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One of my biggest fears.... When I take that long dirt nap, Mrs K. sells my guns, boats, fishing gear, and tractors for what I told her I paid for them.

I was reading a local newspaper article this morning and it appears as though Covid has struck the lawn tractor market with shortages. So, along with toilet paper and chicken wings we can add lawn and garden tractors. On the bright side I was able to convince my wife that my forward thinking has perched us upon a veritable goldmine.....😂😂😂

I haven't done a tractor in a while and don't have near the time I did when in PA. I used to use the winter to do restorations. Down here with the weather being warm all the time, I have too many other things going on. BUT I did see a nice old GE fan (1934 era) at a local flea market. It worked and had all the parts so I gave her a new life. Before After During

When I first started at the shop I bought a 5 drawer US General roll cart, and it served me well for a long time, but with my tool buying habit it didn’t take me long to outgrow it. So I sold it to a coworker and bought my service truck, figured I’d just work out of it at the shop, as well as have everything I need around the farm. And that worked well for a while, but it was getting to be a hassle working out of it at the shop, really needed another shop box. So today I bit the bullet, hooked on to the trailer, and made the 120 mile trip to Harbor Freight. Picked up a blue 44” top and bottom chest, as well as the 14” side cabinet. Really bummed me out that they have discontinued the side lockers, but the store manager told me the rumor is they may be coming out with a bigger 18” locker in the US General line, so keeping my fingers crossed for that. I also bought some of their new Icon line today. I bought their 1/2” long handle flex head ratchet a while back and absolutely love it, so I figured I’d expand on that line a bit. I’m gonna have to work out of both the new box and the truck for a while until I get them both fully stocked again. I’m going back over to the shop I’m the morning to finish organizing things, so will get some pics of the setup then, but here is my haul for the day

No Horse building going on here today. Just putting one to work. Hiram has been standing proud around the yard way to long. Time for him to do something. Hay duty. Thanks to the town cutting the shoulders of the road the other day, our ducks have free hay for there run.

Thanks to the advice of the friendly folks here, my 656 is done. Currently has a 6.5hp Predator engine with a golf cart starter generator and a small ATV battery. Drive pulley increased to get a maximum speed of about 8mph. Last week I installed a Delco copy mechanical voltage regulator and mounted an inch thick steel plate for the front weight. Here's a pic from this morning. That's a homemade 35 gallon tank traiker. I sprayed two tanks yesterday and three this morning in our 25 acre orchard. ZERO problems. Used less than 2 gallons of gas too!

I got a penny jar just waitin on her call Ed!

Mrs Rules and I had the Senior out celebrating my best buddy Morgan's 5th birthday today. By providing some Wheel-Horse tractor rides to all the kids attending his party at our local horse farm, at least 20 kids there today, I am pretty confident a great time was had by all. Thanks to Mrs Rules for all the wonderful picts to share here too.

'Round here the BBT has been busy all day as usual. Her and her Mom spent some time moving seasoned wood from the front yard to the basement. Then from the woods to the front yard. Maybe 14 to 16 small loads total. Also split up a little more. Action shot:

When you are six feet under it won't matter anyway unless that's all you left for her to live on. Mrs. M says it's all going to the highest (maybe the first) offer.

The only way you'll see a ZTR on my lawn is when I'm unable to mow it my self and I have to hire somebody. Kind of a funny story. At my son's house in Buffalo. Everybody has a tiny yard. I can mow my son's yard in less than 15 minutes with a pusher and that includes getting it in an out of the shed. We're sitting on his front porch and this landscaping truck pulls up to mow the yard across the street. This guy fires up the 0 turn and starts mowing. The other 2 guys go grab the trimmers. The guy on the 0 turn is done and has it back on the trailer before 1 of the other guys gets his trimmer started!

Now, I heard a rumor that the small green machines at one of those home improvement chains were made by <insert name of yuuge lawn tractor manufacturer here> under license, and that the transmissions contained plastic parts good for the life of the warranty only. If that’s true, then a well preserved or shiny “new” Wheelhorse will one day become much more appreciated and sought after than they are now. They’re America at its best fer cryin out loud! Hat’s off to all you guys keeping them alive. We’re not hoarders, we’re curators!

I bought a 607 today, but the towing vehicle is in the shop so I am picking it up later this week. So I guess to answer the thread title, built my collection.

I think that is a valid comment....... seemingly to get a lawn & GARDEN tractor you have to go the recent? terminology of "SCUT & CUT" tractors. With SCUT being 'small compact utility tractor' (I think thats right?) and CUT "compact utility tractor", Which of course puts you in the 10K range and up! And, with the popularity of the 'ZTR's' I wont be surprised if a tractor type LAWN mower will slowly disappear. We are already seeing the cost of the ZTR's coming down to the 2-3k range. But, at my - quite advanced - age and having 3 big D horses and an MF tractor, 3 with decks and one for towing, etc, I wont have to worry about any of that.......

Was trying a few different kid haulers on for size here today.

Very interesting thread, Cas. Thanks. I'd just like to mention. When I was at school a good few years back and when I started my apprenticeship. It was drummed into me that rulers, ruled countries etc. A rule was for measuring.

Maybe @pullstartshould get a pair of these. Steel toe flip flops. Yes they do exist.

Interesting tidbit on this metal tag for an SML-506 Wheel Horse Sickle Bar Mower. ANCO BREAKAWAY. Tag ! Not on later tags but interesting that this company made these for Wheel Horse! ANCO may have been the Anderson Company in Gary, Indiana as they made Anderson Wiper Blades for vehicles. They made many metal display and distribution items for their wipers. History ANCO was founded as The Anderson Company by John W. Anderson in South Bend, Ind., in 1918. Initially, it developed, produced and marketed a range of automotive products, including "Hot Spot" manifold gaskets, ball thrust bearings, and timers, all for the original Ford Model T. Eventually, the company began experimenting with wiper blades, and by the early 1930s, were producing replacement wipers and arms at large volumes, including for military applications. Federal-Mogul Motorparts' parent company, Federal-Mogul Corporation (now Federal-Mogul LLC), acquired the ANCO brand in 1998.

Super cool to see that Mike!

Thanks! I got the wiring, grommets and felt from this guy on eBay. That fan you have is a good candidate for a resto! I love having something unsafe I can still jamb a finger into if I'm feeling adventurous (or after watching network news)

2 days heating and hammering hitch pin finally came out.started out using center punch to get pin out but ended up just hitting pin itself so I could get a good hit mushroomed pin a little.once it was loose I filed end of pin down a little to get it out.have to doctor clip grove a little but it'll be ok. 90 deg.in garage 70% humidity not getting alot done right now.

I took the carb and breather off the Tecumseh 10 this afternoon. I was planning on cleaning up and rebuilding the carb but I have the wrong parts kit. New parts ordered. I'll get it soaking for a few days anyway. The breather was leaking like a sieve out the bottom. Any idea why?? Look at the compression marks in the gasket at the top right corner. On the engine that was the bottom right. Some bright pile of sunshine PO actually left 1/4 of the old gasket in place the last time this was apart. The whole bottom of the breather was seeping oil.

Very nice work! Hmmm. I think I have one of those in the attic from my college dorm room days. I'm gonna put looking for it at the end of my to-to list and I'll get back to all y'all sometime in 2024.

Thanks Mike, I'll sleep much better now.

Does the fuse blow when you turn the key to the RUN position? or Does it blow when you turn the key to the START position? You can replace the fuse with a test light or voltmeter to test. This saves blowing fuses. Each test lead goes to the terminals the fuse occupied. When the test light is lit or a voltage reading appears the short is present. The object is to determine what circuit is causing the problem. The wiring is fairly simple on this model. Garry

Most companies stop selling Garden Tractors long before Covid struck. You could get look-a-like Garden Tractors made with sheet metal put together with sheet metal screws With engines that they keep changing the names of every couple of years because of the bad rap people give them. They have some tractors that will talk to your phone but that doesn't do much when you need to plow the garden or snow or mow the yard. So not much lossed if Covid is the cause. That my opinion, you didn't ask for it but got it anyway!

I'll be sure to share this with my own local war department. She has 3 tractors. I have 2 done, 2 projects. There's another that's ownership has been undecided as of yet. We should be doing well.

GOOD NEWS: I just talked to the guy, I am going to pick it up Tuesday. It was in very nice condition. The paint is a little faded but nothing major. Pictures to follow. Thanks to everyone that helped me determine the value of such a nice piece of equipment.

Do you load an unload them with flip flops on ?

Crusty with new tires and wheels.

Very nice. You are going to love that Predator. Had mine for years and it still starts on the first pull every time. I upsized the pulley too and it has tons of power and torque and easily pushes heavy snow at 8 mph as it sips fuel. It easily pulls my 700lb lawn roller too.

I was just going to find the thread in which we were talking about this exact issue to report that I think mine is repaired using the suggestions in that thread... Suggest you go there, standby and I'll post a link...

Welcome to Red Square What belts are you looking for? A model number is required in most cases. Mower deck models are often unknown but the same size and type of deck will use the same belts. Garry

This place has a lot of vintage stuff as far as wiring. https://vintagewireandsupply.com

Does Mrs M have Mikes number?

That's the reason I just brought one of my 312-8's back to life recently.Hopefully,I've got enough Wheel Horses and mower decks to last me the rest of my life.Key word is HOPEFULLY.Keep many greased,oiled and running.You can never have too many back-up mowing and snow removing machines.

I used some Dodge door bushings.

You are fortunate in that you have a square head to work on. Many have a round shaft with a slot for a screw driver. On yours you should try your favorite penetrating fluid a few taps on the end of the valve and then 8 pt socket

Well I spent the morning making a pair of adaptors to carry the scrap cylinder I have to practice on. Not a big job but an essential one to get the cylinder mounted in the grinder. Setting the grinding head up is a bit of a trial and error job, but of measuring and a bit of guessing. Eventually all seemed ready so I started the grinder up and away we went. Once the cylinder was ground I turned my attention to the bottom blade or bed knife. This was a different machine and again I had to guess how to set up the blade for grinding. But I figured out a temporary solution and will sort out a better way than G clamps as I go along. Now to rebuild the blade unit and see if we have a viable cutting system.

Yep. Got it! Thanks guys. I'm probably going to get things soaking, and then hang up the wrench for the weekend. Will update this thread when the adventure continues!!

You need to remove that plug to get the spring and bar in the spring out. It is a 1/4" hole. Once you get those parts out, take a 1/4" drill bit and clean out that passage. You should be able to turn the drill bit by hand. You know, now that you have the shift rails out, you could use a punch and tap that plug into where the shift rail goes. You will not be putting a welch plug back in, a dab of bearing grease of silicone caulk will close the hole.

Probably the least productive garden I've ever had, I've been gardening my entire life. Record amount of rain and little sun not a good combination. Trying to stay optimistic that August will be dryer and turn things around.

We've been getting some peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, a few peppers. There's a spaghetti squash and an acorn squash growing. Really has been too wet for a stellar garden year here. Only just a couple dozen miles north it's a light drought. We're on the south side of the mountains...

I was told by a wise old man when I was a young man “Where there’s smoke there’s fire.” And “Pay me now or pay me later” Both statements have rung true numerous times over my life. That’s not a “bit of play” Too much play. Yes they are related. I personally would not run it until it’s repaired. Time for a tear down.

Ergo, the proper use of English

If a fuse blows something is grounded that shouldn't be. You need to provide a bit more information. What year and model is your ? Not all Wheel Horses are wired alike. What part number ignition switch did you use? Not all Wheel Horses use the same ignition switch.

End play spec is .004- .023" You have way more than that. I would think the bearings are shot and that would also account for the rope being hard to pull. See if you have up and down movement as well.

I’ve used the 1.5 amp Schumachers for years on all my tractors. My batteries last for 6-8 years. I use fused quick connectors permanently installed on the batteries. I use quick connect splitters so I can charge multiple batteries at once with the same charger. Schumacher SC1355 1.5A 6/12V... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078962VRM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

With the exception of having to measure anything over 8 feet , wood rulers are it here. I also occasionally use an 8 footer but they are not easy to fit in pocket so the 6 footers are used. They are more precise and versatile than tape measures. Measurements can be taken with them that are not possible to do correctly with tape measures. For checking squareness on cabinets , cases or to obtain precise ceiling heights I use a 10 foot sliding ruler or it’s smaller brother.

Kind of a diagonal that qualifies for either Front End Friday or Sideshot Saturday. So I'll post ON Friday IN the Saturday thread.