Larry Worley's Erector Pylon Driller

Larry writes: "Outside the office where I work, they are constructing a new hangar. There are 3 huge cranes that drill holes deep into the ground. One man told me they were called "Pylon Drillers." The long-shafted bits drill holes to at least 75 feet deep, and long forms are lowered into them, then the concrete is poured in. It is amazing to watch these enormous machines at work. In fact, my manager has had to pull me away from the windows more than once. (Ha ha)

I tried to duplicate one of the cranes with Erector. The boom is nearly 4 feet long. I used 2 rods from an old Venetian Blind to simulate the long drill shaft since Erector has nothing like that. The driller motor is detachable, just like on the real crane. The crane has 3 cables, one for the driller shaft and two for the standard "hooks". They are all attached to the same crank. I simply tied the cables off with 3 P37's and tighten the one I wish to use and loosen the others. The boom is raised and lowered by another crank it the rear by means of an "A" Frame type apparatus and telescoping anti-sway bars.

The crane is so heavy that the A49 motor really labors to move it, but it grudgingly does. The cab rotates 360 degrees, but is "wobbly". When the boom is extended, I have to brace it with MC Plates acting as out-riggers. This crane would've been better mounted stationary, but I wanted to make it function as near the real ones as possible. Also, I had planned to operate the cables and boom with another motor, but space and weight constraints simply wouldn't allow it, so I had to go the "manual" route."