. On trade secrets: most often when you try to give someone helpful advice, they ignore it.
Thanks! You are probably right.
You are correct, seat is important but the right kind. What sets you apart from the knuckleheads is you care and have pride in your work. You mentioned something that is close to my heart, my grandfather was a life long machinist and mechanic, he had to a few rules he pounded me with and one was to "learn something new everyday" it keeps your mind sharp. His rules guided me my whole career. Now I'm disabled and I only work on my cars on good days, I watch your channel and others (including the guy in Idaho with all the yellow trucks) to keep learning and I love it.
Thank you Jim!!! This comment is like a bar of gold to me! Your grandfather was a very wise man, and I’m sure you are better for it, I bet you have many things I could learn from! Keep on learning my friend. Mr Anderson is a national treasure in my book too.
Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. I love the intro, Lil Red is git'n it done.
You are exactly right, thanks for watching!
You are for the best at footings that I have ever seen! Thanks for all the knowledge and advice! I definitely like your way of top to bottom on digging them. Thanks again Frank
Thanks Brandon! I do have the perfect dirt advantage though.
Digginok I would say more you than the dirt 😉
It's obvious you're a good operator and take pride in your work. I am more of a hobbyist that occasionally has to dig a ditch on the farm and have always dug bottom up and my ditches rarely look good. Next time I dig a ditch I am going to try the top down method it makes sense that it will make a nicer ditch. My ground is sandy and river rock so no mater what i won't have nice clean sides but maybe a nicer top edge.
Thanks! You will find that it seems slower, but you will move a lot less dirt if the ditch is clean from top to bottom. It will also cause less damage if you encounter a buried pipe.
More surgery from Frank! Really nice and as always, your "ramblings" are very much appreciated - they're solid gold!
Thank you sir!
Back together and at it again! Must have gone together well. Yeah, that was a good livestream the other night! Glad I made it! I don't even run construction equipment and have learned a lot from you, Frank! You're an excellent teacher and it's obvious you know what you're doing and walk the talk! Great video! Thanks for sharing! Keep on making backhoes great again!
Thanks! Was good to visit on the stream.
Awesome video. I run a mini ex and am about to do my first footing and I love your tips, top to bottom digging, small steps and lots of getting the machine straight first. Thank you!
Michael
Thank you and good luck.
The footing doesn’t lie. Awesome work .
Thanks!
Thanks that does mean a lot coming from you, one of the best I’ve seen! You are right the footing don’t lie. Bet I could learn a lot from you.
I worked in material so hard today that my mini wouldn't even keep its ditch due to lack of power weight and side cutters. You do perty work Frank and thanks for your time
Those days happen to me and b too, no fun! Thank you for watching.
Mighty fine diggin there Frank!
Thanks! It was some nice dirt.
very modest but very good there from the uk keep up the top work frank
Thanks! Appreciate you watching
Thank you for all your videos Sr. Any little that we learn from them is big help!!👍🏽
Thanks for the comment! I hope some can learn a bit from them.
Thanks Frank every video of yours I watch I'm learning. I'm very happy to be learning from you
Thank you! Glad I can help you.
You've reminded me of something that happened to a good friend years ago.
He had run a hoe for a long time and was better than average but got away from it for about ten years. He got another one and was having a hard time doing anything even close to what he had been doing years before. He told me that he was done with it and was going to sell the backhoe !
I stopped by and watched him for a while one day and noticed something was wrong because I knew that he was good on it!
I convinced him not to get rid of the hoe before going to the EYE DOCTOR !
In the years that he didn't have a hoe his eyes had been getting bad but he hadn't noticed it.
When he got his new glasses he was back to being better than average again, and very happy ! 😊
Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍
I'm probably getting close to needing some glasses myself.
Thanks for sharing Frank. I’ve learned a lot from watching your videos.
Thanks for watching, I’m happy to hear that it helps too!
Really enjoy watching you dig quite the craftsman and perfectionist.
Thanks for watching happy to hear from ya!
Looking good as always Frank! Can't do that up here big rock country!
I'm sure you are right, but there are many down here that can't do it either. I do not envy the rocks you guys deal with at all.
Love your Vids Sir. always giving unselfish details about your trade. I own a '94 Case 590 and although it's old, I enjoy using it on the farm. About to dig my first footing for a new shop 40x57. A little apprehensive to be honest! Jay
Thanks! I figured if it helps someone it’s worth it. Best of luck to ya.
I'm a pretty good operator but I don't think I could ever help you if I ever can I damn sure will but you've been a mentor to me
thank you sir!
Good job as usually.
Thanks!
Awesome video as always, learn a little bit from everyone I watch. Great work!
Thanks!
Like the video Frank your a very good Operater on your backhoe .
Thanks!
Thank ya, appreciate you watching!
Totally correct about operators. Had guys think speed is more important than accuracy! Their more proud of production than quality ! I would love to see some front loader grading tips. Thanks
I’ll see what I can do on the loader tips. Thanks for watching!
I see yer workin around another H&H crew , The key to any kind of operator is patience and practice no matter what kind of machine you operate , the reason why Frank is a great operator is because of me .
How did I forget to mention you ? Is it because you make me look better? 😂
@@Digginok nah ,it's because I drive a Peterbilt
Kenny Salisbury that’s it!
I am obviously getting it watch this video.
Question: Towards the end of this video, and before you moved off of the long ditch, what were the high spots/mounds periodically spaced apart. Looked like the shovel guy was doing some dressing up of them.
Loved the narration you were giving.
Thank you sir.
Gregg B those are concrete piers, they sometimes drill them and pour them before we dig the footing.
Ahh ha, ok thank you for responding back.
Beautiful Frank. Thanks brother
Nice looking footing as always Frank. I about don't know how to act when I don't hit rock in a footing, but it does happen from time to time.
Thanks! I don’t envy the stuff you deal with.
My backhoe arm jiggles a little when I stop and go. Yours looks smooth. Why is that ?
Plumber in NJ good job .
Yes sir. Start it square you'll have a better chance finishing square. My experience with digging has almost all be around utilities. I know I couldn't dig a square to save my life and I always knew my limitations. We had a couple backhoe operators one could feel anything and we said he could tell if it was plastic, steal, cast or soil pipe and could probably tell what color it was before he uncovered it but the other operator it didn't matter what you were digging you always were calling other shops to fix their underground utilities after he was done.
Thanks for watching!
The problem is when the first part of the ditch, is the last part of the ditch (short ditch). Home owner, new to all this. Got a micro mini Kubota K008-03 excavator for personal use. Digging a ditch for a row of mail boxes, a drunk knocked down, ran over. At '75 it's all good.
Lol! Practice works on the small stuff too.
A can relate to that the 1st 10 feet lol great vid
Thanks!
Putting in a 4" irrigation line at 3', 200' long, with laser for depth control, today & Friday, thanks for the review of digging tips. Doubt it will be as nice as you do it but gonna be buried, lol. Thanks.
Nice! What machine are you using? Thanks for watching.
Do you have any tips to keep a nice flat bottom?
Love your videos the only thing I see that you could use is a cutting edge on your bucket I run a backhoe for local highway dept and use one al the time I make mine out of cutting edge for road grader with two backhoe teeth welded to it when I don’t need it I take it off and put two teeth on real simple but it works just like a straight edge bucket when it’s on
Duatin Hall thanks! I have one sounds like it’s pretty similar to yours. It works well for grading but I don’t like how it digs. Appreciate you watching
Thanks for replying it does dig different in different ground but I’m also a young pup you have forgot more then I’ll prob ever know thanks for the great content and feed back you have some of the cleanest ditches I’ve ever seen !!
To start a trench straight try putting a temp stake in the dead center of the boom on the first dig about Fifteen feet out front. Just like sighting a cannon. Can't miss.
Excellent information! Thanks. Question: what do you consider acceptable variation in the flatness of the bottom of your footings?
Most concrete contractors I work for always want the grade on or a bit deeper than specs call for. If I’m an inch low that’s too much, but it does happen from time to time.
Take pride in your work and the job always looks better.
Your jobs always look good that is why you are still in business.
Pretty red clay you are playing with.
That’s the truth, it helps to have a good reputation for sure. Pretty fun dirt to dig.
Well said more to it then knowing the controls!
Thanks Mr. Dozer!
Frank, what do you mean when you say digging “top to bottom vs bottom to top”?
Dig a level pass starting at the top, make a cut every time you reposition. Cut an inch or two max with each pass.
Really enjoy your work, did you ever spend any time on a Ford 4-lever? I loved the feel so much we put it on our Cat too!
bill gipson yes sir I learned on a Ford four lever, not sure I could still run one smooth, but I did for a while. Thanks for the comment I really appreciate it!
Left to right. Crowd, boom, bucket, and swing. Extended hoe was a foot pedal.
Have you hired a stick man because you two can communicate very well
No I work alone.
Just once! That’s what I want... to get a chance to dig in soil that good.... just once. (Understand that it’ll still end up resembling a hog wallow...)
But I want the chance to dig it anyway!
Thanks Frank.
Come on over here! We have plenty, might need a hog wallow! lol
My Tip is
In my Book
George Street is the king of Country movies
Frank Is the King of welding and backhoe operator 💯 👍
I like your book!
See you got a nice clean straight ditch. But take your time. I dig the same way as you, but I just have to go faster otherwise I'd lose my job and it's still not fast enough for my foreman. He says he can dig fast and keep it clean but if you look at his ditch, it looks like the picture you showed. Whereas mine is more similar to yours. But I'm the bad operator I guess. I don't know. I feel like as an operator, no other operators really like you. They're always better, they're always faster, so on and so forth. Even if they're truly not. Probably the most frustrating thing in my experience.
Lol operators who brag themselves up are usually hiding the fact that they ain’t that good! Proof is in the work, I know there are some out there better than me, but I’m going to make them work there a** off to beat me. Don’t worry so much about all the talk, sounds like you care about your work, that is important. As for speed, I find a comfortable pace that I can maintain all day will work out better for productivity, and safety.
@@Digginok I totally agree! "Hey look how fast I can dig this trench!" But it's 10 ft deep no benching no slopes. They think they're sloping but it's not a real v ditch. Down here it's 1-1.5. So when we're 10 ft deep in a 2 ft wide ditch we need to be 15 ft wide with a bench or slope from one side. Total we need 30 ft, not including the 2ft ditch itself. These guys "slope" looks like someone took their foot and brushed the side of the ditch. It's basically a straight wall ditch. Told my foreman that ditch is trash and if OSHA comes you're fucked. Especially because you're the foreman, and you dug it. His response, "Fuck OSHA.." okay. I know my worth and I used to be the guy in the ditch laying pipe. Still do honestly. They say the best operators come from guys in the trenches. I know what my guys want. They want clean edges to lay tools, pipe soap, pipe, water bottles, etc. They want a nice ditch. It makes working easier. I know because I was there. I've been in good ditches and horrible ditches. My reply is you'll have to wait if want this done the right way.
We have red clay here in the piedmont North Carolina and there are different types of brick are made here . Looks like good brick clay . Are y
They any bricks made in OK ?
Yes there are a few brick factories around OKC
Does you boom up and crowd in match speed with the same pull on the lever
I normally pull the crowd all the way and feather the boom to control the depth.
I go bottom up. But I'm always doing utilities
The laborer in the ditch looks like the same guy in most of your videos...
They all have the same hardhats and shirts!
Construction people all look the same to me...................Hehe
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast!😎😎
Yes sir!
I know exactly where ya are coming from with bad dirt. We dig between footings and basements around 300 units a year and I’ve seen a lot of piss pore dirt. What really gets me is when it’s engineered compacted dirt and ur trying to dig footers and everything caves in
Frank, maybe there are better operators out there than you; but I haven't seen them. And until I do, you are still at the top of the heap.
Thanks Dave!
@@Digginok :-)
Good hoe operator can feel the dirt and know what it’s doing at the tip of the tooth. And to know just how far you can push it without failure for production. Always paying attention to every move. But I think slowing down and taking your time is most operators problem.
Yep, patience is rare, feel is somthing that comes with experience, neither can be forced to happen.
Now Lookie Here Frank , If J Pay Dirt Says Your The Best Then Thats The Way It Is ! My Experience As A Surveyor , Most Of Those Guys Would Try And Hit You With The Bucket Or Just Plain Run Over Whoever Was Closest
Lol! Cant argue with that logic!!! Aka Buster! Thanks for watching
That skid-steer operator would piss me off why can't he approached from where you started and work continuous with you instead of approaching you from behind and slowing you down
You are too modest, but then good tradesmen are that way.
Can't stand arrogant operators myself, proof is in the work. Thanks!
Ps wtf is that skid steer operator actually doing
Moving dirt?
Jealous of you guys that get to work in consistent soil types like that. Here in the northeast, you could dig a 80 foot ditch 3 feet down and hit boulders, ledge, gravel, sand, clay, and wet mud all in one ditch.
Sounds like fun!
Very tasty operator.