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I had the opportunity to attend a short course today on tractor safety . The Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club put this on as a requirement for all juniors who wish to drive a tractor around on club grounds at their show. https://badgersteamandgas.com/ Rightfully so since any given accidents can shut a show down without a question. Interesting and since I am committed to give a presentation at other shows this was a note taking experience for me in my quest for being a certified instructor. This was mostly centered around big tractors but it still applies to GTs. Lots of farm safety included with loading, tieing down, and grain bin safety. On a tractor's center of gravity and how quickly one can meet a misfortune in a PTO. A nice primer on steam.

Better pics of todays haul. 5hrs of windshield time, low $ for this one. Tractor, deck, snow blower, & a set of tire chains. Runs great, mower deck is smooth & quite, tranny needs a little love. A new set of axle bearings & seals should cure the issue.

We attended AJ's Garden Tractor Jamboree yesterday in Oregon, IL. Very well put together event and a very good variety of makes of models. Weather was awesome and we had a great time! IMG_9651.mp4 IMG_9602.mp4 IMG_9563.mp4 IMG_9602.mp4 IMG_9651.mp4

May 17, 1939 First televised baseball game is broadcast on NBC, with Princeton University defeating Columbia University 2-1.

finally got a deck for the c145. It runs well but I’m wondering how tight the mule drive should be.

Kind of a long read here, but I wanted to share a funny story. About a month ago my folks and I were coming back from TN hauling a trailer and we got some bad diesel at a shell station. The truck threw a "water in fuel" code and went into limp mode. We got to the walmart parking lot in Whythville and changed the fuel filter and siphoned out all the bad diesel. We were back on the road, but the truck was making some weird noises. Not being familiar with diesels, we decided to call AAA and tow the truck back to the house. The towing contractor was actually in the same gas sation where we were parked. So when the guy got the call, he walked over and introduced himself. We only had coverage for the truck, not the truck and the trailer (lesson learned). So the driver helped us come up with a solution to get the trailer home. Anyways, mom (who is introverted) and I loaded up in the single cab with the driver, and dad waited for another truck to haul the trailer. Well, I'm pretty extraverted, so we weren't 3 minutes into 1 hour drive and I decided I wasn't going to sit through that long of time with small talk. I started asking the driver questions in effort to find something to talk about. It didn't take long before he mentioned that he had been working on his "vintage lawn tractors" that day before coming to work. I said, " it wasn't wheel horses was it?" And he turned and looked at me like I was santa claus. My mom was relieved that she didn't have to say a word for the rest of the ride, and I had some great conversation! He has several different lawn tractors, including some odd ball brands. The wheel horse he is working on now is a D200. I talked about the big show and how awesome the people were in the hobby. I tried to convince him to head to the big show this June and also to join red square! So Josh, if you are out there, come out to Biglerville next month! Hope to see you there!

Good for lots of other things. I bought one a few years ago to use on fuel tank bolts, but I use it a lot if I don't want to drag out the big torch, or to brand mis-behaving co-workers.

Got out the 656 for the show today, thought I'd post some pictures...

A little tail light security. My new led taillights work great but one of them was a little to easy to remove the lens on so thought I would add a little security and put a. #6 screw through lens and base.

Made a little 3-hour road trip to pick up this '74 C-160 Automatic. Everything feels tight, no slop in the steering or drive tensioner. no leaks. K341 Purrs like a kitten. When I got it home, the thing was dead as a door nail. I though "Oh Crap"! Turns out I had just never owned a tractor that still had all of the safety switches working properly. Pressed the brake and double checked the PTO lever - BOOM fired right up. Heck, even the internal parking pawl still engages!

Got ya one of those rare right hand lifts.

I spend some time almost each day on youtube, searching for tractors videos. I love to hear the sound of the tractors, hear the people talk about their tractor, or how they "fix" an issue. But, am I the only one, who would rather hear the sound of the tractors than some over the top music or songs? Take this one on a plow day. I had to turn the volume completely down to enjoy the video. I just wanted to hear the sound of the tractors.

Just one question @ebinmaine BBT doesn't read your posts for inspirational ideas on the home front does she? Asking for a friend...

What no report on what was wrong with the truck, come on man can't leave us hanging. Gorillas, bears or clowns all circus related .

I had 2, now I better check and make sure I do have another one.

That's a usage I hadn't considered. Definitely would be an effective tool. The fact that the coils can be swapped and modified per specific application makes this even more helpful.

Jrblanke: Great story that turned out well. It is good your parents where there to help out.

That's right! We look like migilla gorilla on these tractors!

You's one o' them little fellas like me eh?

Let me know if you need me to send you gas pedal increaser hammer! LOL

Back in the late 80's early 90's I would have never admitted that Prince's music was any good. My tastes ranged from AC/DC to Hank Jr., Michael & Prince were NOT on the play list. Now many moons later I can admit that the man had talent unmatched by few.

She was in the middle and I may or may not have had 1 cheek hanging off the seat the whole ride home!

Went to one of the robotics team members senior open house today. After walking the dog and eating lunch, I attacked the deck again. Between the heat and the cold I picked up at the world championships in Houston a couple weeks back, I ran out of energy before I ran out of deck to tear apart. Didn't get as far as I wanted. Oh well, the deck will still be here when we get back. When we bought the house, the realtor mentioned that there was a cistern somewhere on the property. I think I found it this afternoon while I was prying the floorboards off of the deck. There looks to be a large (2 1/2' x 3 1/2') concrete hatch under the deck. Probably ought to break the sides around the top of it to a foot below grade and backfill it with gravel. Then again, I could just build the new deck over the top of it like the old deck was.

Not a chance in hell Ed Dog... more on the class in another thread. Suffice to say i didn't get a dang thing done on horses today but did get to watch @Achto whack on a busted up hub. Yup saws all came out. @Chris689 he's dipping into my stock of 1" hubs.

Continued the fight to have a nice clear tree line today. Finally got the chipper over and chipped round 1 all up. Took about 6 hours. Tomorrow or the day after depends how I feel Ill continue clearing out sucker trees and dead limbs and chip them up as well. Hope everyone had a great day! Now to go eat some home made potato salad and pass out!

That I can believe! ( There probably wasn't much room for her. Did she sit on your lap? )

The running herd…

Brought more horses home. One is a Commando 8 that runs and mows and the other is a project 800 auto someone gave up on. The wife is growing concerned I may have an addiction. Shame the tires are dry rotted, both rear sets appear to be original and say Wheel Horse on them... which I think is just so neat. Swapped the tall skinny's from the 633 onto the 8. It looks semi-ridiculous but at least it's functional for now.

HOLY CRAP Mr. U Haul!!!!! I didn't think ya had the stones! He'd show up at plow days with a rented U haul ... claimed it was sensible... No place to store a trailer. Glad to see you got your big girl panties on guy!

I got one load of small hardwood sticks outta the forest from beside the house this morning. For me, for this time of year, it's just too hot 🔥 🥵 to work physically for very long. Had to stop at the one pull. There's at least another trailer full out there for another time. The BBT got her Millie tractor out for chores this morning. Here we see her in the natural environment. Forest. Tough to see with the bug net but that's an official Redsquare hat from @nylyon

@Joshyg I usually tighten the mule drive until there’s about an inch of deflection in the belt. I’ll tighten it, then push and pull on the belt and tighten it again until I achieve the desired deflection. It doesn’t need to be crazy tight.

Usually have a slow race. He sure does have a nice set up there. Almost think I saw this guy at the BS.

So nice, awesome stuff! Was those guys tractor racing!?

@Andy N. thank you for sharing an incredible day with us ! weather and variation of units , says it all , would have needed a bib and drool cup , to say the least . pete

Better than OEM!!

" Circus Bears!"

Yep, I'm using the next to last link. ----- Tilling complete! It was the spring adjustment. Question: who here has put weight atop their tiller to better till hard packed soil? After 8 (!) passes with no weight, I still had barely broken the surface. The spring assist was not installed, and there was slack in the chain, and free-play at the adjustment knob. I temporarily strapped a 50# bag of sand to the top, and it made a big difference. Before I build a tiller-top weight box, are there concerns about parts breakage?

Solid state ignition, Either the coil is grounded out or it is bad.

I received the rebuild kit for the fuel pump today that I ordered from Then and Now Automotive.... thought I would document here which kit was for this pump.... it is AC-43. I didn't see it on their site, but when I called them, they said they had what I needed. I hope this helps someone else down the road. On edit: The invoice (hand-written) said AC-43. The zip-loc that has the parts in it is labeled "AC-4S". I have sent them an email asking them to clarify, and/or update the picture that they have on their site to include the 6-hole rectangular gasket that is obviously needed for a rebuild. When I first reviewed their site, I didn't see that gasket in any of the kit pictures. Glad I called them.... that's when I was told that they had what I needed.

Just gonna say i seen worse scores. Got good bones and worth the price of admission.

Run what you want and keep it topped off and clean. Just don't run the "lack of" kind or brand of oil!

Lost part of the deck belt tensioner while mowing. Was out in yard with "construction magnet" dragging around yard , looked across and neighbor is looking at me like i've got three eyes, and asks what in the he$$ are you doing? I did eventually find the part.

Had one lasted a couple years. I am pretty hard on them rolling through grinding dust and a slightly rough floor. I ended up building one with square tube and steel casters and a tractor seat.

Picked up some 1054 parts on my way to Indiana and what looks to be complete front mower mount at the Nappanee show this past weekend. 42" deck is pretty rough, but the one behind it is good!

Yes I have all three. PM sent. Joe