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Or am I just being extra anal?!?!? I have one of these for all of my tractors and find it handy to keep install instructions, manuals, receipts for parts for the tractor, belt sizes, notes about work done on it ... you name it. Heaven forbid the tractor gets sold the book goes with it. Nice to have in the barn for quick reference.

Okay, after deciding to get a swept front axle for my 95' 312-8 that use a plow on, I figured that I'd jump, get a welder (Lincoln Dual MIG 180ampDC 240v) and see what kind of fabrication I could mock and put together for the Plow/ Dozer extension kit... TOOLS LIST: 1. Ch. Elect. Chop saw and metal cutting disc 2. Ch. Elect. 4-1/2" Angle Grinder 3. Flat File 4. Ryobi dual drill/ hammer drill (not on hammer ha ha) 5. 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" drill bits (I really need to a get a drill press. Almost got one to face twice) 7. Vice 8. Tape Measure and scratch all (nail ha ha-don't worry I have a soap pen now) 9. Lincoln 240v Dual MIG 180amp DC welder with .035 FC wire 10. Can of Pam cooking spray to help limit spatter. I used the measurements on the site, got some 2.5" x 3/8" Flat stock and 3/4" round stock. I don't have a torch so I couldn't get the bend to work but I decided to try and weld the shift in the sidebars together. Unfortunately my stock was limited and I had t patch a 1/2" piece at the end of one of the side bars. It's not on high pressure point though. I did end up getting a little to high current on a couple welds but was able to get the welder more dialed in today and finish up the unit with better beads. I know they are not perfect but will get the job done. This is my first go round in welding so be gentle on the criticism (which is welcome). It's only been 2-3 days. Have a look. Piece that was but welded and then ground down to match and cut at the proper length. A little to much amperage. Thought about running two more beads on top of these after getting the welder dialed in for 3/8" which was WFS-3 and Volts-C with .035 FC wire. Lock slots... 11-7/16" at the bottom outside measurement (at the removable 3/4" lock bar). 11-1/2" at the top inside measurement. I simply placed it all on the plow and clamped the side bars to the plow rails and then set the top (rear) 3/4" bar and tacked it. Post welding fit... It's nice a snug on the plow frame and fits perfect on the plow bracket on the axle. Last this to do is drill the cotter pin holds. Next will be the lift bracket. Will use a sanding disc on the rest, prime and paint after that. More pics to come...

No idea what this is but seen it on the inner web and had to share. Anyone have any idea if this is home made or factory ? Thx.

so this weekend a good friend and my next door neighbor of 30 years crashed his truck into a bridge and died instantly.as some may have read earlier we got hit hard by the ice storm last week,well then it warmed up and rained,making the roads and driveways a nightmare,probally the worst ive ever seen,my friend was coming home from work at 5 pm,turned onto a gravel road near us,sped up,hit someice on the road and swerved out of control and died hitting a concrete bridge.still in shock,he was a mechanic for large equipment and had a liking for the horses,he couldn't believe how many I have,and was allways amazed at what they could do,we deweeded his pond years ago with one and a drag harrow,and when id plow his drive he just shake his head and say I cant believe what those little tractors could do,he will be missed greatly.his wife will have to move,ill never get neighbors like them again,my wife and his wife are close so its real tough on my wife,you never know when its our time,so enjoy every day

I think it's perfectly normal Jim.

With the warmer temps the past several days I've had a chance to warm the engine up a few times and today I checked the torque on the head bolts, I've also replaced the bad volt meter and got the foot pedal linkage adjusted properly, the more I drive this thing, the more I like it. I might have to stick a deck under it this spring so I can get some seat time. For now, this project is done.

My wife spent most of the time chatting with Mrs. Stevasaurus and the many that wandered through the canopy. She's not a nut over Wheel Horses but she does appreciate them and enjoyed watching all the kids play with them, big and little, old and young. I'm pretty lucky. She even told me she enjoyed seeing me have so much fun.

I have seen a couple of Green orchard models made up but this is the first I have seen done this way. It would take a spry young person to drive it; or you could lower me onto it with a crane!

Count me in. First day of the show is my wife's birthday, guess we will have to celebrate early, then she can enjoy some quiet quality time at home!

I ahve all the hyd lines from a 520H.... both the steel lines and the rubber ones For further info, send me an OFF-SITE email... my address is: daveoman@windstream.net

Besides Wheel Horses or garden tractors in general, what other hobbies to you all enjoy? Mine is model trains, and it is my primary hobby/obsession. The trains and tractors are my two primary autistic obsessions and being able to enjoy each is critical to my mental stablity, or so says my therapist. I started with Lionel as a young lad, eventualy ending up with my father's set from teh late 1940's(still have it and it comes out of the cupboard at Christmas time). I moved into HO scale in my teens and joined the local club, then in my mid teens my aunt and late uncle got me an LGB starter set while on a trip to see his family in Germany. This started my years in G scale, in my early 20's I got my first live steam locomotive in G scale. As my eyes got worse in my late 30's making bi focals needed to see ho scale on a layout, I gave up the smaller scale and concentrating on G scale and live steam. I have both a railway in my garden, and one overhead in our living room for winter time use. The live steam runs primarly outside, but I have run it once or twice on the overhead loop. Here is a pic of my railways pride and joy, made by Merlin Locomotive Works in Welshpool, Wales UK in the in the mid 1980's. Butane gas fired, made of brass with a copper boiler. The engine house is one of my newest finds and will go on the garden railway when spring warmth returns. Cheers Mike the Aspie.

I collect a "few" Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars! These pictures were from about six years ago, but currently the collection has tripled. At last count, there were just about 3,000 cars total. I also collect 1/16th scale farm tractor toys, and currently have a little over 2,000 pieces of those.

Well this was the colour combination I settled on, having highlighted the silver weights with red I then 'had' to do the the same for the red set (highlighting in silver). I still think the red looks better, but the silver front rims, engine block and wheel horse logo just about let me get away with it. Sorry but I just couldn't bring myself to go with black.

I'll be there on Friday for sure depending if and when wife has back surgery this year. She wants to tag along to check out Mr. Ed's candy and nut store and any and all flea markets, yard sales and another place that sells C* * * no body wants or needs.

I have a notebook for every horse, running or not. I keep track of everything. My notebooks and manual on the El Camino measures 5 inches in thickness.I have two plastic file boxes with hinged lids for all the other stuff , saws ,drill press , nailers, etc. As my old man said" Don't throw it away, you will need it in the future " .

You may consider having custom axles made, like I did when I wanted to have a pair for duels. I had a fellow member make a pair using 4140 and then having them induction heat treated at the bearing and seal areas.

I checked the hardness on a 1-1/8" axle with splines. The readings were 20Rc at the splines and the hub area. The area where the wheel bearings run were 62 to 69Rc. The area where the seal runs was worn and hardness dropped off there. Had the hardening been carried out just a bit farther, the wear would have been minimal. Apparently they are induction hardened in the bearing area only. For reference, drilling and machining with conventional high speed bits can be done up to approximately 40Rc, carbide can be used up to about 62Rc. Harder than 62Rc usually requires grinding or EDM. 20Rc is soft and very easy to machine.

Good call on that bumper!

Here is a picture of the steering wheel and cap on my 1067. Both are original (my father was the original owner). I have added the decal in the center of the cap - not sure what decal was on the original cap.

looks like your doing a fine job to me, as you weld more you will get more comfortable with your welder and settings but so far what you have done is just fine.

Man, it just keeps getting tougher and tougher to come up with new customs that haven't already been done. Scratch armchair fire engine off the list. VERY creative build, I love it. Thanks for sharing that!

My daughter asked to take my tractor for a cruise toady and she thinks it has cruise control. 😂 IMG_5843.MOV

Bob,,,i never has occurred to me I might miss the SHOW...... I remember the first time we met.....Your trusted pony reared up on its rears.......and you STILL made it.... Thanks for the vote of confidence Bob...........

I wish I could, those live steam engines are expenisve! Here is a couple shots of the garden railway from last summer. Mike

As long as the surgery is after the show or 8 to 10 weeks before, she (and you) should be good to go.

Nobody said that Jim. It's just that making the binders isn't what caused it.

Just a word about camping. Camping is free on Friday night. If you come on Thursday, or stay until Sunday morning, there is a charge of $20 per night for those nights. Even though some members have "assumed" squatters rights, there are NO reservations, and if you get there early, you can't hold a spot for someone else. There will always be enough room for tent campers as there are many large open fields with lot of room. There are however, some electric sites for large campers and motor homes. They are limited and fill up fast. A local church group has concession rights and provides food from Thursday through Saturday lunch. They have terrific breakfasts, lunchs and dinner. They also have a great value on ice for your coolers. So, no matter what you decide to do, it's always an enjoyable time.

Nothing like tub rides on a 520! Mine with their Dad! @Rp.wh

@fireman NEEDS this!

Nice job -- if you can pre-determine where you need to drill holes for pins etc. it will be easier to drill before you heat the metal up with the welding ( gets a little harder to drill after heating )

Hello all, I am in the process of fixing up my 1067. It is in great shape and looks to be very original. just needs little things here and there. It is missing the center cap in the steering wheel and I am having trouble finding pictures of what it is supposed to look like. I would appreciate of someone could show me a pic. Thanks

The overlap and welding on both sides/ends is just as good and if not stronger than the bend itself you did good with your limited tool supply I work in/around a industrial machine shop and sometimes overlap welding is the best option,Jeff.

Very cool! LUCKY GIRL!!! Given the distance from the hands and feet to the steering wheel and pedals...Is that one of them new-fangled Google self-driving tractors?

Last year my wife had shoulder replacement surgery two weeks before the Big Show; her sister came up to see her for a week while I made it to the show. Has your wife got a sister?

I understand completely as I am seeing an orthopedic specialist tomorrow. Good luck to your wife and hoping for her full recovery.

you really are doing a fine job,i do a lot of welding and I really like making attachments for the tractors,it feels good to make something useful from a pile of steel

I know one thing...maybe two. When you talk computers, there are 2 kinds of people...those that back things up...and those that will. It is the same with these horses. In a digital world, it makes no sense, cents, since not to take plenty of pictures of anything you do with the horses, keep notes and log entries. It is the reason we have Man Caves...and Lord help the person that did not keep notes. One thing to add to your binders...put in what you think any horse, attachment, tools, etc is worth. If you die before the wife...and we all do...because we want to...she can get an idea and know when she comes to Red Square or any other site and asks that "Question", at least she will have an idea from you that she is not getting schrolled. Don't forget your fishing poles and reels and tackle. I've got a few down rigger poles with Penn reels on them. New, the poles were $25 and the reels were also $25...20 years ago. Put that rig together now for $50...good luck. If my wife did not know, she would probably give them away for $5 or $10. Something to think about gentlemen.

Always two copies for each tractor . One for my desk, one for the shop. I also save belt packaging sleeves, labeled and staple gunned to a barn beam; i,e.: 48" decks, 520 drive belt, 416 PTO, etc.

Yup,, We also keep an extra sheet just for parts, paint and anything else so we know exactly what we have in each one. Except labor,,,that's just to scary to add up!

I kind of do the same thing, but track everything in Excel and keep digital copies of the manuals. Easier this way for me since most of my research and buying is online. I even link you tube videos. If I need a hard copy I just print out which part I need.

'ats a keeper!

Have learned a lot about axles here thank you all!!! Have a replacement coming will see if it as good as it looks. if not probably will go with the 11-5/8". WH beveled the end of the splines so even on a good axle there is only .125" of full spline beyond the snap ring groove.. On some of my worn ones there is only .055 left. I would be hesitant to enlarge the snap ring groove if that is all that would be left.

Thanks for the welcome guys! Another KC9 call here. As far as pics go, not much to see right now as it's halfway apart. The routing of that line just seems like a bad design choice on an otherwise well designed machine. Several things have to be removed just to disconnect the line from the front end of the valve, not to mention that you basically have to remove the transaxle to have enough room to get the line out from between the transaxle and the rear of the frame. Even then it take quite a bit of maneuvering and colorful language to work it out of the tractor. Would have been better as two pieces too. Anyway, if I can get her back into working condition, I'd really like to build a loader for it. I have a skid loader, but there are places its hard to get into with it. Always wanted a small tractor with a loader, and this seems like a great platform to build it on. Always thought the 520 series was a bit ahead of its time feature-wise, and kinda a luxury garden tractor with the Onan engine, arm rests, chrome hub caps (mine still has one on the rear), and the fancy instrumentation. They don't build tractors of this quality anymore.

Are there campsites? or do you set up in a certain spot? Thats convenient. Yes it would be a first for me. Ive been wanting to go for a long time but never seem able to go.If I can find somewhere for my wife to go while I attend show would be a plus. Thanks for the tip. If you can make the show in Sugar Creek, I recommend it. All brands are represented and there is stuff for the mrs to do while you are there. happy wife,happy life!

That's odd Richard. I have to agree with Steve that the axles aren't hardened. I have drilled them quite easily. But I'm also talking early 60's. I also wonder if the hub set screw would make a divot in a hardened axle like they do.

The steering wheel that is currently on your 1067 is the same as the one on my 1977 B-100, 102715. The center cap would be a 102856. They are found quite often on eBay.

1959 Ford front bumper with license plate bracket. I have a couple 59 Fords

That is got to be home made wish there were more pictures.

This is the lift apparatus for the gt-1100. What items do you need?