I used to grout bridge bearings, and what we found is that for best results you need to have the grout mixed fluid, mix all the grout you need at the start, then pour in one go, as fast as possible, and from one side only. That way the grout flows right through the base, and across the middle. Pouring from each side can lead to a big trapped air bubble under the middle of the plate. We only found this when we had to take a bearing off and found the hollow area. Grouting something that size isn't a one man job. One mixing, one carrying and one pouring. We also had one man with a length of net curtain wire, rodding through to make sure the grout kept moving. That stuff is thixotropic, like non drip paint. If it stops moving, it will thicken up, you need to keep it on the move all the time.

Next time - 1. Brush hammer the footprint of the concrete before setting your equipment. 2. Drill some vent holes in the base plate of your equipment if there are not any. This allows air to escape and eliminate voids beneath your equipment. You want full contact of the grout to the surface of your equipment. 3. Add a 45 degree chamfer strip along the outside top perimeter of your form. 4. Saturate the concrete surface to be grouted prior to pouring grout. 4. Pour grout from one direction only to avoid trapping air beneath your equipment. 5. Monitor the grout pour to ensure grout weeps out of vent holes every where. 6. Use wet burlap to keep grout surface moist for curing. Definite use your idea of using a chute or funnel to pour the grout - you want some head on the grout to help it flow completely under the equipment and drive the air out underneath it to ensure full contact.

Good for you on trying something new and learning. Thanks to you and Abby for taking us along.

Always add the grout to the water . In other words , put all the water in the bucket then mix in the grout . This results in a consistent mix with no dry spots . Pour from one side only , this will ensure there are no voids in the grout .

So funny watching you use the lift to load that saw, which is lighter then then lift.

The key to mixing anything like this is to pour water into the bucket before the grout. It makes mixing much much easier. You also were too concerned about getting the ground on the metal base. You can easily wipe it off with a wet sponge.

I'm am an electrician up here in New York state just outside of Rochester and Gorbel is from this area in Fishers New York . They are one of our customers so not only have I literally wired hundreds of their cranes of all different types I also have done tons of work at their plant. About 10 or 12 years ago they decided to completely rearrange the main building they do the vast majority of their fabricating in to maximize efficiency so I had the task of unwiring and rewiring pretty much all of the machines in the plant so I wired the machines that made your crane. It is crazy watching how they fabricate all that stuff. That's one of the satisfying parts about my job is wiring machines that make some very interesting stuff

I think we’ll all agree that the flickering isn’t a big deal to us while you figure it out.

watching super precise machinists that deal with fractions of thousands of an inch mess with wood always cracks me up how "sloppy" they are with it haha.

Isn't the crane heavier than the saw ?

Just a tip. If you want the 2x4’s to come off nice and clean and not take any grout with them when you remove the form. Apply some packing tape to the inside before you screw them together. It leaves a really nice shinny finish on the grout / concrete.

your foundation is indeed fine. I do a lot with mounting industrial robots and we do start to get concerned if the base is within 20" of a concrete relief joint in a NORMAL 6 or 8" floor. Ideally, those guys should have cut the relief joints around the perimeter of the crane foundation but you're correct, that little "scratch" in the top of FOUR FRIGGIN' feet of concrete isn't going to hurt a thing.

You are your harshest critic. There will always be someone who knows more. You do amazing metal work, don’t stress so much about being perfect when you’re out of your element! This is the kind of thing a lot of us can relate to. Great job!

Old tile installer here. pour the liquid in first, before the cement. It makes mixing much easier

Isn't the truck crane heavier to lift than the saw?

DO NOT apologize about the videos. They are great - keep em coming. Can't speak for everyone, but I enjoy them regardless.

Water in the bucket first then add the mix slowly as you are stirring it.

All good LED lighting uses Pulse Width Modulation (PWM - fixed frequency but variable ON/OFF pulse ratio) control that turns them ON/OFF some number of times per second. High quality units use much higher frequency well outside the range of electronic video devices. The effect Adam is seeing is called strobing or in math/physics speak it is a beat frequency (difference, there is also a sum) between the camera shutter rate and the LED refresh rate. The human eye only needs about 14-15 Hz refresh rate to appear smooth motion so cameras tend to use 30 Hz and higher. Unfortunately, our mains here in the US is 60HZ so the beat frequencies can be an issue. You need camera refresh rate and LED refresh rate to differ by more than your eye refresh rate (or better) to not see the strobing effect. Check the LED unit specs to make sure they are driving much higher than 60 Hz.

I appreciate the time you take to bring your world to the public. You and your wife seem like very kind hearted genuine people i wish you the best and happy holidays

Adam, I have a new old Wagner Paint Crew 2800 that I bought years ago and then decided that painting my house is something I would rather let someone else do. I never opened the box. Look into it and if it's something you would like, I'll gift it to you if you pay the shipping from New Jersey. It might not be what you need/want so "No thank you" would not offend :)

Adam don’t pay any attention to the negative comments. I built a 18000 square foot shop two years ago with a gorbel crane. The hitch crane is awesome. As long as it works for you is all that matters. The Lowes grout is fine. I used it. . Just do you and what works for you. As a machinist like me, keep it simple. Engineers and people that don’t do this daily overthink it.

Hey Adam, I design and manufacture LED lighting here in florida. We specialize in lights that are constant driven where there is no flickering. The popular lights available like yours use high frequency pulsing to get the most light performance out of the LEDs and keep the circuitry cheap. I'm sure you can get settings where it doesn't show up so bad but the ultimate fix is using LED lights with a normal non pulsed or chopped driver circuit. It may require more lights to achieve the same output but there will be zero flicker. All of my products are used on carnival rides.

Gotta use a different [fixed] shutter speed on the camera (if it was a camera) to avoid the dark banding. Line frequency is 60hz so you need to maintain a shutter speed speed equal to or less than 1/60th of a second to prevent it from happening. Use fixed shutter speed and adjust the exposure by changing the aperture and/or ISO settings. Then again the LEDs could be PWM driven and flickering at some other frequency. Slower fixed shutter speeds is the answer....and you figured it out. LEDs in my studio are driven at 12kHz to prevent flicker...custom install.

A large wall like that can be sprayed rather than rolled. Hire a paint sprayer. Not a compressed air type, rather the high pressure pump type. The fastest and easiest way to cover a large area with minimal effort. Downside is they can put double the amount of paint on if you are not careful so make sure you get it set up properly. Looking good and best wishes for the season! Ron

A few seconds with a hammer drill on the crane base would help to vibrate that grout into all the voids. Pretty excited to see the work that comes out of that new shop of yours. Keep that great content flowing, Adam.

Heck, for the job and location, I'd just leave the form on there. Nice soft wood bumper against rolling carts and/or dropped tools.

Nice work! And Abby is gold! A voice of positivity and reassurance. We all should be as lucky. 😊

Your anality definitely shows. Pouring grout is a fast process, you slowed it down and it really doesn't need that. It also cleans up fairly easily as long as you don't try to bathe in it!! Hahahaha. That first bucket was perfect consistency. You could have used the cardboard like a trough much like that on the back of a cement truck and it would have directed it a bit better. "I'm making a huge mess" - yep, you are being so careful, making it harder than it really is. But hey, you learned by doing it yourself. After curing, you may want to knock those edges and corners down or they become trip hazards. Overall, good job for your first time!!

You're one fine machinist. You made that grout project look hard! You know more now! Thanks for the vids

If you do ever do it again, pour from one point. Pouring from all sides can trap a big air pocket in the middle and you'll end up with a void. Fluidiser additives are also a better way to go than just a heap of extra water. The extra water causes the grout to be weaker. For a first go though, that's pretty good. You should be proud of that.

Congrats! Tips for next time: * set your line of caulk on the bottom of your form (not the inside of the mold). * use some vibration (hit bucket with hammer) to get out some of the bubbles. * use your hammer on the metal and on the form when pouring to get it to flow and get bubbles out. * use a trowel to smooth out the top surface before it cures * mix up a small amount using the “plastic” ratio or a bit drier, and use a trowel to apply that to your finished surface to pretty it up. * try the flat side of the hammer for cleanup. I’ve found it works better. * add powder to water, not water to powder. * I don’t recommend a wire wheel or flap disk. What might work is an air chisel before it fully cures (it’ll Be a few days) if you need to remove material, and then trowel on a finish coat. * some people polish their cement floors; looks good, but overkill IMHO. And lastly, a video summary of your findings regarding the light and camera issue would be good content. Good luck with your new shop!

You love to play with your new toy. Not often you have such a smile on your face when you do something. But each time you use the crane you smile like a kid on Christmas morning.

That truck crane has got to heavier than the miter saw itself, but I could be crazy.

You did a good job, I've grouted literally 1000's of base plates and machines in the last 35 years. You did it right, grouting is more of an art and not just a process. If I were you I would take a rub stone and break that sharp edge and the corners some, but you don't have to. It will be good to see the machines in there working.

I really enjoy watching the dynamic of you two together, you are such a great couple. Sweet as pie, the pair of you. The grout job looks good to me as well, nice job

I really enjoy the interaction between you and Abby... Reminds me a lot of my wife and I. Thanks for sharing - this has been a neat project to watch come together!

for your first time pouring grout you did an excellant job. the key is full grout support under the base plate and achieve specified cure strength. no way to know if you have voids until one day when you move out of the shop into your permanent home shop and remove the jib crane. excellant work.

Idk if this is a personal shop or business. ASME (ANSI) B30 covers cranes. Typically a load test is performed once installed at 100-125% rated load. (Not greater than 125% due to OSHA 1910.179) Deflection, rotational drift (unlevel/plumb condition), hoist brakes, vertical or horizontal drift and a few other items are checked while under load. Gorbel can give you the specs if you want. Been a tech in the field of overhead/floor cranes for 6-7 years... I've also done plenty of testing on new installs without grouting. Not strictly required if the anchors are well rated/and installed at propr depth etc.

Looks good, especially for a first time! If you decide you're not perfectly happy with it, though, there's always that old saying: "A diamond saw and some concrete paint, makes me the grouter I ain't." Although personally I'd just get a diamond blade for an angle grinder and debur the corner, at most. And paint it only if I were sealing the rest of the floor. Also, thank you for showing all the things you learned the hard way along the way; that'll make it much easier if I ever do something like this.

Adam, you and your wife have an awesome dynamic. Very nice to see a team operate together so seamlessly. Keep up the awesome work, and may you have much success in your new adventure!

Tapping with the same ball peen would have helped you get some of the air out when it was wet. I used to run around the forms and hit them all along the edge of the slab before I got an electric vibrator. You already had the alignment marks on the floor, so it wouldn’t have been impossible to realign the form afterward. Just a tip for next time.

It's actually best to put the water in first and slowly add as your mixing it will mixer easier faster and better

What a perfect partner Abby is with all the words of encouragement. Glad to see her more in the videos.

I love the dynamic and partnership between the two of you, guys.

Start with the water in the bucket and add the grout while mixing. It is a lot easier.

For painting that large wall hire a spray system, it will make quick work of that, much faster than a roller.

A old man that live next door to me was a machinist and a engine builder from 1920 in his garage full of wonderful treasures seen a tarp covering what looked to be a lathe! Asked him about it! He showed it to me! It was a wood lathe and a full set of tools! There was a pice of wood chucked in it and chips all over. Looked bran new ! He said it was a gift to him from 1943! Said chucked up that pice of wood- use it about 10 min. Shut it off! Covered it! And has not touched it hence! Said was a metal machinist- not a flipping Termite!!!

I've waited a decade to finally be able to help you with something Adam. The fixtures you have are LED (Light Emitting Diode). You can't just connect LEDs to a voltage source with no current control. This is because LEDs will conduct no current until you raise the supply voltage past their "forward voltage" at which point, they will act like a dead short and attempt to draw infinite current. At that point, the LEDs would overheat and die. Current control: There are two ways to control current - You can either limit the current directly, in the same way a tap limits water flow, or you can pulse the voltage so that you end up with lower average current. If you limit the voltage directly, say with a transistor series pass setup, you get "clean" light with no flickering, but the series pass transistor will heat, which wastes power. If you pulse the voltage instead, you end up with filming issues but very little inefficiency. Whats happening with your setup (pulsed), is that the LED's are literally being switched on and off really quickly. Our eyes can't see this happen as such, we percieve it as reduced brightness the longer the LEDs stay off. Your camera on the other hand is taking lots of individual pictures which are then played back so quickly that we percieve it as a moving video. Your camera takes a picture right when the LED's are switched on, then another picture, then another. Most of the time, the camera happens to take a picture when the LEDs are lit up, but the LED pulse and the frame rate of your camera are not synchronized, so the camera sometimes takes a picture when the LEDs are off, or halfway between. This is where the pulsing lines come from. It is likely that the manufacturer does ALL of its fixtures this way which is why they can't offer any alternative. I seriously doubt you'll be able to make this problem go away by fiddling with the camera settings because you have no way to synchronize the frame rate to the LED flash rate. A specialist lighting company would be able to help with some replacement driver units for your fixtures, but it will involve some limited invasive surgery. You, Adam, would have NO problem doing this work yourself because I've already seen you do far more complex things. A "specialist" will prove whether they are specialists or just importers by their willingness to get involved. #For the PhD holders in advance: I was paraphrasing! This was enough jargon for youtube as it was!

That's actually the best grout shuttering I've ever seen. Good job, Adam! My boys would do square column bases and manage to turn them into parallelograms!!

You both were great. Do it your way and let the geniuses tell you how. It’s cool your wife joined in with some commentary.

Cheers to a wonderful New Year and more Abom / Abbie. Thanks for the look.

The chemistry between you two was really evident in this video. It was beautiful to see. Great job on the grouting too.

I AM “THAT GUY” like the one in isle that told you where to find your “BEATER”…. Lol. I wander around and remember where stuff is…. and if I see people having trouble finding stuff…. And the staff is clueless…. BOOM!!! I got ya

The slowly drifting horizontal line is caused by mains frequency flicker, the camera can be adjusted to minimize it but the issue is with the light not the camera. A lot of LED drivers use high frequency, if a problem it would show as multiple horizontal lines, but is not usually an issue as it is easy to filter out with capacitors. As far as I'm concerned the lights are not adequate quality, they may be OK in a warehouse but not used with rotating machinery or for videoing and can cause headaches. Cheap household LED lights flicker, better ones don't. If you wave your hand when only lit by the LED light (no daylight etc.) and you see a jerking motion that is caused by mains frequency flicker causing a stroboscopic effect, it can be dangerous causing rotating machinery to appear stationary.

Seasons Greetings to you and yours - the shop is working out well - looking forward to next years videos.

Man for a first try that looks totally awesome. Huge congrats on the new shop again.

The GoPro camera has frame rates of multiples of 60Hz, 120Hz 240Hz and that overlaps with the mains frequency of 60Hz So the lights are flickering at 60 times a second too. The means as the sensor is being read out, line by line from top to bottom, the lights are dimming 60 times per second. So somewhere halfway down the camera sensor the lights are almost out. Unfortunately you can't change the the frame rate to anything other than a multiple of 60. A higher frame rate would be better that a lower. What will help a bit is to have the lights running in groups on all 3 phases. If the groups are well mixed up the dark line will be considerably less noticeable.

That crane probably weighed more than that saw lol!

Great to see the progress. Seasons greetings to you and your family

Adam, I saw the little swivel crane you built to go in your receiver hitch and I have built one very similar for several people! I own a shop, but am semi-retired and do not do major projects anymore except for my two sons who own big body shops! As far as the swivel flanges on your crane go, I was shown a trick by an old, old welder years ago about how to create a very slick, tough bearing grade insulator between the two flanges ! Simply search for a medium size "tote", similar to what you store clothes in, simply cut out a matching insulator type gasket to fit in between your crane swivel flanges ! This material is super tough and will last a long time and will have a bearing type effect on your flanges ! Simple and wonderfully effective !

Setting the lights on different phases will help diminish the flickering. In the worst case, you might need to add more lights right next to existing ones (on different phases) to help with smoothing out the light intensity (see comment of Martin Adams)

Jam up job for your first time pouring grout👍 some good lessons learned and explained here - I think you have the basics down, along with some other good suggestions from the comments. One suggestion for future concrete work: make the footer/caisson for a crane or lift foundation independent from the floor slab. Would have allowed you to have an independent foundation for the crane (no impact to the floor) and to saw cut expansion joints for the floor as you please. Good thinking listening to the contractor though, those guys have the experience. Keep up the good work! One last piece of advice I’ll pass on: A bridge inspector told me one time that it’s not a matter of if concrete will crack, it’s where and how bad it will crack

It's kinda cool to witness the 'ground breaking' of the new ABOM79 shop, but probably because I (we) have watched so much of ABOM79 for the last few years. CONGRATS!! I'm so happy for you! You are a skilled and talented dude... you deserve this.

Nice job Adam, I love watching you work and the way you explain as you go.

A vibrator would be the key to really getting a nice job on that. It really makes it lay down nice and get any bubbles out.

Yeah, 5 1/2 yards of concrete ought to hold the crane base. Put the water in the bucket and add the powder to the water while stirring with the beater. I learned that the hard way. Paint the form boards with oil for easier form release.

Jack of all trades. Nice Job Abom. Love your videos and your explaining your moves. God bless you and Abbey.

Thanks for the info on the lights/camera thing. Always good to know! Keep is in the loop as you find out more info.

Before you paint walls. Mark on the floor all center line of vertical studs. So installs are EZ.

For the better finish and denser grout bed you need to vibrate the metal base. Gets the extra water and air out then makes a smoother more level finish when going under a structure like that.

You can be proud of what you you have accomplished. Well done.

It's comforting to see you take on DIY-flavored rough carpentry like that formwork. Getting stuff done with 2x4s is something I actually do these days on the home front!

Hi sir. Just finished watching your video (grouting). Just a tip.. the way we do it is we apply a little vibration while pouring the grout.(to let air bubbles out) tapping the metal base might do. And remove the forms a day after pour to accelerate the moist evapprate faster.and spray watet (spray not pour.)on the grout. So you'll still have a little soft on the outer to smooth it up w/ paint brush and smoothen the edges (just like moulding w/ clay) and let dry to the specified curing time. Hope it'll help you next time you do the grouting again.i love watching your videos. I learn a lot about machining.

"Experience is something you have right after you needed it." -- steven wright

Happy Holiday wishes to you, Abby, and the family, looking forward to you're next video.

Merry Christmas Adam & Abby Thanks for all the great content you post & looking forward to what is coming next in the new shop!

i'm impressed with that drill. I smoked a dewalt 3/8 grear head corded doing this.

Thanks for sharing Adam. The saw-cuts could have laid them out so they would have been around the base of the crane since they should have had a layout to work from. They also could have filled the cuts with flexible epoxy so they wouldn't fill up with dust and swarf. Up here in the real world, where it's in the 30's today, expansion joints would have been installed when the concrete was placed, and these would have been laid out around the column footings and the crane footing. Typically grout forms include chamfers at the top (triangular cross-section strips of wood attached to the inside top of the forms) and the corners may also have similar chamfers. The forms would be even with the top of the baseplate, filled to the top, then tooled flat so everything looks good when the forms are stripped off.

I for one enjoy all your videos. Even if they don't include machining, as others have said. I get to see all the other things you go through while setting up a new shop. It's also beneficial in 2 ways. I get to see what you did right or maybe wrong, and I can always confirm that in the comments. Thank you for the content and keep it coming.

Watching you out of your comfort zone is both amusing and encouraging. All the best in the new year.

I’m in my sixties and remember the days when the TV picture was incredibly crude and in black and white, but the content was still superior to most crap today and I’ll take content over style ANY DAY. Keep up the GREAT work!!! Thanks.

Decorating? Chintz pillows, lace antimacassars, and fringe. Lots and lots of fringe! And the colors: Orange with purple polka dots. Thanks for the video. Jon

I always enjoy watching you work. Nice job. Congratulations on your new shop.

I have one of those miter saws, but without the dolly. Because of my shop setup I have to move it almost daily. It is Heavy! I built an overhead beam crane, out of wood, and without any motors, just pulleys. Works great. I lift it up, roll the beam to the end of the shop, push the say to the corner, and lower it to its storage location.

I haven't grouted a lot but I was taught the way by iron workers who have grouted countless columns. Not sure what the ramifications of your method is besides shrink. It'll likely be fine. That said, the grout should be stiff. Like you can grab it and make it into balls. Then you pack it underneath from one side to avoid voids. Big base like that, it won't be perfect. No forms needed and usually you'd trowel a 45 degree from the bottom surface to the floor to finish. More of an aesthetic choice though.

When we grouted machine bases we used a stiffer grout to push it under the center of the machine and pack it in. No forms were needed. When pouring grout, it should be poured from one point until it runs out the other side so it doesn't trap an air bubble in the center.

You two a such a great couple and a perfect match. Also your enthousiam about the self made crane and the new shop is great to see. Kinda like a feel good show (but in your case it's not a show, it's real).

Hey Adam and Abby; Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Year! Thanks for all your videos!

Forget the power roller, buy a sprayer and a finer nozzle than they recommend for latex. It allows you to make overlapping passes without runs. And get the 2 foot extension for the nozzle.

if you have to do this again transfer your grout to a plastic watering can (no nozzle) the spout makes it much easier to pour where you want it

Here's hoping you and Abby have a wonderful Christmas Holiday with your Mom, Fernando, and Abby's folks. I know from past holiday get togethers, y'all put on a big feast....so enjoy family and friends. Looking forward to more videos and new work in the new shop on new machines. PEACE AND BLESSING!!!!

Love the goofy chuckle and grin when you use the crane 😁

just some thoughts , the more water you add, the more your grout will shink, its very likely after it cures it will not be fully up to the base of your crane, so better check that in a week or so, love your vids, keep up the great work! .also i think i would let it cure at least a month before loading the crane,the longer concrete or mortar cure,the stronger it gets

Airless paint sprayer will change your aspect on painting forever.

When I used to grout pump bases, I would use backer rod bundled up to prevent needing to much grout. We also used it much thicker where we could float it against the pad by hand and trowel. When done, it was a housekeeping angled finish to prevent water intrusion under the mounts.

Thank you both for an educational video. Have a great Christmas.

Adam Camera LED banding issue info from another comment is 100% right -"The lights are the issue not the camera. If you intend to keep shooting 30 or 60 fps video, you're going to always get flickering if you stick with these lights. Is there a dimmer on those lights? There's no reason for them to be Pulse Width Modulating (flickering) if they're at full power. If they are at full power and still flicker like you're seeing, then they aren't properly power regulated to remain constantly on. This is an issue of cheap LED lights running on AC power. They only provide light for half the 60hz power cycle. Or, with bad capacitors, will be brighter for half the 60hz power cycle.

From Quikrete: What happens if you use too much water with quikrete? NOTE: the more water that is added to the mix the weaker it becomes; adding one extra quart of water per 80 lb bag can reduce the strength of the concrete by up to 40%.

Please don't worry about your video quality. Your content and ability to teach keeps me watching.

Love watching your videos Adam. I have a friend that builds homes up in Wyoming. When he sets up the wood molds for a building's foundation, he sprays them with diesel fuel. When the concrete dries and sets up, the molds come off easily.