The most expensive and dangerous can opener ever implemented

May 23, 2022 2:29 PM

While many precision excavator (backhoe) feats remain unrecorded, there are now many thousands of videos online.

(Includes one previous post from 11 years ago.)

posted by eotvos (17 comments total)

This...is a very good rabbit hole. Thanks!
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:12 PM on May 23, 2022 [4 favorites]

I don't understand how the cap came off in that first link - the opener was engaged, then disengaged, then when the operator nudged the bottle back upright the cap flew off. Was there another opener mounted on the back side of that tooth?
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:44 PM on May 23, 2022 [2 favorites]

I appreciate how far precision heavy machinery has come. All I could think about during this was when it would no longer be a human operator.
posted by abulafa at 4:55 PM on May 23, 2022

You can use a Church Key bottle opener two ways, you can pry up (the more normal way, but you have to hold the bottle down), or you can hook it under the far side of the cap and push down to pry it up the other way (harder, but excavator power). You just need a Church Key that has protruding catches on both sides of the hole.
posted by zengargoyle at 5:10 PM on May 23, 2022

I appreciate how far precision heavy machinery has come.

One of the really cool things that some modern excavators have now are things like wireless remote controls and live video feeds.

You don't even need to be in the cab, and apparently it's really useful for precision work because you can stand off to one side or in front of the machine for a much better view.

I'm sure there are some major safety benefits, too. You wouldn't have to actually be in the machine to do some high risk work like demolishing a bridge or building or excavating something large and unstable like a huge gravel pile that doesn't have a safe or stable angle of repose.
posted by loquacious at 6:07 PM on May 23, 2022 [4 favorites]

Also, on the less safe side one of my favorite excavator things is watching someone who has obviously spent way too much time in a small dozer-loader like a Bobcat or other skidsteer and making it dance the whole time they're working in ways that would give an OSHA inspector or equipment rental company an anxiety attack.

They might just be moving some dirt or gravel around and doing some cleanup but the whole time they're doing wheelies and 360s spinning it around on just the front or back wheels because they can and they're probably bored right out of their skull.

I was waiting for a bus one time and watched someone doing this for almost an hour, like they'd scoop something up, do a nose wheelie and pivot with the bucket nice and low, scoot over to the dump pile and toss it, bop back on the rear wheels and do a little bunny hop with the bucket up high, maybe spin a 360 and dive in for the next scoop. And it seemed like every load was a different acrobatic variation or spin making their little skid steer do things it shouldn't really be doing.

I think i can presume that whomever they're working for just looks the other way and puts up with it because they are really fast and precise. If you did the same work always on all four wheels and by the books and regulations the safe, boring way it would easily end up being less buckets per hour even with all the spinning and dancing around they'd be doing.
posted by loquacious at 6:18 PM on May 23, 2022 [11 favorites]

I liked the one where the excavator took the airplane for one last flight.
posted by storybored at 9:01 PM on May 23, 2022 [6 favorites]

Now I ain't saying she's a gold digger, but they're impressive looking stunt pictures
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 9:33 PM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

Another cool feature found on some fancy modern excavators is the rototilt bucket with additional ranges of articulation, which allow for some incredible precision work.
posted by St. Oops at 10:01 PM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

I liked the one where the excavator took the airplane for one last flight.

When the product isn't ready yet but the customer wants a demo..
posted by DreamerFi at 3:00 AM on May 24, 2022 [4 favorites]

Mr. Prosser: Have you any idea of how much damage that bulldozer would suffer if I just let it roll straight over you?

Arthur Dent: How much?

Mr. Prosser (smiling): None at all.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:15 AM on May 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

This...is a very good rabbit hole.

After you find your way out, here's a nearby entrance to another for those who enjoy watching these and larger machines get fixed.
posted by flabdablet at 4:28 AM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

This is a very wholesome variant on "oh yeah? hold my beer" levels of escalation.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:52 AM on May 24, 2022

Construction equipment is always fascinating to chlldren and in this video the skilled excavator operator quickly fills their tiny toy trucks from the big bucket.

Another very talented professional uses their helicopter skid to open five bottles in a row for CGTN News.
posted by autopilot at 7:13 AM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

Two more heavy equipment favorites: playing Jenga with forklifts and other machinery and Dave Cole's Knitting Machine, an art project using two excavators and massive yarn.
posted by autopilot at 7:20 AM on May 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

I love construction equipment porn.
And here I thought I might get something done today...
posted by BlueHorse at 9:36 AM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

My son spent a lot of sandbox time is how he explains the zen he has with his Kubota. (And 20 years experience)
I can’t watch him on a hill where unless he’s very clever the tractor will roll.
posted by JohnR at 10:35 AM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]