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About 2 years ago, I was informed that I had a cataract, and it was time i should start considering getting it taken care of. We'll, at the time that didn't really fit in with what all we had going on. Well, last year's eye exam showed a big degradation in my left eye. Last summer, I noticed that my short range depth preseption was off - the finish nails I drove to flush were actually standing about 1/4" proud. Bolts on machinery i was working on were farther away than where my eyes told me to put the wrench. I was having trouble getting a good sight picture of the pop can target when shooting my Daisy Red Ryder. Bunch of little things, but enough was enough. 3 weeks ago, I had my left (dominant) eye operated on, as it was the worst. Wonderful improvement! Yesterday, I had my right eye operated on. It is still dilated and not focusing quite right at reading range, but a noticable improvement in distance sight. The most impressive thing is how sharp and vivid the colors are now. If anybody out there is considering cataract surgery, I'll encourage you to go get it done. The procedure (outpatient) itself is a breeze, involving just enough knock out drugs to relax and enjoy the 'light show'. I think my reply to the "how are you doing?" question in recovery was "that was a pretty cool trip". Had a special lens installed yesterday that corrected an astigmatism. While discussing this with the surgeon pre-op, I asked him if the lens also had a .010" eyecrometer scale - he got a chuckle out of that one.

I built a hub puller a couple of weeks ago, which worked great (see below), but I thought I could improve upon it, so I fabbed up a new version, which has two advantages over the first one: It has a cavity for the hub spigot, so it can be bolted flat against the hub flange, which can add some rigidity to the flange, and it can be used with hubs that have been retrofitted with studs, as well as those that are still using lug bolts. Mine still has lug bolts, but I used a separate set of bolts and washers with the puller, rather than the lug bolts, in order to prevent any damage to the puller plate or to the tapered part of the lug bolts. The center bolt is longer than it needs to be, but that's what I had on hand. I put a dab of anti-seize on the center bolt threads. Previous version of hub puller: New version: Back of puller (I dressed the weld a bit, just for the heck of it): Front of puller:

Here ya go EB ... I ain't gonna tell ya some bozo threw this one on the scrap pile at my old shop...

Beautiful!! You should sell those.

A pellet grill was given to me. I did a deep clean on it and for the most part it seems to work well. I was told that these grill/smokers can have an issue of the auger overloading the burn pot and apparently it can cause a small explosion. It seems to be related to dirty burn pot. I did have the fire go out on my last smoke and noticed the temperature dropping below the normal swing between a few degrees above target temp and a few degrees below. Out of curiosity and caution, I disassembled the grill and the pot was overflowing with pellets. The auger continued pumping pellets into the burn pot. I wired in a light so I know when the auger is running and maybe it will get my attention if the temp drops lower than expected. I also ran some of the insulation tape around the lid that is used on green egg grills between lid and body of the grill. It sure cut down on the smoke escaping by 90%. From my little use, I don't think these smokers impart as much smoke flavor as my electric smoker with a smoke generator or real wood smoker. I tried to use my smoke generator and it won't stay lit in the pellet smoker. I used one of the heavy aluminum pans that restaurants use to transport food. I formed it to fit and lays on the metal plate that seems to be a heat deflector (and also catches and burns the drippings). I fill the aluminum pan with water which keeps the heat deflector clean, adds humidity and I believe acts as a heat sink keeping temperatures more even.

Picked up an early Raider 12 just before Christmas. Seller said he had rebuilt the trans but it stopped moving while he was plowing snow and he thought he snapped the input shaft. That didn't sound quite right to me and I suspected the key for the drive pulley was a more likely suspect. We agreed on a price delivered. The tractor came with a 42" snow blade mounted, a 42" mower deck with only one small rust hole, and extra pair of rear wheels and tires and tire chains. He also threw in a Harbor Freight 20 Ton press. He dropped it off and while I was pushing it to the shed the left rear wheel and hub came off. I immediately thought that might be its mobility issue. I got the wheel back on and pushed it in the shed. I finally got to work on it today after work. I picked up a couple Woodruff keys and stuck one in, it also needed a battery. It starts easy, runs pretty good with no smoke or obnoxious noises AND it moves in all gears. It's seeping a little where the case halves meet and it has a catch going into reverse so I'll open it back up and take care of those items. The drive belt is in pretty rough shape too and when I put a load on it, it stopped moving until I let it sit for a minute for the belt to cool so I have a new one on the way. Plan is for this one to be my new mower and the blade will go on my old Raider 9 after an engine transplant. This is the seller's pic from the ad, not much to look at but it's all there and functional....

The vid of @ebinmaine pushing snow made me think he was gonna launch!

And a fine thread screw That one would work really good on older star & three bolt hubs. No way would you break one.

Well since we are talking about smokers I figured I’d add some pictures from a few years ago.

PTO clutch plate ready to be installed. PTO clutch plate slid onto bearing race and bolt holes aligned. PTO clutch plate retainers inserted into bearing race groove then bolts partly threaded in. PTO clutch plate bolts torqued to 96 in/lb. Wife caught me torquing the PTO clutch plate bolts.

Put a electric fuel pump on a 520. Only real place to put it near the tank. Had to remove the rear rockshaft which will probably go in classifieds since I have a dedicated tiller tractor. Anybody have a tip for getting the cable tube out?

January 8, 1966, The Beatles' "Rubber Soul" album goes to #1 and stays #1 for six weeks, while the single "We Can Work It Out" also charts at #1 for three weeks.

Colonoscopy was done yesterday, they just cut out 3 benign polyps. It is good to be able to eat again. Anyways, back to tractor work today. PTO hoop ready to install. PTO hoop ends and clip greased. I did this both for ease of operation and to hopefully reduce or eliminate paint damage during installation. PTO hoop installed.

The only normal thing here...

I made a similar one that I considered marketing but the material cost and hours were high and I doubt that it would sell for the price I would need.

I'll try harder next time!!!

I currently don’t need one, but I certainly want one!

Excellent work !!!

Agreed.

Those usually end up getting cut & split to remove... or split the case & unbolt the diff. to get the snap ring off. Remove axle & hub, off to the 20 ton press...

I was amazed to see the colors and detail restored. The cataract growth is so slow that you never realize how much vision is lost until you have those new clear lens installed.

That's a good point. Lawn tractors don't tend to fall out of the sky when they quit running. I might have more of them if they did.

That - my dear boy - is a work of art that looks like it would work well.

Grade 8 fine thread bolt - excellent choice. Is there any kind of a bearing on the business end?

That is a beautiful job!!!

Installed some seat springs on the 73 12hp-8 today No Name. Robbed these off a 73 14hp-H No Name. Rob Peter to pay Paul . The 14hp-H is/was a running mochine when I drove it in the shed, smoked a little but ran and had strong Hydro.

Today I plowed off what my nephew didn't get last night off my driveway with the 308. While I was at it took out the C-141 for a ride and got it mildly stuck on slush/ice. I also figured I'd stretch the legs on my ATV as well and in the process of plowing moved my Snowmobile to plow around it. Then took that for a spin.

I wouldn't think the dims are real important... builders choice. Except for the side to side where it bolts up. Fairly heavy gauge metal... about 14 ga. Not quite as heavy as the side plates

Ok took a break from the fuel pump install to let my hair grow back. Its held on by only the two carriage bolts on either side that hold the bearing plate on. Lemme know you need more.

Hydro tranny with foot pedal motion control and hydraulic lift...only way to plow when you have 5 driveways to clear. My 312 H at work last year .312H snow plowing - Wheel Horse Tractors - RedSquare Wheel Horse Forum

The generator bulb socket is a special one. Both the - and + are isolated. Just a heads up.

Agree with both recommendations above. Not close to you but in Eastern Pa. SWU Engine shop. Phil does quality work.. Done the machine work on several Kohlers for me and complete overhaul on a 4-cylinder Case tractor engine and as 6-cylinder Dodge 230 six.

I buy most of my kits on Ebay from The Man's One Stop Shop. https://www.ebay.com/itm/125901078873 I have also had good luck with Lil Red Barn Power Equipment Supply. https://www.ebay.com/itm/384156796807 Both are good to deal with.

I have the facet on my C-161 and never an issue with it. Cured my hard starting immediately!

I have installed this brand on my 856. These are designed for aviation but work well on small engines. They make different ones a bit pricey but very well-made. I always say it’s good enough for aviation. It’s good enough for a lawn tractor.

Got the steering in today… Temporary fabricated sleeve for that… Till One shows up from the parts store. Hydraulics are fit in place after cleaning and painting those and the steering is feeling really nice.

Happy Birthday Ed. Enjoy the day....

A few years back my neighbor inherited a Cub with a twin cylinder Briggs (I think, it may have been a vertical shaft Kholer). It had sat for a number of years while the previous owner was in poor health and it wouldn't run. After some screwing around I determined that the fuel shutoff solenoid was bad and wouldn't retract. We went to the local mower service shop, a real family-owned place that actually fixes them and were told that the OE only serviced it with a whole carb that was $120, and the alternative was a solenoid from another brand of engine that might work, had a two-week lead time on ordering it, and might not work. We went home, and I started pondering, and digging, and found a Briggs carb kit that I had, which had a bowl bolt in it that was the correct length and thread. Tractor ran just fine with that in it until he hooked the battery up backwards and fried the control board for the safeties.

If your axle has a Woodruff key moving the hub out is not a good idea. The hub and axle was designed for the set screw to center on the woodruff key. If moved it tilted the key and will allow the hub to move on out in the direction the hub was moved. It isn't much but the set screw is only holding on one side.

Like Jim said I like to put them back on if for nothing else so is they don't get lost. They do not interfere with operation or for loading to go to a show. A few pic's to help explain where it goes. Basically the same set up on the square hoods like yours.

Man, I really wish my 314 was an auto with a hydro lift. That makes plowing look so much easier. Not that its hard, and my tractor does great as is, but wow that's MUCH more efficient than all the monkeying I have to do with my levers to get my driveway done. I suppose one of these days I'll have to bring home a dedicated plow tractor.......or maybe a good roller that I can swap all my guts and mods over onto.

Yes, the blowers have thier own spring loaded belt tensioning pulleys.

Good point Lynn. Those old junk mule drives do make great front weight brackets, plow sway stabilizers, and reciever mounts.

I probably already own 25% of the entire Wheelhorse 520hc fleet in Australia! I'm yet to find another one. I bought it because I had land that needed a small tractor and mower. But I dont have that anymore, so really its just for the love of it.... (Until I buy a new place)

The smaller right side pedal acted as a manual PTO on many models mower decks from 1961 through 1967. Mainly used on rear discharge decks with a cross shaft and bevel gear setups, 32 and 36 inch widths.

Excellent series! Welcome and thank you for going through the legal process of becoming a US Citizen!

Absolutely! I have been watching Ken Burns Civil War and it is fascinating! I’m actually about to celebrate my first year of being a US citizen on January 14. Moved down here in 1999 from Canada for my job.

I can but its for a 7-1311 50 " bar. Prolly the same. edit: Yep same ...2660 part no. Have to wait till tomorrow in between putting a electric fuel pump on a 520.

I use the fiber washer but can get them at local hardware store. I have tried it with out the fiber washer and they will leak, just in case you're wondering.