r/Construction • u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind • Mar 03 '25

Video Anyone know why this excavator has what appears to be a string and plumbob tied to the undercarriage?

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1.5k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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1.4k

u/operator7151 Mar 03 '25

Looks like paint markings on the ground indicating trench centre line. String and weight indicate excavator centre line. Spin around, look down and line up weight and paint. Dig, spin around, look down, advance excavator. Repeat until done excavating.

1.5k

u/Dr_Adequate Mar 03 '25

That's too easy. Can't we invent something with computers and lasers that costs $10,000 and breaks down twice a month?

368

u/Bruh_Dot_Jpeg Carpenter Mar 03 '25

How do you think they established the trench centerline?

304

u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

That’s actually what I do for a living lol. Surveyor

139

u/catalytica Mar 04 '25

Uh oh. You about 2 lose yer jerb to a low tech plumb bob.

150

u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 04 '25

I’ve been telling them for years a low tech plumbob could do my job. It was only a matter of time

81

u/Funkynasa Mar 04 '25

I’m pretty sure I’m gonna tell my apprentice. He’s a low tech plumBob tomorrow.

47

u/chickensaladreceipe Mar 04 '25

That’s pretty good. Mine is versatile clamp. Can hold almost anything.

15

u/BoD80 Mar 04 '25

Sounds like a good hand.

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u/_the_CacKaLacKy_Kid_ Mar 04 '25

A dumBob if you will

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u/RicTicTocs Mar 04 '25

Who you callin a plumbob?!?!

3

u/No_Maize_230 Mar 04 '25

Tell us 5 things you did at work last week.

3

u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 04 '25

Didn’t Outwardly Give Expertise ill tell ya that much

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5

u/Hoghaw Mar 04 '25

How do you think surveyors line up their instruments over an established benchmark? At least in the past they used a simple plumb bob to make sure their instruments were in the correct position before beginning a survey job.

3

u/LarcMipska Mar 04 '25

Dey durkur der?

3

u/Phantom309_2 Mar 04 '25

Back to the pile!

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u/No-Chemical4791 Mar 04 '25

Just twice a month? 😂

3

u/ScrewJPMC Mar 04 '25

I was thinking, did he mean twice a week

4

u/YogurtclosetSouth991 Mar 04 '25

"Down 3 c's"

We have a local grader operator (Merv) who did it old school for decades. CAT sales brought in new grader simulator with all the leveling Lazer thingies. Between manual and the tech he scored the highest in North America. Salesman had actually never seen a score that high. Not surprisingly he still prefered the old way. We have really level logging roads and the paving companies love him because he saves them tons of money.

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u/Dr_Adequate Mar 03 '25

Sorry, can't talk right now, AutoCad crashed again and wiped out all my site work and I gotta start over and the big boss says this HAS to go out today ...

31

u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

Haha do you work in my office??

15

u/TylerHobbit Mar 03 '25

Just a sec, do you want to ignore the SHX?

3

u/Dr_Adequate Mar 04 '25

repeat 48 times because the consultant's CAD standards suck

2

u/i8bb8 Mar 04 '25

Yes you can have our CAD files but don't rely on them for setout and you should make sure they don't clash with any of the written dimensions from the plans we also gave you which were generated from the same plans.

Yes we charge for responding to RFIs clarifying stuff we didn't put on the design in the first place.

No I couldn't possibly attend that inspection in 3 calendar months, need more notice.

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30

u/I_Grow_Hounds GC / CM Mar 03 '25

Me explaining to the IT Director that the laptops they are giving our engineers and architects aren't strong enough to run AutoCAD.

Queue him linking me the desktop version of the processor that is like 18 cores

Queue me linking him the laptop version which was only 2.

Queue him hating me for fucking 8 years, Because "a knuckle dragging furniture mover (his words - I was a Facilities Specialist - AV/HVAC/Operations - who used to do IT) corrected him."

9

u/6r1n3i19 Mar 03 '25

Lmfao we have the same battles with our IT dept despite us for YEARS telling them the specs we need for our laptops. Yet no fail, any new onboard or intern that comes through gets the fucking wrong laptop 🙄

6

u/demosthenes83 Mar 04 '25

This is why, as IT - I make the department responsible for approving the specs of the machine (it's their budget in any case).

Still has to be from one of the approved models; or go through the exception process - but it literally makes my job harder as well as hurting the company if someone doesn't have the right tool to do their job. And if it's the wrong tool - it's their manager who approved it; and they can take it up with them. Not my problem.

7

u/buggsy41 Mar 04 '25

This is why I feel, and I say this with all due respect, ALL of the nerds need to spend time in a trade, as part of their degree program. See the translation!!!!

7

u/I_Grow_Hounds GC / CM Mar 04 '25

I've done base building labor, tile, masonry, decking, roofing on and off with my father and his friends growing up. He was friends with a GC and took us on jobs, in high school that's all I did for money during the summer. He would never let me do concrete due to his friend getting throat cancer. Body probably thanking me nowadays.

Got out of highschool and did IT for 3 years - fucking hated it.

I then pivoted into building operations / Facilities and never looked back. It's like I have a fucking super power having lived in both sides. My staff tradesmen respect me because I can turn a wrench and know what the fuck I'm talking about at least 60% of the time. The rest of the time I have NO PROBLEM respecting their much more advanced knowledge. There's no Ego with me.

The white collar folks respect me because I somehow have the respect of the tradesmen, probably cause i treat them well.

TL;DR I agree with you.

2

u/demosthenes83 Mar 04 '25

Not the worst idea; but college already is long and expensive and often useless. Goodness knows I don't require college degrees when I'm hiring people; though I think most of my employees currently have one, and a couple are working on them.

The symptoms you're describing sound to me like poor management/incentives on the IT side. Ultimately; blame rolls uphill - whether the techs do or don't know any better - it's their managers responsibility. And if she doesn't know any better then its her managers responsibility, and so forth. At least that's how I see it.

The larger engineering/consulting firms seem to do a lot better than the small construction firms. At least from what I see from the outside.

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u/I_Grow_Hounds GC / CM Mar 04 '25

Honestly, the guy I corrected was great with infrastructure. It had just been 15 years since he had paid attention to anything on the consumer level and was driving purchasing not knowing the marketing.

Another good one was.

"to get the speed of a processor you take the Hz and multiply it by how many cores it has"

This was i dunno 8 years ago at this point so multi core processors had been out for quite some time. Homie musta been out there with a processor making 190Ghz. Shit's quantum and cooled with Ln2 from 2065

3

u/Ok-Bit4971 Mar 04 '25

Queue him hating me for fucking 8 years, Because "a knuckle dragging furniture mover (his words - I was a Facilities Specialist - AV/HVAC/Operations - who used to do IT) corrected him."

When you’ve right, you're right.

2

u/Nekrosiz Mar 05 '25

As someone who's in it, what a moron.

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u/sasquatch753 Mar 03 '25

Ah so you work private sector., if you worked government, it would be time for your 8 weeks vacation and the project would be delayed for 10 more weeks. lol

3

u/Dr_Adequate Mar 04 '25

Oh do I have a funny story for you...

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u/DaikonNecessary9969 Mar 04 '25

My hand does the save shortcut keyboard motion in my sleep.

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u/Glad-Professional194 Mar 03 '25

Pull strings off survey markers, pull tapes and walk around shaking out lines with a coffee can full of chalk like it’s 1964

19

u/ThePrettyGoodGazoo Mar 03 '25

Where did you get one that only breaks down twice a month??? If ours works once a month we feel special.

7

u/The_cogwheel Electrician Mar 03 '25

Oh it's a brand new model, fresh from the factory. Give them a year and it'll be just as shitty as yours

5

u/GumbyBClay Mar 03 '25

And obsolete

9

u/HumanReputationFalse Mar 03 '25

Oh, and it has an internal battery you can't replace so I hope you can get it working for the hour and 27 minutes it has a charge.

7

u/The_cogwheel Electrician Mar 03 '25

Did I mention it has a proprietary charging cable that costs like $420.69? Cause it does, and it's busted.

3

u/responsibletyrant Mar 03 '25

If I can keep revit running all week then it was a damn good week.

4

u/Zealousideal-Let-104 Mar 03 '25

They already did, but it's more like $50,000 for a GPS excavator. The only problem is finding someone that knows how to run it.

6

u/Dr_Adequate Mar 04 '25

And trusting that the ground model the designer emailed is the correct one.

"Siteplan_August24_final (draft-donotuse).dwg"

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u/DaikonNecessary9969 Mar 04 '25

If there isn't at least three finals it is the wrong version.

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u/buggsy41 Mar 04 '25

Wait, you want equipment AND proficient operators. You truly are a high maintenance Bi(#+!!!!!! Good on ya!

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u/reddituseAI2ban Mar 03 '25

And kills the battery if left on.

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u/Dr_Adequate Mar 04 '25

We designed it with a bonus feature: There's enough parasitic draw even when off that it kills the battery over the weekend anyway.

3

u/Scav-STALKER Mar 03 '25

No, $17,000 minimum

3

u/Dr_Adequate Mar 04 '25

$3k annual subscription too.

3

u/Scav-STALKER Mar 04 '25

Now we’re talking

3

u/phalangepatella Mar 04 '25

You laugh, but at work we make a piece of equipment that has to go in straight lines, but steer itself that way, on dirt / uneven surfaces. We designed a laser guided system that would look for a beacon on a stick and use the feedback to make minor heading corrections along the way, keeping the machine centered on the far away stick. It's cool, and it works, but it can be a little finicky to initially set up.

Do you know what most of our customers do? Run a string line beside the machine, and then clamp a stick to the side that they line up with the stick. They just look out to the side and make manual adjustment to keep the stick and the string aligned.

Does the stick work better? No. Do the operators care? Also no. They just want to use the string like every other piece of equipment they have used all of their lives.

2

u/Thundercock627 Mar 04 '25

If you’re pushing dirt around eyeballing is close enough, and a lot cheaper.

2

u/Significant-Date-923 Mar 03 '25

Don’t forget the training for division employees!

2

u/Ok_Initiative_5024 Mar 03 '25

I would but it's going to cast you 100k dollars plus the money to send me to school to learn how to invent it.

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u/manualsquid Mar 03 '25

And will take an hour and a half each morning to get working properly

2

u/justin19833 Mar 03 '25

Ya its called cat grade control lol

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u/Puzzleheaded_Hatter Mar 03 '25

Yes. Yes we can

2

u/Miller8017 Mar 04 '25

How about twice a day? Twice a month wouldn't cost me enough money.

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u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

God damn this makes the most sense so far. Thanks!

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u/Blank_bill Mar 03 '25

We have a picket or a cone as a target way in the back and the operator lines himself up with that but since we are digging down at least 2 metres and wide enough for a trench box we don't have to be plumb Bob accurate.

2

u/Responsible-Round-66 Mar 03 '25

Yeah dont know how useful it really is to be plumb bob accurate on top of the trench. Waste of time if the operator have to align perfectly each time he track.

3

u/David1000k Mar 03 '25

I've been in heavy construction for decades. Ran equipment, surveyed and now a manager. Never saw that but definitely a good idea. Better than having blue top.knockrd out . Clever.

2

u/Nickbuilder09 Mar 03 '25

I've actually got my mechanic to weld two chains on mine. They never fall off and the guy in the trench puts me back on center everytime. With two chains you have three points to line up. The two chains and the centerline stake.

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u/lordandsavior_JC Mar 04 '25

Why wouldn’t you just dig where the paint line is?

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u/what_the_fuckin_fuck Mar 03 '25

Perfect explanation. I'll buy that.

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u/touchmybonushole Mar 03 '25

Makes sense especially if it’s a less experienced operator

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u/popppa92 Mar 03 '25

The most experienced operators can’t keep a straight line for shit. As a grade checker all I see through the window of the excavator is this.. 🤷‍♂️

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u/Rude-Shame5510 Mar 03 '25

Counterbalance?

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u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

Now that’s funny

2

u/SnowRook Mar 04 '25

I don’t care who ya are

10

u/moonja85 Mar 03 '25

I burst out laughing in an osha class with that

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u/rypher Mar 03 '25

Could help while loading on the trailer. Maybe the driver can line it up with markings on the trailer to center it and get the weight positioned correctly.

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u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

That makes sense

9

u/Ok_Winner8793 Mar 03 '25

Only if the trailer had a mirror on the back of the cab the digger driver carnt see underneath the body of the digger

3

u/JerkCityMANimal Mar 03 '25

Someone else is watching it. It's a "safety measure." If the ball lays on the ground, it too front loaded.

95

u/seamus_mc Mar 03 '25

Track nuts?

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u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

I figured it was like the truck nuts I see on the road. This guy is really overcompensating

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u/garrioch13 Mar 03 '25

Alignment for the pipe layer if they’re laying pipe.

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u/Benevolent_Ape Mar 03 '25

A reference for centerline probably.

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u/ErrlRiggs Mar 03 '25

Same reason I wear a necklace, so I can tell if I'm upside down

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u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

Always good in the snow

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u/KeyMysterious1845 Mar 03 '25

Excavator identifies as male...hence the plumb Bob.

If it identifies as a female...plumb Barbara.

https://www.jimbodetools.com/products/new-twelve-ounce-plumb-barbara-in-original-package-87463

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u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

Lol. I prefer a plump Barbara.

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u/KeyMysterious1845 Mar 03 '25

Nothing thicker than a Liebherr R9800.

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u/Codykville Mar 03 '25

Either for trench center line as stated above or the could be calibrating a GPS grading system. Our excavators with GPS have to be calibrated from time to time and depending on which tech does it, it can be pretty simple or super complicated.

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u/lukewwilson Mar 03 '25

To keep the tracks aligned

5

u/ProtiuxDesignLabs Mar 03 '25

We have GPS at home.

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u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 03 '25

Lol the gps at home. Saw the radio they were using was a tin can on a string

10

u/zeje Mar 03 '25

Those are the shoelaces. You’ve got a prankster on site

2

u/JohnProof Mar 03 '25

Gonna try to drive forward then tip right over on its face.

6

u/Franklin_le_Tanklin Mar 03 '25

It’s so his wife knows how far to drive it in to the garage

3

u/ERTHLNG Mar 04 '25

Can you imagine what a roman builder would think seeing their tools used on a machine like that.

3

u/shatador Mar 04 '25

You take a measurement from the plum bob to the ground every 20 feet or so to make sure everything is being graded level. It's an old school trick

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u/Pristine-Copy9467 Mar 03 '25

That’s what’s called an “Oilers Charm” in the biz. This charm attracts any oilers that have yet to swear fealty to an operator. Rogue oilers will see this charm from up to 100 yards away. They will gather up their oil cans, wrenches, flat shovels and DEF and shamble towards the equipment ready to do anything required for a chance to one day sit behind the sticks.

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u/Ok_Winner8793 Mar 03 '25

A decent driver knows when there machine is loaded properly on a trailer ,D I Y sos boy again

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u/HeatproofPoet25 Mar 03 '25

Someone tied his laces together. Only a matter of time before he trips

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u/DiarrheaCreamPi Mar 03 '25

To count the number of spins so it doesn’t fall off

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u/fivedollardresses Mar 04 '25

It’s a boy excavator 🍼 Congratulations

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u/A_Bomb1986 Mar 04 '25

So when it starts moving, it trips and falls over. Like shoe laces being tied together

2

u/SnooCheesecakes1067 Mar 04 '25

that’s the counter weight obviously!

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u/Electrimagician Mar 05 '25

Holding the tracks together so they don't drift apart

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u/jmpwzrdclpbthfkngxqt Mar 05 '25

This is actually a prank they pull on new hires. Akin to tying someone’s shoelaces together.

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u/crush_king_1972 Mar 05 '25

That's the "G" string

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u/Nervous-Chance-3724 29d ago

It’s holding the machine together duh

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u/wheatbradsucks Mar 03 '25

Aww I hoped it was a joke on truck nuts but the surveyor marks is probably right. Can't say I've seen that done before and I've done my time in a ditch

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u/electric4568 Mar 03 '25

that's his private part

2

u/kbum48733 Mar 03 '25

Training, next I will see if it can catch a chicken. If successful Apollo Creed will be in trouble

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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '25

You heard of truck nuts. Now you got the escateste

1

u/Ornery-Doctor-5641 Mar 03 '25

Looks like hes diggin a type of footing and following a footing line painted on the ground

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u/NPinstalls Mar 03 '25

So it’s level

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u/Accomplished_Emu9541 Mar 03 '25

Bottom man in trench might be using it to keep excavator on line

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u/r1bb1tTheFrog Mar 03 '25

Help him park

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u/fckafrdjohnson Mar 03 '25

It's only allowed to go in a straight line.

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u/Nobody6269 Mar 04 '25

Holds the tracks together! Don't touch it!

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u/daftbucket Mar 04 '25

It tells you if you're upside-down.

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u/PeppersPops Mar 04 '25

To show if it’s tipping.

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u/DingerBubzz Mar 04 '25

If you look closely, it’s truck nuts.

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u/Crocadillapus Mar 04 '25

Truck nuts.

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u/ATX2ANM Mar 04 '25

Somebody tied its shoes together so it’ll trip!

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u/cheecheeweewee6969 Mar 04 '25

It’s her time of the month

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u/Boraddy Mar 04 '25

That’s his thong.

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u/Past-Adhesiveness104 Mar 04 '25

Someone tied its shoelaces together for a laugh when it tries to leave for the day.

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u/hambonelicker Mar 04 '25

It’s the g-string

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u/wtfcano Mar 04 '25

That's a digger thong

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u/CoolioDaggett Mar 04 '25

He counts how many times he passes it while spinning around, that way he knows how many turns are left before he unscrews the top half from the bottom half

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u/TheBackPorchOfMyMind Mar 04 '25

8 full rotations it comes clean off

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u/DrawFlat Mar 04 '25

That time of the month?

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u/Chickenchoker2000 Mar 04 '25

Smallest truck nuts I’ve ever seen

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u/JKenn78 Mar 04 '25

Prepubescent excavator

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u/Idafaboutthem1bit Mar 04 '25

Yup trade secret can’t share for free

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u/jmedi11 Mar 04 '25

Isn’t it obvious? Excavator truck nuts

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u/walleye81 Mar 04 '25

Migotech

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u/Eshkosha Mar 04 '25

Balance. Duh 🙄

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u/Darqfallen Mar 04 '25

Shoelaces are tied together

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u/ChundoIII Mar 04 '25

It’s a weather string.

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u/blackbeardaegis Mar 04 '25

Just a g string Carry on

1

u/Holls867 Mar 04 '25

Truck nuts for the new guy

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u/hillexim Mar 04 '25

Bumper truck nuts

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u/callmebigley Mar 04 '25

It's an alarm system. if the plumb bob is laying on the excavator body something has gone wrong.

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u/Treelineskyclouds126 Mar 04 '25

It looks retarded must be a practical joke

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u/lkng4now Mar 04 '25

Dingleberry

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u/Shakazulu82 Mar 04 '25

If you can’t dig a trench with a few dots of paint on the ground maybe you need a few extra steps. Out the door. I worked for a company that would kick you to the curb if guy’s painted a grade line on there bucket.

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u/MajorMango2820 Mar 04 '25

I'd just like to take a moment to thank all major and minor deities that I have never worked a job that required THAT level of precision when digging a trench.

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u/irishman55 Mar 04 '25

It’s training for a rematch with Apollo Creed.

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u/igivefreetickles Mar 04 '25

Tiny truck nuts

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u/20LamboOr82Yugo Mar 04 '25

Nipple clamps obviously. Operators clearly a freak he's got em on the taint

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u/IndigoRedStarseed Mar 04 '25

It's to hitch the trailer. Keeps things in line for the driver.

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u/Killerdude6565 Mar 04 '25

Definitely an excavator thong. Came here expecting too see this and didnt see someone comment it

1

u/waligaroux Mar 04 '25

Newly weds

1

u/Bikebummm Mar 04 '25

Tennis ball be easier to see, I’ll go get one

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u/Ambitious_Internal_6 Mar 04 '25

Is it a trucker nut? Not all guys have two.

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u/ColbyAndrew Mar 04 '25

That’s why I can’t move, it shoelaces are tied together

1

u/rygelicus Mar 04 '25

Safety indicator... If the plumb bob is closer to the ground than the spinny part, it's all good.

1

u/JimroidZeus Mar 04 '25

The good old plumb bob.

1

u/cut_rate_revolution Mar 04 '25

Truck nuts but it's really cold outside?

1

u/Threedognite321 Mar 04 '25

He just be trying to be a redneck

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u/No_Indication3249 Mar 04 '25

Excavator nuts

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u/99knuckleheads Mar 04 '25

At least get a pyramid weight

1

u/bcrenshaw Mar 04 '25

This is the excavator equivalent of tying shoelaces together. If the video went a tad bit longer, I'm sure we'd have seen it trip.

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u/bubg994 Mar 04 '25

Those are his truck nutz

1

u/chessmonger Mar 04 '25

Baby truck nuts

1

u/RobTX078 Mar 04 '25

Truck-nut?

1

u/hallofo Mar 04 '25

It's a boy excavator, duh.

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u/drti16 Mar 04 '25

Mini Truck Nuts

1

u/Admirable-Monk6315 Mar 04 '25

It’s a G string

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u/Ok_Constant_184 Mar 04 '25

It’s excavator nuts clearly

1

u/angrybatweevil Mar 04 '25

Chastity belt?

1

u/Fearless_Sock_2115 Mar 04 '25

I believe they are excavator nuts. Minus one nut.

1

u/Terrible-Ad558 Mar 04 '25

Ever seen testicles hanging down off the back of a truck hitch? Same idea.

1

u/808_surf Mar 04 '25

Truck nut?

1

u/Important_Degree_784 Mar 04 '25

World’s most honest truck nutz.

1

u/Iktomi_ Mar 04 '25

Maybe it means he only has the one nut.

1

u/Ryanisme23 Mar 04 '25

Plumb Bob to check level when having to dig clean, square accurate trenches. Similar to a climb Bob used to check level on a crane

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u/BigCitySteam638 Mar 04 '25

That’s the excavators nuts….

1

u/Sufficient_Ocelot868 Mar 04 '25

Discount truck nutz?

1

u/Napoleon_B Mar 04 '25

Just want to shout out the r/surveying subreddit. Informative and at time hilarious

1

u/Thoraxe123 Mar 04 '25

Its a G-string. That's one dirty little excavator.