Got the knuckle boom crane working today!
First of all, thanks everybody for all your nice compliments! Unfortunately some recent events make me question if they are truly justified.....and here is why:
After going with goldeneagle's suggestion and adding a pipe union in to my hydraulic system and taking it back apart, I discovered that I DID used pipe sealant in the joints after all, and they would have been just fine!
This all has to be related to getting older I assume.....
Anyway.....I got the hydraulic system all buttoned up again and was able to test the knuckle boom crane today.....It seems to still work as intended....
Here are some still pics from the first test drive and the crane test.....