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I restored a 1990, 312-H for my grandson so he can go about terrorizing the locals...

Also pretty much totally forgotten today, is the Carpenters Hatchet. Built unlike other hatchets it features the obvious hammer end. It is however the edge end that makes it an incredibly efficient tool. It is much thinner in section and usually beautifully balanced. It is also handled differently since it is used in a different manner usually choking it or even handling the blade. Essentially it is more of an adze than a hatchet and used as such. Here it is used many times as a combination carving tool and draw knife. It is kept razor sharp. I have a different bevel on each side since I am right handed and use it on much as stated before. It is an elegant tool that is very useful in all aspects of carpentry. There was a time when it was a common tool in a carpenters tool box. Today of course most have never even seen one much less use them. Elegant and light Designed to fit one’s hand upfront Thin well balanced head Well tempered edge like a good chisel Will take a razor edge and keep it works like an adze can be used like a carving tool or drawknife one of my favorite tools

Daughter needed a rolling 5-drawer tool chest for work. I “needed” another tool chest for the garage… she 1/2 I got 1/2…Win Win!!! Fits pretty good. Will do the job…

Well, I have a update, and its a story. Grab the popcorn So I ended up talking to him on the phone. He said the tractor had no electrical activity. Nothing worked, no lights, completely dead. He did say that it ran about 2 months prior and ran great. no smoke, no knocks. Anyway, told him no way am i going to spend 1k or more on a old garden tractor that doesnt run and has no power at all. He said make me a offer as it sits. So I told him, my top dollar would be 600 dollars if it was in good shape, but more likely be around 500 in average condition. I made the drive down to see him, looked it over. It was extremely dirty. Grass buildup, grease, hasnt been washed ever. However, I could see under that grass and grease, it was in great shape. No rust to speak of. Dash in great shape. Just a tear in the seat Anyway, we tried to jump start it. Fiddled around with it for 20 min in the snow (mind you it was about 12 degrees during the day here) after 20 min of messing with it, he looked at me and said "I promise you it runs great, I just dont know why it wont start" I told him I really liked the tractor, but not running could be very expensive to fix. I said "look, i drove a hour for it. I like it, but it needs work. I will give you 300 dollars cash for the tractor, 48" mower deck, wheel weights and plow. take it or leave it, but im cold" He took it. I got it for 300 dollars. He was asking 1500 originally !!!! Pushed it on to my trailer, loaded the deck and plow, paid him and took off home Saturday morning (the next day) after sitting in a heated barn all night to thaw, I went to work. First job was to take a air compressor and clean all the grass out. 20 min later, I had it somewhat clean Next job was to figure out why there was no 12v power. Battery was good, showing 14.2 volts on the tender. Followed the positive cable to the starter, cleaned those connections. Followed the negative to the frame/ground and found it was covered in grease/grass. Took it loose, cleaned with brake cleaner, reinstalled and just like that I had power, but it wouldnt start. So now im thinking it has to be a safety somewhere. I have power, the dash lights come on and was flashing seat safety. So took that apart, cleaned with compressed air and hit it with break cleaner. Still nothing, but I had consistant power. I thought it has to be another safety. Then it hit me. I bet its the neutral safety switch!!!. I turned the key to the start postition and wiggled the drive lever and IT CRANKED!! not knowing where the neutral safety was located at the time, i cranked it while wiggling the drive lever. Cranked over but would not fire. Took a look a the fuel filter (which i replaced with a new one) and had no fuel going to the filter Hopped off and he had shut the gas off from the tank!! Turned it on, cranked it and it fired right up and purred like a kitten! Drove it to my garage, gave it a hot water wash to get all the grease/grime off, cleaned up the NSS and now it starts every time Only thing it did was had a hiccup with the carb, like it was starving for fuel at higher RPM. So, i took the top of the carb off, hit all those little needles/jets with some carb cleaner and my air compressor. I reinstalled the top of the carb and it runs like brand new!!! It idles perfect, revs up great, no hiccups or issues. Runs great to full rpm!! So, there is my long story on my 520H journey. Oh, the plow works great, and the mower deck cleaned up nice and is quiet. i did grease it up again and order new blades for it. 300 dollars for it. Ill never find another 520h, with 727 original hours, and with weights, and a plow, and a mower deck for that price again. Especially in the shape this one is. Now I just need to figure out how to adjust the creep out of the hydro trans. Ill mess with that this week sometime

I knew that the short shilelagh would come in handy one day. Combined with the newly acquired Ford magneto magnet it will keep sharps off the floor without going on my knees to find them.

Or do away with shaker plate and use 3/4 inch spacer and a couple washers like this. It will be in exact same location as shaker mount PTO. You may have to drill 2 holes in the frame. i did not but it is an older frame. Yo also have to source or make a lower PTO bracket that bolts to the frame.

Our grass grows upwards. 😂

I’ve removed a couple posts containing personal attacks. Any additional personal attacks will result in a 15 day suspension from the forum.

My wife's grandfather's, we called them shingle hammers.

An old bent piece of iron?

I hope it will be this much fun!

Good advice and thank you @ranger. I opted for new valves as the old ones (exhaust) was thrashed and I found replacements very affordable. The big thing was a the exhaust seat which, as mentioned, is part of the block. So armed with a few ideas off you tube and @ri702bill idea of stones I came up with this. Not the same as actual cutting but good enough for the gals we go out with! Super glued thin strips of sandpaper to the new valve. Started with 180 grit and finnished with 400 and 1000 grit and finally fine grit valve lapping compound. Under a magnifiing glass still some pits but since I'm not going to the moon on her and it's a Tecky... Lash checked perfect at .010 Had it running on hand feeding but carb trashed and not letting fuel in.... inlet float stuck closed. was too skeered to do a compression check... Fuel tank leaked everwhere so the smoking lamp was out. Another thread on what to do about that.

No they are not like a HY-2 and you cannot vulture them!

Does the guy who owns the Model T you got it from know it’s missing yet?

Congrats on the great save. Don't discount the value of your time and, especially, your expertise as part of this transaction. You didn't have to pay in cash but you did invest. A nearby shop that handles a lot of the commercial landscaping companies' stuff has a $110 per hour labor rate and a minimum "pay up front" $40 charge for diagnoses applicable to any repairs done (the owner was getting stuck with a lot of abandoned cheapie mowers). My guess is that a shop would've billed as much as $500 in labor and another $100 or more on parts to get that thing going and they wouldn't have cleaned it!

Get them in the wrong order and your Model T Ford won't have any spark.

“Stick” enough of them together you can spell Wheel Horse… Or… Model T

One tip for anyone who decides to try the valve seat cutters that look like a giant countersink. If they are not the tungsten carbide insert type, the chances are you will blunt them on the first attempt. They will work fairly well on soft seats, but where the valve has ‘hammered’ the seat over time, it will have a hard ‘skin’. Do as @WHX?? has done, or lap with coarse grinding paste first, this will cut through the harder skin and your cutters will last longer. Doug.

Removed the console style shifter to the upgraded version.Didn’t turn out to be that difficult to do with the advice from Davoman1966,great help ! Got the parts needed from A Z tractor.Good folks there. Much easier to operate now .

Tattoo artist.

That is an awesome carpenter's hatchet farmariz! You have it in tip top shape too! I love old hand tools! Don't get me started on them...but here is a nice Plumb carpenter's head I need to get a handle for soon. It was pretty dirty but cleaned up nice and looks hardly used! It is sharp and ready for a handle! Used to you could get wooden handles at the hardware store for about anything, now you have to order most of them. The head in the pic is on my C-100 project tractor so technically fits in with the forum here

Ain't no coincidence bub. I've met a lot of great people here.

That seems almost too simple. I have a fire department meeting tonight, so ill mess with it tomorrow or wed. I did just order new hydro filter and engine filter for it too!

@stegs… May I suggest becoming a supporter. You can then upload LOTS OF PICS !

stegs, you know we love our before and after pics ?

Folks, be careful out there, horse thieves are on the prowl.

My trail rides always seem to happen on Sunday afternoon for some reason …and I’m always by myself . @JCM you need to haul down a machine one day and ride along! So it warmed up a bit (29 degrees) only took acouple minutes with the wife’s hair dryer and the throttle cable was moving again on the 315

I would try to get it dirt cheap and then spend a fortune to fix it ! That’s just me… I got my 1994 520H, rototiller, and a leaf vac trailer/system for $140, then spent probably $400 to $500 (I DONT KNOW) fixing issues and painting it. I got my 1984 Work Horse GT-1600 for $FREE and am currently spending hundreds to refresh it… having a ball ! That’s just me…

@stevasaurus you got competition!!! Actually, he should get paid more to plow their driveways… or he can just bite their heads off…

Properly making but more importantly installing a handle on a tool so it stays for the life of tool is also sort of a lost art. Lots to know and understand in that subject. Fitting and correct wedging are critical. If done correctly should never get loose. The looseness is also created many times through negligence and improper use of tool. Additional wedges, nails and submerging in water are all mistakes that will just prolong the misery of using a tool in that condition. It is altogether dangerous. After fitting a handle I always melt wax onto end sealing it. Perhaps I’ll do a “making and fitting handles thread?”

Well those years would coincide with the period of time in which you’ve been working on Colossus, yes? It’s the tractor of happiness! Now I think I understand why you wouldn’t be in a rush to finish it.

Thank you for the kind words @wh500special@c-series don@Stormin. Just continuing what was passed on to me.None of it would have been possible without the ones that instructed, influenced, and inspire me every day.

have a metal waste junk yard in your area ? they probably have a section for used piping , and related flanges, look for BLANK FLANGES , that's the typical end stop to a pipe flow . come in many sizes , you will have to drill a couple of holes for a fit to threaded rod , very heavy , worth a look , pete

Here we go with filters again... I actually do cut filters open. I have to in the Ranger to verify no metal flakes, chunks, etc. I do know what filter is the best... in my experience... (it certainly isn't fram). I wouldn't use a fram filter in any engine... including a small engine. Too much paper... ...Ford motorcraft is 'okay' but not something I would use long-term in performance applications... SO... here is what I use... on everything I can... K&N... The resin-impregnated cellulose filter media quality and anti-drainback valve quality in K&N oil filters is superior... When I cut the K&N filter apart... I was THOROUGHLY surprised at the difference in quality, after using motorcraft for break-in purposes. Fram... I just stay away from altogether... for every application. I... go slither back under my rock... Don

Interesting never heard of them before... https://luberfiner.com/ The lube police is a big fan of zinc additive and I have some on the shelf just to stay in his good graces!

I have been using tomatoe cages around some of my cukes. I used the cages on some heirloom cukes last year that were great and were light colored, pale yellow and they were delicious. I use the cages so they do grow up and dont run on the ground. Great space saver tactic. Will plant some more this year! https://www.seedsavers.org/north-carolina-heirloom-organic-cucumber#:~:text=This flavorful variety produces small,lobed leaves and dense foliage.

Heck of a grab stegs! It's nice when sellers don't have unrealistic expectations for the condition of a machine. I think his asking price scared off a lot of potential buyers from the start which worked out great for you not having to compete with others interested. These are the stories that keep us hunting! They aren't all that easy but a lot are or close. That was a nice package indeed. The plow and weights alone are worth what you paid. Great find and good persistence on the deal!

Agreed Newbie.... When a PO doesn't want to get it running for whatever reason it's money in the bank for us!

It is pretty easy Stegs... just remember to not use any lubrication in there ... Sorry @peter lena Do check the eccentric nut for flat spots and the cam follower for wear. You may know this already we use the NAPA 1410 filter but the originals are still out there. Mobile 1 Syn oil in 10w30 gets the nod but any good 10w30 will do. Leave the filter a couple of turns loose while filling to burp air.

Ill try to load some up here. I didnt get any before pics....just imagine dead grass/leave and grease caked on everything. The frame, the hydro pump, fan, even by the battery compartment and where the NSS is. Inches of it. Thick !! Honestly, it took me 20-30 min to blow that thing clean with the air compressor. This spring when it warms up, ill give it a more involved wash! But for now, hot water thru the garden hose melted away pounds of grease/grime Ill work on pics here shortly, see if i can figure that out

Glad to hear you saved one! Now Lets see some On the creep the adjustment is an eccentric on top of the Hydro and the manual does a good job of explaining the adjustment. Run some seafoam in it ...can't hurt.

'Nother good tip Ranger & that's why I didn't go for one of the cheapy sets. If I had some other motors lined up that needed cutting I would went for a good set of Neways. Watch now next two Kohlers I open up will need it!

Except it's not a bad idea to move that filter and locate it before the fuel pump. Running all that crap through the pump can effect the performance of the check valves in the pump. Not a big deal but if the lines are being replaced, might as well. Can you please post a pic and info on that filter? That would be a nice feature to have for the tractors with the tank under the seat. Kill 2 birds with one stone

3 auto manufactures 3 engines 1 Chassis. Not sure if you knew it or not but every car in NASCAR will have the same chassis this year. https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2021/08/why-a-michigan-company-is-guaranteed-to-win-100-of-next-years-nascar-races.html#:~:text=Technique Inc. is building the frames for every,biggest challenge is reframing the mindset%2C Johncox said.

I've used them a few times and never gave it a thought. OK, I'm gonna just come out and say it ---- I predict its gonna turn out to be a float/needle/seat problem