What have you done to your Wheel Horse today?

[c-series don 10,563]

1 hour ago, ML3 said:

Don't talk Ed outta selling it! 🤣 

I need it & I dont want the price to go up!!

I’m not sure if you settled on a price yet @Ed Kennell but I heard it’s supposed to snow like crazy in Ohio this winter. Especially in and around the Chardon area, so………..🤣

[ML3 1,943]

23 minutes ago, c-series don said:

I’m not sure if you settled on a price yet @Ed Kennell but I heard it’s supposed to snow like crazy in Ohio this winter. Especially in and around the Chardon area, so………..🤣

It always snows bad in Chardon 

[Desko 635]

Took the 60” off and cleaned/oiled it and wrestled my new to me 44” two stage on now just gotta weight the rear down and hope it wards off any snow lol

[Treepep 846]

On 10/25/2025 at 7:39 PM, sqrlgtr said:

Done small mod to the 1257. First Picture, with plow behind, was when it was still in the hands of the infamous @WHX??. Next pic is after modification that I got done today. Thought it would be fun to see who could spot mod first.

ya bent yer shifter?

[sqrlgtr 1,046]

swapped some Deestone 8.50's for some Carlisle 8.50's raised rear of tractor a little over an inch.

[Andy N. 2,573]

Weatherman says there may be snow this weekend. Not sure I believe hime, but figured since it was close to 60 degrees today,  it was a good day to clean the snow pusher!

 

 

[Wheelhorse#1 1,879]

Too much wind today to do leave patrol again so decided to clean up the B80 and to finally put on the anti skid I had laying around .

She cleans up pretty nice I think 

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 07:22 PM by Wheelhorse#1

[SylvanLakeWH 29,337]

Finished fitting new to me front blade on the C-125. With back blade it's my secondary and touch up snow rig.

 

 

 

 

[Handy Don 14,658]

2 hours ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

Nice that you have room to park that big ‘un. 

[Blue Chips 225]

Yesterday, I reinstalled the rear fender assembly on the GT18 (more on that later), and I did another small job today:

 

I cleaned and reinstalled the GT18's rubber foot rest mats. I had some plastic 'variable-depth push pins' that I thought would be a good match to the originals, but it turned out they weren't quite long enough to get a good grip, and I didn't want to pay the crazy price for OEM plastic push pins, so I used 7/8" OD stainless washers and 10-32 stainless truss-head screws, with stainless lock nuts. They were cheaper than the OEM plastic push pins. The washers fit perfectly down into the 7/8" diameter recesses in the rubber mats, and the truss-head screws are low-profile, so when they're all tightened down, the tops of the screws are at roughly the same level as the surface of the mat.

 

 

 

 

They might not match the original black plastic push-pins, but I kind of like their heavy-duty appearance, and they're certainly stronger than the plastic pins.

 

 

 

Edited 23 hours ago by Blue Chips

[kpinnc 15,715]

21 minutes ago, Blue Chips said:

They might not match the original black plastic push-pins, but I kind of like their heavy-duty appearance, and they're certainly stronger than the plastic pins.

 

I use alot of stainless fasters on my builds. They definitely add some bling to the look. 

 

Excellent work! 

[MainelyWheelhorse 2,093]

8 hours ago, kpinnc said:

 

I use alot of stainless fasters on my builds. They definitely add some bling to the look. 

 

Excellent work! 

@kpinnc Same here, and the anti rust quality of them, especially up here, is a plus. Nice work @Blue Chips.

[Handy Don 14,658]

13 hours ago, Blue Chips said:

The washers fit perfectly down into the 7/8" diameter recesses in the rubber mats, and the truss-head screws are low-profile, so when they're all tightened down, the tops of the screws are at roughly the same level as the surface of the mat.

Another option: elevator bolts like these.

I got some of these for when I re-deck my utility trailer.

[Blue Chips 225]

2 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Another option: elevator bolts like these.

I got some of these for when I re-deck my utility trailer.

 

It's a good suggestion. I've had several applications for elevator bolts on past projects. Their flat, low-profile heads can be VERY useful.

 

However, for the foot rest mats on the GT18, I couldn't find any elevator bolts with the right combination of head OD (7/8") and thread size that wouldn't require drilling all of the mounting holes to a larger size, like 5/16", which admittedly I could have done fairly easily, but to get them in stainless steel they were quite pricey.

[peter lena 9,456]

@Wheelhorse#1   like the retention of original paint , with the oiled patina look  , think it just fits , there is avery fine line , at saving / recovery  , thats why I regularly suggest to  another  horse owner , to get some oil soaking  going on , as soon as you get  another  horse .  gone on to the next level  , of paint shine , with stages of oil buffing . 

[Wishin4a416 2,221]

I rebuilt the carb on Thumper today. I got it out of the shed about a week ago and it ran like crap. The bowl and bottom of float had a greenish yellowish slime on it. I must have put it away with the junk ethanol fuel and I only run non ethanol in my small machines. Must have put some regular fuel in it in a hurry last winter. Its runnin like a swiss watch again.  

 

[ranger 1,825]

17 hours ago, Blue Chips said:

Yesterday, I reinstalled the rear fender assembly on the GT18 (more on that later), and I did another small job today:

 

I cleaned and reinstalled the GT18's rubber foot rest mats. I had some plastic 'variable-depth push pins' that I thought would be a good match to the originals, but it turned out they weren't quite long enough to get a good grip, and I didn't want to pay the crazy price for OEM plastic push pins, so I used 7/8" OD stainless washers and 10-32 stainless truss-head screws, with stainless lock nuts. They were cheaper than the OEM plastic push pins. The washers fit perfectly down into the 7/8" diameter recesses in the rubber mats, and the truss-head screws are low-profile, so when they're all tightened down, the tops of the screws are at roughly the same level as the surface of the mat.

 

 

 

 

They might not match the original black plastic push-pins, but I kind of like their heavy-duty appearance, and they're certainly stronger than the plastic pins.

 

 

 

One very important thing to remember when using stainless bolts and stainless nuts together is to always apply a drop of oil on the threads before assembly. If you don’t, there is a very real chance of ‘Galling’, you can literally screw a nut onto a bolt, finger tight, and then find that it’s virtually impossible to unscrew, even with spanner’s. The threads ‘pick’ up. I have come across this numerous times on winter maintenance equipment, snow blowers, salt spreaders, etc. A drop of oil, WD40, or Loctite if using plain nuts instead of self locking, in fact anything liquid, or semi liquid which, ‘Contaminates’ the threads seems to work. As a last resort, ‘Spitting’ on the threads also works! Saliva, apparently, is quite a good lubricant?

Edited 5 hours ago by ranger

[ebinmaine 74,572]

2 minutes ago, ranger said:

Galling

 

That's actually the reason we use nearly zero stainless and nearly all Grade 8. 

Zinc coating isn't as good as a true stainless bolt but they'll do for our usage. 

[kpinnc 15,715]

58 minutes ago, Wishin4a416 said:

Its runnin like a swiss watch again.  

 

Drove my FILs 416-8 around yesterday. It is well used, but what a Cadillac that thing is! Something about that K341 is awesome! 

 

Thumper is definitely a good name for them!

[ebinmaine 74,572]

2 minutes ago, kpinnc said:

Something about that K341 is awesome! 

 

Thumper is definitely a good name for them!

 

Agreed. 

 

Several times over.....

 

 

[ranger 1,825]

2 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

That's actually the reason we use nearly zero stainless and nearly all Grade 8. 

Zinc coating isn't as good as a true stainless bolt but they'll do for our usage. 

If you want the appearance of stainless, but don’t want galling issues, just use the zinc plated nuts with s/s bolts? Personally, I’ve had no problems using s/s bolts and s/s nuts together. I just remember to apply a drop of oil, grease, whatever before I assemble

[kpinnc 15,715]

Just now, ebinmaine said:

Several times over.....

 

The blade twists, with a smile on yer face... 

[ebinmaine 74,572]

12 minutes ago, kpinnc said:

 

The blade twists, with a smile on yer face... 

 

 

 I currently have 6 K341s. 3 good, 3 rebuildable. ...

...and the Magnum 16 in the Wally Digger Backhoe. 

 

 

Wait !!! 

 

7.... there's a parts rig out there.  

Edited 5 hours ago by ebinmaine

[ML3 1,943]

Picked up the Bervac today! Thanks to @Ed Kennell Got it installed on the Workorse already. Its so heavy & that means its staying on permanently! Predicting out 1st "lake effect " snow starting overnight Sunday with potential for 5-10" of heavy, wet snow. Might need it????

[Blue Chips 225]

5 hours ago, ranger said:

One very important thing to remember when using stainless bolts and stainless nuts together is to always apply a drop of oil on the threads before assembly. If you don’t, there is a very real chance of ‘Galling’, you can literally screw a nut onto a bolt, finger tight, and then find that it’s virtually impossible to unscrew, even with spanner’s. The threads ‘pick’ up. I have come across this numerous times on winter maintenance equipment, snow blowers, salt spreaders, etc. A drop of oil, WD40, or Loctite if using plain nuts instead of self locking, in fact anything liquid, or semi liquid which, ‘Contaminates’ the threads seems to work. As a last resort, ‘Spitting’ on the threads also works! Saliva, apparently, is quite a good lubricant?

 

Yes, galling can be rather 'galling.'  

 

I've rarely had a galling issue with fasteners as small as 10-32 screws, but the chance of galling certainly increases rapidly as screw diameters and torque values increase. Thread pitch can also be a factor. I have four or five different types of anti-seize lubricants, a couple of which I use for stainless, such as Blue Moly, which works well, but it's very blue and very messy to use (wear rubber gloves). 

 

I have a couple of general-purpose anti-seize compounds that I often use on fasteners that will be exposed to weather or other harsh conditions, partly because it helps to seal the threads. 

 

When installing spark plugs, I use an electrically conductive copper-containing anti-seize compound, which also has good heat transfer characteristics (be careful not to get it on the insulator of the plug).

 

One 'gotcha' with anti-seize compounds is that they have a torque factor that should be applied when tightening a fastener because the lubricity of the compound will typically reduce the amount of torque required to obtain the correct stretch or clamping force for a bolt, whether it be a reusable bolt or a one-time-use torque-to-yield bolt. The torque factor for a specific anti-seize compound is generally found in the technical data sheet for that product. Some typical values might range anywhere from a 10- to 30-percent reduction in required torque...give or take.

 

5 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

That's actually the reason we use nearly zero stainless and nearly all Grade 8. 

Zinc coating isn't as good as a true stainless bolt but they'll do for our usage. 

 

The yellow, green, and blue chromate passivation treatments (conversion coatings) on zinc plating provide a good increase in corrosion protection over plain zinc plating. Most grade 8 fasteners have yellow-chromate treatment. Zinc-flake-coated steel is even better for corrosion protection than the chromate treatments, although I've found that the thickness of the flake coating sometimes makes the bolt-to-nut fit a bit on the snug side.

 

I'm set up to do my own electroplating, which can be handy for restoring special fasteners that are not easily replaced, such as the script-head bolts for my Dodge M37 project. It's a bit time-consuming, and some of the chemicals can run up a bill, so it really doesn't save me any money, but it's nice to be able to control the process, especially making sure that all steel parts are baked immediately after plating to help prevent hydrogen embrittlement, which is even more important for harder, alloy, high-strength, etc., steels. Here's a photo of part of my plating bench setup (more has been added since this photo was taken):

 

 

As an example, here are some of the shoulder bolts used for mounting the headlights on my Dodge M37 after glass bead blasting and before plating:

 

 

And after plating and a chromate passivation treatment:

 

 

I may be getting carried away here. This could easily expand into a whole new discussion of what type or grade fastener is best for certain jobs, but that should probably be left to its own thread.

 

 

Edited 19 minutes ago by Blue Chips