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Today is Chester Greenwood Day, celebrated in Farmington, Maine, honors the town’s beloved inventor of earmuffs. This lively event draws crowds with its unique charm, highlighting the importance of a simple invention that brought warmth to many ears. The event fosters a sense of community and honors a local hero whose invention made a significant mark. This celebration is a testament to how one person’s creativity can leave a lasting legacy, bringing warmth and cheer to generations.

Battle ready!

I've been looking at some zero turns. Several things keep me coming back to the Bad Boy R series. I haven't seen another one with a deck that heavy. All I've seen at TSC are the residential models. Still pretty impressive.

The Yanmar or the actress?

After having a couple Bad Boy machines in the shop, I started looking around at their other products. Pretty well built and simple. Mostly American made. I really did not know how big this company has grown. I just assumed they were in the TSC stores etc. At the end of the vid is a machine that is a hybrid. Runs on battery but has an on board charging engine and generator. I suppose the purpose is to allow the battery to be charged if you get near the end of a cycle of mowing and have to finish. Or maybe if you are a lawn care pro the ability to charge the battery when moving between jobs? I was just trying to logic the setup. I know now a days some communities like to limit noise, Hency battery mowers? IDK

Scientists discover the real reason for the delays in completion of Colossus...

Nice, but like many blowers, the side wings are on backwards. The small bent leading edges should be parallel to each other.

I have had engines with a good bore & a crank out of wack. Also had them the other way around. Explanation unknown. I would scuff the cylinder, have the crank turned down for an under sized rod & slap ' er together.

launch.bat

Well its finally cold and snow covered in maine. So unless im shoveling or snowblowing, I find myself indoors a lot this time of year. So being in my shop past few days I have realized I have acquired a bit of stuff. So I decided me and my little shop helper were going to organize a bit. Went to my local shopping center and noticed 27 gallon totes on clearance match the others I already have so I bought a few went home and packed some stuff inside of them. Nice shop looked a bit better and I wasnt tripping over wheel horse parts. But now the totes are everywhere. So we get back in the truck and head back into town to the lumber store and get some supplies. The shop helper and I decided to build a new work bench / wife's craft bench and under it make some totes storage. Came out pretty good and the organization is great. So much more room for activities!

After cleaning up after a big snowstorm, I'm 'bottle ready.' Nice equipment, by the way!

Too hot 🔥 🥵 Us Bears shut down in the low 80s. If'n it was bone dry humidity - maybe.

Back in CT after being in TX for Thanksgiving. It was 85 when we arrived there and 24 upon our return. The 80s was nice but I will take a bit of cold and snow here than a summer of blazing hot in TX. You can only take off some much clothing when hot, but can put on more layers when cold.

You said it Richard. This morning when I left the house at 6 it was 26*. When I left the woods at 8:30 it was....... 26*. Just got back from running to York, it's 30*. Went in the house, its 70*.

I'm very impressed with the amount and the quality of help I've been receiving. It's making the Wheel Horse journey so much easier. Thanks all

Here is her channel...it seems like she likes mechanical work and finding things along the river bank: https://www.youtube.com/@LýThịTrọng

#1239 Shifter set screws with the jamb nut , $2.00 each ( a fraction of Toro's current list price ) . Over 50 in stock . Private message me here, or call / text during normal business hours. DO NOT EMAIL or COMMENT ON THIS POST PLEASE.

Not sure if this was a one day project. Did notice that she never changed cloths through the whole film.

I finally got my box blade assembled and attached to my C120 with my clevis/sleeve hitch. I have hooked up the chain to my clevis hitch,but I cannot raise the box blade using the lift handle. I am not strong enough! Is there a solution for this problem other than the Charles Atlas strength building program?

And she actually used a tape measure!!??!!??

Just do that... it'll be good for you. Or... Perhaps a way to utilize a heavy spring? There is an assist spring for snowblowers and rear mounted tillers.

On ours it has two angle pieces of angle iron that go around the axel tube and two bolts to hook the plow, it does not hook up to the f plate

Neither.... That's a short frame plow. Early model at that.

85 is perfect temps. I'd love that year round, even better with only mild humidity.

😁 yeah, you and @JCM… Just when I thought I was out, I get pulled back in…..,

Pete; Thanks for the suggestions. This machine came to me this way so I don't know how it was treated in it's previous life. Being that is was a later model it had the big plastic cover over the PTO. This is not getting re-installed in this build. Here is the belt guard that is going to be used. I use a Greenlee knockout punch normally used in electrical work to punch out the holes. Charge current was removed from the 9 pin and it now ties directly to the battery terminal on the solenoid through a 30A inline fuse as shown below. This fuse is a sealed type to keep out the elements. New sealed 9 pin connectors installed and the wiring will definitely be kept well away from the hot muffler.

During one of our pre-construction design sessions I proposed floor drains in the bathrooms that would make it easier when cleaning (which was one of my chores--Mom taught me well). Quickly vetoed. Since then my spouse has observed (40 years too late) how common they are in European bathrooms we’ve visited.

AA has a 12 step process for freeing yourself from addiction, If you have come here seeking help to free yourself from being a Hors-A-Holic you have come to the wrong place. We are just a group of enablers that will drag you further into the depths of your addiction.

Standard GPS alone doesn’t have sufficient precision to guide a lawn mower (or even a combine!) so they supplement it with a real-time motion-tracking system (often referred to as RTK or real-time kinematics) that tracks actual direction and distance using electro-mechanical sensors on the machine (as @ri702bill noted). Similar technology in self-guided home floor cleaners. One weakness is that wheel slippage can frustrate them!

Excellent idea! Maybe add an air hose while you're at it... make clean up a breeze and just imagine the Mrs's reaction!!!

Cool, you learn something new every day here, tractor related or not. I’ve never heard of Chester Greenwood or that he invented earmuffs, and I live in the state where he invented them.

What blows me away is the multitude of OEM's that are making this kind of stuff now. Stihl for example ... their stuff is incredible and they are somewhat newcomers to the z turn market. I forget which brand it is but they have one out that "remembers" your lawn and drives automatically. JD maybe? with technology from their auto combines? All the operator has to do is sit in the seat and drink a beer! Yes and then there is the EV/hybrid crap... mind boggling. Then there's Scag, Dixie, Grasshopper, Exmark, Husky ... list is endless.

On my B100 automatic the hydro worked but my axles and hubs were trashed and I didn't see the point on spending money on 1" axles so I got some spare hydros and am running a older hydro with 1 1/8" axles probably from a charger, on my B100 the only thing that really is different is the free roll valve is in a different place.

...... or didn't want to deal with older machines. My own local small engine shop will still fix what ya bring unless it's a basket case. That said, they do certainly need to prioritize the work. Later model machines have better parts availability and often less rust or other issues. Some (most?) shops are leaning more and more away from older rigs specifically because of the need to make money on faster repairs to keep the sequence moving.

Thanks Richard, You brighten my day.

Your concerns are definitely noted. Fortunately these wheel horse tractors aren't my first foray into rebuilding and/or restoring something. Over the last 50 years I've restored several Triumph sports cars, a 51 Dodge pickup, an old 1944 Ford Jeep, Excello mill and a South Bend lathe plus other odds and ends. I've sort of developed a process where every project has it's own spreadsheet that I keep track of costs, tasks, etc. This method works for me. Brad

Grover also.... no ears.

That frame looks like it's been smoked at one time and improperly welded back together (or not repaired at all). Are you any good at cutting and welding? You're going to need to get it squared up and rewelded. Find a flat area of floor, or maybe a sheet of plywood or drywall, and chalk out a box with a center line, and you'll get some idea of how far out of whack it is.

Um ..Ahhh that fork lift don't look like a horse or something the Amish would have Ed Dog ... Came back last Monday from two weeks in Spike Camp. Not much luck in the woods saw plenty before and even after the traditional WI 9 day gun season but nothing on the buck pole. Monday morning the day after a big bruiser eight comes in but the smoke pole at home. Oh well I don't know how to shoot it anyway. Muzzle loader season starts immediately after gun season here. Just don't matter I go for the food and drink and peace and quite of the big woods anyway. On the other hand it would take me to sell my five deer rifles just to buy a pound of low speed beef. Some trail cam shots of what was out there and we missed. My cousin did score this with his x bow on the property.

So I went over to my neighbors today (because he has a cylinder bore gauge and micrometers) to check out the spare engine I have that I thought was a 12hp K301 because of the tins. So the bore gauge you set to the spec you are aiming for with a micrometer so I set it to the max wear limit for the K301 3.378 well it was too small for the bore by a lot well I measure the bore and it's about 3.5 it's a K321 block. So I set it for the max wear limit on that 3.503 and it's all within spec on out of round and taper and within the wear limit. So it will just need honed. I was feeling pretty good and starting measuring the crank. And that was bad, I am kinda curious if you guys have seen numbers this bad. X axis Y axis 1.4871 1.4880 1.4869 1.4888 1.4869 1.4889 It's crazy that the taper is within spec at .0009 but the out of round is .002 the limit on that is .0005 and yes I double and triple checked you can actually see the gap going from the Y axis to the X It's also worn beyond the wear limit of 1.4990

I got several things I need to get finished, but my Bronco has been marking it's territory in my garage. One axle seal was leaking quite a bit, and I had not seen it because of how it was previously parked. Guess I should get it out more, right? As is usually the case, a leaky axle seal left alone long enough made the hub removal super easy. Didn't even need my puller for it (lucky since I couldn't find the darn thing). Anyway the hub came right off with some wiggles. Made a couple small dings in the metal face of the new seals because it was crazy tight but it shouldn't affect it. The axle and bearing seems fine. A couple hours after and no leaks yet. I'll try to get it out over the holidays and see for sure, but so far so good.

... Purchase the connecting rod first. That way the machine shop can turn the crank to match that bore for the proper clearance fit... All replacement parts have dimensional tolerances too...

No, but a gas axe would be pretty useful

Awesome-made it!

The “onboard generator” design is for the reasons you mentioned, range extension and “offline” charging, but also for mechanical simplicity and flexibility Only one drive mechanism (electric). Battery charge control electronics are already onboard and wired to the batteries so only a power source is needed. Generator can be positioned where convenient and simply wired in. Generator always runs at an efficient optimal speed (and only when the operator chooses) Motor-generator pair can be sized to match desired charging rate or even to provide “burst” power Railroad locomotives have long used the motor-generator system, though without batteries, for the flexibility and control of power delivery as well as for efficiency. Diesel submarines with batteries have too.

Seconded. I've liked the round fenders of the 60s Deere for decades. I've had one here many years ago long before I had the knowledge and tools we do now. Given the chance, and gifted the tractor, ... I'd consider one again... but Trina won't touch a green thing with a 39 1/2 foot pole. For Cubs... my maternal Grampa had two. One was yellow and white. Model unknown. The other was a red one from around 1980. 682? 782? I'd get another one for sure...

I can appreciate the different approaches to solve the same problem - I've worked with Cubs primarily for the past 15 years. Also fantastic machines, but more complex - and if you compare both the Wheel Horse and Cub to Deere, I believe Deere has the most complex engineering.

It's those little touches that mean the most to a quality build.

A Haiku... I have very good jeans Hear tell Sydney does also So where is my check? A Limerick There once was a man with great jeans Who really liked to eat beans His flatulence was known far and wide And it really did damage his pride That people thought Sydney had better genes

Thanks for the heads up. The tractor is currently on the trailer covered with a tarp. It will likely be sometime next week before I can look closer at it.