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And this one has been mine for 60 years. And Mrs.Ks for 80 years. She vacationed here as a 2 yo toddler. We usually spend several weeks here every year. Just got back home after a great week with our two sons and thier wives. VID_20261009_064926134~2.mp4 We had cold and wind the first couple days so we stayed on shore to crab while the Ladies shopped. First crab of the week. This guy watched my traps all day waiting for a handout. The weather really improved and we got out to do some serious crabbing. Crab omelets for breakfast, steamed for lunch, and cakes for dinner. Feeling blessed to have a family that loves it here and keeps me in the game. Blue skies and calm seas to all.

Don’t know what you will be doing Friday but I will be having a couple closed-chest heart surgeries. Your prayers will be appreciated. During my hospitalization in January a Cardiologist did a Coronary Abrasion to correct Arterial Fibrillation which resulted from the removal of blood clots from my lungs. Follow up imaging and appointments revealed Hart Flutter and the likelihood that a Watchman device would be called for as well. The Watchman device is sort of a miniature umbrella that will be placed in the heart to close off the appendage of the heart that develops clots. Needless to say, I will be under general anastasis for all of this. The route of entry will be a long catheter that will be inserted in a large vane in the leg. I will be laying on an x-ray table with a receiver hanging directly over me. A Radiologist will monitor the procedures on a huge screen so the Cardiologist can see exactly where the device is being placed. Once the location has been confirmed my heart will be stopped while the Watchman is deployed and seated, then he will start my heart and confirm there are no leaks. The insertion device will be removed and the x-ray turned off and they will prepare for the next procedure, two Ablations. The difference between heart flutter and murmur is the murmur is caused by valve leakage and Flutter is caused by the electrical impulses from the brain not always getting where they should be. The analogy the Cardiologist used was right up my alley, he said it is like a pair of spark plug wires that are arcing to one another, the cylinder that should get the spark receives less than it should and the other cylinder gets a spark at the wrong time which fights against peak performance. Utilizing the same catheter the doctor will insert the mechanism used for this procedure, the x-ray unit will be reactivated, at this point he will stop my heart, do two Ablations inside the heart to block these nerves from each other, and then restart my heart. After a period of monitoring my heart if nothing else needs to be done the catheter will be removed and a vascular surgeon will close the vein. The Cardiologist doing both of these procedures specializes in Watchman installations, he did over 600 last year. I am extremely confident that everything will go well, but a prayer or two sure couldn’t hurt. Thank you in advance for your prayers. 953 nut AKA Dick Schmidt https://www.bch.org/media/video-center/bch-news-segments/watchman-implant-animation/

Back in January or February of 2019 my inlaw’s house burned down, 5 days after my MIL was struck by a pickup checking her mail in a polar vortex. She was heavily sedated with lots of broken ribs and bruises so my FIL wept in silence next to her as his childhood home burned down. It’s been a tough rebuild on the inside, though their new home has been finished for some time. They have been going through some of the recovered items finally and found this match book. It’s art work I don’t recall seeing before. Pretty cool!

Picked up this 18' car trailer. Loved the powder coat red color (and no Uncle Jim they did not have lime green! at least in stock) The son dabbles in concrete work and we needed something just a little bit bigger looking into buying equipment. The logic was now we can haul it home if we find it! Plus, it can haul a few show machines on nice days. I will say after looking around and comparing what local dealers have, there was a huge difference in the quality. The bargain units looked like jr high welders put them together, and frames were skimped on a bit. Auction trailers were just priced right under new, I can't figure that one out. After you pay the price, buyer premium, transfer and tax it worked out to be little savings and no warranty. I ended up paying 15% more but got way better quality.

I think that the Friday after fathers day should be officially inducted as Nation Wheel Horse Day.

The boss wanted the front porch/deck spruced up since it was getting pretty ratty and she's getting tired of restaining it every year. She wanted composite so we bit the bullet and after much research went with Trex. If the cost of the actual decking doesn't kill you the additional odds and ends will do the job. Started with this. As with most projects preparation is key and often time consuming. Composite requires a minimum of 16" c/c joists and we had 24" so I added a joist in between the existing. Looking in the window you'll see that I was closely supervised along the way. Some (many) of the existing joists were marginal so I replaced them. I should have just torn is all off and started from scratch. I ladder back from each post to the house so I could 'picture frame' the new decking. I'm thinking it was a step that was more work than it was worth. Finally got it done, coated and ready for the new planks. I didn't take many pictures along the way so I just fast forwarded to the final project. Railing, post wraps and redesigned steps. I didn't expect this to take as long as it did between the weather, a host of other projects and the fact that I don't get the mileage that I used to it consumed a large part of the summer. Next summer the rear deck gets the same treatment. It will be even more involved as it is larger and I want to tear down or move that funky structure.

When Ford brought out the 9N in 1939, the stamping dies for the hood wasn't available yet. So, the first 600 to 700 9Ns had a cast aluminum hood, but they were painted gray in the factory. The rarity of the aluminum hoods, were were prone to crack, current owners have polished the aluminum to a bright shine and leave them unpainted. The video below (not mine) shows one of these polished aluminum 9Ns.

Spent the day with Mrs.K while she had a total knee replacement. They used the Mako Robotics System that uses a preop CT scan to create a 3D image that is used to program and guide the robot through the procedure. She was up and walking 3 hours after the surgery. So far all is well.

Attempted to mount these brand new 4 ply tires. Actually felt something in my shoulder while I was leaning into my Harbor Freight tire mounting rig. Stopped before I did damage to some muscle that doesn’t see much action in my day to day activities ! Was just too much and ya gotta know when to let the pro’s handle it. Local garage popped em on for me. Gotta love all the nubbies…but they won’t last.

Checked the trail cam this afternoon. First time I've caught them going at it. Seems like a bit of a mismatch though.

I marked each rim where I wanted to cut them. Bolted the rim on to a tractor, spun the rim in high gear full throttle, & cut through it with a 4 1/2" grinder After all 4 rims were cut, I cut the center out of the outside rims and welded them together. Finished product.

Got my homegrown wide wheels ready for final sanding today.

Update time. Because my better half has horses the one of the first things we had to do is get the fencing up around the pastures. We put up around hundred fence posts in one day with a couple of people. Simultaneously we had someone come in with an excavator to "rotate" some soil for making a riding arena. Not bad for a day of work. The following day the piles of dirt got flattened spread out and compacted to get a nice base for the riding arena. After that, in the following week(s) we could also put up the fencing around this part of the horse accomodation. First ride in the new riding arena. And in Dutch we have a saying that translates to something like "after hard work it's more enjoyable to rest"... Next update: working on a roof or two.. Greetings from the Netherlands, Mark

I came across this guy a few days ago in a group of tractors I bought from an estate. It appears to be in early production 1955, and has a fiberglass hood. It has welded on nuts for the grease zurks on the front steering, a solid bar axle stop no muffler clamp holes or shifter stop it also has a suspended fuel tank without a stand, along with a cable brake. The steering mechanism does appear to have been changed as the steering shaft is the only unpainted metal on the entire machine. The steering links appear similar to the rest except the steering link attaches to the top of the drag bar on the one side and then downward on the other like standard. It has a 1200 Clinton 152 series and a large diameter rear end pulley.... The previous owner had it for 30 years. And it's exactly how he received it. I'm curious as to what the experts think? I know these little guys have had quite the life since new, but the lack of modification holes, and the completeness make me wonder if this truly is a survivor? I have more pics but hit my 16mb limit

Just returned from camping at local lake. Intended to catch a few channel catfish but that didn't work out. Good thing we saved a few hot dogs for ourselves! We like to cook outside on these trips so the Dutch oven get plenty of use. The first morning's breakfast was store bought canned cinnamon rolls. We spice them up by adding a mixture of brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon and a dash of vanilla to the bottom of the dutch oven and pour maybe 1/3 cup of sweet whipping cream before baking. It really helps the rolls. Sitting around we discussed adding the whipping cream to the small cheap canned buttermilk biscuits. The biscuits came our fluffier and with more flavor. Brother in law thinks we should try adding butter milk to the dutch oven. I almost for to take and "after" picture so a few biscuits are missing.

I got all coked up today ... the evaporator fan wires were brittle and cracked and a short waiting to happen. Unit bearing motors are not meant to be taken apart and this one was hardwired. I was up for the challenge and replaced the cable. Rewired the rest of the cooler while I was at it. I dated this thing around early 50s.

Started some physical therapy today. Started out by turning the ends down on some 5/8" rod in order to make a new tie rod with replaceable ends for my 953. Changed the sediment bulb and gave it an oil change. Next I made a bracket so I can hang dumb bell weights on the front. Finished off by preparing some 7" x 5/8" round plate to use as my dumb bell weights. These weight about 6lbs each. I have enough room to hang 13 of these on the front. The 78lbs should help hold it down.

This afternoon Trina and I finished up the bridge and installed it. The last two vinyl boards to be added were the ends. That'll prevent the aggregate from going down in between the beams. After having the little stream cleaned out and reshaped by the excavator we decided to move the pathway upstream a bit. The old bridge was located just to the right of the hemlock tree at picture left. We'll now curve the path to the right more before crossing the stream. We had already set the bridge in place and were making adjustments to its base. Trina went to get the garden hoe while I held the bridge up. We dug out the dirt and rocks from under the bridge even more than the excavator had done. Once we got a good stable set, we added some of the rocks and dirt we'd taken from the bottom of the channel to the sides of the bridge. These next two pics show the channel we added and the overall set up from each side. We'll continue to add stones to both sides along with creating the approach pathway from each direction.

In full disclosure, I took these pictures the other day to post in this thread. I had the 418-8 and 70’s vintage Cyclone spreader out to spread some lime. Last year before putting it away and giving it its usual cleaning, I put tire shine on the tires. Then I started to think? I wonder if anyone else is wacky enough to do that? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Another shot of 701 but I was feeling pretty patriotic after making a new front axle pivot pin and making bushings for the wore drag link. Using my homegrown flag bracket and the bestest flag in the world. A special thanks to my shop fan for helping with the shot.

Decided it was in time to start the winter workers up from their nap. Both started reasonably easy considering they haven't run since last winter. Same gas in the tanks as when I shut them down and I put them away. That's why I run non ethanol fuel.

I have had the small Harbor Freight for over 25 years the large about 20 also have a few other tire tools. Have never had to take WH tire to the Tire shop.. Wound up cutting a couple off with a sawzall. 20 or so WHs, 3 Large tractors two military vehicles and 20 miles to a good tire place... You do it your self....

A lost dog wanders through the jungle. In the distance a lion sees him and whispers: "I'm going to eat him, I have never seen anything like that before." The lion then began to approach the dog in a threatening manner. When the dog realized this, he panicked, but as he tried to run away, he saw a bone nearby, and he got the idea to speak out loud. "Lion meat is delicious!" The lion suddenly stopped and said: "Wow, this guy is stronger than he looks, I better go while I can." A monkey was watching this from the tree. Apparently, the monkey thought that if he told the lion, he would get something in return. Then the monkey told the lion the truth, and the lion got angry and said: "Go on my back, and I'll take you with me." And he began to run after the dog. When the dog saw this, he realized what had happened and began to panic even more. Then he had another idea, and he yelled: "Where the heck is that monkey! I told him to bring me another lion an hour ago!"

"Another topic!?" I hear you think.. yes.. this thing has been sitting in my yard for way to long. Now with the darker, colder and wetter weather coming up I would like to get it going. The idea is to use it around the house and for the better half to use it to rid the paddocks of horse crêpe.. Bought it off my neighbour a few years ago where it had been sitting long enough a small tree grew through it. "It" in this case is what started it's life as a walk behind Toro Greens Aerator. Kind of a coring machine specifically for golf courses. Somewhere in it's previous life somebody deleted the aerating part of the machine and put a dumping bed on the frame along with a seat. What you see below remains. Lots of stuff to do. Started to clean up the rims, ordered new tires, valve stems and a bit of paint yesterday. Took the fueltank which was full of water off along with the improvised hydraulic oil tank which was also full of water. I'm hoping the pump has survived, if not I might have to order one for it. Good news is that it has a Kohler 16hp engine which seems to be in good condition. Carbs' clean, airfilter Ok-ish, oil on the dipstick. Only thing is the starter does turn when connected directly to a battery however does nog engage the flywheel gear thingamabob.. might be a solenoid issue?? Stripped down a bit for cleaning/inspecting Other side. Note the hydraulic pump is driven off the flywheel side of the engine. New rubbah.. Quite a wide load. Thanks for reading! Greetings from the Netherlands, Mark

Niece and her husband are visiting so put them and two WHs to work

Got um welded together. Found some old aluminum siding and cut me a strip out and used thatvas a backer for my weld and it worked great. I had them tacked in 3 different places and just welded a1 1/2 to 2 inch bead rotatiing wheel to a different spot trying to keep heat down a little. Ran out of supplies (primer, Bondo, sandpaper etc.) and had to quit for the day. Opie took care of some business while we where at shop also. He is a groundhog killing mochine. This is the eighth one Ive seen him kill and he has probably killed more than that

I did the last 12" 4 ply's on the floor but took 6ply 25x10x12 to the local tire shop. He has one of thoes automatic tire machine. It does 12" to large truck tires. $20 for two tires. No way I would have got them on. Got the same deal on these OR 10.50's

Damn it @Achto I was JUST going to type that!!!

Just replaced the stator on my 520-HC Vanguard swap because it wasn't charging. One of the stator wires had insulation missing by the flywheel. After replacing, voltage was still not much more than 12 VDC. I replaced the regulator and then it jumped up to 14.03 VDC. I also adjusted the valves. They were between 0.011 and 0.014. Specs are .005. Now it runs great and the tach moves but I don't think it's accurate because of the Vanguard having only 8 poles on the stator.

October 10, 1966, The Beach Boys' iconic song "Good Vibrations" was released as a single on October 10, 1966, becoming an instant success and one of the band's biggest hits, known for its innovative studio production and unique sound. It revolutionized pop recording, incorporating unusual instruments and fragmented recording techniques.

Did some work on the wagon yesterday and today. Made a framework high enough to clear the rear tires. Got all the welding and grinding done yesterday. Today was cleaning and painting. The only paint colors I had enough of were orange and blue. Two different oranges. The lighter orange was close to University of Tennessee orange. I used it on the bottom of the chassis and both sides of the bed. The other orange and the blue are University of Illinois colors. That orange was used for the top of everything except the bed and framework for the bed. The bed framework and wheels are blue. I will probably put wood sides on it at some point. Any other pieces for maybe bed sides will be blue and or stained wood . The last two pictures show the difference in the two oranges.

Finished up the xc ski chair touch ups and kids size ski chair today... Fun projects!!!

A guy sits down in a movie theater and notices that the man in front of him has brought his dog and it's sitting in the seat next to him. He thinks it's unusual, but he likes dogs so he decides that as long as it's not a distraction he won't mention it. The movie starts and pretty soon there's a funny part. The dog makes some low woofing sounds that seem like laughter. In a little while there's a sad part and the dog appears to be weeping. This continues throughout the film and the man sitting behind the dog is astounded. When the lights come up he taps the dog's owner on the shoulder and tells him, "I gotta say, and I know it sounds weird, but it seemed like your dog really enjoyed this movie." The dog owner looks at the dog and nods. "I know, it really is weird," he says, "because he absolutely hated the book."

Finished my front weight set today.

Spent a few days gathering parts and painting. Put three coats of paint on the wood. Went out this morning and assembled it. Took it out front and did a photo op in front of the Halloween decorations. Used the matching Roper to move it. The wife threw in some deadheaded flowers to take to the compost while it was there. So it has already been put to work.

October 12, 1900 First modern submarine is commissioned by the US Navy as the USS Holland, named for its designer John Philip Holland.

October 14, 1994, The Shawshank Redemption had a limited premiere in the USA on September 23, 1994, followed by a wider release on October 14, 1994; it initially wasn't a big box office hit but became a beloved classic over time.

Never seen that technique uesed to smooth a gravel driveway before, guess it works prety well.

Looking around our property today I enjoyed the red color coming on to the Dogwoods. This put me in mind of a little joke I pulled on my wife when we first bought the property.. As we walked around the property I was telling my wife what species each tree was and if it was a nut tree. When we got to the first Dogwood, she asked how she could identify it as a dogwood. I told her that the bark was the best way to pick one out, she throuly examined the tree's exterior covering. At that time I snuck up behind her and BARKED LIKE A DOG. Well, at least one of us thought it was funny.

So it is written, so it shall be done...

Finished! Thanks to @Vinylguy for the excellent decals!!!

95% blockage of my LAD. Roto Rooter and install a culvert. Sent me out the door today. Ride on !

Installed some of the goodies I picked up at the Portland Swap Meet. Changed out the lug tires for this $50 set I picked up. Popped on the "everyday" set of hubcaps (keeping an NOS set stored for shows or potential restoration). Installed a different ammeter - the original was bouncing around like crazy. Hard to find a 15-amp ammeter. Installed the snowplow bracket that came with an HY-3 kit. Soaked up some beautiful weather putting around the yard and tending to a pile of limbs I was burning. Next on the list is to replace all the seals on the transmission. After that, popping the head off, checking the valves, breather, and repairing or replacing a leaking fuel pump.

Replaced front axle pivot pin/bolt, drilled drag link out and made a couple bushings on lathe for drag link on 701. I didnt relize how wore everything was until I really got to looking closer at front end. My niece was driving it around the other day and I could see it better watching it go by I guess .

Update: This tractor is now for sale locally. I know of this guy who has the ad, he's always having tractors for sale, so I'm sure he bought it at the auction to flipped it. Currently he wants $750 for it. Here is his ad: "OBO 14 hp Kohler ,48 inch  adjustable deck ,in front ,sharp Blades , no smoke. Tire chains ,runs like a top ,ready to mow today. It is a really fun tractor to mow with. It’s cool ,quiet spindles ,no rust.nice tractor!!!" If anyone is interested, pm me and I'll send the link, or just search fb for deals in my area. Pics from the ad:

Making some wide wheels. got um cut and tacked together but had to come home and get some supper I was getting hungry.