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Finally got a chance to use the snow blower on my 520H today, did great .

Who invented the plow? About 5500 BC the first plows were forked sticks that farmers would drag through the dirt to form a trench in which to plant their seeds. Fast forward about 4000 years to1500 BC and you would find wooden plows, pulled by domesticated animals, became the accepted tool to prepare the ground for planting. By 475 BC China's agriculture flourishes in the Hunan states with the development of an iron plow. It was a simple hammered iron sweep that penetrated the ground and rolled the soil in two directions to develop a furrow for planting. In 1797 blacksmith Charles Newbold patents the first cast iron plow in America. Farmers seemed reluctant to buy the cast-iron plow because many farmers feared that the iron in it would poison the soil. Jethro Woods, a blacksmith in Scipio, N.Y., in 1814 patents a cast iron plow with three replaceable parts. Wood received a patent on an initial version of a cast-iron moldboard plow in, and patented improvements on that plow in 1819.The 1819 patent was the 19th patent issued for a plow in the United States. The first patent on a cast-iron plow had been issued to Charles Newbold. During the development of the plow, he corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, who had been working on an improvement to the plow along slightly different lines. A test of the 1819 model showed that it could plow a stony field without breaking. It was highly successful in the eastern United States, but less effective against the clay soils and sod of the Midwest. In 1837 John Deere develops the self-scouring polished steel moldboard plow in his Grand Detour, Ill., shop. The sticky midwestern soils tended to clog the face of previous plows but Deere’s self-scouring plow avoided this problem, He learned to polish steel because of his boyhood job of polishing his mother’s sewing needles so they would easily penetrate cloth. The Oliver chilled plow was developed by James Oliver in 1857. The foundry process patent provides a means of chilling the wear face of cast-iron moldboard plows to harden the face of the plow. By 1878, more than 170,000 Oliver chilled plows were in use worldwide. One of the world’s largest plow manufacturing facilities, Oliver’s South Bend, Ind., plant would produce tillage implements from 1876-1985. John Deere receives his first patent in 1864 for the mold required in the casting of steel plows. Then in 1869 Gilpin Moore, John Deere superintendent, designs the Gilpin Sulky Plow, which takes farmers off their feet and into a seat as they plow In 1908 the Emerson Brantingham foot lift plow was invented. It allowed the operator to raise or lower the plows with a tap of the foot while keeping both hands on the rains to control a team of horses. So, in conclusion, what started out as a soil-scratching sticks evolved into the mechanization of soil tilling devices and man has continually used his ingenuity to develop and perfect the tools to get the job done.

520HC plowing snow. 36 years old and still working great.

After clearing the first snowfall of the season… GT-1600, 48” 5 sector plow, 75#’s cast on each rear wheel and 25#’s cast on each front wheel

Nice! You will find that loading up that single stage blower is when it actually performs the best. Just a little engine grunt is what I found as the best. Practice with different ground speeds in different conditions and as you get more comfortable with it and you'll find the sweet spots rather quickly!

Finally had a chance to go through this one and it’s come along well I’d say

First time with the 312-8 pushing snow. It worked well. Now it was not much at all about a inch and a half of snow but it did have more water in it than snow so it was heavy. Pushed up hill fine and only lost steering a few times trying to turn tight.

Worked on the hydraulics again but now more on the aesthetic side of things. As mentioned before I wanted to disguise the hydraulic levers as gearshift levers. The original tractor has those mounted on the side of the hood so that's what I've tried to copy. Since the mechanical side of it worked I got to play with some metal to get it looking right. First I had to cut out a piece of the hood. Plan was to attach the 'gearshift housing' to the hood but I later decided against that and to mount the housing to the steering column. So the hole cutting process was a bit of a two stage excercise. First try. Version two with mounting plate in place. After that I made the actual gear selector housing from bits of plate. And made a cover plate to go on top. Looks close to original with the right levers now in place. The outside one looks a bit stubby but it operates the valve just fine.. now atleast.. without any system pressure. We'll see how it feels under pressure. Easy enough to lengthen them a bit. Next up will be to clean up the ugly gap that is visible between the hood and the dash/steering column. I've been dreading this ever since I got the hood on the way it is now. Cause I want it to line up nicely to the steering column and the gear selector box while the hood also has to stay nice and straight (as it is now). Fingers crossed!

Found another use for a balance gear ⚙️

For sale on FBMP

This video came up as an option after watching Cleat's plow video and thought some were pretty interesting and maybe interesting to others. Some wacky, some crazy, some dangerous, some innovative, some practical, some common, some stupid but the whole thing was entertaining to watch

would go well with your new Groundhog

What I see from inside of my warm dry cab. Before I had a cab.

Been awhile.. lots of things passed through the shop but this was worthy of sharing IMHO. This tractor is getting a serious overhaul and the client wanted cab suspension installed. For some tractors that is a factory option, for this one it is not. I ordered some shock absorbers off of a similar model tractor and custom made the brackets. Note: the lower plate has received more reinforcement. Note #2: the cab is not fully suspended but 'hinges' in the front where it's attached to rubber mounts.

5” tops here…20 minutes east of Hartford Ct.

Received 8 to 10 just twenty minutes northwest of Hartford.

Woke up 7:00 this morning.... ....time to go play outside....😎😂🤫

I wish I were only 36... My wife is the photographer and will be thrilled that her work is appreciated. Yes Matt's foot control, hydraulic lift, and the quicker ground speed and non reduction steering on the HC make for a perfect plow tractor.

Don't hold back, now. Let us know how you feel about this.

I don't fail the test no matter how hard I try. Opposite of school.

Short answer: NO That being said, this is a (very) well maintained tractor which helps a lot. This particular tractor however gets the 'extra plus plus' treatment. It is a trade-in machine and these particular models are pretty sought after. The new customer requested the underside of the tractor (grey parts) to be resprayed. So that's why it's good and clean. Also the green parts where polished, it will get new rims and tyres, new front fenders. Black frame parts like stairs and battery box were sandblasted and painted aswell. Also all the exterior lights were replaced with LED replacements. So basically this will be an as good as new tractor when it's done.

You old timers gotta get those cataracts removed and put in a new pair of lenses.

I heard 5-9 inches and 4-7 inches, and they were close this time. I measured 7". So I used the 16 Auto with the snowblower, it was great snow for that.

Exactly, You gotta keep the housing full for a single to perform properly. Having the ability to change speeds without gear changing is so important when using a blower especially in this wet heavy snow. For us old farts, the hydro lift and a heated cab and a foot pedal motion control is also a must.

I got some seat time. I had to hurry to clear the 2 inches of wet snow from 5 driveways before the sun melted it off. Even was able to pile some up and try big dually. She didn't blow the packed slushy stuff into the next county, but she threw it about 20 feet and unlike a single stage, never clogged up the chute.

@953 nut WH sickness is nothing to be ashamed of. If I had a button for WH sickness I'd where it.

My wife diagnosed me as having an acute case of Wheel Horse sickness, I am seeking a second opinion from all of you. To me it is just my psychological resilience exercise.

That one is still a LOOKER!

Unbelievable, there are coincidences... whoooow... 😂

I thought the same thing when I saw the picture. I started working on my layout this weekend. It's my cold weather entertainment. These articles are really interesting.

I like it when a buyer drives a hundred mile and shows up with a big truck pulling a trailer. Then says I'll give you $200 less. I don't answer, just smile till he pulls all the cash out of his bank withdraw envelope .

These little tractors are so impressive when set up correctly to push snow

Like John said. For the couple tubes and flags that I have made, I started with a pipe that was longer than needed. I never welded that flat bar on mine. I flattened the end, drilled the hole, and bent the angle. Then with the tube connected to the blower and the flag connected to the lower lift lever, held them side by side and marked the tube at the front of the flag. Another mod I always did to single stage blowers. After shearing off cotter pins and hairpin clips, I drilled out the pin hole on the blower lug for a 1/4" bolt and nylock nut to hold the lift tube on the lug. Use a flat washer above the 1/4" bolt.

Not sure for that tractor but you can attach the flag and measure from the pin on the blower to the edge of the flag. I would prop the blower up about 4" and leave the lift lever in the up position too. That should give you a "good enough" measurement to allow the blower to float with the ground and definitely be raised with the lever.

I would but insurance won't pay until they get bigger. At least that's what my eye doctor tells me. On with a couple pics! First time the FJ Wingers 14HP got a good workout!

I just noticed, the front housing extensions are on backwards on your blower. The tractor will steer much better if you flip them side to side so the front leading edge of the extension is slicing into the snow and not pushing the tractor to the side.

Maybe it was 3” before it started melting from below. 35 miles north of NYC. Driveway was an inch of slush so I used the push shovel only. My son got ~5” of the wet stuff and some good seat time in the burbs SW of Boston & his first run with the new safety flasher! His neighbor was not happy--his fancy snowblower kept clogging while the WH & plow just pushed the wet stuff aside nicely.

I dread putting an item on Facebook market , simply from the nonsense I've dealt with in the past - my last item was Dads Simplicity tractor - 1st guy to come was a good guy professional electrician by trade - was asking a 1000 he offered 900 - although my phone was blowing up with interest I took it - simply because he was a serious buyer and it was a done deal out the door with no BS . He came an hour later with the trailer wife and kids picked it up - wanted to teach his younger son to mow/help on something smaller than his diesel Kabota . I like when things go easy and well

I decided to have a pop at a continuous crib board. It's not perfect but the, neither am I, as Mrs. W pointed out lol.

Since your 856 only has "Muscle" lift make sure you get a flag with the tab to hook up the assist spring... and get the spring. Your shoulder will thank you

I've been buying parts online and from vendors here for years - I've had a few things go sideways but it was always on the shipping side - my first rule is not to get excited - if it has tracking and it's held up at a PO dist center -certainly can't blame the seller, but a few do- the minute something doesn't go their way they blow up . Sold an enclosed aluminum 8x10 trailer years ago , had a guy here to look at it I had to kick off my property -he had me nervous (making threats) all the pistols were in the safe ( never again ) finally stomped down to his car and left - the amount of nonsense I had to deal with on that item overall was off the chain. Had a part I ordered on Flea Bay seller was in the same state - part disappears after it's shipped - calmly contacted the seller we both agreed PO screwed up again lets ride it out a few weeks - a little time goes by the tracking picked it up again - by this time me and the seller are messaging each other laughing - part to to Philadelphia - then Harrisburg ( usually the last stop before my local PO ) next my part goes to NJ - then to NY - literally took the tour of the entire Northeast - I finally got it month or so later after it disappeared Why is there a group out there that doesn't understand these things are not the sellers fault ?

About 7" and still snowing as I peer out at my side roof snow gauge and pine cone ramp

Niiiiice! I like the spreader too.

Got something neat in the post 📫 today.

The Local Photographer specifically thought of you lot when she snapped this: She said aloud, Side Shot Saturday and Sunday!! Here's the Workhorse we built for our friends. Tom and Ali. The tractor has been named. "Tomale"

I trashed the steel one and found the correct size piece of UHMV on the internet. I did have to drill the holes using the old steel one for a template. It has been on my plow for a few years and it is not showing much wear and it is not hurting my new driveway which makes me happy.