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An old-timer's 20-minute lesson on draft angles saved me a full day
Last month I was running a cutterhead dredge near Baton Rouge and kept chewing through swing cables. A retired operator, must have been 75, was watching from the bank and finally waved me over. He said 'son, your ladder angle is fighting the current, not working with it'. We spent 20 minutes adjusting the draft and the swing speed, and I swear the next pass cut like butter. He also showed me how to read the water surface ripple pattern to spot where the sediment bars are hiding. I never had anyone break it down that simple, most guys just yell at you about flow rates. That one conversation probably paid for itself in cable and diesel. Has anyone else had a random stranger on a job site drop knowledge like that on them?
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aaron_ellis421mo ago
If the next pass cut like butter" reminds me of a guy who showed me greasing a bearing by sound alone.
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