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You know those occasions when you've yanked on a pull start cord to the point of exhaustion and then realized you forgot to flip the ON switch or unground the engine... ? Or maybe you've tried to start something for 7 hours straight and then remember that the gas valve is off... ? The other day we got a little over 6" of snow. We went to use the snowblower and my little female BBT person asked if I had replaced the broken shear pin we'd found a week earlier. Well of course not. I hadn't even bought any replacements yet... So I commenced about to mumbling the appropriate amount of sentence enhancing colorful words and got a couple of 5/16 bolts to see what length would be right. I replaced the shear pin/bolt and then Trina moved the snow from most of the driveway while I cleared the two portable garages, a tent tarp cover and the two cars etc... Couple hours or whatever goes by. So..... To reiterate... I had repaired the machine and also walked by it multiple times. She had been running the machine and obviously looking down at it on a very regular basis managing the controls. We took a quick break for water snack coffee whatever and then went back out to the snowblower. My female person looks down at the snowblower and she says, "Hey. What are those bolts for?" Well just because Ariens was considerate and intelligent enough to put spare shear pins RIGHT WITH THE &)#(#/@!! MACHINE doesn't mean I was going to be bothered to see that they were there. Feel free to share stories of your moments of ridiculousness so I can feel at least mildly validated about my own obvious blindness to silver bolts contrasting on a black background. Oh, and, have a nice day. Signed, The Large Bear in the orange house.

Oil change check drain plug check drain plug recheck check fire it up… oil shower everywhere… oh yeah… FILLER PLUG not check… oops…

Ever go looking all over the shop for something you just put down, only to find it was right on the workbench where you were working? No that never happened to me either...

The girls and I received access to a woodlot. One load, then lunch, then another today. Oh, and of course they took a snooze while I unloaded the first haul!

@ebinmaineThis just happened. I brought my chainsaw in to my shop for sharpening. I sharpened it and headed back out to the log pile. Got there and the saw won’t start, I’m pulling and pulling thinking damn it all I did was sharpen it and now it won’t run? Yup you guessed it, the switch was off!!! Flipped it up and it started right up. Then I realized it’s 3:00 and I haven’t had lunch yet so I go in the house sit down and read Eric’s thread about boneheaded things!!

A favorite...out of many. Refill the Farmall M with oil after a change. pouring merrily away from the first gallon jug then noticing a pool of oil spreading on the floor. Drain Plug?? sitting on the hood right in front of me as i poured...

I don't remember doing any such thing, my wife of thirty six years does.

I believe you. Really. When I was a teenager a friend's dad used to tell us "Oh I'm NEVER wrong. I thought I was wrong once waaayy back in 1972. Turns out I was mistaken....."

Well after sitting on marketplace for nearly 8 months I finally got the guy down to a reasonable price. 1966 606 original paint but obviously not the original engine. Hoping to swap a pull start k161 into it or possibly a diesel. the hood is fixable as the cut out part is just folded back.

I mentioned last week that I might be looking at a couple of tractors, a GT 14 and 1054. Well today I picked them up and plan to work on them this spring. The tractors appear to be complete except for no pto on the GT 14. The tractors have been stored inside and were caught in a flash flood a couple of years ago. I will wash and clean them up before I start working on them. I noticed today that one has a sediment bowl at the tank and I actually got a key with the 1054. The deck turns on the 1054 but is rusted. I will be hitting the files here and asking lots of questions. Can someone tell me what year are these tractors? Merry Christmas!!

Not me, but a previous customer, (Local, 1-1/2hr drive away, Zoo), who had been loaned a small road sweeper, until their new one was delivered. They called us saying the engine would start and idle, but cut out when throttle opened, (diesel). Driving there and trying it I asked if the fuel gauge was working? It showed empty! The reply “don’t know”, “we phoned your office to ask if we could use’Rebated Diesel’, or must we only use ‘Un-Rebated Diesel’?”. “ You didn’t call us back, so we didn’t put any in”! Needless to say, the only repair needed consisted of refilling the fuel tank! Merry Christmas, Doug.

Back in 1971, I took my Honda 125 with me when I was stationed in Maine (Navy). It was winter, so it sat until spring under a porch. The 1sr nice day of spring, I got out the bike. It had electric start so I started cranking to start it up. Honda's always start easy, but not this time. I cranked until the battery ran out of juice, and I got off and stood there looking at it. That's when I noticed the little lever that turns on the gas. Turned on the gas, turned out the kick start and started on the 1st kick. I have not done anything like that since, sense, cents, sents... Eric, I think that kind of thing only happens in Maine.

The WORST is when you have a witness to the moment - always comes up in conversation later .....

I don't mind it's green Retro as long as isn't in my herd. I do have the utmost respect for all restorers/collectors regardless of race, color or creed and looks like someone is showing that tractor some love. I have a few horses that run the fuel line through ther with no issues but they all dump into a pump. Any idea how the original setup was? Since it's on the cool side of the jug I don't think heat would be a problem. I would worry more about the gravity feed. 'Course that looks like a hefty tank that would push some fuel & maybe why JD had the no pump spec on the motor. I would be tempted to see if I could put a 90 on the carb inlet and go up over the top of the shroud. Maybe a couple nifty clamps on the shroud? Just thinkin out loud here. If your first pic is orginal I would also be tempted to just try that. I just don't like the way the line would have to curl up and go into a strait carb inlet.

I opened the hood on my 1076 to check the fuel level while I was at a show. Gas gap was gone! Who the heck would have taken my gas gap? There is no way that it could have came off, it would have hit the hood before it was able to fall off. Got home from the show, put a different cap on the tank. Well about 3 shows later I was checking the fuel level again and I look down at the engine and sitting right on top of the engine was the original gas cap, right where I must have set it down at some time. Truly amazed at how many miles the tractor spent on a trailer going down the road at 60+mph plus driving around at shows and the cap was still sitting on top of the engine.

Lay the spare flat on the triangle and build a 'bridge' over it to support the winch?

The BBT has an extraordinarily good memory. This benefits me greatly because mine is the opposite. She knows where she puts things down. ALWAYS. Almost. A few weeks ago we needed the hand air pump. It's kept in one of just a couple places so we know where to look. Was it there? No. Other there? Nope. She looks for a while. Can't find it. Any where. At all. I walked in the basement workshop door. It's. Sitting. Right. There.

Too many to count but least I admit I I suppose haha.. An old favorite.. bit of a long story. Buddy had a 1971 SkiDoo Track 'N Trail mongrel a few years back. Was built from the scrapped ruins of several sleds.. Hirth single cylinder engine out of a MotoSki, Rupp clutches, skis off a Johnson, suspension out of an old SnoJet.. Mercury outboard tank under the hood because the tank was gone. None of the sleds had a key switch to rob. So we wired in a toggle. I myself had a 1968 Arctic Cat P12K which ran a familiar to all of us here, Kohler K301, mag fired with the 'hot cam' from a King Midget motor car. The P12 had ignition trouble and would act up on it's own accord randomly but .. 'once underway, she's OK!' Slow down and it would get weak spark.. throttle/choke perfectly arranged you could save it. If not you may be stuck for a while.. Anyway. Being the brilliant highschooler I was, we got together one evening to take a ride. Only the P12 had a working lamp. Clouds were coming in and it was getting dark. Best time to ride at night of course.. just a 15 mile run over the mountain, over the town line, and home through the lakeside trail as normal. It started to hail. Neither of us were dressed proper so booted it for home. While I spun the AC around it quit. When I tried to pull it over, the recoil clutch blew apart, as it had many times before. We were up toward the top of the hill in the back of an apple orchard with nobody inside of a mile nearby. Who didn't have tools for the 'quick ride'? To cut a long story short, we knifed the rope off and wound it over the PTO side and got it going. He mounts up the TNT and it wont start. We have no rope to tow his sled, I break my recoil rope trying to use that, the Cat stalls again. By now I dont feel my toes anymore and it's about 15*. Fought his old sled every way we could gather.. check the wires, check the switch, simply would not fire. It was ON.. No spark. By now best bet was to foot it out. But we had no lights. Phones would die quick in the cold. Finally get the tired AC going again by booting it over with a heel on the clutch. Using his spare drive belt and my thoroughly useless coat, tie up his TNT and start heading back up the trail. Somewhere along the way, the clutch hangs up on the SkiDoo and the engine starts rolling over, but I can't hear his shouts to stop from the overworked AC. After roughly half an hour of this misery, coming into the field behind the house, the AC seizes up on the grade leading to the house.. We call it quits. Walk the remainder of the way, get inside, explain ourselves to my poor grandparents, and warm up for the night. Next morning, the K series has loosened back up, we get it running and drag the thoroughly frozen SkiDoo into the yard. Hop on the seat, flip the switch to the upward position, one pull, and .. off she goes? The upward position.. which is OFF. OFF being, on a two post light switch, an incomplete path to ground, for the coil, to run the engine.. Yep. That entire 'Alice's' Restaurant' disaster of a story could have simply been avoided, had we just remembered OFF is ON and ON is OFF due to my questionably rushed wiring job to get that marching ready for an ice fishing derby. I guess frigid weather and back of the mind panic does that to a person. The K sled got sold off to a collector, and the T'NT now rests at the bottom of a lake outside of Rangely, ME. Always wear your tether cords..

Well I guess she's not perfect anymore either, just after I responded earlier my phone rings, can you open the over head door I can't find my opener. So I went out and opened it for her and grabbed the six pack of soda I left in the porch.

I was sending my horrific Maine waves via @stevasaurus to your place. You're welcome.

Not a dumb question. I don't think anything 10hp or less had them. I rebuilt my Mag10 about 20 years back, and it didn't have them.

Thank you Steve.... once when I was on Great Lakes cruise coming out of the St. Larry seaway it made one wonder. (another whole sea story) the northern lights. Getting back to Giddys orginal thoughts remember the Y2K thing when all computers were supposed to stop? Didn't that have to do with something about the end of the Mayan calendar Giddy ? Or am I on crack? No matter ... calls for a pic.... L to R Giddy, Dan , Caleb ( @PeacemakerJack) boy and I. I'll never forget this ...it was raining pitchforks and hammer handles and we dodged inside to load Giddy's trailer. Had to remove some front wheels if I recollect right to get her loaded. BS 2018. To me friendships is what this is and what the universe is made of.

Rescued this bad boy out of a drafty old Connecticut barn today!

Maybe. Maybe not. It's okay. Remember. You are doing this for THEIR BENEFIT. Not yours.

I’ve seen that pvc pipe for gravel etc… also considered HDPE… but I’m cheap and I’m gonna wear out my metal bar then see what I do then… who knows, by then maybe my drone will plow the driveway…

My M12s im reviving was running pretty good but the carb leaked and it never really wanted to tune in..was not a fan of idling cold. New kit came in, got it put in...engine immediately flooded. Pulled it back off, needle and seat held 25" of vacuum and 20psi pressure..i made sure the float was level and dry...it was. Put the carb on..cranked on it..immediately flooded. So it had already spent 4hrs in 190⁰ solvent...before i ever ran it. I ran wire down the bowl vent...dirt.. i blasted that out, now its fine. The leaking bowl gasket must have been letting the bowk breathe but after sealing it, the fuel pump was forcing fuel right up the jet

As Homer would say "Doh!!". We have all had these moments that we would prefer not to share - dis-assembled my Echo leaf blower / vacuum this fall because I had no spark - Doh! there is a small microswitch on the air inlet guard - the guard screw was about 3/4 turn from being tight - tightened it up, fired it up.....

Will have to work on that at BS camp feed! Keep eatin Madge I'll tell you when yer done!

If you want more speed in reverse and you have a piston to piston on your C160. Take the cover off the hydro motor and rotate it 180 degrees. Voila 7mph reverse 3.5 forward. You will have to get used to the motion control working backwards.

Here ya go! Tutu, tutu, tutu, tutu, tutu. Those are words to live by. I remember meeting all four of you for the fist time at the 2018 Bis show. The rain didn't diminish the enjoyment of sharing time with new friends.

Won't be this year but I wouldn't put it past me. 😀 I have a 417A here that'll either be a runner for sale or a parts rig in a few months.

Vividly. I spent 1999 leading a five-person coding team that did nothing else but make sure that it would be a non-event at our company and we succeeded. Then more than a couple of folks asked "Hey, nothing broke, what was the big deal?" Sigh.

Been drooling over this thing since the first time I ever laid eyes on it. Plus, to have all of the original paperwork, bill of sale, and factory sales brochure from 1953 is priceless to me. What a friggin score, this is the stuff that rarely survives. Now, ol' buddy, we just gotta find that original post from back when you first found it to complete it's RedSquare provinance. 🤞 Thanks so much Steve! I still can't believe I now own this super rare piece of our Wheel-Horse history. 1953!

Recently purchased a microscope with a camera, these are my first images. Black sand from a Northern British Colombia placer claim.

Getting there with the Commando 8. Going thru it from front to the back. I finally got it running. Waiting for the new carb to come in It has the original on it now. Thanks for looking.

Cleaned more bricks today. The 'unclean' pile is now smaller than the cleaned pile. Performance comparison on the two brushes I've used up so far: DeWalt 4" dia heavy duty knot brush. $20 - cleaned about 150 bricks. Harbor Freight Warrior brand 4 1/2" knot brush. $8 - cleaned about 240 bricks. Next up - Menards 4" knot brush. $7. @Stormin what is the story on your crawler pictures?

I have one of these on top bar… cable can go any direction no binding… you can see it in the second picture.

Since it looks like you are running gravity fed I would run it in a manner that best suits where the fuel tank is. Even if you change that strait fitting to a 90 your going to need some elevation on the tank to keep the carb fed. Changing the fitting to a 90 and routing the line up over the top of the shroud if gas tank placement allows.

I haven't used one before. I have one here I haven't figured out the wiring on it yet. I assumed where it was electric over mechanical "so to speak ". it wouldn't move either direction when off. I could see while using it in that way it could have more force on it then it was designed for. Without the blade being locked that is.

The 210 didn't have a regular lever with just the deck. It was a separate piece that bolted to the floor board. Came with the snowplow.

You know. That might make more practical sense than you folks realize. Three years now I've been using different manual transmission tractors to plow. My forward motion is almost always in second gear around 2,800 to 3,300 RPM. That should put me just over 3 MPH with the tires I'm using. Having a motion control that is reversed isn't as much of a deal breaker for me as it would be for some. I run several different kinds of machinery for work already so it's just a matter of training myself to the point of muscle reflex with each new setup. To correct the reversal using a foot control one could put a lever forming a belt crank of sorts in between the pedal and the hand control which would reverse the direction. Hhhmmmmm.

That's a "shut the customer up" Horse crap line if I ever heard one. In other words, he has no idea why they did it. Don't know about y'all, but when I check transmission fluid, I always throw the dipstick in the dirt and don't wipe it off before I re-insert it, and even at times pick up a handful of dirt and pour it down the dipstick tube just for kicks.

Sidebar: I include these marbles in my Apollo tribute. The Yellow arch in the corner of the room is the 15 foot sun to scale but should be located down the street https://www.ebay.com/itm/124703675329?hash=item1d08eb13c1:g:2RMAAOSwkPRgjBUu

Here's thinking Don, that thing has proved it's mettle many times over just surviving 68-9 years on this planet, in one piece.

If you use an eaton, it would be to your advantage to have a donor machine with all the linkage. It has a brake which also pushes the motion control back to neutral. A nice thing to have. An eaton needs a little more room up top as the pump body is pretty good size. Up for a challenge, do it.

We have reached the part that the students dislike the most, block sanding the primer surfacer. We are going to let them sit until after the holiday break , then sand and paint them.

The GT 14 is free and haven't tried the 1054. I will take my time and try to figure out the best path forward .

Watched a PBS program a year or so back that said the earth's axis is shifting at a predictable rate, they calculate our next ice age will begin in about 10,000 years. I don't like extreme cold weather so I'm glad I won't be here. Seems the foreseeable movement of the earths axis has a lot more to do with climate change than anything else. The Vostok, East Antarctica ice core demonstrates 420,000 years of climate change. Here is a link to a short article on the ice core. https://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/trends/co2/vostok.html