Leaderboard

The boss wanted the front porch/deck spruced up since it was getting pretty ratty and she's getting tired of restaining it every year. She wanted composite so we bit the bullet and after much research went with Trex. If the cost of the actual decking doesn't kill you the additional odds and ends will do the job. Started with this. As with most projects preparation is key and often time consuming. Composite requires a minimum of 16" c/c joists and we had 24" so I added a joist in between the existing. Looking in the window you'll see that I was closely supervised along the way. Some (many) of the existing joists were marginal so I replaced them. I should have just torn is all off and started from scratch. I ladder back from each post to the house so I could 'picture frame' the new decking. I'm thinking it was a step that was more work than it was worth. Finally got it done, coated and ready for the new planks. I didn't take many pictures along the way so I just fast forwarded to the final project. Railing, post wraps and redesigned steps. I didn't expect this to take as long as it did between the weather, a host of other projects and the fact that I don't get the mileage that I used to it consumed a large part of the summer. Next summer the rear deck gets the same treatment. It will be even more involved as it is larger and I want to tear down or move that funky structure.

Checked the trail cam this afternoon. First time I've caught them going at it. Seems like a bit of a mismatch though.

Update time. Because my better half has horses the one of the first things we had to do is get the fencing up around the pastures. We put up around hundred fence posts in one day with a couple of people. Simultaneously we had someone come in with an excavator to "rotate" some soil for making a riding arena. Not bad for a day of work. The following day the piles of dirt got flattened spread out and compacted to get a nice base for the riding arena. After that, in the following week(s) we could also put up the fencing around this part of the horse accomodation. First ride in the new riding arena. And in Dutch we have a saying that translates to something like "after hard work it's more enjoyable to rest"... Next update: working on a roof or two.. Greetings from the Netherlands, Mark

The word on the street is that Trex or any of the composites require you to seal any cut ends because they are basically plastic coated compressed glued sawdust on the inside... Why not move the offending structure over to be in front of the two garage windows instead? A screened in sun room is a nice feature during the summer... a comfortable living space on the inside, bugs on the outside... I did not see an outdoor gas grill in back - a word of caution if you have one on a Trex surface. Grease drippings from the grill that land on the decking will leave stubborn, almost non removable stains. Home stores sell a containment tray that the grill sits on - it looks like an oversized boot tray. 953 types faster than I do......

Someone please call a doctor, @T-Mo has lost his mind.

My 20x30 tent garage is sitting on two layers of pressure treated 2x6 with the upper layer notched for the tension straps. I did this to keep the steel frame off the ground and to gain the 3" of extra height I wanted for my tractor with cab to pass in easier. It has been 12 years now and the wood & metal are getting along just fine with no rot or corrosion. +

Don't have group photos but this one is a group upon itself.

The deck looks great Bob. I can't do heavy work like that any more so I got bids for replacing the old PT decking with Trex. An inspection of the framing reveled some serious degradation of the majority of the joists so we had the deck removed and a paver patio put in, love it. The deck dominated our small back yard and the patio allows us to enjoy the deer and other critters that come through.

Did some work on the wagon yesterday and today. Made a framework high enough to clear the rear tires. Got all the welding and grinding done yesterday. Today was cleaning and painting. The only paint colors I had enough of were orange and blue. Two different oranges. The lighter orange was close to University of Tennessee orange. I used it on the bottom of the chassis and both sides of the bed. The other orange and the blue are University of Illinois colors. That orange was used for the top of everything except the bed and framework for the bed. The bed framework and wheels are blue. I will probably put wood sides on it at some point. Any other pieces for maybe bed sides will be blue and or stained wood . The last two pictures show the difference in the two oranges.

If two vegetarians get in an argument, is it still called a beef?

Every time I mention a Wheel Horse for sale, my wife says, "You can get it if you sell one of yours." I be like...

I went looking for a decent reversible scoop, and saw this:

Did you hear the rumor about butter? Well, I'm not going to go spreading it!

A lot of decisions to be made. If it is practical, the screen room could be moved behind the garage, it looks like a keeper to me. We had a small covered porch that will accommodate a couple of chairs before I built the deck and we kept that. Bering at floor level I can go to the porch with my walker and go down two steps to the patio.

That’s the best line I’ve heard in a loooong time!

Picked a set of these up at the show $75, but that was an insider price from Fast Eddie's. That valve stem on the outside is a luxury, but I have welded them shut and drilled new on the other side.

Excellent work! Glad to see you used the joist tape too. I do see some blocking between the joists in the joists between the door and window - did you add blocking thruout? It makes a huge difference in lateral rigidity. I finished redoing the large country L shaped porch last year at my rental. The 3/4" T&G fir decking was rotted, as were a couple of joists in the corner. It had perimeter framing in sections, no blocking and no footings in the middle of the runs. It was rather springy when it was in good condition 50 years ago! I did both, along with doubling up the joists above the footing supports in front of the doors, I figured that was where the max loading and traffic would be - moving appliances in and out and such. Rock solid now.

I welded up one with, one without. The band made things much easier. Probably much stronger as well. But it's 3 welds all the way around. Two outside and one inside.

Replaced front axle pivot pin/bolt, drilled drag link out and made a couple bushings on lathe for drag link on 701. I didnt relize how wore everything was until I really got to looking closer at front end. My niece was driving it around the other day and I could see it better watching it go by I guess .

418-8 and 520-8 both owned by me.

953s on the straight and narrow. part of my herd fighting over the right to be first on the trailer.

There is a Toro dealer about twenty miles from me. On Monday I was going to be within ten miles of it and made the side trip there. Asked if they had any clunkers out back they wanted to get rid of. I didn’t need a runner, didn’t care about engines or hydros. The two owners just stared at me for a few seconds, then said follow us. Showed me a Toro Time Cutter 4235. No engine. Said they had just unloaded it 5 minutes before I got there. $20 and ten minutes later it was in the back of my truck. Took it home and stripped it. Talked to the owner of the local mower repair shop. He took the hydros, wiring harness, rear bumper and rear shield, and the two struts. Wouldn’t take anything for it since he takes care of me with parts and mowers. Went through my steel and came up with enough to fab a rear axle and tongue. Got done and gave it a test drive just before the rain came. Clean up and paint next. Then decide if it will be a flat bed/hay rack or put sides on it and make a wagon. Thing is I don’t need any of those. Just wanted to make something.

A little work this evening. Worked on the steering wheel. Bed liner all stripped off. More PC-7 and sanded. Now it's primed in and just need spot putty in a few places. Now primed in. Just a little more finessing, then painting. Dave

Nice! The starter spinning but not engaging sounds like the starter drive Bendix is gummed up and sticking. It has nothing to do with the solenoid... Clean the drive, do not use oil or grease. Dry lube only.

"Another topic!?" I hear you think.. yes.. this thing has been sitting in my yard for way to long. Now with the darker, colder and wetter weather coming up I would like to get it going. The idea is to use it around the house and for the better half to use it to rid the paddocks of horse crêpe.. Bought it off my neighbour a few years ago where it had been sitting long enough a small tree grew through it. "It" in this case is what started it's life as a walk behind Toro Greens Aerator. Kind of a coring machine specifically for golf courses. Somewhere in it's previous life somebody deleted the aerating part of the machine and put a dumping bed on the frame along with a seat. What you see below remains. Lots of stuff to do. Started to clean up the rims, ordered new tires, valve stems and a bit of paint yesterday. Took the fueltank which was full of water off along with the improvised hydraulic oil tank which was also full of water. I'm hoping the pump has survived, if not I might have to order one for it. Good news is that it has a Kohler 16hp engine which seems to be in good condition. Carbs' clean, airfilter Ok-ish, oil on the dipstick. Only thing is the starter does turn when connected directly to a battery however does nog engage the flywheel gear thingamabob.. might be a solenoid issue?? Stripped down a bit for cleaning/inspecting Other side. Note the hydraulic pump is driven off the flywheel side of the engine. New rubbah.. Quite a wide load. Thanks for reading! Greetings from the Netherlands, Mark

That wasn't a good picture of that structure. It was from the realtor shots years ago. Here's a current shot. Those two smaller windows are at the kitchen sink. The door to the right of them goes into a mud/laundry room. The garage starts just to the right of that door. The far right door does go in the garage. The fenced area is to keep the abundant coyote population away from our little fur babies. The structure was screened in but the screen was a mess. I just removed it all. We no longer even have an outdoor grill. My wife has a countertop gizmo that does just as good for the two of us. We have put a smoker in the room now and then. It does sit on a special mat. The bottom line is that we just want it gone. We don't use it. It is a decent structure Richard. Ideally we find somebody that has the means to move it to another property. At 12' x 12' moving it down the road would be an issue. I can't help but think it's doomed for destruction and a dumpster. That's the first I've heard of sealing the ends on composite decking. Over last winter I gathered 10-12 samples and literature packs of all flavors of decking. Talked to countless contractors and sales people and watched a gazillion videos. I can't say it wouldn't be a good idea but it was never mentioned.

I checked on doing that, but I could by whole wheel cheaper than buying blanks and centers ( 306 compared to 216 for a set of 2). Found some 12x10.5 fer 108 free shipping and would probably be hard to beat that price but only thing is valve stem is on outside and was really needing them on the inside because of the WH wheel weights I was wanting to run.

I bought blanks and welded the centers in. Easiest way to do it.

I'll throw some into the bucket:

I put a different Schnacke recoil on my patina 1958 RJ today! i had Joe Papke replace a spring and stainless steel cable in my spare Schnacke recoil! This old motor with the Schancke starts on the first pull! I changed oil in the oil bath air cleaner and motor! Still smokes a bit but runs best of any Kohler I own! I also changed air filter in my 314-8 today!

I've made several pairs over the years using 3/8"-24 threaded rod with 3/8" ID steel tube over it. Also made them with heims.

Doesn’t meet the criteria really. Hopefully I can get it out and another tractor to take a new one

Shoddy Wiring But 14HP, Hydro, Good Seat, Front Carriage Where is the picture of it in your garage Horse do like company, haven't you built that bunk in the garage yet Who am I to talk, there's a Black Hood on MP for the last few days 2-3 miles from me. My wife actually spotted it on MP before I did. In one sentence, she asked if I was going to look at it and wasn't I going to sell some of the ones I had

Hope you brought it home.

That front carriage is a desirable thing

Cool! That looks like a Wisconsin V4 engine up front. Those poor little front wheels sure take a beating with that big an engine on the nose of that machine. Edit: that IS a Wisconsin engine as seen on the engine plate

It is a Cover Tech. I had it made and shipped from New Brunswick. Frame is still perfect but it will need a new cover in the next year or two.

Eric, Who did you purchase your car/camper port from? Thanks.

Check that governor shaft in that block. The little stop tab inside likes to break off. If it's good, save it. You might need it someday.

When I was shopping for sheds to store the tractors I considered a metal building. Plan was to install it on a gravel pad & use pressure treated lumber (4x4s) as the perimeter then shed supports would attach to the wood. Hurricane auger type attachment points would be inside the wood perimeter. The salesman (Amish & very knowledgeable) absolutely advised me against it. He stated the copper & other metals used to treat the lumber will have corrosive effects on the metal of the shed. In fact, even voiding the warranty. Ultimately, I ended up with a traditional 12x16 w/10' lean to along the 16' side. The pic is almost a year old. Now its landscaped around & stone spread under lean to.

@BPEisenhower @WHX?? @ebinmaine Did someone say something about collecting C-Series tractors? 😂 I just happen to have a few! And a few other models as well !!!

Found a LTD24 to add to my collection, UW645, LTD244 & my homemade tilt trailer. Just can’t have a Tractor collection without these Gems.