I have notes on using a wrecking ball for demolition work. I've learned that some operators prefer a clamshell bucket because it can be used as a wrecking ball and so much more.
This photo shows that a clamshell bucket was used to remove the Concourse Building of the Union Station.
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| Michael Morris posted, cropped Patrick McNamara Photo by William Brubaker from the UIC Archives at the School of the Art Institute. [This operator is using a clamshell bucket on his crane.] |
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| Barry Thornberry posted |
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| BOE DOEPPERS/THE NEWS via IndyStar via Dennis DeBruler Demolition of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal in 1972. |
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| Eric J. Nordstrom posted 1960 john vinci kodachrome slide provides a rare glimpse at chicago's "land clearance" or hydepark-kenwood urban renewal project in full-swing. vinci labeled the slide with simply one word - "destruction." lindahl brothers, which is still around, is seen here wrecking a building with the crane's clam bucket pounding it into oblivion. courtesy of john vinci collection. |
I knew McDonald's had a corporate campus in Oakbrook, IL south of I-88. A couple of weeks ago, I drove through the part of the campus that did not have its roads blocked, but I could not find their headquarters building that was being torn down. Recently, I learned it was just north of I-88. I read that the windows look like a bunch of french fries lined up in their package. That clue allowed me to find this building.
Since McDonald's has moved their headquarters to the West Loop, this property is being redeveloped. (Update: A friend of a daughter is an employee at McDonald's. She explained that the narrow windows are now a violation of fire codes. People can't fit through the openings so they can't be rescued using a hook-and-ladder truck. The need to widen the windows was one of the reasons that McDonald's decided to rebuild in the West Loop. (A more attractive location for Millennials to help hire young people is the reason I have heard for the move.))
To help celebrate some great fall weather, I made a trip on Oct 7, 2019, to check out the demolition. It was obvious they were using a clamshell bucket. And I could get a good view from an adjacent parking lot. Below is the video I took of the demolition.
With my lens at 200mm, I got the following photo when it slewed to its right to dump a load.
Fortunately, the contractor included the crane information in its paint job: "Link-Belt LS-518."
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Starting a new section of tearing down McDonald's former headquarters
As I walked to a viewing location, I saw a two-story column fall from the building. The crane then started on a new section. (You can see the hoses still watering down the old section. Someone finally goes on the roof and moves them a little later.) Since I caught them starting a new section, I hand held it so that I could start videoing this action. Some highlights.
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| Street View |
Since McDonald's has moved their headquarters to the West Loop, this property is being redeveloped. (Update: A friend of a daughter is an employee at McDonald's. She explained that the narrow windows are now a violation of fire codes. People can't fit through the openings so they can't be rescued using a hook-and-ladder truck. The need to widen the windows was one of the reasons that McDonald's decided to rebuild in the West Loop. (A more attractive location for Millennials to help hire young people is the reason I have heard for the move.))
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| 3D Satellite |
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| 3D Satellite, accessed Oct 2020 [No more employee cars in the parking lot. I assume the holes in the wall is to allow the disposal of debris from interior demolition.] |
With my lens at 200mm, I got the following photo when it slewed to its right to dump a load.
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| 20191007 9573 |
Discontinued in 1988 the 150-ton capacity Link-Belt LS-518 crawler crane is powered by a 245 HP NT855 diesel engine with 3 stage tourque converter. Comes with 90, 000 lbs conunterweight and has 290' tip height with full boom and jib. [CraneMarket]
new from the factory 1981, powered by Cummins 855 with TD converter, pll 2 drums, 3rd drum, independent swing, mast, 180' tube boom, 44" pads, block and ball, ICW and Miss river access able. [MachineryTrader]I plan to make more trips to get additional video so I'll organize the videos by day.
Videos from October 7, 2019
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Starting a new section of tearing down McDonald's former headquarters
As I walked to a viewing location, I saw a two-story column fall from the building. The crane then started on a new section. (You can see the hoses still watering down the old section. Someone finally goes on the roof and moves them a little later.) Since I caught them starting a new section, I hand held it so that I could start videoing this action. Some highlights.
- 0:43 He gets the boom bouncing rather impressively. The crane is a Link-Belt LS-518
- 2:00 He will soon knock the ceiling down.
- 3:00 An excavator (at ground level in the center) picks up a column and carries it off.
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A Wall Slab Comes Down
Evidently a building comes down the same way it went up ---- one wall slab at a time. At 1:00 is when he starts on a slab. At 0:27 did he slew to his right to stop the clam bucket from turning? At 2:56 did he drop the chunk of a column that he removed in a certain spot to help break up something left in the old section? At 3:29, you can hear the diesel engine "work" over the noise of I-88 traffic and wind noise. In the real life, I could hear the diesel engine rather often. I've watched several cranes do lifts, and I very seldom hear the diesel engine. Between the boom bouncing and the engine frequently "working", wrecking buildings has to be hard work for a crane.
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Diesel Noise, Boom Rocking, and a Chunk of the Roof
Link Belt LS-518
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A Wall Slab Comes Down
Evidently a building comes down the same way it went up ---- one wall slab at a time. At 1:00 is when he starts on a slab. At 0:27 did he slew to his right to stop the clam bucket from turning? At 2:56 did he drop the chunk of a column that he removed in a certain spot to help break up something left in the old section? At 3:29, you can hear the diesel engine "work" over the noise of I-88 traffic and wind noise. In the real life, I could hear the diesel engine rather often. I've watched several cranes do lifts, and I very seldom hear the diesel engine. Between the boom bouncing and the engine frequently "working", wrecking buildings has to be hard work for a crane.
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Diesel Noise, Boom Rocking, and a Chunk of the Roof
Link Belt LS-518
This is one of the times that I could hear the diesel engine work over the traffic noise of I-88 and the wind noise.
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Trying to pull a cable out of the roof
I'm far enough away that the sound is delayed. That is why you hear the diesel engine roar when the bucket goes down instead of up.
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Using a closed clamshell bucket as a wrecking ball
Most of the time that I watched this operator, he used the clamshell bucket as a clamshell. But to take out a beam, he closed the clamshell and dropped it like a wrecking ball on a beam. The first drop missed, but he nailed it on the second drop.
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Removing columns
The first clip shows how he removes a reinforced column one clamshell bucket length at a time. He uses the teeth of the bucket to shatter the concrete a little at a time.
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Trying to pull a cable out of the roof
I'm far enough away that the sound is delayed. That is why you hear the diesel engine roar when the bucket goes down instead of up.
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Using a closed clamshell bucket as a wrecking ball
Most of the time that I watched this operator, he used the clamshell bucket as a clamshell. But to take out a beam, he closed the clamshell and dropped it like a wrecking ball on a beam. The first drop missed, but he nailed it on the second drop.
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Removing columns
The first clip shows how he removes a reinforced column one clamshell bucket length at a time. He uses the teeth of the bucket to shatter the concrete a little at a time.
The second clip, 2:05, is a continuation of the beam removal segment shown in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPI4A.... He can just pull out the middle column. For the end column, he starts the same "chomping" technique that he used in the first clip. Since we have already seen how that works, I didn't record the full sequence for this column. The third clip, 2:50, starts when he was approaching the end of the column that he started in the second clip. This clip ended up being longer than I expected because the rebar got caught on the bucket, and he had a hard time shaking it loose.
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Five chomps into the building
As you would expect with a clamshell bucket, the main activity was chomping into the building and pulling a "bite" out of the building. The first two clips follow the crane until the load is dumped. The remaining three clips just follow the crane until the load is pulled free from the building.
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Five chomps into the building
As you would expect with a clamshell bucket, the main activity was chomping into the building and pulling a "bite" out of the building. The first two clips follow the crane until the load is dumped. The remaining three clips just follow the crane until the load is pulled free from the building.
A clamshell was the weapon of choice for destroying the Concourse Building of the Union Station in Chicago.
A clamshell was used to remove some old wood grain elevators in Dawson, MN.
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