I've got 4 or 5 rubber skid steer tracks that I figured I'd find a use for someday if I kept them around long enough and I'm finally put them to use. I have a steep hill in a fenced dog exercise yard behind my kennel that is constantly eroding. One because its so steep (3 to 1) slope and two because hounds are assholes that love to dig lol. I keep fixing and shaping it to control water run off but gravity keeps winning. So for the umpteenth time I'm about to tackle fixing it when "duh" I had a brain storm. Why not cut those tracks apart and lay them length wise along the top of the slope to help stabilize the berm I keep having to reshape? Well I reshape the berm real nice and get ready to cut the first track and I'm thinking "piece of cake" right? I drag out the sawzall and a new blade and start in a cuttin on that track and immediately reality slaps me in the chops and says "not so easy is it fatboy"? Where there's a will there's a way and finally I got that first one cut/burnt through and toughed out another but it sure as hell weren't no piece of cake. Thinkin there's got to be a better way I got on the interweb for ideas and the only thing I found was some poor sap trying real hard to maim himself using a circular saw and oil to butcher a track apart lol. I doubt to many of ya's have tried this but I'm open to ideas?
I'm guessing you've never done this one lol
- Thread starter i4ni
- Start date
ChevyEFI
Well-known member
Tires take effort to cut up. I bet you're going to go through blades.
jrsavoie
Well-known member
Do you know anybody with a tire shear?
Or other open ended heavy shear or press brake?
If you squeezed it hard enough in a press brake, it might cut easier.
Maybe a really big Beverly shear?
Or other open ended heavy shear or press brake?
If you squeezed it hard enough in a press brake, it might cut easier.
Maybe a really big Beverly shear?
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Gas powered saw, like a stihl masonry/demo saw?
jrsavoie
Well-known member
9" grinder with a cut wheel?
Make a shear with some blocks and a sharpened piece of steel. Maybe something you can run over with something heavy or put in a 50 ton press.
Or make a really huge paper cutter with a long arm?
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I hate grinders and would rather have the blade under bigger guard, with more power and a bigger handle
Viper98912
Well-known member
Sounds fairly dangerous to try to cut a thick industrial rubber like that with anything circular, I'd be scared of it get caught and flying right at you or you losing control and swinging around wildly. No way I'd do it.
I would try to find some type of large hydraulic shear or something.
I would try to find some type of large hydraulic shear or something.
crazylunker
Well-known member
garden hose trickling on the blade as you cut, helps keep blade cool to make it harder for rubber to stick to it. also angle the blade a bit to the track instead of 90 deg and use a looooong blade so you can alternate different parts of the blade to keep from overheating one section.
TMcCay
Well-known member
Find an abrasive edge blade. You don't really need a toothed blade. I have seen Diablo sawzall blades like that. The tougher the material on the edge the better.
jrsavoie
Well-known member
40 years ago, my neighbor had a tire shear he made. Something like that would be perfect for this application.
I don't remeber any specifics.
Doh !!! Major Homer Simpson moment Guys! I have one of these Sidney Tree Shears! Didn't even dawn on me to use it but it will make short work of that track. I just moved my skid steer home from the farm Tuesday to work on this kennel situation and debated whether to bring the shear home but was in a hurry and decided not to of course. I guess on the bright side my tag trailer is still hooked up to my dump truck. Thanks for the reminder