Busting a Pond Dam

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Smith Worx

9 ай бұрын

I've been really anxious about this project. It's gonna be a challenge for sure.

Пікірлер: 165

@larryperdue508 9 ай бұрын

It is my opinion that you should remove the trees and pull back the existing dam, cut a core trench, and rebuild the dam, right 😊

@hunterharper1891 9 ай бұрын

You can remove those tree's with a saw , rope , and that machine in probably two hours easy

@bryanraymond8602 9 ай бұрын

They still have to be processed and disposed of that takes more trucks more time and more money. If he's trying to keep it cheap I agree with his decision

@richardnott9587 9 ай бұрын

That 100% what should happen. I wouldn't do it without it. One good storm and that big tree is going down and that dam will burst. But at least it will be easy to remove all the silt after that and then you can put in a key through that dam.

@kennethpeterson3706 5 ай бұрын

It's because he doesn't know what he's doing

@shane6232 6 ай бұрын

Trees gonna all die, Oakwilt is sure to come from you busting up that tree.

@smithworx1091 6 ай бұрын

Man you should be a fortune teller or something! 🤓

@haroldmegyesi7472 9 ай бұрын

Very good tour big operations

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks buddy

@user-xz9kp2il8v 6 ай бұрын

Hello from East Texas my late husband had a degree from A&M in Wildlife &Fisheries and ponds was what he did his masters own he would love listening to you. Thank you for taking the time to share.

@smithworx1091 6 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching and commenting. I would've enjoyed talking with your husband. I'm sure I could've gained knowledge from him.

@TheTishbite 9 ай бұрын

Good job. Thanks for your patience and expertise. We want to save as many trees as possible. We moved here for the trees. Blessings and yes,prayers.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Man yeah. I should be back over there in a couple days

@steveevans6334 4 ай бұрын

Great watching you from the UK

@smithworx1091 4 ай бұрын

Thanks a lot brother. Hope you watch this whole pond series. It was a fun job!

@brentking-gmailking2570 8 ай бұрын

One of my favorites.

@smithworx1091 8 ай бұрын

Thanks brother

@tristardiggin 9 ай бұрын

Cool project for sure! And I'm saying you will get stuck 73.5 times instead of 72 😂...

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

🤣 we are both probably way off! Bring the hog down here, and let's see what she's made of!

@PurpleNovember 9 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091Bounty hole!

@diggindeeperPCG 7 ай бұрын

Sam, now that you are a seasoned pond builder, we all expect you to give sage advice!!

@tristardiggin 7 ай бұрын

@@diggindeeperPCG Whew! That sage advice would be followed by a disclaimer saying “don’t try this at home”. 😀

@donnyhudgins1917 9 ай бұрын

When I was a little boy I watched my dad clean out several ponds with a dozer alone. He'd break the dam and drain them and then push dry dirt in to soak up the remaining water and mix with the mud. Then by stirring in it over a period of a few days it dried out to a point that he could basically core and rebuild the dam with that good moist material. Never had a problem out of any of them but he just made do with what he had at the time as far as equipment. He seemed to be alot more resourceful back then, or broke, not sure which lol. There were a few over the years he had to rent an excavator to do because they didn't have a dam or a way to drain them but it wasn't many. I remember being a little boy and helping (as much as i could) shovel alot of mud out of an undercarriage.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Man that's awesome. That generation could do so much with very little. I wish I had someone to learn from in the dirt working world. I'm sure I'm gonna get several good workouts on this job from shoveling tracks lol

@donnyhudgins1917 9 ай бұрын

@smithworx1091 he still does it everyday for a local farmer, mostly clearing. Runs a John Deere 350G and a little Komatsu D41E for finish work and moving brush to the piles. The 350 does the brunt of the work. He's forgotten more than I'll ever know but he's been on a dozer since he was a little boy when my granddad worked for the county road department. Lord willing, if he lives until his birthday he'll turn 75 this October. Those old men don't always make good teachers though, or at least I know dad doesn't. I tell him pretty regular that he seems to have gotten grumpy in his elder years. Love him to death but it's true, I'm sure I will too as I age especially in today's society as things progress toward the end.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

@@donnyhudgins1917 I have a feeling I will be intolerable if I make it to that age. Like you said. Today's society.

@diggindeeperPCG 7 ай бұрын

Fun Project. Will be challenging but you got this!!

@smithworx1091 7 ай бұрын

It was fun indeed. Learned a lot.

@user-cj9yc2vj6l 7 ай бұрын

I will say you are pretty damn good with that excavator & that thumb! You make it look like it is an extension of YOU! You sure do have fun with your toys! LOL

@smithworx1091 7 ай бұрын

Thanks a lot for that buddy! 🙏

@MrBIGNAWD 9 ай бұрын

GOOD LUCK BUDDY!! I SEE WHAT YOU TRYING TO DO.. BUT THEM TREES AND OLD DAM NEED TO GO AND REBUILD IT RIGHT WITH A CORE... GOD BLESS...

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks brother. I agree

@user-gk9ph4we8b Ай бұрын

Get ya a level and a grade rod and shoot it buddy that way you know where your at and if water is connected like it is in that pond bottom it is flat dead level Im just saying you can use it as a grade to come of of roughing your dirt in and that silt your flipping over on the back side of dam to dry is good it needs to dry some but when you figure out the grade you want the invert of your pipe to be and water elevation youll of course know the depth and height you need your dam to hold water which like you say it should of been cored maybe but if I wanted it to hold water and not percolate through it if you take and cut you a bucket wide ditch in the center of that berm and as your digging it youll srcatch and see where existing natural ground was then Id just undercut it roughly 2 feet from there and throw the clean halfway dry silt with no organics in it in that ditch up a little higher of. Course than your wanted water level then throw the sandy stuff on it to cap that believe it or not that silt will seal it like clay it wont perc through it and if the water is going to be coming up and down like it has that and them not countersinking the toe of the slope below natural existing ground like coring it just a 1' to 1.5 say and make it a 4:1 or flatter slope track it in pack it best you can and that windrow at the toe just roll it back across the toe to your wanted bottom grade and track it in good I know you cant in a lot of circumstances and its aggrevating its a short distance one way but if you take a dozer or hoe and you track yiur dirt in long ways then track it in the oppsite way criss criss it it will pack it better than a roller in a lot of cases and if its kinda wet and pumping it will tighten that shit up where itll quit pumping bringing the water up an when it dries its hard itll pass density lol no but I was taught that tracking trick from and old boss of mine I was spreadind wet dirt on building pads supposed to be 1' lifts roughly hell the belly pan was dragging and the tracks were on existing ground it wouldnt even stand up on the shit and he tracked the hell out of that wet shit in opposition direction and you could actually shape the shit and get it close to grade for finishing when it dried I couldn't believe the shit dont ask me exactly how it does that other than its pumping and pushing then going the opposite direction pinches it to where it locks but you can get density to pass of course when it dries enough to meet the optimum moisture enough a troxler will read 95 to 98 if you dont put more than 1.5 say ya gotta cheat the density man when ya can lol and that water if in that bottom if your going to dredge it clean it out whatever make it deeper just keep it crowded away from where your working in sections going to your drain ditch or pipe just do it where you got control of the water if it rains if you grab just enough good dirt out of the bottom to keep the mud and water forced away so your not fighting it and you keep getting up leaving the slop but keeping the good dirt forcing the water out kind of simultaneously the sloo wont build up and you should be able to force the water out away from you and the slop you leave will mix in with the cut you take out the bottom so you loose the water the slop mixes in if you do have a little slop at the end undercut the bottom just enough to loose it

@grumpyg9350 9 ай бұрын

Nice work.👍👍

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Appreciate it. Glad you're here

@pauldillinger2286 9 ай бұрын

You got this brother. Yes the huge trees suck but moving the dam in front of them is the way i think you should go with it. I have never seen you do a pond i think, maybe i have. Youve been on clearing jobs so long. Any way bud I know you got this and it will be really nice when its done.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks brother. It's my first pond to try and fix. I've dug the banks out on one before. This will be a challenge but it'll be fun.

@pauldillinger2286 9 ай бұрын

If it was my pond i would say do what yiu need to do brother.@@smithworx1091

@karleywarrenn 9 ай бұрын

This will be a fun job to watch!

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

How bout you come help instead of watch?! 🤓

@karleywarrenn 9 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091gimme the keys and I’ll show you how it’s done

@tonymiles3106 9 ай бұрын

I think you have a good plan, but that dang dang shovel gonna come in handy for track cleaning when your done.😊

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

🤣🤣 they were bad for what little I did already.

@williamwelling4872 9 ай бұрын

There should be no tree's on a dam the roots under mine the dam thats way you have muskrat problems

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

You're right.

@williamhill9432 9 ай бұрын

This is going to be a lot of fun to watch. I’m still not exactly sure of how you are going to do it but with God’s Help I trust you will. Yes, I’ll be watching every episode.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks brother. I'm relying on the good Lord. I appreciate your support!

@kimhollowell1224 9 ай бұрын

Really good hydraulic shop in pontotoc.....Mapp farm and hydraulic...... exceptional service....

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

I haven't heard of them. Thanks

@hunterharper1891 9 ай бұрын

Is he out of Pontotoc ms?

@kimhollowell1224 9 ай бұрын

Yes....hwy 15 South....

@hunterharper1891 9 ай бұрын

Oh nice my cousin grew up in Pontotoc

@gregallsup9522 9 ай бұрын

Awesome Job!!

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks bro!

@PurpleNovember 9 ай бұрын

Man that’s a lot of work! Brother-in-law has a pond they did that with over 20 years ago. They threw bentonite pellets down a few months after it was built and it’s still holding water.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

I'm gonna suggest the bentonite for sure. Any little bit will help. That stuff has to be put down before it fills up right?

@PurpleNovember 9 ай бұрын

⁠@@smithworx1091The powder does for sure. The pellets can be put in when there’s water in it but they seem to do better mixed into soil below the water level.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

@@PurpleNovember thanks bro

@PurpleNovember 9 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091so now that you have everything dug up. I got to thinking about it and I probably would have dumped tried dumping a pallet or so of bentonite pellets along the problem area. I’d let it flow into the holes some then try to compact both sides with the excavator bucket. I’m not there though, can’t see everything and don’t know everything involved with the situation. Would pulling the trees backwards, to remove the entire tree, do to much damage to the ground? If it was me and there was room, I would have dug around the base of the trees and pulled them down, away from the pond. If this was done could it completely destroy the berm that’s holding back the water? Aside from the cost.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

@@PurpleNovember I haven't done anything yet. Just cut the levee. Those trees are a lot bigger in person. I don't have enough machine to pull them away from the pond.

@tylerboone2786 9 ай бұрын

Trees should never be on a fill embankment.

@JohnpaulDejoria666 9 ай бұрын

God speed on finding good clay for the dam 🧎🧎🧎🧎

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks brother

@lovejcdc 9 ай бұрын

I'm really looking forward to seeing this job progress. I think you have a good plan to fix it. I guess the only thing I can think of is how important it is to dig out the muskrat den and pack it in. I know those little suckers can do a boatload of damage to pond dams. I've seen a lot of it in my younger years on the ranch. Beavers and muskrat are enemy number one for ranchers loo

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

I'm gonna do my best to collapse the holes in the backside. You would think they would take care of the pond instead of destroying it lol

@lovejcdc 9 ай бұрын

@smithworx1091 I know right lol but then again they have a tiny little brain lol

@nancyannirvin4507 9 ай бұрын

Nice drone work.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@jimmytew9468 9 ай бұрын

You will get it fixed. If the ground dries out you should be fine. Just going to have to pack the core really good. Be Safe Out There

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks Jim. I got to be careful not to make a soup sandwich lol

@jimmytew9468 9 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091 that's going to be the hardest part. It may take more than a couple of weeks or more before it dries out.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

@jimmytew9468 man I hope not lol

@Harikarikillboy 9 ай бұрын

You about got it figured, just make sure their check clears lmao. So, after a mechanic checks out that 304 imma pull the trigger and buy it I think. Looked at a Kubota 40 and John Deere 35g. I’m sure they’re nice machines but..they just don’t feel like cat does if that makes any sense, didn’t feel as hefty, or solid. The 35g is a bit smaller, the Kubota was a nice machine but didn’t give me as much confidence. Best way I could put it lol. Anyhow, started scoping out a mulching head, fecon (?) comes up a bunch but I got a little time to keep looking. They’re all expensive, all say they’re the best yaddayaddayadda. I’m gonna be checking on KZfaq and find some videos on different ones. Ditches won’t be a problem, I just need to be able to mulch the banks by the road and underbrush on the rest. Any ideas?

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Letsdig has one for his mini. I can't remember the name brand. But if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. Also, maybe Idigit4? He runs a mulcher a lot on his mini. Cat brand mulchers are decent. Just make sure the mulching head motor is a well-known manufacturer. All the other stuff is just bearings and cutting teeth.

@hendersonlandworks6158 9 ай бұрын

I would of dropped on the back side and core the dam deep as you can digging the muskrat tunnels that way you wouldn’t half to bother the trees and wall and make the backside easier to mow. 3 days of work tops

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

I thought about that, too. I'm afraid of killing that monster tree. I am gonna try to collapse the holes on the backside. If I have enough dirt, I might try to at least dig out what I feel comfortable with on the backside and repack it.

@kirk467 9 ай бұрын

Do your best and don’t worry about the video critics my friend! People don’t know what it really takes to fix things like this brother and they sit around and criticize people that are at least trying to fix the problem!

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks a lot brother!

@privatepilot4064 9 ай бұрын

Dam!!!

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

🤣

@nsbstrong3624 6 ай бұрын

Hey middle aged Goose .this is Maverick..just saying heeyyyy

@smithworx1091 6 ай бұрын

Talk to me Goose!

@Uriahheep1975 9 ай бұрын

You shouldn't take that tree. If the remaining roots rots water seepage would create a channel underneath. And it would cause the pond to leak.

@trentherring5640 9 ай бұрын

Dredge the other side first and divert the water into an area you dredge. If you can get it deep enough. Not sure that you can?

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

I'm headed back over there today. It's dried up a lot. I think I'm gonna try what you're saying

@gravelydon7072 8 ай бұрын

The people at Cat were actually doing you a favor. Cat prices would be a good bit more than at the local hydraulic shop. If possible, also switch to reusable fittings. We used Aeroquip ones at work because we could not afford down time for half of the year. Have a hose leak and be back in operation in less than an hour. Saved phone calls from a Federal Judge.

@smithworx1091 8 ай бұрын

I haven't heard of those. I'll look them up. Thanks buddy

@PurpleNovember 6 ай бұрын

How do you like the reusable fittings? Aeroquip makes some good stuff! I usually used Gates because it was easier to get where I was at and the crimping machine cost less but Aeroquip is my first choice.

@gravelydon7072 6 ай бұрын

@@PurpleNovember As I was in a job that required we were able to operate the equipment around the clock except for scheduled maintenance, they were life savers. When a hose would fail at 0200 as an example, we would have that engine running again by 0300. Pull the old hose, remove fittings, cut new length of hose to fit, reinstall fittings, reinstall hose. Back in operation. The rubber part of the hoses are the only part of them that failed, never the fittings themselves. Most of the time there were 5 years between hose failures. If one engine had a hose failure, on the next scheduled downtime for the other engines, if its hoses had not already failed, they would be replaced. For rigid lines, we used Swagelock fittings as if you ever took one of their courses, you always saw the tubing fail before the fittings would. I have my test sample of 3/8" stainless tubing where the center of the tubing was twice the normal diameter when it failed, but the fittings held leak tight.

@PurpleNovember 6 ай бұрын

@@gravelydon7072Yeah I can definitely see the advantage there! I only used reusable fittings a few times because hose machines fittings were available. The reusable fittings took forever to make a hose compared to a crimp machine. There’s a lot more cost and storage space involved with a crimp machine and logistics could potentially be a big issue depending on the situation. The only fittings I’ve seen go bad are swivel fittings, over-torqued JIC, and some cross-threaded fittings. Really that’s only swivel fittings and those are wear items anyway and are only supposed to be used in certain situations. Swagelok’s are awesome!!! Did they burst a pipe for your class? I didn’t use them much because they were mostly low pressure systems for what I dealt with and pricey, but very impressive with how strong and easy they are to use. Most of the stainless steel tubing couldn’t handle the higher pressure of high pressure hydraulic systems. The high pressures stainless tubing was expensive but great for signal lines on hydraulic over hydraulic over hydraulic, and lasted forever in accumulator circuits. I had a bunch of Swagelok fittings and accidentally tossed them and didn’t figure out what I did until about two weeks later. It was full five gallon bucket sitting on the wrong pallet. It was just used ones that slipped into my box over the years and I probably wouldn’t have much of a use for them anyway, at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

@caesar1295 8 ай бұрын

Just found your channel and subscribed I enjoyed this video. Where are you located? Thanks and God bless.

@smithworx1091 8 ай бұрын

I appreciate it! I'm from Tupelo MS

@caesar1295 8 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091 I put up two tower cranes at the hospital in Tupelo in the late 90’s.

@smithworx1091 8 ай бұрын

@caesar1295 wow that's awesome. Small world. I live like 4 miles from the hospital

@caesar1295 8 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091 Yes it is. Watching more of your video’s today.

@smithworx1091 8 ай бұрын

@caesar1295 thanks a lot!

@fhuber7507 9 ай бұрын

I'd just think: What would LetsDig18 do?

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

I ask that question to myself all the time. You got his number? Lol

@charliecmo 5 ай бұрын

How do you refill it after the water is gone? Did the water that got drained end up flooding somewhere else?

@smithworx1091 5 ай бұрын

It has several acres of rain water that will drain into it. The water that was in it just made its way to a creek that it flows into

@jiggidyjam 6 ай бұрын

Easy for everyone to arm chair supervise this job. They don’t have to pay for any of it

@smithworx1091 6 ай бұрын

You're right buddy. I hope you'll watch the other videos of the job. It turned out nice

@ronaldfierro9986 9 ай бұрын

A Hail Mary.........may the force be with you.....I know you can do it!!!!

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Thanks buddy. I'm gonna give it my best shot

@goodboyringo9716 9 ай бұрын

TNT those little varmint , that will teach them a lessen.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

🤣🤣 definitely gonna have to keep them killed off

@marspierce.8267 7 ай бұрын

That was a waste of time,I wanted to watch the pond drain not watch someone driver around for 30 minutes

@smithworx1091 7 ай бұрын

You typing this comment was a waste of time

@treacletart4365 6 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091they have a point tho

@smithworx1091 6 ай бұрын

@@treacletart4365 not really

@securethebag1613 6 ай бұрын

Facts my boy. I wish there was a way to completely block channels because this plague has spread like crazy

@jeraldhood1327 6 ай бұрын

Pond algae sometimes invades these ponds causing water to flow slowly

@Justalittleoutoftown 9 ай бұрын

That’s going to be a fun job I believe. If your like me a good challenge from time to time keeps things interesting. I wish I knew what it costs to do a pond. I never had anyone price mine. I think I’ll have about 30k in it when I’m done.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

It'll make me or break me lol. I wish I knew how to really price a pond. They can be completely different for every pond. 30k for yours I would say is about right. You've done a ton of work on it.

@Justalittleoutoftown 9 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091 I think if someone tried to price mine it would have gone up a lot with the rock at one end and swamp on the other. I believe if someone like let’s dig priced it I would be closer to 75k just guessing.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

@@Justalittleoutoftown you're probably right

@trueblueboutique8505 9 ай бұрын

I can’t wait to see what Lindsey luck shenanigans come up 😂

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

The dozer, dump truck or excavator will probably get buried!... or all 3

@shawnwarren6178 9 ай бұрын

Use a water pump to drain the water

@aaron_dirt_daddy 7 ай бұрын

Hate to ask but just curious how much do you even charge for a job like this?

@smithworx1091 7 ай бұрын

Well I did double the work I said I would originally do but I wanted it to be as right as I could. But the original work I had planned on should've taken 2.5 to 3 days. So I based it off that.

@PurpleNovember 6 ай бұрын

Have you thought about doing some KZfaq shorts from this video? Maybe some speed up clips of you opening the damn. Almost 260k views, it would be nice to use that somehow. Just a thought, you know a lot more about this stuff than I do.

@smithworx1091 6 ай бұрын

I've tried shorts in the past and they just never did anything. But I haven't tried any from this video. That might be worth doing

@jakezgab8576 9 ай бұрын

Give us our daily bread

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Amen 🙏

@adambarnes17 9 ай бұрын

Syphon to lower water level is a far safer way to lower level and no mess , then fix the dam

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

Safer? Not sure what was so dangerous about cutting the levee. Siphoning would've taken way too long to drain and more time and money. Plus what if it dumps a bunch of rain before I could get the pond dredged and dam fixed? Cutting an already failing levee isn't an issue bro.

@adambarnes17 9 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091 save fixing 2 holes through dam wall that's all. But everyone thinks different, it'll get done one way or another.

@smithworx1091 9 ай бұрын

@@adambarnes17 i understand what you're saying. I've got to redo the whole front face of the dam regardless. I appreciate you watching and commenting

@adambarnes17 9 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091 good job 👍

@kennethpeterson3706 5 ай бұрын

If the Overflow is sitting right there and the water is too low just dig a trench to make it go over to the Overflow, you're digging in the wrong spot you should be over by the Overflow

@smithworx1091 5 ай бұрын

Do you think it really mattered?

@kennethpeterson3706 5 ай бұрын

Why would you flood out your field instead of just digging a trench by the Overflow, you also need to rip those trees out

@smithworx1091 5 ай бұрын

@kennethpeterson3706 can you not see how much I would have to cut out the "overflow" vs where I cut it. How bout watch the whole video and the other videos of me redoing this entire pond. Thanks

@kennethpeterson3706 5 ай бұрын

@@smithworx1091 hey you don't want to hear my opinion you shouldn't put it on KZfaq

@smithworx1091 5 ай бұрын

@@kennethpeterson3706 you know what they say about opinions. I'd watch the whole thing before giving an "opinion"

@masterful7574 8 ай бұрын

*Burrowed under...not buried under

@gerardb.ducoudray8881 9 ай бұрын

If only it is read, "why not create a "V" channel from the discharge end to the dam, and let her rip!

@williamf.552 9 ай бұрын

As cheap as possible; boy you guys are rare in the contracting business. That must be why it took awhile to get to them.

@adambarnes17 9 ай бұрын

Haven't you heard of syphoning

@adambarnes17 9 ай бұрын

You know you can syphon fuel from a tank so you can syphon water from a dam , some 4inch or 6inch stormwater pipe use screw on caps to stop flow on down stream side fill to top of dam tee with cap then take downstream cap off let it flow