Leaderboard

He has not really done anything in it for many years. It was kind of buried under all kinds of clutter. Used my spare time here to clean up and organize things a bit. It certainly helped me keep my sanity. One of the noteworthy items is my great grandfather’s massive holdfast. Probably the largest I ever held. Another unusual item is the Inca tilting table saw with side mortiser. That actually came from the US over 35 years ago. I remember helping him make the stand for it.

just picked up this gem the other night didn’t get as good of a deal as i hoped but it’s still really neat it’s obviously a 1267 and it has a restored mower deck that i won’t even use and have no idea what to do with but i think it will look good in the end when i’m done with it @danweikert21@857lover2

Another day, another bushing! I modified the end of the lower steering shaft at the fan gear - cut the shaft and tapped the end to accept a 5/8 ID x 3/4 OD sleeve bushing. I did this for 2 reasons - the end of the shaft was worn and the bore in the block was fine. I also milled 6 .020 deep relief cuts in the shaft to allow the green grease to collect as shown still in the hex collet block fixture. See second picture. I modified the upper bore of the block - fly cut the flat surface to clean and drilled & reamed for a press fit 3/4 ID x 7/8 OD bushing. Had to drill thru the bushing at the grease fitting hole and hand tapped it 1/4-28 thru. I've been replacing all the existing grease fittings as I go along - upgraded from wheel bushings to ball bearings - removed the grease fittings and sealed the hole with a setscrew. Both of those wheel fittings had a threaded portion about 3/8 long - I used one to replace the steering block shorter fitting - it now threads into both the block and bushing, so the bushing is locked in place. Last, as I mentioned, I replaced the wheel bushings. They were shot and the spindles had wear at the underside of inner bearings. My son is the TIG welder jockey, I asked him to build up that worn area as seen with the gold color to support the bearing once it was hand filed to size. Used a small bit of JB Weld on the sides. The result was a snug fit with no play. So far, so good. Bill

Things are kind of stable now. The physical recovery is nothing short of astounding. Mentally with the medication he is also much better. Many times still of confusion and mixing of facts. We had to place him in a home which was not an easy decision for me to make . The best for him but I can’t seem get over the guilt associated with that decision. He is however adapting to it really fast . He will still have the young woman that has been their caretaker for the last ten years. She will visit him all the time and even take him out occasionally along with taking care of his affairs. She is really the sister I never had. Without her I don’t even know what I would do. Will be flying back tomorrow . Been here for one and a half months now. It’s been tough on my wife alone also. As expected things that never break have been breaking during my absence. I miss my family and my home.

Nice Ed looks like it grew there! Unloaded the HF tool cab and moved to the shop. @Shynon This thing is HEAVY and woulda never done it by myself without the FEL @cschannuth! busted a gonad just rolling it to get it back on the skid.

Been there, done that.... Not drilling the hole would be the equivalent of what happened to an Electrical Engineer I used to work with. He had a new stone chimney with a flue liner installed for a wood stove in the just added on family room. The contractor forgot to punch the hole thru the liner!! No wonder the CO alarm kept going off.... Bill

Picked a bimini boat top for $10 at the auction yesterday. I had no idea what size it was, but at $10 it was a gimmi for a new in the box bimini. Put it together today. Turns out it is the exact size I need for the new crabbing boat I am restoring.

Really nice work! Even got a Pete fitting ready to go!

Nice to see you to have my fetish for tight steering! I didn't have any problems with the lower gear tho so only have about 10 bushings in this one including to ones in the clutch linkages & hood hinge.

My barn is pine shiplap with “clear” oil based stain. Turned fairly dark once stained.

Is your grandfather actively attempting to sell the C-175, advertising it or listing it on a for sale site? I'm thinking he isn't ready to part with it yet and has valued it high enough that no one will buy it. If he looks on and sees the highest priced listings he will know that people will not be camping on this door step to be first in line to buy it at that price. I wouldn't pursue it any further because it could become a wedge between you and your grandfather. Just remain in good standing with him and when the time is right he will probably give it to you, be patient.

Help your grandfather list it on-line somewhere, you take pics, get it on Craigslist, Red-Square Classified's or FB Marketplace for his asking price of $3000. Then after he gets zero inquiries about it he might come to his senses and entertain your legitimate offer somewhere south of $1000. Plus you will now have pics that you can share with us and we can offer some insight on value while he waits for a buyer (that he will never get).

He's your grand father, he should be GIVING it to you. You know, to keep it going for another generation.

This is a variable-diameter pulley that @JPWH found and was willing to part with (big thank you!) to give me a hand on my 854 refurb. I'm posting it in a separate topic because, frankly, it just so cool! It is cast steel and nicely finished on all sides with one wall of the pulley fixed to the hub and the other wall threaded onto the hub. A dogpoint set screw secures the fixed-side hub to the shaft. A separate dogpoint setscrew secures the threaded-side to one of the two flats on the threaded hub. The bore is ⅝" with a keyway which matches the input shaft on the 5060 and newer transmissions perfectly. Outer diameter is 4" and and as you can see in the first image, with the movable side turned in tightly against the fixed side, it leaves a 4L belt about ⅛" proud of the pulley--effectively a 4.125" pulley. With the movable side turned away from the fixed side and flush with the outer end of the hub, The belt drops 0.5" lower into the groove, making it a 3.125" pulley. The threading range covers four full revolutions so the pulley diameter adjusts in eighths of an inch. Factory for the 854 input pulley was a 4" but I'll initially set this for 3.5" to get a slight speedup (about 12%) since the 5060 being swapped in is a six speed. Ideally, I can get a compromise belt length that works well at that pulley diameter but still operates ok across its full range. The pulley adjusts with a simple hex wrench and the pulley doesn't have to come off the tractor to be adjusted as long as the belt has a bit of slack.

Ut-oh… page 40, and a FEW pages back I made a prediction that I would finish the Work Horse in 50 pages. Tonight after work I bolted on the floorboards, the center console panel where the shifters are, belt guard, and left side panel. I laid the seat pan/ rear fender in place to see how the holes were lining up… off a little, but a scratch awl down through the bolt holes will line it all up. Some of the holes are slightly slotted from the factory for this reason I reckon. Tomorrow hopefully I will pick up some LED taillights from Walmart, and some stair tread grip stuff from Lowes and get that done.

You'll just fill that and still have to work in the rain.

Power out… Hooked up the whole house generator… neat feature is remote monitor and plugs. Keep by back door for easy check on generator demand and performance… DTE says 3 hours… heard that before… ugh. Edit: Power came on at 5:30 pm so I took opportunity to change the very hot oil… Good to go for another outage…

@ri702bill@JoeM thanks for the pictures and reference , terrific detailing and build quality , as you know that green lucas grease will only enhance the smooth / solid movement set up . love it when something that was clumsy . stiff to operate , now moves without effort . in my thinking on a fix / repair , routinely go thru its function , and detail out what ever else i find . always done that , not to start an argument , but just how i finished the issue. glad for you and your work , pete

I am filling the a/c system due to a repaired leak and letting it idle. Good vibes in the Stable shop tonight!

Here it is running. Smokes a bit while it's in gear. Thanks to everyone for your help.

Good looking tractor. The front tires look like the 18/5.60-8 like I used on "Hot Wheels". The POT on the front of your tractor is a hard to find item, be sure to offer it for sale or trade on here with or without the mower, someone will be very happy to have it.

For a permanent life-time fix, make a Stainless Steel liner for the underside of the deck. (1) remove ALL hardware and spindles (2) use a piece of cardboard to make a template of the bottom side...holes too. (3)Lay that template on a SS sheet..mark sheet...cut it out...bolt it in. You MAY even want to drill some extra mounting holes...not sure. I did this to my 48" deck back in the early 90s (PIC HERE) and..to this day...NO RUST at all. Here is a 37" deck I have...

Today I sat through 4hrs of jury selection and was not selected out of the pool. Case sounded interesting, kinda wanted to sit in on this one. Too late in the day to go back to work so I decided to throw this little 11hp Briggs back together. .020 over piston, std OEM rod, lapped and fit the new valves. Should be ready for many hrs. of service again. It's a worker so I didn't bother with giving it a fresh paint job.

I don’t have anything to do with my father, since I can remember, but I once visited his barn and am do believe hoarding is hereditary unfortunately. I do try… I swear.

I bet if I were to clean up some of what I have… …never mind you’re right. I need to expand!

Almost finished with the work and I’m spraying some greasy Pete @peter lena Chain and Cable fluid, but I’m sidetracked by a friend’s Charger. Bad alternator and she works 3rd shift 7 days a week… so I sent her home with my truck for some rest while I have her car. In the rain. Fun stuff.

This is the car I worked on with the guy that owned the garage where I had my first job. Hemi factory race car 65 we ran SS B add a little weight for C class. 1/4 mile was 9.90 to 10.20 depending on the starting line we ran into a guy a lot that had a car call the steel city wedge 64 car That was in the seventies lots of fast cars all the way around.

I watched it rain today.

Absolutely agreed. That's a primary reason I run 20" tires on the front of my heavy stuff pulling tractor.

You will need to use a clear exterior sealer which is really an oil. What ever type or brand you use the secret is to apply it every year religiously. As @stevebo mentioned wood will have a tendency to get darker as time goes on. It’s oxidation . Stay away from anything that will form a film on wood. It will be the beginning of the end. Proper oil sealer penetrates into wood and allows it to breathe naturally. I want to tell you what I actually use but I just can’t remember it. I been here too long it’s obvious. It’s available at Home Depot and comes in gallon square cans. I use the original clear type without any stain. Can also be used in masonry.

I'll take it.....let me know when to pick it up.

Uncle Jim’s first picture there… you can see a bit of the ramp we used to unload it from my truck. It wasn’t on WI tarmac for 30 seconds and he was diving in!

Like these guys said, 3K is out of order. I have 3 C-175's and the total I paid for all 3 is under 1K with good mower decks and snowthrower/plow/weights included! Location (scarcity) and overall condition can cause great differences in value. Some versions of that model are better than others, these guys can set you straight with more info. One thing I can tell you, KT17's are thirsty! I have a Magnum 18 which is similar to a KT17 and it's easier on fuel consumption, nothing beats a nice K301/Magnum 12 for sipping fuel while powering attachments!

Back to life, back to reality… It runs! First shot, fired right up! It stalled at the end, just an air bubble in the fuel system.

Not neglected, running, with a good deck, and good tiller maybe $1000 or a bit more. I suspect he's thinking about the buying power of a dollar when he bought it--WHs were pricey--and extending that to today.

Worked on 52xi deck that showed up last week. Needs some TLC I am starting out small and working my way around it. Anti scalp wheels first. Had to install new shafts as well as the wheels. Used 5/8 bolts for shafting material. Since you guys like pictures

In certain situations that would be an issue for me too.

In Wisconsin you get selected to be on a jury duty lottery for 1 month. I was selected for the month March. Can't win $2 on a Power Ball or Mega Millions lottery, put me on this type of lottery and I get picked 4 times.. They start off with about 35 to 40 people and whittle it down to 15. Yes I know a jury is 12 but they choose 15 in case the are circumstances where some juror's need to be excused before the trial is over. If all 15 make it through the trial, 3 are chosen at random to be excused before the decision making process starts. My first appearance this month, I was chosen and then dismissed as I stated that I would find it hard to be impartial given the nature of the accusations against the plaintiff. (& we'll just leave that as it is) Second appearance was resolved before the trial so I didn't have to appear. Today I was never even chosen to sit in the jury box, but still had to sit through the whole selection process. I have one more appearance on the 31st, will see what comes of that. After the 31st I will not be up for selection again for 4yrs.

Last time I went for jury duty I ended up the chairperson on a 21-seat Federal Grand Jury that met twice a week for two years. When we finished the judge gave the thirteen of us who'd gone the whole time a letter thanking us for our service that he called the "get out of jury duty for life, if you choose" card.

This is primary inarguable evidence that you NEED a bigger shop.

I'd also go with wheel bearings instead of bushings as others have suggested. For a loose fit in the rim I used the corner of a plastic bag strategically cutting it, tap the bearing in with the plastic on the bearing rim as a "spacer" and then used a razor knife to trim off the excess. No one would ever notice until the bearing is pulled again. The bearing will stay in tight with that plastic spacer. Just another backyard hammer mechanic solution.

Thompson WaterSeal is what I've used and the annual application is, indeed, necessary for any area exposed to weathering or sun. I've never found anything that can keep the wood looking like wood that doesn't darken with age or repeated applications.

@Ed Kennell you need to go buy a lottery ticket…!!!

Ring end at the coil. To make the hook just snip a small portion of another ring terminal with side cutters.

Oh I'm sure of it. All though it's in July I will be forgoing Carlisle this year for the Big Show. My first. My car buddies think I've lost my mind, Ha!

Hang that puppy in a shed where Carpenter Bee's are tunneling and making a mess, it is a natural deterrent (at least that's what is said about hornet nests since they are a natural enemy to the bees)

Thanks for the vids Mike

@ebinmaine, while I was out there I would have went to see the real desert, and not just the “painted” desert… duh…

Sorry it was 2020...

Ditch the factory fenders and go custom.