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Was a good day with the 856. Did a lot of trimming on over grown bushes. The 856 ran like a champ. very happy with it so far. I like this Jackson 7.5 better than the W/H brand. I have had most of them. just my 2 cents.

A few days ago we went on a hike across the street from our place. At the bottom/ right of the map there's a small village of foundation holes. All are field stone. We've found at least a half dozen buildings and a drovers road. 2 or 3 years ago we found a ridiculously interesting stream that had been lined on one side with a VERY well constructed stone wall. The area hasn't been inhabited for at least a hundred years and we've had some INCREDIBLY EXTREME weather since then including the great hurricane of 1938. I can't begin to comprehend the amount of HUGE water runoffs this stream has seen over the 150 to 200 years it's been in place. And it STILL holds strong. At the bottom of the map below I've noted where it is. The walled section is a good strong 3/8 to 1/2 a mile long accounting for all its turns. We'll never know specifically why it was built but obviously an early effort to control the flow for what we believe was not just damage control but possibly watering of the sheep or other animals. This is by far the smallest deer print I've ever seen. A mouse house in the middle of the cart road headed through the mountain notch. This is a MASSIVE pile of small to medium sized stones apparently set aside by a farmer. You can't see the whole pile in this picture. Piles like this were made for convenience to location. Possibly a building was here but unlikely judging from the sizes. Likely they're either set aside for future use or just to remove from the fields. Luna moth caterpillar. Did I ever mention that Trina finds fungus fascinating? Have a few mushroom pics. The rest of these pics are of the rock walled stream and a large steep boulder wall face we found ... and of course had to climb. Last is the view from the top.

I added a front hitch to the 310-8. I have one on the 312 that is centered on the mule drive, but it is not visible from the seat. I wanted one that was visible from the drivers seat for exact positioning when hooking up. This worked out really well and doesn't interfere with the deck, mule drive, steering, or hood opening.

The business ends....

Got my raider almost completely torn down today. Not likely to have it back together for the meet and greet in Maine but hopefully ready to go by the time snow falls. Got to thank @ebinmaine for a bunch of guidance along the way. I know you guys think he’s pretty lousy but he’s actually a great guy! He and Trina are constantly driving by my house honking the horn.

I used a short piece of 2X2 box beam as a spacer. Drilled two holes to match the existing two holes in the frame, then welded it to the 2" receiver tube. Bolted the assembly to the frame with the two grade 8 3/8" bolts. (90K psi . shear) It was a challenge to install the bolts inside the frame. A 3/8" rachet with a 9" extension, universal joint and 9/16" socket worked. I kept the front end of the receiver tube flush with the front of the mule drive so it would not be a shin buster. The ball and slug is only there when moving a trailer. I really use the front hitch a lot to position the splitter when splitting firewood. Makes it easy to position the splitter close to the large rounds that are difficult to move.

Front engine air cover was badly bent on this tractor when I got it. c-series don sent me this nice straight one. Here is the difference. Here is the cover as I received it. Great shape just needs some bead blasting and sanding. Cover cleaned up and primed. Don even sent me this cool decal.

Also, putting a jack or some blocks underneath the trailer at the ramp will prevent it from raising the tongue of the trailer. There is quite a bit of length behind the axles on that trailer which contributes to the problem as well.

Dosen't interfere - except with shins when walking by the front of the tractor

This happened to us one time, my truck, grandpa’s trailer, my brother driving the borrowed track loader, and it started moving. He froze like the guy in the video. I hollered at him to keep going and get some tongue weight back! Any time the tow vehicle is a 4x4, I engage it along with jacking the trailer tail and chocking wheels. The other day I loaded the broken Bravada on a trailer with my plow truck and used the same loading technique even slightly UP hill.

A piece of ash tree, some pipe fittings, some bottomless mason jars and a chainsaw helped make this light fixture.

Made a little more progress. New head bolts and fuel pump came in so hopefully over the weekend I will be be able to crank it up!

The 310-8 I had, had a little work done to it.

Now there is an excuse for buying a Wheel Horse I've never heard before.

Engine pulley for the hydro conversion bead blasted and painted. Thanks to c-series don for this pulley. Finding the larger hydro pulley with the 1" bore required for the Briggs engine is difficult but Don came through.

Alright Alright Alright. I'll play.

By a long shot I hope, lol I knew I felt the force grow stronger we’re practically neighbors!

Thanks, that’s perfect. I believe I might be able to duplicate that for less than $200. We were just down in your part of the country the last two days visiting my daughter and her family in Carmel.

This is another front hitch option. I bought two of these a couple years ago but I believe the maker is still selling on eBay. the beauty of this design is that you can place in your tractor in front by removing the top attach a matic bolt on the frame and installing a longer bolt to secure. The hitch rides on tight but you can also place your front mile drive with the hitch - so you can mow and tow! Towing from the front is like having power steering!

A " Butt lift! "

Does a Bear .... in the woods?

Cover now has 2 coats of semi gloss black. I left the decal on even though it is for an 18HP and my engine is 16HP because I think it looks better than no decal. I can't find a source for new decals.

I know most people are not aware of this, but I was born with my butt pretty close to the ground. It never changed much. I did a little fitting to make the Steve Oh Two fit my frame a bit better. The stirrups were pretty low. I turned them up a bit to grab my heels. Shorts and boots, man! Or flip flops, those are acceptable. The seat has a 2x4 under it and it gave my butt too big a lift kit. For the sake of keeping it around, I relocated it under the spring. If ever I grow a half a foot, I can put it back The seat is much closer to the fenders now, but it doesn’t rub when I’m on it.

Below the light, an old dresser and some creative saw and pipe work to build a vanity. Yes, the drawer inserts I built warranted the flip flopped drawer layout

Sometimes I don’t realize I have something special, until I do. I made this bottle top catcher about 15 years ago, give or take.

Mowed the lawn with Morgan, the 14-8 this afternoon. I think the last time I mowed was around the 4th of July. Still dusty today, though.

Ya, @stevasaurus is about an inch or ten taller, guess he must have had a butt lift. Hard to imagine a guy that big being on a submarine, guess the Navy must have put a 2X4 under the seat at his workstation and turned the stirrups around too.

Thanks Ed. That will get me close enough. You’re right, it’s not easy with the wheel on but thanks for that extra effort. Jim

The inside and outside plates are not factory. I have added backer plates to many of these decks. I use one plate to cover all 4 holes.

X2

Yes, but continuing forward 3 more feet would have been better.

Eric, thanks for taking me for a walk in one of my favorate states. Every time you do this, I feel like I am still there. Can you imagine how long it took to build those stone walls, and what it took to get those stones to a place to make that wall happen?? Dang, I miss playing a game of CandlePins.

A piece of 2x2 angle stock could replace the 2x2 receiver and slug. It would still need to be spaced out so the hood would open W/O hitting the ball. It would also be a shin buster. Cheaper....this was all from my junk pile so my only cost was about $0.50 worth of mig wire.

@WHX?? have a great day , stay after your self , hot pot roast sandwich , and a nap , pete

The glory of my 502 “Putt Putt”, well one of the glories, is that there is no fuel pump and I can run the tank dry by gravity feed every time.

Alright thanks for all the help!

Visited my 308 tonight that I keep at the in-laws place …

Why are you replacing wires? I have 4 520H tractors and 2 of them are 1996, the wires just sit there and behave themselves.

EB and BBT went to Massachusetts to pick up the tractor from my mom that we had built for my Ole Man to use.

Looks like a great meal Kevin. Did not take a tractor up Nort camping with us so my Davey Crotch-itch is running off the camper battery. 4 racks of baby back ribs, cooking at 225. Started at noon, will be ready at 6pm.

Have a Super Day Jim

This week on Wheelhorse corner… I took a nice picture and looked over my 312, the new decals really do finish it off. I also put a new starter in my Honda four wheeler. Did I mention I like the starter setup on the Kohler M12, as the Honda one was a huge PITA. Nothing broke but I was hours taking off three bolts.

Pushed the 512-D out in the sun today to gain some working space in the shop. I have'nt had any time to bring it back to life but I did have a few occasions in the last couple of months where I wish I had. Sometimes prioritizing like a real adult sucks..

Let these two run today....

Very moving picture Eric. It is good to know he got to see his Wheel Horse working.

Yup!!! Posts 139, 143, 145 and 146... Try to look past the old guy...