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Gone wrong.

I planted this Rhubarb two years ago. I thought it froze out with the cold temps this winter. No strawberries yet but I have plenty of frozen blackberries from last year. So my first attempt at a blackberry / rhubarb pie. Mrs K even gave me a

My favorite Frankentractor started acting up this week. Slow to crank sometimes, and shut off unexpectedly every 15-20 mins. Crank right back up and die 5 mins later. Swapped both magnetos, since both originals "tested" within specs. Best I can tell one of them flaked out when hot. Once again purrs like a kitten (a dang big one ) now. I really love this machine. It was my first Wheel Horse and it has been awesome for 30 years!

Finally able to wrap this project up. Well, almost. will get into that at the end of this post. First we'll take a look back at where I started. And finally some pictures after a few hours work. Thanks for following along. Sure looks purty, just wish I could get it running right. I spent a fair amount of time trying different things with the engine today, but I just can't seem to get it to run good at high RPMs. Been a while since I've had an engine kick my but like this. I know that I have to be missing something, just wish that some type of epiphany would hurry up & hit me.

Worked the 654 hard today. We've had tons of rain so far this spring. Have an 81yr old neighbor lady. Her landscape guy hasn't shown up to cut her lawn. I told her I'd mow before the city cites her. We had rain this morning so it was very wet & muddy. Her grass was at least 6-8" tall.

Well... maybe. Your mileage may vary. I tried for several days to figure out how to hold the wheels and rotate them so I could cut them straight. I started to build a jig to hold them, but then realized that was against hillbilly rule #7: Use what you have on hand. So I put a tractor on jack stands and removed a Wheel. Then mounted the bare rim and used a sharpie to mark the cut line all the way around. Sat on a 5 gallon bucket and lightly cut into the wheel on the lines until it cut all the way. It gets a little sketchy when the cutting wheel first breaks through. You have to turn the grinder to rotate the same direction as the wheel is turning so it doesn't grab. Ask me how I know... Holding the two halves together to get the welding started was interesting. Grinding deep "V" shapes in the backside to fill didn't help. Angle iron around inside or out didn't work. I used a couple big magnets to tack the first joint, and welding clamps two inches at a time until all the way around. But it turned out great. Rim is 9 inches wide bead to bead and the bonus is that the extra parts make up a nice set of 6 inch wheels, so nothing is wasted. Wheel has no wobble after everything was finished. Plenty good enough for a slow garden tractor. Took all evening to do one wheel. Learned a few tricks so the second one should go much faster.

Front End Funday?

I actually went to buy the tiller. Thinking I would have the only tractor with a tiller on the front and rear. But after talking a bit and learning he started working for Allis Chalmers in 1965, one year after I did, I knew I had to help a 77yo downsize. So I cleaned out his garage.

Looonng first post.... LOTS to write.... For several years we've been considering an upgrade to our old wood splitter. It's a very well (re)built decades old unit that was home shop rebuilt in 2012 by a local logger. After 14 seasons of splitting it's understandably getting tired. We started a thread here, got some great info. We researched on other sites and spoke to our favorite small engine repair place. We decided that it would need the entire hydraulic system replaced and a new larger engine to meet the goals. Not at all opposed to this but it would easily cost $2,000 +. While doing research online we found a couple dual action splitters. Very intriguing. We started a thread on that here: ..... And again learned some great information along with creating some additional thought processes. We decided to get the Boss model over the HF model because of several factors. 1. Kohler engine on the Boss. 2. Too many pivot/ wear points on the HF. 3. Hydraulic control lever is centered on the Boss vs one sided operation in the HF. This is a very convenient feature for Trina in particular because she's prone to jumping around wherever the workload can be accomplished the best. 4. Overall frame strength and build quality appears better on the Boss than the HF according to multiple online sources. 5. The Boss is certified for road towing. The HF is not. (We'll visit that below) The new Boss splitter arrived this week. Overall it looks good. I agree with #4 above. The welds are solid. The frame is good thick steel. The cylinder is encapsulated in a square slider tube which is encapsulated in the frame. Purely a flat surface sliding design with no bearings. @Ed Kennell Grease will be applied. Often. @peter lena North American design but made in china. Build quality is reasonable except for a few things. The trailer tongue mount is too narrow for the main frame. We had to use washers to set the tongue to one side and add longer bolts to the other side. I WOULD NOT tow this unit on the road the way it's sent. IMHO it was not safe. That - quite frankly - pi$$ed me off. This side is flush. This side is not. See the space difference... Now imagine trying to "tighten" that enough to close the space using low quality hardware... or even great quality hardware. Not happening buster. The entire hardware package is the unfortunate cheap trash we see all too often on cheap items. Nut & bolt head sizes are inconsistent (WTH??) and lacking quality. I upgraded several bolts, added washers, and replaced the disgustingly lightweight axle castle nuts with better quality pieces. We were unable to drive the steel press fit axle dust caps in so we popped the plastic ones back on. This is fine unless/until we ever need to road tow it. The axle inner seal surface isn't even properly machined. If this was going to be towed often or long distance it would eat seals. Fast. After using it for only a few minutes it's developed an issue already. Like many splitters, It has a two stage hydraulic system. When the pressure reaches a certain level the system changes from high speed low pressure to low speed high pressure. This one WAS working like that. Now it starts high speed. Goes low speed and stays there. Shut it off and move the lever to release system pressure. Restart and repeat. I'm hoping it's an adjustment, not a defective part. We've run some decent sized beech wood through it. That went well. Power level seems good. We're thinking it should be faster though. That may be related to the above issue or possibly because it's new and needs to break in. Or.... it's just slower than we hoped. Again, overall I believe it'll be a good addition once the bugs are worked out. The work habits obviously are very different from a single action to this dual action. The fact that one can use both directions is very nice. Very weird at first too. Once a different and properly adjusted set of habits is developed we can see a new kind of usefulness. We did get the additional cross piece to split horizontally. It has its place but also has its challenges. The second split is nice IF the pieces of wood separate correctly. Because we use a lot of beech wood, that isn't practical much of the time. I'll document repairs and changes in this thread. Some changes we figured on making even before purchase, no matter what splitter we got. 1. Wheel size, tongue height & length increase. The OE tires are 4.00/4.80 x 8. Seems most splitters are standard at that. I'd likely add a set of 5 lug hubs and increase to a full size tire like we did on the other splitter. Tongue height and length will be adjusted to level and to compensate for the additional table length..(Next comment) 2. Larger flat work table. As you can see in the last picture above there are small catch shelves on the sides. The principal is good. The upward angle is actually a bit of a challenge to work with. The wood pieces want to fall back into the work area. Remember gravity? We're thinking about adding a much larger, flat work table to catch the pieces on both sides. Start the split. Set one half aside. Work with the other. Have plenty of space to move the shrinking pieces around and off the table.

Got the 48 all hooked up had to buy a new belt. 42 takes 102" 48 takes 103" Hard to believe it makes a difference...it does. To wet to start mowing the paths. I like the front mount as it knocks some of the Tics down before they hit my leg Already had one.. Going to need lots of DEET this year. Did a short test may have to get a bigger horse the 48 put a load on the 14hp.

Shop rags can get expensive and I don’t like to put them in my washing machine. I’ve had this cement mixer around for a while now and figured I’d put it to good use IMG_4450.mov

Yeah, I finally got a mower that is licensed to use state highways.

@wallfish @Sparky John had bought a doodle bug from Zagrays to screw around with... I stored it for a bit and Sunday he gets to take it home from the Belltown Tractor Show. Has a Tecumseh 16 OHV... so it will never run!! Lol sorry Bill!!!

Good! Sick of looking at that through my windows (just kidding, no windows on that side of the house)

Ok, well… decided to drop the engine in for fit, and everything‘s looking good. Going to start snugging things up a little and then continuing with dressing the engine with all of the freshly painted and prepped accessories.

April 17, 1964 The Ford Mustang officially debuted at the New York World's Fair in New York City.

There’s lots of work today to get 70 square foot of steel mounted up! Back window and door openings are cut out, window is in and I need to trim and seal it up. Back sliding door track is installed and trimmed as well.

e Delivered the 314A to a new owner today. The young lady was in dire need of a tractor to do the first mowing.

Just do when she ain't lookin...

Gave the 257-H a good cleaning. 99 hours on it. Very underrated machines IMHO.

Rather productive day today. Broke the axle shaft free of the hub with my 12 ton hobo freight press. Pulled the trans out of the 10-8, new axle shaft came in today for the 10-8 trans now just need to get the time to split it and repair it. Had my new tri-rib tires mounted yesterday and today threw them on the C120 for now to see how I like them since they’re for the 10-8. Then plowed out my new garden bed with the C120. All in all it was a good day.

I think that @ebinmaine corraled all the remaining East Coast C160's...

April 22, 1978, "Saturday Night Live" showcases the worldwide television debut of the Blues Brothers—the not-quite-real, not-quite-fake musical creation of SNL cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

You're downsizing. Just getting smaller stuff instead of complete tractors...

I can see what closed the deal, those license plat patches on the deck just couldn't be passed on gotta' have them.

My neighbor takes care of two gardens. The one shown in the video and one twice as large in my yard (in photos). I found him a good deal on a nice tiller complete with all the idler pulleys. He couldn't be happier!

Put steering wheel center cap on 520H thanks ti AtoZ tractor, also added cubic inches decals to air cleaner lid on same tractor.

Hmmm, that reminds me, you guys didn't comply with my demands either! Change the forum name to Wallfish's RedSquare with big golden arch on the header! Make that happen or I'll sue ! LOL

obviously through time the remaining inventory will continue to lessen as they age and are parted out, or scrapped - then add in the volume or tractors people are hoarding -- so over coming years will be fewer and fewer "for sale" -- but then there seems to be inevitabilty there will be fewer of us to have interest buying them -- let's hope they live on as great machines that appeal to future generations - we have two younger families in our family tree who have them - let's hope that loyalty continues

Thanks to the dimensional info from ebinmaine and the information previously posted by others I've made some progress on fabricating the grader blade components. Other than the block that the lift arm connects to on the main support arm, it's ready to weld together. The blade itself has previously been fabricated. I'm currently waiting on the plate that bolts to the blade, I'm having it bent to shape in a fab shop close by. After that I'll mill the three slots and make the pivot pin. I'm sure the lift arm won't be exactly like an original, but it should be close enough to function.

Great job Kevin !! I had some waste when I built mine. Spun the rims on my C-145 lathe. My finished width was 11.5"

Well, that 1076 is nearly complete. It's missing the belt guard and throttle cable. It does start, run and drive. The Sundstrand feels strong. It has the axle bracket and snow plow, The slot hitch that can lift the tiller. And the 42" deck with all the side swing arm hardware.

Very noble... Just wait till you get to be his age!!!

April 21, 1967, General Motors (GM) celebrates the manufacture of its 100 millionth American-made car. At the time, GM was the world’s largest automaker. General Motors was established in 1908 in Flint, Michigan, by horse-drawn carriage mogul William Durant. In 1904, Durant invested in the Buick Motor Company, which was started in 1903 by Scottish-born inventor David Dunbar Buick. Within a few years of forming his company, Buick lost control of it and sold his stock, which would later be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Durant made Buick Motors the cornerstone of his new holding company, General Motors, then acquired Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Reliance Motor Company, among other auto and truck makers.

Your engine is splash lubricated with relatively wide clearances when compared to a modern automotive pressure lubricated engine, I would go with 30 as stated in the engine manual.

Yep, I’m still grinding away on this. I have 34 or so days until Jada’s graduation party. Most every piece needs to be cut to length and trimmed somehow to fit. It’s time consuming, so I am using whatever dry weather I have to get it done.

I look like a circus bear on my 551

WE DO NOT SHIP ANYTHING. CASH ONLY AND PICK UP ONLY. Let me think this over, I want a new choke cable, I can buy it now on eBay and have it shipped or I can drive about 600 miles round trip and hope he is there and in a good mood when I get there. decisions, decisions.

Ready for work.

If you flip it over it's left handed!

Good idea Richard but most of mine are picked up out in the woods making firewood. It's been suggested to duct tape pant legs to boots but that doesn't really work they just crawl over it but yeah spray your legs and boots down with deep woods off or the like. Best thing to do is check the missus all over in the shower at nite for them ... I got nailed three time by deer ticks ... yep the nasty lyme ones... and they left nasty scars. No pics Sylvia's visuals.

Prepare to be WH amazed. If it's WH, it'll be there. And hang out for the ice cream social and cruise night Fri evening. Time will go by so fast that you'll think you time traveled and missed a day somewhere so try to soak it all in. I'm fairly easy to find if you see the bike, so stop and say hello. Your welcome to take it for a spin too. What all is needed when I arrive there? Nothing except you're expected to have a good time. Park and enter the area. Is there a fee? Nope But as mentioned it's always a good idea to join the WHCC. I’d like to bring my 1257 to ride around on, maybe. Definitely bring it. It doesn't need to be a trailer queen resto and most tractors there are workers. I’d also like to try and meet most of the good people from this forum but I only know user names, is there a spot “red square” usually has? Spread all over but you'll be able to run into many I look forward to the show and see all the stuff and tractors. Bet you won't be able to see it ALL I’ll be there Friday and then go back to the hotel and then come back Saturday. Hopefully that’s ok. Absolutely. No admission, no tickets no nonsense. Park and walk or ride right in.

Roller

Trail cam caught the wording on Ed's WH shed: "Keep your ancient green tractors, their sordid pomp", cries he with silent lips... "Give me your huddled Wheel Horses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teaming barns. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, Ed, and I will lift my Home Depot buckets beside the Red shed door".

April 20, 2008 Danica Patrick driving for Andretti Green Racing wins the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi; first female driver in history to win an IndyCar Series race.

Hey everyone! Just wanted to follow up with how things went, both to give closure and to maybe help anyone in the future. I was able to get that governor shaft in place and installed without any further disassembly of the crankcase. Took one strong magnet placed on the outside of the governor shaft hole, one extend-o pocket magnet to move the shaft around in the case, and about 10 minutes of my time. Turned the engine on its head, dropped the shaft down at the bottom, then maneuvered the shaft into position using the extend-o magnet. Once it was "in place"-ish, I moved it close enough to the magnet covering the shaft hole. The shaft attracted to the magnet and grabbed over. Then, I just pulled the magnet outward (with the shaft attached) and the shaft walked through the hole. Checked the alignment was correct, installed the shaft sleeve, torqued down the nut, and voila! - new governor shaft installed and ready to go. Reassembled everything (new oil, new oil pan gasket, new fuel pump installed, but not hooked-up to fuel lines (for closure - still using the electric fuel pump)), started her up, and bingo-bango - throttled up and governor-ed down as expected. Thanks again to everyone for the assistance and help here! It is GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!

I just won 2 wheelhorse 312s on a local online auction.... why did I do that? A WH 312-A and an 312 Hydro. I'll pick them up tomorrow. One runs, one doesn't. The hydro has a plow. I hope there are some manuals here for those. Still not sure why I did that.

You ? That 401 looks like a dingleberry on James!