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Pretty much finished up my winter project today. 1987 418-A paired with a 1995 tall shoot 42" snow blower. It started early last year when Original Tractor Cab Co. started selling cabs again for 300, 400, & 500 series. I also wanted to upgrade my snowblower from manual to electronic control with chute rotation and deflector movement all controlled from a joystick in the cab. Cab install was easy enough. Directions were easy to follow and no missing parts in the kit. I upgraded to the glass windshield (highly recommended), all lights, windshield wiper, side mirrors, review mirror, and cab heater. I also got the switch panel kit. IMG_8874.mp4 Next was the shoot control. Big thanks to @Steve Janninck for helping design and 3D print the electronic control boxes and other various parts. Joystick control: Electronic switching control box: The limit switch and diode box: IMG_9206.mp4 And the most anticipated piece....Air Horns! I had purchased these 12 volt air horns a couple years ago in anticipation of installation on a tractor one day. As the project came together, it became apparent that this is was the time to install them. IMG_6335.mp4 IMG_9227.mp4 IMG_9226 (1).mp4 IMG_9224 (1).mp4

Something to really watch our for! A friend was working on his Wheel Horse C-161. This 1970's model has a seat pan with a locking latch that keeps it sitting down but opens on the forward side where your upper egs and hips ride! He worked on his tractor and put his shifter in gear. He though he was reversing but it was in third gear. The Wheel Horse took off but the seat pan flipped up knocking him off the back of the tractor. Turns out the metal locking tab on the seat pan had worn down from raising and lower the pan. It can be corrected by bending or using a rasp/file to ensure it stays locked down!

2 weeks ago my wife had the split thumb , bone removed , perfect result , most difficult part was dealing with the club on the the end of her arm , brace was always in place , required for setting , all related area , removed stitching , going back for a rehab look , dr said looked very good with no related issues, hospital has a related hand therapy building , thats all they do , glad to have had it done , me too ! pete

I know I know... I know I have no idea...

Recently installed the 48'' dozer blade for Winter plowing as needed. After when finished all connections I used this lubricant to top off the install. This blade has not seen service for a while and the channel and sector needed a good lube as did the release pin for the blade angle. These Chesterton Products are great. Had a connection to them in 1984-86 when I worked in a chemical plant . They still dispense after all these years. Thinking of you Pete. @peter lena

Yes. It’s making us all equally clueless as to what these confounded things might be.

They do have the exact one. For 5 each and 12 shipping!!! Now I am a self admitted cheapskate but lets get real. I may have been born on a Saturday but it wasn't last Saturday. One suggestion about McMaster-Carr shipping to save a few bucks: Whenever I want to order something from McMaster-Carr and I'm not in a super rush, I try to wait until I have a few additional items to add to the order, since several extra items can 'usually' be included at no extra shipping cost (if they're shipped from the same location, I assume). McMaster isn't always the cheapest source, but they have excellent customer service, and more often than not I receive my order the next day. I've been ordering from them for over 35 years. I just looked at my order history on their website, and just over the last 4+ years (they didn't list it farther back than that) I've placed 187 orders, most of which had multiple items per order, and I've always had perfect customer service.

Mrs 8n is due for a carpal tunnel surgery in May this year. She is looking forward to getting that fixed.

Yes... I have a set of chains that I am going to put on it. But if they don't fit I will take you up on that offer!!! Mud...? What mud? But to be fair, @Pullstart obviously gave me a defective tractor... not to mention the faulty mud in his back forty... I mean, you can't even drive a bus through the field...

Rained all day Sunday, so the new pedal got field tested today. Happy to say it fits my big hoof much better. Might have to tighten the friction on the cam a little or suffer whiplash, but that's what I was going for. I had to hunt a little on the original pedal to find reverse. Not so on this one.

Getting parts stripped of paint, wire brushed, cleaned, and primed. I should be able to get all the parts painted during this warm spell to get it to be a roller. Will try to get the rest of the bigger parts done as well, but we will see. And some concept art of the finished tractor from my oldest daughter who turned 6 today notice the finer detail of the horse on the front of the hood!

For anyone using CAD software, McMaster lets you import detailed 3D models (in several different formats) of their products directly into your software (I use Autodek Fusion).This has saved me tons of time and vastly improved my modeling.

Might be time for you to upgrade the 520, Jim…. Excellent work, Andy N.!!

Center punch the wheel. Bearings stay put.

Yup door hinge bushings for Dodge I think. Used them in my 875 hood.

Looks like you are ready to take on a DOT contract! Well Done

Know anyone in the auto body business? They should have trays of door hinge pins and bushings and most are flanged. Some are nylon and others sintered bronze.

We got this old uninsulated house on the Hospital Campus that I called the " House of Ill Repute!" They use it to house new doctors before they decide to stay and find a regular home. It's knarly enough no one wants to stay in it long. Had this old boiler in it. Big iron expansion tank in the ceiling, the whole works. One of the guys was working on it years ago trying to get good heat to the 2nd floor and he finally gives up. I end up working on it and installed ball valves and gauges on the 1st floor return loop to get enough back pressure on it to force some good flow upstairs. Worked like a charm and put signs all over the place "DO NOT ADJUST!!" I retired and they ended up replacing the boiler with a bladder tank one zone. I'm back working 2 days a week and about a month ago when it got cold out they had no heat. I get there at 9AM so 2 guys are already there messing with it. They finally call and say they have no idea why the house is cold. Pipes are hot coming out of the boiler so I have to go over. Valves are all out of whack now because apparently they can't read. I get the valves straightened out and then look at the boiler itself. I finally tell them the fairly new Taco 007 pump isn't working. " But the light is on!" I hear. I tell them I don't care how many lights are on it ain't pumpin worth a hill of beans. They replaced the pump and what do you know we have all kinds of heat now. I took the pump apart and the impeller shaft had sheared off!

I call it the @Shynon special. He busted a lift cable at plow day and we had no spares. Lowell ain't exactly down the street. You shoulda seen what was on it.

Thx. Ill sell it to ya for $100... old lady from northern Wisconsin drove it only to church on Sundays... But seriously, I am guardedly optimistic that the money tree will sprout soon and I'll get you your $$$...

I like the plow ...

20's or 30's would be my guess.

More weight and chains is the answer you are looking for. Good news is chains should still fit those tires good. And when it's not snowy those tires will get you better traction then just turf tires.

Looks like some kind a equalizer to me. For what, I know not.

Reconfiguring the rear hitch system... a bit less complicated and far stronger... lower center of gravity, higher lifting of implements.

Time is money. If you can wait a week or more have at it. McMaster contracts with UPS. They have a UPS terminal right at the whare house in NJ. and the trucks usually leave twice a day. Their customer service is better than Grainger if you have to call. When I needed all those belts I asked how many do you have and the guy responded with something like 28 of them. Half of the time Grainger stuff comes from the middle of the country or has to ship from their supplier which takes days.

Yes, it is a rather new company, only 142 years old.

Yah when I was running a HVAC shop and could pass the buck. My how times have changed. Yep & I always check with the boys before ordering see if they need anything. Problem is in giterdone mode ... I think they are ... on hardware And they have EVERYTHING it's the shipping that bones ya. As how it should be for getting return customers.

I use McMaster all the time. The shipping is cheap if you consider if you overnighted something from somewhere else. I needed 10 Gates 3VX530 belts at our shop door for the morning after Thanksgiving, I ordered them at 3 PM the Wednesday before the holiday. They were there by 9 on Fri. I have a vendor that I ordered a Humidity sensor from. The sensor is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. The box it was shipped in wasn't much bigger. Took a week to get it and S & H was over $30!

Yea ten years ago at the big show the vender who sold the rudder skids for the foot plates on the 3 , 4 500 series tractors sold them and I wish I’d bought a small bag of them . I believe they went out of business but not for sure . Found these but still ridiculous for something that cost a couple cents to make .https://www.katom.com/064-00160245.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[ROI] Shopping - All Products Target&utm_id=187797395&utm_content=14749848875&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=187797395 says qualifies for free shipping . These places / people that charge high shipping rates really chap my arsh when they could just mail them in an envelope with a couple stamps .

I machined that bent rod down with a poor man's lathe (Carbide burr and emery cloth.) Then " machined " the egg shaped holes in the hood for the door bushings to work

When I redid my bathroom, I put in regular size tub that was also a whirlpool. The little lady always like a tub, and she may have used it a dozen times in the last 3 years. Now that we're getting older, I wish I just put in a walk-in shower in the same space. Food for thought.

Done that too Big Unit but doesnt work real good with this style of hood hinge with the bent rod welded to the front of the frame. Would have to grind off the rod and make a new longer one. The later style yes works real nice. That was a huge improvement on big block square hoods.

The other thing that might suggest it's a one is the slot hitch? I don't know of any other brands that used one. Maybe Brinly made that just for WH??? On a 401 ... note the tires... run what ya brung ...

i did and to be honest, the heat output probably won’t make much of a difference in the cab. I put my digital multimeter on the battery and turned everything on one by one and it did draw down to just under 12 volts when I turned the heater on with all the lights on. The heater was free with the package as part of a promotion they were running at the time. I do plan upgrading to a digital volt/amp gauge on the tractor. Also will be looking for a reduction steering kit to put on it. I believe everything from a 520-H system should fit on a 418-A with little modification. I’m planning on the cab being a permanent install and didn’t want to put it on the 520-H that I have because that reactor was my Dad’s and has sentimental value and enjoy using it for mowing and other things.

Did you go with the one from Original Tractor Cab? I see that theirs had a 25amp draw. Just wondering if you have enough charging out put from the engine to keep up with it?

We've been using bronze there.

AWESOME Andy That black roof is great looking on there as well as all your other mods. Love the horn demo and smile. Money well spent. You will never regret having an OTC. Great job !!

just make sure you can see the tv from the tub!

Ahhhh good save!

Hmm am I sensing someone is committing some WH thievery?

McMaster-Carr has bushings that may fit. McMaster

I might take you up on that. I am not sure if we have any of those seat pans in stock but I will definitely let you know. Thank you.

This is the closest thing I've found to it, but it could be way off: https://propaneoutfitters.com/product/tongs-for-the-forklift-tank-loader-truck/ https://propaneoutfitters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Forklift-Propane-Cylinder-Tongs-e1486141613634.jpg

Surgery is never a pleasant event, but having a positive attitude before & after is huge. Keep an eye on the big picture...

Tony if you have the original keep it to make sure it is the same length.I bought a choke cable it is a little short. So check iteam details.

Left cold snowy CT for much warmer Katy, TX to watch our granddaughter ride in her first rodeo with the Katy Cowgirls in the Katy Rodeo and parade.