Picked up an older cement mixer

[ebinmaine 74,896]

@JCM Jim had this old gem down to his place for eons. I'd mentioned back at the Annual North Berwick Meet n Greet that if he ever got a hankerin' to sell it - let me know....

 

The BBT and I will be using this mixer to build a couple ramps for the barn doors. Then..... ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[8ntruck 8,238]

That is another one of those tools that you don't know you need until you have one.

 

I haven't pulled the trigger on one yet, but every time I mix concrete in my wheelbarrow, I think real hard about it.

[ri702bill 10,222]

Nice!! Check the condition of the "brake" for the drum tipping mechanism before you load it up with the actual mix. Fill it with just water and tip it - it should not run ahead of you once you pass the tipping point. There may be a reduction device in the pivot.

Edited 19 hours ago by ri702bill

[Handy Don 14,841]

After my dad built our future home in the late 50’s he had my two brothers and me doing concrete for what seemed like forever--probably on and off for two years. 

We had a mixer like this one and built sidewalks, steps, shed floors, garage aprons, and drainage culvert ends. We did get really good at building forms, judging the moisture in the sand and gravel, not spilling the wheelbarrow, getting out air pockets, edging, troweling, and putting just the right amount of “tooth” on the floated surface for safe traction. It was (and is) hard labor but quite satisfying when done well. 

Edited 16 hours ago by Handy Don

[Achto 30,011]

There is a cement mixer that is shared between my friends & family. The ruling of it is - Who ever uses it last, has to store it until the next person needs it.   My nephew currently has possession of it. I have needed it a couple times but decided to mix in a wheel barrow instead so that I did not have to store the mixer. 

[c-series don 10,666]

This reminds me of my log splitter. I lent it to my son in law and told him that if I need it I’ll come get it. It’s five minutes from my house.In the meantime he can store it! One less thing on my property! 

[JoeM 9,029]

I had one, gave it away when we finished the last building. Glad to see it go. 

I rarely need more than a two bag mix, just mix it in a mortar tub or wheel borrow. 

Lifting those heavy bags to fill is a mixer is deal breaker for me. 

[squonk 44,732]

I needed a mixer years ago. A customer of mine had one and says I can borrow it and he would even deliver it! I get home one day and there it is in my driveway. I look it over and notice there is no motor and belt  I call him up and tell him and he says " OOPS! "  and he also has no idea where the motor is but he will look. It takes him a week or so but finally finds it along with a pair of concrete covered vise grips to hold the motor on! 

 

As soon as I was finished that mixer was loaded up and gone! 

[squonk 44,732]

8 hours ago, Achto said:

There is a cement mixer that is shared between my friends & family. The ruling of it is - Who ever uses it last, has to store it until the next person needs it.   My nephew currently has possession of it. I have needed it a couple times but decided to mix in a wheel barrow instead so that I did not have to store the mixer. 

You could have snuck it over to @WHX??'s and parked it with all of his dump carts. He'd never know it was there. Cinnday could put some dirt in it and make a planter out of it. 

[rmaynard 16,628]

My dad had a mixer similar to that back in the 1950's. It wasn't new when he got it. Probably made in the late 1940's. Everyone wanted to borrow it. It was cumbersome to move around. So, the rule for the loan was simple...you borrow it, you keep it until the next person wants to borrow it. I'm not sure, but I think my brother currently has it. Apparently it still working after more than 75 years. Must have been made by Wheel Horse.

 

[ebinmaine 74,896]

3 hours ago, JoeM said:

 

Lifting those heavy bags to fill is a mixer is deal breaker for me. 

 

Two sides to that coin....

 

1. I handle bundles of shingles at work on a very regular basis. Those are 70 to 90 lbs. Boxes of vinyl siding can be 130 lbs. Then there's doors and windows...

 

2. It's unlikely I'll handle full bags of cement/ concrete after seeing a neat trick on a couple different YouTube videos. 

Lay a piece of rebar crossways under the bag. Slice across the bag following the rebar. Quickly lift the rebar up and you're left with two FORTY lb bag half sections. 

Niiiiice....

 

 

That said...  I'm aware I'm a little on the "not small" side. Lifting and carrying things has been my whole existence. 

 

"I pick things up 'n put dem down".

 

Fibromyalgia and body chassis pains solidly kick my 🫏 on some days... but absolutely REFUSE to stop. I firmly believe that'll be great in the looooonng run. 

 

[ebinmaine 74,896]

14 hours ago, ri702bill said:

Nice!! Check the condition of the "brake" for the drum tipping mechanism before you load it up with the actual mix. Fill it with just water and tip it - it should not run ahead of you once you pass the tipping point. There may be a reduction device in the pivot.

 

Good info. Thank you.  

 

This particular mixer has four stopping studs on the sides. No obvious adjustment there.  

[JoeM 9,029]

28 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

"I pick things up 'n put dem down"

Me too.

 

I failed to mention I gave that away before I had an FEL Wheel horse. Now, I would roll those 60 or 80 lbs sacks into the bucket and load the mixer. That is what my son does. He has his own mixer and FEL and I just think it is kind of crazy but he will mix 30-40 bag jobs. 

 

Sliding down the back side of 60's now. I think back when I was in my 30/40's, the times when I lifted weights (barbels), lifted and worked with heavy stuff. Items I should have got help with. 

My consensus is just all those lifts was wearing old Joe out, and he never knew it!

 

End result = Arthritis, a fused back, ankle and artificial knee, and soon a shoulder. 

 

Sounds like you got a plan. 

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by JoeM

[squonk 44,732]

Your body came with "so many" amounts of lifts, bends, squats ect. You can exercise your a$$ off and end up no better than Alfred the 175 lb. accountant down the street. Just because "you can lift it and done it for years" doesn't mean you should. 

 

We had a plumber just retire at work. Al is 62. He has all of these video's of him lifting all kinds of weights. He pretty much put Red Lobster out of business with the All you can eat Shrimp. I've seen him eat a couple of pizza's by himself. I was tightening a pipe union on a boiler with limited room for a pipe wrench. I wasn't satisfied on how tight I was getting the fitting. I called Al and he comes and whips out the Channellocks from his pocket and cranks it another half turn! 

 

6 month's before retiring Al had a knee replaced. BECAUSE HIS LEGS ARE BENT FROM ALL THE ABUSE!!! Went thru a lot of pain. He just had he other knee done last month. I'm going to have him give me a hand on a small plumbing project this summer. It will cost me more in food than the parts will come too! 

Edited 3 hours ago by squonk

[rmaynard 16,628]

10 minutes ago, squonk said:

Your body came with "so many" amounts of lifts, bends, squats...

 

When my young doctor suggested that I do physical therapy for all my aches and pains, I suggested that he contact me when he's my age and let me know how that PT is doing for him. You are correct Mike, the body can only take so much abuse.

[ebinmaine 74,896]

18 minutes ago, squonk said:

Your body came with "so many" amounts of lifts, bends, squats ect

 

 

With all possible due respect, that is a wives tale. The key is to understand and practice what Bob states below:

 

7 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

body can only take so much abuse.

 

"Abuse"  is VERY DIFFERENT....  caused by constant over usage and over limiting ones self.

 

Overuse of any joint or muscle is going to cause long-term problems. That is not negotiable.

 

My point from the post above is that if you don't exercise your muscle structure, you are going to slowly lose it with age because of sarcopenia. This is in the average but it does not have to be in the normal.

 

 

We all look back at all the friends and family that we have known in the past and we see the things that they have experienced. My father with his knees from doing flooring. Bursitis in his joints from not taking care of himself and never getting enough protein and always a lack of sleep.

 

All of our fellow workers with their experiences in having bad joints.

 

We now know that these are things that could have been avoided.

 

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by ebinmaine
Corrected overuse

[squonk 44,732]

Heredity has a lot to do with it. I never abused my back ever. At 50 my back was according to a spine specialist " full of arthritis." As much as someone would have in their 80's. My mother had the same issue. I had surgery in 2019 because the deposits and roughness in a back joint and trapped a nerve root enough where I couldn't sit, stand, walk or lay flat. I remember driving back from the big show and wanting to jump out of the truck at 70MPH it hurt so bad.  Slept in a recliner for 6 months

 

Point is everyone is different. You can take care of yourself and do everything right all your life and die at 50 or totally abuse yourself and live into the 90's. It's all a crapshoot and just because one person can do it doesn't mean you should

[ebinmaine 74,896]

5 minutes ago, squonk said:

has a lot to do with it

 

All valid. Absolutely good points.  

[MainelyWheelhorse 2,138]

2 hours ago, squonk said:

Heredity has a lot to do with it. I never abused my back ever. At 50 my back was according to a spine specialist " full of arthritis." As much as someone would have in their 80's. My mother had the same issue. I had surgery in 2019 because the deposits and roughness in a back joint and trapped a nerve root enough where I couldn't sit, stand, walk or lay flat. I remember driving back from the big show and wanting to jump out of the truck at 70MPH it hurt so bad.  Slept in a recliner for 6 months

 

Point is everyone is different. You can take care of yourself and do everything right all your life and die at 50 or totally abuse yourself and live into the 90's. It's all a crapshoot and just because one person can do it doesn't mean you should

Look at Ozzy Osbourne, over did it on everything that kills you early for years and still lived to 76. He did have a genetic mutation that lessened the impact of that stuff on him though.