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We have about 25ft of black berries trellised on a fence. I think this is their 5th year. They are loaded this year. I started picking them mid last week. Now I’m getting a gallon size bowl every day. My wife freezes them spread out on a flat pan. She used them for pies and smoothies. I have to set my fresh bowl of them aside before she gets to them. I’m being extra good this week as I’ve put in an order for a black berry custard pie for this weekend.

Today’s letter is “G” and good quality and mutual gain get it done. Greyhound Tractor The Banting company traces its roots to Elmore, Ohio, where John Banting opened a store and began selling farm machinery. John sold the business in 1900 and moved to Toledo, where he operated Banting Machine Co. John and his brother, Carlos, started a manufacturing business, Banting Manufacturing Co. in 1925 and began producing the Greyhound thresher line. Unlike the commonplace wooden units, Greyhound grain separators were all-steel construction. Additionally, Banting sold a full line of farm machinery from other manufacturers and sold under the Greyhound name. They manufactured grain and bean threshers, hay presses, beet harvesters and steam traction engines. As the popularity of Steam Traction Engines plummeted Banting was looking for a gas tractor to add to its equipment line. At the same time Allis-Chalmers was looking for a quality grain separator to add to its line. The two companies reached a mutually advantageous agreement: Allis would sell Greyhound separators while Banting would buy, modify and sell Allis-Chalmers 20-35 gas tractors. The first gas tractors marketed by Banting from 1925-27 were essentially Allis-Chalmers tractors. These tractors had no raised lettering on the radiator top tank, but did have the Banting logo on the front of the radiator and on the hood side. These early tractors used standard Allis-Chalmers sheet metal fenders with armrests to go with the Banting-added canopy. Banting made major changes to the tractor in 1928. The engine cylinder bore was increased to 5 inches (from 4-3/4 inches) which increased horsepower rating to 25-52 (from 20-35). To accommodate the increased power, Banting recast the tractor’s top radiator tank to add another 4 inches and raised the fuel tank 4 inches to compensate for the increased radiator size. The operator’s platform was completely redesigned, and extra-wide driving wheels, steel fenders and a canopy were added. A sight gauge was added to the fuel tank so the operator could keep an eye on the fuel level without having to physically measure the fuel remaining in the tank with a measuring rod.

Getting the 420 show ready

The B-100 is a sweet horse. Mine was the Raffel Tractor at the Big Show in 2010. It still runs great and looks great. I do have a blade for it, but I use it more for moving my boat and a lite hauling trailer.

Put another 12 miles on my bike yesterday. So far I’ve ridden 70.48 miles (since spring and warmer weather started) with an average speed of around 11 mph.

I built a little exhaust for a coworker of Mrs. P. He’s got himself a very clean original Ranger. 2.3L 5 speed. It sounds pretty ok and was in his budget. I told him of my under vehicle inspection, let him know a rear end oil change and a new gasket would be a good weekend project for him. He’s learning to tinker.

Yes, just got these at Baraboo swap meet.

Found a disc for the sears 3pt, a 5/8x6" turnbuckle works as a top link.

Got in a quick test today. I'm not changing anything! It works great, though there will be a bit of a learning curve. Hardest thing so far was making my brain work out the foot control on the hydro vs "feathering" the hydraulic lift. Practice should fix all of that. Two things I've figured out so far: big difference in moving gravel vs smoothing it. How anyone could use one of these on a manual lift is beyond me. I guess the extra weight of my blade has its drawbacks. I fixed two places today in my driveway. The entrance at the road was the worst, but after basically transferring one side of the driveway to the other, it's good now. The other was the stutter bumps in the curve behind the tractor below. All good now! Only complaint I have is the gravel accumulates on top of the pivot, so you have to knock it off to keep rocks out of the garage! And the 523-H is now officially a worker!

there, I fixed it!

Thanks Paul. I'll see if I can get my Ole Ball n Chain to make up a burger 🍔 or two.

She looks pretty lonesome and vulnerable sitting there without any other Black Hoods to protect her... you get her running and i'll give her safe room and board with her kind... (not all them hanging upside down weirdos), free of charge...

Hmmm. Now you’ve put this in my head and I’m going to have to find a rhubarb & strawberry pie.

No, May 1st is right on time for Central Texas

@87 416-8 horse i will make a thread of it, it will be in a month or so i will make a thread of getting them. but then put them away for a bit till i get my 856 back into a tractor, instead of all parts

All depends on what I'm doing. But, I really like the "least" angle of the first detent. It moves material where I want, but without leaving a berm that I have to come back for on a second pass.

Looks terrific. Even better now that it’s dirty! The 3-ish inch range of the rock shaft lift arm is a constraint, for sure. To increase the lift range a bit for mower decks and accommodate “forward” center of gravity lift point of the deck frame, WH added the extra lift arm , #27 here. Note, though, that their grader blade attaches right next to the lift chain, so almost no benefit of extra lift range!

Thank you all for the condolences, I wasn't expecting that. This just shows the kind of thoughtful people that are on this forum and I feel honored to be part of it. Here's a photo I just took today after cutting some grass. These are some of the coolest tractors I've seen, I love the simple, rugged design! There's not a lot of these out here on the west coast.

Thanks Tim! Much appreciated! It only raises about 3 inches off the ground, but there's another inch of adjustment. I'll tweak it a little, but didn't want to loose any cut depth until I figure it out.

@Keaton the 58 & 59 RJ's came with a foil sticker on (I think) the left side of the dash tower. Those stickers did not last long. I think it is a conspirency to mis-represent RJ's into rare and not rare. If someone is selling an item...saying it is rare seems to mean something or more money, even though it is BS. The only true way I know is the date code on a trans that is from an original owner with paper work. In esence, the 1959 RJ is just as rare as the 1958 RJ. Think of this...a buyer (in those days) was buying an RJ garden tractor...what was the dealer actually selling him?? Same Horse, built for 2 years. I do not know what else to say here. Go get the horse...it is worth it whatever year it is. I'm 75 now and have a few parts that make me not original...I'm still a 1949 horse. My sticker is gone also. Dang, do I wish I was a 1963 Powder Blue Split Window Corvette.

Well we got some good ol'Oklahoma storms last night and had some high wind damage. My In-laws across the street had a good size branch come down so I got to put the 312-8 with wood chipper into service

The hardest part of rebuilding the valve is taking it out and putting it back in. The actual rebuild is very simple.

The frame on the 125 (and the components on it) seems more solid than that of the 101. I decided it would be a keeper, already bolted to the transmission.

I’ve been quite pleased with the 854 and its swapped-in 6-speed LSD. I’ve run a 36” mower, moved heavily loaded trailers up steep hills (and dumped before heading down!), and pushed a well-loaded grader through hard-packed dirt/gravel. I agree with the other comments, the 10hp with the 8-speed is gonna be stout and reliable and economical and hard-working.

I'd be more prone to see if one of our vendors has one for sale. New or used. K & B Horse parts. @76c12091520h

i cant agree anymore that that @Pullstart i would just like to have origonal engines if a can and a bit of history about it

Good looking little truck. I would advise him to get it oil sprayed as well to keep the rust at bay.

Wheel horse parts and more will cut reseal and reweld your cylinder. Have gotten at least two from him... work great...

@87 416-8 horse mabye..., yes that is it, i see you found it. i am going to get it sauterday and a rj he has for sale.

Looks like both seals are available Kohler. and on ebay too

Looks awesome!

Mine failed when warm. Sounds like the same problem I had. I replaced the module and everything was great ever since.

How high does it raise ?… enough to need rubber bumpers to protect tractor ? That is excellent craftsmanship.. looks like a factory piece !

Well I removed the wings on the blade. One side had about 90% of it missing. Took them off of both sides and I am now able to engage the deck. I also removed that thing over the debris screen. Most likely it will need a new blade but I won't be keeping it. Operates as it should now. Run Forrest Run ! Oh yeah.. front tire size is 4.10/3.50 - 4

Been thinking of putting up my custom built tractor for trade . It has a kohler k181 that’s been converted to fuel injection with a turbo . It runs excellent and is a head turner at shows . It can be hauled to the big show in June . Open to talk trades . IMG_4914.mov

I was under the impression that the feature tractor was an automatic?Bills looking for a picture of an 8-Speed Apparently now I’m restoring the wrong tractor? 😂😂

I wasn’t feeling the greatest today so instead of wasting a good day inside and doing nothing I decided to practice a bit of CAD. I designed up this hood ornament then sent it over to my 3d printer. Once it was done I sanded it and primed it. Next up is paint.

Not today, but last Sunday… Road trip to @Lee1977 / Don’s and him and me took a trail ride around his woods. Had a great time ! IMG_3829.mov IMG_3830.mov

Is the game of baseball really that old?

I picked up this non running string trimmer for cheap at the auction a few weeks ago. I found a broken wire that needed soldered and it had spark and ran but died when I opened the throttle. Took the little Walbro off and stripped it down and soaked it for a week. Today I put it back together with new fuel lines and filter. She runs strong and is a beast. I think I could till the garden with this thing.

Mike - could you "circumvent" ( PC way of saying bypass) the switches JUST for Test Purposes (of course) to see if the voltage drop is in THAT circuit alone... OK - I'm done "Tap Dancing"..... An E-lectrician with wiring issues is like the Cobbler's kids going barefoot all summer...

My vote is gloss black 😄

Your late friend knew his stuff. Now you can spread the word to your fellow “left coasters”, right?

$40!!! An outrage...

Here’s what the saddlebag wash rack looks like… got her washed up and rubbed down. Added a little skull bling to the tag bracket…

The BBT and her momma started getting the garden ready today. Likely plant some hardy stuff within a few days. Plants that can't withstand frost have to wait another month. They also added some random stripes of scrap wood to reinforce the garden access bridge (pallet)

Back in March of 2012, I asked the question "Will the cost of gas keep you from the show this year?" There were many who said yes, others said they'd bite the bullet and come anyway. That year we still had a good crowd. However, this year, not only do we have gas prices 50% higher than last year, but the cost of everything else is up as well. I'm still coming but I am only 55 minutes away. Just for the record, my optimism and enthusiasm has not waned.

Definitely a concern. I've been lucky for the most part. I got some Wheelhorse sized (different brand) outer wheel bearings once that were so old the grease was near to holding fossils like LaBrea. I seem to recall some ignition wires were an issue as well. Both cases the sellers were great and gave refunds.