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The ACME Power Cultivator In the early part of the twentieth century many small tractor manufacturing firms began meeting the need for small garden tractors. Some as a part of existing manufacturing companies and many were in backyard garages or barns. One of the latter was the Acme Cultivator Company which produced a small, walk-behind motorized garden tractor in the days when only a few companies were offering such machines. The Acme power cultivator seems to have been the brainchild of Albert G. Byerley. On Feb. 17, 1921, Byerley filed for a patent for a ‘power tractor’ that, according to the patent, comprised “a wheeled frame adapted to support suitable agricultural implements, an engine mounted on the frame, a drive shaft connected to said engine, a driven shaft with a worm that meshes with a worm gear that connects to the axle by a clutch.” Byerley also included an optional tank and engine driven pump on the tractor as “it is frequently necessary to spray growing plants with various compositions to keep them free from insects.” The origins of the company and of the men who were involved in it are obscure. The Acme-Jr. had a 1HP Briggs & Stratton engine, weighed 235 pounds, and had a speed of a little over 2 MPH. A 1922 advertisement pitches the Acme to “The Gardner, Florist and Suburban Estate Owner,” and listed the available implements to be a “4-inch single plow; 4-inch double moldboard plow; rakes, hoes, cultivators of all types, discs and covering plows, and row crop harvesters.” The owner’s manual tells the new owner: “The extreme simplicity of the Acme-Jr. together with its high-class material and workmanship, and the ease and flexibility with which it operates, renders an extensive mechanical knowledge unnecessary.” The Acme was made by the Acme Cultivator Company in Salem, Ohio. They show 2 different 2 wheeled walk be-hind models until 1949 when a rider called the Motor Cultivator was made using a Clinton engine. Also, in 1949 the manufacturing company was listed as Smathers Manufacturing Co. of Brevard, NC More on the Smathers Manufacturing Company later.

Here is my Zim kit, yes there are different length shafts. The keys are for driving valves with the notches in the face that were common many years ago.

Hi all. Well I am awaiting a delivery from UPS on Thursday. The kit will arrive boxed up and the first job is to go through the packing list and check everything is present and correct. I continued tidying the workshop today and I've just a couple of jobs to do before I even think about starting on the build. I'll put new plywood tops on the workbenches so that everything is clean. I'm still looking for the right type of vehicle to base this kit on. But I have plenty of time to make my mind up.

Just let it sit and then it over once in a while and then use the compost and spread it in the garden.

Got the C-145 with the plow out this morning before school to do our driveway. Me got about 1inch of snow and like 1/4 of slush underneath. Then I went to school and got home and hooked up the horse poop trailer dumped that and then pushed all that into the big horse poop pile.

Cause when you drop globs of molten metal inside, the flip flops are much easier to get off than the engineer boots.

Could explain why welding wearing flip flops doesn't bother me.

Getting to drive the Senior was worth the side effects.

Gee you’ve only been to my house once and now you’re accident prone?

Got some paint laid on the first 2 parts of my 867 resto.

Just make sure the inside of the outer wheel rim where the tire bead seals to the rim is nice and clean and smooth and you should be good to go.

Cooler faster slag removal. Logic.

Just for the record. If that was going to be any kind of a working rig with a load weight on it or traveling more than a few miles per hour I would NOT consider running without a tube in a tube type tire.

A little read on the difference. https://twotyres.co.uk/faq/whats-the-difference-between-a-tubed-and-a-tubeless-tyre/#:~:text=So%2C even today%2C the main,inside of the tyre's carcass.

Made a mail run north to retrieve 6 weeks worth of mail from the PO box. Was planning to walk out onto the lake and take some winter pictures of the lake house. The neighbor said the lake had open water last week. I didn't feel like taking a walk on the lake after hearing that bit of news. Checking the property over, I discovered that the Generac wanted an oil change. That was today's project. Funny thing, that little voice was whispering at me last fall before we went south that I should probably do an oil change on the Generac. Guess I should have listened.

Stayed home today- called in to take day off. Woke up @3am to go to work. Had freezing rain overnight. Everything iced over. By 9am it was thawed as temperatures got above freezing. Police scanner was blowing up with accidents, etc all morning. Luckily high school was canceled for my daughter. She has a Grand Cherokee & i put Blizzaks on it for winter. My son works for county. He left about 7am. Side roads were still icy. He drives a Subaru Outback & he has Blizzak winter tires so he had no issues. Designated winter/snow tires make all the difference. For over 35yrs I've run snow tires, I'll never drive in winter without them.

I looked at the to-do list for the FEL today and thought maybe I’d try to knock something out. This is the filter mount, turned guard. 1/4” plate, tough, heavy, simple. Overkill? Nope!

I don’t care what you’re wearing on your feet, if you’re using a cutting torch or welding and you have shorts on, slag is going in your shoes. Just as you can’t open a can of Never-Seize without getting it on you!

Im not overwhelmed by the C series factory lift...its quick and relatively strong; but i worry one day the linear motor will die and im royally screwed. Ive already had to pull the motor apart, drill the case and helicoil it, had to pull the gearbox apart to lube it and set gear lash...but last week the switch broke internally. I figured out its a double pole double throw momentary on/off/on switch. I couldn't find one that was momentary that I could get in a few days so its not momentary...but i added a Allstar extender so now I can operate the lift with my hands on the wheel.

Will measure tomorrow

What do you do with all those apples?

Bryce got it cheap don't he.....

WOW, $3.399 here in the PeeAaa.

I run non ethanol gas in everything. Luckily for us here in Oklahoma the price difference isn’t much. E10 at the grocery store and truck stop in town is $2.69/gallon as of this morning, drive another 1/2 mile on in to town to the quick stop and can get 100% gas for $2.99/gallon. So I have just made it a policy that ALL gas comes from the quick stop in town. With the exception of Courtney’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, everything we own that is gas powered very well may sit without starting for months at a time, have yet to have a starting issue using 100% gas. We have engines that get ran twice a year at two different shows, one in May and the other in September, gas stays in them year round and they always start every time, the Farmall C gets ran hard through the summer, but sits in the barn all winter and I know it will start for me come spring when it’s time to start mowing again. Had to do some welding last weekend when the temps were hovering right around 0, the old Onan on the Miller popped right off, first time it had been started in months. For me the extra 30-40 cents a gallon is worth it. On the flip side of that coin, when I bought my boat 2 years ago the water pump was bad, it sat for a few months until I got around to fixing it. First time we took it out couldn’t get it to start, got back to the house and discovered quite a bit of water in the fuel. Upon talking to my Dad he had been buying all his fuel from the grocery store here in town, E10 blend, that’s the only explanation I have for how water got into it was by the ethanol sucking moisture out of the air. Completely drained and cleaned the fuel system and have not had any trouble since.

Deheaded Gr8 5/8" bolt

over my years when I was referee i officiated many diffferent wrestlers with various "disabilities" including blind and various other "challenged" athletes - always made for interesting adjustment for the referee, but in particular the mental adjustment for the opponent - - but always a great part of wrestling was the prespective that everyone gained of our own blessings - in this video it was touching to see the end of match outward respect and affection the "non-winner" had in the video toward the challenged athlete

And they probably expected to pay about $40 to repair it too! LOL

Looks like the forerunner to the Troy Bilt Horse (from the 70's or 80's) that I lucked upon a few years ago. It is the deluxe version with electric start and PTO and was built before the modern Troy Bilt turned into Chinese crap. It has a variety of implements available including plow, blade, generator and wood splitter as well as the tiller. Interesting how the basic design has stayed much the same over all these years.

I had a customer bring his mower in with a whole CV axle wedged under the deck 🤣

I got to work at 4 am to load up the salt hopper on the plow truck with the skid steer, stepped out of my truck & INSTANTLY fell flat on my back, luckily the wet ice covering the parking lot broke my fall, LOL.

@953 nut -I'm really enjoying the tractor trivia threads. Keep 'em coming, please!

The picture of that cable reminds me of what was called a PTO control cable that we had access to when I was in the parts business some years back. I think they were used in trucks that had dump beds and such. -JD-

B careful with pulling air from the engine for heating the cab, would it be possible to also draw engine exhaust in and have a problem with carbon dioxide poisoning. Just thinking out loud don't want to see something bad happen. Bob

Continued on the C141 refresh. I hate painting and body work, I have no idea why I start these projects, but I do. Used bed liner paint on the bottom of the seat pan and running boards.

Finished converting the 854 to use a solenoid for starting. As others have done, I used a bracket added to the S/G to hold it. Makes for some very short cable runs. I added a fuse to the charging side as many members have recommended, but later realized that since my ammeter is mounted on a wood dash there is no chance of a failure with a short to ground! Took the opportunity to clean and dielectric grease all the wiring endpoints and replaced some that I deemed sketchy. Also replaced the fuel line. The white-backed instrument is a marine digital voltmeter fed from the A terminal on the new ignition switch (Stens 430-512 for Toro 103990). Upon completing the wiring, I hit the key and got only a weak “huh?” from the S/G. Momentary panic but after going through the checklist realized the battery was end-of-life. Whew! Got a good battery and it started just fine so I went for a spin in the snowy yard!

The other night a junior on her team achieved his 100th win, and I have been able to get in an exhibition match of my own.

The team received their new singlets mid season. More hands raised than not… I think her record against boys for the season is about 50/50 wins and losses but they do their best to pair up the girls still.

Today I mounted the weight box on my 418-8, and built a wooden insert so I can fill it with concrete. Then bent some 3/4” round stock to sink into the concrete for a handle to lift it out. Next I jacked up the rear tires to install tire chains, that’s when I noticed that the hubs were loose. So off came the wheels and that’s when I realized that now was probably the time to also address the slightly leaking brake drum seal! When I bought this tractor I remember tightening the set screws on the hub. Now since they are loose again I guess I’ll replace them. Good news is that I think I have the seal in stock! I ran out of gas for the day, tomorrow is another day!! Here’s a few pics.

My basement!

We in PA pay $.39 more tax than OK, so that is the major factor in the difference. I was in Lancaster County today and saw $3.079 so the price is actually the same as OK, the tax is the devil in the details.

Looking forward to seeing this Mick!

You don't by chance remember the length? Musta been 8"? Or longer?

I use them tubeless and have never had any issues on any of my tractors.

Well, we are in the middle of two storm systems here in the North of England, so travelling was not something I wanted to risk just to attend a trade show. To be honest reading your replies and looking at the current situation in my area (there are quite a few small businesses making laser engraved gifts so the market is pretty saturated) we decided not to progress the idea any further at this time. There are small engravers available that are becoming more powerful and affordable, so that may be something to look at in future. Once again Red Square comes up trumps with advice and information on topics not related to our core hobby. Thanks to all who took the time to respond. Mick.

My biggest issue is the locking feature stopping to function eventually all the time. I want to be able to precisely control throttle depending on what area I am cleaning since my property varies greatly in inclination. I don’t have issues with cable freezing since tractor is stored indoors.

Ethanol is garbage. It attracts moisture. I will not put it in my small engines period. Cars that go through it regularly is just ok but doesn’t justify the price difference in large volumes. With ethanol you have to drain tanks, lines and carbs if it’s going sit awhile or you’re asking for problems in the fuel system. Non-ethanol 91 octane can sit all winter and be fine in the spring.

Keep it up! I love to watch your YouTube and I am now a subscriber

LED tail lights installed in the rear fenders. One of these is for this tractor and the other is for a 520-8 I am creating.

Smaller gap retards the timing, Larger gap advances timing.

@JoeM very nice! Are those wings off a blower or did you fab them?