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In tribute to the show that wasn't . I collected some of my favs from shows past. I love the tractors but love the people even more. Feel free to ad some pics!

Some more of the new 854 detailing happened here today. Whew... I'm pooped!

I’m going to miss renewing old friendships and making new ones this weekend. For me the people are the reason I keep on coming back to Red Square, the Wheel Horses are great but without the people it would be meaningless. With that in mind I have assembled a few pictures that have been posted on Red Square over the past year that include the owners, friends and family members. Turn on some tunes, grab a beverage lean back and enjoy the 2020 Coronavirus Virtual Big Show.

Got the boys lined up in remembrance:

Making this tank look presentable today. Hoping Vinylguy has that center cap decal available.

I don’t have a ton of people photos, but here are a couple fun ones from @Vinylguy and @wheelhorseman

My boss asked me if I could run this through my shaper or should I say tablesaw shaper to make some pieces for the kitchen cabinets we are working on. I guess this is what they mean by taking your work home with you I don't know maybe took an hour. Hard maple runner tracks for cookie sheets in a cabinet to be surrounded by another outer piece or cut another track and another piece of wood for it to sit in.I think it will be encased in Walnut. This is hard maple.

Got out there early this morning to detail the 416-8 project. Got it all done except for sharpening the blades, putting on the deck, and the decals from @Vinylguy. Not your fault Terry. They get here when they get here. I only brush touched some spots on the tractor. Its all original paint except for the wheels. Those I did paint. Its a nice tractor not sure what one I want to keep. I have to sell one as I cant keep 4. Leaning towards selling the 416-8 only because its newer. 416-8 has 48 inch deck and the C-161 has 42 inch deck but the C-161 is automatic. Both have nice 16 hp Kohlers. I also have the Lambert that still isnt finished and the Speedanza. I dont know what I was thinking but I only have a 1 car garage and everything is packed in like sardines !!!

Picked up my other Horse today that I had stored at my friends house. Got to work right on it as soon as it was here. Degreased and power washed it first. Then I wire brushed and painted the wheels. I took all the decals and glue off of it while it was at my friends. Thats not paint on the tires its just dirt. I might try painting the tires... anyone ever try that? Also PO painted the muffler, I am going to try and repaint it. Tomorrow I will see how clean I can get them. While it was at my friends I changed the oil, new air cleaner, new fuel filter, new plug. Took blower housing off and blew out all the debris. Greased all the fittings. Adjusted the clutch and brake. Deck is all finished. I will clean it all up tomorrow. @Vinylguy decals should be here by sat. Getting close to finishing it.

The big reveal: Dad does great work and @Vinylguy came to the rescue with all the decals that we needed. It looks “almost” too good to work...but like Dan’s Raider...Clyde was built to work! Dad did a real good job straightening out the back panel of the to box. I suggested he spray bedliner inside the tool box since he is always gonna have gear in there. I sure like the 953/1054 platform. Does anyone know why they stopped making these tractors? Were They not turning enough of a profit? My feeling is that this tractor was an amazing step up in the GT market compared to anything that was available at that point by ANY manufacturer. Clyde is a beast and soon there will be more shots of him working...

Made the “Edward” (scissor hands) attachment on Steve come alive... along with popping an extra 7/16” hole in my hand. It was so awesome to see Rylee help me finish this, and Mrs. P. test it out!

They stay sharp if you can't use them.

There will be better days ! Hope we all make it to them!

Was gonna stop by there and get a picture at the gate the other day but couldn't bring myself to do it. Too heartbreaking to be there without all my W-H peeps! The silver lining to all this is next years show will be just that much better! I know I can't wait.

VID_20200626_161706926.mp4

Trina is enjoying a day off with her mom.... Relaxing. By moving wood.

I washed out the FEL bucket today... one handed after my drill bit battle. The raspberries are about due for pickin and there’s a couple hundred by 30’ patch on the edge of the field that we found this spring!

I couldn’t do it. I like the looks of the wheel horse too much to treat it like that

Had a lot of orchids pop up this yr , starting to go over now so wont have to mow around them much longer ! only the dark ones around now most of the pink ones have gone over...

Here’s a few more fun shots from 2019...

I know exactly what you mean. I upgraded from an early 2000's Husky 18HP V-Twin hydro to a 1989 310-8. I can now tow my log splitter through my hilly yard easily. Couldn't do that before.

For just getting started, the newly acquired 854 is coming along nicely. Seems like I've found, yet another W-H diamond in the rough.

really really really nice

Here we go again: not quite the machine everyone's looking for, but the price was right! I just never know what I'll find when I walk out the back door at work. Tractor's pretty toasted but the deck is great.

And by the way, what the hec did Dick @953 nut do to that spot of his? Looks like Chernobyl.

News update on the Shindig at “The Gundlach Ranch” on July 3, 4, 5, 2020 There will be a porta John on premises. I’ll have plenty of cold bottled water. (free) If you plan to attend or stay please bring your own chairs, food and a way to prepare or cook it. I have very limited electric in a few spots on the property. Plenty of space for campers and tents. I suspect we’ll have people coming and going because it’s on the holiday weekend and not everyone will be able to stay. For those that do, Shower in my basement (nice) will also be available as long as it’s respected and not trashed. I don’t see a problem with fireworks since we are in the country surrounded by open fields. However, Common sense and moderation will need to be exercised. I’m personally not going to be providing any fireworks. Location is 2 miles south of the Clarksfield Elevator. 8 miles NW of New London, Ohio. (North Central Ohio) Bring those Customs!! All makes & models welcome including stock tractors. Please let me know if you plan to attend so I can better prepare. Thanks, Bear G.. — at The Gundlach Ranch. Text: 419-681-4249

The lawn in the garden I do with a self propelled walk behind. I mow the green and lane verges with my C-125. Nice to be able to put I to use. Also gives me great satisfaction when people say how nice things look.

Would love to reach out to him and bring him back into the W-H fold. I credit that custom 603 of his for starting my W-H obsession.

Yes, it will make it slightly nose high. You can easily swap the front spindles with the shorter one though.

Randy...that is one of the funny things about being new to a hobby. You can often enter it for one specific reason and generally you come at it with more bias. Then as you get to know more about it, you become more balanced. My intro to old GT’s was IH Cubs but even in that sphere, I had series that I liked and many that I didn’t. When we restored dad’s 875 back in 2014/5, I wanted to share the restore with a group of guys that would really enjoy it since it was a Wheel Horse. I went searching and found Red Square. I wasn’t really prepared for the great community that I found here! Now ya’ll can’t get rid of me😁. However, when I joined, the only ‘s that I really liked were the mid 60’s square hoods, but as time went along and I began to learn more about the brand—my tastes broadened. I still really like the square hood’s like @squonk‘s 1075 that he has been posting pics of lately. It is funny how different models grow on you though. I remember asking the forum back in the summer of ‘15 if a 314-8 was a good tractor and if it would make a good plow mule. Five years later I’ve spent nearly 50 hours furrow plowing on one and can certify with a couple of mods—they make a great plow mule! That of course is what led me to the search for a plow mule for dad. Even though Richard @953 nut has this special Big Wheel as his avatar, I didn’t think much of it. Now I understand why he likes them so much... Let’s take a minute and look at the landscape of GT’s in 1961. A small father/son team from South Bend, IN was selling more little tractors than anyone else. There were a bunch of manufacturers with their hats in the ring at this point but was leading them. Two years earlier, IH decided that they needed a piece of the pie. They didn’t want to put too much into the design of a garden tractor and figured that if they could sell 5,000 per year they could at least get their money back out of R&D and turn a modest profit. Needless to say, they started to sell the original Cub in large numbers upon its release in ‘61. Compared to the round hoods, it was a heavier tractor but more complex although not much bigger in size. It would be my guess they Cecil Pond had a meeting with his design team and said that he wanted to punch the AG giant right in the gut but they needed an entirely new design. When they released the 953, it was head and shoulders, figuratively and literally, above the competition. Standard headlights, massive fuel tank, standard hydraulics, HUGE (for the time) mower deck, 15” rear wheels, Ross steering box, 9hp motor, clean design lines—were all items that made it class leading but still in a manageable size platform. Cub had one more year of the original before release of their first 10hp-the 100. John Deere entered the ring in ‘63 with the diminutive 110 and it would take them the rest of the decade to get their first real power player—the 140. I say all this to say, that the 953 was a really special tractor at a time when GT’s were very popular. I’m sure that it was too pricey for many and too big for others. For whatever reason, Cecil and the gang decided to stop production when the parts ran out in 1965 and not resume until the intro of the GT-14 in ‘69. It has me puzzled, but regardless I know that I really enjoy these machines and am thankful that @Shynon was getting rid of this one and helped me make it a reality for my dad! We like having Clyde in the stable👍🏻

great to hear that new‘s. i would change the pulley on the pump instead adding a flow control. you have allready a control valve, that can set the hydraulic force. i marked it into your pict. The marked area is the Control, the small screw changes the hydraulic pressure. turn the small screw counterclockwise releases the maximum pressure, turn clockwise increases the Pressure. The flow rate shall be changed by gear ratio, otherwise you have a permanent similar weak hydraulic force this inline flow controls make sense for dedicated circuits, to restrict them against the rest of hydraulics. One word about Safety, don‘t underestimate the Power of Hydraulic Systems. The used pressures here are far from a Toy, Another suggest, look at your Hydraulic parts dealer for a „ blast protection tube“ they be just put over your hydraulic tubes. All tubes the be used with any hydraulic load shall be upgraded with. In case of a pointed rip, the oilspill can‘t hurt you easily or cut your Skin simply. a needlefine rip in a Hydraulic line under high pressure can easily cut yourself in half. That can be really dangerous, so please don‘t save this few bucks for your own safety. the application is as simple as it sounds. i added 2 picts to show what i meant. This safety tubes can bring an very small dangerous leak to an harmless oildrip instead of an injection. Hydraulic Fluid at all is poisoned and can cause you‘re loosing a foot or an arm while injected. Another suggest, don‘t build the Frame itself too stiff. it shall support you Tractor‘s frame and take load of it and keep bad forces away but try to give it a little possibillity to bend. Things they are too stiff tend to break on overload, or breaks other weakpoints, things they can bend a bit show‘s you any Overload ahead while beginning to bend. So you be able to see, if the System works in good condition or if it goes in overload. Keep up your good Work.

Shoe soles protectors.Used to have them put on my shoes when I was young.

Turning tool set made from old files.

Anything can be repurposed. Here is an unusual one. About 30 years ago a friend who has horses asked me to shorten the tongue on one of his wagons. The excess that was cutoff became my favorite carving mallet ever. Pretty much the only one I use.

Our house has huge old oak trees around it. One has naturally hanging vines about 45 feet long and three feet apart. I thought that would look cool as a tree swing if you could make a tree swing out of that so I did. I had my tree guy tie two 50' ropes where the vines fell when he was here with his bucket truck trimming limbs. I made the seat for the bottom and wire tied the rope insdie the vines. 20200601_170947.mp4

Got the hydro fan screen mount rigged up on the belt guard and finally got the rest of the sheet metal back on for now. Need to strip the hood yet and repaint.

Afternoon everybody 😁 Found this for sale and curious to know the model. As usual the seller has limited information available. It seems to have tiny front wheels compared to my C-125's which made me wonder if it's a slightly lesser version. He is also not keen on selling without a laser l95 as part of the deal - I just got rid of one of those last week and don't want another one!

few more

Rented the trencher this afternoon and have made significant progress.

nuthin wrong with your thinkin ( just need more garage space lol )

pic of 312-8 with 8" front wheels (foreground) the appropriate/ shorter spindles can be installed - but not really required ... there is typically enough mower deck adjustment to deal with the 1/2" increase in front ride height (and some will state the extra ride height is appreciated)

No drill bit slowing me down, when Rylee’s in the shop!

You could always fab something up that didn't contribute to your somewhat excessive carbon foot print... Ya know... something like this: Just a thought...

Daisy taking me to town to get some more dog treats. And after receiving the call that my mother had passed away.

Alex Thanks for the reminder to love them while you have them, nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. In the meantime enjoy the love and the laughter the she'll bring. She'll let you know when it's time to say goodbye. And for the laughter, here's my girl when she knows she's not supposed to be on my chair. You can almost see the fear in her eyes, or was that look saying "Who's chair?"

Is there anything Eric, you won't watch that woman do?

Had some friends over the other night and they have twin little girls. One of the girls was enamored with the little die cast tractors that I have. So, I gave her one of the spare “toy” ones that we have to play with. Then she was asking for a ride on one of the GT’s. I got out Comanche and her dad took her for a ride. She enjoyed it so much that her sister, who wasn’t interested initially, got into the action. It was fun to share the hobby with them! Then for Father’s Day my parents bought me a shirt that many of you guys will like—especially my LC buddies because I’m frequently in IH gear