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I figured I should get in a ride while the getting is good because of the uncertain weather conditions nowadays. I used the Side x Side to pack roughly 6 '' of snow on the ground. The 418-A is my mowing tractor and it's nice to get behind the wheel with no mower deck and wind it up some. This was on Thursday after lunch.

I built a hub puller a couple of weeks ago, which worked great (see below), but I thought I could improve upon it, so I fabbed up a new version, which has two advantages over the first one: It has a cavity for the hub spigot, so it can be bolted flat against the hub flange, which can add some rigidity to the flange, and it can be used with hubs that have been retrofitted with studs, as well as those that are still using lug bolts. Mine still has lug bolts, but I used a separate set of bolts and washers with the puller, rather than the lug bolts, in order to prevent any damage to the puller plate or to the tapered part of the lug bolts. The center bolt is longer than it needs to be, but that's what I had on hand. I put a dab of anti-seize on the center bolt threads. Previous version of hub puller: New version: Back of puller (I dressed the weld a bit, just for the heck of it): Front of puller:

So as may of you know in September I bought a 1257. We fully rebuilt the transmission. I got a new ignition switch a few weeks ago and put that in. Then we got snow so it got pushed to the back. Today we finally brought it back in. Cleaned the points and it fired right up. More to come later today. IMG_1453.mov

I ran into DJ this morning, and he even bought me lunch and a coffee! Thanks @hcminis, it was great to run into a familiar face after a 4 hour drive for some car parts!

A buddy who is a scrapper called about this hood he picked up with some other scrap metal. Thankfully he called to see if we wanted it. I don't have a use for it but couldn't see letting it get crushed. Pretty straight, no latch or wiring.

Picked up an early Raider 12 just before Christmas. Seller said he had rebuilt the trans but it stopped moving while he was plowing snow and he thought he snapped the input shaft. That didn't sound quite right to me and I suspected the key for the drive pulley was a more likely suspect. We agreed on a price delivered. The tractor came with a 42" snow blade mounted, a 42" mower deck with only one small rust hole, and extra pair of rear wheels and tires and tire chains. He also threw in a Harbor Freight 20 Ton press. He dropped it off and while I was pushing it to the shed the left rear wheel and hub came off. I immediately thought that might be its mobility issue. I got the wheel back on and pushed it in the shed. I finally got to work on it today after work. I picked up a couple Woodruff keys and stuck one in, it also needed a battery. It starts easy, runs pretty good with no smoke or obnoxious noises AND it moves in all gears. It's seeping a little where the case halves meet and it has a catch going into reverse so I'll open it back up and take care of those items. The drive belt is in pretty rough shape too and when I put a load on it, it stopped moving until I let it sit for a minute for the belt to cool so I have a new one on the way. Plan is for this one to be my new mower and the blade will go on my old Raider 9 after an engine transplant. This is the seller's pic from the ad, not much to look at but it's all there and functional....

Todays adventure - rebuild the steering system. To start off I turned a portion of 5/8" stock down to 9/16" and threaded it to 12 pitch. Next drill a hole in it and tap the inside of it to 3/8-24. Then use a parting tool to cut it to length. OK, what am I building here ?? Remember the fan gear that the PO messed up by welding the drag link to it? The hole in it was too large for a heal-a-coil. So I tapped the hole in it to 9/16-12. What I made was an insert to repair the require 3/8-24 hole in the fan gear. Inserted with Loctite plus I peened the edges to ensure that it does not move. Next - take a peace of 5/8" x 4.5" stock, turn a 15/16" length of each end down to 7/16" and thread it to a 20 pitch. One new drag link. Now for the tie rod that was butchered up. First off, position the front axle and spindles so that everything is held strait. Then cut a 1" x 5/16" flat bar to length. Use a transfer punch to mark the outer holes. Drill the 1/2" holes in each end and the 3/8" hole for the drag link and test bolt things together. Looking good, now it was time to turn the two 1/2' bolts into part #3949 clevis pins. Cut to length and then drill an 1/8" hole 1" deep into the end of the bolt. Drill & tap the end to 1/4-28 to a depth of 3/8" for a grease zerk. Drill an 1/8" cross hole to meet up with the 1/8" length wise hole so that grease can get to the pivot point. Front end repaired & almost ready for some paint.

Finished transaxle drain and refill on the 12hp-8 No Name today. New shifter boot, magnetic drain plug and swapped the 8.50’s for some 10.50’s on back. Oh yeah installed bolts/studs on back wheels. Made mounting the loaded Carlisle alot easier.

Hey folks , I haven't been as active here as I once was ( apologies ) . I have been busy . This happened to me this week and I remembered there are "birders" on this forum . Last Wednesday while at work , myself and two coworkers were just shooting the breeze out in our drop lot when something caught our eyes . It was a seemingly injured bird hopping along the fence line. Birds of prey are very common in the city . They hunt the pigeons that nest nearby. We decided to call the SPCA and they forwarded us to the DEC. About 1/2 hour later a woman from the DEC shows up and she can't catch him. My 2 coworkers had left and I decided to help her as she was about to give up . She threw a blanket to me over the fence and told me what to do . I managed to toss the blanket over him and get ahold of both his feet .I carried the bundled injured little guy over to her Jeep and slid it into a pet carrier. He looked in pretty rough shape to my untrained eye . I gave the woman my info and asked if she would keep me updated. This afternoon I get a call . The bird was taken to our SPCA and is doing "quite well". She sent me a pic . He's about a 1 year old Coopers Hawk. He's gorgeous.

January 10, 1899, The invention of the dry cell battery and miniature incandescent electric light bulbs made the first battery-powered flashlights possible. Patented by David Misell the first flashlight was powered by “D” batteries laid front to back in a paper tube with the light bulb and a rough brass reflector at the end. The company donated some of these devices to the New York City police, who responded well to them. Keep shining a beam of light into the history of this bright idea. If a flashlight malfunctions it is known as a @Sparky

Here ya go EB ... I ain't gonna tell ya some bozo threw this one on the scrap pile at my old shop...

Santa Claus dropped this set off for me, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FD2MGBZV/?coliid=I2OHFXC6N18XC2&colid=E9BKT8EPBLKD&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Yesterday we brought home my grandpa's 1967 Cub Cadet 122 so I could tear into and replace a headgasket, reseal the motor, fix the clutch, fix some fatigue welds, go through the mower deck, get it all degreased, flush and refill tranny, and probably some other stuff that I cant think if off the top of my head. Anyways, I have been taking photos as I go along. And when we were taking it off the trailer the left front spindle broke so I'm in need of one of those.

I haven't named any of my tractors, even if I thought of a good name. Nothing against it at all. It's just that I can barely keep all my kid's names in my mind so I'm just trying not to confuse myself...

I’m not opposed to either the pincer or hammer style, but I’ve gone to the soldered on style of lug for the relatively few times I need to make new heavy cables. And, by the way, keep an eye out at tag and garage sales for jumper cables. A good set (heavy, flexible, stranded copper wire) can yield some great battery/starter cables.

About 2 years ago, I was informed that I had a cataract, and it was time i should start considering getting it taken care of. We'll, at the time that didn't really fit in with what all we had going on. Well, last year's eye exam showed a big degradation in my left eye. Last summer, I noticed that my short range depth preseption was off - the finish nails I drove to flush were actually standing about 1/4" proud. Bolts on machinery i was working on were farther away than where my eyes told me to put the wrench. I was having trouble getting a good sight picture of the pop can target when shooting my Daisy Red Ryder. Bunch of little things, but enough was enough. 3 weeks ago, I had my left (dominant) eye operated on, as it was the worst. Wonderful improvement! Yesterday, I had my right eye operated on. It is still dilated and not focusing quite right at reading range, but a noticable improvement in distance sight. The most impressive thing is how sharp and vivid the colors are now. If anybody out there is considering cataract surgery, I'll encourage you to go get it done. The procedure (outpatient) itself is a breeze, involving just enough knock out drugs to relax and enjoy the 'light show'. I think my reply to the "how are you doing?" question in recovery was "that was a pretty cool trip". Had a special lens installed yesterday that corrected an astigmatism. While discussing this with the surgeon pre-op, I asked him if the lens also had a .010" eyecrometer scale - he got a chuckle out of that one.

The other brothers story. Pretty cool history and always good reading.

I still like a 16 Oz hammer for framing. Going in tomorrow for a rebuild on my right hand eyeball tomorrow. Opted for the de-luxe replacement lens with astigmatism correction. If it turns out as well as the left eye rebuild, it will make my accuracy much better when using the 16 Oz framing hammer.

Soft start clutch controller works well for this issue. I've used one for 8 years and it works great. I didn't use hydraulics on this one but it can be done! Not a C-series but has alot of those parts in it.

Exhaust covers and air deflector ready to be installed. Engine ready for exhaust covers to be installed. Right exhaust cover tucked under side cover as it was originally. Right engine lifting lug loosely bolted through exhaust and side covers. Both lifting lug bolts have never seize applied to threads. Left engine lifting lug loosely bolted through exhaust and side covers. Note the exhaust cover is on top of the side cover on this side. Both engine lifting lugs loosely bolted through exhaust and side covers. Air deflector sat on muffler and loosely bolted to exhaust covers. Chrome muffler cover attached loosely with the two center screws. Chrome muffler cover attached to muffler with all 6 screws, this also firmly attaches the air deflector to the muffler. Note, all screws have never seize on the threads. Air deflector bolts tightened making sure that there is no contact between the exhaust covers and the intake manifold. Exhaust covers and air deflector installed.

Small improvement: I made a very simple 'thrust bearing' for the end of the puller's center bolt. I bored a 5/16"+ hole in the end of the 3/4-16 grade 8 center bolt, squared off the end of the bolt, cut the threads off of a partially-threaded grade 8 5/16 bolt, and added two 5/16 SAE washers. If I wanted to get fancier, I could have cut a groove in the shank of the 5/16 bolt for a small O-ring to retain it in the center bolt, but I figure enough is enough. A dab of grease will hold the 5/16" bolt in the end of the center bolt while the puller is being set up, and a bit of grease or anti-seize or other EP lube (ZX1?) on and between the washers would be a good idea when using the puller.

I purchase a 20ft wheel horse hauler been busy putting electrical in the inside that I can run a generator for power so I can sleep in it and working on tie downs so I can secure my wheel horse tractors

I made a similar one that I considered marketing but the material cost and hours were high and I doubt that it would sell for the price I would need.

January 7, 1968, U.S. space probe Surveyor 7 was launched and, a few days later, made a soft landing on the Moon.

January 12, 1966 "Batman", starring Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Cesar Romero as The Joker, debuts on ABC.

That shouldn’t matter..you think your the only Eric? Or me the only Mike? Clyde is still my choice …. Now make it happen

Forgot to post this one from last month.

And I thought you were asking about the MPG fuel stats on Mrs Ks favorite ride.

Got my latest C-160-8 to pop off today. Think she was auctioned off because starter motor was bad. Fixed some wiring issues replaced starter and she popped.. ( can't spray carb cleaner and film at the same time) This is the tractor with the unique K 431 engine.

Absolutely beautiful trails in the snow! Always good to take the horses for a brisk walk on occasion!

Prowling around somewhere or another I saw this seat mentioned. Looked like something I wanted to try so I bought one. Got it in the mail yesterday and I like it so much I ordered two more. At or just below freezing in the shop and the material feels reasonably soft and supple. Will it last? I have no idea. We will see what it does at 0° or below. On a low back versus high back seat I could go either way as far as looks. For a practical nature however, I prefer a low back seat. Two reasons: 1. It's easier for me to get on and off the tractor without the seat back being in the way. 2. I've said it before and I'll repeat it here. Your entire muscle and bone and tendon structure is literally, use it or lose it. One of the biggest reasons, if not THE biggest reason, that most of us experience injuries is because we have failed over the years to use our people chassis correctly. Engage. Your. Core. Muscles. As often as possible. I'm talking as close to 100% of the time as possible. Yes it takes training. Just do it. That's another reason why I prefer a low back seat. It forces me to use my core muscles to hold my body upright while driving. Here's some pics. This particular one I got off of Wally World but it looks like they're available from multiple sources. It was just under $54 shipped.

Installed some seat springs on the 73 12hp-8 today No Name. Robbed these off a 73 14hp-H No Name. Rob Peter to pay Paul . The 14hp-H is/was a running mochine when I drove it in the shed, smoked a little but ran and had strong Hydro.

Today I plowed off what my nephew didn't get last night off my driveway with the 308. While I was at it took out the C-141 for a ride and got it mildly stuck on slush/ice. I also figured I'd stretch the legs on my ATV as well and in the process of plowing moved my Snowmobile to plow around it. Then took that for a spin.

PTO clutch plate ready to be installed. PTO clutch plate slid onto bearing race and bolt holes aligned. PTO clutch plate retainers inserted into bearing race groove then bolts partly threaded in. PTO clutch plate bolts torqued to 96 in/lb. Wife caught me torquing the PTO clutch plate bolts.

January 13, 1888 The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. for "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge"

We have been having some awesome sunrises and sunsets in Indiana too! But the moons the last three months have also been very bright and beautiful!

the left handle and the clutch pedal are on and add rubber pieces were your feet set next thing is getting the engine together and on the frame and the fenders and the pan painted gas tank mounted on the hood and both of them painted too a lot of work to go still

This is true. I did the tranny a couple of years ago in order to fix a a bad 3rd gear so with a fresh engine it should be good for another 60yrs.

Did some cleaning yesterday night. And came how way better then I was expecting. Still have to clean the rims and find a belt guard though. Do have some other plans for this tractor as well

Good looking rig! I’ve got a soft spot for the 60’s square hoods

All: Inspired by the lengthy thread started by @Blue Chips, and not desiring to hijack it..... Several folks showed versions of Hub Pullers of their own design. Others commented that they should fabricate more and sell them. The common consensus was that there was not enough "Meat on the Bone" to do so and still cover expenses, never mind generate a healthy profit.... I recently posted about machining a C Series front axle to receive Flanged and Straight Bushings. I have offered this service for over 5 years at a flat shop fee of $100. Let's break down what you get for your crisp Benjamin..... The terms are as follows: You supply a rebuildable axle and spindles. An axle with holes wallowed out more than 1/16" will require a different one be supplied. Spindles with moderate wear can be welded up & recut. You purchase the six Bushings / Thrust Washers of your choice first. Shipping the axle assembly both ways is on you. There are three different setups required to renew the axle; Center Pivot, Right Spindle Bore, and Left Spindle Bore. The last two are referenced off the finished Pivot... Fixturing the axle casting is tedious. Most of the machined reference surfaces are either worn or being cut. About as adventuresome as trying to clamp down a Fire Axe. Each setup required about an hour to define the original centerline, clamp in at least 3 places and recheck. THEN you turn on the Milling Machine. And remember you need to mill the underside of the spindle bosses to allow room for the thrust flange so the upper Snap ring fits... All told, complete machining and assembly requires 4 to 5 hours. I still need to pay the Electric Bill for the lights & 2HP Miller. Ditto, I buy any expendable tooling (drills, reamers, new grease fittings, steel shims). And the filler rod, shield gas and electric to TIG weld the worn spindles.. As mentioned, I get a flat $100.... for 4 or more hours of Shop Time. My Electric Bill has close to doubled in 5 years without me adjusting the price. To put it in real world perspective - The Machine Shop where I last worked charged $120 PER HOUR. That is for setup and cutting time, or time on the phone if a problem with the supplied parts comes up. At 2019 prices. So???

Battery showed up today

Ahhh the nut cracker suit... I just always ground off that lilttle flare & soldered & shrink with no issues so far. If I need a nice set for a cherry resto I just put in a job order at Dan's work. Trolling motor wire works good too... very flexible. They say many small conductors carry current better as the electron flow is greatest on the perimeter of the conductor.

What, you don't attach it to a dedicated "Mule" engine to set the mix screws while running too?? You hack!!!!!

Pulled the trigger on this one from HFT. Was surprised how many dies came with it. Crimps 14 to 0 gauge Will be proud to be able to make my own cables. I hate haveing extra long cabels and to big ol lug holes when not needed and has to be easier on electrical systems.

Hydro tranny with foot pedal motion control and hydraulic lift...only way to plow when you have 5 driveways to clear. My 312 H at work last year .312H snow plowing - Wheel Horse Tractors - RedSquare Wheel Horse Forum

I worked in the oil patch & refineries my entire career. When I started trying to take it apart, that little guy inside said you're peein' in the wind. When I had Liquid Wrench comin' out the bottom of the nut and it wasn't turnin' I KNEW I was in trouble. Two 18inch pipe wrenches and a 4lb hammer later, it's apart. Threads in nut are flat. Useless, but it's apart. I listened to you guys and feel good!

@Bill D I believe it was. Recommended tapping on to the positive side of the coil feed. That way the fuel pump is connected to any safety switches that may be in play also, it gets power during the starting and running phases of the ignition switch.