Construction The Backhoe Locust Plug

Back around January-March of 2000 I started experimenting with RayCreteŽ and formed an Agreement with the inventor/manufacturing firm, Valiant Technologies, Inc., to represent them. I experimented with RayCrete in a variety of ways…repairing and rebuilding a fiberglass canoe keel and hull, reconstructing a rotten and weather-beaten window sill in an old cabin, seating handles in garden tools, and so on.

At that time I was building roads, putting in culverts, felling trees, and so on with my Ford 555B tractor/backhoe as part of our family's new home-in-the mountains project. As a number of shrubs and trees were being planted, and dry weather had prevailed, I took to dipping water out of the pond with the backhoe bucket and carrying the precious liquid to spill onto and soak the new plantings.

Unfortunately, there was a 3-inch hole in the back of the backhoe, expressly designed there to drain the backhoe's bucket under normal use conditions. Therefore, most of the water ran out as I raised the bucket from the pond and got ready to drive to where the water was needed.

So, that evening I grabbed a piece of locust wood, popped it into my bench-top lathe and turned a tapered plug for the hole. Locust wood often has a void in the middle, and this piece surely did. Trying to get done with the job and being late at night, I mixed up a batch of RayCrete, quite a gob about the size of 2 golf balls, and filled the void, packing the RayCrete in place as it cured.

Next day I came back and turned the plug to size, noting that the RayCrete was easy to turn, in fact giving a nice finished surface! Then I wrapped a few turns of electricians tape around the middle to give a better gasket like seal, drilled a cross hole for a cotter pin made out of bent clothes hanger wire, and put the plug in service. No varnising, oiling, or other painting or preservation was done.

Today is July 24, 2002, about 2 years and 5 months later, and I went to inspect that plug, which has been outside and in the backhoe ever since. It has seen bucket loads of gravel, rocks, & dirt while it scraped through the ground and dipped water. The picture shows all, the RayCrete is in perfect shape (besides looking scarred and soiled), and the plug continues to function as well as ever.

Pliers and the bent wire point to the slightly yellowish RayCrete that fills the rim and down the sloping side of the plug. You also see the bucket and that drainage hole, upper right.

Amazing stuff! Seems it will do dang near anything in repairs and withstand RUGGED service. Glad to answer questions:

--Bob Heltman <bobh@leadingedgepands.com>