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February 28, 1983 Final TV episode of "M*A*S*H" airs on CBS, a two-hour special directed by series star Alan Alda titled "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen"; a record 125 million viewers watch in the US, a record that remains unbroken over forty years later.

They make back hoes too but that didn't stop me from building one.

That is in fact the original seat, but not the rear tires. The seat just needed a good cleaning and some love! At the Big Show last year I purchased those tires and rims from Brian Badman not even knowing what I was going to do with them. One of the original rear rims had some rust on it for some reason? When I rolled the wheels from Brian along side this tractor it was a no brainer. The paint was an exact match and the 23x8.50-12 ag tires were a factory option. I wasn’t sure if I was going to leave them on, but I now think I will. As far as the history from Sam, he basically told me everything that he knew about it. The tractor belonged to his coworkers grandfather. The coworker told Sam it had been in the back corner of the barn for as long as he could remember! To me it looks as if he purchased it and parked it. Nubs still on the tires and the paint on the muffler.

You meet all kinds of "Characters" at the Bus Stop!

Neighbor has one identical to @Ed Kennell and he brought it over to break tire beads. He set it up vertical and put a 6x6 against the grain under the wedge. Then he positioned the 6x6 on the tire next to the rim and the bead broke effortlessly. Thinking it could be used as a press with the right adapters?

The not so famous unistrut engine stand ...

Friday February 27, 2026 at Florida Flywheelers Show in Avon Park, Florida. More pictures from the show today! Met Art Fontanes today at Florida Flywheelers! Art was Senior Test Engineer for Toro at their Tampa Test Facility at the University of South Florida from 1987 to when he retired. Who knew Toro had a test facility in Tampa, Florida! Art had previously worked for Wheel Horse as a test facility engineer for two years at the South Bend, Indiana plant! In 1986 and 1987, before Toro bought Wheel Horse! Art is now retired from Toro. IMG_8689.mov IMG_8690.mov

I was watching a YT video about why todays small engines die after a year or so. @ 8:25 in there is one of my engines on my run in stand! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mmF3nc6wrg

Great to finally have a day near 60 degrees. Had a few out for some fresh air. Cherry smoke smells great too. Smoked turkey sandwiches later.

I understand that especially if you are splitting smaller rounds. I burn my stove 24/7 so I don't split any rounds less than 8" diameter. I use the dozer blade to move the big rounds close to the splitter, then use one of the rounds as a seat while I operate the splitter.

My splitter can be positioned horizontally or vertically. I have never used it horizontally. It has auto return (about 5 seconds) which gives me time to position the next round. TSC 22 ton Made in the USA was $999 when I bought mine 30 years ago. Never failed yet.

I wish I had an hour meter on my Work Horse GT-1800, that Briggs and Stratton has thousands of hours on it. What I wouldn’t give to know that exact number. I will never say anything bad about the older Briggs engines. With proper maintenance they will last and last……….

Yep ... something we have known for years. I'm just glad they didn't show the bus stop pic ...

I would check with @76c12091520h He has way more stuff than is listed in the vendor pages.

As I have some big tractors i have been using YT for many years lots of useful info on the targeted discussion boards and good source for parts

There was a car dealer near us who sold Rolls-Royce and was one of the biggest Corvette dealers in the country at that time. Palmyra Motors. Sold cars at $49 over invoice I worked with a couple of his former employees and they would tell this story of a guy who the owner brought in to pinstripe the cars. Guy was boozed up to the brim and they would send a plane to NYC to pick him up. They would have to carry him to the roller stool. When he was done, carry him back to the car to get him back to the airport. They called him " Shady Deal " because he started up his business selling cars at his house under a tree. Late in life I would see him riding around Newark NY in his Rolls. Had long hair a funky hat and a fur coat!

So I seem to have left y'all hangin' here. I found some time tonight to letter the hood & engine fan shroud. I wish that I had more to show but I've been dealing with O.P.S ( Other People's Sh..tuff). Got a Scrub Cadet that I'm painting this weekend and I also have a Simple-city paint job to get off my plate before I will get back to my own project. TTFN.

Oh that too

Yessir. It actually hit 64. Sun feels great.

I think the biggest "pro" of that log splitter is the fact that I'm not the guy doin the work!

Absolutely beautiful machine. Those tires look like they belong on that machine. Very nice! Those late 70s C series machines are my personal favorite style. Drives like a new one, looks like the older ones!

I don't burn wood but still wanted to build a cone splitter for the hoe when it was mine. Basically just poke the logs right on the ground one right after another

The fastest cycle time splitter I watched demonstrated was the DR Kinetic. It seemed to excel when the round lengths were 16” or less and it had a large enough table to allow successive splits taking a large round into smaller pieces. That said, the speed and power were pretty intimidating and I’d wonder about long-term wear and tear as well as how it did on heavily knotted or twisty-grained wood (e.g. the Black Locust that thwarted the standard splitter I borrow!) The two-way will be stronger in one direction, too, where the cylinder is extending.

Best he learns that slang here Don but heed our advice Boy and use it in terms of getting a ATV out of mud. In other words stick to your engines and crocheting. Much more healthy. A ****** block is a heavy-duty, opening pulley used in rigging and vehicle recovery to redirect winch lines and technically double pulling capacity by reducing load on the winch. By attaching to an anchor point, it allows for pulling from difficult angles,

Oh Boy, where's that cartoon from years past?

Well it's famous now!

And don't forget the cool car magnets you get too

The outside diameter of the seal will always be larger than the housing bore. That .003"-.005" difference is what holds the seal in the bore once it is installed. Also known as interference fit.

I'm lost Truck ... I would think it would greatly decrease the force required? Kinda like a $natch block for a winch. No matter Joe that's using the old noggin for other than a hat rack. What I'm afraid of Richard. Oh well it's a experiment.

I tried this contraption a few years ago, worked pretty good.

If he finished that glass before getting it done. LOL

Yes @Ed Kennell does do that, but just watch him. He might try to keep it 😂😂😂. Just kidding, Ed was a huge help in getting my barn find all original C-101 to the Big Show for me! Thanks again Ed 👍🏻

If the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy!

Yes I meant Yesterdays Tractors YT

Quick looks at motion industries had 1532 1542 1529 1531 I didn't look further Other than 1533 bearing the only WH tranny bearing I have not found is one needle bearing in a sunsrtand hydro transaxle .

Me too! I don’t have a helper for splitting (like Thoreau weeding his garden) so I need the retract time to clear the splits and stage the next round. I’ll likely hire some teenaged help the next time, though!

I know I'm the young buck around here, but I don't see the lack of a vertical as a huge drawback. I find it easier to let the split pieces pile up around the splitter as I work in horizontal mode. I have the same splitter Ed does, and I've only used in vertical once, when I was working with 4ft diameter sections of oak. I'm not sure the dual action is going to be that useful. Like Don said, it will not be as strong in one direction, and I usually need the full retract time to reload.

4 way wedge WILL be part of the purchase. On the vertical splitters.... I understand and appreciate that folks have different needs and methods. Trina and I both far prefer the horizontal & off the ground usage. Vertical positioning requires the wood to stay on the ground. We find it more ergonomic and much safer to simply lift the wood to the table instead of bending to the ground for every split. We split our firewood twice as much as most people. This creates smaller pieces that are easier to handle. We never "bank" a fire for overnight.

Thank you all for the Birthday wishes. Sorry I haven’t been on here in over a week, have some health issues we are working through (now waiting on one more test), thinking I will be back to normal soon.

I personally don't like the wedge on the piston, I'm not sure if it's just me but that's my take. I've only owned one splitter and I bought it used over thirty years ago. It has sat unused now for many years and I probably should sell it, but it took me so long to save for it I haven't been able to. I guess it's a reminder of earlier days when every purchase was debated and needed to be the thing needed most at the time. A time I miss and seems to have gone by way too fast.

@Pullstart check out the Speedies... Cool buildings. Here's your plan Mike... or mine. I got the first two covered. Get retired Buy a enclosed. Put your motor scooter in enclosed. Maybe a horse too. Head south before that snow storm. Attend a show and ride the Lorida Keys. Live the dream.

Options: 4 Way Wedge - Split logs down faster with a 4 way wedge. Should consider this - after watching videos of it in action for proper bind free action...

Yes they sang it for the movie

Only a guess here but check with @Wheel Horse 3D Grey?

This is the one that got me started tonight. She can sing. I'd like this song to played at my "celebration of life"

You smelling what I’m smelling? That’s a lotta candles in the wind! Happy birthday Squnky!

Another option is this brake cable from napa around $20 and you can get 2 cables out of it, by cutting it in half. It's handled everything I have thrown at it. Or since this is for around a 2004 Chevy crew cab brake cable you can get it for free by cutting it out of @Pullstart's truck

We have a 20 ton press at work and I've considered crimping these a try. https://www.uscargocontrol.com/collections/single-shank-ball-swage-stainless-steel-t316 I've also considered running parallel lift cables but the only thing I lift is a tiller which just hasn't motivated me enough yet...

Wishing you some seat time

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉