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The Jaques-Frazer Model T / Jaques Mighty Mite / Ottawa Mule Team Tractor Joseph Frazer had been a partner in the Kaiser-Frazer Automobile Company but sold his interest in the company to partner Henry Kaiser to peruse his interest in building a small tractor. The Frazer Model T chassis was built by the Jaques Power Saw Company which accounts for the name Jaques-Frazer. The completed chassis were shipped to Frazer Farm Equipment where the Swiss made Simar two cycle engines were installed. The stylish round aluminum hoods were war surplus airplane fuel tanks. The tractor came to market in 1948 with individual, foot-operated turning brakes, a recoil- pull-starter, a hand clutch, and a three-speed transmission with a high and low range. It weighed 1020 pounds, sold for $695. The engine started on gasoline, while kerosene could be used as fuel after the engine warmed up. Implements available were a 10-inch plow, 5-ft mower, disc-harrow, bulldozer blade, and a rotary scraper. Not many Jaques-Frazer Model T tractors were built in 1948 and the company lost more than three million dollars. Half interest in Frazer Farm Equipment was sold to D.E. Winslow of Detroit in 1949, he went on to buy the remaining half. in 1950 and move the company to Auburn, Indiana. The Jaques Power Saw Company continued to sell the tractor for a few years as the Jaques Mighty Mite after making modifications including use of a 3-speed transmission, and substituting a 4-cycle Briggs & Stratton engine in place of the Simar engine, along with changing the sheet metal hood. Ottawa Manufacturing Company’s beginnings go back to the 1880’s when it was known as Warner Fence Company that manufactured woven wire fence. In 1949 they decided to get into the lawn and garden tractor business and purchased the rights to the Mighty Mite tractor, along with the parts inventory and tooling from the Jaques Power Saw Co. The Ottawa Mule Team Tractor was born and is a direct descendant of the Mighty Mite and Jaques-Frazer Model T. Ottawa manufactured at least four versions of this tractor ranging in horse power from 8 to 13. Total production numbers are unknown but estimates range from 250 to 1,000. Two catastrophic events brought an end to the Ottawa Mule Team tractor in 1951. The owner, E.L. Warner died from a heart attack and the Marais des Cygnes River that runs through Ottawa, Kansas flooded in July, completely destroying the factory. The company never recovered from these two disasters. The flood is probably also responsible for destroying any company records that might have otherwise survived.

@formariz I finally used some of that project wood! I know I used the plane wrong, but I stayed after it and it came out great!

I figured out years ago that lifting an engine or transaxle is out of the question for me. I bought a Harbor Freight Hydraulic Lift Table and just roll it up to the side of the tractor with the table top at the same height as the frame, strap the table to the frame so it won't roll away and slide the engine onto the table. Simple, safe and my back thanks me.

M12 approx 129lbs Or just pick up the whole tractor

Same here Lynn. With 62F temps and bright sun. the dryer is in super dry mode. Cloudy and raining is the rinse mode. Cold and freezing is the stiff starch mode.

I just finished building a custom rear hitch for my 1987 416-8. I didn't want to take a chance at breaking the ear off or punching a hole in the bottom of the diff. I made it so I can put any kind of hitch in it.

Finally, Got my new deer stand finished.

Here is one I built, didn't go exacly like the plan. 70 Mercury Cougar shorting 8" rear end and steering box,71 Ford pickup transmission, fairlane front spindles, Not sure what Ford the drive shaft came from. Cut 5" out of one axle and 8" out of the other. Friend of mine drilled and pined them and we welded them back together.\ Then I cut the axle housing and welded them beck together. One axle slid right in the other lacked a little bolting up. Pulled it out ground about 1/16" off the end and then bolted it up. If my memory is still holding up the rear width is 56".it will fit on my 5' x 10' trailer.

More forward progress. Worked on making the C-101 belt guard work with the 1257 rear sheet metal. In order to do this I needed to make a filler panel to bolt to the 1056 sheet metal. I wanted some weld nuts for this piece, which I swore I had some in stock. Unfortunately I can not seem to find them. Instead of making a trip to town to spend money on some new ones I decide to just grab a strip of 7ga and make what I needed. Save time & money. With these welded on to my extension piece it will be much easier for mounting. Also needed to add a mount for the front of the belt guard. Seems my engine is now solid mounted I made a piece that could be bolted to the engine. Some minor trimming where the belt guard meets the foot board and it fits like it was made to be there. On to the next fitment issue. Fender pan does not sit all the way down with the belt guard. Again, a little minor trimming to get things to fit properly. Last project, add some bumper plates to the back of the tractor. The purpose of the bumpers are to stop the eliminator from running into the driver in the event that the tractor should stop faster than the eliminator. I have seen this happen with modified garden tractors that are pulling 20+mph on the track, but have not seen it happen with a stock tractor pulling at 3 to 4mph. But.... Rules are rules so I must adhere. For bumpers I simply added some plates to the wheelie bars. With these added I thought that I was done with fab work. Then I read over the rules again, sent a picture to one of the officers of the club that I plan on pulling with, and received notice that I need to do some more fab work. Take a look at the next picture. The issue here is that there is too much exposed belt. I will have to make some type of belt guard extension to cover this up. Hopefully I will be able to get this made next weekend then I can move on to engine mods.

Not long enough Mike. Ahhh to be retired... Picked up Cindy's new ride. Like our Dodges gonna take a Philadelphia Lawyer to finger out the electronics. Wasn't sold on the red trim but growing on me. Olive Garden was choice Ed.

Woke up the 856 "Forsaken" today. Its been sleeping in the garage for a while now. It fired right up and I cruised around the backyard for a few minutes.

Biggest thing with lifting these engines is the fact that the weight is not balanced and finding a good place to grab it. My HS shop teacher taught us that you have only so many lifts in your back. Don't play Superman with it.

One of many additional mods: I slotted the steering shaft hole. Makes removing and installing the hood so much easier. Plus you don't have to remove the wheel. A little edge trim made it look cleaner.

A branch of people in my family were coopers. Although they all could make any type of barrels, some were specialized in your type of barrel. It’s called dry cooperage. They are barrels essentially made as storage or transportation vessels. They are not liquid or airtight. Then the next type would be airtight to store flour, cereals or anything that had to be kept from moisture. The other type more common to us are the actual wine barrels most are familiar with.

Nop throw away generation, buy new from another country {china} couple months buy again, and over and over and over. Not like the good old days i'm afraid. Time for me to step down now .

My mom gave us this little barrel yesterday. She knows it's been passed down through her mom's family least 4 or 5 generations including myself. Trina found a similar listing online indicating it could have been filled with nails or similar, gross weight around 100 lbs. It measures 18" high, 10" across.

My new neighbor installed the latest and greatest solar and wind powered dryer. Today, Monday, is wash day. The manure piles are precisely located to give the freshest smell to the laundry.

Made some test plaques for our annual chili cookoff. The same main logos will go on three cutting boards for first, second and third place. Still trying to get the hang of this thing.

How do you find stuff like this? Way too much time on your new smart phone for sure.

Hey lookitt what I gots!!

Hauled in some heating fuel.

... and if the line is ripped up, they be in dirty mode..😎

Me too. Today we look at a barrel in a sort of casual manner, most not realizing the amount of knowledge and skill that small object represents. Not too many wood objects require the vast skill a barrel does. In only one object there is knowledge of wood types, and their specific properties, knowledge of bending wood, knowledge of geometry, knowledge of determining volumes and or capacities using only ancient methods, knowledge of specific hand tool methods, etc. a cooper can make a barrel from scratch without ever using a ruler or calculator and intentionally wind up with a finished product with an incredibly precise volume. He can do that fast and efficiently without referencing any drawings or sketches. Merely using methods that have been used for thousands of years. In handmade cooperage nothing as changed in all of that time since there is no improvement to be made. It’s flawless. Tools have improved but the method remains the same. Watching a skilled cooper at work is a sight to behold that one will never forget specially when one is used to watching any other type of woodworker using measuring devices, machines, drawings, and even a common tool such as a square and a straight edge. None of that in cooperage. Just a thousand years worth of knowledge and skill and efficiency. No other branch of woodworking has impressed me as much as cooperage.

I ❤️ a good barrel!

Nice!!! You need any judges?

Shoulda said something ... someone gave me a bunch and I know right where they are!

VERY, VERY slowly.

I had back surgery in 2019. Because of Covid I had to wait and wait. Got to the point of where I could only sleep in a recliner and could only walk about 20 feet without stopping. Had to lean on railings and whatnot to even get anywhere. SAVE YOUR BACK!

@Brockport Bill Funny you bring this up! Yesterday I was all set to remove the KT 17 from my C-175 and I was going to use my C-141 with the loader. However it was blocked in by another tractor out in my shed where I didn’t feel like dealing with that out in the cold. Then I started thinking that it can’t be that heavy, so I called my brother. I then ran some 5/16” chain to the lift points and made a loop out of it. Next I stuck a 2x4” through the loop, we got on either side of it and my brother and I bent down a little bit, put the 2x4 on our shoulders. We stood up and carried it to my rolling table. Making it easier was the fact that it was on my lift table so I rolled the other table right up to it and we only carried it a few feet and didn’t have to lift it high. Regardless, it was still heavy!! As soon as we set it down we started discussing how much we thought it weighed! When I install it I will definitely use the loader though!!

You searched for tie rods - Wheel Horse Parts and More

Popeye is a big part of the identity of Chester, Illinois. They have a Popeye festival each year (never been) and a bunch of Popeye related statues in town. It’s less than an hour south of me, so sort of well-known around here. Aside from Popeye and having the first bridge across the Mississippi south of st louis, Chester is known for the max security prison where Illinois sends its most nefarious bad guys. I wonder if the prison guards all have big forearms… Steve

Have a few with the nails still in them. Have seen them containing chain also.

Back in the day I rebuilt my 80 Ford ones. Known for hanging up. Blast of air out pops the piston. A little clean up new rubber and done. Not any more sadly. BTW Kev your vid on rotor removal was spot on. EXCEPT when the rear ones hang up on the internal parking brake shoes. Aside of trying to adjust them down considerably which is a pain. Drill a 1/4 hole thru the rotor right in front of the shoes. Using the bolt holes to put pressure on the rotor and move it out abit use a punch thru the holes to get the shoes back in square with the rotor to get past the little rust ridge. If you keep jacking on the bolts you'll pull the shoes off the retainers...

Yesterday it was time to reopen a trail made by a skidder, better known as a skiddah in the great state of Maine from the previous owner. I have been wanting to do this for a while now but this trail collects water in the ruts leftover from logging. Some years it is passable, some not. The weather has been great for trail work and getting a jump on it is nice. It's roughly 300 yards that is for now usable. If it looks good during the September Meet & Greet I will add it to the trail ride. Can-Am continues to be a huge asset to the amount of work it has made possible in a very short time. It has been one of the best piece of equipment I have ever purchased. No Macadam yet @Handy Don. Keeping my word.

absolutely -- a good rule to live by

99% of the time it's just more cost effective to replace the caliper and move on to something else. and if there is an issue down the road you get another caliper for free and eat a half hour of labor. Rebuilt a caliper in 78. Had to in college chassis class. A new caliper for my truck is 68 bucks. A rebuild kit is 20 and that's if you don't need any pistons. Plus auto parts stores in general don't even stock the kits

I know that they were still used here in the 40’s. Based on the appearance of yours I would say it is from that period . Early ones from earlier than 1900 seem to have a wooden hoop rather than a metal one. Certainly that one is pretty much all machine made. Earlier ones that were machine made had also two full metal hoops in the center rather than the twisted wire. The best way to date them would be if it still had original nails in them. Characteristics of the nails and how they are manufactured is a rather precise way of dating anything since there is a very precise chronological record of nail Manafacturing.

Many of these old tractors have swapped hood and fenders. Sometimes a model isn't what the hood says it is. Easiest way to be sure is that of the oil filter faces the rear, it's an Eaton 1100.

Looks like a factory job! Nice work.

I've got one. They work great. The hood below was painted over 20 years ago, and it shined up great!

If the 520 has been sitting for a long time the oil will have drained out of the pump and it will push easily. I just pushed one from a garage out back through a few inches of snow about 300' and it moved easily and quietly. It has been sitting there for a couple of months at least. Do not tow but push by hand. I can't speak for the 518.

No, no tow valves on the Eaton 700 and 1100s. The earlier Eaton 5 has a tow/drive valve. As Mike and Lynn said, the 1100s can by hand pushed slowly. Jiggling the motion control lever around the neutral position will help. Towing or pushing with a tractor may cause damage. The Eaton 700s are nearly impossible to move. Best to put the rears on a dolly to move.

I had back surgery in 2019. Because of Covid I had to wait and wait. Got to the point of where I could only sleep in a recliner and could only walk about 20 feet without stopping. Had to lean on railings and whatnot to even get anywhere. SAVE YOUR BACK! SUPPOSED TO GO INTO THE ENGINE WEIGHT THREAD!!! IT'S HELL TO GET OLD!!!

The big blocks are about 120# and the small blocks about 65#. I gave up on lifting a big one a long time ago.

A big block kohler is well over 100lbs. Small blocks are over 70. K301 claimed weight is 118lbs. K341 claimed weight is 122lbs. Oil pan types, etc make quite a difference. If it has a starter/ generator, add about 30lbs... There was a time that I could throw one around with ease. Those days are long gone. Removing the flywheel definitely makes a difference.

I have previously lifted complete 12-16 hp Kohlers by myself. Not the best idea as they are really to heavy for one person. I like to pull the flywheel and that sure seems to make them a little more manageable. A ceiling lifting trolley is in my shops future.

"I got way too much time on my hands and it's slipping away" Styx 1981 Good story tho Kev...