What did you do today?

[ebinmaine 79,740]

A few pics of the finished back deck at my mom's. 

We also did a BUNCH of other work on/ in/ around various sorts of other things. 

 

 

 

[adsm08 4,810]

Put a new hood on the Camry my uncle hit the deer with. Took about another hour or so of fussing to the the hood latch to line up right, but now we just have to find a grille for it.

 

 

Not bad for a couple of amateurs with a hammer and a ratchet strap.

[Thegearhead0324 1,734]

Today we put down our first and oldest cat, he was 19 years old. I built him a little casket and buried him out back. Was hard for the family, we had nice folks come by the house to do it so he could pass in the comfort of his own home. 

[Sparky-(Admin) 25,948]

 What did I do today? Shredded the belt on my Craftsman GT3000 three quarters of the way thru a mowing and laying some nice stripes…towed it to the garage with the 510-8.

  I love the tractor but 6 pulleys to snake the new belt correctly around  …lucky for me they include a handy decal! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ohiofarmer 3,451]

 Painting the kitchen in my little rental. 

   We had to go floor to ceiling and here is the rig I used to paint up to the 9.5 foot ceiling .

[ohiofarmer 3,451]

5 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

 Painting the kitchen in my little rental. 

   We had to go floor to ceiling and here is the rig I used to paint up to the 9.5 foot ceiling . 

 I also laid new vinyl plank wherever the carpet was. We bought this little 620 square foot house for seven thousand many years ago and did a complete remodel . Removed all the old woodwork stripped and refinished.  I sure wish I had the energy I had back then.

 

[MainelyWheelhorse 2,905]

19 hours ago, Sparky said:

 What did I do today? Shredded the belt on my Craftsman GT3000 three quarters of the way thru a mowing and laying some nice stripes…towed it to the garage with the 510-8.

  I love the tractor but 6 pulleys to snake the new belt correctly around  …lucky for me they include a handy decal! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Father and Mother were given by my youngest Brother a Craftsman identical to yours with a similar belt issue. The drive belt slipped like crazy. After seeing the belt routing diagram I like the simplicity of Wheel Horses that much more. At least the engines a cool sounding Kohler. 🙂

[davem1111 2,285]

22 hours ago, adsm08 said:

Put a new hood on the Camry my uncle hit the deer with. Took about another hour or so of fussing to the the hood latch to line up right, but now we just have to find a grille for it.

 

Not bad for a couple of amateurs with a hammer and a ratchet strap.

 

Not long ago I got a new grille for my daughter's 2014 Subaru Impreza off FleaBay from a reseller (not an individual) - it was surprisingly affordable, of good quality, and easy to install. It didn't include the Subaru logo, had to transfer that from the old one. i guess the aftermarket mfg's can't include those.

 

[davem1111 2,285]

So, this is not a "today" thing but ongoing work for the last few weeks.  We had a torrential downpour (we seem to be having more of those lately) and discovered that a large quantity of water was being re-routed into the corner of the house due to a badly constructed gutter. Had to remove a built-in bookshelf and start tearing out walls and floor. This apparently had been happening for years - there was a lot of rot, and the waferboard subfloor was like pudding. 

 

 

Interestingly, we discovered a floor-to-ceiling window in the wall to the left, that a previous owner had just cover over for some reason. This is between the house and an aluminum screened/glass porch. We've decided to open it up again, it lets in lots of light. There are streaks between the panes so we'll probably put some vinyl adhesive frosted pattern on it to hide that:

I'm in the "sanding spackle", "patching in tongue-groove flooring", and "re-framing the window" stage now. I painted everything that won't be seen under the flooring or bookshelf with mold killer primer. I used Rock Wool insulation - that stuff is cool (but expensive). Outside is done.

[TonyToro Jr. 2,512]

On 7/26/2026 at 7:16 PM, Sparky said:

 What did I do today? Shredded the belt on my Craftsman GT3000 three quarters of the way thru a mowing and laying some nice stripes…towed it to the garage with the 510-8.

  I love the tractor but 6 pulleys to snake the new belt correctly around  …lucky for me they include a handy decal! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We are going to have to change the belt on my grandpas craftsman soon. Same as yours but ours is a manual I wonder how much different it wil be? Surprised it’s lasted this long he uses it everything single day either driving around or towing a trailer for the last 5 years! 

Edited Tuesday at 12:45 AM by TonyToro Jr.

[c-series don 12,140]

Last night I went to see John Mellencamp at Jones Beach Theater. It’s a great place to see a concert, it’s right on the water on a barrier island between the ocean and bay. I wore my Mellencamp shirt from The Lonesome Jubilee Tour in 1987!!! People loved it! I was 17 when I got that shirt 39 years ago at the same venue. Happy to say it still fits! I’ve seen him 4-5 times and have to say John’s voice is a little raspy now but he is still rockin’ hard at 74 years old. It made me laugh though, when I looked around I realized that the average age of the audience was about 60 years old!! 

[Blue Chips 815]

The engine block for my Dodge M37 is still at the machine shop. I'll give them a call later in the week to see how it's coming along.

 

I've decided to eliminate the mechanical fuel/vacuum pump and go to an electric fuel pump and electric windshield wipers to replace the original vacuum wipers. I picked up a Facet pump of the correct pressure range for the carburetor, as well as an inertia-type fuel pump cutoff switch. I haven't decided how I'll set up the fuel filter yet. Here's the pump, the inertia switch, a plate to cover the fuel pump opening in the block, and a preliminary re-assembly of the throttle linkage that I electroplated. I plan to install an indicator light on the dash that will come on if the inertia switch shuts off the fuel pump. It will be super easy to wire.

 

 

I also received a set of ARP cylinder head studs, nuts, and washers for converting the head from bolts to studs. That should allow me to apply more consistent and accurate torque on the studs, and I should be able to re-torque the head after several heating/cooling cycles without turning the stud and possibly damaging the thread sealant on the 'wet' studs where they pass through to the water jacket. The top of each stud has an internal hex socket to make it easier to install or remove the studs.

 

 

Yesterday, I applied the first coat of primer to the underside of the cab. It was already in really good shape, with only a few small patches of minor surface rust. There was no deep rust anywhere, and no flaking paint. Prepping involved several repeated cycles of degreasing, wire brushing, grinding/sanding a few spots, and pressure washing, followed by drying in the hot sun for a few days. I literally flooded every seam and gap with primer, wiped up the drips, then primed the underside as a whole. I'll give it another coat of primer before painting it. I still need to fill a couple of seams with urethane seam sealant around the section of new flooring that I welded in under the battery box area and weld a spot next to one of the cab mounts.

 

 

Today I primed the area under the cowl and behind the dashboard, which has already had the same cleaning treatment as the underside of the cab.

 

 

 

 

[8ntruck 9,070]

Was busy 'supervising' the well drilling crew yesterday that was sinking a new well for the neighbor.  The existing well locating regulations forced a location for the well about 1' inside the neighbor's lot and 10 or 12 feet away from my well.  90% of the operation took place on my property - drill rig location, truck access, spoils pool, etc.

 

They sank a well about 100' deep, installed the casing, grouted the casing, and flushed the casing in about 4 hours.  Was an interesting operation to watch.

 

 

 

Looks like i'm going to need several yards of top soil and a bunch of grass seed to clean things up.  Already in discussion with my neighbor's caretaker about this.

Edited Tuesday at 08:07 PM by 8ntruck

[CasaytheMann 179]

Got rid of my headache today.

 

[ebinmaine 79,740]

1 hour ago, 8ntruck said:

Looks like SOMEONE ELSE is going to need several yards of top soil and a bunch of grass seed to clean things up. 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, 8ntruck said:

 

Already in discussion with my neighbor's caretaker about this.

 

That should have been solved BEFORE any work started.  

 

[8ntruck 9,070]

25 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

 

 

 

That should have been solved BEFORE any work started.  

 

It was.  Today we were talking about details and timing.

[Ed Kennell 46,620]

Wednesday  is auction day.     

 

Picked up this bike for a buck.   Thought Mrs. K might be able to use it for PT after her knee replacement.

 

bou

 

Another buck for a USA made unique tackle box.

 

And a like new pair of Gander Mt. Guide series neoprene chest waders for $40.    Might keep my rear warm and dry while stocking trout for the kiddies.

 

 

 

Edited 21 hours ago by Ed Kennell

[Handy Don 16,974]

Got in a nice leisurely bike ride yesterday while visiting my daughter, SIL, and two grands during their vacation. The Cape Cod Rail Trail is a very low key and relaxed (but quite heavily used) amenity. I chased my six year old grandson for the first six miles until he ran out of gas 😉. 

[Blue Chips 815]

More mechanical stuff today. I finished assembling the transfer case for my Dodge M37. The only things left to do on it are installing a magnetic drain plug (arriving soon), masking some areas, and applying an overall coat of Marine Corps green paint, like the original paint that covered all of the fasteners.

 

 

 

I was going to fire up one of the Horses today and give the lawn a trim, but just in time it started to rain. 

 

[peter lena 9,952]

@Sparky   that belt pulley set up , those are all  small sealed bearings ? how much belt bounce on the longest unsupported  run? incremental  bearing hang ups , COLLECTIVELY  , make that  buzz city , thats what  eats those set ups , dare to say  another  spring pushed  flat pulley under the longest  lower run , might  enhance that set up , pete

[8ntruck 9,070]

@Ed Kennell - that stationary bike was a good find.  Should help with your wife's knee surgery recovery.  That was one of the machines they had my wife on during her post knee op therapy.