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likely the last weekend to do leaves here in the Hudson River Valley, NY - most trees now bare - most nites below 30 - daytime in 40-50+ - However, before cleaning the mower deck and servicing it for winter to install plow -- We did our fall family tradition of a full day of leaves at daughter's house - transported over my C175 S1 with its 42 inch side discharge deck -- grandson's did their thing driving the horse -- including much mowing/mulching, plus pulling the sweeper - plus, a few hand blowers moving the heavy leaf volume piles and rows - - and adding in abundant supply of acorns - - Leaf volume was enormous -- as well as the leaves themselves huge -- add also damp leaves from recent rain. Always impressive what the wh tractors will do -- fully expected i'd overheat a belt or pulley or simply burn one out, or break something straining to move and mulch those rows of leaves - - not to mention the leaves sticking in the mule pulleys and top of the deck between the belt/pulley covers - - more than once I was thinking pushing the leaves with a plow on the tractor would have been better idea than mowing/mulching them ?? Maybe next year will be smart to do both with two tractors???????? Thankfully, the tractor performed like the beast it is - all went well -- did however need to fill that Kohler twin with gas a second time - but grandsons loved riding in circles plus mulching the rows - I did the heavier areas where many years of tractor driving operational experience paid off. Busy day but rewarding to see that nice clean yard when finished and the pride of grandsons participating in a WH family project tradition.

As Thanksgiving offers me a time to reflect on and appreciate my many blessings, I felt it appropriate to thank you all for the camaraderie, knowledge, challenges, failures, successes, fellowship, banter, etc. I just can't turn it off Life is challenging and we need more of this. Thank you.

I recoated the inside of the cavity with mold release, sealed the hole around the wires, suspended the voltmeter in place with some tape, and poured the resin. I removed the casting from the cavity and washed off the mold release. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out. I removed the old battery icon from the dashboard decal by glass bead blasting to remove the translucent red and a bit of acetone to remove the black battery image. I tried blasting a test piece from an old dashboard decal first, and was pleased that it didn't warp the plastic, which is almost paper thin. I painted the newly-cleared area black, cut out a small rectangle to match the voltmeter, and attached a small piece of clear plastic sheet behind the cutout. The reason for the cutout is that the decal sheet has some significant surface texture on the front surface (NOT from the bead blasting) that produced a fuzzy/halo effect around the numbers, and the cutout eliminated that problem. I then mounted the light assembly and decal sheet on the tractor and installed the dashboard 'lens' over the whole thing. The wiring was easy, as it only involved rerouting the wires that were previously connected to the old battery light module. Just some cuts, crimps, heat shrink, and a couple of cable ties. It works great and allows me to check the voltage at a glance. When I turned on the ignition without starting the engine, it read 12.3 volts, which was accurate and in the proper voltage range. Here you see it with the engine running and charging, and it's showing what I consider to be within the proper charging voltage range.

Agreed. A simple, small gathering here this year. I removed the leaf from the kitchen table after my wife passed... no need for it anymore. And out of respect, my kids do not sit in "her" chair when they come over....

although it was a small space, I got to plow up a little plot of sod for my cousin to plant a garden next spring. I realized in short order that GhostRider and the Punisher were like bringing a “bazooka to a knife fight”😅. I should’ve dug out Caleb’s Comanche (854) and the 8” sod bottom plow…maybe next time🤔 Still had fun turning earth though… hauled it down in my little enclosed trailer—first time using that, it worked well.

I push leaves with the every year... works great on pavement, sometimes digs in on the grass, so I stick to hard surface movement...

it's not 1:1 drive it's under - 20/23, axle ratios and tyre diameters are factored in and ratio is spot on. Driveshaft is splined, but actually only moves 1/8" when the axle tilts. Brake drum works as before - it's a newer version of my 4x4 wheel horse I built 12 years ago.

This was a simple idea, which, as usual, I made more complicated. The battery indicator light bulb (idiot light) on my GT18 was missing, and after installing a bulb, I found that the battery light was always ON, even though the charging system checked out perfectly. A quick check led me to a faulty battery light module, which contains a voltage comparator circuit. The failed module is probably why a previous owner removed the bulb. Here's the culprit: A new OEM battery light module was WAY too expensive. I saw some generic aftermarket modules for less cash, but instead of staying with the old idiot-light system, I decided to have some fun and replace it with a voltmeter. The voltmeter would have to fit in the little plastic trapezoidal cavity that was the former home of the battery light, so I poked around a bit and found some miniature, low-cost, self-powered, two-wire voltmeters. There are tons of these on eBay and elsewhere. Be careful to check the specs, as there are a lot of variants. The ones that were already potted (above right) wouldn't fit unless I modified the dashboard, due to the wires coming out of the side, and I'm trying not to be too 'invasive' as to any upgrades, so I opted to use one of the other voltmeters and pot it myself. One of those would easily fit into the battery light cavity if I clipped the two mounting ears off the circuit board. I did a preliminary potting step by applying a dab of non-corrosive, non-conductive silicone onto the little circuit board, being careful to squish the silicone to fill in any voids. I didn't think it was worth setting up a vacuum-impregnating rig. The next step would be to make a cast around the voltmeter in the battery light cavity, using some two-part urethane rubber casting resin that had been sitting around on a shelf for a while, and I wanted to start using it before it went past its use-by date. However, before making a cast around the voltmeter, I decided to make a test casting. I applied a coat of PVA mold release on the inside of the battery light cavity. I then mixed the urethane rubber resin and poured it in. After it cured, the test piece came out fairly easily and looked good. The next step would be to do the actual casting around the voltmeter (see my next post).

Back home today and feeling ok. Besides a blood clot in my leg nothing major was really found, but I need to follow up with a cardiologist now. I am beginning to run through all the medical specialties it seems. A big scare and perhaps and hopefully a big eye opening event. Thank you everyone for the kind words, and prayers . Nice to know people like all of you.

Looks like a metal lathe to me. I'm going to guess that the original owner ran that lathe from an overhead line shaft. My dad mentioned a lession he learned about running a line shaft driven piece of equipment - always keep one hand on the machine frame when moving the leather drive belt to change speeds. If one doesn't, one will experience a static discharge when they touch the machine.

I am old enough to remember the hand-cranked oil dispensers at gas filling stations. Glass bottles with metal lids. I collect small oil cans, but I also have a couple old glass bottles. The one in the picture is a genuine bottle with spout. There are a lot of fakes found in antique stores nowadays. Most of the fake spouts are screwed to quart Mason jars. Back in the day, oil sales were regulated. If you find an original jar it will have several marks embossed in the glass. A fill-to line, and a State approval mark. In this case it was marked for Pennsylvania. Just a few worthless facts...

My son doesn’t come on here anymore, but here is a 704 that he has been making into a 4x4. complete scratch built axle, and a lot of lathe and milling…. I’ll try sort some build pics out!

my 4x4 wheel horses, both use the brake drum, so that was the logical thing to do. Front differental is a peerless built into a custom casing, Rear box is from a mower.

Well....I was browsing Marketplace looking for Wheel Horse parts and ran cross a tractor that was 16 miles from me. I'm not sure why but I ended up buying it It's a 1975 and came with the snow plow and a 36" mower deck. It came out of Ohio but it doesn't look like it was ever really stored outside. It runs although the engine has hesitation issues and stumbles when at higher rpms. I did time the engine and it helped but I'm guessing the carburetor needs cleaning as well.

We certainly have plenty to be thankful for, and speaking for myself- I am blessed well beyond what I deserve. I'm thankful for all of you. So nice to have a place to come to that doesn't have the silliness of social media!

Test Run

Last year, hornets built a nest against one of our garage windows, which provided a direct view into their nest. I left it up for a while, since it was interesting to watch what was going on inside. For some reason they abandoned the nest. Maybe they wanted more privacy or they heard me talking about spraying it. Outside: Inside: When the nest was there, I couldn't open the window, but since those pictures were taken, I installed new putty around the glass and made up some screens, so there won't be any more hornet nests against the glass.

B-80 are great machines.Love mine ,mows great . Good find !

Check the bottom of the pin that rubs on the parking pawl lever. I have had some that had a groove worn in them.

you could always go to one of the beaches and push sand

Dry leafs real can clean a mower deck bottom. I have some leafs but they mulch up. I did a blade to push walnuts this year. my neighbors tree had a bunker crop.

I normally take the pics outta my post "quotes" but this deserves to be seen twice. Nice work. Here's a couple I meant to post yesterday and today. Saco Bay ME. Portland ME. Warren Avenue headed east from my warehouse this morning.

@pfrederi - BINGO!!! Turns out, when you align the holes for the roll pin, the D series pawl (bottom) is deeper at the gear side. It ends up being a little over an inch of travel difference at the end of the brake lever. I'm not splitting this case again, so I'll try my hand at modifying an old brake lever to compensate for the difference.

It is one of their larger so called “ engine lathe”. It is a metal lathe. It is from the early 1900s. One however with sometimes needed modifications can use just about any metal lathe for wood the same however not many times being able to be so with a wood lathe for metal. As for getting it depends on the price and one’s affinity for old machinery . If it has Babbitt bearings most likely they have to be “repoured “. Not a difficult job but requires a little knowledge on subject. Definitely an eye catching awesome thing to look at like all machinery from that period. A period of great human ingenuity and quality work that as seen here still functions as it designed to do. To me they have a unique “presence” that immediately draws one’s attention. The motor is of course a modern one but perhaps one of the best motors ever made in this country. To me any American made Baldor or Marathon of the period of that one is far superior from anything in that category that you buy today. When one comes across something like that in someone’s shop that is pretty much intact, look around at everything else. That is not an ordinary individual that uses something like that. You may be surprised at all the other treasures he has. It all tells a story as to what type of individual he was ( or hopefully still is).

Thanks for the top view. I'm going to soak the pipe nipple in Kroil for a few days and then I'll attempt the extraction. Heck, it's only been screwed into the block for 50 years, what could go wrong

National Parfait Day is on November 25 every year, and we will be celebrating it by having a tall glass of parfait dessert with cherry and butterscotch toppings. Did you know the parfait recipe first appeared in an 1890s French cookbook? Parfait, meaning “perfect” in English, is a dessert of French origin consisting of cream, egg, sugar, and syrup. These basic ingredients are boiled together to create a custard-like puree. This is different from the American parfait, which contains granola, nuts, yogurt, and liqueurs, with fruits or whipped cream toppings. Parfait is usually served in tall clear glassware, with a long spoon called a ‘parfait spoon.’

We have over a hundred trees lining both sides of the creek and around the property that we mow. Various species drop leaves at different times so I get lots of seat time grinding up the leaves and sweeping the debris. The poplars are the first to drop and they are pulverized by the mower to the point that no cleanup is needed. @JoeM is absolutely correct about leaves cleaning the deck bottom, I sprayed my deck bottom with Plasti Dip Spray seven or eight years ago and by the end of leaf season it looks as good as the day I applied it. The red oaks and pair trees are about finished dropping so one more pass will be needed after Thanksgiving.

Looks like a metal lathe to me. I see a 4 jaw chuck and some other tooling under it. Would be nice to know what is all there and if it is slopped out at all. Not sure why the motor is mounted on the wood post. Looks big and heavy.

Seconded. I was talking about this to somebody maybe a week ago. Trina and I have been through tune-ups or mechanical refreshments on at least 16 engines now. I have changed exactly one single set of points. And to be honest, I'm not sure I really needed to do that. The rest of them I filed and cleaned. Also seconded.

You need the lever with the sharp Z bend towards the bottom. Clears the footrest and angled back to clear the PTO.

Absolutely agreed. Thank you everyone.

The small town I grew up in had one gas station on every road leading out of town, four. Two were modern and two still had the old tall pumps and one was a general store but by today's standards a 7/11 and free air. It was the early sixties and remember my mom getting gas and those bottles at the pumps. I even ask the guy what is that? A deep brown greenish liquid. (just like me it looks a lot different now) Ten years later, working in a garage for change, we used a drum and pumped into a galvanized container that held a gallon. We never kept track just filled up with the dipstick. Back then people checked their own oil often, mostly out of necessity, and the last thing you wanted to do is short change someone. Oh Boy that was a big deal. Sold oil by the paper quarts over the counter at that time I know now cars and some trucks don't even have dip sticks on their transmissions. I think my truck calls for 150k fluid changes on trans and diffs. Just in the 130 range now, probably replace the truck not the fluids before that time comes. .

If that 1/2" belt is clean and you have the sleeve, take it back to TSC for a refund and buy a green Aramid 5/8 X 82 belt.

So it's Thanksgiving and this thread helps me to reminisce a bit about when I was growing up in western PA in the '70s when (without TMI) we rescued and repurposed whatever we could out of necessity. My brother and I worked hard to now not have to do that out of necessity, but do it because it's the right thing to do.

I love my B-80’s. They are great workers! Good luck!

Nice score.. and with a couple attachments I have a ‘77 B-80 and she’s a great machine! Mowed occasionally with the 36” RD and then get hosed off and dragged to the local tractor shows

Long story but I tried to buy this tractor back in 2021. At that time we were moving and I didn’t have the “fun” money nor room. Well two weeks ago the tractor popped up on market place. I immediately messaged the guy and told him the story. Even had my old pictures and name of builder. The guy was super cool and was listing it as his father had pasted and he and wife were moving to Florida. Told him I could buy it the following weekend and he said sold. I’ll even market it sold. Next weekend I traveled almost to Louisville from Indy to pick up the beast. It had been neglected for many years and was covered in a black dust/grease almost. After many hours of cleaning I have it looking great again. Even had Terry from redoyourhorse.com make me custom decals. Made a bracket for new LED headlights and installed LED taillights also. Few other minor details I changed but it is back to running and driving Tractor was built starting with a GT14 and the. Had grille and rear end swapped from 953/1054. Then had a frame stretch and 520-H forward swept axle installed. Karl Stohry is the builder and my goal is to get it back down to him so he can sign it. He is declining in health and was excited to hear I was able to buy it Will be a video on my YouTube channel soon Sorry, could only upload three pics right now of how it currently sits with all my updates

So I have not been feeling very well lately with my heart racing and difficulty breathing when that happens. This week has been particularly bad specially Wednesday and Thursday. Friday I decide to see doctor and as soon as he examines me he basically asks me if he should call the ambulance or if my wife will drive me. Sure enough this is what the poor woman needed now in her condition. So he states that I either already had a heart attack or am about to have one. Stubborn as I am I did not want to go in an ambulance and since my wife cannot drive a manual car I wound up calling a friend nearby to take us. Summarizing the events since then it was established that I did not have a heart attack yet but something is wrong either electrically or some type of blockage. They did find a clot in my leg which luckily has not traveled anywhere. So here I am all wired up doing all kinds of tests again. Seems like it never ends with health issues for both of us now a days. I’ll be here until Tuesday in the very least from what it looks. This may be the new normal unfortunately. Thank you to all that asked about my abrupt interruption while posting on something. From there things unfolded pretty rapidly.

When I electrify I just bypass the existing pump and seal up the nipples.

Fixed it for ya

A couple more - look at the heavy reduction in the primary v belt drive - about 5:1 or so. The oilcup on top of the bearing housing and the split clamp tell me it might Babbitt, not ball bearings like a model T Ford. Same era.... Definitely a low RPM device. But, if that old timer could talk, it would have a distinct Yankee accent..

Our leaves can set by the road for several days before the vac truck comes around. With the wind from a lot of semi traffic, the piles get spread out. I use my C-120 with the snowplow on front to keep them stacked up as best I can. It has a plastic wear bar so, with a little care, I can push them out of my yard without much damage.

Often wondered about making a rake for the bottom of one of them plows just never got around to it. I have some ol broke hay rake teeth that would probably bolt behind the wear bar. Might have to revisit hat idea.

Your stock plow angle arm can be bent in a vice as well, to clear the foot rest. Lots of variations there, and commonly modified.

@meadowfield, your son is a chip off the old block, outstanding workmanship just like your "BENDY" and "C4" Wheel Horses.

No worries. This kind of thing happens all the time around here. Once you have one , you kind of want one of each model. BTW. Nice looking tractor.

That’s one long machine DJ! I bet it would plow day wonderfully

I like this picture as it show two great pieces of craftsmanship in Wheel Horse builds along with the master of decals. My custom GT16 4x4 built by Bob rock and the newly acquired GT516 built by Karly Stohry. Both machines based on the GT14 tractor. Super happy to own both

I love reading "What is the best oil?" posts.